I didn’t attend the Bead and Button Show last year and I almost didn’t sign up for it this year. I perused the catalog of classes and wasn’t finding any that interested me. I won’t take beading classes because I never finish the projects and, frankly, I prefer to design my own beadwork. My skills are too advanced for the metals classes offered. The resin and polymer clay classes offered do not challenge my abilities. And the show schedule is grueling for me. Because I’m a late riser, I didn’t want to sign up for a class that starts at 8am…I usually sleep later than that! I had almost given up when, lo and behold, I found a class scheduled at 1pm the day after the floor show opens.
I’ll be honest, if it weren’t for the floor show and being able to sort through the beads and other goodies, I’d probably never attend the show! Even better, the class is being taught by Susan Lenart Kazmer from whom I’ve taken classes at prior shows Her classes are wonderfully entertaining and I always pick up new tips and metals tricks from her! The photo above is Susan’s piece shown in the show catalog. This particular class is only three hours long and deals with constructing and fashioning a leather choker and neckpiece. Students are asked to bring their own jewelry components or pendants from home or another class…no problem! Aside from my “Good Juju” necklace (shown at right) that I made in Susan’s “Caging Common Objects in Metalwork” class two years ago, I haven’t really worked with leather so this class greatly appeals to me. It can only enhance my jewelry-making repertoire!