Well-the sea glass festival is almost here. As one who never does shows, this has been a challenge. When I finally was sure that I was actually accepted in the festival--June--I began diligently building my inventory so that I would have enough to make a respectable showing. All this in addition to maintaining inventory on the website. During this time of inventory building I have also expanded my interests and "skills"--I have fallen in love with lampworking. As I explained it to my daughter, I feel I have finally come full circle. My interest in beads has been long standing--I've collected antique beads for more than 30 years. When I began making jewelry about 8 years ago, I wouldn't consider including any of my collected beads because I was sure no one but me could appreciate how special they were--why waste them? I guess I still feel that way or maybe I'm just selfish but I still don't want to share any of my collected pieces just yet. The interest in lampworking isn't really new--I've loved each and every lampwork bead in my collection --But I have recently begun to make a few of my own. Very enjoyable and now I have a supply of beads that I can part with as I incorporate them into my sea glass jewelry. My lampwork has taken an exciting turn--I have begun to use sea glass for my lampwork beads. I have used some of the pieces that are not suitable for jewelry--with breaks and unfrosted edges and such. Many of you may not know it but here on the Mid Atlantic Coast, I'm lucky if one piece in 100 is JQ (jewelry quality) The percentage is much better with my glass that I find on Bermuda and Puerto Rico but I still have thousands of pieces of sea glass that I will probably never use for anything. So, now I have found a way to use them. This way I am able to exactly compliment the sea glass used in a jewelry piece with the lampworked beads in exactly the same color. My regular customers have been the first to see the new look and have loved them!! I will be showing these pieces at the Sea Glass Festival later this month but here is a sneak preview.... I'm sure it won't be long before someone else "comes up with" the same idea-just remeber, you saw it here first!!
