I mean, come on, how often do you click on somebody's ‘link’ page? Right. Me either. So I've tried to make this one a little more entertaining—and if you are in fact looking for some jeremiad (isn't that a great word?) located somewhere or other on the site, well, here some of them are, collected for your, um, benefit. With time, they might even all be collected, and isn't that a scary thought?
Of course, strictly speaking, the whole site could be considered a giant rant. And some of the pages, such as the one in which I complain about customer reactions to scrimshaw on ivory are sort of borderline. The shops list has not only links to shops that sell my beads, but shops from which I buy beads, tama, glass and stuff. Other ‘raves’ listed below have hung around long enough that I figure there's a decent chance they won't break my links, and they have good info. The list is by no means exhaustive. Plus, new for 2006, a collection of mini-rants from the index pages.
The flowers were mostly shot in a friend's garden, and are not spectacular pix, though the garden itself is surely beautiful. Lots of daylilies, which happen to be the friend's passion.
01feb2010
I thought this store was great, but was afraid it wouldn't survive. Alas, I was correct. . Originally posted 25nov08. 25nov2008
My favorite tool for picking out digital cameras. Invaluable. 30apr05 30apr2005
It's so out of fashion to gush over something as ordinary as a grocery store but that's exactly what this little paean is. Seriously, though, think about how often you visit your local grocery store—you might as well appreciate rather than resent the experience. (30may04) 04jun2004
Third (but not last—someday I'll have to explain my peculiar opinion of the Michigan Guild of Artists and Artisans) in my trio of bead-related organizations with whom I'm annoyed, or are annoyed with me. I have a talent, I guess, which seems strange when you consider how generous the bead world t...
Beadwork magazine published a letter from some poor pitiful teacher who wondered what would become of her and the shop where she taught if her dastardly students took the bread from her mouth by teaching what they'd learned from her to others. For shame! . However, even I'm willing to admit the co...
Reviews of some romances . 22may2004
Not everything on this page is a rant. I have the very great honor to count Melanie Brooks Lukacs as a friend and fellow bead maker. She works in clay, rather than glass, and I think she is the best production ceramic bead-maker working today. She's recently revamped her quite extensive website, and it's a joy to use, besides providing many beautiful pictures of her beads. (mar04)
Every once in a while I get a request to reciprocally link to someone else's page, presumably on the theory that we'll both move up in the google page ranks. Sorry, I don't do that. There are, however, some sites that I feel worth listing—in almost all cases, they are educational and labors of love, exemplars of the generosity that make the world wide web worthwhile. Click on the flower to take you to the index of Phiala's String pages. I first encountered these back when I was incorporating kumi into my strung work and was very impressed with the wealth of information. Like many good educational craft sites, I believe this one is by a SCA, or ex-SCA, person. (spring 2004)
The picture is linked to www.warmglass.com, a commercial site, but it has a nice tutorial on fusing, as well as other topics. An excellent resource. Brian Kerkvliet is another whose site has lasted forever (in webtime). He finally got rid of the cheesy animated gifs of flames, but alas, the rainbow horizontal rules still persist. Ah well, they've been out of fashion for so long they're almost charming. And the beadmaking articles are pure gold. My favorites are ‘Beads from the Beginning’ which not only gives his formulae on bead release, but also explains—in detail!—how to adjust it for various properties and ‘Twist and Shout of Lamporking’ in which he shows how to make a variety of twisted canes, including ribbon cane. (spring 2004)
Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.
