Santa Fe

I'm back from Santa Fe, New Mexico, and recovering from six very full and busy days. The show was quite successful for me, I am really pleased. I had a lot of really nice input on my work, met some editors and some great customers, sold lots of beads and some finished jewelry, laughed and ate with friends and even squeezed in a few short walks and a tiny bit of shopping!

The food was insanely good in each and every place we ate, of a completely different calibre than the Mexican/Southwestern food we can get here. Everything was so delicious.
Each night Cris, Gail, Stacey and I took possession of these two comfortable benches in front of the wood fireplace, behind the restaurant in the La Fonda hotel. We talked and laughed and made fun of each other and took pictures and laughed some more.
Cris and Gail after a long day:
Stacey shows off her new boots and a pensive expression:
Cris and I in the La Fonda show space (picture pinched from Gail, thanks Gail!) Check out the fabulous chandeliers!
A few pics of my table, and a wee corner of Cris's. There were people in front of hers each time I went to take a picture...which is good!



It was a pleasure to get out for a few minutes and there were interesting things to see everywhere I looked. This is the oldest church in the US, built in 1610.

A beautifully cast bronze plaque:
A commemorative stone in the park in the center of town: This is the beautiful hotel, our show was here and we also stayed here. I'm so glad we stayed in this hotel instead of a more modern one, it was absolutely oozing with atmosphere (in a good way!). There were painted tiles and painted windows and painted walls, fat cushions and comfortable chairs everywhere, beautiful light from skylights, interesting little shops throughout, and the nicest staff. (Except for a couple of guys Cris and I encountered on Sunday night, we're not sure just what they were up to but we have our suspicions that sumpin' was goin' on!) Our room was tiny but the beds were really comfortable and our vivid yellow bathroom was a good way to wake up the brain. I loved it there and would happily move in for good if I could have a bigger room. And my girlfriend. And my cat. And my torch.
Some of the wonderfully shapely adobe buildings:


It was quite a trip. We slept very little...Cris and I see each other very seldom that we found we had a lot to talk about, and despite our best intentions each night, we ended up talking for hours before going to sleep.
I could go on, about the destructiveness of airline luggage handlers (2 brand new bead trays broken, my miniature dress form broken, my clip board smashed to smithereens), the stress of one of Cris's bags not appearing until late Thursday afternoon (it held half of her display items, including the bases to her display stands), how nice it is to go so far away and yet see some familiar faces amongst the customers, how sincerely nice the other vendors were all around us....it was great fun. I hope I can do it again next year!