Welcome to my World of Glass! 

This is ”My Studio”.   My wonderful  husband Nick and I set it up.   A quick run down of my studio consist of  a torch, ventilation  system (very important for not killing brain cells), kiln, oxygen concentrator, lots of glass (don’t tell hubby), tools and more tools, fire extinguisher (I hope never to use this)  and many packages that arrive weekly.  I stop all deliveries  when DH is home on vacation.  Yes,  my name is Dawn and I have an addiction to glass!

I use a Minor torch with natural gas and an oxygen concentrator.  The kiln I use is a Chili Pepper Tool box.  I also have a hood vent that  takes  the fumes from the torch  and  glass to the outside.   There  are several  type of  glass  that I use  that are  imported  from Italy.   They are Effetre (Moretti),  Vetrofond  (Murano), and Lauscha glass.  I also use a lot of crushed glass called Frit.

To  make lampwork  beads  I use my Minor torch and melt  a rod of glass around a steel mandrel (a skinny stainless steel rod about 12 inches long).  I mostly use the 1/16 mandrel.  I find that this size works best to  make jewelry.  It makes the perfect size bead hole.   I then shape the bead and decorate it with various colors of glass and fine silver.

Once I make a bead it is immediately placed in my digitally controlled kiln.  This removes the stress from the glass and makes the bead a lot stronger!  This process is called annealing. Of course  they are glass but they should last a  lifetime!