Weekend to End Breast Cancer Jewelry Fundraiser

Our last two sales were in support of our good friend Joanne. She'll be walking the "Weekend to End Breast Cancer" 60 Km in September. It was a total success!! In the end, we were able to donate $400!!! We were amazed at all the enthusiasm of our new lines and styles. We probably going to have a couple more shows in support of Joanne. If anyone wants to donate to her account here is the link:

Good Karma Arts & Craft Sale

Where: The Union Yoga Centre (Parliament and Carlton)
When: June 2, 2008



Ginger J took was one of the few vendors during the day. Our host, Maggie O'Connor, who runs the yoga centre, was kind enough to make sure that we were taken care of. Lattes and green tea, to take our mind of the heat.

It was a hot day alright. We started off inside the yoga stuudio, and thought that we might attract more passersby if we moved our table outside. Sure enough, people started noticing the colourful array of jewelry.

We were able to donate $60 of our profits to the Union and that made us feel good. We also met some friends.





It was so hot and sales slowed down so we packed and headed home. We needed a nice, cold shower.

2 hours after the show, we were designing and making new pieces again. Here are some of them.

Ginger J's 1st Jewelry Party

The party was a success. With lots of food and drinks, as well as jewelry to try and buy, everyone was a happy camper. Michael and I were so glad with the turn out, as the people who came were all so much fun.

Our display was beautifully lit, thanks to IKEA and Michael for putting it together. We all of a sudden realized how nice our unit showed for entertainment purposes. I think that our living room arrangement was the best one of many we've had since we moved in. It was refreshing to have so much open space.

Some of the top sellers were items with Cloisonne beads, as well as the Murano earrings. Oh, and let's not forget the Mother-of-Pearl necklaces that Lisa and her lady friends just could not stop trying on! In fact, both of them requested for the same item.

All in all, everyone had a great time and it was a success!

Bloor West Village Arts & Craft Show

We spent Remembrance Day selling jewelry. The first show we’ve done this season and it went pretty well. Met lots of really nice customers who were interested in our work. The church was quite big and very crowded. The Bloor West Village Arts & Craft Show has been running annually for the last 25 years. Dedicated attendants wait in line an hour before they’re let in. Some of the conversations overheard mentioned things like “I finally bought one of those bamboo planters I’ve been looking at for the past few years!”


The reactions to our work were very positive. I think our location might have been a reason for our limited sales but we’re not worried. We have 2 more shows coming up which will also be new experiences. Every time we show our work we gain more confidence.

Great News!!!

Ginger J will be receiving new exposures this year!!! We have been invited as vendors at two events this fall and winter!

Michael and Lewelyn have been working really hard in creating new designs and bringing their work to show at their schools. So far, the reactions have been fantastic! It seems that the Murano Magic is worrking and our customers are loving it!!!

Look for us in the following upcoming shows:

25th Annual Bloor West Village Arts & Crafts Show & Sale
Saturday, November 11, 2006
10:00 am to 2:30 pm
Runnymede United Church
Admission is $2.00
Children 12 and under FREE

EcoChill 2006
presented by Citizens' Environment Watch
Saturday, Dec. 2, 2006
11:00 am to 3:00 pm
Innis Town Hall
Innis College, University of Toronto
2 Sussex Avenue (1 blk South of St. George and Bloor St.)
Pay What You Can - students FREE

Hope to see you there!!!

Visit our website to see what we offer.

www.gingerj.com

Venetian teasures

As previously mentioned in our first post, we had visited a Murano glass factory in Venice and purchased some beads. We were able to peruse the collection and hand-pick the beads to our liking. Here a couple of photos to show what we did and what we acquired.

Silversmithing Classes

http://www.nanopod.tv/nano_classes.html

Workshops + Classes at nanopod• Extra studio time is available to nanopod students at $15/hr, this fee includes use of bench tools and equipment.• Students create any where from 3 to 5 pieces per class- 5 tends to be the average however somestudents have walked away with 10 pieces from just a beginning class.• Students receive a resource list of suppliers in Toronto on the first evening of class.• Silver for the ring bands and other projects is available in class at $1per gram. Ring bands generally run anywhere from $5.00 to $15.00 depending on ring size, and width.Students should purchase or bring in a 'CABOCHON' cut stone(s) to learn bezel setting. This is discussed further during class. Stones are available at the studio for purchase as well. Please email or phone me with any further questions concerning the classes.Make secure payments using any of these cards without a PayPal account!

Beginning Jewelry
1 Monday August 21st or Thursday September 14th 2006 3 student min., 5 max8 weeks, 6:30-9:30pm
1 evening per week$250 + materials (approx. $35) complete a minimum of 4 pieces, Pre-registration of $100 deposit required. Learn to hand fabricate your own jewelry out of Sterling Silver! You will make a band ring, learn one of the oldest casting techniques, set stones, and much more...
week #1: working with copper- introduction safety, drilling, sawing, soldering
week #2: making a band ring out of silver (stamp, hammer finish, roller print, etc.)
week #3: finishing your ring, patinas, polishing- adding a stone (tube settings, bezel settings)
week #4: working with wax create pieces w/the lost wax technique
week #5: cleaning up castings> cuttlebone casting
week #6: findings (ear wires, pin backs, pendants), married metal>create beautiful silver beads,etc.
week #7: riveting, make another piece!week #8: finish up projects No experience necessary!

Murano magic

One of our goals to visit Europe this year was to take a trip to Venice, - home of Murano glass. Michael had previously contacted a company to book an appointment for purchasing some glass beads. Reaching Murano island from Venice was not a difficult task as there were water buses you could take and which ran frequently.

When we got to Murano, we began our search for the company location. Several wrong turns, buckets of sweat and one Morrocan man later, we found our place - Tommasi. Arriving there alone was exciting. We were greeted by a blond-hairerd teenage boy who went to fetch an adult. It turned out that she did not speak an English and so had to request him to stay with her to translate our conversations.

http://www.tommasi-store.com/catalogue/jewelry/index.htm

After a few minutes, we were led to the back, the store room, where all the beads and other things were kept. We could not contain our excitement as each box was opened to reveal the range in size and colours. About an hour later, we had a tray with many beads sizes and all square or cube shaped chosen out.

As the lady counted and bagged our choiced beads, we talked to the teenage boy, and it turns out, that is the owner's son. Ricardo was very pleasant to talk to and he was very keen in translating our inquiries. As well, he stayed back with the factory workers to help out, packaging pieces of jewelry that had been assembled by the other ladies.

We parted with about 2 lbs of precious glass beads and went on our way. We are very excited to create new pieces with these beads.