Category: Glass Around the World

Lampwork beads – How are they made?

Beads have been used for generations to make necklaces, rosaries, and other pieces of jewelry. While traditional beads are adorable, lampwork beads go a step above in adding aesthetics and enhancing the overall appeal of the jewelry. 

Despite their exquisite nature and unique heritage, few people are aware of their origin and building process. This necessitates shedding light on several topics such as ‘How lampwork beads are made?’ and so on. So without any further ado, let’s get started!

All the components needed to make lampwork beads

What are Lampwork Beads?

To know what Lampwork beads mean, it’s important to know what ‘Lampwork’ and ‘beads’ mean separately. So beads are small pieces of glass, stones, or similar materials that are threaded together to make jewelry or some other items. 

<p id="On the other hand, lampwork is a glasswork technique where a torch or lamp is used to melt the glass. And once the glass is in a molten state, it is shaped using hand or tools. 

So that means lampwork beads are those beads that are made using lampworking techniques. As these are mostly handmade, intricate designs and fascinating details are some features they are heavily endowed with. 

Why are Venetian and Murano Lampwork beads famous?

Whenever we hear about ‘glasswork’, the mention of Murano is bound to take place. This is because glass making is widely practiced in Munaro and the artists and workers belonging to this place have acquired distinctiveness in glasswork. The Muranian glass work is inspired by Venetian glass artists. 

One might wonder whether such beads can be copied by manufacturers in China or some other countries. Well the answer is Yes, they can be copied, however, there are several qualities of such Muranese beads that are difficult to be replicated, such as usage of Effetre glass canes (which are produced only in Murano). 

Likewise, the tools used, and most prominently the traditional Venetian techniques are hard to replicate too. 

All the mentioned factors make it a unique product which is endemic to Murano and some other areas where Muranian artists could provide their help. 

And this is why at Venetian Bead Shop, we are a family-owned business in Santa Clara, CA, USA where we have been importing Venetian Glass & Murano Glass since 1993 and we work directly with the bead makers of Venice Murano which makes us able to provide the best Venetian & Murano lampwork beads in USA and worldwide. 

What do you require to make Lampwork beads?

Every special thing requires unique efforts. The same holds for lampwork beads as well. It is important to source the required materials and tools before starting to make the Lampwork beads. Here are some of them-

  • Bench Burner

This is a device that produces heat and flames which is essential in heating and shaping the glass for making beads.

  • Hand Torch

You’d be dealing with intricate detailing and fine objects while working on beads. This makes a hand torch indispensable as using it you’ll be able to focus on different small and intricate particles of beads.

  • Marver

A marver is one of the most important tools when it comes to glassblowing. It is generally made of polished steel, brass, and attached to a metal or wooden table. However, when it comes to using them in a process requiring fine application, a hand-held version of the same could be used. Overall, it is a flat slab of metal or stone or wood on which glasswork is rolled, shaped and cooled. 

  • Reamer

A reamer is a rotary cutting tool used in metalworking. They are used for finishing or enlarging a hole on a metal. A reamer may seem the same as a driller, however, while a driller ‘makes’ hole on a solid surface, a reamer on the other hand, finishes or works upon the existing hole to leave smooth sides.

  • Tungsten Pick

Tungsten is a hard metal that is used in making light bulbs and its extreme temperature resistance makes it ideal in glasswork or anything that requires dealing with high temperatures. There are several applications of Tungsten in bead making such as raking (dragging glass), boring holes, and others. 

  • Mandrel

A mandrel is a cylindrical shaped rod around which metal or some other material is shaped or forged. Essentially, you’ll be using this device the whole time in making Lampwork beads.

  • Glass rods

These glass rods would be your primary raw materials. You’ll have to melt them to make beads.

How to make Lampwork Beads

Now we’ll directly shift to talking about how lampwork beads are made. We have tried to break down the steps involved into pointers. So here we go:

  • First of all, melt the glass rods over a torch and bring it into its molten state.
  • Now wound the molten glass carefully around the steel mandrel. The hole that we see in beads is formed due to the space taken up by these mandrels.
  • Now you have to give a shape to the molten glass by rotating the mandrel and holding it in various positions. The gravity and rotation given by you would help the bead in getting your desired shape. Now, as a beginner, you’ll not be certain about how hot the glass needs to be when it should be rotated or when to apply pressure. Needless to say, you’ll know the same gradually as you begin working regularly.
  • You can add decorative embellishment and colors to adorn the beads. Overtime, you’ll learn how different colors, tools, and metals react with glass to form beads.
  • You can also use marble tools, paddles, and marvers to give the glass the desired shape. Just make sure to keep the mandrel spinning and glass hot. 
  • At last, you’ll need to carefully ‘anneal’ the beads. Annealing is a process of cooling down the glass, reducing stress, and avoiding thermal shock to the glass bead.

Overall, we can say lampwork beading requires a great deal of patience, precision, and skill sets. With practice and proper tools, you can make your own designer Lampwork beads. 

Now if you wish to buy traditional Venetian and Murano Lampwork beads, you can browse for the same on our store. At Venetian Bead Shop, we provide over 6000 different colors and styles of traditional and modern Venetian glass beads. Do visit our store, we are sure you’d be delighted seeing the variety we offer.

Thanks for reading!

Glass Conference in Murano and Fashion Show

Waiting for the Fashion Show

The island of Murano was host to the GAS (Glass Art Society) with world wide participation. Everyone who works with glass paid tribute to the heritage of Murano. This week it was evident and the pure joy and excitement of the students of glass as they wandered around the island was abundantly obvious. While I might not completely agree with GAS selection of artist and venues, I do not believe that anyone went home unhappy with the experience.

I met artists from all over the world who paid $100+ dollars to tour Murano glass factories and watch maestri from around the world work alongside Muranese in the furnaces of Barovier & Toso, Venini, Effetre and Carlo Moretti. These are not your “tourist” factories, but truly production facilities and home to some of the most famous Maestri of Murano. There were presentations every day by the best in the business.

The Life Time Achievement Award was presented to the family of the famous Pino Signoretto as he unfortunately died late last December. His works are known around the world and many students from Pilchuck in Seattle were in attendance. 

One of the more important discussion panels focused on the environmental issues of the minerals used to achieve the bright colors we all love. The panel included academics in chemistry and physics as the making of glass involves both. Specifically, the use of Cadium, Arsenic, and Lead. Glass producers, large and small are attempting to find a substitute as it is an essential mineral for some of our favorite colors, like red, rubino and opaque colors. The major risk is not in the end use of the glass, but for those who work producing the batch (made from soda, sand, and minerals) which are a hazard to breath when making the batch; for those involved in the working of the molten glass and for those who reheat the glass (such as lampworkers).Inhaling cadmium-laden dust quickly leads to respiratory tract and kidney problems which can be fatal (often from renal failure). There is a race to resolve this problem, and I only hope that the first one to achieve this goal is not allowed to patent the process as that would prohibit small furnaces from making their own glass. For those who depend on the glass rods from Effetre Moretti, we hope they find a solution quickly.

But the best part of the entire conference for me was the Glass Fashion Show. The artist had made their own outfits, some costumes took as long as 5 months to complete and one weighed about 70 pounds.

Several were lighted like Christmas Trees and glowed beautifully against the background of the water. It is a tradition at the end of the conference, but this year, the models arrived in gondolas and floated down the Rio del Vetrai. Both sides of the canal were crowded with the attendees of the conference gleefully drinking Spritz (the local favorite). Locals were watching out their windows upstairs. I left the sounds from the crowd as it gives you an idea of how rowdy and enthusiastic it was.

The conference concluded with a giant party on the grounds of the San Pietro Church with local foods and drinks, music and dancing lasting to the wee hours. Sunday morning was quiet as every one recuperated!  The opinion of many was that Murano should be the host of the conference again soon!

Dichroic Glass – It’s Magic!

Here’s a peek inside the dichroic facility of Sanberg Coatings, where all our Murano Glass goes for the added bling or as I think, the magic machine that gives us all these added colors.

Vacuum Coating Chamber – Cost ~$2Million

The technology is called “vacuum thin film deposition” and was discovered in 1887. It took military and aerospace needs to support the research and development of the expensive equipment to produce on a large scale. Tax dollars paid for the creation of these complex machines for use in optical equipment, lasers, fiber optics, optical recording, infrared guidance, photoelectric converters, Dolby 3d Projection and mundane things like eyeglasses or camera lenses.

Prepping for Coating

The coating process is done in a vacuum deposition chamber by vaporizing quarts and metal oxides with an electron beam gun and condensing micro-thin layers on the surface of the glass (or whatever you want coated) in a crystal structure.

Jerry Sandberg, an engineer as well as jewelry artists, worked at a high tech firm producing thin film components in southern California when he discovered that another artist, Murray Schwartz was digging through the trash at the facility for the small pieces of reject mirrors. He too began collecting the rejects and along with Murray, they began the development of the first three dichroic glass colors designed for the art glass industry: Cyan/Red, Magenta/Green and Yellow/Blue, colors which we still use today. It’s a bit confusing, the the first color is the input color, the second is what you see when it is fired. So if we want Red we buy Cyan/Red.

Sheets of Glass Coated

It was Murray’s wife, Rupama who put the first scrap of dichroic into her kiln, an experiment that led us all to today’s incredible array of art produced with the colors dichroic made possible.

The Warehouse – Full Sheets Ready

Like all our businesses, Sandberg needs to have sheets ready to ship. Here is there stock room. With the price of an average sheet about $150, it’s a sizeable investment. Since our glass comes from Murano, there is the added cost of the glass, freight, incoming Custom Duties so if you are wondering why our dichroic beads are expensive, here are the clues!

Sandberg Contest Winners

Since the coating are not done in heat, almost anything can be coated – expensive, but can be. Below are some pottery, glass, things you might buy at a thrift shop, a home decoration store. The only issue I see is that you can coat only one side (or you must flip and coat the other).

Examples of EveryDay Items Coated

I say it’s magic because the technical description defies my understanding and I am happy to have Sandberg work his magic for our beads and pendants.

Note: Sandberg sells through distributors, but if you want to take a class, you can find the classes available on their website Coating by Sandberg.

Marvin Lipofsky – US Glass Movement Pioneer

Marvin Lipofsky GAS, San Jose CA 2015

Marvin Lipofsky, remains a legend in the US glass movement. His contributions are numerous. He was large burly glass artist known for his irascible temperament, an artist who pushed the theories on glass (and his students) as a medium influenced by his original studies in clay.

The picture is part of our “selfie” a new word for Marvin that we made at the San Jose Glass Art Society Conference in June 2015. He arrived at the party at the Tech Museum with only a hand written name tag. No one dared point this out. His size and reputation preceded him – everywhere.

He was among the first students in the Harvey Littleton‘s emerging US Studio Glass Movement and with the exposure to glass, his focus changed. With his MFA in sculpture, he went on to teach at the University of California Berkeley and in 1967 founded the glass program at the California College of Arts and Crafts. And the rest, as they say, is history.

For his full resume you can visit his website

He was one of the early members of the Glass Art Society (G.A.S.) and wore many hats organizing and promoting this world wide association which today has over 2,700 members from 50 countries. He received the Lifetime in 1986 and was on hand in 2015 to see his student Mary White receive this prestigious award. Though classic, Lipofsky, he was still critiquing her work, always pushing his students.

Along the way he has studied and taught in over 50 cities around the world. This video was filmed at the Oakland Museum in California with Lipofsky in his own words.

Lipofsky’s work has been collected by many public institutions worldwide. In the United States his work can be found in the collections of the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Oakland Museum, Oakland, California; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; Philadelphia Museum of Art and Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio. Overseas his work is in Glasmuseet Ebeltoft in Denmark; Glasmuseum Frauenau (de) (Sammlung Wolfgang Kermer (de)), Germany; Museum Bellrive in Zürich, Switzerland;Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, Holland; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan and Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art in Sapporo, Japan

To say that his work lives on, is an understatement.

Glass Comes to Town – Glass Art Society

The Glass Art Society Conference came to town bringing glass workers (artists) from all over the world. It is a big deal to the students of the Universities, to the patrons of the arts and to the glass workers.

Glass in the Park – San Jose Museum in Background

San Jose California is in the heart of Silicon Valley where you find people dressed in business suits with briefcases and to go cups of coffee talking about security, coding, startups, venture capital and technology. Meet the artist, in the opening speech by the President of the Glass Art Society (GAS), he admitted that he has does not understand any of the people on the street.

Corning Museum of Glass Mobile Furnace

Corning Museum (CMOG) had a tractor trailer truck outfitted with a completely portable glass furnace. It parked in Caesar Chavez park and entertained everyone downtown with live demos with artists from around the world and a narrator who explained the process.

Blowing Glass in the Park!

Bay Area Glass Institute (BAGI) a non-profit hot shop (they have a furnace) as well as torches for fame working opened their doors to the Museum of Glass (Seattle) for a day of teaching and demos. The highlight of that event was the Museum of Glass team creating a piece of glass drawn by a little girl.

Kids Design Glass

Complete with Costumes, the family watches as the team makes her design

The San Jose Tech Museum opened its doors for a special party with demos and a DJ for dancing.

VIP Party at the Tech Museum

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