How Lampwork Beads are Made

To create glass beads, lampworkers melt narrow rods of colored glass with the flame of a propane/oxygen torch. The molten glass is wound around a mandrel, a thin length of stainless steel rod, coated with a clay substance, bead release, so the bead can be pulled from the mandrel. The space occupied by the mandrel becomes the hole through the bead.

Turning the mandrel and holding it in different positions allows gravity to help the bead take form. Tools are also used to push and pull glass into shape.

Lampworking is an art form that takes a great deal of practice and patience. A lampwork bead artist understands the glass, the torch and how much heat it takes for glass to flow. How much heat can be applied to a bead that's already shaped before it becomes molten again and loses shape, when to add decorative effects and how different colors of glass interact with each other.

How Lampwork Beads Are Stabilized

Glass shrinks as it cools. Bringing a bead out of the flame and leaving it in the open air allows the outside of the bead to cool rapidly, but its inside is still burning hot. The stress point between the cool, shrinking glass and the hot center begins to grow and can cause the bead to crack.

To prevent stress and cracks, all my beads are “Kiln Annealed”.

Kiln Annealing is a process of "soaking" the beads at a high temperature to make sure that all glass within them is evenly heated. The bead temperature is then slowly reduced in the kiln, bringing the beads to room temperature. Any handcrafted glass beads you buy should all be kiln annealed.

Lampwork Beads

I use Effetre, Vetrofond, and/or Lauscha glasses and all of my beads are annealed in a computer controlled kiln for strength and durability. Lampwork beads are glass and no amount of annealing can prevent any glass object from breaking or chipping if handled improperly (throwing, hammering, dropping from high places, etc..). Bead colors may differ slightly due to differences in monitor settings.