I live and work in Lancashire but was brought up very close to the Yorkshire border nestled at the foot of the Pennines. I've toyed with crafts in the past but found my niche when I began jewellery making some years ago. I was then astonished to discover that it was possible to create my own lampwork beads and I haven't looked back !
I took a beginners course in lampworking in 2008 and set up my own studio soon after. I spent over a year "improving" my skills to ensure that the beads I use in my designs and sell to jewellery makers are of a high quality and are technically sound. I anneal my beads in a Paragon SC2 kiln and clean each and every one of them before use.
I use mainly Effetre, Reichenbach, Vetrofond and other "soft" glasses to create my beads. In recent years the colour palette available to lampworkers has expanded and I love using some of the "special" and silvered glass colours in my work.
In 2011 I upgraded to a dual fuel torch giving me the option to create bigger beads. So in 2012 I hope to work more on focal beads, I also plan to add heart shaped beads to my shop hopefully in time for Valentines Day.
I took a beginners course in lampworking in 2008 and set up my own studio soon after. I spent over a year "improving" my skills to ensure that the beads I use in my designs and sell to jewellery makers are of a high quality and are technically sound. I anneal my beads in a Paragon SC2 kiln and clean each and every one of them before use.
In 2011 I upgraded to a dual fuel torch giving me the option to create bigger beads. So in 2012 I hope to work more on focal beads, I also plan to add heart shaped beads to my shop hopefully in time for Valentines Day.