Artisans who make lamp work beads have my utter respect. They really help us make beautiful jewelry. So I was thrilled when Sue Beads offered this yummy strand of hand made beads worth $24 retail for today's giveaway. They look good enough to eat!  She calls this design Lily Pond Swirl.

Sue is based in Pittsburgh, PA. She initially took classes at the Pittsburgh Glass Center and as you can see from her Etsy store and her own website, she got hooked and has blossomed into the kind of artisan bead magazines love to feature!  Her work has been featured in three past issues of BeadStyle magazine.

Lamp work bead making is a skill that takes time to master - remember molten glass is fluid and darn hot! Lamp work artisans like Sue form beads around a mandrel adding different colored glass as they go along.  You have to like working with torches and be comfortable with gas tanks. Here is a picture of Sue working in her basement workshop, melting the glass in the flame. Notice she wears special glasses. That's to protect her eyes from the glare of the flame. Ventilation is another safety consideration - see the extraction hood above her. She also has a digitally controlled kiln in the picture. The green gas tank with pressure gauges is peeking out on the left of the kiln.


The beads she makes are just lovely.  Here are a couple of my favorites from her store. Do visit to ogle her current stock. She also does custom work and special large hole beads.

 


To win Sue's lovely Lily Pond Swirl beads, just leave a comment below. Subscribers may wish to click on the post title to return to this blog to do so. Extra entries can be had by subscribing, following me on Blogger or joining my Facebook fan page. I will be picking a winner via random.org in about a week`s time. The close of this giveaway will be 6 pm EST Monday February 15.

Good luck!

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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
Jewelry Making Tips - Jewelry Business Tips