Amti and JP, thanks! Amti, you should definitely play with panther head clasps, there are so many pretty ones out there. They remind me of Cartier pieces. I still need to figure out how to attach kumihimo braid ends to these guys, though, that might prove to be a little tricky. Stay tuned lol.
BPDDC, I wondered if the DC in your handle was for this area or something completely unrelated. I can't wait to see your new project! I've fallen in love with black spinel and have been wearing my kumihimo black spinel piece a lot, the sparkle is out of control. I want to do more fun animal head clasps for sparkly pieces like that, but I think I need non-pave ones to balance out the look (my current one has a plain silver clasp and I like the contrast).
Purr, bummer the fair was small! I've noticed Intergem here seems to vary a bit, too. Last time I didn't find a lot of stuff I wanted, but this time there seemed to be a lot more nicer supplies. Usually the majority of the vendors are selling finished jewelry, and the supplies aren't higher end - no Rio Grande or Gempacked/Bella etc type vendors with sterling and karat gold findings.