Totally bummed out/beads fell apart!

I was going through my stash of lampworked beads from other artists when I
found a set I'd really liked and had hopes of making into a nice set. I'd
bought them before Mike started his lampworking so I wasn't as clued in to
some of the nuances of lampwork as I am now. (yep, I'm SO clued in! LOL)

Anyway, these beads had never been cleaned of release! I was surprised at
that since they were a nice set and not really inexpensive. I soaked them
in warm water and then Mike took them out to the SH*D to clean them with his
Dremel tool. The ends of two beads fell off! It looks like they might have
been glued on or else the glass wasn't really melted in properly and now the
focal of the set is ruined. I can glue the smaller disks back on to the
larger bead but it's just not going to be the same.

*sigh*

I'll be writing to the lampworker in question, this isn't a rant against
them because I know that everyone has problems with experimental techniques
and all but I have to say that it's really been an eye-opener to me over the
past months to see the variation in what people think is 'good' and what
people will send out to a customer. Some of it is great, some of it makes
me want to never let go of the beads and then once in a while you get
something that makes you say... huh?

Thanks for letting me have a small grumble.

-Su

Su, I know just what you feel like. Before I found this group, I'd only
purchased two sets of lampwork beads. One set I love...and I made into a
simple necklace that I cannot wear without someone asking to buy it. The
other set? Well, they were clean but the ends of the beads were cracked.
After receiving them, I began to wonder whether they were even "real"
lampwork (as opposed to some mass-produced junk).

After a few weeks reading posts here, I tracked down the person who sold me
the beads. She said that she made them herself but she is still "learning
how to remove the mandrel." I took her statements for what they were worth,
though I suspect--from what I've read on this newsgroup--that she is really
not using enough bead release.

Anyway, she did promise to make me a new set once she improves her skills,
and I think that she just might do that. She struck me as someone who is
sweet and sincere, though obviously she is not yet ready to sell. I mean,
if you don't know who to remove the mandrel do you really know how to make
lampwork beads??? (groan)

Anyway, I think that you should indeed contact the lampworker and see about
getting some new beads, if not a refund. Good luck!




"Su/Cutworks" wrote in message
...
I was going through my stash of lampworked beads from other artists when I
found a set I'd really liked and had hopes of making into a nice set. I'd
bought them before Mike started his lampworking so I wasn't as clued in to
some of the nuances of lampwork as I am now. (yep, I'm SO clued in! LOL)

Anyway, these beads had never been cleaned of release! I was surprised at
that since they were a nice set and not really inexpensive. I soaked them
in warm water and then Mike took them out to the SH*D to clean them with
his
Dremel tool. The ends of two beads fell off! It looks like they might
have
been glued on or else the glass wasn't really melted in properly and now
the
focal of the set is ruined. I can glue the smaller disks back on to the
larger bead but it's just not going to be the same.

*sigh*

I'll be writing to the lampworker in question, this isn't a rant against
them because I know that everyone has problems with experimental
techniques
and all but I have to say that it's really been an eye-opener to me over
the
past months to see the variation in what people think is 'good' and what
people will send out to a customer. Some of it is great, some of it makes
me want to never let go of the beads and then once in a while you get
something that makes you say... huh?

Thanks for letting me have a small grumble.

-Su

Wow - that's really a pain for you, Su. I hope the lampworker will
replace the beads.

--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net

I was going through my stash of lampworked beads from other artists when I
found a set I'd really liked and had hopes of making into a nice set. I'd
bought them before Mike started his lampworking so I wasn't as clued in to
some of the nuances of lampwork as I am now. (yep, I'm SO clued in! LOL)

Anyway, these beads had never been cleaned of release! I was surprised at
that since they were a nice set and not really inexpensive. I soaked them
in warm water and then Mike took them out to the SH*D to clean them with
his
Dremel tool. The ends of two beads fell off! It looks like they might
have
been glued on or else the glass wasn't really melted in properly and now
the
focal of the set is ruined. I can glue the smaller disks back on to the
larger bead but it's just not going to be the same.

*sigh*

I'll be writing to the lampworker in question, this isn't a rant against
them because I know that everyone has problems with experimental
techniques
and all but I have to say that it's really been an eye-opener to me over
the
past months to see the variation in what people think is 'good' and what
people will send out to a customer. Some of it is great, some of it makes
me want to never let go of the beads and then once in a while you get
something that makes you say... huh?

Thanks for letting me have a small grumble.

-Su

Su that sucks! I hope you can get a refund.

Lara



--
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Check out my eBay auctions under user ID: lutrick
Or click on the link: http://snipurl.com/8fa3


"Su/Cutworks" wrote in message
...
I was going through my stash of lampworked beads from other artists when I
found a set I'd really liked and had hopes of making into a nice set. I'd
bought them before Mike started his lampworking so I wasn't as clued in to
some of the nuances of lampwork as I am now. (yep, I'm SO clued in! LOL)

Anyway, these beads had never been cleaned of release! I was surprised at
that since they were a nice set and not really inexpensive. I soaked them
in warm water and then Mike took them out to the SH*D to clean them with
his
Dremel tool. The ends of two beads fell off! It looks like they might
have
been glued on or else the glass wasn't really melted in properly and now
the
focal of the set is ruined. I can glue the smaller disks back on to the
larger bead but it's just not going to be the same.

*sigh*

I'll be writing to the lampworker in question, this isn't a rant against
them because I know that everyone has problems with experimental
techniques
and all but I have to say that it's really been an eye-opener to me over
the
past months to see the variation in what people think is 'good' and what
people will send out to a customer. Some of it is great, some of it makes
me want to never let go of the beads and then once in a while you get
something that makes you say... huh?

Thanks for letting me have a small grumble.

-Su

Peggy wrote:

Anyway, she did promise to make me a new set once she improves her skills,
and I think that she just might do that. She struck me as someone who is
sweet and sincere, though obviously she is not yet ready to sell. I mean,
if you don't know who to remove the mandrel do you really know how to make
lampwork beads??? (groan)

I know from reading in other forums that there is a wide range of what
people think is a good bead, and what people think is a saleable bead. And
there's a wide range in what people feel is right to do with the beads they
sell, such as clean or not and other little bits of effort that make the
difference between a seasoned lampworker and one who may be starting out.
And then there are people who just want to make money and don't care what
happens after they post their beads. There are lots of them out there.

I think the person who made the beads I'm bummed out about will be very
concerned to make them right, and I will be writing to her once I track down
the actual item number in my heap of 'stuff' that might loosely be called a
filing system. It's one reason I didn't name names, as the situation I'm in
isn't uncommon. People get dirty beads or cracked ones for many reasons.
I'm sure the explanation I'll get will be reasonable and friendly.

Good luck with getting your replacement beads.

-Su

One of the tough things with some beads is that flaws don't always show up
immediately. As some of us push the envelope more and more, mixing frits and
different "flavors" of glass and doing a variety of decorations, problems
are more likely to crop up. Unfortunately, they don't always show themselves
immediately.

I made a lovely heart with Val Cox's new "shards" the day I got them in the
mail. It sat on my table for 3 days, looked absolutely fine, then I pulled
it out for display at the show on Saturday, and it had a very definite
thermal crack. sob Most of the time I sit on questionable beads for
several days for just that reason, but incopatibilities and show up at any
time, sooner OR later.

I had a Christmas tree that's been around for several months, seemed
fine....set it down and a piece of "ornament" popped right off after a very
minor bump against another bead. Gah!

I hope you work it out successfully with the beadmaker in question, Su. G

KarenK

My "bad" lampwork beads were cracked when I received them. But I agree with
Su about not naming the artist: We all have to start somewhere. And we all
make mistakes.

On Tue, 9 Nov 2004 09:05:35 -0700, "Karen_AZ"
wrote:

One of the tough things with some beads is that flaws don't always show up
immediately. As some of us push the envelope more and more, mixing frits and
different "flavors" of glass and doing a variety of decorations, problems
are more likely to crop up. Unfortunately, they don't always show themselves
immediately.

I made a lovely heart with Val Cox's new "shards" the day I got them in the
mail. It sat on my table for 3 days, looked absolutely fine, then I pulled
it out for display at the show on Saturday, and it had a very definite
thermal crack. sob Most of the time I sit on questionable beads for
several days for just that reason, but incopatibilities and show up at any
time, sooner OR later.

I had a Christmas tree that's been around for several months, seemed
fine....set it down and a piece of "ornament" popped right off after a very
minor bump against another bead. Gah!

This is SO true! Especially, as Karen mentioned, with glass artists
pushing the envelope and trying new things. Most of my very first,
unannealed beads are still intact, while some of my most "skillful"
(read: properly made and annealed) work has had problems down the
road. Not many, mind you... But it definitely does happen. That's why
I have a no questions asked, 100% guarantee.

As for cleaning... Well, I'm an obsessive bead/vessel hole cleaner.
But as has been mentioned, each person makes those choices for him or
herself. I don't judge. I just do what I do and don't worry about
others.


Tink
Check here for available work:
http://blackswampglassworks.com/latest.htm

Lara wrote:

Su that sucks! I hope you can get a refund.

Even better, the bead maker is going to replace the bead, as I thought would
happen.

-Su

Peggy wrote:

My "bad" lampwork beads were cracked when I received them. But I agree
with
Su about not naming the artist: We all have to start somewhere. And we
all
make mistakes.

Absolutely! I think everyone has the right to a mistake every now and then.
Heaven knows I'm using up my allotment rapidly!

The person who made the beads answered right away and is replacing the bead
in question. Which goes to show that if you give a person a chance to fix
an error before going all weird and naming names, you'll get what you
deserve more often than not.

I try to treat people the way I want to be treated. And most of the time I
am very happy with the results.

-Su