Czech, Germany and the Perlen Poesie bead show

We're packed and ready to go to the airport to begin our next adventure - The 2012 Perlen Poesie bead show in Hamburg, Germany. This will be our secong year attending the show, with 3mm and 4mm firepolish, pinch beads, leaves and flowers, buttons and 13/0 charlottes. We will also be repping Unicorne beads, which we did last year as well.

J-Me will be teaching for the first time at the show, her button bracelet with kits for sale as well. Not only that, but she will be a runway model during the show displaying fabulous necklaces that are on display for the show contest.

Guy will be selling beads at the booth.... bringing in the money!!

Prior to the show we will be bombing around Jablonec nad Nisou and the surrounding mountains buying beads and buttons, then driving all the way to Neugablonz in Bavaria to see a factory that we used to buy from in the 1990's which is closing its doors forever. The owner has been trying with our help to sell the contents of the factory(beads, raw glass, machinery, tools, molds) for about a year with no sucess. Her ancestor began making beads in 1776 as a lampworker and it grew into a large factory. According to a German freind of ours who has seen it, the attic is full of vintage beads covered in dust. I can't wait. The owner is giving us beads to sell on consignment at the Perlen Poesie show, which we will pick up while at her house,  then we will drive to Hamburg to set up the show.

Finally. after the show we will drive back to Prague and fly home.

J-Me and Guy are the owners of Wild Things Beads, a small family run import business specializing in Czech glass beads and buttons and finding the unusual to bring to their warehouse. They also run working bead tours to Jablonec and Hong Kong. Their warehouse is located deep in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California, and can be reached by phone at (530)743 1339 or on the web at www.wildthingsbeads.com. They are also open by appointment at their warehouse.

Thinking about new Philippine tour

Before our February/March bead tour of Hong Kong, we explored the Philippines to see if we could find bead factories there to buy beads and lead a bead tour in the future. We flew into Cebu City where most of the Philippine handicraft industry is located and spent 4 days meeting with several different factories that produce beads of different kinds. We found 2 wood bead manufacturers, 2 resin bead makers and a snake skin bead and bangle maker. Also a shell bead manufacturer. They were all small cottage industry factories, mostly located at their homes, with anywhere from 2 to 10 workers.

Prices were really good, and the factories were very easy to work with and willing to meet low minimums and any stringing or production requests to land the business from us.

Hotels and transportation costs were low, and with a 43 peso to $1 US exchange rate making us feel rich, dinners and any other expenses were easily affordable. The people were wonderful. The weather was hot and fabulous, a little humid, so we realized that we would have to take it slow during a tour with lots of time off to relax by the pool between factory visits.

We have done a lot of research into US Fish and Wildlife permits and import requirements from the Philippines and so will be able to assist any one who goes with us on a tour in the future when shipping their goods home.

Keep watching for future dates of a working bead tour to the Philippines.

J-Me and Guy are the owners of Wild Things Beads, a small family run import business specializing in Czech glass beads and buttons and finding the unusual to bring to their warehouse. They also run working bead tours to Jablonec and Hong Kong. Their warehouse is located deep in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California, and can be reached by phone at (530)743 1339 or on the web at www.wildthingsbeads.com. They are also open by appointment at their warehouse.

back home

Well, we made it home from Hong Kong via Tokyo, Japan. Only missed one connecting flight(San Francisco to Sacramento) and so we came in 2 hours late. Our son Rob was there to meet us.

J-Me hand carried the Tahitian and South Sea pearls we purchased, along with really heavy crystal rhinestone buttons, and everything else was shipped by post or will be shipped once we wire transfer the money.

It is so good to be home!

J-Me and Guy are the owners of Wild Things Beads, a small family run import business specializing in Czech glass beads and buttons and finding the unusual to bring to their warehouse. They also run working bead tours to Jablonec and Hong Kong. Their warehouse is located deep in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California, and can be reached by phone at (530)743 1339 or on the web at www.wildthingsbeads.com. They are also open by appointment at their warehouse.

Hong Kong 2012

Well, its Sunday and we're packing like crazy, finishing up loose ends for the business, writing checks for bills, making sure the magic jack works on the new computer, etc... so that we can leave for the airport Monday morning at 8am.

27 hours later we will be in Cebu City, The Philippines, lying on our resort beach sleeping, reading, drinking and eating. Relaxing. Then bead exploring around the area at all the wholesale warehouses and cottage industry factories.

Then Hong Kong, to start our tour with our guest travelers. Pearls, stone beads, buttons....and then sushi, Chinese food, Indian food, Dim Sum, Moochi!

J-Me and Guy are the owners of Wild Things Beads, a small family run import business specializing in Czech glass beads and buttons and finding the unusual to bring to their warehouse. They also run working bead tours to Jablonec and Hong Kong. Their warehouse is located deep in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California, and can be reached by phone at (530)743 1339 or on the web at www.wildthingsbeads.com. They are also open by appointment at their warehouse.