LAMPWORKED BEADS

OUR LAMPWORKED BEADS aren't made in a factory. Lampworked beads are handmade one at a time by manipulating slender glass rods in front of a gas burner.

The rods are about 3/16" in diameter. To create fine surface patterns the worker pulls her own very fine streamers of glass from these rods, and "paints" with them on the plain bead. Some beads have an opaque satin-glass core with rose-buds and crystal glass "lenses" laid over, giving the bead great depth and luminosity. Others are sensitively decorated with gold-stone filaments or marbled with contrasting colors.

One woman and her husband, working in a small workroom in their house, create all these beads for us. Beadmaking is a serious profession in the Czech Republic. One goes to glass working school as a young child and spends years learning to perfect classic shapes and designs. What makes our craftspeople so special is their willingness to innovate - they will try to make anything we think you might like! And, their complete knowledge of glass colors and characteristics insures that all of our beads are of the highest quality.

These unique beads look great as part of strung necklaces, as fringe accents or in earrings. Try creating small beaded bags and embellishing them with just a few special lampworked beads, either in the strap or fringes, or in tassels.

Unlike our Pressed Glass beads, some of our LAMPWORKED beads are NOT ARRANGED BY SHAPE. Instead we have arranged them by surface treatment and APPEARANCE, because this is their most distinguishing quality. Thus, you'll find Spheres, Ovals, and other shapes, etc. within "Satin Beads" as well as in "Feather Beads" and "Decorated Satin Beads."