Week 2 of My Tucson Jewelry Adventure: Geodes, Fossils, and Statues!

By on February 4, 2011
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I hope you enjoy reading this article about our past experiences in Tucson, Arizona. But we can’t wait to see you at the upcoming Tucson 2012 Shows: specifically, the Tucson Electric Park (TEP) Gem & Mineral Show, where the Wire-Sculpture and JewelryTools.com crew will be supporting 15 renowned jewelry instructors at the JewelryTools Classes – teaching over 120 projects! There’s still time for you to sign up, we’d love to see you there – Click here to explore our Tucson Electric Park Classes, Jan. 28 – Feb. 12, 2012!


Take a Class at TEP in Tucson, Arizona!

I’m having an amazing time down here in Tucson, I’ve been hanging out at our show, the JOGS event, as well as wandering around the 40+ shows – I’ve seen some absolutely amazing things!

Oh, and before I forget – to let you get some of the great wholesale deals folks are getting down here, all Wire-Sculpture Beads are 20% off, now through February 9 2011! And Cabs are 30% off (Druzies 20% off) through Saturday night only, so get your cab orders in soon to save! More on the sales in a minute –

Now, a lot of the shows were photography-restricted, but several friendly folks allowed me to take pictures of their gems and wares. I’m happy I’m able to share these photos with you! Ok, so let me start off with one amazing gem: this is a natural blue sapphire. . .

Huge, Stunning Sapphire in Tucson
It’s bigger than it looks…

Not only is it gorgeous in person… it’s 53.04 carats! This stone alone is worth about $1.5 million retail!

Huge, Stunning Sapphire in Tucson
What a stunning sapphire!

If you thought that stone was big, just wait until you see these gigantic geodes!

Dale and Shonnie after Setting up the Wire-Sculpture booth at JOGS!
Real amethyst in geodes – unbelievable!

Those geodes were part of a large exhibit at Red Gallery, a vendor from Germany located at the Mineral and Fossil Coop show. Just feet away, I found myself next to a large fossil…

Fossil in Tucson

And I found some more bony friends at the GeoDecor Fossils & Minerals booth, bigger than me – the woolly mammoth below is about 15 feet tall!

Woolly Mammoth Skeleton in Tucson
That’s a real Woolly Mammoth!

Dale’s been keeping busy teaching lots of classes – I love seeing new folks picking up pliers for the first time, and walking out with finished pieces and proud smiles! Other teachers here at JOGS, like Albina, Meredith, and Laurie, have also been busy teaching classes and having a great time with their students. I’ve seen and met lots of folks at the Wire-Sculpture booth when I’m not wandering around – It’s been great meeting you and seeing the jewelry you brought to the show!

Dale had a day off from classes, so we went and explored the TEP – Tucson Electric Park, which has over 200 vendors. Our show, JOGS, is indoors in the Tucson Expo Center, but the TEP Show is outside, a sea of white tents – I can’t wait to go back! We found some really cool shops and pieces – I took lots of pictures, here are my favorites:

Dale and a Crystal Lady Sculpture
Dale and a Crystal Lady Sculpture

God of the Artist Statue
"God of the Artist" Statue

Curiosity Shop
I could spend hours in this booth! Dale and I got scarves to keep warm,
we weren’t expecting cold weather in Tucson…

It was a chilly day, down to 38 degrees, so Dale couldn’t shop for rocks (you need to splash water on the rocks to shop properly, and that’s just too cold!) I know, I know, 38 degrees isn’t cold compared to the single digits I’ve been seeing across the country – it’s just been a cold week everywhere.

There was even ice in some fountains – what an odd thing to see right next to a cactus!

Icicles and Cacti
Icicles and Cacti

I love the free shuttle service, so I can get around all the shows here in Tucson easily. And as wide as the selection of gems and jewelry available here, is the range of food: from Greek to Thai to Bohemian Cafe to old fashioned BBQ, there really is every kind of food here, something my connoisseur husband is really missing out on – and it’s so good, too!

I wish you were here exploring all the Tucson shows with me! I can’t believe how much I’ve seen already, and I still haven’t made it to all the shows. I promised I’d send you a new promotion with this Tucson update, so here it is:

Save 20% on All Beads! That’s right, every bead on Wire-Sculpture, from metal beads to Swarovskis to carved gemstone beads, is 20% off through Wednesday, February 9th 2011. And don’t forget, through February 15th, 2011, you can save 20% on all DVDs, save 60% on Glitter Handle Pliers, and save 60% on Lucky Stone CZs!

All BeadsCabochonsJewelry Making DVDsLucky Stones

Save 20% on All Beads – Click to Explore!

I’ll send you one more fun email once I come home from Tucson and go through all my pictures. And there’ll be one last sale, too! See you next week!

Rose Marion
Wire-Sculpture.com

3 Comments

  1. avatar

    Jane Elizabeth

    November 17, 2011 at 11:29 am

    Love, love, LOVE your photos! Even though it was cold it looks like a blast!

  2. avatar

    Monnue Martin

    November 17, 2011 at 12:20 pm

    The sale date in February…should that be 2012? Thanks for the great article. Monnie

    • avatar

      dalecgr

      November 19, 2011 at 11:07 am

      Hi Monnue, actually this article was written during the gem shows in 2011. Watch for new articles, and new promotions, for the upcoming 2012 Tucson show!