Fresh Glass 11.3.15

Finally got the shop floor tidied up and drug the tank in... My shoulder hurt so bad, I had to wait another day to soap the lines. I made beads yesterday. But I had been on a page where people were selling stuff below wholesale... and had that crap in my head so I made garbage...

That egg on the left... was supposed to be this color:

The middle one is some DH mystery glass that is "supposed" to be lavender...

 and I made an even tinier itty bitty kitty only to be told my prices are too high...

Sigh. Not a good day at all. Which is why I wrote this post to myself years ago... I had to go re-read it again today. If you are in a rut, you may find it helpful.

The Squeezed Bead

I wanted to make a set of squeezed beads for the upcoming trunk show next weekend (OMG!!!) in Glass Melters Open Market. When I first started lampworking, squeezed beads were the new exciting shape! Back then, round, donut, free form squares are hand sculpted were pretty much it! Now, we have so many shapes, it's ridonkulous...

But OH! How I loved the squeezed bead! It felt so nice on a bracelet!I just loved how they felt on my skin! I guess I was feeling nostalgic when I set out to make this pink and gray set. And I quickly remembered why they are not my faves to make.

You HAVE to have an even bead before you squeeze ...otherwise, you get something so uneven and funky...it's not useable.

I searched my table for something to help me keep them even... I tried various rollers... round didn't quite do it. The donut made for a bigger "apple butt" on the squeeze. I finally settled on my drum roller. It worked like a charm!

Do you have a tool that needs another tool to work properly???

Fresh Glass 8/24

I was on a bead making roll last week! Here we have a variety of spacers  and one of my daisy beads in a smaller 1" focal size. I must say...it's harder to make one smaller than it is a larger one. IF I got paid for my time...this one would be much more $$ than the larger ones...sigh. It's likely to be one of a kind! And a Clio focal. I love that pink... I just hate how many freaking layers of glass it takes to get that color! I like long skinny beads... and I'll never have one in that shade of pink! GRRR!

Fresh Glass 8.20.15

More Moonwalks... The red is part of a five bead set... beads 1, 3 and 5... I made 2 and 4 months ago and just never had the heart to make the other three. Partly because these mothers take so freaking long to make. I've yet to make an xl in under 40 minutes and just over 30 for the other pieces.  I know going in that I will never the $ for that investment of time.  A set like that "should" go for $160...but I'll do good to break $100...sigh.

The other XL moonwalk is a moody red - yes red! - covered in more of that honeycomb dichroic. I wasn't sure I would like it but I was trying to break out of the black base bead mold... I think it's lovely!!

Here's the pic of the other two:

Fresh Glass 8.18.15

Are you one of those lampworkers who take copious notes? I envy you! I wish I were...but I don't. And I do stupid stuff... I rename all my frits... and I'm walking around with that info in my curly little brain! One bump and... nothing! I remember reading some post from a lampworker on one of the forums... for ages she would mention in almost every post, "If only I could remember how I made my {insert fantastical name here} set!" I could be her... So far I haven't forgotten a bead I want to duplicate...but I'm sure I will.

But the one thing that drives me batty is notes to myself!  I'm notorious for writing down a phone number and no name... And I write down bead recipes with no point of reference. On my to do list was
"sedona w/ lapis stringer." Der... was that transparent or opaque? Where did I see this?? Was it a tut? Did a friend tell me? I have no idea... and the bead was lackluster... Hardly worth my time. Can you see it in the jumble below?

I also made scads of squeezed beads... a fun trip down memory lane that will be another post at some point. A pair of drums and a set of ribbed donuts are in there. And... a bead called "phantasia" that looks like a butterfly...only the hole is on the wrong side. Figured that out after I had made pairs in several colors!

Then It Got Better - Much Better

So I ended up with an opportunity to take a Corina class!What? Am I nuts?? Smack in the middle of one of my biggest ever bead funks??  But a friend needed someone to buy her spot in class and I had always longed to take a Corina class... So off I go...not really feeling it. And am I ever glad I did!

We pulled SO much cane for the ocean beads class... a whole day of it! And I'm not one to waste a good cane pull! Thank goodness they had the kiln going... I made one simple but so pretty barrel bead (I brought it home one day two and it didn't make this pic but I promise I'll show it off later!) The heart is the end of another cane pull. I just HATE to waste dicrho!

And while we're on the subject: Pacific Artglass is making their own dichro now! OMG! Is it ever dreamy to work with!  Corina and everyone in class was raving!

The other two are the ocean beads I made in class.

As for a class review...if you ever get the chance to take a class with Corina... GO! For me, the light bulb in my head about blew up when I suddenly "got" my issues with hair thing stringer! That alone was worth the price of admission!!

And sometimes, a funk just needs a little inspiration from a good teacher!

Fresh Glass 3.2.15

It's been pretty quiet around here and it's about to get quieter! I'm taking an open ended teaching assignment. It could be over quick or could last for up to a month! I have to plan for a month - cause that just how my brain works. And I fear this will be a creative desert time for me... UGH...but as creativity doesn't pay the bills around here, what else is there to do??

I missed a Fresh Glass post as I was in a hurry to get to the post office with them but I'll try and get those up this week.


These were taken on my phone... eh...

Here we have two "I'm so sick of all the blue and green stringers in my work area" beads. The 1" lentil managed to score some Arke unbeknownst to me! It shimmers!!!

And two regular sized moonwalks in my Uptown Girl Series... Man to I ever appreciate the artists working in this shape! It's FAR MORE tedious than the XL size!!! And takes just as long to perfect! Geez! NOT in love with this and I still have to make three more to have a set!

Fresh Glass Beads 11/25

Productive day at the torch after shipping all morning! One long skinny, one bead pen focal, one Christmas gift for Mom (Shhhhh!), Two sets, One thimble and one butt ugly mistake! All in all, not bad!

Zephyr and Tibet - NOT BFFs!

I showed you my Arke and Zephyr beads and a couple of Tibet and Zephyr beads in my previous post. Upon cleaning the beads... I noticed the Zephyr / Tibet combos had tell tale cracks:

 This makes for one grumpy beadmaker! I guess I was pushing my luck using two boutique glasses over Effetre black. Sigh!  Well, the Arke over Effetre Ivory with a Zephyr topper are just fine...so I had a handful of keepers!

It's such a shame all the glasses can't just play nice! And more glass knowledge to cram in my chock-full brain... Keep Zephyr and Tibet in separate areas of the playground...they don't play nice!

Fresh Glass Beads Lampwork 11.22.14

I've been pondering bead making a lot lately. It's hard not to with so many stunning listings in the Facebook groups.  So many talented bead makers listing STUNNING bead after STUNNING bead. When does one get that good? Many of them have been torching far less than time than I have... but I still feel like a hack next to them.  I can produce a stunning bead from time to time. Decent beads most of the time...but I still produce a LOT of "eh - whatever" beads. This sessions is one of those... Two focals for bead pens. and a set of Arke and Tibet experiments. Eh...whatever!

Fresh Glass Lampwork Beads 11.21.14

Another fun session... playing with Arke again!

Fresh Glass 11.20.14

Another fun torch session! I tried a floral for the first time in years. I love them but they take so long to make and I never feel like they sell for what they are worth in terms of my time.  Sigh..  I've been OBSESSED with the shades of gray in glass (heh heh) lately and made some ribbed pieces for a set. There's also a huge Arke focal and... the beginnings of another! That clear bead was to be the core of a big bead and the bead realease broke. I've got a collections of these and will probably list them on one of the discounted lampwork pages.

7.31.14 Fresh Glass

I was in a horrible mood yesterday...best not to torch when my head is off. So I took a break and paid commissions and taxes for the quarter.  But hit the torch again this morning! MUCH better day!

This set was made on Sunday... I "thought" someone had asked for a remake of this... I was wrong. So, they'll get worked into the Facebook rotation. I broke one of the ovals taking it off the mandrel yesterday! See?? Good thing I didn't torch!

There's still a bunch of active listings on Facebook. Links on my fan page. Don't forget to comment on the post to enter the drawing!

Strange Bead

I had hoped to have a happy ending for this tale of a strange glass bead...but I don't.

I actually made this bead back in April and had hoped to have the kinks worked out by now... The center is made of copper mesh. Copper does wonderful amazing things to beads... but apparently not in mesh form.

This all started when I lost the washer for key mandrel. Wanting to make a key and not go to the hardware store, I searched the stamp shop for something to "fake" a washer. I cut a large strip of copper mesh and was actually punching a hole in it to place on my key mandrel when I questioned the low melting point of copper and thought better of it! I didn't make a key that day but I was fascinated by the little strip of copper laying on my table.

I just adore that cased copper over white makes a lovely turquoise blue.  Ugly bead but please look at it for color.

All that rich blue mottling was created by copper leaf.  (If only I didn't have to decorate beads... or actually made a plan before I made a focal! OY!) This was actually just a color test to see if the copper from one of my rubber stamp vendors would hold up under the flame. It's cheaper and still gives great color! Whoo Hooo!

Isn't that color awesome??? I can see it as the ocean in a bead or a lovely cone shape... Do colors speak shapes to you or am I just that weird???

And copper leaf yields such tints to moody colors such as Opal Yellow, EDP,  Copper Green or Copper Red...  It turned the EDP a  pinky maroon in the bead below... and look at all the blue mottling in the middle of the bead!

Unfortunately, my copper mesh never really melted to give off another color... but that has me thinking of other options....  Stay tuned...

Next

So, in the aftermath of discovering glass bead "artists" selling their work for Chinese wages, what's next???

Well, the truth is I don't know. I've spent most of the last several weeks deeply depressed. It's not just that beads aren't selling...jewelry isn't either. At least not the high end stuff that I love to make beads for.

Pendants that were for part of a custom order

Midas Wages & Walmart Shoppers

I lost my best repeat customer this year. After buying my beads and those of many other artisan beadmakers for years, she started selling her jewelry. Make that... attempting to sell.


While I found her jewelry designs to be some of the most unique, fun, edgy and amazing stuff I've ever seen... the way she combined materials would blow my mind... within weeks, she found her prices being criticized.

Mind you, she was using huge glass bead focals that run around $50 bucks and usually a nice set costing $50 - $60 in her work, adding in antique beads, fine metal findings and not to mention her precious time designing. I felt in the end she was only recouping her costs plus maybe an hour of her time at a fair wage, which, considering the cost of her materials, she should have been charging MORE.

But many told her they would only be willing to pay $30 - $50 for one of her gorgeous necklaces! Even when she explained the quality of the materials used, the opinion was still the same. So what did she do??? She shut down her Etsy shop, packed up all her beads and supplies and gave them to a friend!

This was supposed to be fun... a way to relieve stress and maybe make a little money. Not a thing to cause stress and be criticized!

Doesn't that just seem to sum up the times we live in? Everyone wants to be paid like King Midas but we all want that deal.

 The gorgeous "Barbie Bead" was also part of that custom order

The Get It Cheaper Effect

Have you ever thought about how Walmart sells for less??? It's not simply that they buy in volume...no, they manipulate in volume. Michael's does something similar which is how they can afford those 40% off coupons. Walmart goes to -  say a vacuum company that sells their vacuums wholesale for - say $75 and says to them, "We're going to buy 100,000 of your vacuums but we're only going to pay you $64."

The vacuum company doesn't simply just take a cut on labor...no, they go to each and every supplier: the plastic mold maker, the nuts and screws people,  motor designers and (the scary part for me) the electric cord makers. The vacuum company does the same thing to each of them and says, "I'll take 100K units but, you gotta make it for 13% LESS."

To me, copper wire can only be so thin before it all blows up! As vendors, I'm sure they feel they are giving us a quality product at a great value. But as consumers, don't we all feel it??? Things break more often. The price of bleach goes up and container gets smaller... same with ice cream and sausage!

There is some illusion that things are the same, but they are not.

Color shifting glass beads are some of my faves. Sold this made to order set out of the blue last week!

Make Quality, Make it Better

I think the thing that hurt so much in finding someone I once thought highly of is selling her beads so cheaply is... our beads are the same. No, not the same same... we have different styles. But as first world artisans, the best argument we had against buying cheaper crap was: the glass is not annealed for strength, it will break; the beads are not cleaned and will muck up the the other beads and the stringing material, and often the skills were lacking in Chinese beads.

But with an American artist selling for Chinese wages, when I know she anneals her work and cleans her beads and her skills are just fine... well, it HURTS!

And while I hadn't torched in almost two months thanks to my depression, when I lit up the baby the other day, I was happy. I was excited. So no, I'm not gonna give this up.

As I sat there at the flame, trying two new ideas suggested by customers, I realized my skills had changed. This often happens to me when I'm away from the torch for a while. You would think my skills might deteriorate... but like so many breaks before... I found I was BETTER! My work was more delicate and the glass just flowed... I only made two beads... but they were the two I set out to make and they came out exactly as the vision in my head!

I realized I'm not going to lower my prices and play her game. If someone wants my beads, they better be willing to part with some paper. And isn't it strange how during this time of re-grouping and re-thinking my art, I landed my biggest custom order ever and the biggest order to a customer out of the blue??? Two huge orders just when I need a little validation! Wow!

But Stuff Isn't Selling

Nope it's not... But I'm still not willing to give my work away. I have a bottom line....which has helped form  my plan. I'm not going to list my beads ad infinitum on Etsy, save for made to order designs.  I'm still using them for their powerful SEO and I'm using Facebook and Ebay the same way. From now on, my sales order goes like this:

• Preview on Fan page w/ 10% discount (no listing, html or multiple photos required)
• Regular items to my glass bead website
• Timely / holiday items to Etsy
• Regular items posted to Etsy after time on HollysFolly
• Two - three rotations through Etsy and move on to Ebay
• Items not sold on Ebay = donated to Beads of Courage

If I have to give my beads away, they are going to children and a charity that desperately needs them! Not to people too cheap to pay for quality!  I'm happy about that!

In the Meantime

I still need a job... at least a part time one. I'm terribly torn... my stamp business actually makes money in the fall and I need to be around for all the last minute restaurant orders that fly in! So, I think full time is not going to work. Of course I could always hire someone to pack orders if need be. Having money again would mean I could throw money at my problem...

I have a teaching certificate for grade school. I got it two years ago, just as my school district went through major layoffs and a hiring freeze... my timing is always impeccable...NOT!  But I've started teaching at a nearby town's community center. Driving there, I suddenly realized my little mountain community that is part of Los Angeles, is surrounded by THREE other school districts and they all need subs!

So, I'm polishing up the teaching section of my resume. And I'm also trying to pick up more jewelry design classes at other community colleges and craft / glass shops.

While these last few weeks have been so challenging, I realize I can only be good at what I do. I can't worry about what others do. I have a plan.I can only keep putting one foot in front of the other!


And if you are still with me on this journey... THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Still Here

I feel like my blogging has been rather lax lately. Truth be told... I haven't had a whole day off to do what I want since sometime in July. My rubber stamp shop has been jumping... our busiest fall in five years... still not great but better than the last few years for certain! Add in my crazy teaching schedule and my sister's illness (a sever mental distraction for sure) and I feel like I'm just running from one thing to the next.

Illusion - new glass bead on Hollysfolly.com

I turned on the torch last week for the first time in ages! I LOVED being there... just creating and not in my own head. If you are not an artist... skip this part, cause you'll think I'm nuts... My inner critic... that voice in my head that is never happy just shuts up and retreats to... who-cares-where!  Creating really is my happy quiet time!

Crazy Bird (coming later this week!)

And, I need to make the effort more often. Sure I'm creative in lots of areas... but those always feel like "have-tos." I "have to" get new artwork to the engraver. I have to make another kumihimo bracelet for class.... For the most part... when I torch, it's just for me.  And while it's SO nice if it sells, in many ways, the piece has already served it's purpose.

Green Eyed Girl Fish Glass Bead - new pics!

Just the same, I always do hope my beads find a new owner. So... I've also been trying to photograph some older bead with my newer camera to help them get adopted. Cause finding a new home is always good!

Sludge

Glass workers always keep a cup of water on their work stations. You never know when you may have to douse a fire! Seriously...not too often...but, it is a handy place to dispose of unwanted bits of hot glass and many a wonky bead dies a fast death there.

Since it had been a few weeks since I torched, my water cup had dried up! When I picked it up to refill it, I was kinda shocked at how heavy it was. My 8" tall cup was over half full of glass and graphite sludge! So I poured it out on a metal pan and took a pic:

I can see the remnants of a couple of vessels, lots of cane pulls, half beads and bunches of glass!

Beautiful Failure

I'm sure that title up there is confusing to some of you but to me... it means progress. Your skills never progress if you don't try. And every successful lampworker I know has a drawer full of failures that come from parking your butt behind a torch and spending hours and hours there. It's the only way to get better.

What my vacation has taught me is I miss the time I should be spending behind the torch. All this social networking B.S. is just that. I can't think of one sale I've gained because somebody "liked" me. But what I do know is that my beads should speak for themselves and the more I torch, the louder their voices will be!

One of the things I did last week was to start dealing with this issue of cleaning up my life. I read a story about a bead maker who moved and all the scraps on her table became a huge problem. (Hello Pot, My name is Kettle!) She made a promise to her family that she would clean her workspace every night. She started making "end of day beads." These are beautiful and unique as they can never be made again. 

So instead of tossing all the stringers on my table... I made a lot of end of day beads. I made them all day long. This vessel was one. I love it because it's perfect... the most perfect on mandrel one I've ever made.  But there clearly was some strange glass on my table because it cracked. So I heated it up for hours and brought it into the flame and healed that crack. And another developed:

And yet, this cracked little vessel taught me much... Loved watching the play of light and dark glasses and how they influenced one another. I loved tweaking the balance of the piece.  I loved creating the lip and reading the glass for  volume. And I remember that I LOVE being at my torch - the act of creating.

And I love that I dipped this mandrel  with steel wool and bead release YEARS ago... the week I started lampworking...envisioning some graceful vessel. But I never felt ready to tackle it!  I'm ready now... and that's a beautiful thing.

9/14 Deal of the Day - Won't YOU Give Witchy a Home?

I wanted to tell you about today's Deal of the Day because some lucky person is going to get one of my favorite pendants FREE!

She is one of my favorite beads made ... a long time ago. I set out to make a one-eyed witch and I thought she was so cute. But I was a baby lampworker then and hadn't learned to "skin" my rods. When I cased her eye to magnify it, I got some glass scum. Now, I would skin my rod or cool the bead a bit, spot heat and remove. But then, I just hoped for the best.

And while some might see this as a mistake, when I opened the kiln door the next day, I thought the cloudiness in her one eye made her even more endearing! She looked like she had a cataract! Isn't that just like life? It kicks you in your good leg sometimes! I really loved her and was sure she would find a home. When she didn't, I turned her into a piece of jewelry and ...still no takers.

So, today only, Spend $20 on any bead in my shop and ... she's yours... FREE!

Still Too Hot

I really don't get me... Princess Redlocks who likes everything just right. Not too hot, not too cold. But why is it I'm filled with inspiration when the temperatures soar in one direction or the other???

I've been out in the shop for two days now...dripping puddles of sweat. And the pupster, a/k/a my supervisor, refuses to stay home where the temps are a good 20 degrees cooler! It's so hot, she never goes to sleep. She just rests in front of the fan I run for her, breathing like it's her last breath!

And I'm just happy as a lamb watching little (and not so little) lampwork glass beads being born!  Ideas and glass flowing with the sweat! But I finally had to give in and come in for a summertime heat remedy:

Orangesicle Ice Cream Glass Bead

Hope you are finding a way to stay cool!