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At InterGem’s Pasadena show, buyers can shop directly from manufacturers, wholesalers and designers.
Gem and jewelry show sparkles at convention center
The International Gem and Jewelry Show in Pasadena brings together manufacturers, designers and wholesalers offering a wide selection of items.
Organized by InterGem, the show runs from Friday, Nov. 19, to Sunday, Nov. 21, at the it is preowned, I’m happy to put it back into the showcase and resell it.” Lewis offers finer sterling jewelry, 14- to 18-karat gold and platinum pieces with diamonds and natural gemstones and fashion jewelry made from brass and stainless steel. Pasadena Convention Center.
“What’s nice about the show is whatever you are looking for in gems and jewelry is going to be there,” said Arnold Duke, InterGem Inc. owner.
The Pasadena show will boast around 100 vendors, selling products with silver, gold, diamonds, pearls, rhinestones or beads as well as raw materials. Categories include fine jewelry, silver, fashion jewelry, gems, beads or gifts and accessories. Repair work and custom jewelers will be available, too.
“If you’ve got your grandmother’s ring, and you want to make it updated and change it into something else, we can do that,” Duke said.
At one of the shows, two sisters had two rings created from their grandmother’s jewelry. Others have brought in photographs to have lost or stolen jewelry recreated.
“When it comes to jewelry, the sky is the limit. Anything is possible,” Duke said.
A number of local companies, including Los Angeles boutique jeweler Lo Rador, have been taking part in InterGem shows for decades.
Sitting at booth 311, Lo Rador was founded in 1985 by Lawrence and Maria Law. About 15 years ago, their daughter Peih-Gee Law, who appeared on “Survivor: China” and “Survivor Cambodia-Second Chance,” joined them.
Before her parents, Peih-Gee’s grandfather was in the gemstone business in Hong Kong.
Her mother and father worked as a nurse and aeronautical engineer, respectively, before changing careers. What started out as a side business turned into a full-time job specializing in jewelry.
Many exhibitors, including Curtis J. Lewis, will bring a wide selection. Lewis is a designer, manufacturer and estate jewelry reseller who specializes in fine original and contemporary jewelry with various price points. This includes estate jewelry that is purchased and resold.
“We want to make sure the piece is sound, that it is built to last, that you get your money’s worth out of everything you buy from us,” Lewis said. “If that piece meets that requirement and Lewis’ items tend to come from the 1980s and ’90s. However, he had offered art deco pieces from the 1920s, postmodern jewelry from the ’40s and ’50s, and Edwardian jewelry from the 1800s.
Wide variety
Lewis said consumers see a wider variety than they would at a jewelry store.
“People are excited when they come to these events. You get an opportunity to see so much more,” Lewis said.
One family of sellers from Greece uses gold, silver and copper in its jewelry.
“We do have some designers who make very unusual artistic, artsy jewelry that you won’t find anywhere else. We have everything from the traditional six-prong Tiffany diamond ring to some of the wildest, craziest jewels and jewelry that you can ever imagine,” Duke said.
Lo Radar offers creative pieces made with various gemstones, which, Peih-Gee said, she uses as the base for her designs.
“A lot of other jewelers will buy premade settings, and they will buy the gemstones and put them together,” Peih-Gee said. “I can always tell when that happens because they don’t always fit right in that setting. Whereas for me, I do a custom basket, which is what the gemstone sits in, so the gemstone can sit perfectly. It’s not sitting up too much or too low. I let the shape of the stone dictate how the setting is going to look.”
Peih-Gee often tries to incorporate unusual gemstones, such as teal sapphires or purple garnets, into her pieces. Recently, she has been working a lot with color-changing gemstones.
Attendees will often find unexpected treasures at the show.
“You go booth to booth, and you think you know what you are looking for,” Duke said.
Prices range from $1 for rocks and crystals to $1 million for diamonds.
Jewelers can find supplies such as clasps for necklaces, bead-stringing cords, or prongs for rings.
Reputable career
InterGem hosts about 60 U.S. shows per year.
Duke’s father, Herbert Sr., founded InterGem in 1967 with a small show in Washington, D.C., and later expanded it. Previously, he was a lingerie salesman.
Armed with a background in gemology, Herbert Sr. passed his love of jewelry on to Duke, who also owns two jewelry stores in New Mexico.
“A lot of families, they would go to football games and go hunting and fishing,” said Duke, a turquoise miner and gem expert.
From the early days, the shows provided a space for buyers to purchase items directly from designers, manufacturers and wholesalers. Longtime exhibitors have been working with the company for 30 to 40 years. Some are second- and third-generation jewelers.
Lewis has been participating in InterGem shows since the early ’90s. He started his business unofficially in 1989 and went on his own in 1991.
Based in New York, Lewis travels to 30 to 35 shows around the country per year. He has been working with his son, who joined his company out of college, for about a year.
The show continues to have exhibitors from across the United States and countries such as Brazil, Thailand and India. However, those numbers are fewer because of the COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Lewis said his sales are up because consumers are spending more money on jewelry and less on travel. He called it an investment.
“If you are willing to spend into something that is better made, that’s going to be an heirloom piece,” Lewis said.
“That’s something that’s going to outlive you, and that’s something that your kids can wear and maybe even your grandkids can own someday. When people start thinking in terms of that, they realize it’s not that high to spend a couple of thousand dollars on a piece of jewelry that will live for a century or more.”
Outfits, including Lo Rador, are just starting to participate in local shows again after taking time off during the height of the pandemic. Usually, the company takes part in around 15 to 20 shows annually around the country. Peih-Gee said orders from long-time customers helped her small business to survive during COVID-19.
Word-of-mouth advertising has always been an important way to generate sales.
“It’s so much easier when you have a good relationship with a client, and they come back and buy from you and recommend you to people,” Peih-Gee said.
Her returning patrons tend to be professional women who are purchasing jewelry pieces, such as rings, for themselves. Many of them are jewelry collectors.
Various services
At the shows, attendees can meet miners, stonecutters or designers who work with gemstones. Often, these exhibitors will share more about their work.
“They’ll get out sketch pad and show you how they sketched that piece, how they picked the stones and why they picked those stones. It’s some of the most interesting people you’ll ever meet,” Duke said.
The buyers are diverse, from fledgling jewelers to engaged couples.
“We cater to the brand-new, novice beginner who has never been to the jewelry show and also the highest, most sophisticated professionals in the world,” Duke said.
Recently, Duke has noticed an increased interest in ethnic jewelry from Nepal and Tibet. Stones, gems and crystals with metaphysical properties are popular, too.
“We have a lot of people who will come to the show, sit on the ground and hold crystals in their hands with their eyes closed, as they concentrate to feel the vibrations of the stone,” Duke said.
Lewis said it is important for consumers to ask questions and to keep receipts.
The International Gem and Jewelry Show WHEN: Friday, Nov. 19, to Sunday, Nov. 21
WHERE: Pasadena Convention Center, Hall B, 300 E. Green Street, Pasadena
COST: $6 in advance; $8 at the door; free for military, licensed wholesale buyers, teachers and schools. Attendees and vendors are required to wear masks and be vaccinated. INFO: 301-294-1640, intergem.com
Tami Stevens of Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association will showcase her collage artwork during the fundraiser.
Ballroom dance association to host vintage art fair By Jordan Houston Pasadena Weekly Staff Writer
The Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association is offering a night of live music, treats, handcrafted art, and the chance to dance the night away.
The association, which seeks to preserve and promote all forms of social dancing, “We went in search of some original swing dancers when swing dance wasn’t as popular — it was a time when it wasn’t being done,” Stevens recalled. “We found some of the original swing dancers, mainly Frankie Manning.” From 1986 forward, Manning made twice-annual visits to Pasadena, where he continued is hosting “A Vintage Evening of Art, Antiques & Swing Dancing with the Riff Raff Vintage Swing Band” from 7:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20.
Located at the Pasadena Ballroom Dance at 73 N. Hill Avenue, the event will boast shop vendor booths of vintage clothes, artwork, handmade goods and holiday items made by PBDA students.
Tickets are $20 at the door and include a swing lesson from 7:30 to 8 p.m., as well as coffee, lemonade and door prizes, according to Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association co-owner and world-renowned swing dancer Erin Stevens.
The Riff Raff Vintage Swing Band — an Orange County-based group with jazz guitars, violin, drums, bass and vocals — will perform between 8 and 11 p.m. The self-described vintage band plays tunes from the ’30s and ’40s.
The Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association, which is in its 38th year, was organized by Stevens and her sister, Tami, in 1983. Dedicated to “preserving American social dancing and spreading the joy,” PBDA offers classes that “generally run in a six-week, progressive series all year ’round.” The classes, priced at $90 per series or $18 per single admission, range from beginner through advanced group classes in all styles of swing and ballroom. Private lessons are also available at $95 an hour and are open for one or two people, as well as one instructor.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the association hosted swing dances on Saturday nights with 200-plus attendees enjoying the top bands from around the country. Group classes were offered most nights of the week for all levels of dancers.
PBDA’S “claim to fame,” however, dates back to the early ’80s, according to Stevens.
The organization has been accredited with coaxing famed swing dancer and “father of Lindy Hop” Frankie Manning out of retirement, she explained. to teach the Stevens sisters in private lessons. He also conducted workshops for the association’s students, the website discloses. Stevens and her sister are recognized for “their enormous contribution in ‘bringing back swing’ in the ’80s” — in which they largely attribute to the inspiration of their parents — before eventually seeing the dance genre’s peak resurgence in the ’90s. “We grew up watching them dance, and it definitely affected us,” Stevens said of her parents, noting they were “amazing swing dancers.” In 2011, the Stevens sisters were contracted to write a historical reference guide to swing dancing, “which has become a textbook at several universities around the country.” The energetic genre was first discovered by a Black community during the ’20s, according to Dance America, through dancing to contemporary jazz music. Swing dance transpired in many styles, such as the Balboa, Lindy Hop, Lindy Charleston and Collegiate Shag. Stevens — who has taught the Lindy Hop across the United States, Australia, Singapore, Japan and throughout Europe — said she is dedicated to preserving the art of swing dance because of the genre’s exuberant nature. “It would be a shame to lose swing dancing, it enhances happiness and just joy through music,” Stevens expressed. “And because for so long it wasn’t available to us, I think we have a special appreciation for it.” “I think it’s so available now that people take it for granted,” she continued. “You can turn on your computer and learn how to do the steps. But for so long, it was like a puzzle, and we had to piece it all back together — we treasure it.”
WHEN: 7:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20 WHERE: Pasadena Ballroom Dance, 73 N. Hill Avenue, Pasadena COST: $20 at the door INFO: pasadenaballroomdance.com
Dave Stein has been a Pasadena CASA volunteer since 2009.
Child welfare organization saves lives in LA County
By Luke Netzley Pasadena Weekly Deputy Editor
Los Angeles County accounts for more than 30,000 foster children.
Many are victims of abuse or neglect, have home or walking in a nearby park. “It’s really just a one-on-one meet to check in on how the youth is doing for the week and to try and physical or learning disabilities, or have been put at risk of ending up in the juvenile justice system or living on the street. It is CASA of Los Angeles’ mission to provide the services, attention and advocacy necessary to drastically improve, and even save, the life of a foster child.
Stein was referred to the organization in 2009 by a long-lost relative with a doctorate in child psychology and has been working with CASA since.
Individual CASAs, or court-appointed special advocates, are appointed by a judge to what are oftentimes the direst cases. A CASA works with everyone who touches children’s lives, from their social worker to their doctor, examining what will best work to give that girl or boy a life path that will help them to succeed. Sometimes this is simply finding them a bed to sleep in on a reliable basis, and other times it’s working to reunite them with family.
Stein’s job entails making phone calls with caregivers, educators, therapists, psychiatrists and other professionals to help improve his assigned foster child’s quality of life and visiting with the foster child at least once a month. Each in-person visit varies, but they can take place anywhere that the youth feels comfortable, whether it’s talking inside of a group home or foster give them some renewed energy to just enjoy their given moment and given day,” Stein explained. It’s important to simply show up and listen, as many of the children have not had an adult in their life that they feel they can count on to understand and listen to them without judgement. “They get a sense of themselves, that they belong, that they’re real, that somebody cares and that somebody’s listening.” Stein described his own position as a CASA as unbelievably rewarding and a role that has helped further fuel his passion for child welfare and helping those in need. He reminisced about his first case, the day he met a 15-year-old youth who desperately wanted to be reunited with his mother and to graduate high school. “He got his diploma at age 18, and that was a great moment. It was great to see, after everything he had gone through that I knew about, that he was able to hang in there and get that diploma. I remember shedding a few tears at his graduation ceremony. I was very moved by it.” Not every case may have a happy ending, but the odds dramatically improve when a child has a CASA, who is often one of the sole consistent adult anchors in their life. This year CASA will serve nearly 1,500 foster children with intensive advocacy services. “The CASA organization has an incredibly bright future. They have always had tremendous people working there as supervisors, trainers and folks running the organization. They’ve always been phenomenal, and it’s even more flushed with youth and energy right now.”
