Cincinnati Charm Convention – Day Two – Part One
Wrist Ruffles
Day two of Convention was so fun filled that it deserves two separate posts. So continuing with the details of my glorious weekend with my fellow charmers, beginning on Saturday morning.... Bright and early we drove over to Lisa C's house for a scrumptious brunch. She apparently had been baking for weeks ahead of time, and it was plenty yummy. She's my new hero as she doesn't even own a microwave.
There were tables set up in every room for charm inspection while we ate. That's when the real collections began emerge. Lisa, Sandy and her sister Laurie had dozens of bracelets with every kind of vintage charm you can imagine on display for us to drool over. There were also vintage charm catalogs available to browse through, and Lisa's husband Alan was volunteered to make copies of any catalogs we wanted. Poor guy spent the rest of the day at Kinko's.
We also got phone calls Saturday morning and the previous evening from our charming friends in Australia who couldn't attend. Thanks to Pandi and K for staying up late and greeting us from the other side of the world. And to Pandi for sending Aussie coin charms as souvenir gifts for everyone. We're already planning an event the same time next year in California, which will be less travel for them.
Then it was back to our hotel conference room for the afternoon six hour charm marathon. Our hostesses had set up tables throughout for sharing, assembling, selling, and trading. There were several comments made that this was surely one of the premier compilations of vintage charms in the country, if not the world. The charms in that room represented many, many years of hunting and researching by the most knowledgeable collectors anywhere.
Everyone was so eager and generous to share their knowledge and the details of their collections that it was amazing. I learned more in one day there than I had the whole time I've been collecting. It was all very overwhelming for a novice like me. These were the nicest ladies I've ever had the pleasure to spend time with, and amazingly we all felt like we had been best friends forever.
Enjoy viewing a few of the photos from the day below - some are mine and some I "borrowed" from Sandy's posts on our forum. She is a much better photographer than I.
Stay tuned for details of the retail jeweler's cocktail party, and our games and prizes at dinner Saturday night in my next installment......
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- Wrist Ruffles
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- Lisa and Cheri
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- Old Charm Catalogs
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- Lisa P and Sandy
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- Me
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- Pam and Sandy
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- Linda Lu
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- Peggy Ann and Laurie
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- Joanne
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- Charms Galore
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- Shelly and Cindy
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- Lisa P Shelly Joanne
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- Peggy Ann’s Matchbook Charms
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- Charms For Sale
Category: Other Stuff
About the Author (Author Profile)
Wanda Fitzgerald is a Florida native and an vintage charm collector who loves to share her adventures in an e-commerce jewelry business with anyone who is interested.Subscribe
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Ladies,
Charms have been a part of my life since before I was able to speak. My parents purchased, for me, on their travels, a variety of charms in silver and gold, and compiled a mini collection on two bracelets, that I was to appreciate and wear often as a child and young woman. My favorite were the moveable ones.
As a young woman, I was fortunate to have larger charms gifted to me, and a larger link bracelet. Thus, I own three charm bracelets.
In my company, there has always been a special corner reserved for vintage/antique charms. Hopefully, I will meet you all next year in California as a new member of your group.I would love to share with you the charms created for The Caroline Collection, actually designs created as figural cufflinks, originally.
Please print out copies of the best of the charm catalogs. I am most willing to pay for postage and printing fees.
Best,
Caroline M. Finberg, President
THE ANTIQUE JEWEL BOX
This sounds like so much fun! The organizers of this get a big pat on the back, too! Collecting any special item should be this much fun, to enjoy especially with friends who share the passion!