Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Poynette Historic Home and Garden Tour

Here's the scoop on my next show:

Saturday, July 10th, 9am-4pm
Paquette Park, Poynette

I will be in booth 4, which is under the shelter. Hope to see you there.

We planted corn in our hay field this year. It's growing FAST!


Miss E in the corn, July 6th

Sunday, July 4, 2010

July 4, 2010

Thanks to everyone who came to see us this weekend. It was a hot one, but at least there was no rain.
It was our first time at Lodi. It was a nice show in a great setting.

I was disappointed with today's show. I've done this one for a few years and it has always been great; this year they added more booths and most seemed to be jewelry. Some of the vendors selling other things also added jewelry to their wares. It seems like everybody and their brother make jewelry these days, SIGH.

Bob will be at St. Germaine on Monday and Boulder on Tuesday.

I will be in Poynette next Saturday. I don't have all the details on this yet, I will post them as they become available.

The following weekend we will be at Mt. Horeb. We will be in our usual spot, however they seem to keep adding more booths, so not sure how far from the end we will be.

Happy 4th of July!


Bob cooling his toes in the creek at Habermann Park. It was a very hot day.



Thursday, May 6, 2010

First show of 2010



My first show of 2010 is this Saturday, May 8th at the Sunnyvale Expo Center in Oshkosh. The show runs from 10 - 3 and I will be in booth 55. This is my first time at this show and I don't know what to expect. It is not juried, so it could be interesting. Hope you can come check it out!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Some recent cabs



These are some cabs that I recently made. I need to make a lot more before I have my technique down to where I feel I'm producing quality cabs. Fortunately, I have lots of rock to practice on. The cab on the far right was made by my daughter. She is fascinated by this process. Look out world, there's another lapidary artist/jewelry designer in the making.

"Practice is the best of all instructors" Publilius Syrus

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Silver Prices in 2010

Bob sent me this article at the end of 2009, so it's a little dated, but look at the predictions for silver prices in 2010! Ugly!! Silver is increasing in price much faster than gold. Not good news.

Silver Price Popping into 2010



Precious metals prices were popping off of holiday lows Monday as traders returned to the markets.

Gold had jumped as high as $1124 an ounce by 9:30am in New York and silver soared to $17.59 by 11am as a weaker dollar made the shiny cousins much more attractive.

If silver continues to rally toward the $18 level, we can expect further price increases on industrial demand, says CommodityOnline, as manufacturers “buy on concerns of having to purchase silver at higher prices later.”

Silver is also benefitting from promising Asian manufacturing data and the hope of a strengthening global recovery. The HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) climbed 0.4 to 56.1 in December, making it the ninth month in a row that the PMI has been above 50.

Silver closed Monday at $17.58 an ounce up 4.21 per cent, nearly double gold which closed up 2.23 per cent to $1120.90 an ounce. Silver prices gained 48 per cent overall for 2009 compared to 24 per cent for gold. Today being a prime example, the white metal is expected to outperform its yellow counterpart in 2010.

While investment demand for silver helped drive prices higher this past year despite flagging global industrial growth, industrial demand for silver will fuel record highs in 2010, say many analysts.

“As precious metals, silver benefits from many of the same market drivers as gold,” said analysts at Castlestone Management. “While not typically a major reserve of central banks, investment demand has been increasing for many of the same reasons as for gold. But as a metal with greater industrial usage, it is more highly leveraged to the improving economy.”

According to Angel Commodities, silver will “witness a bullish phase as new avenues of demand open up amid the existing traditional applications of the metal” and prices will “trade in the range of $14..00 - $24.35″ an ounce.

An example of one “new avenue of demand” comes from the electronics industry and the use of silver in photovoltaic applications for solar energy panels, which has the backing of several government programs that encourage development of renewable energy sources.

CPM Group associate director of research Carlos Sanchez has a bullish outlook for silver as well and expects prices “to, perhaps, top $20 later this year.”

David Wilson, Societe Generale metals analyst, anticipates gold prices helping “to keep silver buoyant” along with “the proliferation of new industrial uses [helping] to tighten the market’s fundamental balance.” Wilson says Societe Generale expects silver to average nearly $22 an ounce in 2010 and $26 an ounce in 2012.

Whether global economic growth does pick up in 2010 or economic conditions around the world worsen, silver investors stand to benefit over the long-term.

Besides the COMEX spot market and purchasing physical silver, there are other options for making great silver plays including exchange-traded funds and silver mining stocks.

New Designs

I have lots of new designs and design ideas for 2010 and beyond. I finished the first semester of a metalsmithing class and will begin the 2nd semester next week. This has opened up lots and lots of new techniques and I have tons of ideas swirling in my head.

I'm slowly but surely practicing these metalsmithing techniques so that I can create items that I feel are fit to sell. Jewelry making acts as a creative outlet for me; my goal is not to churn out piles of jewelry that I can quickly cash in for money. I have a full time job that pays my bills (and a husband with a job), so I don't rely on my jewelry sales for income. Most of the money that I make from my jewelry is spent on the business--new tools,classes,rock and other supplies. I've found that metalsmithing can be done with a minimum of tools, but there are lots of nice to have tools that cost a lot. I have bought some, but my wish list is still long.

I have also almost completely outfitted my lapidary studio. I have a really nice trim saw, groove cutter and a Genie. I still need a slab saw. My husband has a large homemade one, but it's currently not in working order. I have made a few cabs, but none are up to my standards yet, so it'll probably be a while before I'll have bezel set stones for sale.

These are some hand fabricated copper charms that I will be incorporating with some of my pendants:


I also have my maker's mark picked out for my designs. There is a story behind it that I'll talk about in the future.

By the way, I'm not trying to sound superior to those who do design jewelry for a living by saying I don't rely on this business for my income. I admire those who are willing to take such a financial risk. I know a husband/wife team and a young girl who do this for a living and I wouldn't want to be in their shoes. I can tell by their attitudes towards other designers (don't like them, go out of their way to discredit them) that it's a tough lifestyle. Good luck to them.

Anybody can sympathise with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathise with a friend's success. --Oscar Wilde

Monday, September 7, 2009

Upcoming Shows September & October, 2009

September 12 & 13: Art World at Marathon Park in Wausau, WI. We will be in the multi purpose building also known as the hockey rink. We think we will be in the same spot as last year.

September 26 & 27: Oshkosh Rock Show, Sunnyvale Expo Center in Oshkosh, WI. We will be sharing a booth with Relics Rocks and Fossils.

October 3 & 4: Jefferson Rock Show at the fair grounds in Jefferson, WI. Unfortunately I have to work at my real job that day, but "R" will be there.


As always, thanks for your business and I hope to see you at a future show.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Mt Horeb Show and others

Upcoming Shows:

Mt Horeb Art Show: July 18th and 19th on the main street of Mt. Horeb
WaunaFest: July 25th
St. Germaine Flea Market: July 27th
Boulder Junction Flea Market: July 28th
St. Germaine Flea Market: August 3rd
Boulder Junction Flea Market: August 4th
Mercer Loon Days: August 5th
St. Germaine Flea Market: August 10th
Minoqua Krazy Days: August 11th
St Germaine Flea Market: August 17th
Boulder Junction Flea Market: August 18th
Paul Bunyon Days, Eagle River: August 19th
Sun Prairie Sweet Corn Fest: August 22nd-23rd

Thanks for your patronage - we hope to see you at a future show.

Monday, May 18, 2009

June 2009 Shows

Mondays, Memorial Day thru Labor Day: St Germain Flea Market
Located in St Germain, Vilas County, WI at the intersection of Hwy 70 & Hwy 155
Hours are 8am-3pm and is held rain or shine. We are located under the building overhang.

Tuesdays, June 2-August 25: Boulder Junction Flea Market
Located in Boulder Junction, WI at the Community Center. Our booth is near the bike path.

June 6 & 7: Dells County Historical Society Arts and Crafts Fair at Taste of WI Dells.
Located in Bowman Park, hours are 9-4 on Saturday and 9-3 on Sunday.

June 13: 28th Annual Sun Prairie Taste of the Arts Fair
Located at Sheehan Park, 1350 Linnerud Drive, Sun Prairie, WI
Hours are 9-4.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Syttende Mai

Our first show of 2009 will be the Syttended Mai Arts and Crafts Fair in Stoughton on May 16 & 17. This is an outdoor fair held near River bluff Middle School. We will be in booth 16. Come check us out - we have lots of new stones available.