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Well the title just about sums it up ... I wrote an eBook - its called "Everybody Needs (Glass) Buttons!"
Its 21 pages long, packed full of photos, step by step instructions, inspiration, ideas, tips and lots of words - I'm very excited and rather proud of myself too :0)
My eBook is available direct from my website as an automatic download - a 1.81mb PDF will arrive in your inbox all by itself - or you can buy it from my Etsy shop if you prefer, but you'll have to wait for me to email it to you. If anybody knows of a way to set up an auto download from Etsy, please tell me!
I'm also very excited to be able to sell the brass Button Tool that my lovely friends at Beadpress.nl made to my design. We launched this gorgeous little tool at the Flame Off a couple of weeks ago, when I showed how I use it during my demos - and they sold out very fast! If you are in Europe you may find it cheaper and quicker to have a tool posted to you direct from the Beadpress website rather than from me.
You may have noticed from my Flickr album that I've been making a lot of Ring Toppers this week - the rings, nuts and even threaded mandrels are from Little Castle Designs (Beadpress do their own version too) - I've been using my Button Tool to shape my ring toppers, so its not only gorgeous but also rather versatile.
If you buy the eBook and Button Tool together from either my website or Etsy shop, you will save £2 on the combined price.
A friend of mine, Dianne Sandland is a professional book reviewer - and she reviewed my eBook! She said some incredibly nice things and now I really do feel all proper and writer-ish :0) Read her Review here - Thank you Di! x
I'm almost back down to earth after the most wonderful weekend at the 4th annual UK lampwork festival, the Flame Off 2011.
I was both thoroughly honoured and utterly horrified to be invited to join the elite team of Demonstrating Artists this year, along with my lovely friend Kaz Baildon, Marshall and Caitlin Hyde of Corning, New York and Michi Suzuki, a Japanese glass artist living in France.
The demonstrations take place on the first floor at Towcester Racecourse, in a lovely bright room with seating for about 300 people. Don't get me wrong, I'm a proper show off and love any opportunity to strut my stuff on the torch, but there's a lot of very clever glassy folk in a Flame Off audience - and then there's the Madonna-style mic and cameras too!
The images are beamed to screens dotted all around the building, there's even a screen in the coffee area.
Kaz was first up (phew, I was so glad it wasn't me up there!) and she did a great job. She was so relaxed and even stayed calm when the bead release broke and she had to think on her feet! Well done, Kaz, you're a pro!
After Marshall and Caitlin did their thing, it was soon my turn - I can honestly say that I don't remember a time when I was more nervous than during this 45 minutes.
For my first demo, I made one of my large Seaside Heart beads, a complicated undertaking (about as complicated as I get, anyway!) with lots of components and techniques. I also squeezed in a little stamped button, to show off the new button tool that has been made for me by Beadpress. These tools sold out very quickly but the good news is that more have already been made and will be available from my website very soon.
Michi's bead was so intricate and her demo was definitely enhanced by Marshall's commentary!
On Saturday we did it all again (my second demo of buttons and a toggle bead was much more relaxed, phew!) and we also took part in a 45 minute Q&A session which had been typed as Artist Queen Time (instead of Question Time!) so we got off to a fun start!
As well as demonstrating, we all had sales tables at the event too so it was a very busy few days, and I was having such a great time that I decided to stay on for the Sunday bead fair as well.
I was lucky to take a class with Caitlin on Thursday and enjoyed watching her work on one of her signature mandala beads, she has such a beautiful voice and gentle style. Marshall is so much fun and has a unique stance at the torch - he doesn't like to sit down, I think he needs to be ready for anything! I bought a bunny like Caitlin demonstrated on the Saturday, here it is with my Marshall monkey that I bought at Stourbridge last year.
I spent most of the three days up on the first floor but there was even more fun going on downstairs, with traders tables, the coffee area, Frit Happens forum meeting point and lots of torch benches set up where newcomers can have a go and old hands can show off! Take a look at Richard Downton's fantastic photo album for a brilliant taste of the Flame Off.
I have to say how much I love my life/job - everybody I meet that is in any way involved with this wonderful glassy world is just so friendly, sharing and passionate about all things beady. And I also must say a very very big Thank You to all at Tuffnell Glass for organising the Flame Off, and for inviting me to take part - Thank You TG, it was a true honour xx ... now, when can we all do it again?!
Back home now and its time to update the website and get to work on some new beads.
My beautiful sister got married recently, and asked for my help with her wedding jewellery.
I knew straight away what would suit her perfectly ... in 2009 my friend George Harper East and I collaborated on a bridal necklace and bracelet for Making Jewellery magazine (published in the August issue). I think this was probably the first time we combined George's silver and my glass to make something fabulous, but certainly not the last!
Just got to throw in my favourite wedding photo here, cos its my blog so I can ;0)
She's gonna kill me for this one!
PS if you'd like to come and play with George and me and learn how to make beautiful jewellery and fab beads, we are teaching our joint "by george, its Lush!" class again at Studio 19 in June.
I've got a new studio! A proper grown-up, three torch Artist's Studio! I can't stop smiling, I wake up every day and run out to visit it, I really can't believe my luck, its such a wonderful place to work.
Before I show a pic of all its glory though, you must see how the space looked just a few short weeks ago.
I took these photos on 5th January - the task to empty the garage seemed quite overwhelming at the time, but a couple of hard days of ruthlessness and a totally overflowing skip and trailer load later, the space was clear and ready for the real work to begin.
Let's not forget to say goodbye to the Torch Porch - where I made beads and taught students for about three and a half years.
And here it is ... The Lusherie (as named by my lovely friend Alison). Conveniently right on the kitchen doorstep!
This is my work area - my torch is a Bethlehem Minnow with 2 oxygen concentrators; my kiln is a Kilncare Maxi with Maxine doors (I always like to be different!).
And this is the student bench - there's a GTT Cricket and a Bobcat, and I also have a Nortel Minor stashed away in the cupboard, because there's definitely room to squeeze in another torch or two ;0) The little kiln is a Kilncare Beadcube. The extraction system is a triumph! Thanks to my dad who designed the ingeniously discreet system, which is powered by a Progrow fan mounted under each work bench - turn em both on at the same time and I dare you to try and open the door - sucky, suck, suck!
Its been a busy week for the Lusherie - with students to teach, a lovely opening party with lots of Frit Happens friends, and my first "Torch Time" client is happily filling up the Beadcube, whilst I'm writing this blog.
In oscar speech stylee, I need to thank a few people:
My wonderful friends George and Steve, for listening, advising and even donating furniture; more wonderful friends Manda and David for inspiring, advising and sharing (Manda, did you notice I even bought the same bin as you, it really is the mini-MangoBeads studio!); Dad xx; my builder Stuart (come back, you need to finish the roof) and Ed & Justin the sparkies;
and all my lovely Frit Happens friends who came to the Opening and made commemorative champagne bottle beads: Kaz, Manda, George, Steve, Alison, Malc, Georgie, Sarah, Sam, Helen, Sue, Madeline, Janine, Sarah, Kathy, Vicky, Violet, Karen (and hubby) xxxxxxxxxxx
PS - if you fancy a lesson, just drop me a line! julie(at)lushlampwork.co.uk
There's nothing like a show and a shower to get my mind whirring and the Bright Ideas flowing!
Bright Idea No. 1
I'm always on the lookout for display props - individual focal beads tend to be the trickiest beads to show off. After scouring POS websites and the Ikea market place, time was running out to prepare for my recent Show and I was still uninspired. However, as so often seems to happen, I had a lightbulb moment in the shower!
These little stands are just so easy to make - simply melt a large gather of glass onto the very tip of an uncoated mandrel, flatten on a heatproof surface, anneal and trim the mandrel short. Then make another on the same mandrel, then another, and another ...
They make great photo props too!
Bright Idea No. 2
You can imagine it took a long time to prepare these stands - every card had to be punched, every button had to attached, using matching coloured thread, punched fixings stuck on, prices written ... so I had lots of time to think.
There must be a simple way to wear a button without actually sewing it on ...?
Got it! Tie on a brooch back and pin it on! An instant Art Glass Button Brooch, ta da!
I just spent the last 3 days at The Stitch & Creative Craft Show at the 3 Counties Showground here in Malvern.
It was a really nice show, lots of different crafts were represented from card making to textiles with a few beads thrown in too - I was the only lampworker there and I think my beads and buttons were a bit of a mystery to many, but once I whipped out a couple of glass rods and a mandrel and explained the process, people were enthralled and many were even inclined to buy!
This was really the official launch of Lush Buttons, their first outing in front of a predominantly knitty/stitchy crowd instead of jewellery makers.
The buttons were very much admired and I sold lots of them - partly due to my latest Bright Idea ... simply adding a brooch back to a 2 hole feature button to make an instant easy-to-wear Art Glass Button Brooch, cool!
This was the first time I have done a 'shell scheme' show and I have to say a big Thank You to Rachel Elliott for her advice with how to furnish my stand. It was a far cry from the kind of show that I'm used to attending - where all I have to do is chuck a cloth over a table and lay out my beads!
The velcro walls were a revelation, it was so easy to display all my fantastic new artwork - thanks to Bob, my new photographer friend, and Paul of Malvern Imaging, both of whom worked with lightning speed and produced brilliant results! Oh and I mustn't forget my BFF who designed me some brilliant new tuition leaftlets - she knows who she is, and how much I love her ;0)
I really enjoyed meeting so many local craft lovers and making connections with local businesses. Hopefully my diary will soon be bursting with tuition and torch hire bookings for my shiny new studio ... about which I will blog properly very soon!
Wholesale button orders are starting to come in too, with 3 display stands expected to be appearing in bricks and mortar shops shortly - I shall add links to new stockists as soon as they are finalised.
In my January post I set a competition to win an Adjustable Bracelet Kit (oops, I was meant to draw the winner on 9th Feb!)
"on how many pages in Making Jewellery Magazine issue 24, does a Lush
Lampwork item appear?"
So the answer was higher than most people thought - including me!! I originally thought my items turned up on 9 pages, then somebody told me 10, but in fact it was 11!
1. Top of front cover
2. Intro page 1
3. Page 3 (a tiny pic, this is the one that caught most people out!)
4/5. Bracelet tutorial pages 4 and 5
6. Colour & Style feature page 20
7. There's that front cover again on page 58
8/9. Lampwork tutorial pages 70 and 71
10/11. Product review pages 82 and 83
See, I really was All Over Making Jewellery Magazine!
Thanks to everybody who entered - I put your name into the winning draw if you guessed 9, 10 or 11 - then used a Random Number Generator to select the winner.
And the winner is .... Rita!
Congratulations Rita, an email is on its way :0)
