"It gets bigger and better all the time," said society member Paula Althoff of Piedmont. "We have a bigger room at the downtown city center and more vendors."

Althoff will be selling costume and ethnic jewelry and beads, as one of the 111 vendors and studio artists from all over California and the West Coast.

"I began making glass beads from the doodles I made, in 1996," said glass sculpture artist and author Sharon Peters of Alameda. "I started working in stained glass 20 years ago and couldn't sell them."

Peters' designer beads now sell for $15 to $450 each. Saturday, she will debut necklaces made with her beads.

"My beads have become collectible," said Peters, who will travel to Milwaukee and Venice in May to exhibit and sell her art.

Berkeley resident and bead society member Trairie Kottkamp will exhibit some of her creations. She plans to hold her own show -- "Bay Area Bead Extravaganza" -- at the Oakland Marriott City Center on Nov. 13 and 14.

Other bead-makers at this weekend's event include Oakland residents Toni Ellis, DeLynda De Leon, Harlan Simon, Daphne Schrampf, Marcia Parker, Allison Lindquist, Alex Shapiro and Golden De Bone; as well as Berkeley residents Emiko Sawamoto, April Yilber, Deanna Doering, Gail Splauer, Rose Egu and Aveesh Singh.

The Northern California Bead Society was founded in 1977 and is the second oldest bead society in the United States.

Reach Cindee de la Vara at (510) 339-4517.

Contra Costa Times
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