New Glass!!

I was fortunate to be able to spend the weekend at the Frantz Bash, an annual event hosted by Mike Frantz that always includes demos by fabulous artists, great sales, camping, camaraderie and he feeds you. :)   I met some great glassy people, learned a lot, and of course bought way too much glass!  The picture below shows all the new (or at least new to me) colors.  I left out the pounds of clear, but we all know what that looks like!

I ended up comming home with: Fire Lotus from TAG; XX386, HE379 and Aether frit from Double Helix; Metalic Black, Golden Harvest, Sunset Pastel, Carribean Sea, Coral Sunburst, Alexanderite, Dusty Lilac and Apple Blush from Effetre; Gunmetal, Poison Apple, Glacier, and Razzleberry from CIM; Magic from Reichenbach; Purple Plum, Mauvelous, Biscotti and Pale Pesto from Vetrofond. And of couse a few basics from all of thee above.

I'm really excited about all the new colors, and I promise to post pictures and what I've learned from each of them! (This should give me plenty to blog about so I'll be able to post more regular updates.)  :D

Off to light the torch and see what kind of magic happens!

The Dark Side

That's how the glass world fondly refers to using boro ~ and I'm thinking of crossing over.  I make happy little beads.  They're little, bright, technically acurate, but they aren't spectacular.  Every time I feel pretty good about where I am with my beadmaking, some boro boy comes along and tells me "if you would just practice a little you could be as good as I am.  I've been doing this for 6 months!"  Thanks.  So you're telling me that several years of working with soft glass was a waste of time.  In a way, perhaps they're right.  My happy little beads, in all honesty, don't hold a candle to their 4 inch marbles, wine glasses, 8 inch pendants, bracelets, etc. the list goes on.  I would need a MUCH bigger torch, all kinds of new glass and tools, a bigger kiln; essentially doubling the investment in my business.  But I'm tempted, and I hear they have cookies. 

Back to work

Belize was truly incredible!  We had so much fun!  The ruins were fascinating, the weather was perfect, the snorkeling was fantastic, the people were great and the company was fabulous!  We celebrated our 14th anniversary while we were there, and 26 days of spending every single minute together was the perfect way to do it!  I am truly fortuntate to be spending my life with my best friend.

So, now that I'm home, decompressed from the trip and back into the normal rhythm of my life ~ it's time to get back to work!  Unfortunately, before I left I was facing a pretty serious dry spell.  I was totally uninspired and having a hard time even making myself turn on the torch.  I think it's finally over ~ thank goodness, because I really do love what I do!  I'm back to torching, I've made a ton of jewelry, participated in one fair and signed up for several more.  Now it will be all about continuing to push myself, getting my Etsy shop restocked and getting back into the swing of things!

Here is a pic of some of the new pieces I made last night:

Now that I'm ready to get back to it ~ watch out world!  I'll be listing regularly and torching every day!  Thanks for sticking with me through this dry spell, I'm truly excited for what the future will bring!

Vacation

During the month of May my husband and I will be backpacking across Belize ~ I'm so excited I can hardly breathe!  Preparing to be away to for so long is a lot of work ~  I'm going back and forth between worrying and jumping up and down!  I think almost everything on my "before I can leave" to do list is done.  Hmmm.....  what am I forgetting?  (Jump, Jump, Jump!)  Hmmm... What am I forgetting?  (Jump, Jump, JUMP!) 

I know I'll come back renewed, rejuvinated, relaxed and ready to make fantastic new beads ~ 

Bon Voyage!

Sshhh....

I'm working on some new ideas for expanding my business. Stay tuned :)

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Mobile blogging!

A few days ago my old mp3 player died. I looked at that as an opportunity to buy an iPod touch! I've wanted one forever, and since I can't work without music, I figure it's a business expense :) Now that I can blog and check in to facebook mobily, I'm sure it is! As a bonus, I officially have no excuse not to update more frequently ~ one more resolution down!

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Local Woman Turns Christmas Gift Into Glass Bead Business

A photographer from my local paper contacted me last Monday and told me he had taken pictures of my jewelry at the local gallery and would love to see the process of making glass beads.  He came over that afternoon and took dozens of pictures and then called a reporter to come intrview me too.  The little article turned out to be a full page! 

Here's a quick excerpt ~ You can read the whole article at wenatcheeworld.com

"As the glass glows from the heat, Jessica Jones uses a knife to help form what will be a tree on a bead she’s making. She heats the glass up to more than 1,000 degrees to melt and form it. The owner of Veda’s Beads, she’s been making beads for sale professionally for two years in what started as a hobby about 10 years ago"

The photographs were taken by Mike Bonnicksen, the article written by Rick Steigmeyer.  Thank you gentlemen!