Registration is Open for SFMS 2019 Workshops
From the SFMS registration website:
“On an annual basis, the SFMS holds Federation Workshop Weeks at William Holland and Wildacres for everything from beading classes to lapidary classes to silver classes. Come to one of our Federation Weeks to enjoy the mountains, learn from knowledgeable teachers and make new friends!”
Federation Week at William Holland School of Lapidary Arts is June 9th – 14th.
Federation Weeks at Wildacres Retreat Center are August 19th – 25th and September 16 – 27th.
For information on classes and to register, see SFMS 2019 Workshops.
Did You Know? About 10% of the million plus tons of natural graphite mined annually goes into making the common #2 pencil. Source: 
September Birthstone: Sapphire: A variety of the mineral corundum. Depending on its element content, sapphire may be blue, yellow, green, orange, or purple. Red corundum is ruby, while pink corundum can be either ruby or sapphire, depending on its locale. Sapphire may show a six-rayed star when cut as a cabochon.
Source: 
