Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Society's 50th Show

The Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Society formed in 1953, two years after I was born, and here we were sharing a booth with one of the charter members. We felt honored, to say the least. As the doors opened the crown quickly swelled and the first day of the show was on!
The day before the show Roy and I had volunteered to help move the display cases from storage and as we got there was Dick. He is eighty seven years young and there he was helping to push a cart laden with cases onto the trailer. Arriving at the Robstown Fairgrounds we were able to back in and the setup went as easy as you can expect, with fifty years of practice( I know the numbers don't add up but the society didn't have its first show until 1962).
We helped Dick unload his cases for his booth and I scattered Sweetwater moss agates on our two tables before setting up our own display. This year our theme was about our prospecting in Wyoming and we had aventurine, snowflake jade, and lepidolite, all rocks that we had found and then sawed polished and cut. All were rocks we have written about in this blog.
The next day we got up early and headed to the show. Renita and I were kind of old hands at the setup, but it still took us about an hour to get the tables ready. We had added several new displays including one in which people pick out a stone and then we make it into a custom  ring It was our first show in which we were using two tables and it was the most expensive we have ever paid for a place.
Quickly the show packed as the club had a near record crowd. Strong winds had made outdoor activities impossible and the club had really made a push in advertising and promotions. The day went fast as we were packed with people admiring our art and we barely had time to walk around and purchase some much needed equipment, rocks, and tools.
When the day ended we had achieved a best day ever and the show was a success! This is in spite of all the money we had spent ourselves and the cost of the tables. All the other vendors we talked to were all pleased with the days crowd and the willingness to spend money.
Too soon the alarm went off, ok we don;t really use an alarm as I an an early riser, and we headed for the second day of the show. Being as it was a Sunday it started off slow, and we had time to visit with other club members and meet some of the Rolling Rocks, rock club members form other cities in Texas. We were invited to show at the Houston show, and while we can't attend it this year it sure is an interesting possibility.
Our sales were slower than the first day but we did have a custom order to wrap a piece of brindled turquoise. While we didn't sell any of our new bracelets we did have lots of people who admired its beauty and weight. Made from some pink jade in graphic granite, its one rock we found near Jeffery City, Wyoming.
It contains so much silver we can't afford to make more then one at a time so its more of a custom order piece in which we will make one special from each persons wrist measurements.
The day ended and we were tired as we loaded our displays and helped to tear down the clubs cases and supplies. It was the best show ever for us and got us thinking about next year, as we were told we were going to be offered a contract for sellers,(we had gotten in this year on Dicks contract as we helped him and his daughter in law Teresa with their breaks and sales. Time to take a break from rock and go fishing! Clear skies.

2 comments:

  1. Sounds like you are becoming established stone vendors. Rock on!!!!

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  2. That bracelet is gorgeous!! - C

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