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Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 4902
Location: Barcelona
Posted: Jun 29, 2010 01:50 Post subject: Re: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2010 Show
Matt_Zukowski wrote:
How might I get an english copy of Luiz Menezes' book?
Don't worry, Luiz is working on it. He will catch a distributor in different countries and he will let it know here, he need just to be back to his home and get a reasonable Internet connection to supply us all details.
Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 4902
Location: Barcelona
Posted: Jun 29, 2010 05:26 Post subject: Another piece of news from Ste. Marie 2010! ;-)
While it might have been better to wait until everyone else had finished their reports on the Ste Marie show, as I have said that I would do this quickly I have decided to go ahead and publish this news.
Last Monday, 21st July, in the evening, on the day before the show started, I sent an email to Michel Schwab, the show's general manager, telling him that this year would be my 25th year of being a exhibitor at the show and that I would like to use the opportunity to tell him that I had come to the decision to stop exhibiting at the show. I told him that from Thursday last week I would start telling friends privately and that I would then announce it on the English and Spanish Forums.
Many people who attended the show already knew about my decision and as they were there and saw all the continuous activity around my stand, they witnessed that this has nothing to do with commercial reasons, as many might suggest such as “things are going badly for him so he is giving up", or something similar. It is simply a personal decision and it is due to the huge amount of work required in everything I do. I had to drop something and with a heavy heart, after so many years showing in Ste. Marie, I have decided to give other things higher priority (for example this forum) than the money I can make from showing in Ste Marie.
Day to day very little of what I do will change, in fact, I will be even more active, it is just that Ste Marie will be a place where I will collect information, find novelties, and publish news, but without my usual stand.
So my days as an exhibitor at Ste Marie have ended, new things will take over. Life is all about change! ;-)
I add a video that we took of my stand on the last day of Ste Marie. I have never done one before, but this time, for sentimental reasons, I decided to do one so as to have a memory to leave of an element of my life that is now closing.
Joined: 30 Sep 2008
Posts: 26
Location: Saint Georges es Allier
Posted: Jun 29, 2010 06:17 Post subject: Re: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2010 Show
Jordi,
You are on the video when I have filmed the tour of Euromineral, in front of your stand.
At any moment I thought it was your last time like this. I am surprised, but know that I hope you make the right decision.
Kind regards
Posted: Jun 29, 2010 10:39 Post subject: Re: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2010 Show
Some more impressions to follow in this posting and a few sequels...
But first, my turn to say Thank you Jordi, for the very nice fruit juice in the Théatre, as well as for having been a fixed point and coordinate origin from which one could contemplate the crystal axes of EuroMin! Your stall will be missed in future years, but no doubt a considerable burden will be lifted from your shoulders, and it's best to stop while you're fully enjoying it. All the best!
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The slide show starts as the ferry approaches the Rhinau landing on Saturday morning...
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Even fairly early in the morning, queues are forming in the parking lot awaiting the shuttle buses.
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The old miner is greeting us as we descend from the bus.
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Just a few steps off the beaten track, there are some unexpected picturesque corners in the middle of Sainte Marie itself, too.
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"Winstub" is where you can sit down in comfort with a nice glass of wine. :) But it's still early morning and the show is awaiting us...
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Almost there!
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This large bronze pseudomorph after a nice young lady is on permanent exhibition here.
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It is echoed by this calcite "madonna with child" robed in an inesite fur coat... (N'Chwaning II mine, Kuruman, RSA)
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All directions point -- into the show! (to be continued)
Posted: Jun 29, 2010 11:03 Post subject: Re: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2010 Show
Continued:
As always, there were specimens of all kinds and all quality (and price) levels to be found...
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Steatite psm. after Chameleon, Peru. :-P
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Stibnite, imitating a Japanese samurai sword...
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Only rarely do you see Pezzotaite in its matrix. (Madagascar)
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One of the tallest Dioptase crystals I've ever seen (almost 3cm if memory serves).
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Tanzanite.
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Calcite from China, pretending to be a tourmaline. (I don't have a more precise location, it was sitting in a flat labeled "Rhodochrosite"... A few cm across.) This is a crossed-eyes stereo pair.
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Another stereo pair: Crazy Tourmaline group from Namibia, roughly 10cm across, found at Stefan Knupp's stall. The larger crystal degenerates into a fibrous termination to which a smaller one (with flattened cross section) is attached at an angle; countless tiny tourmaline needles are embedded in the prism faces... This is an item I just had to take home.
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Already the pyrites from La Rioja come in all sizes (and price levels)!
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An intelligence test. ;)
(to be continued)
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Small but interesting zoned Cerussite from Namibia (not from the Tsumeb mine)
Posted: Jun 29, 2010 11:19 Post subject: Re: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2010 Show
Education and entertainment are offered to all young minds from 8 to 80...
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No doubt this woolly mammoth is suffering in the heat.
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And that's before the volcano erupts...
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The special exhibition of Slovenian treasures included some very nice artwork. Dravite (from the type locality)...
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...Quartz...
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...Wulfenite.
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Of course, there was real Wulfenite, too. (Helena mine, Mežica)
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And posters explaining the several unusual habits found in the mines at Mežica...
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...and even small samples to buy, take home, and put under the microscope, like this piece starring several hemimorphic individuals with steep single pyramids towards +c and lots of tiny pyramids on the -c side. (Field of view about 15mm square.)
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Another group on the same specimen, field of view about 11mm square.
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Smaller versions of this ammonite seemed to be quite popular with young visitors...
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...as is panning for some Rhine gold.
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And SMaM would never be SMaM without the Men in Black!
Posted: Jun 29, 2010 11:34 Post subject: Re: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2010 Show
The characteristic sound of SMaM 2010 was... the incessant, nerve-wrecking clicking and clacking of very strong spherical or ovoid magnets in most everyone's restless hands. I rather grew to hate it thoroughly by Sunday afternoon.
Fortunately, there were nicer sounds to be heard, too.
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Some calm, quiet notes from an African flute at the northern entrance to the Val Expo halls...
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Or even some minutes of relative silence, only a few steps from the busy Théatre square, in the Espace Feng Shui.
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Fancy some mineral smells, too?
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Happiness is.... a little piece of rock.
And on this note, let's end this little tour of SMaM 2010. :-)
Posted: Jun 29, 2010 15:51 Post subject: Re: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2010 Show
Hi Gerhard,
Great pictures! Sorry, we´ve missed each other this time.
Jordi, i have deep respect for your decision and, though i only visited you twice in person at your booth during the years, i will certainly miss the Fabre stand. I hope we will see you as a visitor and that there will be still a FMF party next year!
Cheers
Roger
P.S. almost ready with the show report on mindat...
Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 4902
Location: Barcelona
Posted: Jul 02, 2010 11:54 Post subject: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2010 Show - 8
Barcelona 07/02/2010
A touch of humanity in this business show. The association "Voix Libres" ( https://www.voixlibres.org ) which sponsor marginated childrens of Bolivia, including the "child miners" of Cerro Rico, were in Ste Marie with their songs, their colors, reminding to us that the world is unfair.
I hope they collected a lot of money with their craft wool dolls and I hope that this Forum can also help they somehow. His website is: https://www.voixlibres.org
Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 4902
Location: Barcelona
Posted: Jul 03, 2010 15:07 Post subject: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2010 Show - 9
Barcelona 07/03/2010
Two videos more. The first is of the area outside around the theater, which is the central area of the Fair. I recommend plug in the sound as there are groups of musicians playing nice music...
And this second video is of the area of the fair called "Val Expo", which is the result of a recent renovation, where exhibitors offer mostly collector specimens.
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