SNAG Orchid dinner

Jewelry Discussion
1

What a success! This was my first Orchid dinner and I had such a
fantastic time! I was surrounded by great people and had a wonderful
time putting faces to the names I’ve been reading in the emails. (I
actually got to sit and talk with THE Alan Revere!–I know, I’m a
little star struck by the big names:)) Being a student, talking with
people in the jewelry community who have more experience than I do
was a very valuable learning experience so I advise any students on
this forum to make sure you go to SNAG and the Orchid dinners!

Vanessa Mitchell
U of Michigan
Junior/undergrad

2

Hello All: I’m back in Orlando for a little R & R before heading back
to Metalwerx.

First off, kudos to Charles Lewton-Brain for delivering a terrific
talk on the behind the scenes of Ganoksin and making a living off
the internet. It was a good time for me as well, to spend time with
Charles, getting to him better. We are a group that works
completely from phone calls, weekly chats and emails. It’ doesn’t
leave much room for the occasional downtime community bonding that
is necessary to keep the work on Ganoksin vital and fresh. So
having the opportunity to “hang” with Charles was great for all of
us.

Noel, how nice to put a face to the posts! To me, that is what
makes Orchid so special. We had a lovely dinner, arranged by Joel
Schwab, another Orchidian that I am getting to know well. The
Columbia Restaurant was incredibly accommodating, had excellent food
and the best of course, was the group of Orchidians who hung out,
ate and made merry. I will have to figure out the secret of those
mango daquiris!

Sumner Silverman brought some of his beautiful Orchid pins, which
were sold, adding some needed dollars to help pay the service fees
for Ganoksin. If you attended the dinner, read Orchid and have not
yet donated, please consider doing so.

SNAG was great for me. Hosted by Gini Rollins, she did a fantastic
job in arranging great speakers, making sure that everything ran
smoothly. The vendor room was spacious, and of course, I spent too
much money. Metalwerx will be happy though.

All in all, it was a great four days. This is my 13th SNAG, and I
stayed on the 13th floor. 13 is a lucky number for me this year.

-karen
Karen Christians
M E T A L W E R X
50 Guinan St.
Waltham, MA 02451
Ph. 781/891-3854 Fax 3857
http://www.metalwerx.com/
Jewelry/Metalarts School & Cooperative Studio

3

Orchidians all,

For the 4950 of you who were not in St. Petersburg, FL this past
Friday evening, you missed a great evening where 50 of us gathered
together for a great evening of good food, good drinks, and most
importantly, good friends, good conversation and a chance to get to
know one another on a face to face basis. Four of the presenters (and
Orchid members) from the SNAG conference were with us. They were
Charles Lewton-Brain, Dee Fontans, Alan Revere & Harlan Butt. The
SNAG conference was what brought us all to St. Petersburg and was the
perfect excuse to get together, not that we need an excuse. So I
urge all of you to look for an opportunity to join with other
Orchidians, wherever you live or are traveling. Karen Christians will
be hosting an Orchid gathering at Metalwerx on Saturday, June 26 in
Waltham, MA. Anyone who will be in the Boston area, join us. I will
be driving up from New York, wouldn’t miss it.

Ton and I will be there as well… Hanuman

Joel Schwalb
@Joel_Schwalb
www.schwalbstudio.com

4

ORCHID DINNER AT SNAG Thanks and hats off to Joel Schwalb for
organizing a great event. I know there are people, including Karen
Christians, Charles Lewton-Brain, Dee Fountains, Sumner Silverman
and Alan Revere and many more too numerous to all be listed who work
hard all the time to make the Orchid forum a special place. Thanks
for all your efforts. It was truly wonderful to finally put faces
with the names and suggestions that have been so forth coming. This
is my first SNAG conference; it will not be my last.

As a vendor, I did not have much opportunity to see the
presentations, but it was still wonderful to talk to the presenters
at the social events and catch up with those who I have not seen in
a while. The jewelry that was worn at the was absolutely amazing!!!
The Orchid dinner had many participants showing their innovative
designs and, as always, sharing ideas.

Another one of the fun events, was the pin swap. Got great pins!
Karen, from Metalwerx, had a great “chest” pin. Enough kudos cannot
be said about those who organized and put together the events.

I appreciate all those who stopped to chat and introduce themselves
and also those who are now new Orchid friends. I look forward to
another Orchid dinner. I also want to take this opportunity to thanks
all those who have participated in the forum and made it a wonderful
resource place. Beth Katz, Unique Solutions, Inc.

www.myuniquesolutions.com