Monday, January 30, 2012

The Yachats Gazette, January 29, Issue 6


YACHATS’ FIRST AGATE FESTIVAL:
A GREAT SUCCESS!

Our reporter was given a brief lesson by a master lapidarist, Jerry Hughes of Delta One Lapidary, Waldport, OR. 

Excerpts:

Jerry Hughes: Lapidary is the cutting of gemstones—the cutting and shaping. I’m using a faceting machine to cut facets on a gemstone. ... Now, this is just a marble, not a gemstone, but I’m using it [for the demonstration]. If I cut a really good gemstone, like, say, a ruby, or a sapphire... people come and talk to me while I’m doing it, and if I made a mistake in a stone that expensive, I wouldn’t be happy. The facets are the angles and the planes that I cut on the gemstone. And I do that by a process of grinding and polishing. The grinding wheel will run from 260 grit, very rough, to 1200 grit, to a cerium oxide polish lap. We use a “recipe” that calls for [certain angles], so it’s not really hard. How old are you?

TYG: Eight.

Jerry Hughes: I’ve taught kids eight years old how to facet, and they’ve done very well with it... older people are more difficult to teach. [laughter] And I teach kids for free—you get to come in and use the machines after school, and you get to take home a gemstone. The adults I charge 300 bucks. It’s a business.  [laughter] Any more questions?

TYG: How do you think the Agate Festival has been so far?
Jerry Hughes: Absolutely  magnificent! I am so proud of the people who put this together, I can’t see straight. It has been one of the best gem shows I’ve ever attended, and I’ve attended a lot of them.

TYG: How has it been for you personally?
Jerry Hughes: I have had probably, just today, 50 to 75 people come through and watch me and talk to me. And they’ve all been interesting.


The Yachats Gazette spoke with several vendors at the Yachats Agate Festival, January 21-22.
Mikaela Norval, Nature’s Art, Lincoln City, OR

TYG: How do you think the Agate Festival has been so far?
Mikaela Norval: It has been wonderful, Allen! For a first-time festival, it’s amazing! There were probably between 500 and 800 people yesterday, and we had our very best sales day ever, after four years in business.

TYG: How has it been for you personally?
Mikaela Norval: We’re very happy. We’ve already told them that we want to come back next year, and we want to be in the same spot.

TYG: Do you have a store in Lincoln City?
Mikaela Norval: We do not have a store. This is a retirement business, and we just do rock shows like this.

TYG: What kind of products do you sell?
Mikaela Norval: We have fossils, and meteorites, and crystals, and we make jewelry. We have products from 40 countries, and from outer space—meteorites.


Guy Lundy, Guywire Creations, Florence, OR

TYG: How do you think the Agate Festival has been so far?
Guy Lundy: It’s been going very well. We’ve had a lot of people come through, even with the bad weather. People have still come in, and they’ve been buying.

TYG: How has it been for you personally?
Guy Lundy: We’ve been doing very well. It’s been more than what we’ve anticipated it was going to be.


Janice Hoffman, Coastal Treasures, Waldport, OR

TYG: How do you think the Agate Festival has been so far?
Janice Hoffman: I think the Agate Festival has been wonderful. It’s been very well attended, even with the bad weather that we’ve had. Even as a vendor, I have shopped other vendors, because you can never have too many rocks. [laughter]

TYG: How has it been for you personally?
Janice Hoffman: It’s been a very good show for me. I’ve talked to a lot of interesting people, and I’ve gotten, actually, some good advice on how to market my product, from people that have stopped by, and that’s very valuable information.



YACHATS GAZETTE SCOOP:
NEW BAKERY SOON TO OPEN!

Blythe Collins-Niskanen plans to reopen Bread & Roses Bakery on 4th Street (recently the site of the 4th Street Cafe). The Yachats Gazette spoke briefly with the proprietor:

Blythe: I’m very happy. I have a new and beautiful space, and I hope to be open before Valentine’s Day....


STATE OF THE CITY

The Yachats Gazette attended the State of the City meeting at the Yachats Commons on January 15. Some highlights:

Mayor Ron Brean declared, “The state of the city is—okay.” He went on to say that “We’ve made plans to deal with infrastructure, finances, and planning, responding to needs expressed.”

Paddy Pace reported that the Yachats Public Library will have its annual book sale March 23-24, 2012. The library is working on bar-coding over 15,000 books, and future plans include putting the card catalog on the internet. Donations to the library are welcome.

Walt Weyand discussed the issues being addressed by the Public Works and Streets Commission, and reported that it needs more members.

Don Niskanen described the work recently completed at the Commons, including the new heat pump and air conditioning systems, and new siding and windows.

Lauralee Svendsgaard talked about the many activities of the Trails Committee, which is also looking for  more volunteers—first and third Saturdays, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.


Burgundy Featherkile reviewed the recent meetings and compromises regarding transient rentals, adding, “We were very Yachatian in our discussions, and very Yachatian in our solutions.”

Greg Scott and Tom Lorenzen discussed city finances, and the importance of anticipating 5-6 years of future needs for city services. Mr. Lorenzen noted that revenues have been “soft.” Asked whether the revenue stream has hit bottom, he expressed some optimism: “It’s stopped getting worse.”