Announcing SoCal Orchid Dinner

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi All,

With the Contemporary Crafts Market (CCM) coming up in Santa Monica
Oct. 31 - Nov. 2, we (Beth Rosengard & Brad Smith) think this would
be a perfect time to launch Southern California’s first Orchid
Dinner.

We hope you agree!

Furthermore, since this area is also the home of the Metal Arts
Society of Southern California (MASSC), we figured that bringing
together Orchid participants, MASSC members and CCM jewelry
exhibitors, in order to allow us to get to know one another and
benefit Orchid at the same time, is a great idea.

As the plan stands now, there would be a per person cost for the
dinner, payable in advance, with donations to Orchid collected at the
door. Other fund-raising methods can be considered IF there are
volunteers to oversee them. Any suggestions or raised hands?

We have set Saturday, Nov. 1, as the date, with the place yet to be
determined depending on cost, location, and size of the gathering.
We have already located one restaurant in Santa Monica not far from
the CCM venue, which can accommodate a maximum of 100 people, for
about $35 per person including tax and tip. We are checking out
other possibilities but we must have an idea of how many of you might
be interested before we can finalize anything.

At this point, our concept includes one guest per attendee, though
this may have to change depending on the response we get. It would
hinge on our ability to find a suitable venue for more than 100
people. Per person costs for private parties in this area are
commonly upwards of $50 and we would like to keep it well below
that. We know how tight budgets are these days.

What we need from you at this point is an indication, not a
commitment (yet). Until we have some idea of how many people are
likely to attend, we cannot go much further. So please take a
minute and respond to the few questions below. Unless you have
comments you want to share with the list, please reply directly to
<@Beth_Rosengard>. We’re looking forward to this event
and to a great turnout. Hope to see you there!

Beth Rosengard & Brad Smith

2

What we need from you at this point is an indication, not a
commitment (yet). Until we have some idea of how many people are
likely to attend, we cannot go much further. So please take a
minute and respond to the few questions below. Unless you have
comments you want to share with the list, please reply directly to
<@Beth_Rosengard>. We’re looking forward to this event
and to a great turnout. Hope to see you there!

Hi All,

For some reason the questions we need answered got left off the
original post. They aRe:

Do you think you would be interested in and able to attend this
event? If so, would you want to bring a guest?

If it became unfeasible to include guests, would you still come?

Could you live with a $35 per person cost (and still have something
left over to donate to Orchid)?

Any suggestions?
Beth

3

Hi All, Thanks for the great response so far regarding the Orchid
gathering to be held November 1 in Santa Monica! We have received
’definites’ from nearly 50 people so far, plus ‘maybes’ from another
half dozen or so. If you missed the original announcement of this
event and would like about it, either check the Orchid
archives for “Announcing SoCal Orchid Dinner” or write to the email
address below.

In another week, we will decide on a restaurant based on the number
of responses received at that time so, if you haven’t done so yet and
you think you might like to come, please take a minute and reply to
the following questions ASAP. Post directly to
<@Beth_Rosengard>.

–Do you think you would be interested in and able to attend this
event?

–If so, would you want to bring a guest?

–If it became unfeasible to include guests, would you still come?
–Could you live with a $35 per person cost (and still have
something left over to donate to Orchid)?

–Do you have any suggestions?

A couple of people have already suggested running a raffle or a
silent auction, in addition to collecting voluntary donations at the
door. We’re certainly open to the possibility of one or the other
(both might be too much at this point). I’m pleased to say that
Daniel Ballard of Precious Metals West has already offered to donate
an item for this purpose (TBA – stay tuned!).

If you too might be interested in donating something to benefit
Orchid, please let us know! It could be an item of jewelry you’ve
made or a piece of equipment your company carries or anything else
apropos to the occasion of a value of, say, $100 or more.

This is shaping up to be a terrific event that will both benefit
Orchid and allow many of us to put faces to names while we eat great
food and enjoy one another’s company and conversation. Hope you can
join us!

Cheers,
Beth Rosengard & Brad Smith

4

Hi All, Thanks for the great response so far regarding the Orchid
gathering to be held November 1 in Santa Monica! We have received
‘definites’ from nearly 50 people so far, plus ‘maybes’ from another
half dozen or so. If you missed the original announcement of this
event and would like about it, either check the Orchid
archives for

“Announcing SoCal Orchid Dinner”
http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive/200308/msg00850.htm

or write to the email address below.

In another week, we will decide on a restaurant based on the number
of responses received at that time so, if you haven’t done so yet
and you think you might like to come, please take a minute and reply
to the following questions ASAP. Post directly to
<@Beth_Rosengard>.

–Do you think you would be interested in and able to attend this
event?

–If so, would you want to bring a guest?

–If it became unfeasible to include guests, would you still come?

–Could you live with a $35 per person cost (and still have something
left over to donate to Orchid)?

–Do you have any suggestions?

A couple of people have already suggested running a raffle or a
silent auction, in addition to collecting voluntary donations at the
door. We’re certainly open to the possibility of one or the other
(both might be too much at this point). I’m pleased to say that
Daniel Ballard of Precious Metals West has already offered to donate
an item for this purpose (TBA – stay tuned!).

If you too might be interested in donating something to benefit
Orchid, please let us know! It could be an item of jewelry you’ve
made or a piece of equipment your company carries or anything else
apropos to the occasion of a value of, say, $100 or more.

This is shaping up to be a terrific event that will both benefit
Orchid and allow many of us to put faces to names while we eat great
food and enjoy one another’s company and conversation. Hope you can
join us!

Cheers,
Beth Rosengard & Brad Smith

5

Hi All, The arrangements for the SoCal Orchid Dinner are nearly set
and by this time next week, we expect to announce the location, times
and cost of the event. Hanuman has offered to post all of this
on the Ganoksin website, along with directions and a map,
and we will publish the link here as soon as it’s available.

We’re now approaching 70 respondents! Nearly half of this number
learned about the dinner from the Orchid list with the rest split
between the MASSC and CCM lists, although there’s a good bit of
cross-pollination, as you’d expect. If you haven’t contacted us yet,
you can do so at <@Beth_Rosengard>.

As far as raffle vs. silent auction is concerned, we’re opting for a
silent auction to be held at the dinner on November 1. As announced
last week, PM West (http://www.preciousmetalswest.com/) was our
first donor and we’re happy to say that a second donation has been
made by Contemporary Crafts Market exhibitor Penny Harrell who has
offered a piece of her intricate jewelry
(<http://www.lagunacanyonartists.com/PennyHarrell/Penny%20Harrell.htm

). Thank you Penny!

We figure we need at least five items (valued at $100 minimum
each) to make this a successful enterprise. So if you have an item
to donate, whether jewelry or otherwise, please contact us ASAP (see
email link above). Tools, equipment, service and stone suppliers,
this is an especially good opportunity for you to help Orchid and get
a little extra PR at the same time!

Finally, a couple of you have asked about carpooling from locations
outside the LA metro area. If this interests you, let us know and
we’ll put you in touch with each other. So far, for instance, there
are three of you coming up from San Diego/Carlsbad. Anyone else?

Cheers,
Beth Rosengard
Brad Smith

6

Hi All, We have lots of great news to report this week so let’s get
right to it. The location of the dinner will be the Monsoon Cafe,
1212 Third Street Promenade, less than a five minute drive from the
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. For those of you not familiar with
the area, the Promenade is a three-block stretch which is closed to
vehicular traffic. There is ample public, private, valet and street
parking. Directions, including a map showing the various nearby
parking locations, will be up on the Ganoksin website shortly and a
link will be posted as soon as it’s available.

At the Monsoon Cafe, we will have a lovely private room with
“Pacific Rim” cuisine in the form of a buffet featuring dishes from
various Asian countries (including Thailand, which seems quite
apropos considering Orchid’s “home town”!). The basic space holds 80
but it can be expanded to accommodate a maximum of 120 if need be.
This means that those of you who already stated that you would or
might like to bring a guest may do so. Since we have to give the
restaurant sufficient notice if we’re going to use the extra space,
however, we are now asking you to “put your money where your mouth
is”!

The per person cost of the dinner is $36.00. Checks should be made
out to Beth Rosengard and sent – as soon as possible –

to Beth Rosengard, 
857 S. Holt Ave., 
Los Angeles, CA  90035.

If you would like confirmation that your check has been received,
please include a note to that effect along with your email address.

Attention vegetarians! If you are a no-red-meat vegan, there will
be sufficient seafood and chicken dishes from which you can choose.
If you are a no-meat-at-all vegan, please note that fact when you
send in your check. If there are just a few of you, the restaurant
will provide special meals (at no extra charge); if it turns out that
there are a whole lot of you, we will instead modify the main menu to
include at least one meatless entree.

Please note that you do not need to have RSVP’d previously; all you
have to do at this point is send in your check (and note your email
address). We hope as many of you as possible will be able to join
the fun!

Next … there is more great news to report about the Silent
Auction. The TBA donation from PM West can now be announced! It is
one admission to Kraftwerks 2004, a value of $640! If you’re not
familiar with Kraftwerks, you can read about it at
http://www.thekraftwerks.com/. Briefly though, it is a jewelry
arts seminar held every summer in Ontario, CA, described as, “Two
full days of masterful presentations on specific crafts in jewelry
manufacture by the worlds best craftsmen and designers.” Past
presenters have even included the odd Orchidian (such as Jim Binnion
;-).

Also, Steve Green of Rough & Ready Gems has donated a gorgeous pair
of drilled, lavender-pink rhodolites, including 18ky pin-caps for
mounting. Check here for a look at Steve’s briolette line:
http://www.briolettes.com/. And, finally, Corliss & John Rose of
2Roses Studios (http://www.2rosesstudios.com/) have donated a piece
of their imaginative and unique, hand-made jewelry.

Thanks to all our donors!! If you would like to contribute an item
to help keep Orchid healthy (value at least $100), please get in
touch ASAP. The address for questions, comments, donations, good
jokes is <@Beth_Rosengard>. More next week.

Beth Rosengard
Brad Smith

7

Hi Yall! When are We going to have a pacific northwest gathering? I
am thinking Seattle would be a good place to have a gathering as we
are close to and could include our Canadian friends. There are many
artists and craftsman in the pacific area and perhaps it would serve
a purpose to recruit more members with a willing to donate to keep
it alive attitude… Just a thought… Ringman John Henry

8

Hi All, The checks for the November 1 SoCal Orchid Dinner have
started to arrive. Thanks to those who have been so quick to
respond!

It’s important that the rest of you get your checks in as soon as
possible, since the final count will determine how large a space
we’ll need at the restaurant. All the details about the dinner
(what, when, where, whom to send checks to, directions, etc.) are now
posted on Ganoksin: http://www.ganoksin.com/events/SoCal-info.htm.
Note that if you send in a check and find that you have to cancel,
you will receive a full refund up until October 18; after that date,
any funds left over after paying the restaurant will be donated to
Orchid.

Now … how would you like to gain acceptance into the June 2004
Contemporary Crafts Market show without having to submit slides
and go through the (very competitive!) jury process? Well, if you’ve
never exhibited at a CCM show before, Roy Helms & Associates have
donated a “CCM New Designer Award” which provides exactly that
opportunity! Brad is in the process of mounting a web page that
describes the items donated for the Silent Auction and you’ll find
all of the specifics of this outstanding “CCM New Designer Award”
there. We’ll post the link as soon as it’s available and thanks to
Roy Helms & Associates for this terrific donation! For more on the
CCM, check this site: http://www.craftsource.org/.

Stay tuned for much more and if you have any questions or comments,
please contact us at <@Beth_Rosengard>.

Beth Rosengard & Brad Smith