These ONE OF A KIND sparkling bead bracelets are designed to lift the spirit.
What makes my bracelets unique is that I use more than one focal bead in a piece.
Focal beads are intricate, many layered glass beads, individually hand made in the "lampwork" process by international glass artisans.
“I love combining exceptional quality vintage and new beads of contrasting shapes and textures into delicious patterns to adorn your wrist.
Venetian, Czech, Austrian, German, West German, Japanese, Asian and American UNCIRCULATED VINTAGE AND NEW BEADS...these are the rarest beads to be found.
VINTAGE beads are becoming more and more scarce and therefore more and more dear. The colors and quality are not to be denied.
Of course the new Venetian beads produced by glass artisans of Venice Italy and the Island of Murano are consistantly superior in value and grade.
Some glass beads coming out of Asia, particularly mainland China, are rivaling the high art of the Czechoslovakian, German and Japanese glass beads of the1930’s and 40’s in their distinctive craftsmenship and colors. And India is the only country, as far as I know, producing true shot through carnival glass beads at this time.
I am thrilled to be using those new beads in my creations as well.”
HERE ARE SOME SHAPES OF BEADS:
LENTILS... round beads with a slight dome to them but with a tapered edge like a lentil bean.
BUMPIES or SPUTNIKS...are lampwork beads with applied mulit-layered dots all around for an interesting texture...the dots are usually contrasting colors in their layers as well as contrasting colors to the main part of the bead.
COINS... are flat round beads medium thickness and of varying circumference
ROUNDS... round beads of varying circumference and texture either pressed glass or lampwork (individually hand made).
TABULARS... generally rectangular shape beads of varying dimensions and fairly thin.
SQUARES... will be the same dimension all the way around and can range in thickness.
CUBES... are cubes the same dimensions on all sides. Small cubes in the lampwork process are the most difficult bead to make.
OVALS... ovals are smooth or textured beads tapered on either end with varied thickness but most of the time fairly flat. Flat ovals are generally made in a form by pressing glass... the thicker oval beads are generally lampwork.
MELONS... have puffy ridges like a pumkin or a musk melon. They can be pressed glass or carved from bone.
NUGGETS... interesting eliptical shape to add another dimension... generally nugget beads are multi colored some in the givre process where the colors swirl into each other. They also can be made in the pressed glass or lampwork process.
TUBES... curved and straight of varying lengths and circumference. Italians invented curved tube beads... they were the first to use copper mandrels (rods around which the glass material is shaped) which have a lower melting point than steel mandrels to build the lampwork beads over an open flame...as the copper mandrel bends with the heat so does the bead.
TWISTS... lovely beads to add yet another dimension. They can be slightly twisted or dangerously twisted!
PUFFS... come in all sizes from small to quite large... usually heart shaped beads are puffed... they are nice and fat in the center.
PILLOWS or CUSHIONS...like puffy beads only flat at the two edges where the hole is. Pillows are nice and fat and allow for some interesting variations in the lampwork process.
BICONES... pointed on two ends. Can be pressed glass or lampwork beads.
BRIOLETTES...are faceted teardrop shaped beads with a drillhole through the narrowest end of the bead that allows the bead to hang like a pendant. A briolette is a favorite gemstone cut but can also be pressed and/or hand faceted glass.
CULTURA... is a term the Japanese coined for costume jewelry pearls...it is a play on cultured pearl. I refer to a vintage pearl bead from Japan as Japan Cultura. The new costume pearl beads that I am using are A+quality. They are made from pulverized real pearl nacre that has been colored and then sprayed under high pressure over glass beads of varying sizes. This process produces a durable deeply lusturous bead. They are made in South East Asia...and I am calling them cultura.
