"Shop Vintage" in a Paradise Called Providence!

April 11 – 16, 2011

Providence, Rhode Island, USA

In Progress--We'll do it again in 2013!

Picture a large warehouse with rows and rows of floor to ceiling metal shelving stuffed with boxes. Each box has something glued or hanging on the front to let you know what the box contains. You will think the rooms go on forever. Add to that a Five Star Swarovski importer plus a pewter molding company, a glass factory and gallery, and a bit of area history and you have an idea of the what to look forward to on this “Shop Vintage” Beadventure with tour leader Doris Coghill.

Itinerary

Day 1. Monday, April 11
We will start our “Shop Vintage” Beadventure with arrival at the Providence airport and a shuttle ride to our hotel. The day will be completed with a welcome dinner (included).

Day 2. Tuesday, April 12
Today will take us to our first warehouse to dig through the aisles of treasures and vintage Swarovski crystal beads and cabs. (Lunch, dinner included)

Day 3. Wednesday, April 13
In the morning we will travel south to David Christenson’s Glass Factory. David produces furnace glass beads, cabs, and pendants and his partners create blown glass marvels. You can’t really appreciate a glass bead until you have actually seen one made. We will continue south to Newport for lunch and a tour the Vanderbilt mansion called “The Breakers”.

Newport is known as the place to go in summer and is synonymous with sailing. After the Civil War it was transformed from commercial outpost to resort with large extravagant mansions. The wealthy bought up property at the ocean’s rim to build what they called “summer cottages,” which actually were mansions patterned after European palaces. The Breakers is the most ornate mansion with 70 rooms including a gold ballroom. It was built for Cornelius Vanderbilt II in 1895. (Lunch, dinner included)

Day 4. Thursday, April 14
We will spend most of today in the Jewelry District where we will visit a five star Swarovski dealer who will talk about their history and all that Swarovski has to offer. Lunch will be at CAV, which stands for coffee/antiques/victuals. Patrons are surrounded by tribal rugs, African carvings and antiques, many of which are for sale. After lunch we will visit the Providence Jewelry Museum and see something of the city’s history. (Lunch, dinner included)

Day 5. Friday, April 15
Today we will find us at another warehouse that is so big that the basement rooms have a yellow line from the basement entry door to the last room so that you can find your way back out. There is also a Swarovski room, a metal room, a findings room, a plastics room, plus so many more rooms that you will lose count! We will enjoy a farewell dinner (on Beadventures) on our last evening.

Day 6. Saturday, April 16
Depart for home.

Trip Notes . . .

If you have a tax number, be sure to bring along several copies of your certificate to leave with the warehouses. But do not worry; you do not have to have a tax number to go on this trip. The only restriction will be that you will have to buy any of the Swarovski items in factory pack quantities, which can range from half gross (72) to ten gross (1,440) packages, depending on the size of the item. But those packs can be split with other tour members once you get back to the hotel.

About Rhode Island . . .

Small, but beautiful, Rhode Island is the second smallest state—just 48 miles long and 37 miles wide. This feisty colony was the first to declare its independence from Britain but last to ratify the US Constitution. At one time it was a leader in the Industrial Revolution with multiple textile mills, machine and metal shops, and costume jewelry production. The costume jewelry manufacturing plants may no longer be located in Providence, but many of their suppliers and importers are still there. You’ll find warehouses full of findings, beads, crystals, cabs, and other items, both vintage and new that can be used for jewelry or other crafts.

While Rhode Island is a small state, it does have 400 miles of shoreline and several large islands within its boundaries. Water cuts the state into two pieces and the Atlantic Ocean goes most of the way to the Massachusetts border. Providence Harbor stretches 30 miles from downtown to Narragansett Bay. Providence and its 100,000 population have preserved much of its past history. In 1890 Providence was the second largest woolen producing city in the US and you still can see many of the old mill buildings, which have been converted into Antique Shops or other commercial uses. Lining Benefit Street there are more than 200 restored buildings – what the locals call “The Mile of History”. Many of the houses and buildings have a plaque on the front telling you what year they were constructed and it is not unusual to see houses dating bacl to the 1700’s.

In 1794 extensive production of fashion jewelry began when Providence goldsmiths Seril and Nehemiah Dodge developed a process for plating base metal with gold, thus enabling them to produce popular
jewelry at extremely low prices. This caused the production of costume jewelry to excel during the 19^th century, especially in Providence. Nehemiah later expanded his business greatly, employing journeyman gold and silversmiths and apprentices to become the nation’s first mass producer of discount jewelry. By 1880 Rhode Island led all the states in percentage of residents employed in jewelry manufacturing. By 1900 there were 250 costume jewelry manufacturers located in and around Providence. One of the largest manufacturers located there was Coro who also produced items under the names Vendome, Cellini, Francois, and many others. The jewelry boom lasted until around 1950 when changing times led to four decades of economic decline, which ended the costume jewelry industry in Providence. So many of the companies were located in one place that an area of downtown is still called “The Jewelry District” even though the buildings have long since been converted to other uses.

Trip Details

Trip Cost: $1395.00 USD

Includes: All lodging and meals, ground transportation (hotel has shuttle to/from airport), museum admission. Cost is based on sharing a room; additional cost of a single room (if available) is $225.
Does not include: airfare, alcoholic beverages with meals
Payment Terms: $300 deposit to hold spot; balance due 90 days prior to start of Beadventure (see Terms and Conditions for more information)