The Annealer Magazine Forum

How fun, a new forum and magazine. I'm Sheila Furtwangler, dba Beachbeads lampwork. I have been a hot glass artist for many many years, having taught myself on a welding torch!   Luckily I grew up to a real torch or I may have given up. Now I have a couple of torches and way to many tools.  Just not enough time!  I may be temporary out of a studio soon as developers bought our property we rented and we haven't found a house!  And they want us out to flatten this one! I figured if so I would just become a regular vistor to all my friends studio! I see many of you I have met  personally here, (hi Darla), and know others from online.  Lavendar Creek, I love your water bearer beads. And Cosmo, I saw a poster I think you did at a local hotshop, it's great, where can I get one? Greetings to all, , Sheila

Hi everyone! This project looks like it is really going to take off! Wonderful!
I'm Vickie Warburton from Lincoln, Arkansas.  Lincoln is a small town 22 miles west of Fayetteville on Hwy 62. Home of the Apple Festival, which really isn't all that big either.  I am a nurse by day, working GYN Oncology in a clinic after working OB/GYN for about 10 years.

Anyway, I've been making beads for about 8 years and selling for about 5 years. I sell on Ebay and Just Beads as well as a few shows a year.  I've played with beads for as long as I can remember. Just this weekend, my mom said I was about 3 when I started playing with beads. But I seem to remember them at the age of 7 or 8.

I have a small studio in a portable building in our backyard. My friends call it the Pink Palace, because of the hot pink trim paint inside.  I do my torch work and jewelry making out there. It's nice, I have heat and air conditioning. We all know how hot it can get in Arkansas!!

I'm also engaged to the love of my life! But no date set yet. He has a huge case of cold feet. I have 2 kids, one grown married one (daughter) and a 15 year old son still at home. My daughter is a soldier in the Army reserves and going to college, her husband is a Marine on active duty right now, but about to go back to reserve status.  They are finally both home and we are so relieved, until the next deployment anyway!   ( wanna know a secret? they are trying to turn me into a grandma) 

Last edited by Vickie (2006-03-28 06:52:09)

Marilyn -

Sorry to take a few days to answer. My father-in-law had emergency surgery and is still in the hospital so I've been out of the loop!

I signed the lease last night. It will be notarized today, then I get the utilities on and start moving in! I hope to be open in about a month but it will be a work in progress for some time. I'll be taking more pictures this weekend so I'll be like a proud mom sharing baby shots!

You'll have to let me know the names of the friends you had here. The area has grown in the last 20 years I've been here but it's still small enough to know lots of folks.

Terry
Hale Fire Glass

What a great start. I sent you a few comments of praise already as I was so impressed with the amount of work you have put into this and how clear the pictures. I also appreciated some new insites I got from the tip page.
I live in the great state of Wa. among some of the nicest flame workers. I have done beads for a few years (never kept track of how long as at my age we don't want to think about years. LOL) I am retired and can get on the torch whenever I feel like it. Places like this forum get me motivated when I get lazey.

My fun thing is to put on Bead Challenge Days every few months for Wa. beaders including some from Canada. When visitors are in town we are blessed to have them join us, too. We have had some from back East, Texas, and Alaska, etc.. We have a fun day with fellowship, demos, food, show our glass beads, jewlery, equipment etc. We are fortunate to have Momka of Momka's glass come. We think she needs to have a fun break once in awhile. Other suppliers or tool makers have been involved too.
My fun part (not the house cleaning) is to  give everyone a new Challenge to take home and they have to bring it to the next Challenge Day and then we all vote on our favorites. We are told to vote for originality not tec. so any level of beader can win. Right now I am shopping for prizes for the next Challenge Day in April and it is so hard to find things men will like. Easy to find things for women. For April I had made for them a small cheese, pate, sushi board with a glass insert and they are to bing it back with markers for whatever they will put on their board. Ex. Cheese wedge or mouse bead with a place to put a label describing different cheeses they will be serving. My first Challenge I gave out  was a small bowl and they had to make a fish bowl scene and pour transparent candle wax in it. Could be a  fish, coral, shell with a pearl all glass etc. The kicker was one gal put a large cork in the top of hers and filled the bowl with water and a real live fish. I never know what they will come up with. Getting to know others with the same heart is why I started the Challenges. If anyone would like more information on starting Challenge Days, feel free to e-mail me.

P.S. Sent a e-mail to a couple of friends to check out this new and great  forum. Peg M

i didn't take it as an avertisement. I appreciate your generous offer and think I will have a rose demo along with the demo Leslie Thiel is doing at our April 29th meeting. I usually have two demos and had not picked the second one. I can't tell here the first one as it is a suprise to those coming. Thanks Peg M

mperaza wrote:

Oh Peg, I like you already!!!   

What you are doing is great!  Let me know when you have a "rose" challenge, I'll donate one of my dvd's as part of your prize.  (drop me an email).   

Thank you so much for you kind words on the site and magazine.  I have been working up to 14-16 hours per day over the past three months getting this back on track.  I actually started working on this a long time ago (under a different name), but put it down when another magazine had a launch announcement.  When I learned that it was not going any further, I picked my magazine up again, got so input on the name, changed it and here we are!   

The Specialty Auction Boutique will also be going live very soon.  I was shooting for April 1, but I think it may be a few days after that.   Please keep an eye on that - I'm going to need all the support and participation from the self-representing artists that I can get to make it work.    Most people don't want to put their items in an auction unless there are buyers - however, if there are no products to offer, there will never be buyers!   We have to give the buyers something to come there for - first.... then they will come back and the site will grow.   

We will also have a mini shoppe for some basic lampworking supplies which is being brought to us by one of the suppliers we are all familiar with.

Please also don't forget to send in your website information for the "Source Guide" - and you are welcome to have your meetings on our calendar - just sumit the info and we'll get it posted.

Also, we would appreciate a link to your sites - let's start directing traffic this way in preparation for the Auction Boutique.

Sorry Peg - didn't mean to use my reply to you as advertising.   You gave me the opportunity, so I took it  ;/ 

Anyway - Welcome aboard!  We hope to see you here on a regular basis!

Marilyn

Terry,

How exciting!  What a great layout.  Keep us up to date on your new studio.

Barb

Welcome Ms. Tink!!!  Glad to have you aboard.    I read somewhere you may be going abroad to teach???   Is that right?  Lucky you.  You must be having the time of your life.

Anyway- thank you for your support - hope to see  you here often as well as on the other fun spots on the site  (the auction boutique looks pretty interesting).   

Seriously - it's great to have you here. 

Marilyn

Hi everyone - Toni L (San Diego Toni) here with a different user name so when the other Toni L makes it over here folks aren't as confused 

Marilyn - great job on everything!  So sorry things didn't work out for us to get together when you were in San Diego a while ago...next time.  I am still kind of new, been working hot glass for a little over a year, and ventured into boro about 6 months ago.  I'm married almost 5 years to a wonderful sailor who hopefully will find a way out of his current orders to Japan in a few months, and we have our little zoo at home who keep us busy and laughing.

Can't wait to watch this venture grow!  Thanks for what you are doing for all of us!
Toni

Well Hello there, ladies!

I just came on because somebody emailed me at another forum and told me to come here for lampwork beads.  I must say, I am not a lampwork bead maker as a lot of you ladies are.  I don't have that kind of talent.

I do make jewelry and will hopefully be opening a boutique in the not-too-distant future.  I'm so excited to find your board as I am looking to purchase lampwork beads for my designs and since I'm not planning on learning this technique any time soon, if ever, I'm looking to buy only.

I'm glad to be here

Diane

Hi,
This looks like a great forum. I know it won't stay small for long, but I like it that way. I do recognize many artists and some names are new to me. Lavendercreek I am happy to see. Teresa is the only person I have ever contacted to praise her work. It is awesome stuff and really caught my eye. I am amazed that she has been doing it for only a year, but full time I hope...would make me feel better. Haha
I am a full time RN and a part time flamer. I would love to turn that around, though. My "real" job has been good to me for years but I am burned out with seeing sickness every day. That is why I am here to get away from it. That is also  why I have my garage studio and all my great plans. Motivation!! That ebay is hot stuff, too. I love it! Any opinions on Justbeads.com? I have only looked at the site, whats up with it? Anybody list there?
Hi Tink, always nice to see you.

Peace All,
Cher Cheley
Check out my ebay!

HI Barb,
Yeah, ebay has been wonderful and fun. Justbeads looked difficult to navigate, or maybe it is because I am used to ebay. I doubt we would take the time to try it. We have all the templates for ebay and it takes long enough knowing what you are doing. I love it.
Cher

Thanks, ladies, for the warm welcome.  I was out today scouting out a locale for my boutique.  I did find a couple and can hardly believe I am actually going to be doing this; my dream, for a living!

I will most certainly visit everyone's work on here and I'm sure you will be seeing a lot of me in here.  I'm really excited about what awaits me. 

Hi, everyone! I just have a moment to post but I wanted to let you know that I've updated my site with just a few more pictures. Seems like I'm working 24/7 getting my studio up and going but I'm having a blast! Please don't judge what my official website will look like...what I'm posting there now is what I can throw together in the wee hours after long hours at the studio

www.halefireglass.com

Good luck on your venture, Diane! Where are you located and how soon do you hope to get started on your boutique?

Thanks for looking and for all the kind words!
Terry
Hale Fire Glass