Gleaning The Unique, Odd and Ancient from Bead Fest

by Staci L. Smith 

 

 

 

This was my second time to Bead Fest Philly, and I enjoyed every minute of it.  If you want to read about the fun I had just getting together with all the creative ladies, and checking out all my friends booths, click here and here.

Bead Swap with beady friends 

Bead Fest is so huge, and vast, and offers a lot of everything, it can easily be overwhelming.  I usually have a little list of things to check out, and the rest of the time, I browse for things I cannot find anywhere else.  I hunt for unique oddities to include in my work.

Here is an overall picture of the items I picked up.

 

The first place I found such items was Hands of the Hills.  They always have an array of ancient treasures.  I started out by picking up more antique brass bells (these used to be worn in large collars so they all jingled against one another). I fell in love with the ones I got in the spring, so I picked up more.

 

 

 

 I also found these little Chinese Buddha charms, and I just fell in love with them.  They are all carved in stone, or cast in metal, and bezel set.  You can tell they are old, and worn………I think what drew me to them was how worn they are, like someone loved them, and treasured them, and touched them all the time.  I also got some cute little wheels, that I was told is the wheel of dharma.  I was clueless, but thankfully the guy running the booth, and my friend, were very knowledgeable on these things. 

 

I got a couple large, heavy brass charms, both dragon serpents eating their tales.  I loved the bold statement they make.  The brass is so heavy, and already has some natural patina on it.  Here is a link to wiki that talks about these Ouroboros.

 

I also picked up a few prayer scroll tubes.  I really liked the shape, the weight, and the artistry.  I wish I knew what they said, but whatever it is, I am sure it meant a lot to someone.  It was personal, and I hope to use them in pieces that will once again speak deeply to someone in some way. 

 

Hands of the Hills also had these fossilized sea urchins.  I grabbed 10.  I can’t wait to use these in my designs.  Fossils and stones have always been a love of mine.  These did not disappoint.

It’s so funny how you can walk around bead fest, and begin to only see what your eyes and heart are drawn too. I couldn’t tell you how many Swarovski crystal places were there, or seed bead booths, because I didnt' even see them, but I started to see ancient things everywhere.  Beads and items of tradition and meaning.

I picked up an antique brass metal stamp / mold.  They seemed to be all over at the show.  Apparently, they are from the Northern Afghanistan, Southern Pakistan region.  They were used by placing thin sheets of metal over top with rubber backing and hammering the pattern into the metal.

I think I picked up the stamp with the deepest relief I could find.  However, I am wishing I have picked up more. 

 The shop with the largest selection of these was Silk Road Treasures.  I thoroughly enjoyed shopping here.  The owners were very knowledgeable about all their wares, friendly, and helpful.  They allowed me to take lots of pictures of the treasures, and answered all my quesitons about them.

Here are the brass stamp plates, look at all that texture and pattern. 

 

Hanging in the back is roman glass.

 

These wood pieces, that I thought were some kind of tool, turned out to be cattle pendants. 

Cattle would be watched by one person, who would take them to the hills to graze, so when they returned, the owners needed a way to know their cattle, so they would nail some sort of ID to each pendant.  (I like this method much better than the thought of branding.) 

 

Then there were the woodcut print blocks.  These blocks were typically used to apply dyes or wax to fabric, often used in batik.  They had three baskets to dig through, and I found a few I had to have.  The small size blocks, (which are actually quite big to use with my metal clay) will work well with copper clay, since it has a high shrinkage rate.

These were the ones that I picked.

 

I also met someone named Kia, who had the most amazing little table of treasures.  In the wide world of gemstone beads at the show, she had the most unique stones, and they were all hand cut.  I fell in love with this strand of Heliodor and these fossil beads. 

She was as unique as the beads she sold, and I loved the passion she has for the stones. 

 Kia and her booth- photo courtesty of Andrew Thorton

I also found some REALLY huge sea urchin spines at Theodora’s Beads.  I bought two half strands of them (that’s all that was left) and a rough cut quatrz strand.

 

In closing, I think that bead fest is whatever you make it.  It is so huge and vast, the people there are from all over, there are all levels of jewelry and bead making, all styles and backgrounds, you are sure to make some friends, find great deals, and score unique items. 

(The funny thing is that this post is super long, but I really spent most of my time and money on artisan beads…….because it was amazing to meet each artist, and be able to touch the beads in person.  See my personal posts (links at the top) for the art bead stash and about hanging with the artists.)

 

Have you ever gone to Bead Fest, or another big bead show?  Where did you find your gaze, and your attention going towards?

 

 

 

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