2009 BaBye!!!!!!!

Happy New Year to all!

I love you, Rockhounds, Beaders . . . . . . .

Peace on Earth People!

yours in rocks and beads,
Kathy

After Christmas

I hope everybody's holiday was safe. We here at the Desert Beckons are very grateful for everybody's business.

Thank you all for a great year!

Here's a picture of our Amethyst Lampwork bracelet that got bought as soon as I made it! It was made with hand-made bead from Flame Song Bead Works. The glass is a beautiful double helix, and it accents the amethyst perfectly.

More coming soon!

Yours in beads and Rocks,

Kathy

Drive-By Kitty Slapper

This video is so hilarious....

Watch the drive-by Kitty Slapper on YouTube!

Good Morning!

Let's look forward to the future, shall we . . .
I read, this morning in "Forbes500", that Pittsburgh, PA is THE only city projected to experience growth for 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT!!!!!!
That's right people, GROWTH! What a wonderful idea, what an inspiration, what a "crazazy notion" . . . move to Pittsburgh, hmmmmmmmm
We did it . . . We could not be happier or more pleasantly surprised at how the quality of our lives has improved.
To be accurate, we did move to Wheeling, WV . . . same river, same football team, same region . .
Some Pittsburgh ers may not agree that Wheeling is pretty much the same to us transplants, but we transplants feel that the Ohio Valley is just one city spread way out and consists of many small towns, with Pittsburgh as the "hub", if you will . . .

Wheeling now has a Japanese Steak House at The Highlands
We checked it out on Sunday and we had a good experience. We def will go back and think we found a place to host parties and our out of town guests. . .
We found the Sushi to be better than we thought, (No one restaurant can beat Perry's in Adams Morgan or this little place Bonny & Will take us when we visit them in Shaker), BUT,
the grill was promising, the cooks need to work on their "utensil flipping" tricks . . . more practice is in order, service was great, btw!

So, think good thoughts
think progress
think future
be thankful!

yours in rocks and beads,
kathy

SNOW!!

I have to, I just have to . . . "giddie up, giddie up, giddie up let's goooooooooooo . . . . let's go to the shoooooooooooooooow . . . . . . . . it's a winter wonderland of snoooooooooooooooow"
"giddie up, giddie up, giddie up it's graaaaaaand, just holding your haaaaaaaaaand . . . "

I think of "White Christmas" and the song the chicks sang "Sisters" - gotta get Diann to remind me of the words . . .

The weather peeps are calling this the "storm of the century", not since the 70's . . .
Really?????????? What a rip-off, we waited each year for one all through the 80's and 90's, we talked about how great the storms "used" to be when we were kids, then that El Nino thing happened and nothing. Zippo, no snow. I had to stretch a "flurry" event . . . into "Gee, I just can't risk driving in this baaaaaaad weather so, um, can't show up for work . . . ."


Ahhhhhh, the storms of the 70's . . . my 13th birthday, which is THE birthday of a little girls life, was a sleepover . . . we got 2-3 feet dumped on us . . . One by one, the cancellations came in, I was crushed . . . who cared about the week off from school, it was my very important day after all. I was turning 13 on the 13th . . . probably the only time I ever hated snow!

The house we grew up in on Harwood Place in Springfield, Virginia had a huge hill on the side of the yard. Great hill for sledding, NO KIDDING!
Missy & I were sledding one day, on a super long sled, I remember we thought it was 12 feet long, it was probably only 3 or 4 feet long, anyway, we both fit on it. We managed to wear a path down our hill to the point that it became a race track, so slick and fast, and of course the faster you went the funner it was. Well the last run of the day, we didn't know it was gonna be the last run of the day, we went down that hill so fast, that we ended up crashing into the neighbors fence and straight through to their yard . . . You had to be there moment, I know, but almost 40 years later, we still laugh as hard as we did then . . .
We never did admit to the damage we caused their fence, it forever became our, "what fence? moment . . . I love that story . . .

I love Snow!

yours in beads and rocks,
kathy

Monday Morning Thoughts

Last week was very busy here at The Desert Beckons!
The store was bustling with Holiday shoppers, Ami was busy tickling the keyboard for Etsy.com/thedesertbeckons, I was making jewelry for customers' Holiday gifts . . . it was all happening at the same time . . .

This Season has been so wonderful to us and I am especially greatful for the gift of new friends this year. My Christmas has already come . . . Lucky me, Lucky us!

Bain and I will be heading across the great state of West Virginia to my fathers house for a good old fashion family Christmas . . . think "Red Rider BB Gun" . . . I'll be looking for one under the tree! Really, not, but I do wish for the magic Ralphie got . . . What do you wish for?

When the Holidays calm down, I will be concentrating on posting segments that include the rock shop, so please stay tuned....

Heading into the shop after this, 2 groups are expected today for jewelry making and I've got my own gift list to complete . . .

I hope you all are having a wonderful Season! Be Safe and Have a Blast!

yours in rocks and beads,
kathy

Holiday Thoughts!

Good Morning! I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season!

I've been busy in the bead shop making jewelry for customers and for Etsy.com/thedesertbeckons. I've seen my customers become fantastic designers, whose creations could be sold at the finest retailers. I'm so blown away by everyones' enthusiasm and willingness to spread the word about the shop. My biggest compliment is being thanked for opening my store here in the Ohio Valley. My customers are special people that way, they are grateful for The Desert Beckons experience and I love that!

We will be posting more items on Etsy today ("lord willing & the crick don't rise . . . ")

Everyone, keep your holiday cheer riding high and I hope all the best for everyone this season!

Yours in beads and rocks,
Kathy

Good Morning!

I am very happy to report that The Desert Beckons has officially launched it's position in the artisan community known as Etsy.

Yesterday we listed 10 jewelry items! We will continue to list daily, as there are numerous delicious pieces that we're so excited to show.

Amy :-), is working diligently on smoothing out the kinks and I want everyone to know that she has made a huge contribution to this project AND it would not have gotten off the ground so smoothly without her. Thank you Amy! You are indeed a great friend to thedesertbeckons!

If you look at the site, it states my form of payment to be: cash, check, paypal, money orders

We will be including, today, that we also accept: VISA, MC, AMEX, DISC in addition to the above mentioned forms. We accidently left that out . . .

Other News

There are tons of rock pics that Amy took that I intend to start including in the blog so that we can get to my other favorite passion, rocks/gemstones/minerals!

I can't wait to start sharing the rock shop with all of you.

Stay tuned and let me know what your thinking

yours in rocks and beads,

Kathy

Adding Layers

Good Morning. Today is a great day for The Desert Beckons. We will be adding another layer to our little retail cake we're baking here in Wheeling, West Virginia.

I've been Twittering about the shop for a while and just recently learned how to attach a photo, hashtags, etc. (thanks Missy) Most of you, I'm sure, know how to use this knowledge. It's all new to me, but I love learning and doing. Those of you following me on Twitter, I thank you very much. Keep following, cuz' there's more, lots more.

Today, we will be adding the Etsy layer. What's Etsy? It's a very cool artisan community where the merchandise is made by hand. There are something like 30,000 people selling on Etsy and you can find unique - one-of-a-kind items. It's really soup to nuts variety and if you haven't been to the site yet, go now. Trust. You'll love it.

Yesterday, Ami worked her little fingies off, getting the pics taken for Etsy. We included as much as we could, 2 of the pieces sold while she was in the process of photographing them. Yeah!!!!!
Today, we will start to list the merchandise. I'm not sure how long this will take, but my goal is to get several items listed so that you can get a good picture of the collection and the variety of beads I offer in the Bead Shop.

I'll post back as soon as I can.
take care
yours in rocks and beads,
kathy

Hi People!

Hi people! It's a beautiful day here in the Ohio Valley. No kidding, the weather is gorgeous for November and it's sunny. Ah, the Sun, there is almost nothing better in my world. Unless your talking about rocks. (or the Carribean)

I've been getting help with the blog from Ami. She is a wonderful young person that has been generous with her time and talent(s). The blog looks so much better because of her efforts and her graphic design ability. Now, if I can just take a decent picture . . .

The store has been buzzing with pre holiday activity, much to my delight and surprise (it's so early - non - it's right on top of us)

Here are some popular, um, things, coming out of The Desert Beckons lately . . .

Bali bead jewelry - I've been twittering about these bracelets. I attached some photos of a couple of pieces I did that hit the floor yesterday and sold right away. Silver has metaphysical properties just like rocks and minerals (did you know that? I didn't)

I made a necklace for LouAnn:-) and she loved it. I'll try to attach a photo so you can see what I'm talking about.

"Random Act of Design"

I've decided that I like the pieces I've been making after all. I really don't give myself enough credit . . . so many people that design jewelry are so confident with their style, pricing, etc. and I've always thought my pieces are nice enough for me but, well, I just think everyone else does a better job . . . I favor using one (sometimes 2) stone(s) per piece. I see others' using so many different stones in their pieces and mixing them up in the most unique ways. I'm not that good at doing that. I call it "Random Act of Design" and I'm forever trying to achieve this goal. Sometimes I get lucky and the piece comes out awesome, but secretly, there is nothing random about my "random act of design" pieces, they take days and many restrings & do-overs.

I approach my designs with the stone and it's metaphysical properties in mind. It just happens that I want all the energy the stone provides to pack a wallop, so I end up using just one stone at a time. This past two weeks, I've really liked what I have been producing, so I'm rolling with it. Hey, it's never too late to give yourself a break, right?

The rock shop is about to get some new goodies. I just talked to one of my vendors and I'm bringing in some Fulgurite. Also known as "lightening strikes" The "seekers" are very excited. I've got some red beryl crystals coming in also. Imagine the color red in nature. It blows my mind.

I'm reordering Fairy Stones also. These are 10,000 - 30,000 years old. They remind me of how young we all are, and of angels.

My "duh" moment of the day is finding out that fluorite is florescent. I never knew this. I'm pretty sure everyone in the entire mineral kingdom knows this, which is what makes it a "duh" for me, sometimes I arrive late to the party. Hey, what ya gonna do?

Thanks for listening today. I'll try to attach some photos but don't get too excited, I've been skipping class.

Yours in rocks and beads,

Kathy

Blog Renovation

Konnichiwa, this is Amy, friend of the Desert. As you have probably already noticed, lately we've been doing a fairly large-scale overhaul of the store's website. We will also be posting a plethora of pictures of the store and products in the very near future, so make sure to bookmark this blog and keep visiting! Please feel free to leave any comments regarding the site layout, or any other suggestions/questions you may have.

Lapidarily Yours,

Amy

Pics of shop circa 2006 and Bubba

Monday Morning Thoughts

Every Monday morning I think the same thoughts. Which shop will kick off my week? Rock shop, Bead shop or the Jewelry shop. I have three departments here at The Desert Beckons and they compete with each other. Some days the action is all in one of these shops, and other days, the activity is divided. I guess each Monday which shop will be the first to "make a sale". I've never kept track of which shop wins more of these silly bets I make, it just gets my brain in the game and motivates me. Maybe I should keep track, better yet, I'll leave that for my assistant that I will hire one day. See? When you own a business, there are sooooo many decisions to make. Ah, me!

New Ideas

This morning, I woke up thinking about my sister, Missy.

She's a very important person in my life and I'll probably be mentioning her a lot.

She is the first to sign on to my blog as a follower! (Thanks, Miss, for everything)

She's got great ideas for my blog, and I'll likely be taking them for a spin. She suggested a section titled "Rocks For Jocks" . . . Great title, huh?

The idea is to post pictures of specimens for identification and add some info about the metaphysical properties/healing properties. I'll probably include other tidbits & stories about the specimens too.

So, I'll be taking lots of pics for this section and roll it out asap!

I invite everyone to send me their ideas/thoughts. I welcome the input, need the input, can't do it without you.

Getting ready to head South tonight for a full day of buying tomorrow. The season is on top of us now and the bead shop needs . . . well, beads.

Yours in rocks and beads,

Kathy

First Blog Dedication

Are you a rockhound or a beader? Well, I am. I have been a rock collector all my life. Love rocks and shells and seaweed and dirt & sand. I've been rock hunting since I was a kid. I never thought about my fascination with rocks and the earths' treasures in any way. I just loved them for there beauty and an occasional souvenier from a vacation. Now, I am surrounded by them everyday and I'm living my childhood dream of owning a rock shop!

Years ago, I would tag along with my sister D (pronounced Deeeeee), to bead shops. She beaded with needle and thread. Intricate pattern work, peyote stitches and such. Very impressive and beautiful, but I never took to it. The patience required for that kind of beading skipped over me in our family. I like projects that use stone beads (of course, rocks!) and don't take 6 months to complete. But that's just me.

I've had the pleasure of meeting so many people that share my enthusiasm about rock collecting and beading/jewelry making since opening my store. So I'm dedicating my blog to my treasured customers. You all have taught me so much about my lifelong passion. So, here's a forum, for anyone interested, let's talk Rocks, Beads, Creative Arts, etc., and let's share our stories with each other. I've got some doozies!

We'll be heading South on Monday to do holiday bead buying. My shopping list is huge this year and there are a number of personal requests to fill this go around. I'm so excited, because shopping for beads is one of the funnest things I get to do in this business. I always come away from a buying trip inspired and ready for new projects.

On the lookout this trip:

• Chiastolite (Cross stone)
• Charoite
• Blue Topaz (lots of requests)
• Bali beads that fit the Troll bracelets
• Graduated bead strands in various stones

Shop will be closed on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th

Reopen Thursday 29th and back to usual schedule . . .

Mon - Fri 12:00 - 6:00
Tues PM bead class 7:00 - ?
Sat 10:00 - 5:00
Sun closed

Yours in rocks and beads,

Kathy