2015 Bead&Button Show recap #2

This is the second in a series of my Bead&Button Show recap posts.  If you're just coming in, you might want to catch up by reading my pre-show post and recap #1.

Today I'm going to introduce you to two people I met at this year's show, Diane Hawkey and Eugenia Chan.

But first, let's look at a few of the Bead Dreams winning pieces that caught my eye.  Bead Dreams is a competition held every year, and the pieces are just stunning.  Bead&Button magazine sponsors it, and the winners on the Fire Mountain Gems website here.  They haven't posted this year's winners yet, but you can check out winners from 2004 on.

The pieces are all displayed behind glass, so my pictures aren't the best.

The first one that caught my eye will be no surprise at all to anyone reading this very purple blog:

It's a purple beaded outfit!  The picture really doesn't do it justice.  This is called "Lady" and was made by Tomiko Sakanaka from Yao Osaka, Japan.

This next one is also from Japan:

This is "Castle of Nagoya" by Masako Takahashi and Hiroko Yokoi from Ichinomiya Aichi, Japan.  It's really stunning up close.

The last one I took a picture of is "The Underwater Kingdom Handbag" by Elizaveta Antonova from Berdyansk, Ukraine:

That looks like shibori silk waves among shells, pearls, beaded starfish, beaded fish, and other sea creatures.  Beautiful!

Now on to the new folks!

The best thing about the Bead&Button Show Marketplace is meeting the smaller vendors.  There are so many of them that do such interesting and unique work.  There are many lampworkers, but there are also polymer clay, raku, ceramic, and a whole host of other artists!

Diane Hawkey is a ceramic artist who makes very whimsical pieces.  Check out her website, and you'll immediately see what I mean!

Here's Diane amongst her wares:

She had so much to see, it was hard to pick just a few things to show you.  Here are a few "message sticks":

It's hard to read them in that picture, so here's what they say (there are duplicates):  "Be curious, not judgmental", "Stars can't shine without darkness", "I exist as I am, that is enough", and my personal favorite, "rub my butt".  I almost brought that last one home, but I didn't want random strangers fondling me once I made it into a bracelet.  :)

Here's another picture of some of her creations:

I really like these, and I wish I had bought something from her.  I'll probably do what I did with Evvy Beads and get something next year!  As I mentioned before, you should visit Diane's website.  She also has a blog and an Etsy shop.  Her Etsy shop has just one thing in it right now - a custom word bead.  You choose the color and the word.  The last word in the list made me literally LOL.  I love sassy jewelry!

Wandering around the Marketplace on Sunday with my friend Michelle, we saw an enameling demo done by Eugenia Chen.  You can see more of her work and learn more about her on her website.  Her enameling was nothing like I've seen before:

I have had very little experience with enameling (see my posts about attempt #1 and attempt #2), so seeing Eugenia's pieces blew my mind and made me want to try again!

Here's my absolute favorite piece that she had out:

I had no idea you could do pictures with enameling!  Eugenia used templates that she said aren't on the market yet.  They should be, though!  Those pieces are gorgeous.

Here is Eugenia in action:

And, finally, here's the piece she was working on:

Next week I'll show you a very cool machine that made some very interesting pieces.  Vague, I know, but if I told you what it was, would you come back?  :)