Flying over Kansas City on my way to LA from Columbus, Ohio.

This trip started in Rochester NY for the for the Seven Deadly Sins event. The theme has definitely resonated with the retailers. I think I will give an award for the best in store presentation of the rings. Every marketing department has pulled out all the stops and made the SW sins event their focus for the season. I wouldn’t want to be the designer following our dog and pony show.

Mann’s of Rochester was a top show all round. First ring to go; Gluttony. That’s the third. We are struggling now to find the huge crystal clear red fire opal that forms the centre piece of the Gluttony ring. Made a trip to Idar Oberstein and found only one, now we need another.

Pain in the arse rare gems.

The show moved out of Rochester and into Columbus, Ohio. I know! Is this the ‘Off the beaten track’ tour? Well kind of but this is the beauty of the USA . There are pockets of potential in the most unlikely places. This time the Taj Mahal sized Diamond Cellar was the venue. Columbus has one of the largest college campuses in the US. 70,000 grads and under grads. Christ that must get lively around the dorms at night.  

I had been asked to give a talk at the College of Art and Design. I had visions of a theatre full of thousands of jostling students. The reality was a more modest 60 or so, basically the jewellery department. After my song and dance I went over to the studio to critique their work. One fella was so nervous he was trembling. Of course I really laid into him. He made the most amazing memento necklace. Strands of hair from all those close to him even someone who had cancer and was about to lose their hair. It was a powerful piece.

The Sins event that night was at the Social, a club with a great old American tin ceiling. Many sales and 130 new friends later; people were thanking me for coming to Columbus. I have to say it was a relief. A Seven Deadly Sins party in the Bible belt… I was expecting at least a placard outside or at worse a plague of frogs. Luckily, God botherer’s don’t go out on Mondays.

Next stop LA. No show until I get to Phoenix, this is a courtesy trip to shake up the team building our store who seem to be suffering from a chronic case of Californication or Inertia. With the works not yet started I wore my sharpest winkle pickers to administer a Gravesend kiss.

About to land. By the way, I found a great “so 80’s” station on the in flight channels.

TTFN