My Day(s) in Court

Here is an oddity for you to chew on.

My beadwork once brought me into the small claims court arena. Actually, it was not so much my beads, as it was a simple “breach of contract”.

To make a long story short, I was going to share a booth with someone (let’s call her Gladys) who invited me to share her booth in 3 locations. By the time the third rolled along, Gladys decided she could not afford to do the last show since she was not making near the money she thought she would. In fact with travel and hotel, she was losing money.

I paid my share of all three booths before any of the shows began. When I could not be at one of the shows, I kicked in for a share of Gladys’s travel expenses as well. I was really looking forward to the third show. I had hoped to meet a fellow beader who lived in the vicinity and visit some of the great bead shops in the area as well.

Since Gladys felt that it was not financially possible to go, and the booth fee was non-refundable, I offered to go to the show, take her beadwork with me, and I would not ask for any travel money at all.

She said “NO”.

HUH???? Why not?? I thought it was a good offer. She was out of the money anyways, what did she have to lose?

She decided she didn’t like my “energy”. That I was too intense. She said she had the aura to bring in customers while I drove them away. She did not want me associated with her booth (business) name and I could not change it because of the show contract.

Oh that hurt! I could not imagine WHY she would say that. I never made myself a pain. I was never demanding, never asked for a thing. To this day, it still

puzzles me why she took such a turn on me. Really, I had been nothing but grateful for the opportunity she gave me.

Ok, fine I thought. Then since we aren’t going, then give me back my share of the booth money, as it was not my choice not to go and I provided an alternative.

Her answer was “NO”.

What drugs was she on?

To me the $400 was a lot of money, so I took her to small claims court to recoup the money.

She had her bizarre excuses to the judge as to why I did not deserve the money, centering around my aura, my presence and how I did not fit into the Native American feel of her booth (despite the fact that was the time of my work that I call my bone and feathers era. My work was heavily inspired by Native American art).

Of course all of that was irrelevant to the case. I won.

As with any court case, the loser has the opportunity for an appeal. Appeal she did.

The judge asked Gladys what information she had that was not presented in the first hearing that would change the outcome of the case.

I will never forget the judge’s face, nor the bailiff’s face as she stated that I had a couple earring designs (90 % of my items were earrings at that time), that were offensive as they had nudes portrayed on them.

I knew that this would be irrelevant to the case, but the judge looked at me for a response. Ah…luck was with me, as I had a few pairs of earrings with me, and two pairs were the offensive nude earrings. The belly dancer to the right had an overskirt of beads on her, and yes, she was nude underneath (all the same flesh tone color). The lady and the moon were as you see it.

I said to the judge as I handed the earrings to the bailiff, “With all due respect, if I can create something offensive that is easily recognizable with out a lot of study and explanation in this medium in such a small space, then perhaps I am better at what I do than I think.”

The judge looked at the earrings held a smirk, as did the bailiff who took a gander at the earrings before presenting them to the judge.

The judge struck his gavel on his desk, and asked us to leave, that the decision would be in the mail.

I won again, but sadly I lost what I thought was a friend.

I still create nudes, much to the horror and unhappiness of some especially since I have become much better at my renditions. I will leave those stories for another time!

Oh Boogers!!!

I think I was born under a bad sign. Weird things just seem to seek me out, or just seem to happen to me. Maybe I am God’s form of comedic entertainment. I can just picture Him, sitting back on a

gilded throne with deep purple cushions, with His long white bead, longish hair (looking a bit like Professor

Dumbledore) holding His jeweled staff and laughing heartily at the situations He created just for me.

I know I must be crazy to even tell you some of my stories. If you have read The Cracked Bead on http://www.beadedbear.com>, you know I have an odd sense of humor. Just where do you think I get it from? I just gotta laugh at some of the experiences I have had. Since I will never see most of you face to face, I can tell you without the embarrassment of seeing that look of “She is totally bonkers” in your eyes and I won’t suffer the embarrassment of seeing you run from me as if I were the crazy lady that I am.

Luckily, the story I am about to tell you, until now, is known only by me…and my daughter Jasmine who still laughs at the story. She was there at the time, but was busy coloring in her coloring book (she was 9 at the time) and didn’t notice. But it is one of her favorite stories. I remember her crying with laughter as I told her what happened. It was years ago, so I feel safe in telling the story because the other person involved would never guess it was her.

I was teaching a bead class. I had a nice sized class. Everyone was sitting around a large table. The class was going quite well. Everyone was very focused on the task at hand. Needles and beads clutched in their hands, picking up beads, stitching them just so.

During my classes, I am more often on my feet than not, going around from one student to the next helping out with one challenge or another. One particular lady was especially demanding of my time so I spent a lot of time hovering behind her right shoulder watching what she was doing. Ever so patiently I found myself repeating the same step over and over.

She was having trouble grasping a concept, no matter what I tried. Showing her step by step didn’t help. Referring to my diagrams and talking her through the process didn’t either. So, I stood over her shoulder, watching, and coaching. Darn it, she did it wrong yet again.

I took a deep breath. A deep sigh blew from my nostrils. Alas, that was not all that blew from my nostrils! I felt it as it came loose from

somewhere within my nasal cavity. I could feel it was a big one. The wind velocity created by my nasal sigh must have been of hurricane proportions to hurl that one out.

There it was, that humongous booger, it shot out like a ski jumper at the Olympics. Funny how scenarios like this play before your eyes in slow motion. I saw it in mid air. I could see the multi colors of it in such vivid colors that would make Epson printers cry with shame. It was flying end over end with such grace that would make a gymnast green with envy. There was nothing I could do to stop it.

I braced myself. NO!!! PLEASE!!! It landed squarely, unmistakably on my problem student’s shoulder. I was surprised that it did not land with an audible “THUD”. I was surprised that she didn’t feel that Airbus of a booger land on her shoulder. Oh my God!! I was hoping that no one else would notice this THING on her shoulder and ask, “what the heck is THAT?”

Christ, it was big as a house.

Oh what to do?? Should I ignore it? Maybe it will fall off her. Unlikely, because not only was it big, but also I think it was also covered in contact cement.

All I could do was look, no STARE at it! The offensive piece of matter that once was part of me was riding on her shoulder, screaming to be noticed. I am sure if she noticed it, she would have had DNA testing done on it, and would trace it back to me.

In the midst of my horror, in the midst of my embarrassment, and in the midst of my panic, my problem student finally got the technique!! Maybe the jolt of my booger landing on her shoulder sent a ripple to her brain and shook the cobweb that was preventing her from grasping what she was trying to learn.

OH HAPPY- HAPPY!!! Not only did she learn the technique, but also I had the perfect opportunity to remedy what I saw as my problem. I patted her shoulder with an “ATTA GIRL!” and flung the offensive booger off her.

It landed squarely on my foot.

Guess you just can’t get rid of all the boogers you wish you could, can you?



If you are ever in my class…don’t let me stand behind you!

Books, Magazines.... on a non Furlough Friday

I know that last Friday I got you all primed up for “Furlough Fridays”, my unpaid day off where I would tell you stories about my day job. This is not a furlough day for me (we get 3 off per month, this is the 4rth Friday of this month). I had to work. today. And to top it off, I had “phone duty” so I was chained to my desk all day…until 5pm. Sigh….So, next week will be a furlough day, and I will tell you more about my day job. I’m sure you will be waiting with great anticipation!

Oh Bead books!! How I love them. How I hate them, let me count the ways…..

You might not know, but I go way back. And I do mean way back. I started beading over 25 years ago. Back in those days, there were no beading magazines. Bead related books were few and far between. I still remember going to the bookstore and flipping through that HUGE “book” they had of Books in Publication looking under the heading of “Bead” to find what was available in print. There were perhaps a dozen, if that many.

When I first started with my books, I didn’t even have a computer (most people did not at that time either). All my charts were done by hand. When I had a new book available, I had so many pre-orders that nearly ½ of my first run was sold. My mailbox was stuffed with orders. My garage had that delicious “New Book Smell” that I just LOVED.

Those were the days. Sadly never to be revisited.

For those folks like me, who published their own books, who labored hard, not just at creating the projects, but with photos, page layouts, sending out bids for the job, eagerly awaiting the day for the truck to arrive with a shipment of CASES of books, we look back with regret that those days are no more.

The big guys, you know who they are, have made it so that we can no longer have that vocation. Much like a sardine being devoured by a shark, it is either good or bad, depending on which end of the food chain you are on.

It is fantastic that so much information is available. Beading has come into its own niche for becoming a recognized art form (although still fighting a lot of stereotypes). Magazines, and books are available to the point of being redundant (just how many times can we see a simple peyote bracelet, or stacked bead earrings?). Gone are the days of being excited and waiting for that singular publication.

As is the trend in other interests, I think that the big guys are flooding out their own markets. A magazine (not just bead magazines, but other interests as well) will make a book of the year’s projects, a book of “the best of.” and themed books (such as peyote, right angle weave..). As if that weren’t enough, they resell individual projects on the net.

I say it’s overkill.

I used to eagerly await each new book, each magazine issue, and buy it. I have a huge library to prove that. But now, I am MUCH more selective. I do not buy each and every magazine, I do not buy every book, only the ones that really grab my attention. So many bead publications out there are mediocre at best. They look like they were thrown together just so that the publisher can have their stake in the bead book arena. I can see them at a table. “YES, let’s do this one. Doesn’t really matter if the projects are ugly, so much can be done with the photo to spruce it up! It doesn’t really matter if directions are poor, who really makes these things anyways?”

It is with this jaded attitude that I ordered a few promising books that look like they deal mostly with seed beads. A rarity! I can hardly wait to get them.

Yesterday, I received Beaded Opulence by Marcia DeCoster, published by Lark Books (available from Amazon.com). Let me tell you…this one of the nicest books I have seen in a while. I absolutely LOVE it. There are so many books being churned out, and so many are so mediocre, that this book was like a cool glass of water in a scorching desert. Or should I go so far as to say , an ice cold rum drink at a pool served by a hunk of a guy…..well you get the idea. It is refreshing, and intoxicating.

The projects offered by Ms. DeCoster are elegant, unique, and inviting enough that I want to set aside my own projects to try at least one, if not more. The directions and illustrations are incredibly well written, and easy to follow. The photos of the projects alone are worth the price of the book. I would buy it just to have on my coffee table to drool over. I just cant wait to play with this book. It truly is the nicest book with seed bead based projects I have seen in quite a while.

On my slobber scale, I award this a 5 out of 5. In fact, I have slobbered over it so much, that the pages are sticking together!

Art or Not?

Is stringing really beadwork?


Sure, this activity involves beads. There are even magazines and books devoted to this activity. But really, does threading some objects with holes in them onto a single string (or even multiple strings) one by one fit in the category of beadwork? Or more pointed, bead art?

I will admittedly say that I am a seed bead snob. Yes, I do like larger beads (especially lampworked beads), and I do use them in the projects I make. Many necklaces I make of seed beads are hung from strung beads. I will also admit that putting together a length of strung beads that looks nice, if not captivating takes “an eye”. But isn’t grouping the beads together so that they are appealing about where the artistry ends? Is not the very act of stringing self limiting in its own form?

What decisions must you make when stringing beads? What size beads to use? How many strands should the necklace or bracelet be? How long should the strung beads be? What stringing material should be used? Ah…..I think am having trouble with coming up with more.



With seed beads, there is a lot more to consider than just putting the bead on a string. Seed beads tend to be woven together. What stitch(es) will you use? What size/type seed bead will be used? Will it be flat or layered? Will there be a pattern (pictorial or geometric), or will it be a solid platform to add something on top of? Will an element be added to it’s surface or hanging from it? Will any stringing be used to support the piece? Is the piece going to be jewelry, or some other object?

I am sure that I have not exhausted the choices for either stringing or bead weaving. There are indeed more. I know all to well that stringing a necklace of beads does take some degree of an artistic eye. But is it art?

The question regarding as to whether or not strung beads is art or not, was pointed out to me in a somewhat embarrassing moment. I was participating in a strictly juried show selling my beadwork. I had juried in on my seed bead pieces. The organizers only wanted 5 images from which to jury from. My seed bead work covers a lot of ground, so I sent them images of earrings, bracelets, and seed bead necklaces. I did not send them any images of my strung necklaces, especially since I did not have that many of them. I just had a few, trying to hit the “something for everyone” philosophy.

During the show, the promoters check every booth to ensure that the artists did not misrepresent themselves. They especially look for the buy and sell types, since they are quite strict on the hand made restriction. My strung necklaces were noticed, and I was asked to remove them.

It was not so much that I didn’t send an image of the strung necklaces to be juried in, as it was that they considered strung necklaces to be “assembly work, not art” (their words, not mine). So, according to that promoter, they answered the question I had. They did not consider stringing to be art, but bead weaving is. They wanted "art" in their show, not assembly work.

So, I guess in the final analysis, stringing is beadwork just because it involves beads. But in my snobby, bigoted, prejudiced opinion, bead weaving far outshines stringing in the art classification!

On My Work Desk

I am still inspired by Chinese art (having been there on my last vacation June-July). There are many projects I wish I had time for. I would love to do a whole series on ethnic costumes (Chinese and others). If only I had more time to bead and design!!

Anyways, I am working on a Chinese style butterfly necklace. It will be layered to give it dimension, and I am thinking of making beaded tassels to hang from it. I'll keep you updated as I progress.

ANNNNDDDD!! I am working on something special that will start here on Monday (and on Mondays after this coming one)! So don't miss the fun and games I have planned for you! I really hope that you will play along and that you will enjoy it.

Tipsy Tuesday 8/25/09

I may not be able to promise that I do this each and every Tuesday, but I will try to fairly often.

And only on Tuesdays.

Why? Well, because "Tipsy Tuesday sounds better than"Tipsy Monday.

I will provide you with a tip of one sort or another. It may be related to beading or it may be some other weird thing I discovered. In any case, I hope it will be helpful. If not helpful then perhaps entertaining and totally useless.

I receive emails on a regular basis asking “How do you…..?” Most of my beading tips will be inspired from these questions. So if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. Leave your question here, to be answered on a Tipsy Tuesday, or email me direct at beadedbear@earthlink.net and I will answer you direct, as well as on a Tipsy Tuesday. Again, you can ask anything you like it need not be bead related, and I will give you a tip that you can use, or a tip that is so crazy that all you can use it for is a chuckle. Don’t be shy. Go ahead and challenge me!

So, here is my first tip.

How to create a shaped piece of beadwork in flat peyote.

People ask me how I do my shaping for my peyote stitch patterns.

I cheat. Yes, I am a stitch slut. I do not stay with only one stitch, no matter how I may love it. I like playing the field, going from one to another, and back again!

Variety is the spice of life, so they say! So this one is easy, and lots of fun.

I create a section of the main panel that I can work in flat even peyote. Then, I will turn the pattern on its side and work the rest of the beads in brick.

Why not work the whole pattern in brick then? Because, I find that working in peyote goes much faster than brick.

Why not increase and decrease in peyote? Decreasing is easy. If that is all it is, then I will bead the whole pattern in peyote. Increasing can be a little trickier and takes a little thinking. Thinking is something I don’t care to do, and try to avoid it where I can since it tires me out. So, patterns that have lots of shaping, I will do a section in peyote, then switch to brick.

It works really well, and you really cannot tell where one stitch ended and the other started.

My Weekend Show's Best Moments

The weekend’s show was a lot of fun. I love going to the San Francisco Bay Area. Ever since I moved from the San Jose area to Modesto Ca for financial reasons in 2001, I have missed it sorely. I will never feel “home” in the Central Valley. For one thing, the Central Valley just does not have the caliber shows like the Bay Area does. There are many other reasons why I miss the Bay Area, but lets just leave it at this for now.

My daughter Jasmine and I left for Palo Alto on Friday night after she got to Modesto from her new job teaching Kindergarten at the Chukchanci Indian Reservation. It has been a long time since we did a show together. So that alone made the trip all the more fun.

This show was a street art fair, with some 200 high quality artists of all sorts.We started setting up at 6am on Saturday morning. It takes me about 3 hours to set up. I just never seem to get done! It’s not that I am slow, or agonizing about how the beads are laying, or what goes where, it’s just that I have a lot of stuff.

Sales were not too bad. Not great, but not bad considering the economy. Of course, Palo Alto is an upscale community in the shadows of the infamous Stanford University, but I am sure that the economy woes have even hit the well to do crowd.

The promoter of this show (and the Halfmoon Bay Pumpkin Festival) always takes care of the artists very well. MLA Productions always provides us with a huge selection of beverages, pastries, and snacks all day long. They are a great bunch of ladies.

It’s always interesting to see what sells. I sold several of my “older” pieces. Things I did not expect to sell, pieces that were on the verge of not even being displayed. “ With mixed feelings, I said “Good-bye” to my 3D Jerry Garcia beaded doll. I loved that little guy and was especially proud of how he turned out. But it was time for him to have a new loving home since he tended to live in one of my jumbled boxes. The other older pieces I won’t miss. Plenty of earrings sold. They are always my “bread and butter”. I have until mid October before the Halfmoon Bay Pumpkin festival to replenish the earrings and bracelets I sold. So, hopefully I will be able to do that.

This show like any other, had it’s memorable moments, and comments. Patrons of shows always seem to come up with remarks that I could not imagine saying and some remarks were absolutely delightful. I thought I would share some of the better ones with you:

Mistaken Identity”

“This is all made in Guatemala. It’s not hand made”

Hmmmm?? Guatemalans don’t have hands? Never mind arguing that I made all the beadwork!

Bean Counter

“So, how many employees do you hire to make your beadwork?”

Appreciative

“Your work should be in a Museum. Why do you have them on the street?”

Disbelief

This HAS to be embroidery. I don’t see any beads in that necklace. Show me, where are the beads?”

Ethnic Fear

“No clip ons? I am not African! I will never get my ears pierced!”

Seriously….she did say this. I just cannot make this stuff up!

Sticker Shock

“You want WHAT for that necklace? My first car cost less!”

Oh sure, in 1915 I bet!!

Reverence

As said by a tough biker dude with hands together as if in prayer while bowing:

“AHHHH…Master Beader!”

Poetic

“You take the rainbow from the sky and bring it to earth.”

Gadget Lust

“You must work on a loom” and “What kind of machine do you use to work up your pieces?”

And this is ALWAYS said in a tone that suggests that loom beading is far less work, perhaps even automated.

Nostalgic

“Your work makes me think of my Mom, who used to bead in China”

And finally the Asshole Remark award goes to the Artist who had a booth next to me.

Let me set up the scene first:

My booth was FULL of people. Jasmine was sitting in the back corner of the booth. I positioned myself standing at the opposite front corner of the booth. Standing allows me to talk easily with the customers, and having two of us at opposite ends helps to assist customers as well as to keep eyes open for any potential theft.

I had one hand on the leg of my canopy, I was perhaps 2 ft out into the aisle (this is an outdoor show so the “aisles” are pretty wide). No part of my body was in the field of my neighbor’s booth.

Mr. Asshole came to me and said “You should not be standing there.”

Wondering what could possibly be wrong, or what kind of sales tip he could give me, I asked “Why?”

He said, “Your standing there is preventing customers from coming into my booth.”

Ok, I thought, he is just pulling my leg, so I quipped back with a smart assed remark about me creating a vortex that would just drive people past my booth and into his.

He did not think I was funny. He was NOT joking.

“Yes, you are preventing people from coming into my booth. You are in the way. I want you to stand somewhere else. It’s only common courtesy.”

Again, no part of me, even a finger, was in the plane of his booth. His booth was a CORNER booth to boot, with 2 open ends.

I was so dumbfounded, I had no retort. In fact, I was so dumbfounded I could not move from my position for 2 days while I tried to figure out his logic. I still can’t (but I am no longer standing frozen in that position).

WEIRD HAPPENING OF THE WEEKEND

I assure you, I am ok. A little sore still, but ok. Really, I am not badly injured. The bleeding did finally stop, and I did not need medical attention or stitches. With some luck I might not even have a scar.

To fully appreciate this, know that I am a big girl. I am not a little waif by any means. My genes come from a family that must have been the strong farming type. I strongly suspect that Broom Hilda is in my genetic make up. The Darwinian survival model has selected for a metabolism that would keep me strong and looking well fed during a major crop failure. In fact, not only would I survive, but I would look like I never missed a meal. That’s how efficient my metabolism is. And as a result, weight piles on me incredibly easily.

Call me full figured, even fat, if you will. With that distinction comes a set of boobs that I find annoying. My pair of DD’s are always in my way. I don’t like to be out certain times of the day because the shadow they cast around my head make me look like Mickey Mouse with misplaced ears. You big gals know what I am talking about, admit it.

So…here I was setting up the booth. Reaching, stretching, moving quite fast. While I was reaching in a crouched position, I hear something snap. “PING”!! It was the sound of something metallic breaking.

What pray-tell was that???

Then I felt like I was stung by a mosquito the size of an elephant.

You know, they should sell under wire bras with a warning, especially for us big gals.

“Too much exertion and stretching and strenuous moving could cause metal fatigue. The metal when fatigued could snap, exit the fabric of the bra and slice the hell out of the body part it was designed to support.”

That was exactly what happened. No, it did not inch its way out near the armpit, as I have often experienced with other well worn under wire bras. It snapped mid way at its rounded curve, it harpooned out of the fabric and gashed a nice 2-3 inch section of one of my “girls”, making me bleed like…well, a stuck pig!

Being in a situation where I would need to endure the attacking bra for the day, I needed to make it wearable. So I reached in, pulled out the offending metal, which flung out like a sickle on high tension springs and nearly sliced the tip of my nose.

I was going to toss it into the trash, but was afraid it would boomerang back at me. So I carefully placed it in the trash, and weighted it down, just to be safe.

As I said, I am ok. Sore, yes. And the offending bra…well, there was a recreation of the 60’s burning of the bra in my back yard, with my “Woodstock” CD accompanying the ceremony.

Too bad my little Jerry doll was not around to see it!

Furlough Friday 8/21/09

While my beads take up a good portion of my day, I am not supporting myself entirely from my beadwork and designing. I wish I could. But since I have no other family member who helps with my finances, or helps me to pay my bills and I would make a lousy street walker, I hold down a full time “day job”. At least, it is supposed to be full time.

I have a job working for a governmental entity. We are furloughed 3 Fridays per month due to the severe budgetary shortfall. What that means is, we have to take 3 Fridays off a month with no pay. It amounts to a 15% pay cut.

In honor of those extra days off (and paycut), I will dedicate those days to give you a glimpse of what my day job is like, and some of the interesting experiences I have had. Some of what I will share will be from the past, while some might be fairly current. Hopefully all will be entertaining.

I inspect workplaces for safety and health. My department is the enforcing agency that regulates work places to try to keep employees safe and healthy. It is an interesting and often challenging job. It has kept my interest for 20 + years. Some of our collective experience is funny, some sad, some aggravating to the point of being nearly intolerable. I guess it is just reflects life itself.

My job has many facets. I am a “cop” of sorts. I always use the analogy of the traffic cop. I find that someone has done something wrong, I write the citation and issue the penalty. I can also go to court to present my case in front of a judge. Often without legal representation.(If you are really interested in this go to http://www.dir.ca.gov/oshab/Decisions/01-3946.htm) So I guess you can say that I can act as an attorney would in the hearing. I am a salesman of sorts. I need to “sell” the idea that our regulations are good for both the employer and the employee. My philosophy is unless you can get them to buy into the whole safety thing, it will never happen. I am also a psychologist. I have to assess personalities and deal with a variety of them. Sometimes the situation I go into is messy. There can be a dead body, with everyone very upset. There might be reasons for an employer to be furious with me visiting his site, an employee pissed off about his conditions and many other situations that I have to handle professionally, effectively and without losing my cool.

I also need to be a jack of all trades. I need to understand toxicology, biology, medical terms and diseases, engineering, and how a host of machines, widget makers, vehicles and things that go bump in the night work, and how they can maim or kill someone. And more importantly how to prevent that from happening.

I have done this job for more than 20 years. I still do not know everything I need to know. I am still learning. I think it is impossible to learn everything. And it is this part that I love since it challenges me. And it is this part that I hate, since oft times I feel really DUMB!

So, this is my introduction of what my day job is like. Next time, I will begin my stories!

Go Ahead, See For Yourself!!

The first time I noticed this, I was shocked. I just could not believe my eyes.

Since the first time, I check on a somewhat regular basis, and every time I check, I am just as shocked as I was the first time. Sometimes I am even more shocked than others, even though I always expect some degree of it. Now I keep checking to see just how shocked I can become. It has sort of become a game of sorts. Just how outrageous can it become?

As an author, I expect to see my used books being resold. That is just part of the life cycle of almost every book. What I don’t expect are some of the prices. With the prices as high as I have seen them, I had to check my pulse. I had to have someone put a mirror under my nose to see if I was still alive. Maybe I died and didn’t know it. It is usually some famous author who died 100 years ago, whose rare first edition leather bound book goes for 100’s of dollars. Not my paperback books!

I assure you. I am still alive. I am not a “best selling” author having sold 1,000,000 copies of anything, my books are not “rare” as I have boxes of them in my garage, nor are they hard to get, nor are they leather bound.

But there they are, the pricey used books. It just blows me away. Often, there are sellers who try to sell my books for more than the cover price. Sometimes outrageously more! The last time I found a real “gem” of a price was last July. The Magical Amulet Bag Vol 2 has a retail price of $14.95. I sell them in various outlets including Amazon.com. There it was, right there on the same page as my new books (which I supply to Amazon) were the offerings of “used books”. The used books ranged in price from $7.95 to a WHOPPING $310! Oh this one is enough to send me into an orgasmic twitter!

I bet your first thought is, “Oh, it must be a typo.” That too, was my thought the first time I saw such a price years ago. But it happens with regularity, I can no longer dismiss it as such. And besides, how would you explain the other prices ranging from $28.74 – 55.36. No possibility there of typing a 0 one too many times!

The first time I saw a crazy price, I emailed the seller. I asked if it was a mistake. I assured the seller that I was the publisher, that I had an ample supply in storage and that I would be happy to supply more.

I never got an answer.

I contacted the seller of The Magical Amulet Bag Vol 2 who was trying to sell it for $310 with a proposal. I could supply NEW and SIGNED books for him to sell (why just sell an “acceptable” copy?) and we could agree to a profit spit.

Funny, I wonder why he didn’t take me up on it.

It is no longer available at that $310 price. I wonder if he sold it?

Seems to me, that there is a business to be had. Is there anyone out there who is interested in selling my books for me at an absolutely ridiculous price? Perhaps we could split 60/40? I will even sign them! Let me know. I could play dead, just like Paul McCartney did years ago, and create a stir that would get buyers out of the woodwork, and into a buying frenzy. Any takers? Let me know.

Do you find this to be unbelievable? Do you think I am making up stories for entertainment and the images to the right are fabricated? Then try it for yourself. Go to Amazon.com and type in my name: Sigrid Wynne-Evans (be sure to spell it correctly) and have a look! You may not find a $300 price tag, as those turn up only occasionally, but the $40-$50 ones are common.

Oh….I removed the seller names on the images to protect the ID, just incase they have had a change of heart, and wish to go into business with me.

I Hang My Head in Shame.

I really, really, really, hate to admit this. It is with great shame that I do. I should be banished from the bead world, have my beads taken away, thrown in a room with bars and tortured by having piles of beads just beyond my reach, with nothing else to do but yearn for them. Anything and everything related to beads should be taken from me and only under the closest of supervision should I be allowed to handle them.

I should be hand cuffed, arrested and placed under the jury of my peers and be charged with Bead Abuse. In particular abuse of finished beadwork.

It is only just a couple days before I will have my car packed and ready to travel from my home to Palo Alto CA, where I will do a show for the weekend. It is not a bead show, but a show of all sorts of wonderful art. I am always happy when I get into this show. It is one of the few shows I do since I work full time, logistically, I can only do about 4 shows a year (I would rather use my vacation time traveling to far off lands).

I do bead all year long, not just for shows, but also for the kits I make for sale, for classes I wish to teach, and for just plain fun and experimentation. I try to sell some of my beadwork on Etsy in addition to the few shows I do, but truth be told, I have a huge stock pile of earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and who knows what else. I actually have YEARS of beadwork. Some of it goes back at least 12 years. I have enough to fill up a 10 X 10 ft booth. No problem.

I don’t wear much beadwork. It just is not what I should be wearing as I am at construction sites, agricultural fields, and manufacturers during the course of my day job. And I rarely go out to somewhere where I can dress up and wear my work. So, the beadwork I have gets stored in boxes (except for my tapestries that are hung on my wall).

The beadwork I have for sale on Etsy, is separated out, my kit models are close at hand in my bead room, but the rest are in boxes in the garage. There is no room anywhere else to put them. Earrings, necklaces, and bracelets are in their cardboard coffins until just days before a show when I drag them out to see which ones are in need of being put on new cards (the sun bleaches the cards to the point where the outline of the earring can be seen), which ones need the earwires polished or replaced, and which have become so show worn that I cut out the expensive beads and toss the rest.

It is a ritual I do not like. It would help some if the pieces were handled a bit more gently during the booth break down at the close of a show. I am always in such desire to get home after a show, I tend to fling the earrings in the boxes with amazing speed. I do take more time with my expensive pieces, but even they take their share of abuse. And that is not even mentioning the wear some pieces get by the sticky, sweaty, grimy hands of the show-goers.

Invariably there are a few pairs of earrings that have come apart, beyond hope of repair, some have metal pieces so tarnished, they are black. The strung necklaces look like the cat wadded them up into a ball (I KNOW I laid them out straight in the box, so what gremlin did this?). Then there are other fatalities that would make the most hardened of you cry.

Yes, it is with great shame I admit this. I do not handle my beadwork with the respect and gentleness it deserves. But honestly, am I alone in this horrible treatment of my beadwork? Do any of you neglect your hard work as I have? Please tell me I am not alone in my shame.

Or am I really a freak in the beadworld? Am I truly in more need of help than I can imagine? Is there hope for me? Is there a support group for beadwork abusers such as myself?

With head hanging low, I am off to try to make amends with my poor pieces of beadwork to make sure they look good for this weekend’s show.

Hey…maybe I can claim I am testing my work for durability??!!

I Can Feel it in My Bones, and it IS NOT GOOD!!

The first envelope that came in the mail, I threw in the trash, despite the words “YOUR RESPONSE IS REQUIRED BY LAW”. I took the same attitude taught to me by my previous manager who did the same with his jury summons. This treatment of Jury Summons has worked for me too, in the past. I have learned from my day job, that to make the charges “stick” on something delivered by mail there has to be proof of delivery. You know...the green card, a signature. PROOF you got the stinkin' piece of mail.

The second envelope showed up a couple of weeks ago. It found the same home as the first.

Yesterday I got the third.

The offending envelopes were from the Census Bureau. No, not the one most might get asking how many people live in your household, how many times you have sex and how many times you flush the toilet. This one is geared towards Self Employed persons and Business Owners.

Ok FINE!! I will answer the #$%^^^&# questions. Just get off my back! AAARRRGGHH!!!!!

There are a whole slew of nosey assed questions, most of which do not apply to me. Most have to do with how many people own the company, trusts, employees, benefits paid to employees…..

My business is just me, part time, and no employees, no outside funding. Just me, and my beads and the computer. That’s it. Oh…ok, Lucy, my African Grey parrot often sits beside me as I bead to supervise me. She gets paid in treats. Does that count?

So, since this is the third time this friggen envelope came, I thought ok…I will answer it, just to prevent some gooney nosy guy with a pocket protector coming to my house and recording all my responses.

I grabbed my pen, and started slashing though the boxes, leaving some with no slashes. Damned if I know the answer to that question…or maybe I just don’t want you to know, Mr. Nosey Census Man.

Then on Page 8, I saw visions of the Apocalyptic Horseman. I suspected long ago that we would be heading this way. Only now, I can smell the stench of this putrid Horseman, I can feel his presence in every bone in my body.

Oh, it looks innocent at first glance. Just some demographics. I am a government employee, so I know that questions are often not what they seem at face value. There are four easy questions, multiple choices, two of which have “Yes”, “No” answers. Oh my dear fellow web business owners BEWARE no matter how small you are!! If you are honest about reporting your income, both to the State and Feds, then I would bet my last bead that my predictions of tax nightmare will hit you too.

The questions that raise the hackles on my back have to do with Internet sales. With every state in the nation suffering from budget cutbacks of one degree or another, the “lost” tax revenue on internet sales when made to out of state locations is significant.

Most of my sales are out of state. Not difficult to do. I live in one state, there are 49 others, and I have no “presence” in another state that would require me to collect sales taxes for any other state but the one I live in. I dutifully pay my business tax to the city I live in, sales and income tax to my state, and I dutifully pay income tax and self-employment tax on my bead related earnings to the Feds. I NEVER want to see an auditor. So I am dead on honest.

The thought of collecting and reporting sales tax to 49 more states in the manner in which I report to my own state is enough to make me scream! One such form is bad enough. I have always thought myself lucky since my reporting time coincides with my Income Tax reporting time, when I need to get it all to my accountant. I get it all done in one painful session.I noticed how much more paperwork there is to the State Sales Tax form. What the heck happened to the Reduced Paperwork Policy that was put in place some years ago?

Since every penny we spend, and every penny we earn is so easily traceable, don’t even consider lying. Don’t consider saying you mailed your items to NY when you sent them to CA. Gee wiz. Even my postage receipts state where my mailings went. So unless I stash a bunch of stamps, I couldn’t even make that up.

Yes the Tax Man Cometh, you can’t run and you can’t hide. I only hope to keep the Census Man away. Perhaps by not following the directions and making a nice little neat “X” in the boxes, my huge slashes will confuse him enough, make him think I am a crazy angry lady and he won’t come knocking at my door!

Oh, Can You See??

I had the nicest phone call the other day from one of my customers. She called because she wanted help and ideas for a project she was beading using one of my patterns. She was so excited with her plans, that it was hard not to get caught up in her excitement.

I would not have guessed from the youthful enthusiasm that her voice carried that she is 74 years young! I say young, because a spirit like hers can never become old. What a delight and inspiration she is.

As I am gearing up for a show this weekend, she makes me think of so many people who have come to my booth at past shows, and some of their comments. People in their 30’s and 40’s often exclaiming “How can you work with such tiny beads? Don’t your eyes HURT?” “I could NEVER do that! The beads are too tiny!!”

At a show where I sell my finished jewelry I am happy to have visitors who either cannot or do not have the desire to bead. They are the ones who will buy earrings, or other pieces from me. Good luck selling beadwork to a beader, right??

At a show where I am selling my kits and books, it leaves me scratching my head. These shows are BEAD shows!! Why are they here? Sure seed beads are small. I work mostly in Delicas, size 11 seed beads and size 14 seed beads. But really, why do these people even come to a bead show, where there is very little finished jewelry?

Oh sure, these might be the stringers, the collectors and admirers of lampworked beads. But even with the so-called larger beads, you need to see them! You need to see the thread or wire needed to string them, you need to be able to see the detail of the lampworked bead to appreciate the artistry and quality. I wonder if they noticed that the crimp beads they use are also quite small.

I used to try to encourage these seed bead fearing people. I would tell them that glasses, magnifiers and good lighting really help. And that I know several “young” women in their 70’s and 80’s who not only bead, but love doing my large tapestry patterns. After a while, I just could not stand to see the embarrassment in their poor non-focusing eyes.

Actually, what I think, is that it is not the small size of the bead that they fear, but rather their tiny attention span. Seed bead work demands time and attention that stringing and putting beads on a head pin do not. Don’t get me into a debate as to whether or not stringing is really beading!! HA!! That is a whole other issue for another time.

These poor souls have not discovered the meditative bliss these tiny bits of glass can provide. They have not discovered how these tiny beads can exclude all the noise, the worries and troubles that bombard your every day life. When you REALLY get into it, isn’t it just you and your beloved tiny beads? Don’t you forget everything else because you become more focused, and more happy than you have been during the rest of your troublesome day? Beading with seed beads is pure escapism. It is safer, more socially acceptable, but maybe not cheaper than other forms of escape that people are known to reach for. I would bet it even helps to lower blood pressure!

Now, when someone comes to my booth claiming that vision problems prevents them from ever playing with those tiny beads, I just smile and wait for them to wander away. I have learned that they wander off rather quickly because their attention span is as short as the focal length of their eyes. And for a moment, I take joy in their admiration for doing something that seems impossible to them, perhaps in the same way as I think when I see the acrobats in Cirque de Soleil.

All in all, I admit, it is a good thing that not everyone loves to bead. And better yet that those who do, not all like to play with the seed beads. It leaves more for the rest of us to play with, to discover, and to enjoy.

So…off I go to bead. Just where did I put my glasses and magnifier?? J

It's Mine, All Mine.....and You Can't Have it!

I was going to leave this for “The Cracked Bead” (www.beadedbear.com) but decided to put this on my new blog. What the heck. Besides, spewing my wacko thoughts here gives you the opportunity to chime in too. Let me stir up some controversy, and ruffle some feathers right at the start. Who really cares about what I am doing on a day to day basis (I just don’t get the Face Book thing with everyone talking about every bowel movement they have). Do you really think I am afraid to take a stance? Even here where you can throw putrid cyber – tomatoes at me? NAH!!! Not me!! I hope you will enjoy(?) my new way of continuing with “The Cracked Bead”.

First let me get some disclaimers out of the way. I am not an attorney. I do not give legal advice. Even when I am paraphrasing an attorney, do not take it for legal advice on any level. Consult your own attorney if you want a solid answer on an issue. I can give you a referral if you like. If you are going to quote my writing as legal advice, do not read on, OK?? Agreed? Then read at your own peril. Also, I am not naming any individual or big business. Any likeness is to an individual, or a company well known or otherwise is done by your own leap of faith and your own imagination. I am not naming anyone. Don’t even ask who I might be writing about.

I belong to a website where I sell some of my beadwork, as do many other artists of various disciplines. It is a nice site that has some very nice work. Anyone can see it, anyone can buy from it, and nearly anyone selling handmade items can sell there.

One of my fellow sellers came all unglued not too long ago. And I don’t blame her in the least. I would have too. I might have dug in my heels a bit more and argued the point on principle if not the shaky legalities, but she understandably succumbed to the demands of an entity much bigger than herself, indeed much bigger than most of us lowly types.

A large behemoth publication contacted her and like a nasty cobra struck at her with venom in its fangs. “YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF OUR COPYRIGHTS” it snarled. “Read section 18476 paragraph 987, subsection 39, sentence 20. It says you may look at said article only. Do not even try to make the project”.

Ok, I exaggerate a tad, but the message was clear. DO NOT EVEN THINK OF SELLING ITEMS MADE FROM THIS PUBLICATION. YOU ARE GUILTY RIGHT AT THE START. DO NOT EVEN TRY TO PROVE YOUR INNOCENCE.

It never occurred to the writer of the email from that behemoth publication that perhaps this person had permission from the designer of the project to sell the item. It never occurred to the writer that maybe the best way to handle this situation was to contact the designer FIRST to ask if it was ok for the crafter to sell this project made (and somewhat altered, AND having given credit to the designer in the description). No, my fellow merchant was guilty until proven innocent. I am sure that once the behemoth publication publishes the directions to a project, they own it lock stock and barrel. Perhaps even the designer needs permission to use her own article.

Sheesh….an armed robber gets better treatment.

This poor lady was so upset. The wrinkle in the whole thing was she DID ask permission from the few designers whose projects she worked up. And each said “yes”.

But oddly one Designer just couldn’t remember giving “permission”. Convenient, don’t you think….. And apparently this Designer was a vocal protester regarding the use of her designs. Perhaps this Designer was the thrust in this ridiculous situation as I can not imagine that the originator of the email alleging a copyright violation trolling around looking for things like that.

Luckily my fellow seller kept the email with the express permission to use the project in the manner in which was used. But apparently that did little to jar the memory of the Designer.

Being a Designer myself, with several published books, more Magazine articles than I can count (even though most were in a now defunct Magazine that few seemed to read), plus selling my own designs in numerous outlets I can understand the pitfalls of giving carte blanche to crafters to do what they wish. If you have read The Cracked Bead, I am sure you remember my most memorable events concerning “identity theft”. But with that said, I can’t help but wonder…JUST WHY DO DESIGNERS MAKE THEIR DESIGNS AVAILABLE??

Ok here is why and why I think its bunk.

1. YIPPIE!!! I am published!!

So what! You have gotten your $200-$300 for your article. Just how many people really remember your name anyways, unless you are one of the current darlings of the craft world you belong to.

2. WOW!! Now I am with the “IN” Crowd! I am right beside Gertrude Hotshot Designer. I have arrived!

Sure, and if you share the same public toilet with Gertrude, you might even get to sit in the same stench. Really, get a grip. It is NOT as glamorous as it seems. And who really cares? Maybe your family and a few close friends will share your excitement, but after an issue, much like bad Chinese Food after an hour, the memory of it will be in oblivion.

3. Now I will become a teacher in High demand!

Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe no one will really care to make your project. I still remember one memorable cover on a publication that EVERYONE claimed the project looked like psychedelic excrement of a 4-legged animal. NO ONE wished to do that project. If they do wish to make your project, and if it is well written, then perhaps they won’t even need a teacher. Being published is not a guarantee of anything.

4. I LOVE sharing my discoveries!

Hopefully this extends beyond the printed page, and you will allow someone to actually make the project and DARE I SAY IT?? Sell an item made from your directions.

I think it is a rare beader who does not one day hope to sell an item she made. Most beaders are not designers. Thankfully so, otherwise I will no longer have the bulk of my business. I understand this, fully. In fact, I EXPECT it. I do get many emails from beaders who go through the trouble to ask me permission. I am always touched by this. I have always said yes with minor conditions, or more aptly put, hopes:

1. To give me credit when possible. (this was another topic in The Cracked Bead)

2. Not to have a booth/online store with only my designs, or to mass produce in any way.

3. To ask a price that is reflective of both of our talents, and to honor other beaders who try to make a living with their art, so as not to undercut us with third world prices.

In an article that I co-wrote with a prominent Copyright Attorney many years ago, we covered sales of items made from a publication. He stated that this should be expected on a small level. The so called “pin money”. To have a project in a publication, this permission is somewhat implied despite wording to the contrary. It is the degree to which this is done that can be challenged. One person selling a few items from a publication or two, giving proper credit should not, in my humble opinion, be in the cross hairs of a bazooka gun, threatening death, no matter how polite the death threat may be.

Further more, the projects in question in the scenario above, could arguably have been called a “technique” or a “method”. Neither of which are copyrightable.

In my opinion, the main problem is with what the internet has become. Its fingers are long reaching. It is possible for you to sell items worldwide. It is possible for many people to sell the same project in numerous websites with high visibility. Gone are the days when the likely person to sell a craft item made from a publication were limited in reach, and in visibility. Because of this, I can understand the stance of the behemoth publisher and the panic of a possessive, insecure designer. You gotta put out the fire while it is small, and controllable.

But for me, again, I have to say, to some degree, I do expect that beaders will want to make items from my patterns and others available and sell them. If I do not want to risk the chance that this activity with my items will occur, then I simply will not sell the pattern/article.

For those of you who wish to make and sell items from publications of any type, please do ask the designer. Keep that written permission. You will never know when you need it. And if that permission is not given, voice your unhappiness the way any consumer would. Don’t buy it!