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About Us Hi fellow beaders and lovers of all things glassy with a hole in it! Would you like to know a bit more about the person who runs this site? If so, read on........
My
name is Sandy, I live in Central Queensland, Australia, am a home grown
Aussie , a Self-Representing Artist and a member of Australia & New Zealand Self Representing Glass Beadmakers! (SRA-ANZ #151 - See Web Site Links for more info). I have a gorgeous long-suffering husband and son, a wonderful foster daughter and 2 adorable Staffordshire Bull Terrier dogs called Suzy and Ella. I love to play with fire - well,
so to speak - this thing called "Lampworking" which means I melt
a few blobs of coloured glass on a piece of steel mandrel over a really
hot flame and then shape, twist, pull, rake, poke or do whatever I have
to do to turn the blob into a cool piece of wearable art. Well that
sounds pretty easy doesn't it? But by golly, it takes quite some time
and a lot of practice (and glass) to learn how to do this fairly well!! I've been
playing around with glass since mid 2006 and am currently one of the
artists on our very own Aussie on-line lampworking and jewellery gallery -
Northcoast Beadmakers - so check out where to go in the Web Site Links page!
My pieces are definitely NOT mass produced and all
handcrafted beads are kiln annealed and the holes cleaned. My beads are
usually one of a kind and are made from the finest Italian , Czech, American and German
glass - AND I guarantee them (see FAQ's & Store Policy for details).
There are so many colour combinations to be experimented with -
I get a little bored trying to create the same beads for a "matching" set
so many of my sets won't be duplicated . It takes around 45 minutes to an hour (sometimes more...) to produce just one of my less simple focal beads as each layer of glass
has to be added and melted in separately and there are often many
layers of glass in just one bead. The annealing process - to
strengthen/toughen the glass and release the stress that can cause
cracks - takes several hours and then I also need to allow time (and
the correct tools of course..) to clean the holes of the powdery
substance called bead release. For these
reasons, I cannot sell my beads for the same prices that mass produced
beads sell for. The vast majority of mass produced beads
are not annealed or cleaned, they may be made with inferior glass, have tool
or "chill" marks present and are sold very cheaply so please be
discerning with your purchases particularly if you desire to own
quality lampworked art glass beads.
Now it's not all just about my obsession with making glass beads!! I have Some lovely Jewellery - One of a Kind Wearable Art & Jewellery - Budget Range for sale and also check out my range of Non-Wearables and Gift Lines for bookmarks, keyrings, bag charms etc. There's something in my shop to suit all budgets!My website is evolving and I am interested in what you think - so please leave a note on the Guest Book page! NEWS, TIPS & MORE NEWS!!! will have updates on specials and sales, links to Sandy Pandy's Blog and cool tips and tricks to help you sort out beading and lampworking problems. I am also looking at producing a Newsletter by the end of this year which will have all kinds of subscriber specials and "stuff" - so keep a lookout for that.
Enjoy your poke around my little
shop - I hope you like what you see so much that you want to own it for
yourself!
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