Friday in Tucson

Can't believe today is our last day scoping out bargains. Karen started early around 4:00 a.m. and she thinks I started around 7:00. That's a normal time to get up isn't it? We did a lot of organizing this morning and packed our treasures in postal boxes. It took an hour at the post office to get everything off.

We returned to the Kino Sports Complex by 11:30ish and started the insanity all over again. We quickly stopped in the first tent to grab a few things from vendors we visited on Thursday, grabbed a bar and water and started in the second tent. We were disappointed in the second tent. It didn't seem to have the vendors that it did last year. The two vendors we planned on patronizing were a disappointment.

Today our focus was to tie up loose ends and concentrate on the Untapped Potential stones. With the UP line, we've picked certain stones that we know their mystical properties. We plan on working with rose quartz, tiger eye, aventurine, onyx, lapis, sodalite, coral, and jade to name a few. These all have the mystical/healing properties that we want represented in the UP line. So on our adventure, we searched for the size, colors, and prices we needed to create this new wholesale business. We found some beautiful dyed coral, shell and glass pearls that will make gorgeous summer wear for the cash/carry sales.

We've had three things to focus on throughout this trip. We've been looking for new stones for the one-of-a-kind, heirloom pieces we create for the Beads in a Box line. Since the Something For Everyone line is a purchased line of fashion jewelry, we kept a close eye out for good deals on pre-made custom jewelry. We found some amazing gemstone and crystal bracelets within our price range. Then, of course, the third project, Untapped Potential, is the new wholesale line.

Our brains have been cluttered with plans, ideas and strategies to make the UP line fly. It might take several years to get it going and have a presence - we are ready to get started! We will be hiring our help as soon as possible. They will start by helping us organize the gemstones that we do have, price the new jewelry, and make the kits for the wholesale line. It is unbelievable how many steps there are to get to the selling point. All this inventory will arrive at the office at the beginning of the week. Karen will be in Lincoln and Janice will be out all week. I plan to organize it and hopefully get it arranged somewhere in the office to prepare for volunteers and new hired help. Our space is an issue so it always seems like we are working in clutter. I'm always working in mass chaos due to lack of space. The main thing to remember is our ending goal, stay focused so we can help people and change lives. . . and we will.

Tootles for now, Kyla