Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

Working at a bead store I'm used the the comment from customers "the beads look like candy!" or "I'm like a kid in a candy store!"  well if a bead store invokes the same joy an awe that makes a kids mouth water, Banaras Beads made me feel like a kid in a candy factory.  There were so... many... beads....!!!  the center of the factory was a spiral staircase with buckets of beads all along the walls, you look down ands see beads spiraling down and down. 

The room with the seed beads (the one's you see me choosing in the pictures) had shelves and shelves of colors, choosing the right colors was both overwhelming and exhilarating.I spent hours choosing colors and looking through the factory.  Then I put together a box of the beads I chose, took out the ones I needed for this trip, and sent the box off to Santa Cruz.  My housemates say it arrived safely a few days ago.  yippee!! 
And for all the Bead It girls reading I chose some lampwork beads to sell at Bead It, and sent them in the box, I hope they help with the buisiness of keeping the store happily running. 

Seeing the factory made me appreciate the work that goes into making beads even more.  There were people everywhere, sitting in long rows of tables stringing beads on thread, which is just the way beads are packaged for sale.  The strung beads are sent all over the world, sold in stores, and then jewelry makers cut the strands of beads so they can use them.  Its a strange process that makes it easier to see and buy the beads, but seems pointless now that I have seen the amount of work that goes into it.  It is hard to see that kind of back breaking (or should I say eye and hand breaking) labor and know that I am participating in it.  My hope is the Love and dedication I put into my work will somehow find its way back to these people.  To all the bead makers and stringers of the world.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And a special thank you to Lori for investing in my jewelry career, it means the world to me!

- Lexi

Banaras Beads.

Day 3.

Well, we have a bit of catching up to do. Lexi and I updated with photographs to give an idea of what we've been seeing. The images show bits of Old Delhi: the spice market and the Red Fort, and then leave you to wander the many rooms, and feel the pulse of the Bead Factory in Benaras. Well, let's take it from there...

Benaras Bead Factory (as noted in our silly Fun Facts) produces a majority (80%!) of all the glass beads worldwide! Lori and Todd visited a good number of years ago, and like I was, had been awed by the sheer quantity of beads they found there, not to mention the variety of shape and wide range of color! To the untrained eye (or unprepared buyer) the buckets of beads would have been completely overwhelming to sift through. Even with Lexi's experience working in Bead Stores in the Bay area, she was pretty taken by the whole thing.

We left Delhi Thursday morning by plane and landed in Varanasi by the early afternoon. The flight was quick and uneventful, smooth and steady to say the least. Lori lead us to the prepaid taxi booth outside of the airport, which gives a receipt for your travel insuring that if anything should go wrong there is a paper trail to document where a person was last seen. Always go to the prepaid taxi booth. Once on the road again, it became instantly clear that our trip into the city would be far from smooth or steady. Lori told us the right-of-way on these roads goes to the driver of biggest vehicle! There's a good sales pitch for the Hummer. Lexi and I took refuge in the back seat without even realizing we were doing anything but offering to Lori. Hardly. Poor Lori braved the twists and turns of roadway craziness that made Delhi traffic seem organized! And for almost an hour!! By the time we arrived at a warehouse gate we were grateful to have reason for escaping the car, even if we weren't at the right place, which was a good possibly.

Once it was clear we had made it, and this warehouse was in fact the Bead Factory we relaxed. We were lead to a waiting room to sit, and after a short stint we were toured through the insides of the Factory.

We left the Factory full of color, after hours of decision making, having been successful in finding most any color you could imagine (except for a shiny red, which they were out of... and now I know why-- a good Red can make all the difference).  Taking beads off the shelves for Lexi to see was like introducing swatches of fabric to a clothing designer. We even pulled a few colors that Lexi liked ...  and They will be featured in her next line.


And, how about those glass blowers! I couldn't believe it, seeing those beads made one by one really gave me an idea of the labor involved in bead production. I am gaining tremendous perspective, and changing the way I appreciate beaded jewelry... Naturally, being an outsider to the beading world, I have had an enormous blind spot, but my eyes are focusing in on the amount of hands involved in producing the kind of pieces that Lexi creates. And seeing her attention to detail in action, and now understanding how that affects her product has been inspiring. Now when I'm messing around with wacky colors, I joke and say it's "research" I'm doing.

and I am.

-Kaytee

Welcome to Banaras Beads (UN)Limited!!!

Fun fact 1: Banaras Bead Factory produces 80% of the worlds glass beads

Fun fact 2: Each of these beads is original, made one... by... one.... 

by this guy.

Fun Fact 3: It took us THREE HOURS to pick out a 15kilo box to be sent back to California

WOO HOO!!

Fun Fact 4: They use this scale to measure kilos of beads.  On one side they put a 1/2 Kilo weight and bricks for the change, and on the other side - beads!

Break Time!

Some of the ladies packaging beaded necklace samples.

Putting beads on strands to sell

Lexi's beads all packed up!

a taste of old delhi

birds eye view

spices!!

The Red Fort

that's all carved stone!!

gemstones inlaid in marble... wow!

Banyan tree

"Welcome to Old Delhi," she said with a smirk.

Day One in India.

We've arrived safely Monday April 11th at 6ish in the evening after what our conventional calendar would have called over a day of travel time (32.5 hours from start to finish). Of course we followed the daylight to get here, so the time changed as we flew, effectively giving us opportunity to travel into the future. It wasn't easy, but then again no one said it would be.

After we landed, Lori (our hostess, and dear friend of Lexi's parents) greeted us the at the airport and lead us back to our car where almost immediately she offered us a few crisp apples to refresh our travel worn bodies. While we munched, our driver wove us in and out of traffic like a skilled magic carpet maker toward the neighborhood of Embassy's where we'll be staying. It's a lovely apartment around the corner from the American Embassy school, in the Bulgarian Embassy complex. We were welcomed there by a lovely woman named Amari, who has generously taken us in for the duration of our stay in Delhi.

It was only a matter of time before exhaustion set, and after a quick shower I was fast asleep...until about 4am, when  restlessness woke my body up, and I decided after a few attempts to go back to sleep, that this was as good a time as any to sit, and to practice. It was only a matter of time, then finally rest.

After a few hours of deep sleep, Lexi woke me announcing Lori would be arriving shortly to pick us up. Today's agenda consisted of Old Delhi, by way of the new subway system. What amazing contrast from the roadways. Taking the subway was like being anywhere else in the world with a efficient railway, that is until we walked the flight of stairs back up into day again. "Welcome to Old Delhi," she said with a smirk.

If I could translate in words what Old Delhi was like for me at first sight, I would probably be in a different profession, but I will tell you this: it wasn't Love.

There were tents lining a small path, which we trailed along for a block or two, until we hit a larger street lined with hundreds of small store fronts. Similar to other large cities I've been (Bangkok, being the closest in resemblance), Old Delhi sort of slaps you in the face  before shaking your hand. "Welcome," it says. We went first to the spice market by way of Rickshaw, driven by a boy no more than sixteen years old blessed with man calves. The spice market was once beautiful, you can smell it, the buildings themselves are well worn, saturated with spice. But the place is older now, bruised and battered. Each landmark taught us a bit more about Indian history, inviting us to witness in the flesh, only a handful of the eleven faces (phases) Delhi has undergone in its lifetime. We walked through the grounds of the Red Fort, fortress and palace of the last Mongul ruler, son of the emperor Shah Johan (who built the Taj Mahal) and saw the remains of what once were glorious gardens before the British invasion. Like Lexi said, we also visited a Jain Temple/Charity Birds Hospital and Sanctuary, as well as the largest mosque outside the middle east. Before heading home again, we took a tour of the American Embassy School, stopping when Lori crossed paths with friends from her nine years of living in Delhi, and teaching at AES. We are finding our bearings, familiarizing ourselves with the streets and other landmarks. This is exciting.

The weather has been moderate in temperature, we were told there was even a little stint of rain while we rested this afternoon, which is lucky for this time of year.

It's been a full day, I too am so grateful for Lori's guidance, and the sweetness of sun salutations. Tomorrow, I hope for a tutorial from Lexi on how to make her jewelry, as well as a yoga class through the school in the afternoon. I will write more, and soon! So, thanks for keeping in touch

Here's to you, for reading,
May you be blessed with a wonderful day ahead!

Love.
-Kaytee

Hi everybody! So Kaytee and I thought we'd start a blog of our trip to India, since we have lots of Internet access while we're here (though it is a little in and out so we'll have to see how it goes...) For those of you who don't know why we are here, it is all because of a wonderful opportunity from a family friend of mine who lived and worked here in Delhi. Lori taught at the American Embassy School with her husband Todd, they lived here for 9 years, until their daughter graduated high school and they moved back to California. Todd is working for for one more year at the school and Lori invited me to come with her while she visited him, with the idea that we would meet some women connected to the school who could make some of my jewelry. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some of my jewelry made, save my tendinitis ridden hands from the pain of doing it myself, and help these women a little by paying them for the work they do for me. We'll see how it all works out!

I am so so grateful to Lori and Todd for this opportunity! And to Kaytee for coming with me, Keeping me sane, and happy, I'm so grateful for her presence.

Today was our first full day in Delhi. Lori took us on a tour of the old city, the spice market, jama masjid (the largest mosque in India), the red fort, and a Jain temple dedicated to birds. We'll post pictures soon!
- Lexi