Last week I and a zillion other bead heads were in Milwaukee for the largest bead consumer show in the world. It was my second year attending and I felt a little more at home, knowing a lot of the faces from last year, the agenda and the floor plans of the event. I've been back home five days now and I'm still digesting what I saw/fondled/drooled over and who I met/laughed with/hugged.
It is still very odd to me that I kind of get treated like a rock star, with people wanting to meet me, have their picture taken with me and even get my autograph (which I find highly amusing). It's like living in an alternate reality for a week. And I do my share of hero worshipping as I meet designers who have influenced and inspired my work....and maybe I'll get an autograph if I buy a designer's book :) This year the person who made my head explode was Diane Fitzgerald who sat and played with my motion pieces, chatting with me about what I do and the whole designing/teaching thing....oh...I held it together and behaved like an adult until she left and then I bounced up and down like a two year old. I mean.....that was the Grande Dame of Beading and she liked my stuff!!
I had my latest designs on show....the Put a Ring On It rotator cuff, and the upcoming Tilt-A-Whirl, Maypole and Skelter pendants. A little boy, about 1 yr old, was completely taken with Tilt....his eyes lit up and he swirled and tilted it gleefully, giggling when he got it to move....that was the moment I thought "I design toys" :)
I didn't to take as much video as I would have liked but I did manage to capture some of the craziness.....waiting for the showroom to open. Now be warned the video is a little 'hectic' and 'all over the place' but that's sort of what it's like while you're waiting for the doors to open. So many people, so much eye candy...you don't know where to look and of course the hustle and bustle of everyone else looking too. I do think I captured the feel of it...well...my feelings, yours may be different :)
And of course the stash I came away with .....it did take four days to accumulate this haul.
The show was brilliant! Do go if you can, you won't regret it.
A shopped out Mikki!
