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If you love jewelry made of beads or stones -- tiger's eye, moonstone, turquoise, you name it -- have I found the place for you. It's call the Gem and Bead Faire, and it travels up and down the West Coast states, as well as stops in Utah and New Mexico. Last weekend, it set up shop at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.
If you've been paying top dollar for Native American jewelry or stone jewelry set in silver like that typically crafted in Tibet and Nepal, you're going to love the Gem and Bead Faire. Imagine a gym-sized room, filled with aisle after aisle of booths brimming with strings of beads several feet long for only a couple dollars or tray upon tray of handmade stone pendants for about one-quarter the price you'd pay in a boutique.
Take a deep breath, it's a bit overwhelming. I've never seen so much jewelry in one place in my life, and never at these prices. One wholesaler's prices were so cheap, his pendants weren't even priced individually -- you just place your items in a tray and are charged by the ounce. Twelve bucks for a handmade three inch long labradorite pendant set in sterling silver? I've seen similar pieces selling for five times that! I felt like sneaking out after I bought it. It felt just like stealing.
Also available are all the little pieces of hardware and tools you need to make any type of jewelry you could imagine if you don't like what the vendors have to offer. If you're unskilled at jewelry making, don't despair -- there are free jewelry-making lessons offered in the back of the room.
Fine jewelry is also available at discount prices, with everything from jade to pearls available. While-you-wait jewelry repair is also offered at the faire, as well as miscellaneous collectibles such as Russian nesting dolls and figurines.
If you missed out last weekend, don't despair. The Gem and Bead Faire rolls into the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco on March 21-23, the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa on May 2-4, and the Scottish Rite Center in Sacramento on Aug. 15-17.
Find out more about the Gem and Bead Faire at www.gemfaire.com
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