Bead&Button show update – Ummm, what day is it?

Dead tired. Loopy as all heck. Forgetting that meals come in options other than protein bars. Yet, somehow, very happy and satisfied with life right now. :-)

Today was another great day teaching and at the booth, just very long (show hours were from 10 am to 8 pm to be exact). For the last 3 hours of the day, I had a Captive Zen class, which was awesome. This group of people “got” the weave right away. I love it when that happens!

Saw some great chainmaille today–will post photos after the show ends and I have time to properly upload images. Looking forward to taking more photos tomorrow, when I have longer breaks and can wander the show floor and the Bead Dreams exhibit.

And finally:

Dear Hotel Guest(s) in Room 1130 – I’m sorry I always think your room is the exit to the staircase. If you think some jerk keeps trying to break into your room, um, yeah, that would be me just trying to squeeze in some exercise while I’m here. *sheepish grin* I swear I’ll figure it out by the end of my stay…

Bead&Button Show Update – Thursday

Whew. What a whirlwind. We had a blast this first day. Our goody bags were gone in less than 2 minutes, and there was literally a crowd of people running toward our booth to show us where Zed was to win a goody bag. (Actually, there were people camped out 2 hours before the show opened, getting their legs in shape for the sprint).

Sadly we sold out of some items already, but we are having more instructions printed tomorrow & receiving some items Express mailed from the studio, so hopefully we can restock soon!

Exhausted now. See you guys tomorrow!

We’re on Inc.com!

Blue Buddha Boutique is included in a feature on Inc.com!

Check out 11 Cool Workplace Perks and click on the drink icon. Though somehow they think we do Happy Hour every day, and really it’s every Friday. *grin* I’ll email them about that… The chocolate part, however is completely true!

This is quite an honor to appear on Inc.com, and we’re thrilled to be among such good company!

Bead&Button show update – rest of Wednesday

Um, is it Thursday already? The rest of Wednesday is sort of a blur. The B3 crew arrived a few hours late, due to some delays in loading the truck in Chicago. So we rolled up our sleeves and got to work assembling grids and putting the “shell” of our booth together.

We didn’t get very far before Kat & I had to go get ready for Meet the Teachers. This was one of my favorite years ever for MTT. So many familiar faces, so many folks wearing B3 designs, and so many new people eager to explore the world of maille. We even nearly sold out of some instructions already! The only thing that would have made it more awesome, would have been if time had slowed down just a bit so I could have enjoyed it more!

Since we left in such a hurry for Meet the Teachers, our booth looks like a cyclone. We’re about to head back in there, straighten everything up, put a ton of products on pegs, run out to get more instructions printed,…and then … we await the stampede. 😀 Wish us luck!

Bead&Button show update! Mon – Wed morning

I’ve been here at the show for a few days. Monday night, I taught Celtic Visions bracelet. Everyone left with a finished bracelet! Lots of satisfied smiles all around.

Additionally, one of the students was from Germany, which I knew before class since we’d corresponded by email. What I did not know, is that she is one of the editors of Perlen Poesie, Germany’s first beading magazine. Some of you may know that I love Germany, and in fact, it was while I was living in Germany that I first began itching to do chainmaille! The magazine posted some photos of the Celtic Visions class on their website.

Yesterday, Tuesday was a relatively quiet day. The weather was cold and miserable in Milwaukee, and I had a headache for most of the day, but luckily was feeling my usual cheerful self by the time my 7 pm class came around. I designed this class specifically for Bead&Button and titled it 3 Earrings in 3 Hours, but in my head, it’s always been known as the Instant Gratification Class! There was only 1 student signed up for this class, so we had a nice, intimate private lesson. Very cool! She made some earrings for herself and 1 as a gift for her sister. She’d never made maille before, so I was glad to be the one corrupting, er *cough*, educating her.

This morning, I am madly finishing up a sample bracelet for our kit board while I wait for the rest of the B3 crew to arrive so we can set up the booth, and later, set up for Meet the Teachers.

Chainmaille Jacket by Vanessa WalilkoI snuck over to the Bead Dream exhibit and saw that Vanessa’s Jacket had a nice 2nd place ribbon next to it! Woo! Way to go, V! I’ll of course take more photos when I have an actual camera, and when the chain barriers are gone, so I don’t have to lean over and stretch my arm out to get the shot. :-)

Whew. The calm before the storm…..