Mid-October 2018

Halloween Beads & Sept Shows

13th October 2018

See us tomorrow, Sunday 14th October at Norwich Bead Show, The George Hotel, Arlington Lane, Newmarket Road, Norwich NR2 2DA.

We’ll have many of our just-arrived-in-the-UK beads – the latest and best semi-precious. Beautiful venue, free entry, free refreshments, and free gifts!
Norwich Bead Fair

The Big Bead ShowThen the following Saturday at The Big Bead Show, Sandown Park Racecourse, High Street, Esher, London KT10 9AJ. This is the largest bead-only show in the UK and not to be missed!

Bead BuyingBe among the first to get you’re hands on the very latest beads just arrived – that we collected from Felixstowe last week.

Say your a MrBead Newsletter reader for a free gift!   We’re at over 30 shows this year, all with a bigger display: All our 2018 Bead Fairs.

Content:
September Bead Fairs
Halloween Beads
Autumn Bead Fairs
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See our beads at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com

September Bead Fairs

We exhibited at four shows in September:

Cornish Bead Fair
Cornish Bead Fair, Wadebridge 2018On Sunday the 2nd at The John Betjeman Centre, Wadebridge. Once again Johnny from Southhampton Bead Shop joined us, along with the hand crafted beads by Carol Mcalister.

Felt a little quieter than our spring Cornish show at Probus, but we did take more money at Wadebridge. So a great show in a hall jam-packed with beads!

Cornwall 2018Lizard Cornwall 2018MiMi and I took a few days break in Cornwall just before the show – beautiful weather. Visiting a friend at the Lizard and a night in an old pub by the harbour at Cadgwith.

Highgate London MrBead Show
London Highgate Bead Fair 2018Saturday 22nd September at Holly Lodge Community Centre. Hopefully this will be our last show at this venue – really hard work lugging half-a-tonne of beads up and down the ramp into the hall.

Will look for another venue nearby for next year. Our previous hall, at Kentish Town was great, but every year it has new management and the last double booked us, then let us in an hour late on the next rental. Hard work in London!

However, despite this and a hard-to-find place, we did very well – which is usually the case in London. We even had a customer especially come all the way from Malta. Maybe new stock helped.

Essex MrBead Bead Show
Essex Bead Show 2018Next day, Sunday 23rd September, at Great Bromley Village Hall. We love this one!

Not too far from London or Norwich, very easy to unload and setup, and everything easy. We can setup at a village hall in half the time it takes at a Rock ‘n’ Gem Fair.

We  never take as much as London, but a beautiful hall in a beautiful village, with everyone pleasant.

Beads Up North!
Beads Up North Sept 2018Sunday 30th September at Haydock Racecourse, near Liverpool. Exhibiting at this show feels like wearing an old pair of shoes: always easy and comfortable.

Not as many visitors as the spring fair, but we were still flat out until 3pm with good takings.  Gordon does a great job.

Everyone at his show is so friendly. And I particularly liked the way people up North people hold doors’ open: like the ‘old days’ in the South.

Spooky Halloween Beads

Skull BeadsSkull BeadsSkull Beads
Skull jewellery is once again becoming popular. Especially with the young, who wear skull rings on their fingers and hang skull pendants on their bags. The media adds to the craze with many celebratory discreetly showing skulls.

Buddhism
Skull BeadsSkull jewellery at one time was only for Buddhists. Skulls have a negative context in Western culture, but to Buddhists they remind them to focus on reaching Nevada. The ultimate rebirth, when one finally escapes the suffering of terrestrial life – the final goal of their cycles of death and rebirth. Seeing skulls prevent Buddhists from wasting time building their ego or wealth, which becomes useless upon death.

Gothic
Skull BeadsModern gothic culture has some similarities to Buddhist. Goths like to highlight suffering, so as to contrast from living and create an optimistic outlook. This similarity is rather like the oriental concept of yin and yang – opposite and constant flowing forces. Increase yin, and yang with decrease, and vice versa. Likewise, draw attention to death, and life brightens.

Why wear skulls?
Skull BraceletTo others, skulls remind that we all have to die. Skulls show that life is not permanent and are a symbol that we are all flirting with death. In this context they represent a quest to survive, a reminder to be careful. For the same reason hot-rodders’ hang a furry dice inside their cars’ representing danger.

Rock Stars
In the world of rock music, skulls have always been worn. Every rocker sports a white metal skull ring, or a skull bracelet or necklace. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones has worn a skull ring since the early seventies. Ozzy Osbourne and Axel Rose would never be seen without skull jewellery. To them skulls don’t just represent a fling with death, but a symbol of survival.

Rebels
Some link the skull image to rebellion, like pirates fly the skull and cross bones. Outlaws to society want to show they live by their own values, and will not be forced into a way of thought by others who have an alternate and often immoral motive.

Skull beads are ideal for Halloween, and students have been hanging them on their rucksacks all year. Skulls remind that we all have to die. Skulls show that life is not permanent and are a symbol that we are all flirting with death. See our many skull beads at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com

Orange & Black Beads

halloweenWith Halloween just around the corner, we thought it fun to look at orange and black gemstone beads. You can’t celebrate Halloween without using these in your jewellery.

They are also great to wear during autumn since orange matches the beautiful fall leaves, and black is a classy tone that will compliment every colour. The classic gemstones in these colours are orange carnelian and black onyx.

Carnelian gets the brilliant orange colour from iron oxide, and black onyx is usually made by treating chalcedony or agate with a sugar solution and then carbonizing it with heated sulfuric acid.

Colour enhancements for these stones are so common that majority of carnelians and onyx sold today are enhanced agate. However, this makes the stones available in larger sizes and at more affordable prices.Carnelian Beads

Other stones in these colours are fire opals, pearls, and orange aventurines for sunset tones – and obsidian or jet for black beads. It may also be fun to combine copper findings with onyx beads if you want a classy jewellery that you can wear year- round but would still have a hint of Halloween.Carnelian BeadsOnyx Beads

To see our Carnelian beads click MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com
For our Onyx beads click MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com

Autumn Bead Fairs

Rest of bead fairs and full 2018 Bead Fair List

      • Sunday 14th October – Norwich MrBead Bead Show – Arlington Lane, Newmarket Road, Norwich, Norfolk NR2 2DA. Full details here.
      • Saturday 20th October – The Big Bead Show, Sandown Park, Esher, London KT10 9AJ. Full details here.
      • Sat & Sun 27th-28th October – Newton Abbot Gem n Bead Fair: Newton Abbot Racecourse, Kingsteignton TQ12 3AF. Full details here.
      • Sunday 4th November – Cheshire Bead Fair, Nantwich Civic Hall, Market Place, Nantwich CW5 5DG. Full details here.
      • Sat & Sun 10th-12th November – Kempton Park Gem n Bead Fair, Kempton Park Racecourse, Staines Road East, London TW16 5AQ. Full details here.
      • Sat & Sun 17th-18th November – Brighton Gem n Bead Fair, Brighton Racecourse, Freshfield Road, Brighton, East Sussex BN2 9XZ. Full details here.

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