The R&T Extra!   January 2007

Mixing it Up: Colors Past, Present & for Spring 2007

Playing with colors can be great fun, and it's often a vital component to designing jewelry. Chances are, though, most of us don't think too much about where specific colors "come from." Color names and attributes we learn as children can seem so obvious that it's hard to think of them as anything but inevitable. However, the way colors are perceived - and the number of colors recognized - varies from culture to culture, even today! Archeological findings suggest that the earliest human cultures focused their attention on just three categories of color: dark (black), light (white) and blood/life (red). Materials to make pigments for these were readily available using charcoal (to make blacks), chalk or bone (to make whites) and clay or blood (to make reds). The recognition and use of additional colors depended on what raw materials - not to mention technologies - were available in any particular area.

Often colors became status symbols based on how easy or difficult they were to produce, or how plentiful or scarce specific pigment sources were. Purple, for example, is still considered a "regal" color in Europe and the U.S.A., despite the fact that we now possess economical ways of producing purples in various shades. This is a cultural leftover from when the color was extremely expensive to produce in Europe. There is evidence that even the earliest cultures used colors in equally symbolic ways. Of course, evidence also shows us that these symbolic meanings vary from culture to culture - despite desires to claim universal meanings for them.

Not only do cultures attach different meanings to individual colors, different languages recognize different colors! In Japanese, for example, green and blue are considered variants (or shades) of the same hue (aoi). English speakers distinguish between blue and green but do not go as far as Russian speakers, who consider dark blue (sinij) and light blue (goluboj) to be completely different colors (similarly to how English speakers differentiate between red and pink). Some cultures have such a sophisticated system for naming colors that not just hue (color), value (darkness/lightness) and intensity (brightness/dullness) are distinguished, as in the West. Anthropologist Harold Conklin studied the language of the Hanunoo, a traditional Filipino culture. He discovered that the Hanunoo also differentiate between surface textures (smooth versus rough) and shine (wetness versus dryness) when distinguishing colors. As a result, they recognize more types of colors than Westerners do.

Of course, knowing various Hanunoo words for "orange" won't help you choose what colors to focus your newest creations around! Hopefully, though, Pantone Inc. can help on that front. Pantone Inc. has been going behind the scenes of New York Fashion Week for 13 years to present upcoming fashion color trends from the source. Their spring 2007 prediction includes a variety of neutrals mixed in with traditional colors of early-blooming flowers. As Leatrice Eiseman points out in Pantone's "Spring 2007 Fashion Color Report,", colors typically aren't swapped out completely from season to season. More often than not, subtle variations of the same general hues stay in vogue year round. At the start of 2007, this is truer than ever. Inclusions of grays and browns in the new spring palette will allow for even greater versatility in spring 2007 designs. We hope you have a lot of fun with your spring creations – no matter what colors you use!

For more information about color, see our Color Considerations Web page, and the appendix in our upcoming 2007-2008 print catalog.

Camels on Candid Camera: Photos from Our Autumn 2006 Purchasing Trip

As you might have read in the December R&T Extra, Rings & Things owners Russ and Dee embarked on another purchasing trip in September, 2006. This time, they made their way not only to China and Hong Kong, but also Thailand, Bali and India. In addition to bringing back great beads and findings, they also brought back great photographs of their experiences. View pictures and find out more about their latest experiences overseas.

Plus, if you plan to be in the Spokane, WA area in March, be sure to attend our March 2007 Bead Frenzy sale, where Russ and Dee will present a "Traveling for Beads" slide presentation and discussion that will cover both these and previous travels.

Your Designs Rock! – The 2007 Contest Has Arrived

If you haven't already begun planning and creating your unique design to enter into our annual contest, now is the time. Entries this year will be accepted February 1-28. Winners will be announced the first week of April. Remember, we're not just looking for great jewelry – any handmade item using components sold by Rings & Things is eligible!

A change since last year's contest is that designs focused around shell, bone, wood, bamboo, ceramic and other natural materials will now be entered in the Alternative Materials category. We combined the Nature and Alternative Materials categories since past years have not yielded many entries for them separately. Here's your chance to show us what you can make out of the various natural and alternative materials Rings & Things offers.

A big thanks to all of you who worked hard to meet our photo guidelines last year! This year we will continue to use our simplified version of Zapplication's (ZAPP's) guidelines. Following these rules (you won't need to create a ZAPP account) ensures that your entries will achieve an image-quality consistent with those of your competitors. Plus, your photos will be formatted to a standard used in art-fair applications and other contests. That means less work for you in the long run.

To help you on your way to winning, here is some design and construction advice from last year's judges:

• "It's really important to see something unusual that grabs me."
• "Probably the first prominent feature that makes the difference between winners and 'also-rans' is how finished the piece is. Are the ends of wires and head pins clean cut and tightly bent into place? Are there dents in the wires from working with pliers? If working with a high polish, is it bright and scratch-free?"

2007 winning entries – with credit to the designer – will be featured in our online Design Gallery. Plus, they could be featured in our catalog and promotions. That's exposure to more than a million people a year worldwide, which you can use for "as seen in" promotions of your own! For inspiration, check out previous winners. Or, if you're just plain tired of making all things beautiful, check out the ugly necklace contest.

We're looking forward to a record number of entries this year. Have fun creating your designs – and good luck!

R&T's New Catalog Is Bound to Impress

Big and brimming with 377 full-color pages of products, example jewelry and how-to tips, the 2007-2008 Rings & Things catalog is bound to impress you! A stylish black cover distinguishes this newest issue from our older catalogs – but the changes are more than cover deep! Inside you'll find:

• over 65 pages of new products and newly added information
• an appendix complete with finishing-method illustrations, information on metals and colors, plus a measurements and quantities guide
• color-coded section tabs at the tops of right-hand pages, for easy flip-through access to your favorite sections
• three types of quantity assortment discounts on beads, gemstones, findings and more
• dozens of new pieces of example jewelry, to help spark design ideas
• updated information on all our products

Catalogs should start arriving in mailboxes the last week of January. Set aside some time for an enjoyable browse!

See You In Tucson, A Bead Lover's Paradise

It's Tucson time again! The first two weeks of every February, the entire city bursts with over 30 gemstone bead, jewelry and fossil shows. For a complete list of shows and more information, visit the Tucson Show Guide and the Gem & Lapidary Wholesalers Web site.

We're busily (and enthusiastically) preparing our Rings & Things booth for the Holidome show, where we will be selling from February 1-9. Find out more about our booth and browse pictures from a previous show.

R&T's String of Events: January 2007 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:

• 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

• February 1-9, 2007: Rings & Things will once again participate in the Tucson GLW Show (Look for us in the Holidome!)
• February 1-28: 2007 design contest entries will be accepted (winners will be announced in April)
• Saturday, February 3: Wedding Bracelet Project Class, in our Spokane, WA warehouse
• Saturday, February 3: Soldering Methods Workshop, in our Spokane, WA warehouse
• Saturday, February 3: Textured Jewelry Project Class, in our Spokane, WA warehouse
• March 4: Rings & Things' exclusive 2007 BeadTour begins

Thanks!

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