Venetian glass beads, blown live in Venice studio

Venetian glass beads
Venetian glass beads
A mannequin at Muranero glass bead studio.

Serendipitous finds are one of the joys of travel. In Venice, the rule is wander, get lost, and head away from the unbearably crowded tourist areas. Doing just that, I found Moulaye Niang’s tiny glass studio by accident, and what a gem! If handblown glass is the embodiment of Venice, these glass beads are the perfect, beautiful (and affordable) way to take home a piece of the fragile island.

Moulaye sits at his little worktable blowing small miracles. When I came in, he popped up and dragged me out into the sunlight, spinning a freshly molten bead on a metal rod. It was black and smoking. Watch, he said, turning the rod. Blue began to emerge, then streaks of red and swirls of yellow. Within minutes, the black blob cooled and metamorphosed into a gorgeous work of art.

Venetian glass beads. Moulaye Niang at work in his Venice studio.
Moulaye Niang at work in his Venice studio.
Venetian glass beads
Glass bead maker’s raw materials.
Venetian glass beads
One of Muranero’s creations.
Venetian glass beads
Moulaye Niang’s necklace: “two possibilities.”
Venetian glass beads
Moulaye Niang’s necklace: “two possibilities.”

Back inside, it was hard to choose among the strung necklaces. Moulaye’s partner is responsible for designing necklaces with his beads, and her combinations are stunning. But there’s also a big tray of unstrung beads. If you can pick one, she will string it into a necklace of her design—or yours.

Many of the necklaces have “two possibilities,” as Moulaye put it: in a short style, or a totally different long style. I’ll let you visit the shop and see for yourself what that means.

Venetian glass beads

Moulaye, from Dakar, studied glassblowing with the masters on Murano. His Venetian glass beads are inspired by nature. They are exquisite, and very affordable. Not cheap. They’re the perfect Venetian takeaway or gift that will be prized forever. All you have to do is find the shop!

Muranero: Salizada del Pignater 3545, Castello, Venice.

© Copyright 2008-present Bambi Vincent. All rights reserved.

Grocery cart pickpocket

Grocery cart pickpocket Desha Wilkins works at grocery stores.
Grocery cart pickpocket Desha Wilkins works at grocery stores.
Beware: grocery cart pickpocket near you!

Would you feel threatened by the smiling face of this thief?

Grocery cart pickpocket

I’ve written about the grocery cart pickpocket before, but here’s a name and a face. Helps you realize just how virtuous and irreproachable a thief can look. This woman, Desha Wilkins, has a long record. She’s practiced. She’s calm—smooth—when she swoops in and snags stuff out of other women’s handbags—your handbag. You won’t feel nervous when she comes near; she’s just another woman shopping for groceries. You won’t clutch your purse closely, or swivel to stare.

This particular grocery cart pickpocket lives in District Heights, Maryland. She’s known to operate in surrounding areas as well as Montgomery County. Based on my interviews with other pickpockets, I’d bet that she travels, too. She might visit your neighborhood store. You might be there at the time. Oh, and she’s not the only one who preys on grocery store shoppers. Here’s a husband-and-wife thievery team who favor the shoppers at Whole Foods. And another. And more. Here’s the aftermath from a victim, an American woman in Paris.

Just a reminder: don’t leave your purse in your grocery store shopping cart. A theft takes only a second while you choose a ripe avocado or compare product labels. You won’t know your wallet or phone’s gone until you go to check out. Meanwhile. the grocery cart pickpocket will be long gone.

A certain brand of thief makes a career of this M.O. She stalks her marks and waits for the perfect opportunity. If you set your purse in the shopping cart, you will give her that perfect opportunity. Avoidance is simple: just keep your purse on your shoulder. Do not set it in the cart at all.

© Copyright 2008-present Bambi Vincent. All rights reserved.

Shopping cart pickpockets in grocery stores

Shopping cart pickpocket steals wallets from unattended purses in shopping trolleys.

Shopping cart pickpockets on the loose!

Shopping cart pickpocket steals wallets from unattended purses in shopping trolleys.
Shopping cart pickpocket steals wallets from unattended purses in grocery store shopping trolleys.

Just a reminder: don’t leave your purse in your grocery store shopping cart. It just takes a second while you choose a ripe avocado or compare product labels. You won’t know your wallet’s gone until you go to check out. Meanwhile. the shopping cart pickpocket will be long gone.

A certain brand of thief makes a career of this M.O. They stalk their marks and wait for the opportunity given them. Avoidance is simple: just keep your purse on your shoulder. Do not set it in the cart at all.

Here’s an example, but this happens everywhere. Especially, it seems, in Florida.

All text © copyright 2000-present. All rights reserved. Bambi Vincent

The Unattended Purse

Purse hanging on baby stroller
Purse hanging on baby stroller
Purse hanging on baby stroller

Just a little reminder to women…

A thief needs only a few seconds to assume ownership of unattended riches. Those few seconds are easily found when a woman leaves her handbag in a shopping cart or baby stroller. In the time it takes to select a ripe avocado, the bag is gone and out the door.

Don’t let go of your purse!

Joyce Lerner of Miami Beach had her wallet filched from her purse while shopping in her neighborhood supermarket. It was half an hour before she got to the checkstand and realized it—an obvious window of opportunity for the thief to use her credit cards. When she reported the incident, police told her they were well-aware of gangs that came to Miami Beach every winter and worked many different supermarkets.

Shoe stores in strip malls along the Las Vegas Strip are prime locales for larcenists looking for ignored bags. In fact shoe shops everywhere beckon to the opportunist. Shoe shopping is serious business, I know, and requires intense focus. Selecting, fitting, walking across the shop, admiring, and—where’s your purse?

And, victims tell me that beauty and nail salons are targeted by thieves. Some women become relaxed and distracted, and neglect their belongings inside, or leave their purses in their cars so they won’t ruin their newly done nails. Leave it to an opportunist to exploit a loophole.

Excerpt from Travel Advisory: How to Avoid Thefts, Cons, and Street Scams

Chapter Five: Rip-Offs: Introducing…the Opportunist

© Copyright 2008-2013 Bambi Vincent. All rights reserved.

When courtesy is exhausting

A mall, elsewhere.
A mall, elsewhere.

Had to go to the Apple store in the mall last night, and it turned into a long visit while Bob sorted out some issues with windows on his Mac. I left and wandered around the mall, an activity I normally detest.

It wasn’t crowded at all, despite the time of year. No surprise. What surprised me was the aggressive behavior of the sales people, especially at the kiosks that litter the walkways. A glance at the wares piled on the carts and in the booths, even while on the move, garnered at least a beckoning call. Veering too close guaranteed a come-on. But some sales staff were worse. I heard one man ask a long-haired woman if she used a blow-dryer. The woman wasn’t even looking at his kiosk, just walking past. She stopped and answered the man (positive reinforcement of his behavior).

By the time I’d gone to one end of the mall, I was fed up with being accosted. Walking back, I looked at no one and nothing. I wasn’t grouchy but I probably looked it. I just didn’t feel like being harassed. Then a bright-eyed man took a few fast steps toward me.

“Can I ask you a question?” he asked with urgency, as if I could suddenly enlighten him.

“Absolutely not,” I replied with spirit, not slowing down at all.

The mall in Las Vegas is like being in a third-world market, where every stall owner begs for the attention of passersby. I feel for them. And many of the sales people are from struggling nations. We are now a struggling nation, too. So I guess the hard-sell is the new rule. You don’t want to be rude to the ropers and the barkers. You start off smiling and polite. But after five minutes, or an hour, or a week, depending on your tolerance, it becomes exhausting. Courtesy becomes exhausting.