About Beads

The process of lampworked glass beads involves using a torch to wind hot glass from rods around a steel mandrel. The mandrel is what makes the hole through the center of the bead. Lampworkers use a wide array of tools to help manipulate the glass into different shapes. These tools also help to manipulate the different colors applied to the hot bead to decorate the bead with different designs. All of our beads are kiln annealed to produce a bead that is strong and stable and will not crack from internal stress that builds up within the glass while it is being created and then cooled. The process of kiln annealing glass beads allows the molecules of the glass to “rest” back into a comfortable pattern during a slow cooling. Regardless of who you buy lampworked glass beads from, you should always ask the artist if their beads are kiln annealed. Any other process of annealing glass beads is normally not sufficient to relieve the stress within the bead and increases the risk that your bead may someday crack for no apparent reason.

If you see a bead pictured on this website that you are interested in or that you would like to have made for you in a different coloration please e-mail us. We will be happy to do a custom piece or individual bead for you. All of the beads you see on this website may not be in stock at a given time because we do sell through a variety of venues on a regular basis. However, we can recreate a design you see if that particular bead has been sold. Please understand that each of these small works of art has it's own unique characteristics and yours may vary slightly from the exact bead pictured as it will have it's own special features and be your one of a kind piece. We are happy to e-mail you a picture of the piece first if it is not the exact piece pictured.

What Lampwork Beads Look Like

Hand crafted glass beads can be as plain or as decorative as the artist likes. Multiple layers of glass are often used, switching colors to create the desired look. Small dots of color can be left as bumps on the bead's surface or plunged into the center where they form floral-like designs. Fine lines are possible when craftspeople work with tiny rods of glass -- kind of like painting with a glass paintbrush.

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 often causes the bead to crack.

To prevent stress and cracks, beads are cooled in a kiln, where temperatures can be closely regulated. The beadmaker "soaks" the beads at a high temperature to make sure that all glass within them is evenly heated, then takes several hours to slowly reduce the heat to bring beads to room temperature. The process is called kiln annealing, and it's important to make sure that the handcrafted glass beads you buy from craftspeople are kiln annealed.

Tiny glass beads are sometimes cooled between layers of insulation. It's not the same as annealing, but the process is usually successful because it helps small amounts of glass cool at the same rate.

Hollow Lampwork Beads

A hollow lampwork bead is made by trapping a bubble of air within glass. As the bead is turned round and round at the torch, the air bubble inside the bead expands, leaving a hollow center.

Hollow Glass Vessels

Beadmakers sometimes make hollow vessels by forming a steel wool shape around the end of a mandrel. Glass is wound around the shape, then gaps are coaxed shut to make a solid surface. The artist continues to add glass to build the vessel and create the envisioned shape.

The steel wool is not removed until after the vessel is kiln annealed. Some lampwork artists use rubber plugs at the top of the vessel and some make tiny glass plugs to close them so that they can safely hold essential oils or other liquids.