CHA 2012

I’m trying to remember how many years it’s been since I attended my first CHA show.  I think I’ve been to at least 15-20 years worth (Laura has it been that long?).  In the beginning the show was called HIA and it was held twice a year rotating from one convention location to another year to year.   Back in the day you couldn’t even move down the aisles let alone push through to see a popular booth because so many people were there.  I remember studying the floor plan prior to walking the show floor just to make sure we didn’t miss anything or get lost in the miles of booths.  You only had to walk a day to learn that tennis shoes go with ANYTHING you brought to wear.  Over time things have changed, there are fewer booths and fewer attendees.  Even so I still look forward to the show.  

For me, CHA is rejuvenating.  I meet with vendors, customers, fellow designers, and spent time at my publisher’s booth.  So many people I’ve met over the years have become good friends and it’s nice to see them in person.  In the short time I was there I met up with Sonya Nimri who glowed with enthusiasm and excitement of being a mom and teacher.  As she zoomed in on kids craft ideas I found myself interested in kids crafts too now that I’m a grandma.  Yup, I can say it freely   “my name is Sherri and I’m a grandma!” but DON’T call me granny that’s pushing it too far.  I can still stay up all night and run a 5k.

Sherri & Sonya Nimri

I also ran into Suze Weinberg, Sara Hodson, Susan Kazmer, Jen Cushman, Jess Italia Lincoln, Jill MacKay, Ruth Rae, Jonathan Fong, just to name a few designers I admire.  Jewelry making is becoming more popular each year at CHA- Yay! 

Sara Hodson and Sherri Haab CHA 2012 photo from: http://suzeweinberg.typepad.com/

Workshops in Australia

While in Australia, I taught a two-day workshop on electroforming and plating. I enjoyed the group and their enthusiasm. I especially appreciated their good humor when our copper plating solution was lacking the necessary acid needed for successful plating on the first day of class. It's not like I can travel with that stuff, so I'm at the mercy of local sources. I lost a bit of sleep that night trying to figure out how to rescue the pieces.

Luckily, Keith Lo Bue, a well-known jewelry artist and teacher came to the rescue. He was attending the class, and just happened to have some hydrochloric acid at home, which he brought in for day two. It worked great, and we were able to finish quite a few pieces. Then we proceeded to plate several of the pieces with gold, silver and nickel using prepared plating solutions. Check out the results in the photo above.

On the second day of the workshop, we etched on copper and then applied images on nickel silver. Then we riveted the pieces together to make mixed-media bracelets. I was so busy, I forgot to take pictures, but the projects were based on my sample shown in this photo.

Roz from Oz

After leaving New Zealand, I headed south to teach at the Eclectic Studio in Sydney, Australia. Roz Eberhard-Swan operates the studio, which offers jewelry-making classes in metal clay, polymer clay, resin and beadwork, just to name a few. On my first day in Australia, Roz arranged for me to take a boat tour of Sydney Harbor. The morning was perfect - clear and sunny.

In the afternoon, I walked along Pitt Street to check out the shops. Since it was Fall in the Land Down Under, so all of the new winter fashion lines were displayed. Surprisingly, I only bought one shirt, which was a good thing due to my impending luggage weight restriction to deal with on the flight home.


Since it was Easter weekend, the busiest shop downtown was Haigh's Chocolates. There was a long line just to get in the store. I checked back at the end of the day, and the line was shorter, so I stopped in. The chocolates were OK, but not much different from any other fancy chocolate shop, although none made it home to the family. Oops.

I still think places like See's Candies, headquartered in California, and Mrs. Cavanaugh's, made right here in Utah offer some of the best dipped chocolates to be found anywhere in the world, and I've done my best to sample chocolates in as many places as possible!


My one free day alone in the city was one I will always remember. Sydney is a place I will definitely visit again.

New Zealand Student Projects

One exciting thing about teaching both at home and abroad is seeing the creativity demonstrated by the students with the materials offered in class. This was the first venue where we used resin clay in conjunction with metal clay. Recently we started selling our own brand of clay called KlayResin. Everyone was excited about using the clay. The students made amazing pieces. These are KlayResin Porcelain with toner images set in Art Clay Silver.

Ingrid Schloemer

Cathie Wells

Clare Gunn

Ingrid Schloemer

Who Talks Funny?

Dan joined me part way through my trip to New Zealand, and within hours of his arrival, a competition began between him and Anne Marie about which one of them had the funniest accent and colloquialisms. I think it all started when Anne Marie's daughter Alexia thought the word "graham crackers" was hysterical (she heard it on an American teen movie), so Dan brought her some when he arrived. This was followed by several days worth of new words and phrases to suss out. ("Suss" being one of Dan's newly acquired words.) One such discussion was launched over a misspelling on a menu "Fagita". "Fajita" as it should be spelled could be pronounced several ways, further complicated by the different accents in play. I couldn't help but think of the old tomato song in a new context (you say "faheeta" I say "fa-gita"). In our final etching class, Anne Marie proudly presented Dan with a souvenir - a neatly etched comment for him to treasure.

One one of our free days, Anne Marie and Peter arranged a day trip for us to go with them and their friends, Richard and Alison, to Waiheki Island, which is stunning. We visited a quiet beach near Richard and Alison's vacation home, and enjoyed nice lunch at a local vineyard.


Next, we headed to the earthquake-devastated city of Christchurch. We taught a group of optimistic attendees who were excited to be creative despite having to endure aftershocks and having to boil drinking water. We experienced a 5.3 aftershock while we were there. The pavement moved from side to side under out feet. I've never felt the earth move like that. Dan documented some of the damaged buildings as he made his way around the city in search of an open museum or cafe. Very few tourist attractions were operational.

In tomorrow's blog, see some of the amazing pieces created by students in my class.

Kiwis (not the fruit)

I see now why people love New Zealand. It was green and tropical and from my perspective, it was like Seattle, where I grew up, mixed with Hawaii. The people were really polite--for example, saying "thank you" to the city bus driver as they got off the bus, and then drivers stopped for pedestrians at the crosswalks even if they weren't trying to step out.

Auckland was my first stop to teach for Anne Marie and Peter Grace from Art Clay NZ. they invited me to teach there, and then to travel to Christchurch for another round of classes. The first stop, right after a 15-hour flight, was to the beach near Anne Marie's home. As we walked along, I was intrigued by of the small seashells, twigs and pods native to New Zealand. I became completely obsessed in my search for potential specimens for electroforming, stopping to stuff my pockets with shells like a five-year-old. The seashell hunt, combined with my jet lag, must have scared Anne Marie a little. Within a day, I would be expected to lead a coherent workshop. My side of the conversation consisted of "Huh?" or "Can you repeat that?" while stopping suddenly to pick up one more shell. Later, I taught her about the wonders of copper electroforming, hoping to validate my persistent scavenger hunt.

I met a group of talented Art Clay instructors and jewelry designers in Tacapuna who attended the first class. The workshops consisted of a full day each of electrical etching, resin clay and image transfer techniques on Art Clay Silver. Everyone found unique ways to implement these mediums into their work.

I thought this piece by Ingrid Schloemers was a nice design. She used ITS to transfer a seashell image.

Santa Fe, Hot Chocolate and Ibuprofen

A week after Vegas, it was off to Santa Fe, this time with Rachel, Sherri's daughters. (At the office she goes by "Rach" to avoid confusion with Rachel Wright.) On previous trips to Santa Fe, it was hard to find the local eateries and galleries with the limited time and because all of the adobe-style buildings are modestly obscure to the common tourist. After eating at the usual chains and frustrating drives looking for places to stop, Sherri and Rachel just knew they were missing the real experience of Santa Fe.
All that changed this time with an awesome iphone app called "Urban Spoon." One of the top choices, according to the Spoon, was a small cafe called Pasquals. The Spoon was right one. It was so good they ate there twice, and even took pictures of the food. Pasquals is also a feast for the eyes. The dining room is lined with hand-painted tiles and murals by Mexican painter Leovigildo Martinez, and there is an art gallery on the second floor.

Their other favorite food find was a chocolate shop called Kakawa Chocolates. Sherri said it was the best hot chocolate she's ever had, which is really saying something. Trip Advisor led them to the Sage Inn, and it was a clean, economical place to stay. All three of these locations are on the itinerary again next year.

Of course the reason for the trip was a busy teaching schedule at Interweave's Bead Fest; no room for a spa treatment this time. There were eight big boxes to unpack, made more complicated by the fact that Sherri had injured her thumb on a flight the night before leaving for Santa Fe, and then she added head and back injuries from a fall on slippery tile just hours before getting on the plane to Santa Fe to teach. Luckily, her husband Dan was with her, and since he anticipates such accidents before trips, was ready with ibuprofen. The hot chocolate also went the distance in helping Sherri feel better.

On day one, Sherri and Rachel taught students how to transfer images onto Faux Bone and then set the pieces in fine silver clay. Day two was copper etching and glass enameling was last. This class is especially fun because of the magical effect of the color on metal. The class used shades of pink and red leaded enamel colors.

Sherri was accident-free the rest of the trip, and she and Rachel went home happy with souvenirs and treats for the family filling their suitcases. They brought this home for your truly, because they said when they saw it, they both thought it looked like me:

Hmmm. Only people you love could get away with that!

Las Vegas Art and Soul

The saying "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" usually applies to untoward behavior best forgotten, but we certainly hope what Sherri experienced for the first time during Art and Soul March 1, 2, and 3rd doesn't stay in Vegas. It was this thing called "relaxation." As Sherri and Rachel Wright left for the show, Sherri's daughters reminded Rachel to assert her right for lunch breaks and sleep (Sherri's been known to forget about these things entirely). Rachel did one better--she introduced Sherri to spa treatments, and much to everyone's surprise, Sherri got hooked. Pampering is now admissible as preparation or recovery from an event. Seaweed wrap, anyone?

The energy level at Art and Soul, however, was high from the start. No matter where Art and Soul is held, the students are enthusiastic and excited about learning new things. Sherri’s first class on making metal clay Pandora-style beads was comprised of a small group of women who giggled and recounted Vegas adventures, but also got a lot of work done. They made stunning silver beads in this class, about which a student said, “You get a lot of bang for your buck.” Sherri’s enthusiasm for this particular class is no doubt part of this energy, because as she says, “I would make these beads all day long if I could.”

Then came two more busy days of classes, etching and silver clay with Faux Bone. Sherri, Rachel, and the students worked hard, and it was satisfying to receive positive feedback from students who said they learned valuable new skills. The artistry level was especially high in the Faux Bone class. Take a look at these finished pieces from the class. Every finished piece was gallery worthy. These are even more amazing up close.

If you want to learn this technique, Sherri will be offering this class at Art and Soul in Hampton, Virginia at the end of April, and then in Philadelphia at the Interweave Beadfest on August 19.

Electroforming in Orange County

The best thing about electroforming classes is the variety of objects the students bring in to process. Just take a look at this collection of finished projects from Sherri’s February class at Brea Bead Works in Brea, California. Students electroformed seashells, glass, polymer clay, leaves, acorns and even lace fabric. With results like this, it’s no wonder Electroforming is becoming Sherri’s most popular class.

In addition to the all-day electroforming class, the next day Sherri taught her popular class on doing image transfers on metal clay. She was grateful for the assistance of Cassy Muronaka, and daughter Michelle, who helped tremendously even with baby Adeline in tow.

Cassy is a jewelry artist herself, and has made some amazing things using Sherri’s E3 Electroforming kit. Check out her blog on her first experiments here (note that the E3 Electroforming kit is now sold separately from the E3 Etch kit). Cassy has also done some exciting work electroforming on polymer clay, which she graciously shares in a multi-part blog. Follow her process and experiments, and see her amazing finished pieces starting here.

Sherri will teach at Brea Bead Works again on May 14^th and 15^th, so if this looks like fun, please come join us. Brea Bead Works features a variety of classes with local and visiting instructors. They offer a preview event prior to each quarter so customers can view class samples and meet instructors, and then be prepared to register for classes, which sometimes sell out quickly. Check out their impressive list of workshops at breabeadworks.com.

Summer Bead Shows 2009

Summer has been a busy time with our new store and line of products. Our crew went to exhibit at the Bead and Button Show for the first time. This is a picture of Camille at our neat and tidy booth ready for customers.




The girls worked so hard at the Bead and Button show. The booth was quite busy with demonstrations on Image Tranfer and our E3 Etch controller. Customers got to scratch off ITS images and we had fun giveaways. All 3 lost their voices at the end of each day and I’m sure were exhausted. thank you to everyone who stopped by and said hi at the show!



In July we attended the PSBF in Tacoma, WA. I love the northwest and it makes me homesick every time we go up there. One class that was very fun to teach was the Pandora style silver metal clay beads. These are metal clay beads you can make yourself for the popular interchangeable bracelets (they are popular in the East and Europe, the West is a little slow to catch on). The students in this class were so excited, a few didn’t sleep the night before. I love their creativity with the beads, with so many design options available. I will be teaching this again in the future and hopefully the bracelets will catch on here.



While in Seattle visiting my daughter Michelle, we ran into this sculpture of JP Patches. This brings back childhood memories and I just had to take several pictures. I remember my dad working as an audio engineer back in the 70s for the show, I got to be on TV a few times. I love this moment frozen in time for all to admire. It’s in the Freemont district by the UW.

Glass Enameling on Silver and Copper Class

Preparing a brand new class to teach is always a challenge but worth the effort. I taught glass enameling this weekend. We made silver metal clay pieces for Champleve with transparent enamels for the first project and then we switched over to copper and torch fired opaque enamels. It was interesting to see the difference in kiln firing vs. torch firing, each has it’s own advantages. I think I speak for all of us that the little Beehive Kiln we used was especially convenient for enameling, but the torch firing was also very fun.



A few things we learned, I had grabbed pieces that I thought were copper but they were copper plated only and therefore did not work. Poor Senta had her glass pop off twice until we finally figured out that it was another metal underneith. I should have known better when she cleaned the piece and it didn’t look right. The piece pictured above is her Champleve piece which turned out perfect! We also learned that glass takes no prisoners and so patience is required. I was very impressed with everyone’s creativity. AND a big thank you to Rena for her advice to explore torch firing, I think I am going to keep playing with fire now, her pieces took advantage of using firescale as part of the design. Jane and Kelly were new to metal clay, and so the class was a lot to tackle but they made fabulous pieces too.



Glass and metal are really fun to combine, I for one am going to pursue more techniques, well at least that’s the plan anyway.