Why I appreciate 19 Degrees in Arizona

Recently a large part of the country would welcome 19 degrees at 9 am.
I don't.  Ever.  But right now 50 miles east of Tucson, AZ at 9 am it is 19 degrees F.  Last week we were enjoying morning coffee at 70 degrees.

Before coffee this morning, I was removing ice from the Chickens water bowls.  I had placed them below ground level in pits the hens had dug themselves.  It helped.  There was only an inch ice vs. a solid block.

Oh the memories of my Stable in Massachusetts - hours upon hours of  ice removal from every surface, every container.

This year's storms in the east have broken all records set some not too long ago.  A few years back we had the highest snowfalls in recorded history in Massachusetts, most of New England. 

I, owning the Riding Stable, had an F-250 with an 8 ft plow, and a John Deere 318 with a 4 ft. plow.  All areas had to be cleared for safety and liability.  Snow left on the ground turns to ice.  That season we had 28 storms.  25 i had to plow. 

We had a Super system complete with radios to control traffic as we cleared all our elderly neighbors drives and the Riding Arenas, Parking lots.  Sometimes it was fun. But mostly that year i remember finally finishing a storm. Undressing, all 4 sets of sweat soaked Cuddl-Duds in the washer - and before the dryer had finished a NEW storm was in top of us. 

The kids and I spread by hand 2 Tons of Rock Salt and 8 tons of Sand.
That year i broke 2 vertebrae in my neck plowing. That was the season i firmly committed to leaving New England.

I am so grateful.  19 Degrees in Dragoon AZ is AWESOME

Walk in Beauty

The Importance of a Supply Kitty

I learned an important lesson yesterday, with regard to supplying my business.

I have a new line I am about to debut.  I put hours of mind work, then research into a new product before I create it.  It includes knowing my target market, what is Hot, What the Seasons colors are, and what makes me different - desirable - not like something everyone else has.. more often than not I am copied.  That is always a good thing.  I see it as a compliment.  My husband doesn't, until I point out to him that those that are copying me are not using Quality Stock.  I refuse to compromise on my materials. The difference between a Crafter and an Artist. 

Early Saturday i ran into a shop that carries items i can use - sometimes.  I found 2 pieces that i wanted - 1 i had been looking for at the right price point for quite some time.  The Shopkeeper was very busy and i was in a deep line when the phone rang.  I took the call and returned home immediately, placing the items back on the shelf.

My thinking was that i would be back on Monday morning - with more time and more cash - as i had a bakery delivery early Monday. 

When i returned the items were gone.  1 was an entire bolt of fabric, over 10 yds. GONE. 
i was very disappointed to say the least.

Lesson 1: Maintain a working monthly budget. Know how much you have to spend on supplies at all times.  That needs to be divided into repeat items or replenishing; and money for New Items for Growth.

Lesson 2: 10 minutes in line will is sometimes the best time you can spend.

I should have waited.

Growth is a wonderful thing!

Walk in Beauty!!

Turqouise: The Real Deal

If you BUY Turquoise Read this Please
A little about turquoise: 

There is many forms and shades of turquoise out there today.  Some very beautiful solid pieces are coming from other countries.  But limited solid pieces are being mined in the USA - and a large portion of what is available is stabilized.
Stabilizing turquoise uses heat and polymers, small bits or dust from cutting or mining.
This picture is some my Turquoise stock, shows a collection of Genuine Turquoise from the Southwest except for the square bright blue, which is from China, BUT not Stabilized, dyed or altered by heat or chemicals in anyway. Colors run from a pale blue to forest green. Graining, streaks, or marbling are a way of identifying and grading the quality of turquoise.

The large white looking piece is the palest blue i have ever seen.
Here is a Fantastic link to Turquoise - with details of identifying, processing, and more.  Fabulous pictures.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turquoise

Does this look Familiar?  It should.  It's often called White Turquoise or Buffalo Stone.  But in truth it is Howlite, or, even inappropriately Magnesite.  It is the stone used to fake turquoise...

Today you will find dyed Howlite or also called Magnesite in a rainbow of colors, being marketed as turquoise.

These 2 links are from a supplier, that I adore, that show examples of what i am talking about.  These folks Always mark their products as what they are.  But, they are the exception.

Turquoise color
http://www.silverenchantments.com/Beads/Turquoise/BD3634_magnesite-beads.html


Pumpkin Orange Color
http://www.silverenchantments.com/Beads/Turquoise/BD1551_6mm-orange-magnesite-beads_round.html


I really love some of the fantastic colors out there today.  They offer a designer so many options, stimulate creativity.

Unfortunately the average buyer does not know the difference between Genuine Turquoise and Enhanced or Stabilized Turquoise.  The problem comes to light in pricing a piece.  1 artist's prices are drastically lower than another's for a very similar piece at 1st glance. 

The replicas, synthetics, enhanced stock are so wonderfully made, with attention to marbling as well as surface, weight that it is very easy to be fooled.

Sadly some artists, not just consumers, are fooled.  Home Craft Artists or a percentage Cottage Industry artists, thinking that they "got a Great Deal!" and will be able to be highly competitive on the Retail Market unwittingly buy the "enhanced" product, price it accordingly, market it as Real Turquoise, and invariably only the color is Turquoise

I can see my ancestor's faces now as they are unearthing a gorgeous streak of turquoise that suddenly turns Pumpkin Orange?

Howlite and/or Magnesite is the greatest Turquoise hoax today!  It is the predominate stone used to create fake or rather enhanced turquoise.  The texture, weight is so like natural turquoise from many regions.  With dyes, heat and other techniques any color Turquoise. 

This is from Wikipedia, clearly depicting and substantiating all of the above:

Howlite is commonly used to make decorative objects such as small carvings or jewelry components. Because of its porous texture, howlite can be easily dyed to imitate other minerals, especially turquoise because of the superficial similarity of the veining patterns. The dyed howlite (or magnesite) is marketed as turquenite.^[8] Howlite is also sold in its natural state, sometimes under the misleading trade names of "white turquoise" or "white buffalo turquoise," or the derived name "white buffalo stone."



I hope this post will help both consumers and artists when working in the Turquoise Industry.  There is nothing wrong with using dyed stones - but there is a lot wrong with selling it as something it isn't and costing authentic artists sale

In the Southwest many native people's lively hoods stem from their work with Turquoise.  As the saying goes.... Buyer be Ware!  Seller be Fair!

When you see a $20 necklace next to a $200 necklace - Look Again.... Know what you are buying.
Walk In Beauty!Howlite is Beautiful naturally.  I use it frequently in my pieces.  I use natural white Howlite.