June 4, 2006
Spent the day yesterday at the Edina (Minnesota) Art Fair. Lots of goodies to look at. On the jewelry front, from bead stringing to fine jewelry, something for every taste. One of the more interesting uses of natural materials I saw was a woman who had wire-wrapped birch bark! Truly unique, birch bark makes me think of northern Minnesota (where we spent a great deal of time as kids).
After the Art Fair, we took a short side trip to The Bead Monkey, a favorite Minnesota bead store…I picked up some great glow-in-the-dark beads that I’d gotten last year. The beads are clear glass, with a colored center and phosperescent flecks which give off a gentle glow. Simply string on a 7-strand beading wire (I use black), add a clasp and you have an instant necklace that’s really hot with teens. With the weight of the glass bead, the 7-strand is really best for keeping the shape of the necklace. I made a couple dozen of these last year for a county fair and they sold like hot cakes! At .45/bead, the beads are expensive, but use sparingly so the cost is kept at a reasonable level.
Next stop was a new store for us – Bead Hive, a cute shop with some interesting naturals in their stock. No web site 
but if you are in the Minneapolis area (54th and Nicollete), be sure to check them out.
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