I have just returned from Santa Fe, N.M., where I spent a couple days at Bead Fest. If you have never been to a bead show, I will describe it as all the beads you could ever want, with hundreds of people just like you.

The show was interesting, as always. For the most part, bead vendors and artists from the western side of the country attend. I like that because it gives me a little different perspective from what I normally see, living in the Midwest.

So, what was hot at Bead Fest? I saw some evidence of the green movement in that there were quite a lot of vintage beads and metal pieces. I also saw beach-glass beads. We could call that recycling or repurposing of old materials. But the biggest trend pointed to a global community of beaders. There were beads from all over the world. They were made of bone, antler, shell, wood, hammered metals and more. There was definitely an ethnic flavor at the show.

Some other trends I took note of:

• The finished jewelry is large in size, with big pendants.
• All kinds of materials are being mixed together in one piece—beads of bone with glass and metal, for instance.
• Brightly dyed stone beads.
• Mixed media beads and jewelry—adding paper, fibers, fabric, etc. to traditional jewelry design.

A bead show is so inspiring! I have so many ideas of how I can use these trends in Simply Beads kits. What do you think about beads with an ethnic flavor?

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