Here are some pictures of my studio space where I make glass beads, fuse glass and put jewelry together!

If you've ever wondered how a glass bead is made - here is a brief explanation:

To make a Glass bead, I begin a bead by melting the tip of a glass rod in the flame. Once it is hot enough it becomes like honey and can easily be wrapped around a mandrel, which is a stainless steel rod (the diameter of this rod determines the size of the hole in the bead). I then use different tools to help shape and decorate my beads. Each bead is made individually by adding layer upon layer of glass to create different colors, patterns and effects. When the bead is done, I then place it in an annealing oven (a kiln) where it can cool down at a controlled rate over a 12-hour time period to give it strength and durability. After the beads come out of the kiln, I clean them out and can now use them to make jewelry or sell individually.

Here is my kiln! It is great! I do my glass bead work and fusing in it!

This is the bead door that I open so I can stick my glass beads into my kiln right after I finish making them on the torch.

This is where I do my Fusing work. This involves cutting sheets of glass and stacking these different pieces together then putting them in the kiln to fuse together as one piece. I enjoy making fused pendants, plates and coasters. More photos of this type of glasswork will be up soon!

All of the sheets of glass in this box have been tested compatible for fusing together.

Here's the place where I put together all of my jewelry and take photographs of my work.

This is my Lampworking station where I make my Glass beads. The colorful "sticks" are the rods of glass that I melt to make beads - they are an Italian glass called Moretti (Effetre). My torch is in the center with a bunch of tools by my side.

This is where I keep all of my glass rods organized by color! I got this nifty display at Blue Moon Glassworks