The Big Bead Show and some interesting observations!

Saturday is fast approaching and I am on the final countdown to getting ready for the Big Bead Show. I am really looking forward to it not least cos I will be catching up with old friends and hopefully meeting lots of new ones. I have also had a chance to reflect a little on the past year as it was The Big Bead show last year where I basically debuted myself!!!

What have I achieved this year, well I can now encase beads, my dot placement has come on in leaps and bounds I have got my head around using presses. I have fallen in love with silvered ivory stringer and use it in practically every darn bead ATM ;o)

I have established a business that I continue to promote and since the summer I have been doing this as my full time job. I am having a ball. I feel like my beads have definitely started to grow up a bit and finally I don't feel like a complete newbie. I know I have been torching since July 2007 but I only got some 6 - 8 hours a week if I was lucky. This week so far I have done some 12 hours and it is only Wednesday. I still have so much to learn and some many more skills to master but you know what there is no rush! Yes my beads are simple but you know what I am finally comfortable with that. Many other lampwork artists strive to make complex and beautiful beads with infinite detail and don't get me wrong I want that but people still need simple beads for their pieces of jewellery and right now these people are my market!

My aim for the next 12 months; firstly to get my Art clay / PMC certification and secondly I really want to go on some glass courses to help me to develop these skills more!

Enough of that I have a few beads to show you. The first picture is a sample of the goodies I will be taking with me to the show on saturday. The second picture needs a little more explaination but I will let you look first.

The large pink and white bead is my first attempt at a focal bead with stripes! Much refining needed but a style I like! The 2 dotty beads are an example of what happens when you use incompatible glasses. The base is Bullseye violet striker with clear encasing and then what I thought was Bullseye white dotted around but when I took them out the kiln and cleaned them I realised the glass was cracking around the dots and therefore I had probabaly picked up some Effeter white and not Bullseye! I am normally very good about keeping my different glasses separated but obviously failed here but an interesting thing for you all to see.
The 2 bottom beads are Bullseye French Vanilla with Silvered French Vanilla round them. They were both on the same mandrel and were made with the same rod of French Vanilla and the same stringer so what happened to get 2 very different beads I am unsure! Any suggestions gratefully received.

Right enough blabbering I have beads to price up and earrings to make so must dash! Don't forget to come and say hi to me if you are at Sandown on Saturday I would love to meet you.

Oh and one final thing...the first 10 people to spend over £30 with me you will get a handmade (by me!) mini tote bag with a pair of earrings and a scrummy chocolate in free!! Here is a little preview!

TTFN xx