I wanted to thank you all for a wonderfully, successful Chocolate Fantasy in Monticello on February 10th. It was a really nice evening, and I hope you all had as good of a time as we did at Pearls & More Jewelry. A HUGE thank you goes to Doris Liestman, Gail Winterroth and Mike Lane who were tremendous help during the night. Because of these three special people, we were able to take care of over 230 people in my small shop in a 3-hour time frame. That really takes a lot of planning and work, on the part of these three, in order to accomplish that. And another big THANK YOU goes to Missy and her staff...More

This past Friday night, January 27, 2012, I had the honor of getting to celebrate a very close friend of mine’s birthday in Shanghai, China. Shinichi Terada will be celebrating his 32nd birthday on February 6th, but because I was in Shanghai last weekend, we celebrated a bit early. Here are some pictures from that celebration! Shinichi getting his cake Photo on Left: Shinichi & his partner, Ron and cat, Zack Photo on Right: Shinichi, Me and Zack Ron & Shinichi at the table with the birthday dinner that Ron prepared. Ron and I...More

It is Thursday, January 12, 2012, and I am currently in Beijing, China. Today I took a walk and ended up at Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City. I took lots of pictures with my new iPhone and thought you might like a tour of the Square and the inside of the Forbidden City (Imperial Palace). Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace) located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world. It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several important events in Chinese history....More

Greetings to one and all, As 2011 comes to a close, I’d like to take a moment to personally thank you for your business. In another tough economic year, Pearls & More Jewelry has been blessed to have the support of loyal customers like you. Many of you have been with me for some time. I will continue to strive to exceed your expectations with unique as well as traditional jewelry pieces at competitive pricing. You have my promise. One of the best things for Pearls & More Jewelry in 2011 was writing a check for $3,200.00 to the Women’s Imaging Department of Kirby Medical Center from the sale of the breast cancer awareness bracelets and the sale...More

I hope you all had a terrific Thanksgiving and are ready for a really fun Christmas event that will be happening in Monticello this weekend. Friday night, December 2nd will be the second “Reds of Christmas” wine tasting event. From 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM (Pearls & More Jewelry will be open until 9:00 PM), with an $8 pre-paid ticket or $10 the night of the event, you will have the opportunity to stroll the streets of downtown Monticello and visit 18 specialty shops and restaurants for a sample of a different red wine in each location. Advance tickets may be purchased at Celebrations, Cabbage Rose, Out of the Blue Polish Pottery and WackyNackies. When...More

Right now (October 22, 2011) I’m in Hong Kong, but I have written about Hong Kong several times. This time I want to tell you about something that I attended the night before I left for Hong Kong. The event was held at Willard Airport in Champaign, IL. It was the “Welcome back” ceremony for the WWII veterans who had the opportunity to fly to Washington, D.C. that day to see the WWII memorial along with other memorials in the area. I first heard about this event while listening...More

October 7, 2011,5:30 – 8:30pm Sample specialty beers in 18 unique stores and restaurants throughout downtown Monticello in one fun-packed evening. Call a friend, make a date. Tickets are $8.00 and include a souvenir glass and are available at Cabbage Rose, Celebrations, Simply Irresistible & WackyNackies Gifts & Café. Tickets are limited. Must be 21 or older. Pearls & More Jewelry will once again be featuring a beer from one of the many countries where owner, Bill Haworth travels to get his unique jewelry. This year, Bill and his helpers, Doris, Gail and Janet will be serving Kingfisher beer – India’s...More

Once again, during the entire month of October, Pearls & More Jewelry, located at 211 W. Washington St., Monticello, IL will be promoting Breast Cancer Awareness month in conjunction with Monticello's Kirby Medical Center. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer affects about 1 in 8 women (13%). Early detection is key in breast cancer survival.Screening from breast cancer has changed over the years.Understanding about the latest advancements in imaging technology is important in making the right choice for each woman. Once again, Bill Haworth, owner of Pearls & More Jewelry, has had two styles of breast cancer awareness bracelets...More

With the 10th anniversary of the events that changed the world forever on September 11, 2001 coming up this weekend, I cannot help but reflect on the how much that one event changed, so dramatically, the profession that I have been a part of for the past 24+ years. Flight attendants were the first to die on that fateful day. They were the first to relay intelligence to alert the country as to what was actually happening on United Flight 93 and who, along with fellow passengers, decided to pay the ultimate sacrifice to protect the lives of many others by crashing the plane into the ground in Pennsylvania. No one had ever thought that planes, loaded with...More

I left home on August 15th thinking I was going on a 6-day trip to Amsterdam, The Netherlands and then to Mumbai, India, back to Amsterdam and then to Detroit. Well, as many of you know, things do not always go as planned in the airline industry! We traveled to Amsterdam and to Mumbai, as planned. I met with Gary in Mumbai and discussed a quite a few special requests for unique jewelry designs from many of my customers. I had not been to see Gary for 3 months, which is very unusual, because I usually go there at least once a month. It was good to see him and his father again, and we had a good day. On the flight back to Amsterdam from Mumbai, we...More

It’s been a while since I’ve written something in this section of my website, but it just seems like I’ve been traveling to the same places all the time and it is kind of difficult to find something new to write about. Well, during the weekend of August 11 – 13, 2011 I took three days off for a mini-vacation and attended the finals week for DCI (Drum Corps International) in Indianapolis, Indiana. A vacation is something I do not do very often – although many people think my whole life is nothing but a “vacation,” the truth is, I work almost every day and rarely take time off. As many of you know, I used to...More

The day we visited the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, they were having an “unveiling” of a brand new Ferrari in the lobby of the hotel.It was for the press and “special invited guests!”We just happened to be there at the right time. Of course, we were not allowed into the “special guests” or press area, but we could see the event from a distance – quite a distance!!!In fact, it was through screens, trees, lights and lots of “decorations” lights and quite a crowd that we could actually catch a “glimpse!” I was actually not nearly as interested in the car as I was in the jewelry in the windows...More

I just got back from a 3-day layover in Hong Kong! A 3-day layover now days in the airline business is something unheard of!24 years ago, when I first started as a flight attendant for Northwest Airlines, a 3 or even 4-day layover at an International destination, especially in Asia, was not unusual, but in today’s world, more than 24-hours is considered a “long layover!”After a 16-hour non-stop flight, 24 hours is not very long to “recoop” and do a 16-hour flight back to the U.S., however, that’s about all we get nowadays. When this trip showed up on our analysis with a 3-day layover in Hong Kong, I just...More

After several trips back and forth between Shanghai, China and Tokyo, Japan, we have arrived back in Tokyo for the final time on this trip. It’s Tuesday afternoon, May 17th here in Tokyo and tomorrow, Wednesday the 18th, I begin the journey home with a non-stop flight from Tokyo to Detroit, then I’ll hop on a flight from Detroit to Peoria and then drive home to Monticello. Sunday night, May 14th, my second night in Shanghai, I got sick around 11:30 PM and spent the rest of the night in the bathroom with diarrhea and vomiting. Little did I know when I posted the picture of the bathroom in Shanghai on the blog before this one, that I would be spending...More

Yes, I’m back in Shanghai again! This time I'm just concentrating on new jewelry. My friends that live here are out of the country visiting family. Thought I’d just attach some pictures, that I took with my iPhone, of some of the very modern architecture and sites of Shanghai. It’s really a very beautiful, very modern city. Enjoy the pictures: This is the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum A beautiful walkway in a park in the heart of the city The view from my hotel window on the 48th floor The bathroom in my hotel room. It was very nice! An...More

I had a new experience today that I want to share with you. First of all, when you are an airline employee, one of the “perks” of the job is the opportunity to fly free. But there are restrictions and regulations to the “free” flights that are difficult to deal with. Obviously, an employee flying “free” will never be put on an airplane when there is a “paying” customer to fill that seat. When we fly “free,” we refer to that as flying “stand-by,” as you wait to see if there will be any empty seat that you can use. Therefore you “stand-by” for a seat. We are also referred to as “non-revs”...More

Tonight, I was doing laundry and on my computer working on tying to make changes to my May airline schedule when CNN broke in with “Breaking News” - not something unusual in 24-hour news channels. But this time it really got my attention. OSAMA BIN LADEN IS DEAD To the world this is amazing news! To the United States and to everyone who has served in our military during the past 10 years, this is a HUGE victory! To our President, for his fortitude and leadership, much gratitude! To those who lost family and friends on 9/11/01, closure! To an airline employee, whose life and job was changed dramatically by this man – the relief just...More

Last night I got home from the trip to Hong Kong and decided that I would travel to Chicago today (Thursday, April 28th) to get some of the new jewelry pieces that I recently acquired appraised from Loranne Oaks at The Chicago Gem Lab in downtown Chicago. The non-stop flight from Hong Kong to Detroit was a good one. It was just under 15 hours and it was a full airplane – not an empty seat anywhere! I worked business class again. Very nice passengers and a great crew! We did have a little bit of excitement on landing. The winds in Detroit were very bad and as we approached the runway, wind shear did one of those nasty things it does and pushed...More

Happy Easter! It’s actually 5:30 AM Monday morning for me here in Hong Kong, but is 4:30 PM Sunday (Easter) in Illinois. I hope everyone is having a great Easter. We left Detroit at 3:30 PM Saturday afternoon, April 22 and arrived in Hong Kong at 7:00 PM Sunday evening, April 23, so Easter really didn’t exist for me. I was kind of between many time-zones and up in the air during most of it. I hope all of you had a great time during Easter. Last week (actually the entire month of April) has been an extremely busy week for me. As most of you know, I did two expos last week – the Monticello Business Expo at the...More

It’s 7:00 PM Saturday night, April 16, 2011 and I’m sitting in the Detroit Airport waiting for my flight to Bloomington, IL. It’s been a very long couple of days – but my annual recurrent training is over for another year! I have spent the past two days of going through every type of emergency imaginable on an airplane. It’s the way we stay prepared to anything that can happen. Even though this is certainly not something that I look forward to each year, it is something that is necessary for me, and every other flight attendant, to do in order to be able to face anything that happened when you are 30,000 feet in the...More

Hello from Amsterdam! Well, the flight from Mumbai to Amsterdam during the night last night was “uneventful” – which is a good thing! Although it was a cool day here in Amsterdam today, it was a sunny day – so that always makes it a “nice day!” I got a good “nap” and then had a good dinner this evening. Tomorrow we have a 4:00 AM wake-up call for our flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. I’m not a “morning person,” so these early wake-up calls are difficult for me! But when you are constantly changing time zones, it really doesn’t make that much difference...More

It’s Tuesday evening, April 12, 2011 and I just got back to the hotel from spending the day with my friend and jewelry designer, Gary. It’s always a pleasure to spend the day with him – see all of the new designs he’s created and just catch up on family and good times. Gary also always takes me out to a terrific lunch at a local Indian restaurant for a special treat of local Indian food. Today was a “vegetarian” day for Gary, so I shared that with him and had a delicious lunch consisting of very tasty Indian vegetarian dishes. Indian food is always full of wonderful flavors and spices. I love to enjoy local foods,...More

It’s 10:00 AM Thursday, March 24, 2011 and I’m in Hong Kong. We flew from Tokyo to Hong Kong last night and arrived at the Hong Kong airport about 11:30 PM. It was after 1:00 AM by the time we got to our hotel and after 2:00 AM before I got to bed. I was pretty tired, so slept very well. The flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong was about 4 and a half hours and was pretty uneventful – my favorite kind! When I got to my room last night (actually early this morning), I turned on CNN to see what was happening in the world and learned of the death of Elizabeth Taylor. What a great lady! A beautiful person both inside and out....More

Just an update from Tokyo - It's almost 11:30 PM Tuesday night in Tokyo and since I posted the last blog, there have been four more earthquakes/aftershocks here. They are lasting longer each time - the last one lasted close to 2 minutes. They are not bad - nothing falls off the desk, etc. but the whole room just shakes. I've had CNN and they have been commenting on the number of earthquakes/aftershocks that have been happening today. They have ranged from 5.6 to 6.6. After the last blog, I walked to my favorite restaurant to have dinner. It is about a 20 minute walk from the hotel. I didn't feel anything while I was walking or while I was at the restaurant. I'm...More

Hello from Tokyo, Japan. It’s almost 5:30 PM Tuesday, March 22, 2011 here in Tokyo – and that is about 3:30 AM Tuesday, March 22nd in Illinois. Our flight from Shanghai to Tokyo this morning was a good one. We flew on a Boeing 747-400 aircraft which holds slightly over 400 people. We had a little over 300 people on board today. I worked in business class and all went well. Today, from Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport (PVG) to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT), the flight was only two hours long. After the 14+ hour non-stop flight from Detroit to Shanghai, this one seemed rather quick! We arrived in...More

It’s Monday evening about 10:00 PM, March 21, 2011 in Shanghai, China (that’s 9:00 AM Monday morning back home in Illinois), and I just got to my hotel room after going out to dinner with my friends, Shinichi and Ron. Both worked all day so instead of having dinner at their place, we went out to eat. They are always taking me to wonderfully quaint areas of Shanghai that I would never get to on my own! I love it! We have a certain store – a clothing store that is similar to The Gap called Uniqlo – where we always meet. It’s quite a long ways from the hotel that I stay. It’s a 4 block walk to a subway station and three transfers...More

Tonight I’m sitting in my hotel room in Detroit, Michigan. Tomorrow, I will leave on a 7-day trip that will take me to Shanghai, China; Tokyo, Japan; and Hong Kong, China. It will be my first trip to Asia since the devastating earthquake/tsunami struck Japan. Most the days on this trip will be spent in China, however, one day will be in Tokyo, Japan. From what I understand, there is very minimal earthquake damage in Tokyo (amazing, considering the magnitude of the earthquake) and no tsunami damage – all of the damage is in the northern part of Japan – north of Tokyo. Now, with the damage at the nuclear plants, the threat...More

I’m back in Amsterdam again. It’s 7:00 PM Sunday, March 13, 2011. The flight from Mumbai to Amsterdam through the night was “uneventful” – my favorite kind! I got some much needed rest during the day today, and just finished eating a pizza for dinner. When I opened my email, I found this email from my Japanese friend, Shinichi, who is now living in Shanghai, China, and was not directly involved by the recent earthquake/tsunami in Japan. His family lives in the southern part of Japan and is all okay. He found this article from the New York Times and sent it to me. I found it very moving and wanted...More

First of all – thank you to those of you who have emailed me asking about my whereabouts and if I was in Japan. I was not in Japan during the earthquake and tsunami, but I really feel very deeply about all of the people there. And for those of you who asked about my Japanese friend, Shinichi, he is now living in Shanghai, China and all of his family is in southern Japan and was not affected by either the earthquake or the tsunami. Thanks for asking. Even though I’ve experienced earthquakes in Japan, I can’t imagine the effects of this one, and especially the tsunami that followed. What would you do if a wall of water was coming right at you? The...More

It's 8:30 AM here in Amsterdam, and I am in my hotel room. I'm in my second hotel room! In the first one, after I had unpacked everything, I discovered that the shower didn't work! I went down to the desk to tell them and they gave me another room 4 floors lower. So I had to pack everything back up and move everything to the new room and unpack it all again. That's just the thing you want to do after being up all night working a 7-hour flight from Detroit to Amsterdam! But now I'm unpacked for the second time and have had a shower and feel better. I think I'll do a little work and then get some sleep! It’s kind of a dreary day here in Amsterdam –...More

It’s Sunday evening about 10:15 PM in Shanghai, and I just got back from a full day of activities in Shanghai. First of all, I had a terrific dinner with David (my friend from Fr. Lauderdale) in Tokyo Friday night. He got to the hotel about 5:45 PM from his non-stop flight from Detroit. I meet him in the lobby of the hotel and we decided to meet back in the lobby at 6:30 and walk down the street to my favorite restaurant called Imari’s. This is one of those Japanese restaurants where everything is cooked on a grill right in front of you. It’s terrific. We both had an order of gyoza (a Japanese version of a Chinese dumpling), and...More

To watch TV commercial #1, click here. This is the first commercial in a series of three commercials that were filmed and produced by Joe Harmon for Pearls & More Jewelry. Be sure to turn your volume up!  

To watch TV commercial #2, click here. This is the second commercial in a series of three commercials that were filmed and produced by Joe Harmon for Pearls & More Jewelry. Be sure to turn your volume up!  

To watch TV commercial #3, click here. This is the third commercial in a series of three commercials that were filmed and produced by Joe Harmon for Pearls & More Jewelry. Be sure to turn your volume up!  

Listen to March's radio ad by clicking here. This is March's radio ad for the Illini Radio Group (Mix 94.5 & The Chief 92.5). It was written and recorded by Tom DiFilippo. Be sure to turn your volume up!  

Just flew from Hong Kong to Tokyo this morning. The flight was “uneventful” – which is always my favorite kind of flight! I met with the jewelry designer from Bangkok, Thailand as soon as I arrived in Tokyo. I did some major power shopping, as there was not much time before he had to catch his flight back to Bangkok. He has some very different designs than what he used to carry. I got quite an assortment of pieces that are completely hand-made with pearls and combinations of genuine semi-precious polished gemstones such as jasper, agate, turquoise tiger’s eye and many other beautiful stones. David Yurman describes these stones...More

It is 11:30 PM Tuesday night, February 22nd and I just arrived in my hotel room in Hong Kong. The non-stop flight over from Detroit was pretty uneventful. We left a very snowy Detroit on Monday afternoon and 16+ hours later arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport. Some of you many wonder what happens during such a long flight. This flight I worked in the Business Class section of the aircraft. I’ll try and give you a brief summary of the service provided during those 16 hours. We traveled on a Boeing 777 aircraft. This particular aircraft is outfitted with “lie-flat” seats in the business class section of the plane....More

Sorry I haven’t been very good about news in this section of my website lately. Before Christmas, things got pretty busy, and then the people that do my website changed to a new system so I was learning how to add and subtract things to the website in a different way. I’m not very smart when it comes to things like that, so it has taken me a while to re-learn everything. Everything is actually much easier now, but just different. One of the BIG improvements was the better format for the email/newsletters. I think those are much better, and will continue to get better as I learn more and more. Valentine’s Day was great! Thank you all very much!...More

Submitted by Bill on Fri, 08/27/2010 - 18:05 – Comments disabled August 25, 2010, Hong Kong It’s 10:30 PM Wednesday and I’m in Hong Kong. When you think of the “major” cities of the world, there are quite a few that come to mind – London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York, Paris, Moscow, Tel Aviv, Rome, Chicago, Shanghai, Los Angles, Buenos Aries, Toronto, Beijing, Madrid – to name a few, but when you mention cities with “famous skylines” the list is much shorter.In fact, there are very few cities that have skylines that are instantly recognizable.Right now, I can only think of 3 – New York,...More

Submitted by Bill on Sat, 08/21/2010 - 17:37 – Comments disabled Hello everyone! It is Saturday night (10:45 PM), August 21, 2010 and I am sitting in my hotel room in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. There is a big “Tall boat/ship” show going on in downtown Amsterdam, along the waterways and canals. Most of my fellow crew members have made the journey into the downtown area to witness this event. I opted to not go. The fireworks for the event just went off and, even though I couldn’t see them from my hotel room, I could certainly hear them! They “sounded” pretty spectacular! I was in Mumbai (Bombay), India yesterday – Friday, August 20th. The...More

Submitted by Bill on Fri, 07/30/2010 - 22:39 – Comments disabled On Tuesday, July 27, 2010 I had the pleasure of visiting the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.For some of you (like me), these events used to be called “World’s Fairs.”But in today’s world, a “Fair” doesn’t sound nearly as exciting as an “Expo!” Of course, China has made this the biggest Expo/World’s Fair ever, or at least that is what they tell us.This was my first visit to an Expo or World’s Fair (my sister got to go to the one in New York back in the 1960s), and I found it overwhelming!WOW!!! Right now, China wants...More

Submitted by Bill on Tue, 07/20/2010 - 19:04 – Comments disabled My last entry was while on the plane during the 14 hour, non-stop flight from Detroit, Michigan to Shanghai, China. It’s now 7:00 PM Tuesday night, July 20, 2010 and I just got home from Shanghai. Today, my “Tuesday” began with a 6:00 AM wake-up call in Shanghai.When I got that call, it was 5:00 PM Monday here in Monticello.So, right now, I’ve been up 26 hours and I still have lots to do before I go to bed – so I’ll probably be up at least 30 hours before sleeping.This many seem excessive to some, but happens quite frequently for me. I...More

Submitted by Bill on Sun, 07/18/2010 - 08:26 – Comments disabled Right now, I’m on Delta flight #19, somewhere between Detroit and Shanghai!I’ve never done a report from the airplane, but that’s where I am right now. It’s 2:20 AM Sunday, July 18, 2010 in Detroit, 1:20 AM Sunday, July 18, 2010 in Illinois and 2:20 PM Sunday, July 18, 2010 in Shanghai and I’m somewhere in between! Technically, I’m not supposed to be on my computer while working, but right now, almost everyone on the plane is asleep and I’m trying to stay awake.So I’ve found a little corner in the galley and am filling you in on what’s...More

Submitted by Bill on Mon, 07/12/2010 - 06:07 – Comments disabled Today is Monday, July 12, 2010 and Spain won the World Cup, defeating The Netherlands 1 to 0.When you live in the United States, it’s easy to forget that the World Cup is even going on.But when you are anywhere else in the world during the World Cup, that’s just about all anyone talks about, especially when you were just in one of the countries that were playing in the finals – The Netherlands. Right now, it’s 9:15 AM Monday, and I’m in Mumbai, India.I’m in a taxi with my regular driver, Riyaz, and I am headed into the city to see Gary, the jewelry designer...More

Submitted by Bill on Sat, 07/10/2010 - 14:06 – Comments disabled Hello everyone! I know it’s been quite a while since I’ve done any reports on my travels and for that I apologize. Last month I traveled to Shanghai twice and to Tokyo once. The three trips were all right in a row with only one or two days off between the trips. On each trip (except the Tokyo trip), I did lots and lots of jewelry shopping. If you’ve been in the store lately, you have noticed the many, many new designs. I had lots of wedding orders to take care of and they all turned out wonderfully. I love doing the special orders for weddings. It’s great to be trusted...More

Submitted by Bill on Thu, 05/27/2010 - 09:35 – Comments disabled I just arrived in Shanghai, China after a 14 hour and 30 minute, non-stop flight from Detroit. It’s 10:10 PM Thursday, May 27, 2010 here – 9:10 AM Thursday in Illinois. I’ve been up almost 26 hours straight right now, so am planning on going to bed ASAP! The flight over was very nice. It was my first time working on a Boeing 777 aircraft. It’s a nice plane, and it’s always exciting to do something a little bit different. The 777 is newer than the 747, but smaller. It only holds about 285 people, while the 747 holds over 400. Northwest had many 747s and...More

Submitted by Bill on Tue, 05/25/2010 - 21:50 – Comments disabled Hello everyone! It’s Tuesday night, May 25, 2010. I’m in Detroit tonight – just flew in from Amsterdam today. After being in Mumbai, India over the weekend, we flew to Amsterdam and then today, we flew to Detroit. Tomorrow I head to Shanghai, China. It’s one of my favorite cities to visit – so am looking forward to it. Also, I will be working a new airplane for the first time – the Boeing 777. It’s kind of exciting to me on a new plane for the first time. The flight from Detroit to Shanghai is a non-stop and is scheduled for 14 hours and 50...More

Submitted by Bill on Sun, 05/23/2010 - 04:22 – Comments disabled It’s 9:10 AM Sunday morning (10:40 PM Saturday night in Illinois) and I’m in Mumbai, India traveling with Riyaz (my driver who meets me every time I come to Mumbai). We are headed to the Oberoi Hotel in the center of downtown Mumbai. I will meet Gary there. He doesn’t usually open his store on Sundays any more, but always agrees to meet me when I arrive on a Sunday. I have such wonderful people that I deal with in the jewelry business all over the world! Today, because it’s Sunday, we are taking the “scenic route” into the city. This is not a route that we can usually...More

Submitted by Bill on Mon, 05/03/2010 - 19:14 – Comments disabled It’s Tuesday morning, May 4th and I’m in Tokyo, Japan and will be traveling from Tokyo’s International Airport on a non-stop flight to Detroit, Michigan (my base) in about six hours – providing everything goes as planned. Of course, anyone who travels by air, knows that “as planned” isn’t always a “reality!” After arriving in Detroit, and clearing customs with my new jewelry designs, I will catch a flight to Chicago (where my car is parked) and then will drive from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport to Monticello (about a 2.5 – 3...More

Submitted by Bill on Sat, 04/17/2010 - 16:38 – Comments disabled I would guess that you have all been hearing about the Icelandic volcano that has erupted, causing air traffic to come to a standstill in Europe. Seems like the Eyuafiallajokull glacier in Iceland has decided to reap its havoc throughout most of Europe and who knows where it will stop? I have had a number of customers come in the store today and ask if the reason I was open this week was because I was stranded? Well, the answer to that question is actually no; however, I was supposed to be on a 6-day trip which included stops in Amsterdam. Earlier in the month, I had decided that I...More

Submitted by Bill on Fri, 03/12/2010 - 07:17 – Comments disabled It’s 9:35 AM Friday, March 12, 2010.I just got in my taxi in Mumbai, India with my “driver” Riyaz.This is the third time that I’ve called upon Riyaz to take me from our hotel in the outskirts of Mumbai to the Oberoi Hotel in the center of the city.The Oberoi Hotel is where Gary’s shop is located and is the hotel we stayed in for many years before the terror attacks in Mumbai in November of 2008.If you remember, the Oberoi Hotel was one of the places that were under siege.Several of our crewmembers were caught in that attack and barely escaped. The ride into the...More

Submitted by Bill on Sat, 02/27/2010 - 00:15 – Comments disabled I am back from my February travels and currently have the store open everyday through March 5th. Here are the business hours for Pearls & More Jewelry: FEBRUARY Friday, February 26th 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Saturday, February 27th 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM Sunday, February 28th12:00 noon to 4:00 PM MARCH Monday, March 1st10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Tuesday, March 2nd10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Wednesday, March 3rd10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Thursday, March 4th10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Friday, March 5th 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM First Friday in Monticello!! Monday,...More

Submitted by Bill on Sun, 02/21/2010 - 16:20 – Comments disabled Sunday, February 21, 2010 Hello from Amsterdam, the Netherlands!It’s Sunday night, about 10:00 PM, and I’m once again, in my hotel room in Amsterdam.We arrived here about 9:00 AM this morning after an over-night flight from Mumbai (Bombay), India. Yesterday, I spent the day with Gary, the designer that does so many of the beautiful gemstone designs that I have in my store.After the 1-hour drive from our hotel into the city of Mumbai, specifically the Oberoi Hotel where Gary’s shop is located, Gary treated me and two other crewmembers to a wonderful breakfast at...More

Submitted by Bill on Sun, 02/14/2010 - 00:43 – Comments disabled I would like to wish all of you a very Happy Valentine’s Day! It has been a pleasure seeing so many of you the past couple of weeks in the store. I thank you for all of your business and hope that you all enjoy the beautiful items that you will receive this Valentine’s Day. I will be leaving Tuesday, February 16th to travel to Amsterdam in The Netherlands and then on to Mumbai, India. I will try to keep you abreast of any news during the trip. I hope you all enjoy the Olympics over the next couple of weeks. I must say that is was a joy to watch all of the athletes enter the stadium...More

Submitted by Bill on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 09:34 – Comments disabled It’s Friday night, January 29, 2010 and I’m in Busan, South Korea.Busan is one of those cities that have had a name change.Just a few years ago, this city was known as Pusan.Now it is Busan!Yes, just a change from “P” to “B.”One has to wonder why someone feels there needs to be such a change.You think of all the big cities that have had name changes – Peking to Beijing; Canton to Guangzhou; Bombay to Mumbai; Saigon to Ho Chi Minh City – just to name a few.I was kind of fascinated by all this and decided to Google “cities with name changes”...More

Submitted by Bill on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 08:14 – Comments disabled It’s Wednesday night, January 27, 2010 and I’m in Beijing, China. I just spent the entire day in Pei Pei’s Pearl and Jewelry shop in the Hong Qiao Pearl Market in Beijing.I worked all day with one of her very best assistants, Susan, whom I have worked with for the past 6 years. Susan and I spent the entire day getting all kinds of new and traditional jewelry pieces together for me to bring back and have available in my store in Monticello, Illinois.We worked on special designs to meet several customer’s requests and also put together jewelry...More

Submitted by Bill on Tue, 01/26/2010 - 02:09 – Comments disabled It is Tuesday afternoon, January 26th, and I’m off and traveling the world again – doing lots of jewelry shopping! So far I’ve already purchased some really unique and beautiful pieces of jewelry from India and from Thailand. Right now I am sitting in my hotel room in Tokyo, Japan and will be traveling to Beijing, China tonight. I will be doing lots of buying in Beijing tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it, as I have not been there in quite a long time. It will be nice to see Pei Pei again. I have been buying from her for at least 15 years! We’ve know each other for...More

Submitted by Bill on Mon, 01/18/2010 - 17:05 As I am sitting in my hotel room in Amsterdam (it is Monday, January 18, 2010) labeling and getting the new jewelry pieces that I got in India ready for customs when I enter the U.S. tomorrow, I received my schedule for February 2010. So I just posted the "open" dates for February. Please check the “calendar” page on this website for the most up-to-date hours for Pearls & More Jewelry. I will be open everyday from February 1st through the 14th (ladies, get your “Wish Lists” filled out so your sweetheart will get the piece of jewelry that YOU like for Valentine’s Day! I can not...More

Submitted by Bill on Sun, 01/17/2010 - 04:42 – Comments disabled I’m off and traveling again. Right now it is 2:15 PM Sunday, January 17, 2010 and I’m in Mumbai, India – that is 2:45 AM Sunday, January 17, 2010 in Illinois. We arrived at our hotel in Mumbai at 2:30 AM this morning from an 8-hour flight from Amsterdam.The entire crew went to the crew lounge at the hotel. There are crews from airlines all over the world that stay in this particular hotel.I stayed until about 3:30 AM and then went back to my room for a little sleep.I was in bed by 4:00 and up at 7:00 AM for my 8:00 AM taxi that was waiting to take...More

Submitted by Bill on Sat, 01/09/2010 - 11:47 As you all know, my “other job” is being a flight attendant for Northwest (soon to be Delta) Airlines.I am based in Detroit, even though I live in Monticello, IL. A fellow flight attendant sent me the following article that was published in the Detroit Free Press recently.I just wanted to share with you the “glamour” of being a flight attendant.Enjoy the article.Hope it makes you look at the person serving you your drink on your next flight in a different way. Detroit Free Press 01/03/2010, Page H07 Coffee,...More

Submitted by Bill on Tue, 01/05/2010 - 18:52 Christmas is over and the New Year is upon us.Now the BIG question:referring to the New Year, are you going to say “two thousand and ten” or are you going to say “twenty ten?”I think I’m going with “twenty ten.”After all, we said “nineteen ninety” didn’t we?We didn’t say “one thousand, nine hundred and ninety!”I don’t really see the big deal about it.“Twenty ten” is what we have used for many, many years, so that’s what I’m going with.Guess 67% (according to CNN) of the population doesn’t agree with me, but that’s...More

Submitted by Bill on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 13:49 It looks like Pearls & More Jewelry will only be open the first five days of January 2010. That does include New Year’s Day! On Friday, January 1st, Pearls & More Jewelry will be open from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM, so after watching the parades in the morning and having lunch, if you are not into football, stop by Pearls & More Jewelry and say “hello!” Here are the hours for January: Friday, January 1st – 12:00 noon to 4:00 PM Saturday, January 2nd – 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM Sunday, January 3rd – 12:00 noon to 4:00 PM Monday, January 4th – 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM...More

Submitted by Bill on Fri, 08/28/2009 - 01:16 Hello Everyone! I just posted the September hours on the calendar. I hope you can stop by the shop and say, "hello!" It's 3:00 PM Friday afternoon, August 28, 2009 and I'm sitting in a the Radisson Hotel in Narita, Japan. Narita is where the Tokyo International Airport is located, so basically, I'm just outside of Tokyo. It's actually 2:00 AM Friday in Illinois. I got here a couple of days ago, and have spent the time getting more and more product pictures on the website - including a lot of new items (check the "new item" catagory) from my trip to Shanghai last week and some new things that I got...More

Submitted by Bill on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 20:01 Hello Everyone – I just arrived back home from Shanghai. It’s about 7:30 PM Friday night and right now, I’ve been up 29 hours! I have a load of laundry going right now, so will probably be up at least 1 to 1 ½ more hours before going to bed. This is pretty “normal” for me. The trip home from Shanghai was a good one (uneventful). I worked in business class on the non-stop flight from Shanghai to Detroit. We had a really good purser, Mary, whom I’ve flown with many times, so decided it would be fun to work with her and it was. We were almost full – which means...More

Thursday night from Shanghai Submitted by Bill on Thu, 08/20/2009 - 07:47 Today I spent the day with two of my fellow crewmembers, Kelly and Cherri. They wanted to go to one of the markets where I get jewelry, so we all three shopped for jewelry. I thought I’d bought everything yesterday, but found some really nice HUGE freshwater pearls that were made into pendants for a great price! So I had to get some. Then I found more things, and before I knew it, I’d spent way more than expected! Oh well – got some great things for you all to check out when I get home! We then went to the “Super Brand Mall” which is a very, very large mall in downtown...More

Submitted by Bill on Wed, 08/19/2009 - 11:13 – No comments I woke up this morning about 6:30 AM (WAY before “normal” for me – but I am on the other side of the world right now – so “normal” really isn’t normal!). I caught the 9:30 shuttle bus, along with several other crewmembers, over to one of the great market places where I find both fun and fine jewelry. I introduced one of our pilots, who is on his first trip to Shanghai, to one of the really nice places I go to get pearls and he “stocked” up for his wife. I’m sure she’ll be happy when he gets home! I also found some really fine new items...More

Submitted by Bill on Tue, 08/18/2009 - 07:43 – No comments We just arrived in Shanghai. It's 8:45 PM Tuesday, August 18th here. It was a long flight over, but everything went well - so was "uneventful" - my favorite kind! I'm heading to bed now and, hopefully, will get a good night's sleep so I can go out shopping for some great jewelry tomorrow. Bill  

Submitted by Bill on Mon, 08/17/2009 - 13:44 It's Monday afternoon, August 17th, and I'm sitting in the crew room in the Detroit airport waiting for our briefing before we get on the Boeing 747-400 that will take us, non-stop, to Shanghai. Looks like we are going to have a great crew. I'm alwasy hoping for an "uneventful" flight - that means one where everything goes as planned! Those are the best kind! I hope to find some great new jewelry pieces while in Shanghai. I'll keep you informed. Hope you all have a great week. Later... Bill  

Submitted by Bill on Mon, 07/20/2009 - 06:50 – Hello Everyone, Just wanted to let everyone know that the dates that Pearls &MoreJewelrywill be open in August are published on the calendar page. Just click on "Calendar" and click on "next" to the right of of the current month. Hope everyone enjoys this feature! Bill