About Lampworking

The glass beads on my wine stoppers, bottle openers, keyrings, and lampwork jewelry are handmade by me using a technique called lampworking.  Using a dual-fuel torch (oxygen & propane), a glass rod is warmed in a flame.  As the glass becomes molten, it is wrapped around a mandrel (steel rod) and the mandrel is turned to maintain the bead’s shape.  A bead can be kept round or it can be shaped into many different forms.  A bead is shaped using various tools with smooth or textured surfaces.  Designs are added using materials such as stringers (thin glass rods), baking soda (which creates bubbles between layers of glass), frit (crushed glass), and so on.   When finished, the glass bead is put into a kiln where it is cooled slowly to prevent stress and thermal shock.  This is called annealing.  The process of making a bead can take just a few minutes or over half an hour, depending on the size of the bead and the intricacy of the design.