Don’t you just love a good rock show? It is a whole lot easier just to visit a rock show than to actually participate in one, but we love doing them.
Whether it be a major show like Tucson or Quartzsite, or just a small local rock club show; we love them all.
Our local club is the Grand Traverse Area Rock and Mineral Club (GTARMC) and serves a really large area. Recently we participated in our club’s rock show. We always enjoy the camaraderie of fellow rockhounds, but this year it was a bit different. In the past we have had our shows at the Traverse City History Center where we had been meeting. Recent events challenged our club when the History Center was taken over by the Crooked Tree Arts Council and we were pretty much restricted to one small space in the building’s basement where our Club’s shop is located. Meetings are now at the Traverse City District Library.
We were also excluded from having our annual club show at that venue and moved it to the Travserse City Civic Center. Though this caused some anxiety for various club members (my wife for example) it turned out to be one of the best moves we ever made. The History Center is substantially off the beaten path, while the Civic Center is right on a main thoroughfare. People driving by saw the signs and just dropped in. Consequently we saw uncounted newcomers as well as the normal rock geeks. It was a great opportunity to talk up our hobby and love.
I can only assume that attendance doubled or tripled. There was no slack all weekend as the crowds packed in. The vendor sales, including ours, were all up, the children’s area was busy, and the people were excited. Sometimes changes are good, and sometimes, like this move, the changes were great.
Our neighbor, and fellow club member, Jeff Anderson kept busy “cracking eggs” for kids and adults alike. It’s always a mystery what might be lurking inside those geodes. We got the chance to watch the excitement. Whenever a good one would “pop” open, six more people wanted to try their own geode. Fun, fun, fun!
We are used to what we call “slobbering” over our jewelry. I make a joke of saying I wipe the drool off the top of the cases all day. I do have to keep the fingerprints off them, and little fingerprints and nose prints off the fronts of the cases from small excited kids. They love the shiny jewelry, and I see future customers as their parents shop and gush over our stuff.
I looked down on one occasion and saw a young girl and her brother with their lips and fingers all over the cases. This is one of the reasons, besides security and lighting, we have our stuff under glass! I snatched up my camera and took a couple of pictures of these kids as they did actually did drool on the cases. I did not realize just what great and funny shots I had until I got home and downloaded them. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. The nearly 200 views, likes, and comments were priceless when I posted the pictures up on the Rockhound Group I belong to.
Comments like “Snot Funny”, “Nosy Kids”, “he’s digging something petrified”, and something about “easier to pick one out” made me, and others, crack up. Someone accused me of staging this picture–until I proved it was no set-up by posting the second picture.
Fortunately you cannot tell who these kids are. I can only imagine how much fun it would be later in life it would be when they got married, and showed this picture in one of those wedding slide shows.
As soon as they left, believe me folks, I was on cleaning detail.
There was no rhyme or reason, and no theme for what we sold at this show. Everything from Greenstones to Druzy‘s were making people happy. As a special thanks for my Snob Blog readers, I am posting up a few new show pieces that did not sell. If you are interested, you can call right away. These pieces are not on line and are shown not only at Art Shows, and when I do Jewelry making demos. Remember, Christmas is coming. Get your gifts early for best selections.
Here are a couple Thomsonite’s and a new Greenstone for your viewing pleasure.
Just because you don’t see something on out Website, does not mean we do not have it. The depth and variety of our products is amazing. Please call and ask. If I have the time I can custom make the jewelry dream you have.