How I choose my lampwork beads

One of the things that I love about lampwork beads is that they capture a moment in the lives of their creator. If you look at the blog or picture storage of any lampwork artist you can see what I mean.

What really appeals to me is that once you’ve bought beads from an artisan you know the standard you can expect from future beads, whatever style they may be creating at that time. Sadly not something you can say for the majority of the mass market beads referred to as ‘lampwork’.

This was highlighted for me recently when I purchased some new beads from Vicki Honeywill of Pureshore Lampwork.

Having bought Terra Acorns from her I knew that my new beads were going to be just right for using in my jewellery designs.

When I laid eyes on Terra Acorns I just had to have them.                        They evoked memories of woodland streams and babbling brooks and I couldn’t wait to get them and be able to recreate those scenes.

                                                                                  This time I fell in love with her Sea Pod focal and Oceania lentils, because they reminded me of living right by the beach at Exmouth in Devon.

                                                                                  I’m looking forward to devoting some time in developing these interesting beads into something special.

I love popping around to all the sites of the Lampwork Artists that I’ve discovered on my search for inspiring beads. Seeing them develop their skills and try out new glass and techniques is really exciting. We have some very talented artisans at our fingertips thanks to the internet.