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My workshop is located in an ideal location in the town centre of St Ives
WORKSHOPS ARE AVAILABLE FOR BOOKING NOW
SPECIAL OFFER IF 2 STUDENTS BOOK TOGETHER
PLEASE BOOK EARLY FOR THE PEAK SUMMER WEEKS
Please email on
mail@beadsashore.com
beadsashore@yahoo.co.uk










One of the workstations.


I am a Member of the Glass Bead Makers UK and
Cornwall Crafts Association.I am a Member of The St Ives Arts Club.
S.R.A. Jewellery Number 2326

Lampworking originates from early days in Venice where artists melted glass over the flame of an oil lamp to make a bead.

Today Lampworkers like myself use a modern torch fuelled by a mix of oxygen and propane, this provides a clean flame to melt the glass in, protective eyewear is essential to shield my eyes from the glare of the flame.

I have been fortunate enough to take a number of workshops in Italy, from the Masters in Florence and Murano Island, Venice.
Using Moretti-Effetre glass rods (these are of a high quality) produced on the Island of Murano near Venice, Italy, I heat the tip of a rod of glass to flowing, next holding a steel rod (mandrel) I quickly wrap the glass around the mandrel, similar to winding thread onto a spool, then the glass is shaped around the heat of the flame by means of gravity. To complete the bead it is then decorated in a variety of ways with other colours of glass, silver leaf or enamels, every bead is unique with stunning colours.

Special tools can also be used to help create various shapes.
During the process the glass is a brilliant glowing red, no two beads are ever exactly the same.

The beads are kiln annealed for durability and strength to remove any stress from the glass - once the tension is removed glass beads are quite resistant to breaking.

Please remember these beads are handmade so no two beads are exactly the same and they may vary slightly in size.

The beads are then cleaned and ready for wearing and admiring...