My Personal Guarantee to you is this: All Lampwork beads that I sell are handmade by me in my studio. They are kiln annealed, hand cleaned and inspected thoroughly by me. Should you recieve your bead (s) and find they have a crack or a chip you can return them and I will gladly refund your money or make every attempt to remake the creation. Your satisfaction is of the utmost importance to me.
The difference between artisan handmade glass beads and mass produced beads is like comparing Nordstroms to Walmart!!
Be Informed and Protect yourself from mass produced beads! Nothing is more frustrating to than to buy something you find attractive and then have it ruin your finished creation.
Examine all beads you purchase!
They should be free of any mud-like bead release in the bead hole. If you leave that there then you will forever have a layer of dust being sifted out of the hole and onto everything everytime your creation moves. Bead makers refer to this as "bead-poo".
Beads should never have cracks nor should they break from simply cleaning the bead release out of the bead hole. This is a common ailment among mass produced beads that were not cooled and annealed properly.
This is an article that I found that I think really best explains lampworking and answers the question of why, sometimes, lampwork beads are pricier than beads bought at craft stores.
Artist made lampwork beads are among the most expensive beads you can purchase in todays market. Their depth is extensive, styles unique and true value unmistakable from most other beads. Mass produced imported beads may be a good value for the moment, but that is about all that can be said for them. If one wanted to have a fine piece of jewelry, artist made lampwork beads are an impeccable choice. Handmade lampwork beads are made by winding molten glass around a stainless steel rod or mandrel that has been coated with a thin clay substance called bead release. The bead release has to be dry and well adhered on the mandrel or else the glass will stick to the mandrel permanently or can break free in the process of making a bead. Melting the glass rods requires a very hot flame made from a torch that is designed to reach a temperature of at least 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. After the right amount of glass is wound onto the mandrel and the main shape has been achieved, then decorations are applied to the bead using chips of glass, thin lines of glass or dots of molten glass. After a bead is decorated it can then be placed directly into the hot kiln or placed between two pieces of ceramic fiber blanket. The beads must go through a heating and slow cooling process called annealing. When beads or glass sculptures are allowed to cool slowly it reduces the stress in the beads to make them more durable. Though this process is to reduce the likelihood of cracking it is not by any means a guarantee that they will never crack. After all, these are small glass objects of art that we are talking about. The more protrusions or appendages on a glass bead the more proper care needs to be taken. There are endless possibilities of decorating a bead. Today's glass and bead artists make small works of art with their highly developed bead making skills, and the final result is always a delight to the eyes. Unlike mass produced beads these beads can last several life-times.
Ruth Nicholas of Hillside Garden Art Studio
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