The Tucson Survival Guide
are seeking, be polite when turning
down their merchandise.
Note: One phrase vendors hate is,
“I’ll be back.” Shoppers who utter
this are known as “be backs.” They
never ever come back, thereby eat-
ing into a seller’s emotional energy.
Even worse are the words, “Can you
save that for me?” Don’t say these
words. Vendors will thank you.a large lot, especially if you are driv-
ing a nondescript rental. In a pinch,
you can use Google maps on your
Android phone. Tap the blue dot that
shows your location, then tap “Save
Your Parking” as your reminder. But
you already knew that. I didn’t, and
I spent an hour looking for a white
rental car in a $5 dirt lot near the
Pueblo show. Did I mention it was
raining and cold, and I had left my
jacket in the car?
Parking fi lls up early. Once you
fi nd a spot, take advantage of
Tucson’s GemRide shuttle services
to get to other venues. They run
every 15 to 25 minutes depending
on the loop. Since this information is
subject to change, google GemRide
Tucson for the latest. Also, local po-
lice enforce parking ordinances, so
obey No Parking signs, fi re hydrants,
tow-away zones, and other ordi-
nances before you hoist yourself out
of the driver’s seat.Put Blinders On
You know. Those eye patches they
put on carriage horses so they can
only see ahead. Put yours on, hit all
of the stops on your shopping list,
and never, ever look around. I repeat.
Do not look around at anything else,
until you have competed your list of
must haves. To my surprise, I visited
all of the vendors on my list and
found everything I needed during
my fi rst day and a half at Tucson.
That left me with four additional
days to look at really cool stuff for
design ideas, search out friends, and
have other adventures.
Manners Matter
Vendors are really, really busy, and
have a lot of packing, unpacking,
and repacking to do in order to
participate. They also work long
hours because Tucson is one of their
best opportunities to make a profi t
for the year. Some of them also have
purchase minimums. In other words,
they want you to buy a hank of
beads, not one strand. So ask quietly
and effi ciently what their ground
rules are. At the same time, if they
aren’t off ering you the quality youTo my surprise,
I visited all of the
vendors on my
list and found
everything I needed
during my first
day and a half at
Tucson. That left me
with four additional
days to look at
really cool stuff
for design ide as,
search out friends,
and have other
adventures.A woman carefully calibrates and matches pearls into pairs at the Pearlman booth at
GJX.At the Miners Co-op Rock Show, Jim Bushnell of Pyramid Peak
Gems, Colorado, demonstrates a sphere-cutting machine.40 LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY ARTIST