Now this is getting ridiculous. My African shipment arrived in New York on October 3.......and there it sits.
Vanguard tells me that since it's an LCL--Less than Container Load--and that there is something else in the container that Customs isn't happy with, there's no telling when it will be released. Of course, Customs can't release the stuff they aren't examining, so they let us all sit and wonder what's going on. Meanwhile, my first gem and mineral show is this weekend.
On top of that, Vanguard now is saying I have a bunch of fees due that they didn't quote me on the original invoice. Anyone who knows me personally already knows that that kind of thing irritates the you-know-what out of me.
I spent all day Friday questioning customer service at Vanguard and getting nowhere. The women there finally blamed it on my shipper, which is ridiculous. The shipper has been very clear that they told me about every single bit of information that Vangard provided them, and that the shipping straight into Tampa is already paid.
I'm on hard deadline with a story right now, but when I finish it I'm going back and get my teeth into someone farther up the food chain at Vanguard (or Brennan, the parent company).
At least I know about it now, and can deal with it before it causes any further delays in the shipment. Stand by for more details.......
Monday, October 19, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
More delays
And the delays in the African shipment aren't over yet. It's still sitting on the dock in New York instead of being almost here.
It seems that since my shipment is an LCL (less than container load) it was packed into a container with a bunch of other stuff. There was something in that container that US Customs wanted to inspect. So the whole thing sat there until they inspected whatever it was.
The shipper says their paperwork shows that the container has been released. That means they'll get my rocks sometime in the next few days.
However, they will not be here in time for the Tampa Gem & Mineral Show. I won't have them until the next month's show in Orlando.
It sure is a good thing I picked up some backup material.
It seems that since my shipment is an LCL (less than container load) it was packed into a container with a bunch of other stuff. There was something in that container that US Customs wanted to inspect. So the whole thing sat there until they inspected whatever it was.
The shipper says their paperwork shows that the container has been released. That means they'll get my rocks sometime in the next few days.
However, they will not be here in time for the Tampa Gem & Mineral Show. I won't have them until the next month's show in Orlando.
It sure is a good thing I picked up some backup material.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Heading For Home
After five snowy days in Wyoming, we are trying to leave for home. Our plan was to leave Story this morning, go as far as Casper today, and spend this afternoon and Saturday morning rockhounding in Shirley Basin.
It seems, however, that the weather had other ideas. The big snowstorm that was supposed to move in late this morning got here overnight instead. It's supposed to dump 8 inches of snow in Shirley Basin, and the low tonight here is predicted to be -1.
Definitely not good rockhounding weather. That will have to wait for the next trip.
We did get the jade we bought shipped....and we badly underestimated how much we had. While we were hunting I picked up some agates and some other odd pieces of pretty rock that I can't identify--maybe 20 to 25 pounds of it--so I have to figure that into this.
However.......we took 6 large Flat Rate Priority boxes to the Post Office this afternoon. The lightest box weighed 4o pounds, and the total weight was 255 pounds and change. When you allow 10 pounds for the boxes--considering that I reinforced them--and 25 pounds for the other rocks--that still means I just shipped 220 pounds of Wyoming jade home.
I hadn't gone through the buckets until I packed it all. There were a few pieces that don't look like much, but most of it is very nice, and there's a lot of pink jade among it all.
I am really looking forward to getting home and getting it sorted out. Of course, with the African material due in next week, it may be a while before I get all of it organized!
It seems, however, that the weather had other ideas. The big snowstorm that was supposed to move in late this morning got here overnight instead. It's supposed to dump 8 inches of snow in Shirley Basin, and the low tonight here is predicted to be -1.
Definitely not good rockhounding weather. That will have to wait for the next trip.
We did get the jade we bought shipped....and we badly underestimated how much we had. While we were hunting I picked up some agates and some other odd pieces of pretty rock that I can't identify--maybe 20 to 25 pounds of it--so I have to figure that into this.
However.......we took 6 large Flat Rate Priority boxes to the Post Office this afternoon. The lightest box weighed 4o pounds, and the total weight was 255 pounds and change. When you allow 10 pounds for the boxes--considering that I reinforced them--and 25 pounds for the other rocks--that still means I just shipped 220 pounds of Wyoming jade home.
I hadn't gone through the buckets until I packed it all. There were a few pieces that don't look like much, but most of it is very nice, and there's a lot of pink jade among it all.
I am really looking forward to getting home and getting it sorted out. Of course, with the African material due in next week, it may be a while before I get all of it organized!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
The Jade Lady
This morning on our way up to Story, Wyoming, we stopped to see the lady in Casper with the jade. What she had was amazing. All colors from very dark green to pale green, and some pinks. I'd already paid her for some of it, but we bought more and ended up with about 150 pounds of jade of all sizes and colors.
She also gave me three small blue agates from Shirley Basin.
And to think I hunted all over Shirley Basin in the early 1990s and never knew about the agates.
Now I just have to figure out how to get home with all of it!
She also gave me three small blue agates from Shirley Basin.
And to think I hunted all over Shirley Basin in the early 1990s and never knew about the agates.
Now I just have to figure out how to get home with all of it!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
William Holland School of Lapidary Arts
It’s taken me three weeks to digest my experience at William Holland School of Lapidary Arts well enough to sit down and write about it. It was a singular experience, and one that I truly hope to repeat next year!
Kym had already been there a week to take a wire sculpting class when I arrived. We originally had planned to both take cabochons, but then she changed to chain making.
As a result, there were only two of us in the cabochons class, myself and a lady from south Georgia who was less serious about learning to cut cabochons than she was staying away from home for a while. She was only there about half the time, so I ended up having the instructor to myself a lot of the time.
My instructor was Gene Baxter, who’s been teaching cabochons at William Holland since the mid 1970s. One thing I really appreciated about him was that he didn’t have an agenda for the class; he let me identify my weaknesses and pick projects that would address those weaknesses. As I result I learned much more than I would have learned from a more structured course.
During the week, I cut a total of 20 cabs. A couple of them were experiments just to see if I could cut the particular material; I was able to cut them, but I won’t bother to try them again. Some of the others I cut in a freeform shape specifically because of the pattern in the material, because I’m trying to develop an “eye” for what makes a good freeform cab and what doesn’t.
One big thing I learned was not to fear experimenting. I’ve been so afraid of messing up nice pieces of material that I’ve avoided cutting them. However, I had one piece of “I dunno” rock break on me twice, and I just cut it smaller both times until I had a very nice—albeit small—cab out of it.
I was surprised at how much I already knew, but overwhelmed by how much there still is yet for me to learn. I’ve already made a “lapidary challenge list” of things I want to learn to do and I’m starting down that list one thing at a time.
I’m also enjoying teaching on Wednesday evenings. It’s fun to watch the beginners start to grasp what to do with a stone besides just look at it.
Just as an aside, the ocean vessel SAF Marine Oranje docked in New York on October 3. If all goes according to plan, my African material will arrive in Tampa on October 17, one week before our club show. I won’t have time to get many slabs cut, but if I can get the barrels unpacked I’ll at least have some rough there. I’ve also committed to the November Orlando show, the December Withlacoochee show, and the Tomoka show in January. Plus there are club tailgate days……
Kym had already been there a week to take a wire sculpting class when I arrived. We originally had planned to both take cabochons, but then she changed to chain making.
As a result, there were only two of us in the cabochons class, myself and a lady from south Georgia who was less serious about learning to cut cabochons than she was staying away from home for a while. She was only there about half the time, so I ended up having the instructor to myself a lot of the time.
My instructor was Gene Baxter, who’s been teaching cabochons at William Holland since the mid 1970s. One thing I really appreciated about him was that he didn’t have an agenda for the class; he let me identify my weaknesses and pick projects that would address those weaknesses. As I result I learned much more than I would have learned from a more structured course.
During the week, I cut a total of 20 cabs. A couple of them were experiments just to see if I could cut the particular material; I was able to cut them, but I won’t bother to try them again. Some of the others I cut in a freeform shape specifically because of the pattern in the material, because I’m trying to develop an “eye” for what makes a good freeform cab and what doesn’t.
One big thing I learned was not to fear experimenting. I’ve been so afraid of messing up nice pieces of material that I’ve avoided cutting them. However, I had one piece of “I dunno” rock break on me twice, and I just cut it smaller both times until I had a very nice—albeit small—cab out of it.
I was surprised at how much I already knew, but overwhelmed by how much there still is yet for me to learn. I’ve already made a “lapidary challenge list” of things I want to learn to do and I’m starting down that list one thing at a time.
I’m also enjoying teaching on Wednesday evenings. It’s fun to watch the beginners start to grasp what to do with a stone besides just look at it.
Just as an aside, the ocean vessel SAF Marine Oranje docked in New York on October 3. If all goes according to plan, my African material will arrive in Tampa on October 17, one week before our club show. I won’t have time to get many slabs cut, but if I can get the barrels unpacked I’ll at least have some rough there. I’ve also committed to the November Orlando show, the December Withlacoochee show, and the Tomoka show in January. Plus there are club tailgate days……
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Wonderful wonderstone
I just started slabbing some of the Nevada wonderstone I got for my upcoming gem and mineral shows. I had some doubts about it when I first saw it, but the first end cut is absolutely gorgeous.
It just goes to prove that old adage: never judge a rock by the rind.
It just goes to prove that old adage: never judge a rock by the rind.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
We have liftoff........
This excursion into African lapidary materials has been an exercise in utter frustration. The containers were scheduled to ship late August, and they were actually on board the ship, the Maersk Jambi.
Then South African Customs got a bee in their bonnet about something--no one knows what--and out of all the orders on the Jambi pulled my little shipment of rocks off. They took two samples, kept the shipment a week, and then released it with an apology but no explanation.
Of course, by then the Jambi had sailed. So the exporter went in search of another vessel. They booked the shipment on the SAF Marine Oranje, due to leave Cape Town September 11.
Only......it didn't. Bad weather kept it in port until September 17, when it finally left Cape Town, headed for New York.
Geemineez. New York. That means it still has to come overland from New York to Tampa.
Finally yesterday I got a copy of the waybill, with the container number and the actual shipment number and now I can track the shipment.
Only.......it's not that easy. It may be on an SAF Marine vessel, but it's a Mediterranean Shipping Company shipment. And since it's a LCL--Less than Container Load--I can't track it on their website. No, I have to call the company's Atlanta office and find out where the ship actually is.
As of today, my little load of rocks is scheduled to arrive in New York on October 3. Vanguard will pick it up on Monday the 5th and load it on an 18-wheeler that should leave New York on the 8th.
That will put it in Tampa between the 15th and the 17th. Barely time to get it sorted and into crates before I have to set up for the Tampa Gem & Mineral Show on the 23rd. Certainly not enough time to get many slabs cut.
Fortunately I found some great western material for terrific price that I'm cutting right now. Lizardstone, amethyst lace agate, wonderstone, Bagdad agate, and Disaster Peak picture jasper. That, along with what I already had, will make nice tables.
Now if we just don't have any more delays.........
Then South African Customs got a bee in their bonnet about something--no one knows what--and out of all the orders on the Jambi pulled my little shipment of rocks off. They took two samples, kept the shipment a week, and then released it with an apology but no explanation.
Of course, by then the Jambi had sailed. So the exporter went in search of another vessel. They booked the shipment on the SAF Marine Oranje, due to leave Cape Town September 11.
Only......it didn't. Bad weather kept it in port until September 17, when it finally left Cape Town, headed for New York.
Geemineez. New York. That means it still has to come overland from New York to Tampa.
Finally yesterday I got a copy of the waybill, with the container number and the actual shipment number and now I can track the shipment.
Only.......it's not that easy. It may be on an SAF Marine vessel, but it's a Mediterranean Shipping Company shipment. And since it's a LCL--Less than Container Load--I can't track it on their website. No, I have to call the company's Atlanta office and find out where the ship actually is.
As of today, my little load of rocks is scheduled to arrive in New York on October 3. Vanguard will pick it up on Monday the 5th and load it on an 18-wheeler that should leave New York on the 8th.
That will put it in Tampa between the 15th and the 17th. Barely time to get it sorted and into crates before I have to set up for the Tampa Gem & Mineral Show on the 23rd. Certainly not enough time to get many slabs cut.
Fortunately I found some great western material for terrific price that I'm cutting right now. Lizardstone, amethyst lace agate, wonderstone, Bagdad agate, and Disaster Peak picture jasper. That, along with what I already had, will make nice tables.
Now if we just don't have any more delays.........
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