Crazy goblets

OK so I am trying to make goblets. I have some here that I made a while ago.... using the same tube as the chandelier.




My sister give me some pointers over the phone, and I studied up in the glass mags to refine my technique.

I want to get decent enough at this to make an actual functional goblet.... or at least one that doesnt look like it was made by a craay person.....

Still they are getting better but kind of like a bunch of crazy drunk glass fairies made them.

The ones with the clear feet are the newer ones with better technique.

I want to get decent enough at this to make an actual functional goblet.... or at least one that doesnt look like it was made by a crazy person.....

Not bead related but poetry

A well known local kid reading her own poetry at the local elementary school......

Chandelier Project Finished

Well, after a long wait and 2 weeks off to make and work on this... its done.

This is one of the longer projects I have undertaken. I had to remove the old chandelier, and remove the electrical wires.

Then I put in new wires, and a new bulb.

Then I finally assembled the whole chandelier and hung it.....

Im very pleased with is and happy that the project is over....

Must be well over 200 individual pieces of glass in this thing !

Chandelier project wip

So, its been a while. Here is what Im up to.

Chandelier project- I want a Dale Chihuly style chandelier for the house on my budget. So, why not make one.

Here are some photos....






Cremains project- I had a special contact who asked me if Id make beads and marbles with family cremains. Sure, Why not try it.

The cremains project was a hit. Actually worked out well, the cremains made very nice inclusions.

Moved and set up- running again

Well if you are still out there in cyberspace following the saga of stoffobeads...... we have finally gotten the studio up.

We moved in September and it was a sea of boxes and takes about 6 months to settle in.

The staff electrician, and carpenters were busy doing a retrofit on an existing structure in the rear or our "grounds".

A few weeks ago, workers managed to get things wired up, and installed in place- the studio was opened.

I made a few ceremonial beads which I cast about the neighborhood as a signal to future archaeologists that this was the site of a bead studio.

Today, I made the third or fourth batch of beads. Its been a while but like riding a bike the flow of glass in the torch was a welcomed feel, like welcoming an old friend back.

Sierra Vista, AZ is now the new home of our studio and we are already very happy with the weather and anticipate many more bead making days here than we had in Ajo, AZ. Cooler climes, about 10-15 degrees cooler are what we are expecting.

Sierra Vista has a great bead shop, Barefootgirls Bead Emproium on Wilcox st., Sierra Vista, AZ (520-459-5400) and we have some beads for sale there. I will begin taking on students for one on one beadmaking instruction. Email me if interested.

Musings on moving, studios, and glass

As we pack up the stoffobeads studio and head to the east, I am pondering a new shop set up. I have toyed with several ideas. The new stoffobeads compound is located in a residential area, more so than in the past. The compound is equipt with a storage shed, which may be retro-fit into a studio. No power, no windows, no AC or heat which will mean some serious retro-fitting will be necessary. So it may also remain simply a storage shed......

A quick search of the net... I found everthing from ideas of making studio space out of buses, railcars, cargo boxes, vintage trailers, and a variety of prefab shed formats. The recent edition of Dwell magazine has some very nice high end stuff, but a bit out of our price range. $10K for a small studio, that is a lot of beads. Im open to suggesitons form those of you in the blogsphere.

I am thinking about renting studio space and will also explore that option. Maybe a self storage shed or industrial space in town will fit the bill. I will be exploring a bunch of options.

This weekend, since the studio is shut down and in a state of disassembly in preparation for packing and moving, we watched some cool videos. Thanks to Netflix who have several Chihuly videos. We watched two fabulous videos "Chihuly short cuts" and another one "Chihuly Gardens and Glass" that had some amazing footage of great hot glass work. Im inspired to create a Chihuly style chandelier for the digs. Once I set up the new studio, I will buy some profile tube and get cracking on making my own mini-chihuly.

Found a wicked torch for sale for about $600 and it looks just huge and killer. Perhaps when we get settled in, I may still have some $ left to buy a new torch. It looks like a CC burner but half or a third the price. Hmmm got to keep that site bookmarked.

This will likely be the last posting for a bit while we close down here and set up there......

Stoffobeads moves !

Well,

Another chapter in the semi-noadic travels of Stoffobeads. The great moving van will show up, pack load and move the entire Stoffobeads empire to Sierra Vista AZ.

There is much excitement as the Stoffobeads staff, begins to conduct clean up operations in Ajo. Lots of yardwork, cleaning and prep, sorting glass, packing up beads, tools, and other equipmet and supplies in advance of shutting down operations here. The best news is that temps are acutally about 10-15 degrees lower in Sierra Vista making year round lampworking a real possibillty.

While we may not be heard from for a few months as we relocate things, know that we will be back at it in a much better location with year round operations in a better facility.

Thanks for your support