Lampwork Glass Beads

Want to learn how to make glass beads, click here. We call it playing with fire! Many lampworkers use hard glass or Boro (aka. pyrex) to sculpt. Boro holds a tacky texture while sculpting making it easier to work with, however Boro colors are limited and Boro requires a hotter flame to work with.

Soft glass has such a wonderful variety of colors and frits available it really lends itself to endless possibilities. The sacrifice is sculpting with soft glass is very challenging as the glass becomes liquid quickly and will crack easily if not kept hot enough. Many of my first alpaca beads ended in the ‘dead glass’ pile as I learned to keep the beads evenly heated while sculpting details. It is a dance between fire & gravity with the beads.

Lardworks Studio Glass beads are all hand sculpted using Italian & German soft glass as well as some helix glass and reduction frits.

No two beads are exactly a like and each is a wee work of art. While I do make some round accent beads for necklaces and earrings, my favorite beads to make are sculpted animals, flowers and leaves.

I love the Challenge of making custom beads. Folks will send me a picture of their pets and I do my best to replicate it in a bead that can be transformed into a pendant, necklace or window charm. If you are interested in having a custom bead made, please go to our Online Shop for purchase and details.

Have you always wanted to learn to make glass beads? Check out our Online glass bead tutorials. Some are free!