Two Gem Shows on Two Weekends

I got a chance to attend two incredible Gem Shows on last two weekends.

First one was the International Gem & Jewelry Show @ San Mateo County Event Center. The Show was on April 10th-12th. It had both retail and wholesale sections and one got to see and buy beautiful gems & beads, ready to wear jewelry, tools, stylish displays and much more. The vendors were from all across US. It helps to know ahead what you want to buy otherwise the amazing collections from each vendor easily overwhelms you. I have learnt it over time and now I go to the show with a list of things to buy or look for. I had only couple of hours this time at the show as we were leaving for LA the same evening but still managed to get few findings, gemstones & pearls. You just can't comeback empty handed from the show:-)

Second one was the Annual Show from Santa Clara Valley Gem & Mineral Society. During one of his morning jogs, Arun noticed a flyer about the SCVGMS Annual Show and asked me to check out the show. SCVGMS is a non profit organization that helps its members and community learn about rocks & minerals by expanding knowledge of the earth sciences. The show was lot different from the gem shows I have attended in the past. It had two different sections - one was Gem Show with dealers selling gemstones, tools and ready to wear jewelry; second was an Organized Kids Area with demonstrations and exhibits focusing on children and earth science education.

My 6 years old son is very much interested in gemstones and rocks so we went there as a family. Our main attraction for the show was the kids area with the opportunity to learn about rocks, minerals, the rock cycle, caves, volcanoes, fossils, geology, soil, and much more. He got to go on a treasure hunt in which he found a Shark tooth, made his own rock collection - of course by buying rocks at a very nominal price and spin the fortune wheel; and painted a Phacops rana, a trilobite - official "State Fossil" of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, we forgot to pick the fossil after it dried :-( We also tried our hands on sand panning to discover gold (pretend one) and gemstones. There were number of Boy and Girl scouts and other kids on a field trip to this show.

The exhibits were wonderful and very creative. You could see different perspective of rocks, gemstones & minerals through each exhibitor; ranging from jewelry, show pieces, play cards, fossils etc. Check out the photo album at

I was always looking forward to join such a Society to broaden my knowledge for gemstones and I am so glad that I finally found one!

Small Steps Foundation Family Walk 2009

Sometimes our busy lives don't give us enough time to even think about little things that make difference in somebody else's life. In our effort to make a difference, my family has associated itself with Small Steps Foundation (SSF) charity that works towards providing the education for the underprivileged kids.

SSF is a non-profit organization backed by highly energetic volunteers and is going places in first three years of its formation itself. They organize 2 funraising events every year and their first fundraising event of the year 2009 is SSF Family walk (5K/10K) in Coyote Hills on May 17th. My family plans to walk 10K to support the cause.

You can help us in this cause either by
1) Donating money for this walk on our personal page.
I know times are tough right now, so donation as low as even $5 will also help. Remember...each drop counts and helps to make an ocean eventually.

2) Participating and registering for this walk yourself.

Together we can make a difference...Yes WE CAN!!

Art & Crafts Fair on May 7th

I am planning to showcase my handmade Jewelry at Spring Art & Crafts Fair @ work on May 7th. Its exactly one month from now and I am sure the time will fly very fast. As the Fair will be a whole day affair it needs lot of planning and preparation...so charging up!

Good for me that International Gem & Jewelry Show is coming to San Mateo on the weekend...time to replenish the inventory this Friday:-)

How I got interested in beads and beading...

It all started with organizing small beading projects for my nephew's birthday party few years ago.

My sister in-law wanted me to coordinate a bead activity for kids at the party. She got few packets of bright-colored plastic beads and stretch chord. It was amazing to see that not only girls but boys were also interested in making beautiful necklaces and bracelets. I still have the bracelet I made that day :-)

The same year I stopped by a local beadstore. I was amazed by the vast collection of beads the store had. I bought few glass beads and metal separators, made couple of bracelets and gifted them to my sister in-laws on different occasions. They loved them and it encouraged me to make more. I started making bracelets for them as Rakhi every year for the festival of Raksha Bandhan. My niece used to fight with her mom to wear those bracelets and called them 'Her' collection. When I came to know about it, I started sending one for her too.

After attending couple of Jewelry Workshops at the local Community Center, I started making earrings and necklaces too. Soon I was visiting local bead & gem shows and oh boy...our office room was getting stacks of crafts boxes filled with beads, findings and beading tools.

Yes, I was getting hooked onto the colorful world of beads!!