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#1
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AD and dumb questions from a newbie
Hi everyone!
This is the first time I decided to get in on the action but I've been hanging around and snooping for a while now. I'm Nathalie and I'm what you would call a beginner beader from Montreal, Canada. I have alot of questions for you since I can't seem to find the answers anywhere and trust me, I've looked. I'm so hooked on beading that I spend the better part of my web browsing time on that subject ) eBay is my home away from home. Kudos to all of you for your spectacular beads btw, they're great!! I'd like to get some opinions on how hard you think lampworking is. I might want to get started on that someday, not in the near future since the money has to go along with it but just let me know your thoughts on the skill level and difficulty involved in getting started. I'm not talking about all those extraordinary artists on eBay, just basic stuff. I know it's fairly expensive to get all the equipment together since I've looked and shopped around. The beginner kits seem to be a great idea though. Now here's a stupid question...Is it really hard to make a big lampwork bead? I ask this because all the bigger ones I see on eBay (20mm and up) are so expensive I figure there's gotta be loads of work involved and the vast majority of the bead sets seem to be under 15mm. Is there a particular reason why? (I told you I had dumb questions, hihi) Moving on to other things, do any of you use hand knotting and wire working techniques? Those are other things I want to try. I still can't figure out why all the knotting projects I've seen so far ask for at least 6-8 times the lenght of the finished necklace, I have trouble that's really gonna get all used up in the knots...I've got all I need for knotting (silk thread, silk/nylon blend thread, tweezers, etc) but am looking into getting a jig and doing wire working. I also want to make necklaces with sterling silver links and have gotten the hang of the basic loop. I need to get better at a wrapped loop. Is Colorcraft wire a good choice? Any other wire you recommend. Up here, we have Artistic wire, not sure if I've seen in in all my US catalogs. I know it's best to start with cheaper stuff to practice and that suits me fine since I like copper wire anyways. I just make basic necklaces now and sell beads on eBay. If any of you are interested, please check out my auctions http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...&since=-1&rd=1 Final question: any of you ever order from Village Originals or Acme out of NYC? How about Cyber Imports in China? I can order wholesale and have checked around alot for the best prices. Are most of you buying retail? I need good price breaks but I am worried about buying overseas. Have any of you done it and if so, could you recommend any companies? I have mostly dealt with FMG so far and haven't had any major problems. I know some of you would rather not get into a discussion about them so I won't elaborate. I want to get catalogs from Blake Brothers but their site has been down for construction since I can't remember. Well, that's all for me, any info you could give me on beading would be greatly appreciated ) Thanks so much! Nathalie |
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#2
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any of you ever order from Village Originals or Acme out of NYC?
I LOVE Acme's stuff!!! They can be a bit "interesting" to deal with, but their stuff is worth it, IMHO!! Carol in SLC eBay: http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...include=0&user id=celestialbeads JustBeads: http://www.justbeads.com/search/ql.cfm?s=5530 New pic (9/5): http://members.aol.com/carolinslc/glorious.jpg |
#3
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Hi Nathalie and welcome to RCB. None of your questions are stupid.
Everyone has to start somewhere, and you have a good base with this group. I'll try to answer your questions from my perspective. I'd like to get some opinions on how hard you think lampworking is. Not very hard once you get the basic techniques down. I am almost totally self taught. Once I had the basics everything clicked. I purchased a video from eBay and also both Cindy Jenkin's books as well as one from Jim Kervin on Sharon Peters. Now here's a stupid question...Is it really hard to make a big lampwork bead? It isn't hard to make a large bead. However, you have to keep the bead warm so it will not crack. The prices have many factors. I'll try to list a few: 1. Cost of materials - some glass costs lots more than others. 2. Skill level 3. Artist following - some artists have people who consistently purchase their products and have a good customer base. 4. Hollow beads versus solid beads - the hollows are easy but take a little while longer to make. I'm sure others will think of more items than I did. Moving on to other things, do any of you use hand knotting and wire working techniques? There are many folks in this newsgroup that do a variety of things. I don't do hand knotting, but I like wire working. Colorcraft wire a good choice? Colorcraft is a good choice for practice. If you want to sell your pieces you might consider getting sterling silver wire, heavy gage copper wire, etc Final question: any of you ever order from Village Originals or Acme out of NYC? How about Cyber Imports in China? Nope so I can't give you any information. |
#4
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Lampworking is a skill that anyone with a reasonable amount of hand-eye
co-ordination can do. I taught my youngest daughter when she was six and I have had students over 50. You can learn to make a good round spacer bead in 4 hours or less. Of course how good you get is dependent on how much time you are willing to put into it and ultimately how much talent and physical dexterity you have. Find someone giving workshops or lessons if possible. Not only will you have a leg up when you get started, but you will have a chance to find out if you really like it. It is an extreme kind of thing, either you love it or you can't stand doing it. As far as large beads are concerned, the larger the bead the more glass you have to heat and control. This means more time, more care, and more experience. Also, most larger beads have more detail, so see last sentence. Many larger beads are hollow because of weight, and that is a more advanced technique. As far as most beads being under 15mm, 10 -15mm just looks right when on the mandrel. And if you have a lot of large beads in a necklace, it gets heavy unless the beads are hollow. -- There are no mistakes, only unexplored techniques "Nathalie Lebreux" wrote in message ... Hi everyone! This is the first time I decided to get in on the action but I've been hanging around and snooping for a while now. I'm Nathalie and I'm what you would call a beginner beader from Montreal, Canada. I have alot of questions for you since I can't seem to find the answers anywhere and trust me, I've looked. I'm so hooked on beading that I spend the better part of my web browsing time on that subject ) eBay is my home away from home. Kudos to all of you for your spectacular beads btw, they're great!! I'd like to get some opinions on how hard you think lampworking is. I might want to get started on that someday, not in the near future since the money has to go along with it but just let me know your thoughts on the skill level and difficulty involved in getting started. I'm not talking about all those extraordinary artists on eBay, just basic stuff. I know it's fairly expensive to get all the equipment together since I've looked and shopped around. The beginner kits seem to be a great idea though. Now here's a stupid question...Is it really hard to make a big lampwork bead? I ask this because all the bigger ones I see on eBay (20mm and up) are so expensive I figure there's gotta be loads of work involved and the vast majority of the bead sets seem to be under 15mm. Is there a particular reason why? (I told you I had dumb questions, hihi) Moving on to other things, do any of you use hand knotting and wire working techniques? Those are other things I want to try. I still can't figure out why all the knotting projects I've seen so far ask for at least 6-8 times the lenght of the finished necklace, I have trouble that's really gonna get all used up in the knots...I've got all I need for knotting (silk thread, silk/nylon blend thread, tweezers, etc) but am looking into getting a jig and doing wire working. I also want to make necklaces with sterling silver links and have gotten the hang of the basic loop. I need to get better at a wrapped loop. Is Colorcraft wire a good choice? Any other wire you recommend. Up here, we have Artistic wire, not sure if I've seen in in all my US catalogs. I know it's best to start with cheaper stuff to practice and that suits me fine since I like copper wire anyways. I just make basic necklaces now and sell beads on eBay. If any of you are interested, please check out my auctions http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...&since=-1&rd=1 Final question: any of you ever order from Village Originals or Acme out of NYC? How about Cyber Imports in China? I can order wholesale and have checked around alot for the best prices. Are most of you buying retail? I need good price breaks but I am worried about buying overseas. Have any of you done it and if so, could you recommend any companies? I have mostly dealt with FMG so far and haven't had any major problems. I know some of you would rather not get into a discussion about them so I won't elaborate. I want to get catalogs from Blake Brothers but their site has been down for construction since I can't remember. Well, that's all for me, any info you could give me on beading would be greatly appreciated ) Thanks so much! Nathalie |
#5
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Brass is the most like silver, if you want to practice for silver loops and
such. After you've shaped it don't forget to harden it. Bang it with a rawhide mallet, or something. You need good dexterity if you want to work with flames (eg, soldering or hot glass). Make sure that's something you want to do and can do before investing in the equipment. Take a class. You know, making a big bead is probably not all that hard. (Though I have lesser dexterity and wouldn't try it myself). The tricky part is making a beautiful one. I'm not quite sure what you mean by "hand knotting". I've knotted necklaces as you would a pearl necklace. And I do some bead weaving, like peyote. But I've never done macrame. Maybe someone else here knows that. For knotted pearls you string them all, then work back the other way, putting a knot between each. It takes a minimum of 3 times the length, plus some to work with, so 4 times the length or more. Welcome to the group. Tina "Nathalie Lebreux" wrote in message ... Hi everyone! This is the first time I decided to get in on the action but I've been hanging around and snooping for a while now. I'm Nathalie and I'm what you would call a beginner beader from Montreal, Canada. I have alot of questions for you since I can't seem to find the answers anywhere and trust me, I've looked. I'm so hooked on beading that I spend the better part of my web browsing time on that subject ) eBay is my home away from home. Kudos to all of you for your spectacular beads btw, they're great!! I'd like to get some opinions on how hard you think lampworking is. I might want to get started on that someday, not in the near future since the money has to go along with it but just let me know your thoughts on the skill level and difficulty involved in getting started. I'm not talking about all those extraordinary artists on eBay, just basic stuff. I know it's fairly expensive to get all the equipment together since I've looked and shopped around. The beginner kits seem to be a great idea though. Now here's a stupid question...Is it really hard to make a big lampwork bead? I ask this because all the bigger ones I see on eBay (20mm and up) are so expensive I figure there's gotta be loads of work involved and the vast majority of the bead sets seem to be under 15mm. Is there a particular reason why? (I told you I had dumb questions, hihi) Moving on to other things, do any of you use hand knotting and wire working techniques? Those are other things I want to try. I still can't figure out why all the knotting projects I've seen so far ask for at least 6-8 times the lenght of the finished necklace, I have trouble that's really gonna get all used up in the knots...I've got all I need for knotting (silk thread, silk/nylon blend thread, tweezers, etc) but am looking into getting a jig and doing wire working. I also want to make necklaces with sterling silver links and have gotten the hang of the basic loop. I need to get better at a wrapped loop. Is Colorcraft wire a good choice? Any other wire you recommend. Up here, we have Artistic wire, not sure if I've seen in in all my US catalogs. I know it's best to start with cheaper stuff to practice and that suits me fine since I like copper wire anyways. I just make basic necklaces now and sell beads on eBay. If any of you are interested, please check out my auctions http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...ude=0&user id =suprnatural&sort=3&rows=200&since=-1&rd=1 Final question: any of you ever order from Village Originals or Acme out of NYC? How about Cyber Imports in China? I can order wholesale and have checked around alot for the best prices. Are most of you buying retail? I need good price breaks but I am worried about buying overseas. Have any of you done it and if so, could you recommend any companies? I have mostly dealt with FMG so far and haven't had any major problems. I know some of you would rather not get into a discussion about them so I won't elaborate. I want to get catalogs from Blake Brothers but their site has been down for construction since I can't remember. Well, that's all for me, any info you could give me on beading would be greatly appreciated ) Thanks so much! Nathalie |
#6
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"Louis Cage" wrote in message ... ...I taught my youngest daughter when she was six and I have had students over 50.... Oh my creaking back! What's that y'say, sonny? I just turned 51 a couple of weeks ago and I'm still a beginner, but holy cow, it's tough holding up the wrong end of the age distribution curve! On the other hand, when people ask me how old I am it's kind of cool to just say, "oh, I was born in the 1900s" and watch their eyes get real big until they realize what you've said..... - Steve Richardson St Louis MO |
#7
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Hey Nathalie,
I just started lampwork and the basic concept isn't too difficult. Getting the beads really round takes time as does any of the cool decorating techniques. I don't make big beads (yet) partly because I prefer small beads, partly because I use tiny mandrels and if I made a big bead I would have to use a small diameter stringing material, and partly because the bigger the blob of molten glass the less control I have. But I sure do like it! Kathy K "Nathalie Lebreux" wrote in message ... Hi everyone! This is the first time I decided to get in on the action but I've been hanging around and snooping for a while now. I'm Nathalie and I'm what you would call a beginner beader from Montreal, Canada. I have alot of questions for you since I can't seem to find the answers anywhere and trust me, I've looked. I'm so hooked on beading that I spend the better part of my web browsing time on that subject ) eBay is my home away from home. Kudos to all of you for your spectacular beads btw, they're great!! I'd like to get some opinions on how hard you think lampworking is. I might want to get started on that someday, not in the near future since the money has to go along with it but just let me know your thoughts on the skill level and difficulty involved in getting started. I'm not talking about all those extraordinary artists on eBay, just basic stuff. I know it's fairly expensive to get all the equipment together since I've looked and shopped around. The beginner kits seem to be a great idea though. Now here's a stupid question...Is it really hard to make a big lampwork bead? I ask this because all the bigger ones I see on eBay (20mm and up) are so expensive I figure there's gotta be loads of work involved and the vast majority of the bead sets seem to be under 15mm. Is there a particular reason why? (I told you I had dumb questions, hihi) Moving on to other things, do any of you use hand knotting and wire working techniques? Those are other things I want to try. I still can't figure out why all the knotting projects I've seen so far ask for at least 6-8 times the lenght of the finished necklace, I have trouble that's really gonna get all used up in the knots...I've got all I need for knotting (silk thread, silk/nylon blend thread, tweezers, etc) but am looking into getting a jig and doing wire working. I also want to make necklaces with sterling silver links and have gotten the hang of the basic loop. I need to get better at a wrapped loop. Is Colorcraft wire a good choice? Any other wire you recommend. Up here, we have Artistic wire, not sure if I've seen in in all my US catalogs. I know it's best to start with cheaper stuff to practice and that suits me fine since I like copper wire anyways. I just make basic necklaces now and sell beads on eBay. If any of you are interested, please check out my auctions http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...&since=-1&rd=1 Final question: any of you ever order from Village Originals or Acme out of NYC? How about Cyber Imports in China? I can order wholesale and have checked around alot for the best prices. Are most of you buying retail? I need good price breaks but I am worried about buying overseas. Have any of you done it and if so, could you recommend any companies? I have mostly dealt with FMG so far and haven't had any major problems. I know some of you would rather not get into a discussion about them so I won't elaborate. I want to get catalogs from Blake Brothers but their site has been down for construction since I can't remember. Well, that's all for me, any info you could give me on beading would be greatly appreciated ) Thanks so much! Nathalie |
#8
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Or it's an easy out if they aren't doing as well as they think they should
be doing. Kathy K "Louis Cage" wrote in message ... Well, I'll be 48 in a couple of months, so don't take it as too much of a slight. I have had some 30 year olds who claimed they were interested in making beads use that old saw about "old dogs & new tricks". But it seems there are those that really believe that crap.. -- There are no mistakes, only unexplored techniques "Steve Richardson" wrote in message . .. "Louis Cage" wrote in message ... ...I taught my youngest daughter when she was six and I have had students over 50.... Oh my creaking back! What's that y'say, sonny? I just turned 51 a couple of weeks ago and I'm still a beginner, but holy cow, it's tough holding up the wrong end of the age distribution curve! On the other hand, when people ask me how old I am it's kind of cool to just say, "oh, I was born in the 1900s" and watch their eyes get real big until they realize what you've said..... - Steve Richardson St Louis MO |
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