Our beads are handmade and well, sometimes there are shards of glass left when the mandrels are etched out. I know many people think the holes are “drilled” but that would be so time consuming, hazardous to the health and we would break a ton of beads along the way. Rather, most of our beads…
Ever so often a customer’s question reminds us that while we are familiar with our beads, and what appears to us to be obvious is definitely NOT, especially to new beaders! We learn from all your questions. And a picture is always a good idea. So, here are a couple of tips on using our authentic Murano…
One of our favorite Fusion laboratories is pretty much a one-man show. He is young, very precise and very energetic. Fusion is a lot like baking cookies. You cut the dough, you cook the dough and you decorate. Only it takes skill and patience, diamond saws, lost of dust and you best be careful. The…
Using a crimp tube is an easy way to finish off your beading wire securely. It does take a little practice, but done properly, it also look professional. I prefer to use a wire protector along with the crimp. Be sure you thread the crimp on before you thread the wire through the wire protector…
Crimping is an easy way to finish off your beading wire to make it secure, however the result in a flat tube which sits next to the ends of your jewelry. Sometimes those little tubes have rough edges which just drive you nuts as they rub against your neck. So I always add add a Crimp…
Here’s a question we hear often. Frankly I am guilty of using the wrong size often and then wondering why the wire slipped out of my piece, so it’s also good for us to review the sizing. We made this little chart to help explain why it is important. If you use a crimp tube…
This is a question every new beader asks when they first encounter Venetian Beads. And then they ask, “What size wire should I use?” Venetian Beads, Murano Beads The most common size of holes of Murano Glass Beads is approximately 1mm. Approximate because they are most often made on 1mm diameter copper rods, which heats…
We often hear from customers that they just don’t understand wire gauges. It is confusing,and we can blame it on “Brown & Sharpe” who established the AWG standardized wire gauge system for the American market in 1857 and was mainly used to describe the diameters of electrically conducting wire. They had no idea that jewelers…
One of our favorite ways to make a piece of Murano Glass Jewelry come alive is to use matte beads which gives you a contrast between our shiny Venetian Beads and the soft glow of the matte beads, a luster which resembles a Mother of Pearl glow. There are couple of ways to achieve this…
We just added this quick little tool from Beadalon to make your own ear wires. It’s inexpensive and comes in so handy when you’ve run out of ear wires and just need a couple. It is also a good way to use the leftover bits of wire you have in your beading box – you…