Time For Bead Shows - Part I

It’s that time of year again and with the harvest, football and cooler temperatures comes the buying season for jewelry makers and designers. For shows in your area, check with your local paper or hobby/beading store; make sure to check with the show to see if it is wholesale only or open to the public. Those that are wholesale only require the buyer to usually have a business license, state sales tax ID, and business card; so make sure to check out the show before attending so that you won’t be turned down if it’s not open to the public.

To mention just a few of the wholesale shows, you can check their websites for listings and more information.

Parker Trade Shows
International Gem & Jewelry Show
Gem & Lapidary Wholesalers, Inc.
The Whole Bead Show

The Gem Shows Blog is a very extensive listing of both public and wholesale shows around the country.

Bead Shows in Review

Bead shows around the county have been going on for several months now and to many of us who bead, wire, or do lapidary, it’s been a ‘hit or miss’ depending on where you live, what show comes your way and what vendors attend the shows. This years’ crop of shows early in the season has left me wondering if vendors are truly hurting from lack of sales or are they raising their prices too high causing a slow down in purchases.

Here is San Antonio, Texas we’ve had several from wholesale only to public shows to chose from and reading on; you’ll find a review of the shows I attended with pros, cons and bottom line. We hold no affiliation with any of the show producers, vendors or venues. Our review of these shows is strictly independent and based on our observations of pervious attendance at these shows.

Tucson 2009 - February
This goes without saying that if you want to get the largest, widest selection of stones, cuts, exotics, or anything in the lapidary world, Tucson is the place to be each February. Though not a true ‘veteran’ of the Tucson experience, from what we’ve heard and read on other forums and blogs, similar comments were found.

Cons: Still under construction on the major freeway made getting around a little tough if you rented a car. The shuttle services available were again the best way to get around to the majority of the big shows. However, there were about half the shuttles available this year as in the past. Masses developed by end of the week once Tucson was in full swing; this gave longer wait times for those waiting on shuttles. For the first time the many wholesale only shows opened to the public by the weekend to purchase at the same prices of wholesale customers; isn’t that the whole reason for having business credentials?

Pros: Thousands of vendors and hundreds of shows to shop and chose from makes this the best place to get your stock for the year. Everything from raw lapidary material, cut stones, findings, display stuff, finished jewelry and much more can be found here.

Bottom Line: Check shows before attending, many of the big and better shows are wholesale only with purchase requirements. Prices this year seemed lower than last year and vendors were willing to ‘make deals’ to get a sale. Buyers were taking advantage of the discounts and it was hard to sometimes get down aisles for the bags and suitcases used to haul your treasures away. If there is a recession, it wasn’t happening from what was experience at Tucson.

San Antonio Bead Market Winter – February
This is a public and wholesale show that starts off the bead show season in February and is held at the Live Oak Civic Center. To get the wholesale price, buyers were asked to show their Sales Tax Certificate and fill out the proper forms. Always free to the public with free parking.

Cons: Small selection of the same vendors that come to every bead show in the San Antonio area. Vendors this year didn’t have the selections and quality as in the past. Many vendors had dumped stock onto the tables for people to sift through at rock bottom discounted prices; however, looking for quality and unique stones, pay a price by the strand. Check your strands this year, when measuring some of the strands purchased, found that it is not 16” strand, but a 12-10” strand.

Pros: Smaller show to start off the bead buying here; however, have your Sales Tax certificate in order to get the wholesale price on any purchases.

Bottom Line: Many of the better vendors were noticeably absent; so selection was not as good as in the past. Show was much smaller than in the past and buying appeared to be in smaller quantities rather than the larger purchases of the past.

Rings & Things – March
This is a By Invite Only Wholesale show that travels around the country and makes their stop to San Antonio in mid-March at Aggie Park. Rings & Things brings their wholesale store to you the buyer; gives a person the ability to test, touch and feel the product before purchase.
Cons: Of course because it is produced by Rings & Things, only their items are available for purchase. Prices seemed higher than in the past and the selection was not as good or as much as previously.

Pros: Wholesale only show and gives you the opportunity to see what Rings & Things is all about.

Bottom Line: Last year there were bigger crowds and more buying going on; couldn’t hardly get between tables last year, but this year moved about quite easily. Lacked in the pearls, exotic and specialty cut stones this year, as well as not many metal beads.

Fiesta of Gems Mineral & Rock Show – March
The lapidary group in the San Antonio area holds their annual Fiesta of Gems Mineral & Rock show in March at the Live Oak Civic Center; open to the public with free parking with a small attendance fee.

Cons: Open to the public and gives a person the opportunity to see the raw materials of many stones before they are cut and polished. Silent Auction was filled with many finds in the lapidary world; displays were eye opening and educational.

Pros: Small show and way too many ‘finished jewelry’ vendors. Prices seem quite high for lapidary raw material. Not many bead vendors, but then this is a lapidary show, not a beading show.

Bottom Line: Great show for the person just getting into the lapidary or jewelry industry to get educated on gemstones. However, those vendors that did have beads available were overpriced even for retail prices.

Parker Trade Shows – April
Parker Trade show over three days comes quarterly to the San Antonio area, held at the Freeman Coliseum with ample free parking. Not open to the public this is a wholesale only show for those whose businesses are in the Gift & Jewelry industry; you must provide business credentials to include business license and card, along with your State Tax Certificate to gain entrance.

Cons: Appears that vendors change through the seasons; Spring/Summer brings in more of the finished jewelry and gift industry vendors while the Fall /Winter shows bring in a mix of bead, findings and some finished jewelry and gift vendors. Some vendors that attend this show also attend many of the smaller area shows open to the public. Buying appeared on smaller scale compared to other years; vendors offered bigger discounts for volume purchases, especially if done in hanks rather than single strands.

Pros: Smaller scale of vendors and a mass of finished jewelry and gift vendors; offering a wide and vast selection to browse. One should plan on this being an entire day to attend to see everything.

Bottom Line: This year, many vendors had purchase minimums ‘purchase in hanks’ to get bigger discounts while ‘purchase by the strand’ was higher price. Noticeably absent were the lampwork, glass and pearl vendors. Disappointed those quality vendors of the past didn’t live up to the excellence they are known for with inferior stock and selection.


While it was somewhat apparent that buying was alive and well, done on a large scale in Tucson; the local bead shows are not getting the quality vendors and products of the past, just be prepared to pay more this year than in the past. Also, check to make sure to have your state sale tax certificate and business cards available to get the wholesale discounts, as many of the vendors are now requiring those documents to sell at wholesale price.

Purchase Wholesale

A lot of people wonder how to get the exotic cuts and stones along with the great deals. One way to do this of course is to have your business credentials; sales tax certificate, business license etc., whatever is needed for you to operate a business in your city and state and purchase through wholesale dealers or shows.

Some of the better deals and best vendors are those you can find at the Tucson show; however, many of those same dealers travel around to regional wholesale shows. I often will attend these over any ‘open to the public’ show, since the dealers and product are often much better at the wholesale shows. Check with your favorite vendors to see what shows they attend and make note over the year. This is really the best way to get the best deals on quality, exotic cuts and stones.

Here is a small list of several producers of wholesale shows:

Gem & Lapidary Wholesale Inc.
International Gem & Jewelry Show
Parker Trade Shows

And check the blog Gem Shows for information on gem, jewelry and lapidary shows, information and resource links.

Stop! Bead Show Ahead!

Ok, so your schedule didn’t work out so that you could go to Tucson….next best thing, your local bead shows. Spring is coming on and with it comes the slew of local bead shows; national and international vendors bring direct to you their beads, findings, pendants, wire, tools, and even finished products. So ask yourself what to do, how to be a smart shopper and avoid the ‘impulse buys’ by getting prepared.

1) So when will bead shows be in your area? Check the sites of your favorite venders they often list what shows they attend through-out the year. Also, check with any of these sites Rings & Things, The Whole Bead Show, International Gem Show and The Bead Market, just to name a few places to start.
2) Set a budget as to what you will spend; this may be determined by stock you are out of and some left over for purchases of specialty items.
3) Bring a couple of checks, plenty of cash and your credit cards just in case you run into someone who doesn’t take one or the other.
4) Be sure to bring a copy of your Tax ID certificate and business cards. Some shows are known as wholesale only and will require these items for entrance. If it is a public show, don’t be afraid to ask the vendors for a wholesale discount and provide both these items to them to get a discount.
5) Make a list of items you are out of; these will be the first things to look for at the show. If I know that I’ll be buying from previous vendors, I’ll group those items together on the list for ease.
6) I also make a list of items I am looking for and want; it could be stones or pendants I’ve seen online or a combination of colors in another design. This helps to keep the ‘impulse’ buying down by knowing what you are looking for and can afford.
7) Wear comfortable shoes and bring a bag to load all your goodies into.
8) Include in your shopping bag several sizes of zip lock bags; as you find things that go together, put them in the little baggies, this makes it easy to determine why you purchased these little gems when you get home.
9) Paper and pen; I bring paper and pen to mark bead names if they are not already marked. This makes identifying much easier than guessing or having to go through the process to indentify each unknown stone or pendant.
10) If you are looking to match a pendant, beads or color combination you already have; bring a few of these on a string or in a baggie to matchup at the bead show. This takes the guess work out of ‘thinking’ something matched and finding out later it wasn’t even close.
11) Bring baby wipes for easy cleanup; looking through tons of strands of beads and boxes of findings can get a little messy and dusty.
12) Look for suppliers whose ads you’ve seen for products you’re interested in. Bring the ad if possible and look for those products; this is the perfect place to handle these items before purchasing to determine if this is what you really wanted.
13) Take brakes and rest, get something to eat, drink and take time to review your shopping list and bag; typically it takes an entire day to attend a bead show.
14) Last but not least; this takes willpower but walk the entire show first to see what is available, check out pricing and watch what others are buying. Many vendors have the same products and offer different discounts; look for the best quality and prices available. Make note as to vendors you want to return to for purchases of those goodies after you have finished walking the whole show.
15) Above all --- be a smart shopper and have fun!

Now start your shopping list, get going and Good Luck!!!