Hawaii

We have always been fortunate to be welcomed with open arms by beaders in Hawaii. Hawaiians are a special kind of people. You don't have to look far to see that these days, with Barack Obama being the first Hawaiian President of the United States. There is just something so unique, open minded, honest and kind about the Hawaiian culture. Our love for Hawaii and the Hawaiian people is the reason for the Soft Flex Company Glass Art & Bead Festival in Honolulu twice a year. When we were approached by the Best Bead Show to purchase their Spring & Fall shows, we were more than happy to take over. The show had a good following thanks to Jenny, Lewis & Kathy's hard work and we already knew and loved so many of the bead shop owners and designers in the area. Next weekend, we will host another SFC Glass Art & Bead Festival in Honolulu.

Jenny sent me a nice article from the Star Bulletin, a newspaper in HI. It is about a bead store that always helps us to promote the show via postcards, signs and such - Bead it, owned by Brendan & Jill Barry. Bead it is only one of the many stores that support our efforts in HI as well as sell our products in their store. This article presents a nice profile of their store and store manager. Read and enjoy!

Soft Flex Company Glass Art & Bead Festival - Honolulu, HI

LOCATION
Ward Warehouse on the Second Floor
1050 Ala Moana Blvd - Honolulu, HI 96814

SHOW TIMES
Friday, 10am - 6pm
Saturday, 10am - 6pm
Sunday, 11am - 5pm

SHOPPING
March 6 - 8, 2009 and September 25 - 27, 2009
Juried Show of 30+ Exhibitor Spaces
Beads, Gemstones, Findings, Collectible Glass Art & Jewelry
A truly exciting bead shopping Extravaganza

EXPERIENCE HAWAII
Oahu is the most popular of the Hawaiian Islands and it is easy to understand why. There is so much to do on Oahu! You can explore the legendary North Shore of Oahu, snorkel at Hanauma Bay, skydive at Mokuleia while daydreamers can relax peacefully on the beach. Exquisite dining and exciting nightlife also entice people to Oahu again and again. It is clear that Oahu offers just the right amount of diversity for its visitors.

Beads & Botanicals in Nebraska

I came across a very nice blog entry today about beading wire from a bead store owner in Nebraska, Beads & Botanicals. I was sad to see that she is retiring her business as she seemed quite knowledgeable and her website suggested to me that she has a lovely store in person. It was nice to see that she suggested Soft Flex Wire as one of a few brands that she sells. She said nice things about all of the brands, here is what she had to say about Soft Flex Wire.

"I find Softflex to be a bit more soft and flexible (hence the name of the product)."

If you live in Nebraska and want to check out a great bead store, please stop in at Beads & Botanicals. The retirement sale will begin on March 10, and they will close sometime in April. Their website will have an update once a closing date is determined. In an email to me, Carla had this to say:

"Since our announcement of this news last week, our inventory is already going out the door at a very fast pace at regular prices. The retirement sale may not last long into April. One of the first things I ran out of was Softflex! :-) We do still have a very nice selection that would be especially fresh and interesting to those who have not shopped with us before."

"We've had a remarkable run for a specialty bead shop in out state Nebraska. I run the shop by myself, so it is a 55-hour work week every week--but that streamlined organization has allowed the shop to remain profitable even in these challenging times. And I love what I do. I am blessed to be choosing to retire the business instead of having to make the decision due to outside pressures as so many businesses are required to do these days."

"The durability and reliability of Softflex has been an important part of Beads and Botanicals reputation for quality products. I'm proud to operate a place where beginners and experienced beaders can create something special that will last for years. "

Downtown - Hastings Nebraska

Tuesday: 9:30 - 5:30
Wednesday: 9:30 - 5:30
Thursday: 9:30 - 8:00
Friday: 9:30 - 5:30
Saturday: 9:00 - 4:00
Closed on Sundays & Mondays

Today's Creative Home Arts

Recently, we sent out 1,000, 5ft free sample spools of Soft Touch Wire in .019/Medium to be be tested by the Creative Home Arts Club. Since then, it was tested and overwhelmingly approved for recommendation by Creative Home Arts Club. They are featuring our premium Soft Touch Wire in their March/April issue of the magazine. I've always knows that Soft Touch is the best, but it certainly is nice to see close to a 1,000 people confirm it! :)

I'll post comments once I get all of the surveys back in my hands.

Trios featured on About.com

Tammy Powley over at about.com shared our new Soft Flex Trios with her loyal following.

Amongst other things, Tammy said, "Each roll contains 10 feet of wire, so a Trios package has a total of 30 feet. Even if you don't plan to use all three colors together in one jewelry design, what I think is nice about packaging these together is that you can get a small amount of wire in lots of different colors rather than having to purchase larger amounts of one color and having to spend a lot more to get more colors."

Thank you Tammy, we think the packaging was a great idea too. We want everyone to be able to try using colors.

Social Networking

The genius of social networking just continues to grow and grow. I got to watch a nice interview on Charlie Rose today and thought I'd share the highlights with you.

Thank you!

Another big thanks goes out to Charlene from Gray Girl Studios for posting about our new eco-friendly wire. Charlene has written several wonderful articles for our Spotlight section on the www.Softflexcompany.com website. In fact, she has been participating since the beginning. She has always been such a wonderful designer to work with....

Taking pictures of your jewelry
Working with metals
Where and how to sell your jewelry
How to stay inspired
Recycled jewelry art
The right tool for the right job
What to do with left over beads

First Glass Beads

My first glass teacher.

My first flame.

I made my first glass beads today on a real live torch with the help of the lovely and ever so patient Lori Greenberg at Friends & Fire Z Art Studio in Peoria, AZ. I had to leave them behind to anneal, but when I get them back - I'll show you. They are the most pathetic little beads, I'm sure. But they are mine and I made them. Poor Lori told me to make a round bead, I made a barrel bead. Then she told me to make a barrel bead, I made a round bead. She was very patient and a wonderful teacher. I'm excited that they have open torch for a reasonable price. I can stop in during a scheduled time slot and only pay $5-$10 plus glass $ for an hour of torch time. So, I look forward to going back and maybe working on the basics. I have to say, I really just had fun today. THANK YOU LORI!

See what my friends are up to this week:

Jamie Hogsett got some pretty new beads in Tucson.

Kristen Fagan created a sweet "why i love you" card for her valentine.

Thank you!

A big thank you to Avogana at "A Beading Blog" for the lovely post about our new eco-friendly wire and ever growing aspiration to become a more environmentally friendly company! And thank you to everyone that has been so supportive! We have a ways to go, but each department is looking more and more at where we can do better, be more resourceful and less wasteful in our daily process. Just today I spoke with each owner, Mike & Scott about our shipping dept and how we can start thinking toward the future and how we can make changes to follow our new train of thought. It helps to have received so much support in this new endeavor and to work for such forward thinking bosses. As for the wire, whether eco-friendly or not, I think that everyone just loves how soft and flexible the new Extreme Wire is. It really is unique.

A big thank you to Andrew Thornton for posting about our new Trios wire (picture above from Andrew's blog). In such a colorful craft, why not use colored beading wire. The Trios let you try 3 colors in 10ft spools for practically the same price as one color in a 30ft spool. The 10 new Soft Flex colors are really pretty. Just for my own personal use, I picked up 30ft spools in Peridot, Pink Tourmaline, Spinel, Tanzanite & Garnet.

To get the best of both world's, there is a Trio in our eco-conscious new Extreme wire. Check out our EXTREME TRIO!

If you'd like to spread the word and post a link to our new environmental info or our new focus on color on your blog, please feel free. Drop me an email (Sara@SoftFlexCompany.com) or a comment right here on my blog and I will be sure to link back to you to return the favor.

"A Beading Blog" reminded me that I should also point out the contest/giveaway that is currently running on Bead & Button's website. The contest runs until March 31st. You can win a large assortment of beading wire that I personally chose just for you. You had better sign up to win! :)

CraftGossip link

It is so nice to see some of our new free project ideas for the Trios getting out and about online. A huge thank you to Barbe Saint John at the CraftGossip Blog Network for her post about the Jamie Hogsett's Serenity Earrings. If you haven't had a chance to look, Jamie has created a fun free project idea in earrings and a necklace for every new Trio.

Free Project Necklaces
Free Project Earrings

Dr. Laura on "You Tube"

For many years, Soft Flex Company has been the wire manufacturer of choice for Dr. Laura. She is so very sweet in person and designs jewelry strictly for charity. I was given a link today to a video series that she put together on youtube.com. In the 3rd segment ("The Creative Process") of her "Jewelry Series" she names our product and company by name as her wire of choice. Although this didn't surprise me as I spoken with her several times over the years, I thought it might be nice to share with all of you. You can see her stockpile of Soft Flex wire brands on the right side of her studio table - looks very similar to mine but far more organized. I definitely need her to come over here and alphabetize my stones. Wow! Woudn't that be nice!? She has raised $125,00-150,000 annual, over $1,000, 000 total for Operation Family Fund. Their mission: To assist the injured and families of the those who have been injured or killed as a part of the Global War on Terrorism, whether domestic or abroad, military or civilian, with financial grants for transitioning to their new circumstances and achieving financial self-sufficiency.

An update

First and foremost, here is an interesting tidbit from NPR on the Tucson Gem Show. From personal experience this year, our show had traffic. I heard some artists say, "This was my best Tucson." I heard others complain that the economy really hit them hard. I think the key to Tucson 2009 was to make sure that y0u had a new and special products. I noted that the exhibitors with new products & new marketing seemed to do the best. If an exhibitor brought the same old gemstones that you can get from them every year or can walk 3 tables away and find somewhere else had a more difficult time. I think this is true just about every year but the market was under a microscope this year due to the recession. And although it would be helpful if the freeway would get finished and if the city could be a little bit more user friendly, I do not believe that the city of Tucson is at fault if shows saw slower sales.

First Glass Class

YAY! I just signed up for my first glass bead making class. I've been saying that I'll take a class for years and have been offered tutorials by friends far and wide. Jenny Wilson has offered so many times that it would be hard to count. I'm taking "Beginning Glass Bead Making" from Lori Greenberg right here in Phoenix, AZ at Fire & Friends Z Art Studio. The class is 4 hours long and will take place a week from now, next Friday morning. YAY! I'm so excited. Don't worry Jenny, I might still take you up on a class too. You are just a little bit too far away for immediate gratification.

I'm taking the afternoon off to get a jump start on the weekend. I finally scheduled my deep tissue massage that was a gift from Josh in May 2008 for my birthday. Sheesh - took long enough. I figured this was a good time. So, I will be very relaxed later this afternoon. I'm dropping Honey off for grooming. I'm getting her shaved again. I was shocked when they did it on accident last year. But, I found that it was a lot easier to keep the house clean. I think that I'm going to try it again. And then, I need to go pick out Josh's valentine's day present. Valentine's day is special for us because it is also very near our anniversary of our first date. We have now been dating for 2 years. I adore him.

See what my friends are up to this week:

Jamie Hogsett loves the new Trio sets!

Kristen Fagan visited the Best Bead Show in Tucson.

First "Green" Beading Wire!

We are so very excited to show the world the FIRST "green" beading wire. This innovative technology is a Soft Flex exclusive and is currently available in 24K Gold. It will also be available in 925 Sterling Silver & Champagne. Let me tell you a little secret, it is FLEXIBLE. Try it. Compare it to what you use now. I promise you will thank me later. Your local bead store can stock our new products through our valued distributors, Foreign Source (Providence, RI), John Bead (Toronto, Canada), Eurotool (Grandview, MO) or directly from Soft Flex Company (Sonoma, CA). Ask for this product by name and look for the little green logo pictured above on the label.

To read more about this cutting edge technology and all of our "green" practices, stop by our website!

There are a lot of beading wire manufacturers out there these days. I dare each and every one of them to try to keep up with our cutting edge technology and passion for beading. It is easy to follow. It is easy to copy. It is harder to lead. We are in the business of leading and are flattered that so many find the need to follow. We were the first wire manufacturer with 21 & 49 strand beading wire, the first & only wire manufacturer with a truly knottable steel beading wire, the first to bring silver and gold to market at Miami Bead Expo and are the first with a "green" beading wire. We are only on the precipice of what we are capable of here at Soft Flex Company. So you might ask, what's in it for me? By us taking the lead, we create unique products at a quality level that cannot be matched. I can't count how many designers say to me each and every day that they ONLY use our wire. Of course, I always agree - "Me TOO!" - but I am biased afterall. All kidding aside, there are a lot of choices out there. Try ours and then try all of theirs too. I'm confident that you will make the same choice that I make everyday, one of our many Soft Flex beading wire brands. Click here to see just a few of the many testimonials that are offered to us regularly. If you'd like to give us a testmonial; I will most definitely post it on my blog. Please email Sara@softflexcompany.com or just leave your comment on this blog entry.

Can you tell that I'm excited...proud.....happy? Yep, I am all of these things. I work for a really great company, with thoughtful and creative owners and we just launched several REALLY cool products. What more can a girl ask for?

Handmade Nation

I was reminded of one of my favorite parts of CHA today in my "Bust" Magazine e-newsletter. The Indie Craft section was wonderful. I thought that it was very forward thinking and progressive of CHA to focus on this smaller but growing group of crafters. When I stopped by Faythe Levine was spending some time sharing her video and her new book. To learn more about Handmade Nation visit their blog. You can learn more about Faythe by visiting her blog. I added this to my fave blogs so that I can keep tabs on her because she is sure to do great things for the craft industry. Both the book and the movie looked very interesting.

My 10th Tucson Bead Show

Hello. I'm finally home, sitting on my own couch next to my own dog. I'm exhausted. From early morning breakfast meetings, a 60+ foot booth to jog up and down all day to evening parties and dinner meetings, Tucson is just a lot. I'm over stimulated.

Regardless, it was nice to see everyone. I really enjoyed the Swarovski party, as well as the party for Lewis Wilson. He turned 60 this year and he sold the Best Bead Show to a new owner. So, it was nice to celebrate how important he has been in our industry. He helped to create and then mold a movement of glass artists.

I enjoyed spending time with our distributors: John Bead, Foreign Source & Eurotool. Talk about some great companies. I've spent time with all 3 over this past 6 months and was excited to see them all again. There are some major things that these companies have in common other than selling Soft Flex products. All 3 companies have long term employees who speak highly of the owners. All 3 companies use honesty and integrity as a cornerstone in how they do business. All 3 companies have thoughtful and generous owners. I'm really happy with the team of distributors that we have put together.

Here are a few pictures from set up. I wanted to show you just how much work goes into each and every one of our show set ups - this being the biggest one of the year.



This is the truck that Craig fell off of. I've been getting a lot of requests for an update. The last I saw him, he was rolling around the Viscount Hotel in a wheel chair. He shattered both major bones in his leg. He is flying home with the crew tomorrow and then will have surgery. I'll keep everyone posted.

We share a truck with Arrow Springs. We put all of our products into totes and boxes and then organize them on several palettes.

All of us take apart the palettes and bring in the totes and boxes on handcarts. There are tons of boxes and they are all fairly heavy depending on which products are in them. Gemstones aren't light, neither is steel cored wire or tools. Here's Joann & Jamie working hard.

We separate into teams and go to work. Organizing all of those totes and boxes can take awhile. Set up this year was especially hard. Craig packs our shows and Scott directs and lists what is to be packed. With both of them at the hospital, it took extra long to get things going and organized.


Kim e. is our team leader for getting our gemstones packed and unpacked for the shows. She makes sure that our stones are handled with care so that when you come to shop, the stones are still in great condition. Some vendors will just throw their beads into a tote and go - we bubble, bubble, bubble wrap everything. We treat every strand just as we would if we owned it ourselves.

And then things start to come together and look pretty.

Jean Campbell stopped by the booth with Betsey from Beyond Beadery. It is always nice to see friends that you haven't seen in a long time. Jean is such a joy to be around. She radiates goodness.

The new gold looked fantastic. It is so fun to see designer's eyes light up when they see it on the shelf...so many possibilities. It was also nice to see the look on their faces when they ran their fingers over the actual wire. There is no gold or silver beading wire on the market that is as flexible, soft & supple as our new & improved "green" Extreme wire. It is gorgeous & eco-friendly, how can you beat that?! Needless to say, we sold a lot!

We had lots of visitors. Kristen & Bert-o (SFC marketing staff) stopped in on Friday to check out the show. Damien (sfc marketing staff) & Mark stopped by on Saturday & Sunday. I didn't get a picture of them this time around. Josh came down from Phoenix to meet Scott & Mike for the first time. Being that they are as close as family, it was very nice to finally get to introduce him to them. We had a very nice dinner at El Charro.


And as the sun set on my 10th year in Tucson, I have to comment that I had a nice trip. I suppose the aches, pains and sleepiness must all be worthwhile. I just wanted to note that Tucson was far busier than I had anticipated. I foresee good things happening in our industry for 2009. So, don't let the economy worry you. Stay creative, work hard and definitely explore new possibilities. There is still money out there to spend and many fellow exhibitors even commented to me that this was their BEST Tucson ever. :)

Do you ever have "one of those days"???

That was my day today....

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and nothing seemed to go exactly right. Although there were many great and wonderful possibilities today, I was tied down by the numerous inconsequential happenings that just were not quite right. From interactions at the show, to the mushroom sauce that I dropped down the front of my dress at the fancy Swarovski party to my blue lips from the cake at Lewis' surprise party...it was just really one thing right after another. Did I have fun today? Yes. Did I come close to tears a few times? Yes. Do I feel a little overworked and perhaps exhausted, YES! But all in all, isn't that what Tucson is really about? It is an opportunity waiting to happen. One chance meeting can create a connection or friendship or partnership that can last for many years. And without the exhaustion and the oddities, it just wouldn't be Tucson. So, I am putting today and the unfortunate and consistent bad luck behind me. Tomorrow is a new day full of new possibilities and I am ready to grab onto it and run. Also, tomorrow brings Josh & possibly Honey to Tucson. Nothing is better than having my two faves by my side. Josh is ever amazing and supportive...Honey is the best dog a girl could ever have!

PS - I'd load pictures, but the internet connection is JUST AWFUL. It just won't allow it. I'm taking pictures. So, I'll definitely have a few good ones to share when I get home.

Set up Best Bead Show in Tucson

Set up is always one of the most exhausting days. It is a lot of lifting and bending and stretching and using every single muscle that you have in your body. Today was especially difficult because we had one of our Soft Flex'ers fall off the back end of our truck. Craig (or as I usually call him - "Craigers") is in the hospital and might even require surgery. We all feel awful for him. So Scott (owner of SFC) took him to the emergency room and stayed with him all afternoon long. Craigers broke his leg in several places, poor guy! Scott is sort of the brains of this Tucson operation. He has the whole schematic planned out...in his head. So when he had to rush off with Craig, we were all left scratching our heads and trying to pull it together to get things done. It took a little while to reorganize, but we of course all did. In the end our booth turned out lovely. I wanted to share with you a few pictures of the chaos as we set up. I also wanted you to see a snippet of just how hard we work to set up our booth so that everyone can come through and learn how to make their beading dreams come true. However, my internet connection is making it near impossible to upload photos. ANNOYING! I will have to try again later in the week or next week when I get home.

Tomorrow is opening day - Yay! Wish us luck!

Don't worry!

I still am a Soft Flex'er. I spent the past 2 days in the Foreign Source booth at the To Bead True Blue show in Tucson. I can't count the double takes that I received by friends as they walked in the room and saw me in an entirely different booth with an entirely different company. I saw many looks of shock. "No..no...no. I still work for Soft Flex. Foreign Source is one of our U.S. distributors. I'm here to support them and our product line."


Tomorrow is set up time for the Best Bead Show. All of us Soft Flex'ers will be working long and hard to put together an unbelievable booth for learning, shopping and creating your perfect jewelry designs. I'm very excited.

And if you can't make it to Tucson:

Trios are on sale now!

Extreme 24K Gold on sale now!