• Close, Closed, Closeouts!
  Catalog Getting Springsational Additions
  Kit Takes Your Metal Clay Project from Start to Finish
  New Pendant Findings Offer Variety, Versatility
  Cap Critters Hungry for Your Beads!
  Bead-Covered Mummies Discovered in Egypt
  Next YOUR DESIGN HERE — We're Almost There

Close, Closed, Closeouts

Translation: We're close to our moving date, we'll be closed for a few days, and to make it up to you, we're marking even deeper discounts on our closeout items! As we've been singing about for months, Rings & Things will be moving into our own building, a renovated 28,000-sq-ft warehouse (which we just painted in our new signature earth tones!). Though we're working hard to make the transition easy on customers, we do need to close our showroom and shipping services May 11-14 to move in and set up in the new warehouse. We will reopen May 16 at 304 E. 2nd Ave., Spokane, WA 99202. Our phone numbers and mailing address (P.O. Box 450, Spokane, WA 99210) will not change! Again, we'll be:
Closed May 11-14
Reopening May 16

Not only is our moving sale page packed with closeout items, but we've marked even more of them down to a full 75% off. Next to each of these items in the list, you'll see a "Now 75% Off!" label, making it clear which items have the deepest discounts. The sale goes on until everything is gone!

Catalog Getting Springsational Additions

The first supplement to our 2005-06 Catalog is budding with colorful new items fit for the season. Behind its luscious lavender cover, you'll find 30 pages of beads, findings, stringing supplies and tools. Among them are 13 pages of gemstones, with new shapes like wavy oval, faceted diamond and four double-drilled styles. The spring supplement will also include ear cuffs, vermeil ear threads, enameled cause-ribbon charms, silver-plated Beadalon, sterling SmartBeads and antiqued lobster clasps. This booklet will be delivered throughout the U.S.A. and Canada in mid-May through early June.

Kit Takes Your Metal Clay Project from Start to Finish

It's ready at last! The Rings & Things Metal Clay Tool Kit comprises 20 types of tools for under $100. A solid basic tool set for working with Art Clay™ Silver and Precious Metal Clay®, we worked hard to make it the best on the market. Each item was field tested and hand selected by staff purchasers and Art Clay Silver Master Instructor Kurt Madison. To avoid duplication, the team excluded tools most artists would already have in their workshop. This kit provides tools for working the clay when it is moist; for cutting, trimming and modifying when it is dry; and for shaping, finishing and polishing after firing. From the 24 texture plates to the moisture-sealing storage jar to the butane torch, these tools are great for both beginners and as an upgrade for advanced metal clay artists. You'll only find this kit at Rings & Things, so look for it in our upcoming spring supplement or in our online store.

New Pendant Findings Offer Variety, Versatility

These simple, subtle findings are the perfect canvas for creating a truly unique pendant. Our new gluable pendant findings and changeable bead pendants are both available in six sleek styles and three platings: white, silver plate and gold plate. Whether you prefer round, square or oval, the blank pendant findings make it easy to glue or soft-solder your handmade bezels and more. The bail on each is slightly open in the back for slipping over thin cord or chain (though of course you can also thread it on while creating the piece). Look for these in our upcoming spring supplement or get hold of some now in our online store. The changeable bead pendants are a better-quality style than the types we carried previously. In three lengths with either ball or cube ends, the top unscrews so your customers can put on a different bead every day. It's incredibly easy to put together many different combinations of beads and other embellishments that will sell well. Changeable bead pendants make for easy mark-up in retail. Buy these as a simple and attractive way to display and sell your handmade beads or bead arrangements. You can even throw in one free with the purchase of any three (or whatever number) of your beads. We've found our Italian blown-glass beads to be an especially good fit and style for these pendants, as shown here. But any bead with a hole size of 1.7mm or larger should go on nicely. Look for these in our upcoming spring supplement or get hold of some now in our online store.

Cap Critters Hungry for Your Beads!

These little guys want beads to get in their belly! Our new bead cap sets are shaped like a dog, cat or teddy bear, and fit 8mm beads. They're made from cast base metal with an antique-pewter finish. While they're mainly meant for round beads, don't be afraid to experiment; for example, place an oval bead in the dog caps, and you'll have an adorable dachshund! In addition to the animal caps, we also now carry teapot bead caps in base metal. Look for these sets in our upcoming spring supplement or get them now in our online store.

Bead-Covered Mummies Discovered in Egypt

In late February, an Australian team of archaeologists announced they had uncovered a 2,500-year-old tomb about 15 miles south of Cairo. The tomb, believed to be that of a middle-class official, contained three intricate coffins. Inside were mummies who had been bound in black linen and covered from head to knee by a "net overlay" of beads, arranged to depict how they looked in life. One of the mummies was remarkably well preserved. While archeologists usually find bits and pieces of netting with broken or faded beads, this mummy's netting was complete and its beads pristine. Experts have described the beading style as fairly unusual, and the color is nicely preserved. The wooden, human-shaped coffins bear inscriptions dating to the 26th Dynasty (664-525 B.C.). They were found near a statue of the diety Petah Sakar; Sakar was the god of the cemetery, and Petah was — what else — the god of artisans.

Full AP photo and story at abcnews.com

Next YOUR DESIGN HERE — We're Almost There

You've been asking about it, and we now have some definite dates! The inaugural year of our search for the best designs made from Rings & Things products was a big success, and we're pleased to bring back YOUR DESIGN HERE for 2005. This year's contest will kick off June 13, 2005, and entries will be accepted until August 31. It will feature some exciting new categories and larger prizes, so get those ideas flowing! A link to contest information will be posted on our home page starting June 13.

Thanks!

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