Meet the Teachers

Every year at Bead & Button, people actually pay admission just to meet jewelry teachers. It's still hard to believe, and we were there.

And not just a few people - hundreds! At least hundreds. For one short night we the teachers are rock stars. People line up and wait, winding deep into the halls of the convention center. They pay. The floor shakes. It shakes with the thunder of their stampede as the doors open.

Usually this is a slow night for us as students prowl for wire and bead kits (or so it seems to me). My metalsmithing stuff is great, but soldering is often too intimidating for raw beginners. Not so this year! This year I'm an author and we were swarmed with fans and people interested in soldering. Books sold out. DVDs were sucked up and money, smiles, autographs, questions and answers exchanged with people from all over the country and beyond like Australia, France, Israel and the UK. Amazing. So grateful.