Rock and Bead Fun Day Out

I’m often asked where I buy my beads. There are rock, gem and bead shows all around the country open for anyone to visit for a small entry fee. This is a little flavour of what to expect. For me, a day out to one of these shows is a bit like a visit to a sweetie shop! So much to see and choose just a few. This one was held in the Brighton Racecourse buildings, last weekend.

One of my regular trade suppliers has retired, so my mission was to find a replacement. I’m quite fussy! The beads have to be good quality, well cut and polished, with regular drill holes as some can be very small and sharp. Also it helps to be able to repeat an order sometimes, which can be tricky as I usually only buy one of each row.

Look at all the choice! It makes it very hard, even with an idea of the colours and gemstones I want. Jaspers and Agates are here in the front trays. Some of the hanging ones are Rock Crystal (colourless quartz) Lapis Lazuli, Turquoise, Blue Beryl, Aquamarine and Rose Quartz. Just as well they’re colour co-ordinated, much easier!

There are also lots of polished minerals to buy either for certain energies or just because they look lovely. Those green/grey shiny ones in the front are Labradorite, named after it’s place of origin, Labrador in Canada. As you turn the stone is has this beautiful iridescence of rainbow colours. This is a bit like the effect of oil on water, cause by light refracting from all the layers in the stone structure. Probably one of my favourite gemstones.

I hope you enjoyed looking at these. Do have a look through my website. See if you recognise any of the beads from the pictures.