July

2014

Contest Time: Guess How Many Jump Rings are in the Jar!

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Click photo for a larger view.

When we have a booth at a craft show or festival, obviously, we love showing off our love of chainmaille. We also like to have some fun with our visitors! Who doesn’t love a good contest and winning free things?!

Last month, at the 2014 Bead&Button Show, we revived our Guess How Many Jump Rings are in the Jar contest. We placed our trusty jar on the counter and the entries piled up. Guesses came in for a couple hundred (um, nope) to a couple million (again, nope). The winner of that contest was SO CLOSE to the actual number — she definitely deserved her prize.

Click photo for a larger view.

We know not everyone can come see us at shows, *sniff* so here’s your chance to win the online version of Guess How Many Jump Rings are in the Jar contest! Based on these photos — which include a few angles and a ruler for scale; the rings are L16 AA. The round jar is approximately 9.5 inches tall and 5.5 inches wide. If you’re familiar with the jars full of pretzels that you can buy at warehouse stores, then you’ve got the idea.

Give us your best guess in the comments, or email us at [email protected] with the words JAR CONTEST and your guess in the subject line of the email by Monday, July 14, 2014.

The entry closest to the actual number of rings in the jar will win a B3 goody bag valued at approximately $75!

Happy guessing!

July

1

2014

Time to Customize the July Maillers’ Choice Kit!

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For July’s Maillers’ Choice kit, we’ll be releasing this Wide Mesh Cuff by our very own Aimee Leang. This is a great piece — wide enough to make a fun and colorful statement, but still light and airy.

Now, we need your votes on what AA mix it should include! Pictured here, Aimee used a special Bright Colors AA mix that we think you’ll love as much as we do, but check out the voting link for all the available AA mix options.

June

24

2014

Happy First Birthday, B3 Chicago Shop!

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It’s our Chicago retail store’s first birthday! We started the year as a humble little pop-up shop with a just a plywood floor and some racks of jump rings, and somehow we made our way to being named one of Edgewater’s Best New Businesses!

Now that the dust has settled (literally), and we have a bright shiny storefront, what are we up to? Well, between a full schedule of chainmaille classes, hosting more than a dozen local artisans in our Artisan Market, and welcoming visitors from all over the world, it’s been a pretty busy year. It has been a wild ride, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

If you live near Chicago or a planning a trip to the Windy City sometime soon, we hope you’ll come visit us.

Join our locals email list to stay in the loop about classes and events in our space.

Our Location

B3 is located in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago, steps off the Granville Red Line stop, between the main thoroughfares Broadway and Sheridan, and just blocks from beautiful Lake Michigan. Our neighborhood – recently named one of the city’s best by Chicago Magazine – is filled with fantastic small businesses and restaurants; when you visit, make a day of it! Want a recommendation for places to check out when you come to B3? Email us at [email protected].

Jewelry Classes & Craft Events

One of the best parts of opening our new space was again having the opportunity to teach classes. We have a full schedule of chainmaille classes, as well as a regular offering of special classes in other forms of jewelry making. We regularly hold crafty events in our space including trunk shows and maker events. And, when we’re not using our studio, you can! We offer our space for rent for your own events, classes, meetings and more. Next up: jewelry party packages for birthdays, bridal showers or other special events for all ages! Stay tuned.

Creative Hangout

You don’t need a special reason to come visit us – we are always up for a chatting about chainmaille, discussing project ideas and opening up table space for your to test out some ideas. We hope to see you soon!

Blue Buddha Boutique, 1127 W. Granville, Chicago

June

24

2014

Chainmaille Tips & Tricks Videos: Tool Magic

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We weave a lot around here. A LOT. So, we’ve tried pretty much every trick there is to keep from marring our jump rings while weaving. Hands down, the best way we’ve found to keep from scratching our jump rings is to coat our pliers with Tool Magic. It not only protects our chainmaille supplies, but it helps to keep a grip on slippery metal rings.

Follow the simple tips in this video for coating your pliers in Tool Magic, plus how to peel it off and re-dip when needed. Happy weaving!

June

20

2014

B3 celebrates Bike to Work Week in Chicago!

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It’s Chicago Bike Week – a week that encourages Chicagoans to skip the drive, hop on their bikes and make the city a more eco-friendly (and biker-friendly) city. We have lots of team members that bike to work everyday (well, when it’s not a polar vortex of course!) Here are 3 of our B3 cyclists Rebeca, April and Matt proudly showing off their transportation of choice this week and most weeks!