The R&T Extra!   December 2006

Asia in Autumn: R&T Purchasers Take Another Busy Trip

Rings & Things' owners Russ Nobbs and Dee Mueller returned to Asia this September to keep up with the demand for great (and greatly priced) beads and findings. R&T purchaser Karin Davis joined them for the first part of the tour, which took them to Hong Kong and China. The trip started with the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Show, followed by a week of research and purchasing in Guangzhou, China. Staying at a new hotel on Guangzhou's "Street of Red Lanterns," Karin said she'd never seen so much space in a hotel room — a surprise in such a large, crowded city! The three also discovered a rather large restaurant, "as big as the R&T warehouse," Karin explained. "You walk around and point at the food you want, like in a big deli, but with rice; veggies; mixes of tofu, vegetables and fish ... and fish-head soup — the head is a delicacy, but your soup is staring at you! ... [They also served] sea snakes, turtles, lobsters, crab, shrimp — one type of shrimp was ten inches long."

Culinary delights aside, an exhausting week of tracking down gemstones, foil beads and chevrons followed. Our tired crew then returned to Hong Kong for the Shenzen Jewellery Show and the Hong Kong Gem and Jewellery Show. From there, Karin returned to the United States while Russ and Dee proceeded tentatively to Thailand. They arrived in Bangkok only a week after Thailand's (thankfully bloodless) coup. By that time, soldiers were being ordered to smile, and tourists and locals alike were seen getting their pictures taken in front of tanks. The coup did create some media censorship, and curfews were put into effect. Luckily though, Russ and Dee encountered no problems in either Bangkok or Chiang Mai (the capital of a northwest, mountainous province). They did encounter some great paua shell, tiger shell and mother of pearl pendants, which should be available in upcoming R&T BeadTour shows. Plus, they noticed that foil beads are as popular in Bangkok as they are in Seattle, used in a variety of strung designs!

By chance, Russ and Dee happened upon a string of national celebrations. Their last day in Hong Kong coincided with China's National Day (equivalent of the US's Fourth of July). The celebrations included an extensive fireworks display over Victoria Harbour. The following day in Bangkok, our travelers found the streets lined with people celebrating the last day of Dussehra, a ten-day Hindu festival and one of the most important celebrations in Indian culture. Also, the holy Islamic month of Ramadan was taking place, which meant that Muslim friends in Bangkok were fasting. From there, Russ and Dee traveled to Bali where – although Bali is predominantly Hindu – observance of Ramadan made for a quiet, slow business atmosphere. Nevertheless, they accomplished much research and comparison shopping on resin and recycled-glass beads, with hopes of filling holes in our current stock.

For the last leg of their trip Russ and Dee went to northern India, where the sheer size of bead-vendor displays was overwhelming. In New Delhi, bookings were tight, and they had some difficulty keeping accommodations for the duration of their stay. Two of the highlights of their trip were getting to see the Taj Mahal, in the medieval city of Agra, and attending the Pushkar Camel Fair complete with Ferris wheels, jewelry booths and thousands of camels decked out in sumptuous jewels! Our weary travelers returned safely to Spokane in mid-November. Many great new items will soon follow, including Thai silver connectors, colored wire chokers, adjustable velvet chokers and copper beads from India.

Check out a map of Asia to get an idea of where Russ, Dee and Karin traveled. More photos of the trip are coming soon, in the January 2007 issue of The R&T Extra! If you missed hearing about last Spring's purchasing trip to Hong Kong and China, you can still read about it! Visit our newsletter index anytime to peruse past issues of The R&T Extra.

Happy Holidays To All!

Rings & Things will be closed Monday, December 25 and Tuesday, December 26. We will also be closed Monday, January 1, 2007. Mark your calendars and stock up on supplies ahead of time! You can place an order through our online store even when we're closed for the holidays. Just remember that orders placed on a holiday will not be processed right away, since no staff will be on hand.

We will be open between Christmas and the New Year this year, for calls, online ordering and on-site showroom shopping.

Those of you who will be in the Spokane area are invited to our showroom red-tag sale, December 27-29. Find 20% off of already-red-tagged items! Great prices on bead strands, findings, overstock and surplus inventory. Plus, bargains on discontinued items — only at our showroom in Spokane, WA.

No matter where you are, don't forget to check out our holiday-themed charms and bead mixes. Happy holidays everyone!

Crystal Blues Frustration

We know you're frustrated, and so are we! When preparing our Fall Supplement a few months ago, we were excited to add 33 new styles and sizes of Swarovski® pendants, links, beads and buttons to our line. Once the supplement was mailed, existing stock flew out of our warehouse due to popular demand. Since then, we've unfortunately had trouble restocking certain items. Many items aren't even available in Austria at this time, much less in the United States. Swarovski acknowledges that even rhinestone head pins and rhinestone wheels are taking them longer than ever before to re-supply.

Our buyers are doing everything in their power to get all of our Swarovski products back in stock — both new styles and time-tested favorites. In the meantime, bear with us. We thank you for your patience! We know it's frustrating to not be able to get that one item you've been waiting for. However, the majority of our extensive Swarovski line is currently available, both permanent crystal offerings and limited stock vintage crystal.

All That Jazz: The Answer To November's Trivia Question

The answer to November's trivia question is that a. Sade Adu, frontwoman for Grammy-award winning British jazz-pop group Sade, has known Yoruba ancestry.

For Yoruba beadwork and other unique gift ideas, see our world art offerings.

R&T's String of Events: December 2006 Calendar

Between road shows, classes, purchasing trips and more, there's a lot going on at Rings & Things! Here's what's happening this month:

• Saturday, December 2: Beginning Art Clay® Silver Class in our Spokane, WA warehouse


• Monday, December 25 and Tuesday, December 26: holiday closure for Christmas
• Wednesday, December 27 through Friday, December 29: Red Tag Sale in our Spokane, WA warehouse – 9:00am to 6:00 pm

• Monday, January 1, 2007: holiday closure for New Year's Day
• Saturday, January 6, 2007: Gemstone Identification Talk in our Spokane, WA warehouse
• Saturday, January 6, 2007: Art Clay™ Silver "Make It & Take It" Demonstration in our Spokane, WA warehouse
• Saturday, January 6, 2007: Finishing Methods Class in our Spokane, WA warehouse
• Our annual design contest starts February 1, 2007! Watch our Web site for more details.
• We're looking forward to the Tucson GLW Show, February 1-9, 2007.
• Plus, Rings & Things exclusive 2007 BeadTour starts March 4, 2007.

Thanks for a great 2006! Have a Happy and Peaceful 2007!

Our Products   |   Home Page   |   Site Search