The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show season goes beyond Downtown.
Casino Del Sol hosts Colors of the Stone, To Bead True Blue and artisan workshops and sales.
“This is a one-of-a-kind experience where you can come and shop for all types of gems, gemstones, beads and jewelry direct from the artisans and tradespeople,” said Casey Kennerson, the show manager. “We have something for everyone.”
Among the vendors is 7Hands Design, run by Lindy Lopez and Erandeny Torres-Simmons, where each piece of clothing is original.
“It’s the way we cut but also the quality of the materials that we use,” Lopez said.
Lopez, who has been making her own clothes since before she was a teen, creates the pieces, while Torres-Simmons also drafts the patterns. They use fabric—mostly indigo fabric—that they have sourced from around the world.
“I have traders who I’ve worked with from Africa for almost 30 years now,” Lopez said. “I actually go to Mexico or Guatemala to purchase any of the fabrics we use from there and occasionally go to Asia as well. We’ve worked with people for years.”
The fabric used in any one garment may be vintage, new or antique. Additionally, the fabric supports local artisans, so no big manufacturers. Using traditional yardage, panels and other unique fabric pieces to construct their clothing, each piece will turn out different from any other.
“What we have is one-of-a-kind pieces,” Lopez said. “Everything is made with beads and fabric, and we never repeat using the exact same thing because what we’re working with is all handmade, so it’s never exactly the same.”
The seams on all the clothing are finished so no hanging threads, and great care is taken to see that fabric panels, in fact all the seams, are sewn securely. Sizes range from extra small up to 3X. Lopez said she is a plus-size designer; she has a true sense of how to design to fit properly. Cost runs from $60 to $400.
Partnered with the clothing they sell is jewelry, which Lopez has designed and constructed to complement outfits. She uses a combination of pearls, metal and stones and likes to take a world view of her work.
“I like to mix things together,” she said. “The pieces that I make are often a combination of stones that may be from Africa with some handmade beads that come from Tibet.”
These pieces run from $40 to $600 and more.
Woodstock, New York-based Voices of the Stones is bringing its selection of energy-clearing selenite, among other stones. Owners Carole White and Mary Cameron have an interesting point of view when it comes to their goodies. It begins with resonance frequency and quartz.
“Most of the stones that we’re handling have some amount of silica dioxide, or quartz, in it,” White said. “When we refer to quartz as a mineral, it’s what is in computer chips and quartz watches. It oscillates at a very specific frequency, and that’s what creates binary code and it’s also what keeps time. When you think of it like this, the quartz is amplifying and recording energy. It receives energy as well as giving you energy.
“That’s why people talk about clearing their stones so that as we release the heaviness that keeps us from our joy and our happiness and our heart energy, that energy doesn’t hang around on the stone; people like to clear that. There’s a lot of different techniques for clearing them but one is using another stone called selenite. I sell a lot of selenite.”
White has been selling crystals for 35 years, so she and Cameron are knowledgeable about what they offer. They can tell you “whether something’s real or it’s dyed or where the stone came from, what the energy of it is,” White said.
They have stones, rocks, finished beads, cabochons and carved figures.
“It’s all about having really good stone at a good price and about keeping a very bright, clear energetic quality to them as well,” White said. “That’s what sets most of the stones apart.”
At Voices of the Stones, you will also find old turquoise beads you won’t find anywhere else. The collection is 20 years old, so it has hard-to-find American turquoise beads and shapes, and higher-quality Chinese turquoise “that just is not available anymore,” White said.
“My partner, Mary, she’s been curating that; we know the cutters that the material came from originally, so it’s backed up with good knowledge about what the material is.”
Even if you don’t make jewelry, stop by to take a peek at the elements that make up the jewelry we wear.
“Our booth is for people who are making jewelry or making cabochons into jewelry, and there’s a lot that’s not finished jewelry,” White said. “We have a nice collection of finished rings and sterling chains and some finished pendants.”
Check out Voices’ website, voicesofthestones.com, to see a more complete list of the stones and crystals that they sell.
Artisan workshops
Besides the market — both wholesale and retail — the Colors of the Stone will teach guests to make jewelry. Look for a class in how to use silver clay — a clay that reveals the silver inside when you burn off the dross. Learn how to make rings, pendants or artisan brushes. There are also classes in wire weaving, making stud earrings or beading.
Colors of the Stone will also boast gems and rare pieces for connoisseurs and galleries, gemstones and jewelry tools and supplies for designers, ready and handmade jewelry, crystals and accessories. There will also be plenty of beads, such as lampwork, antique and raku beads. Also available will be tribal textiles.
Colors of the Stone, along with To Bead True Blue and artisan workshops
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, to Saturday, Feb. 4
WHERE: Casino Del Sol, 5655 W. Valencia Road, Tucson
COST: Free; parking and shuttle services from Downtown and the Gem Mall/Holidome are free, too
INFO: colorsofthestone.com
