: to travel over (new territory) for adventure or discovery
Exploration has many definitions. For Chris and I, this year has found us exploring new venues to sell our beads and in doing so, exploring new customers that haven't seen our beads and jewelry before. We have added several new shows to the other shows we have become regulars at over the last couple years. We did the Omaha Bead Show for the first time this year in April. This was our table at the Bead Show.
Chris has been enjoying his adventure into the Farmer's Market venue on Saturday mornings this summer. We get set up at the Highland Park Farmer's Market in Hastings around 7am (when not at our other summer shows) and then I head for work downtown in Hastings at Julie's Xpressions. When he is finished, he runs errands or comes down to the shop to hang out until I am finished with work. The Farmer's Market has opened our business up to a whole bunch of new customers, and brought in a BUNCH of special orders! We also get to see and visit with friends and customers who have seen us at other shows. These pictures are of the Farmer's Market set up.
We also did a new show in Geneva this year. Art on the Green, on July 3, was a great show for us. New customers and it was a beautiful day for an outdoor summer show! This was our set up for that show.
This summer also finds us adding the Nebraska Entrepreneur show at
Kool-Aid Days, August 14, to our list of summer shows. We will be in the old Middle School building from 8-5 and Chris will be doing bead making demos all day. Stop by if you are in the area!
For me, exploration also involves finding new materials to work with, finding new ideas, and new sources for ideas. One of my favorite places to explore is
Etsy and other jewelry, beadmakers, and glassworkers on Facebook. I LOVE beading magazines. They are a great source for ideas, techniques, and new supplies and suppliers. I live in Central Nebraska, work at the only local bead store, and don' t have access to classes without driving an hour and a half to Lincoln or two hours to Omaha. So beading magazines and the internet work great for me to get ideas and network with beaders I have met, and those I know only through the internet. These are some of my favorite bead magazines.
I have become fascinated by British beading magazines. I don't subscribe to them, but I pick them up anytime I am near a Barnes and Noble. While they are just another beading magazine, I look at it as a exploration in beading anthropology! They use different terms and have different display styles than the US magazines, and it is interesting to see how our bead trends compare to their bead trends.
While this post isn't especially about art beads, it is about our exploration to expand our art bead business, and to find new ideas and inspiration for art beads in jewelry..