Soft Flex Company is at The Whole Bead Show in November. Make sure you visit our booth (606, 608, 709). We will be showing you how to make jewelry. We will be selling beading wire, tools, and jewelry making supplies. We will be filming YouTube videos and live Facebook videos. If you enjoy Sara’s beading videos, this is a great chance to watch her in person.
Sara will be filming a live Facebook Design Challenge video on Tuesday, October 30th. The week before The Whole Bead Show. She is going to be opening mystery packages from vendors that will have booths at the show. This will be a wonderful opportunity to see what kind of gemstones and lovely stuff that you will find at the show. If you plan to visit the show, check it out. You can start your shopping list early. If you do not plan to visit the show, the live Facebook video will be a great way to find a new bead store you may have missed.
During the show, Sara will be filming videos at our booth. She will be making jewelry and answering questions. The videos will be live on Facebook and later uploaded to YouTube. Sara loves to demonstrate ways to use Soft Flex Wire. She loves to use color wire and show the wire. She uses the colors to accent her stones and beads. She uses remnant wire to create beautiful earrings. She uses macramé boards and knitting spools. Colored beading wire is part of her designs and she makes it as expressive as the beads she uses. She will field any beading questions from how to crimp to how to wire wrap.
The Whole Bead Show takes place in Oakland at the Marriot City Center. The show is open November 9th through the 11th, Friday and Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday 11am-5pm.
This is the first show for the Whole Bead in Oakland. We can’t wait. Ava Motherwell, the show host, has been staging bead shows for over twenty-five years. She put together her first show in Washington D.C. It was a simple affair with only eight exhibitors. This blossomed into a beading show empire of sorts. She moved on to a show in Tucson that was a wild success and she added more and more cities. You can visit a Whole Bead Show in places all over the United States. New York, Colorado, Arizona, Hawaii, California and Nevada –there is a show for everyone whether you are a tourist or a local.
The Whole Bead Show is an event. You will find table after table of delightful beads on sale. Exhibitors will be selling finished jewelry, Czech Glass, lampwork, vintage, gemstones, findings, beading wire and jewelry making supplies. There is something for every beader. While the floor is alive with sales, classes will be in full swing. Jewelry designers from around the world will be teaching techniques. You can learn a new knit. You can learn etching and metal working. You can learn a new way to work with color. You will leave with a wonderful new piece of jewelry you have mastered.
Thirty jewelry making classes will be staged during the show. Our friend, Nealay Patel will be teaching some of those classes. He is an incredible designer and teacher. Nealay makes wonderful wire dense jewelry. His beading wire does not hide in bead channels. Nealay makes the wire dance and sing with his jewelry. The wire weaves in and out of beads. The wire loops around focals and dangles. He knits intricate and wonderful pieces. Nealay’s work is instantly memorable.
Soft Flex Company has been visiting Oakland for more than a decade. The Bay Area Bead Extravaganza was the previous show. It was at the same venue, The Oakland Marriott City Center. It was around the same time in November. The BABE show was the largest beading show on the West Coast for many years. BABE wrapped up its long run last year. We were sad to see it go but elated that Ava decided to host The Whole Bead Show at the same venue to fill the void. It will be wonderful to see our regulars return and see new faces.
Bead shows are nirvana for beaders and jewelry makers. Bead shows are a dense collection of bead stores, designers, and jewelry stores. And they are all selling their finest beads and jewelry supplies. Buying beads online is fantastic, but nothing beats standing in front of an ocean of beads and gemstones and getting to touch and see them in person.
Beading Trade shows criss-cross the country. Fashion shows, glass gatherings, gemstone and jewelry shows – you can bet you will find something you love. Exhibitors and artists come from all over the world to show their inventory. It is equivalent to the global shopping experience of the internet, but in person. The vendors offer beads, discounts or jewelry making demos that you will not find anywhere else. There is also the experience of meeting the people behind the companies you love. Whether they are the designers or owners – it is always fun to talk to an artist in our community and see what makes them tick.
If you have not visited a bead show before and are able to get to Oakland in November, you will be amazed. There is nothing quite like table after table of beads. So many colors and designs, it can be overwhelming. Wheel and deal and hunt for bargains. Bring friends and buy in bulk, so many vendors love to give big breaks to customers that buy in big quantities. Talk to everybody. Networking at a big show can mean beading buddies for life. If you love beads, the experience will resonate for years. It is well worth the effort to visit a big bead show at least once.
November 9-11, 2018
Friday and Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 11am-5pm
We hope to see you there!
Booth 606, 608, 709
Marriott Oakland City Center
West Ballroom
1001 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94607
RETAIL
This show is open to the general public. No pre-registration is required or offered.
WHOLESALE
Bring a copy of your state-issued resale license to register as a wholesale buyer.
Parking Finder has an interactive map where you can type in your times/dates and it will tell you which garages are open and what the estimated cost will be.
TICKETS
Friday-Sunday $10 at the door (good for entire weekend)
Click here to download a PDF of a coupon to receive $5 off admission for the whole weekend.
Make sure you follow us on Facebook and YouTube during the show. Sara will be covering everything we know you will want to see.
Visit the Soft Flex Company YouTube Channel!
Blog contributor Thomas Soles is the Trade Show Coordinator for Soft Flex Company. His favorite stones are Lapis and Pietersite. His favorite hobby is day dreaming. And his favorite mustache is Tom Selleck's. As you can see, he has a healthy (or possibly unhealthy) sense of humor. You can write to him at Thomas@SoftFlexCompany.com