Welcome to my World of Glass! 

This is ”My Studio”.   My wonderful  husband Nick built it for me.   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 which I hope to never use. Yes,  my name is Dawn and I have an addiction to glass!

I use a Betta 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 Betta torch and melt a rod of glass around a steel mandrel (a skinny stainless steel rod about 12 inches long). 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!