A Visit to Bead & Button

A beautiful piece of wearable art

Last weekend I drove to Milwaukee for the Bead & Button Show.  It’s a 90-minute drive each way, so I had about 2 ½ hours to hang out there before I had to be back in Chicago. I just wanted to visit the exhibit hall, buy a few items, and say hello to some friends who had a booth.  I have been going to Bead & Button for 10 years, but this was the first time I went without my BFF.

I love these colorful storage cabinets.
$159 each. Drool …..

This is one of my favorite vendors, My
Elements.  They sell rubber components  for
jewelry making and are incredibly creative.

This is half of the Exhibit Hall.
There seemed to be fewer attendees than last year.

Yes, they actually sell buttons
at Bead & Button.

This is my friend Dee Dee's booth.
Banyan Bay Studio beads

Dee Dee makes her beads from layers of
wood.  She turns each one on a lathe.
They are beautiful.

It was a nice day trip, but I really missed my BFF.  We usually walk through the exhibit hall together, stopping occasionally to say "ohh, ahh" or "who would buy that?"  We also smuggle little bottles of rum into the hall where we buy $4 cokes and doctor them up.  That makes the shopping even more fun.

The only things I bought at the show were some brass chain and a few silk ribbons that I use as bracelets.  Next year I won't go to B&B unless my BFF goes too.  It just isn't the same without her.

- christina