SNAG 2012 in Scottsdale: A Preview of Rio’s Booth!

The annual conference for the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) is one of our favorite events of the year. There’s a sense of energy and community at that conference that's entirely unique, and we are proud, once again, to be the conference sponsor.

This year’s conference is in Scottsdale, Arizona at the Westin Kierland Resort (seriously, you must click on the link for this place!) on May 23-26. We’re looking forward to attending so we can reconnect with old friends, see what’s new in the jewelry-making world, and present our latest finds to all the metalsmiths we meet.

Speaking of which, here’s a peek at what’s going on at Rio’s booth at this year’s SNAG Conference.

Fretz Hammers and Stakes, Demonstrated by Bill Fretz

Bill Fretz will be at the bench in our booth to show off his full line of hammers and stakes, and we will debut a brand new line of Fretz forming stakes at the conference!

Bonny Doon Hydraulic Presses and Tooling, Demonstrated by Phil Poirier

Phil Poirier, owner of Bonny Doon, will be demonstrating all you can do with a Bonny Doon hydraulic press, as well as the Bonny Doon Hammer and Vertical Vise. At this year’s conference, Phil is debuting a new line of small forming tools as well!

Swanstrom Tools, Demonstrated by Tim Sheriff

The round disc cutter, the new shaped disc cutters, the wire-working pliers, and the complete line of Swanstrom pliers and cutters—Tim Sheriff will be on-hand to show off all of these and answer your questions.

Ronda Coryell

Ronda Coryell, founder of Jewelry Studies International, will be at our booth to show off all that can be done with Argentium and to answer your questions! 

Knew Concepts Metalsmithing Equipment

Master metalsmith Brian Meek will be at our booth demonstrating the revolutionary Knew Concepts Saws. He’ll have the power saw, the blanking dies saw, and all the new hand saws for you to try out at the booth.

A Full Slate of Our Best Metal Forming Tools!

Hammers, mandrels, stakes, vises, anvils, stumps, even books and videos—we’ll have them out ready for you to pick up and play with. Ashli Taylor, Yvonne Padilla, and Diana Montoya from Rio Grande will be on-hand to answer your questions about everything we brought.

Excited yet? We hope you can make it!

And if you can’t, mark your calendars now for next year’s conference in Toronto!

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