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Exactly a month ago, we jetted off to Hong Kong to shop the famous pearl show. Jet-lagged but fueled with coffee and laughter we poured over the best pearls the world has to offer for four days straight.
We bought treasures galore and are busy dreaming up new designs!
I'm very excited to work with these natural pearls from the pteria penguin!
They were wild found, and are extremely rare!
I chose each one specifically for a one of a kind collector's piece.
Next stop was Hanoi. It was a joy to have 36 hours in this rich city, so full of life.
Probably the best moment from our short stay in Hanoi was when our office manager ran out of a temple to grab me and show me her favorite part; it was a shaft of light.... that light really seemed to like her too! #kojimagoddess
After a decade away from Ho Chi Minh City, it was so thrilling to see my friends again.
This is Co Bay, she was my neighbor so many years ago. When I showed up at her gate (unannounced after a decade), she wasn't surprised at all, and acted like I was right on time. She is a testament to prayer and clean living. This woman means SO much to me, seeing her again brought me to tears.
Laughing with old friends is the best laughter.
After all the visiting, we jumped head long into preparations for a pearl lecture and trunk show at the Circle of Love in District One, HCMC.
We were prepped for the TV cameras and thirty reporters who showed up for the show!
It was a great time, the shop was gorgeous and the reporters asked really great questions.
Click here for an article in Vietnamese about our visit to Circle of Love.
We spoke mostly about Japan Kasumi pearls. We discussed the history, integrity with which they are farmed and the value of these dear fresh water pearls from Japan.
It was our pleasure to introduce Japan Kasumi pearls to Vietnam !
Thank you Tam Mavroudis and Circle of Love for the opportunity and hospitality!
Directly following the trunk show, we jumped on another flight to Hong Kong, resumed pearl shopping, processed the shipments and then made sure to get in a bit of clothes shopping. :)
Neither these options ended up coming home with us, but the temptation was real.
A day after landing into the peace and quiet light of California, I headed up to Mendocino County for a family reunion.
This pot of gold was the perfect balance to the hectic pace of big Asian cities.
Unfortunately, the peace and calm of our state didn't last long and now we are deep into the worst fire season in California history.
We are hunkered down in the studio by day and reaching out and caring for our friends and family in need by night.
We as a company will be donating to the victims and evacuees of these fires.
The California fires are only one of the MANY disasters humanity is facing right now.
May we all BE and SEE the helpers right now!
We're home for the next couple of months prepping for our Holiday Sale which will start right around Thanksgiving and we have tonnes of pearl designs up our sleeves!
Cheers, Sarah and the KojimaPearl team
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This year we gathered on Friday evening in Pacific Palisades in a mansion that had so many rooms I lost count.
The ceilings must have been 40 feet tall and the arches framed the sky with grandeur.
Friday night was a champagne toast to the moderators of Pearl-Guide.com : Blaire Beavers and Caitlin Williams.. both are experts on pearls and lovely, warm women of MANY talents.
They were both gifted with Finestrino pearl earrings hand made by Hisano ….for their years of work on the world’s largest online forum about pearls.
These amazing designs feature Chinese fresh water souffle pearls artfully carved out, polished and adorned with tiny pearls or gemstones.
These designs are the brainchild of Hisano and she even won the CPAA Orient Award last year.
We started gathering again early Saturday morning for a full day of presentations. Jeremy and Hisano took us on a video tour of their epic adventure to Flower Island in the Philippines earlier this year. They visited the Jewelmer pearl farms. Jewelmer, famous for their gorgeous South Sea pearls and their tireless pursuit of perfecting the golden pearl. They are culturing thousands of strains of algae in their laboratories to find the perfect diet for their pinctada maxima oysters to feed on!
Next up was Douglas McLaurin of the Sea of Cortez pearl farm in Guaymas, Mexico (where we visited just over a month ago).
Douglas is a very talented public speaker, and a gifted teacher. He taught us more about the history of the Sea of Cortez, the natural abundance and near extinction of the sea life there.
He outlined data they collected in the first ten years of their work showing the DRAMATIC repopulation of native oysters and how the rest of the sea life in the area benefitted!
By gathering and fostering the remaining oysters in 1996, they were able to stop the extinction of the species!
It was fascinating as always and made it feel so good to be a offering their pearls for sale.
Watch the trailer for the National Geographic “World’s Funniest Weird Farms” made about the Sea of Cortez pearl farm, and how Douglas became Dr. Mollusk!
After lunch and bit of relaxation, we saw a presentation by Josh Humbert of Kamoka Pearl.. a world famous photographer, and pearl farmer from Ahe, French Polynesia. I have also travelled to the Kamoka farm on two occasions, so it is always a treat to see Josh’s photos of this magical atoll in the middle of the ocean. It is a place to dear to my heart.
The black pearls they raise, using environmentally sound practices are some of the most colorful and sought after in the world!
Their farm is powered with only solar and wind energy, and they let the fish populations clean the oysters. This is more beneficial to the delicate ecosystem of the atoll than spraying them clean. Another example of sustainable pearl farming!
Celeste Brash, a celebrated travel author and Josh’s wife. She is in charge of Kamoka’s websales .. and keeping him in line
Douglas McLaurin brought a beautiful array of Sea of Cortez pearls.. and also kept us entertained with his "special human tricks"
Much of the fun of the Ruckus is getting dressed up, showing off your pearls, and admiring those of all the other ladies in attendance. Caitlin and Sheryl Goodspeed of Mauna Kea Moonlight collaborated on her pearl mushroom pendant. Barbara Somlo showed off her metallic Chinese fresh water pearl pendant. Cathy Dassler brought her sweater that she hand embroidered using hundreds of 2mm white round pearls and silk ribbon! Wendy Fairchild in her most color Tahitian pearls.. and a hand forged fine silver pendant with a Sea of Cortez baroque pearl made by Carlos Cabral of Guadalajara Mexico.. and the “line of ladies”.. I love and admire each and every one of them.. it is such a joy to see them each year, hear their stories and meet the new faces in the group!
Sheryl set up a table of her beautiful jewelry, and Saturday was also her birthday! Her husband Tom, played and sung songs to entertain us with Mikey who is a professional diver and deals in the nuclei used to culture pearls all of the world! He is also famous for traveling with a “suitcase” full of pearls!
Sheri Jurnecka brought her famous octopi pendants set with different outrageous pearls,and also a cast mermaid pendant.
We set up a little table to show our latest designs and we were really excited to share the necklace of the top grade of Japan Kasumi pearls from the latest harvest, as well as the “glowing from within” Sea of Cortez mabe necklace.
That’s Patricia Saab in the lavender blouse.. she also makes pearl jewelry and sells the world’s BEST string for knotting pearls and gemstone beads.. Check out her etsy shop!
It was a weekend to remember.. and recover from!
On Sunday everyone met at PearlParadise office in Los Angeles and feasted on the fruits of their pearl vault! Please see more photos on the Pearl-Guide Ruckus 2015 thread!
We are blessed to be a part of this lovely talented group of pearls! Thank you Jeremy and Hisano.. you are generous wonderful people.
My only regret is not taking more photos!
Our annual exhibition at the GJX show BOOTH 107 is right around the corner.
The show dates this year are :
February 3rd through February 8th, 2015
Hours: Tuesday 3rd thru Saturday 7th – 10:00am to 6:00pm
Sunday 8th – 10:00am to 4:00pm*
*No buyers admitted after 3:00pm on closing day, Sunday 8th.
PLEASE VISIT THE GJX WEBSITE FOR INFORMATION ON BUYER REGISTRATION
We are very much looking forward to showcasing many new designs and one of a kind pearls.
ALSO THE FIRST DAY OF THE SHOW IS FUJI’s BIRTHDAY THIS YEAR!
If you have never been to the Tucson Gem and Mineral show, we highly recommend that you make the journey.
Bring comfortable shoes, hand wipes, and a shopping buddy!
There are dozens of shows going on all over the city of Tucson for weeks.
From dinosaur bones to exquisite gems and everything in between.
Here is a little information about the event in general, including show dates and registration requirements.
http://www.tucsongemshows.net/coming.html
There are hundreds of seminars and lectures going on throughout the city during the show.
Of course our personal favorite is listening to Elisabeth Strack speak about pearls. This year her lecture will be FEBRUARY 4th 2015 in the MOJAVE ROOM OF THE AGTA CONVENTION CENTER SHOW at 9am.
Here is the link to the full list of AGTA seminars.
http://www.agta.org/tradeshows/gft-seminars.html
We hope to see you there.