Bead Society of Greater New York
February 2013 Update

Almost double the size of last year, BSGNY's 8th Annual Garage Sale held on February 27, 2013 was a major hit with more vendors and visitors than ever. BSGNY's advertising campaign included: (a) eye-catching day-of-the-sale ads in NY's leading daily free newspapers, amNY and Metro, (b) listed on NY1's calendar of events, (c) posted on Craig's List and several other online bulletin boards, and (d) e-blasts, mailings and distribution of our colorful event flyer by BSGNY and it's members. All of this contributed to the unquestionable success of this event. The result was evident in the crowd of over 350 visitors arriving ready to shop 'til they drop! There were two rooms of vendors filled with beads and findings galore along with a variety of beading books and magazines, vintage clothing, sweaters, finished jewelry, hats, accessories, vintage components, scrap-booking supplies, and just about anything else that anyone seeking creative inspiration could ask for.

Vendors, adorned in their most eye-catching hand-crafted creations, filled the selling floor with colorful strands of semi-precious beads, glass and paper beads, polymer, fabric designs and metal components. An overview of the selling floor was like looking down into an overflowing chest of newly found buried treasures. The deeper you dug, the more exciting the find. For instance, available for sale was a very unique enameled flower bead designed by Merle Berelowitz that was incorporated into a wonderful necklace created by one of our most "unique" members, Suzanne Golden.For those seeking storage solutions, there were vintage and handcrafted jewelry boxes; and a wide selection of containers to store all our loose beads waiting to become very special works of art. Tables with beading books drew a constant crowd of people hoping to find yet another way to use their beautiful beads. It will definitely be exciting to see how everyone incorporates their 'treasured' purchases into future masterpieces! As always, BSGNY members who displayed their finished pieces for sale, continue to reflect the incredible creativity and talent within our organization.

But this Sale was not limited to just beads and jewelry. Oh no, my friends. Plenty of standard 'garage sale' items ranging from odds & ends that may have come from your grandmother's attic to charming fabric rosettes that brought to mind an antique quilt from the 1890's, and a pair of skeletal forms holding purple glass candles.

The event exuded FUN. As the sale came to an end, the crowds lingered to the very last minute taking it all in. Feedback from several vendors revealed extremely positive sales results. BSGNY recruited 5 new members at the Sale and added over 40 people to our non-member mailing list. All in all, this reporter would say that once again, BSGNY's Annual Garage Sale was a huge success and continues to be one of our most popular events!

Please be sure to scroll down to view some wonderful pictures
from this meeting!

GENERAL BUSINESS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

• BSGNY is happy to announce our "Spring into Summer" Luncheon to be held on Sunday, June 23, 2013 at Morton's Steakhouse in NYC. Further details will be sent to the membership in the very near future - but we wanted to let you know now so that you can MARK YOUR CALENDARS & SAVE THE DATE!!! It will be an afternoon filled with lots of fun, good food, raffle prizes and... SHOPPING FOR BEADS!!!!
• BSGNY received a letter from Catherine Musele, the student in Kenya that the Bead Society sponsors through Beads For Education. She writes that she and her fellow students are preparing for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) instead of their regular exams this semester. Catherine was looking forward to their December Holiday break as she would be able to help on her parents' farm, attend church conferences and visit some of her relatives. This is a time when her grandmother likes to tell stories which help to build the moral character of the younger family members. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day culminates in a big celebration with song, dance and special foods not usually eaten during the year. She wishes we could all attend to share this wonderful experience.
• BSGNY works very hard to find outlets for our members to expand and display their talent and skills, and to enhance benefits of membership in our organization for all of our members. We use our very limited funds to support our monthly speaker's program, workshops, and special events such as the Annual Garage and Holiday Sales, World of Beads, bus trips to the Philadelphia bead show, etc. Collection of membership dues, workshop fees and vendor table fees do not come close to covering the expense of running these programs. It is very important that members understand that BSGNY subsidizes the cost of these events to allow our Society to thrive. We feel it is important to remind our members that you cannot rely solely on our limited advertising budget to get the word out about our organization and it's events. That is why we keep stressing that WE NEED ALL OUR MEMBERS TO HELP SPREAD THE WORD for our events. Taking out ads and printing up flyers is of no use if our members don't do their part in passing them out, sending them to your mailing lists and posting the events on your websites, Facebook page, Tweets and other electronic platforms. Please keep this in mind for future events -- and let's all of us become part of the BSGNY advertising campaign to keep our Society alive and strong for years to come!
• Members' Accomplishments:
• Merle Berelowitz's beautiful embroidered collar design will appear in the April 2013 issue of Bead & Button magazine, pg 18. The piece features her unique enameled flowered beads. These beads were an exciting new item for sale on Merle's vendor table at BSGNY's February 27th Garage Sale.
• Suzanne Golden's new book, "Suzanne Golden Presents" will be available for sale in April 2013. The book is the first in a new series curated by a beading superstar. It introduces 34 beaders chosen by Suzanne from the global beading community. The lush images and interviews are sure to serve as pure inspiration.