April Monthy Blog Topic - Lampwork and ???

Time for another monthly blog topic for the FHFteam blog!
This month's question is

Which jewellery materials do you think pair best with artisan lampwork?

Here's what the team members had to say:

By GaysieMay

GaysieMay: Now this is a tricky one.  I do love to see bright and shiny silver all tumbled and glistening, but then again oxidised and blackened looks good too.  Then there is copper, now copper that has been patinated just sings against certain lampwork beads...

... no I really can't decide!  I just love jewellery and I just love lampwork beads. 

Helbels: Personally I love sterling silver, but I have also seen some beautiful bracelets with slim slices of mother of pearl, and some lovely work with seed beeds too.


Chameleon Designs:  Personally I love lampwork with Silver, both sterling and fine / metal clay. I have seen some gorgeous work done with lampwork and textiles, silk ribbons or leather thongs but there is just something about silver for me.

HelenPetersBeads: Silver works well with most beads as it's 'white' so will naturally go with any colour combination of beads so it's my go to metal. But for particular colours of beads, mainly the blues and greens copper works well, and some of the rosy tones of glass would look great with the rosy copper; then there's brass, all those nimobium (or however it's spelt) coloured jumprings which you can use to make short sections of chain maile to colour co-ordinate with your beads. Then we get onto the dyed leather and other textiles. There's so much to choose from and so many different ways to use them that what started out as a simple answer has turned awfully complicated.

TwirlyBeads: I love sterling silver too.....it just seems to go so well with lampwork beads.  Colour co-ordinated leather looks good, along with silvered ceramic washers for a cheaper alternative.  I like swarovski's for a bit of sparkle and I also like adding semi-precious stones too. 

NemeaDesigns: Only the best will do for lampwork beads. That will be silver and vermeil (gold if I could afford it) and lots and lots and lots of Swarovski Elements (as we must call them now!)

MadCatGlass: Silver and copper both have their own beautiful look, depending on the colour of beads they're teamed with, I think

I do adore fibre with glass though ... it just adds so much more interest on a textural ( is that a word ?) level.

JosephineWadman: Pearls, semi precious stones, Swarovski's and sterling and Hilltribe silver are my favourites.

VeeBeads: I love finding semi precious stones that match, sometimes it's a real challenge! Silver, copper, swarovski, seed beads and pearls are my favourites, and I have Diane's lovely silk ribbons which I'm tending to hoard, I don't want to cut them up! But they do look stunning with l ampwork 




 

By jowalker68

Monthly Blog Topic - Feb Part 2

Welcome to the first post of Monthly Blog Topics, where Frit-Happens Forum team members share their thoughts on random questions about beads, glass and jewellery.

This month's question was:

What do you love most about lampwork beads (making or using them)?

Here's what some of our members had to say - come back next Wednesday to read more members' thoughts on the brilliance of lampwork!

helbels: I like the fact that they are difficult to make, that you could make them for 100 years and still not know all there is to know. I like the fact that the glass is unpredictable, that things never come out the way you want them to, and that you have to put in hours of practice in order to be good.

A lot of those things might put people off, but they all appeal to the perfectionist in me. On a bad day, the sheer difficulty of making lampwork drives me crazy, but ultimately, it's the same difficulty that holds my attention and keeps me coming back again, and again.


HelenJewellery: I love the immediacy of glass. It truly captures a moment, because it isn't work you can just pick up or put down whenever you want. Thats what makes it so special for me.

BlueKilnBeads: I like the way that glass responds differently for each person.  Two people can try to make the same design, a flower for example, using the same colours but the resulting beads will be very different.   Some makers are better at organic styles while others are better at more uniform designs. 

The possibilities are endless with glass be it shape, colour, design, size ......  That is why it is so absorbing and addictive.


NemeaDesigns: As a jewellery maker, I love using glass for its versatility. From soft glass to boro, I am always amazed at the colours that are produced. Combine this with the surface effect: glossy, etched, with fine silver glass, murrini. The possibilities are endless!

But what makes artisan glass truly special to me is the people who use it. It makes me very proud, when selling a piece, to be able to tell my customer something about the person who made the beads. It makes the piece of jewellery really special and the person who buys it feel involved in the process. You can't do this with gemstones!


DolmairicDesign: I started with silver chain maille....then I bought glass beads and fused pendants to go with the chains....then I started fusing myself....and then I stumbled upon Frit Happens! and bead making. Since then there has been less and less jewellery making, and more and more bead making. The tale speaks for itself  Apart from the immediate result from melting and finishing a bead in the fire, I find the thought that that these little pieces of craft/art are able to survive for thousands of years fascinating.


---------------------------

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this question - pop your answers down in the comment box below :)