Recently, I received two catalogs from a few vendors who could be called “catalog kings,” Fire Mountain Gems and Beads and Rio Grande. Both suppliers are sort of famous for their full-color catalogs that list a huge assortment of jewelry making supplies. Below are a few points I noticed about each as I flipped through their 2004/2005 editions.
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads: I think the coolest thing about this year’s catalog is the fact that it is chalk full of jewelry made by artists from the jewelry making community. Those featured in the catalog are winners from various categories (a total of 17) of their yearly beading contest, and of course, there’s plenty of information in the catalog for those who wish to enter some of their work in next year’s contest. I really enjoyed looking through page after page (the whole catalog is 926 pages!) of unique hand-crafted jewelry. Oh, and yes, the multitude of supplies they sell are great too!
Rio Grande: This company’s latest Gems & Findings catalog is another monster - 723 pages of bead goodies and lost of cool metal supplies like wire, plate, and findings. They also continue to expand their PMC section. One section I always find the most interesting is the “last-minute additions” area of the catalog, which is right up front. There’s always a lot of really unique items there, from beads to metal components, that are so new they didn’t make it into the other parts of the catalog. This time around, I found myself drooling over some yummy faceted carnelian beads.
Both of these catalogs are a must have if you even just occasionally make jewelry. So, if you haven’t received your updated catalog yet, make sure you get on their websites or call them up so you can get your new catalog right away.
