The Aisle 1200 Neighborhood

Not having a booth helper this year at the Bead & Button Show severely limited my "out and about" time, but I did manage to snap a few pix of some of my neighbors. Here's one of my "across the street" neighbors - the wonderfully talented Kimberly Affleck of seahorse fame - in a moment of humor at her booth.

Kimberly was a new B&B neighbor of mine this year, but definitely not new as far as friends go. I first met her in 2003 at a glass-related event on the Oregon coast, and she and I were paired up to do some collaborative beads. Everyone thought it was a perfect pairing, since both of us have very organic bead styles. At the same event a year later, we set aside some time to create more of these collaborative beads. Here's one of the beads we made back then.

That was the event at which I showed Corina Tettinger how to make the little "starburst" murrini, or what I call my "fossils". Shortly after that, Corina posted a "how to" on her website along with a link back to my website. Thanks for giving me credit, Corina!

Here's what was supposed to be a candid shot of my next door neighber Liz Rowe. I tried to sneak up on her, and that's why her credit card sign is poking her in the corner of her lip. (No, not really!)

And here's my other "across the street" neighbor Brent Graber, a.k.a. Mr. Smiley, visiting a bit at Kimberly's booth. I'll bet that's why Kimberly was having a moment of humor! Brent makes some seriously drool-worthy borosilicate beads - go check 'em out!

My flight home on Monday didn't leave until late in the afternoon, so I had the morning to relax, do a bit of shopping (I mean, really! The sales tax in Milwaukee is 5.6% - the sales tax in my home town is 9.75%!), eat in a non-rushed manner, and chat a bit with some of the other vendors who were still hanging around. I had a brief conversation with my friend Wayne Robbins that morning while I finished up my morning coffee and oatmeal in the local Starbucks. Wayne makes the most wonderful torch worked borosilicate sculptures!

Here's the view from the Starbucks window - this is the skywalk that goes from the Hilton hotel to the Midwest Airlines Center where the show was held. Considering how cold it gets during a Milwaukee winter, the skywalk is definitely a necessity!

With another B&B show behind me, I can now focus on the upcoming ISGB Gathering in Miami, FL. Yikes - Miami in July! It's a good thing we'll be in an air conditioned hotel.

Tonight I'll be teaching a bead making class, so I won't get a chance to add more rows to my work in progress. Oh, maybe just one more... Here's what I've been doing in the late evenings - can't wait to get this one finished. It'll look a whole lot different in a few more days, just wait and see!

And now for some lunch, a few errands, and then my prep for tonight's class. Have yourselves a happy and creative day!