Beads, beads, beads & a dog

So I'm back again. I've been slowly (and sometimes rapidly) expanding my bead collection and beading supplies. I've found a couple of great shops on Ebay and I order a few things every couple weeks. I think I've tripled the amount of beads I started the year with. I've mostly ordered natural stone, Czech glass (new and vintage), vintage crystal and artisan lampworked beads. I've found lampworking so fascinating that I picked up a starter kit but I need special safety glasses to work with a torch before I can take my kit for a test run. Very exciting!

I'm seriously considering starting an IndieGoGo campaign to fund all the growth that Gold & Apel needs to do. I need better tools, more materials, a solid web presence, marketing materials AND a stuff to go to market with! It's my dream to vend at the Bayou City Art Festival which is one of the top 10 fine art festivals in the US and the costs associated with applying ($500 booth fee) and purchasing a tent and all my display items is really prohibitive to me right now.

Jewelry-making is really exciting to me right now and I adore the pieces I've been turning out lately. I've got a small stash together so far. I've also been practicing my black & white and color drawing. And I had a gallery exhibit for some of my encaustic paintings. So things haven't been hum or drum around here. Just working out of my house, working in my studio...oh, and my husband and I adopted a pit bull from a rescue group and babying her also takes up a lot of my time. Her name is Frieda and she is a pit bull/black Labrador mix. She's as cute as a button and about as smart as one, too! I adore her!

Here's my Fritter!