Wikibeadia: Palchemy

Here is a new word to me: Palchemy
Dawn Chastain left a comment on my blog about using the process of elimination. This caught my attention so then I clicked on her name which lead me to her Etsy store. As I read the description of the listed item I see the word "Palchemy" ... I love words so this was intriguing to me. Here is what I have found posted by lilikoi on Etsy:

The word alchemy, to me, means something magical - being able to take a material and make it into something else. It is with this in mind that I'm announcing not a contest, but a game... it's a little bit alchemy, a little bit PIF, but it's also about being friendly... Alchemy + PIF + Pals = Palchemy There will be no prizes awarded and no winner chosen, it's all just for fun. ************* If you want to play, CONVO me. I will match people up and post the matches here. You can sign up to be a Sender, or a Maker - or both. Senders: Will mail, free of charge, some items of your choice to the Maker I pair you with. What you send is up to you. The value of the items, size, all that - is up to you. It can be wild and crazy, or it can be ordinary. Please include a minimum of three (3) items. Makers: Will create and list an item using mystery materials provided by Sender. You may get findings, you may get paper, you may get fabric - who knows?? You must mention the Sender's shop name in the listing description, and include the word Palchemy in your item title. One of your photo spaces should be a picture of the items that were sent to you before you made them into anything. You can add other materials of your own, the idea is to incorporate as many of the received items as possible into a new piece, but the piece does not have to consist soley of the received items. Please note: Senders will be "paid" in publicity via the description listing, Makers keep whatever they make on the sale - I'm assuming that there will most likely be their own materials involved as well.

I'm not sure if Palchemy is still supported and participated in on Etsy. Can anyone out there let us know? What I'm especially excited about is that this idea is getting the word around about supporting each other as unique, artistic individuals who buck the "big box" stores and all they stand for.

Of course, all of us here at Art Bead Scene would especially love for you to use items received from a palchemy exchange in conjunction with art beads / pendants which were made by individual artists. So I'm asking you to post a comment that has a link to photos, listings or other gatherings that support a collaboration between an art bead maker and exchange items (such as palchemy) that you have participated in or have viewed on the Internet.

Thanks again to Dawn for introducing the new word and idea "Palchemy" to me.

- Elaine Ray