Webserver problems (hopefully over)

Well, you may have noticed this: a lot of the web pages are still on a webserver where I work. And the last 2 days we had a real bear of a time for the thing to stay running. Our IT guys copied all the files over to a different machine and brought it up as the server instead. On top of that we had some power glitches (thunderstorms and such, and there's always a first time for a UPSD to fail) and a few more other problems on the side, but I hope all of this is now stable again.

Aloha Sunday it is!

To update that: LeeAnn called me today, said she has the forms and the flyer ready and I went and signed up and paid. Kalakaua Street may or may not be closed, which makes for less parking spaces but nicer (and safer) walking around. Sunday Feb. 15, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., East Hawaii Culture Center, the entertainment line-up is in yesterday's post, and there will also be food booths and some other things, the newsletter mentions story telling and face painting. And it's free.

New tools, new displays, new ideas, and the EHCC Aloha Sunday + market

I'll start with the East Hawaii cultural Center's Aloha Sunday, Farmer's Market and Craft Fair. I still haven't formally signed up yet, and I still have some work to do for it, whether I'll make it there or not. I said I was going to help with the publicity and I'm determined to do so too. It's next week Sunday, at the East Hawaii Cultural Center (downtown Hilo), and the performers will be Diane Aki, Ben Kaili, Sean Robbins, Alu Like (hula with Haunani) and John Keawe. If I make it (watch his space) I'll be bringing some seedlings/plants: clove, lilikoi, bell pepper, coffee, and quite possibly others, some hapuu growing cuttings, what I can fit in the truck in addition to the tables and the hand truck, as well as my jewelry and beads (though I may leave some of the beads in the truck). There is probably still space available, have to have a Hawaiian theme for the craft fair, and the farmer's market is strictly locally grown only (but doesn't have to be native plants). If you're interested, call the EHCC, they are on the 'net. (To some extent that's "we", but please don't call or email me about it).

As tools go:
Today, after again having 'stuck beads', I went and got myself a rivet tool, and I got the stuck beads off their mandrels before I paid for the rivet tool (the guy at Home Depot was quite intrigued by what I was doing). And I must say I'm rather grateful that the subject just came up at Lampwork Etc., otherwise I wouldn't have known and gone on getting them off with a hammer (with a rag on top of the beads, but this is much easier). That's one new tool. I also finally (a while ago) got myself a proper mount for the torch, makes it much easier to get it on the table and back off. I ordered myself a kiln to anneal the beads, impatiently waiting for that, as well as a larger size mandrel to make large hole beads, and for Hilo Propane's shipment of connectors to arrive so that they can make me a hose to connect a bulk tank to my HotHead torch (those guys know their stuff, and their repeat customers). I torch outside, so I'm comfortable with a propane tank (we use those for cooking anyway), but I'm rather uncomfortable with a propane tank (small tank for those who are local, 5 gallon) right by my feet when I have a propane flame only a foot away (OK, propane scares me as it should and I have been around it for long enough to know what I can deal with and what I don't want to deal with. I don't want a tank by my feet.).


One of the words that came up time and again at the EHCC craft fair committee meeting was "honu" (those who aren't local, look that up. Google knows what a honu is.), and I decided one way or another I'm going to make honu beads. First will be to attempt a honu imprint. I have wire honu made up for that, and tested that I can make a bead that's flat and almost big enough for that imprint without a kiln. Working on small tanks in 100% humidity and not very warm temperatures I can make about 1-2 beads before my tank gets really wet and the pressure goes down.

As displays go, my old foam displays are still on hilobeads.com, but the one with the kukui nut and the glass bead earrings is already gone and replaced by wire screen in real life. I made a copper wire display that I had intended for necklaces, but it's only good for earrings weight wise, and I'll sell it if anybody wants it (it's 16 gauge copper wire with the loops wrapped in 24 gauge. It collapses flat with only a bit of bending). I got more wire screens today and will convert all or almost all of my displays to that. I'll save the display that the Job's Tears earrings are on, but I'm not going to use it for the time being. I'll reuse the foam boards that already cost me 2 necklaces where the stones broke (long pieces) when it got blown over for road advertising signs. I am going to donate those to EHCC.

The necklace and earring set at the top consists of mother of pearl fan sets, 4mm jet black and 3mm Montana AB Swarovski crystals and twisted square Sterling silver liquid silver (1x4mm). The hoops are plated memory wire, the necklace is strung on SoftFlex and crimped with sterling silver crimp tubes. The split rings to attach the clasp are plated, the clasp is base metal. Price as is is $40.-, with modifications to all sterling silver for the necklace $45.- (there is no such thing as sterling silver memory wire - if there was I'd buy it, just for making earrings.).

New Swarovski crystals (etc.)

Earlier in the week the new Swarovski crystals arrived, so I'm happy to announce that HiloBeads now added 4mm bicones in aquamarine, jonquil and tanzanite AB2X and garnet and lilac in AB, as well as 6mm cube beads (5601), all AB, in aquamarine, light colorado topaz and tanzanite (the cube beads are $1.30 each, $12.-/10), and I can still hold the same prices for the bicones (other than for the Hilo Farmer's market jewelry makers' prices for the 144 packets of the AB2X bicones - sorry, I can't sell them to you for less than what I'm paying, and I'm not publishing what I was or will be selling them at).
(I'm not saying I counted all those crystals into packages yet, but I have 144 packages of aquamarine 4mm AB2X ready to go and I can count the rest out for you (almost) any time if you're willing to wait)

When I got the new pearls I also got some more chip strands, adding leopard skin jasper, picture jasper and unakite to the blackstone, snowflake obsidian and white howlite that I already had. I don't have pictures of those yet, they're about 30" strands strung on monofilament (sturdy enough to be worn as necklaces until maybe at some point the monofilament breaks - I do not sell them as necklaces but I wear them as such), and $2.- each. There are also some new mixed 16" gemstone strands for $2.-/strand and some that I have identified (Chinese marble agate, aragonite, and yellow turquoise (probably dyed) for $3.- to $5.-.

Other than that, I have ordered an annealing kiln (with a digital controller), so that I can feel comfortable about selling my lampwork beads (I will batch anneal what I have), as well as start trying to make more complicated beads than what in the lampwork community qualifies as "spacers". I'm comfortable enough with my setup and abilities to make sets of spacers (watch this space if you're in the market for lampwork spacer sets), and it's time for me to move on to a bit more complex beads (and more spacer sets). I also hope to start making beads from bottle glass. I have some bottles saved up for that.

Swarovski crystals coming - and pictures of pearls

I had hoped that the crystals would come in before the weekend, but they didn't. I'm adding 4mm bicones in aquamarine, jonquil and tanzanite 2AB, garnet and lilac AB, and 6mm cubes in aquamarine, light colorado topaz and tanzanite AB. Some on request and some because I wanted them myself. The prices I have listed on the website aren't changing yet (and I did order some spares for colors that sell a lot or that I use a lot so that I won't have to change them until those are sold), but some of the the "special Hilo Farmer's Market (and similar) jewelry makers only" prices are. If any of you read this blog: I can't sell the crystals to you for less than what I'm paying. You know who you are.

Some of the pearl strands are already sold, but here are the pictures of all of them:

Please let me know soon if you need any different Swawovski crystals

Aloha, after getting a bunch of new freshwater pearls, fire polished crystals and low priced semi-precious gemstone strands (the pearls and those gemstones will still be $2.-/15"-16" strand and the fire polished crystals $5.-/strand), I'm also putting together an order for Swarovski crystals before the end of the month. I am not going to be able to hold the "Hilo Farmer's Market special price to jewelry makers" - that those of you who aren't in the area and pay retail don't want to know - no matter what.

The rest of my life has been rather busy lately, currently dealing with an infected spider bite, getting a "creation station" to mount my torch, and hoping to buy a kiln, in spite of that I haven't had time to make any lampwork beads since October.

My daytime job (the end of a 2 year project) and craft fairs got the better of me, and it's coffee harvesting season, still kinda lilikoi season, if I didn't have this spider bite, and a few other things to do.

To repeat this, if you want any particular Swarovski crystal colors, shapes,
sizes, please let me know.

And, I'm getting a lot of spam on the hilobeads email account right now, but so far every legit email got through. I may not have been able to get back to everybody, in some cases because your spam blockers ate my email, and in at least one case because I didn't read all of it and just hit the reply button.

I'll put up pictures of the FP crystals, pearls and gemstone strands after some local customers have taken their first dibs (I'm local first, on-line second, sorry)

The first year of HiloBeads

The time came to renew the HiloBeads domain, and I was happy to do so. So, while I may not always have time to update things, HiloBeads will be around for at least another 3 years. A repeat customer at the Hilo Farmer's Market found me last week, needing Swarovski crystals, and I hadn't been to the market the week before, also saying that she might like some more freshwater pearls as well - in spite of that she will be moving away in the not too distant future.

I may be getting my hands on some more Hawaiian mgambo/weleweka seeds, and as those are already drilled I will then be able to take a larger order or two without my usual waiting time for the drilling. I'm also planning on getting some more Ornela seed beads (Susanne: real soon now, I sure hope), fresh water pearls and fire polished crystals (those are getting a bit picked over by now) and quite possibly a few more colors in Swarovski crystals. I'm certainly planning on Aquamarine AB2X for the next order.

I'm also still planning on getting an annealing kiln for my lampwork, and a proper mount for my torch. And maybe a new torch.

If you have any particular colors and sizes you'd like in fire polished crystals, please let me know in the next few days. I know I'll be ordering 4mm jonquil, aquamarine, cobalt.

The fuzz cat wants to be let out.

Happy New Year, everybody.