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Tuesday 31 August 2010

Most Wanted! Best of the Best of the FHFteam

Most Wanted! Best of the Best of the FHFteam A stunning treasury showing the "most hearted" items in the shops of the FHFteam members on Etsy - a collective of very talented lampwork bead makers and other glass artists from the UK and Europe, curated by

helbels


Monday 30 August 2010

Sunday 29 August 2010

Featured Artist - Dawn Price


Dawn's Bead Boutique


Well, where on earth do I start, I suppose I'll have to go back a bit first!

My name is Dawn and I'm from Wirral, Cheshire. I'm married to my love Lewis, and have two lovely kids. I'm lucky enough to have my studio in the garden, a very spacious large shedio just for me.

For years I have been searching for something I could do that would use my creative skills and make a career out of it. Once the kids both start school next year I hope to achieved my goal, it won't make me rich, but at least I'll be happy!

The creative streak goes way, way back. I was top at school for art, so off I went to art college, I did fine art, ceramics which I adored, enamelling, and the boaring bit - history of art. I was a good artist, but hated art school. Then I got into horses, owning them and getting a job in a saddlery shop, I soon learnt the art of saddlery. Life took over and I put the tools down permantly. The arty side was never far away though, I tinkered with polymer clay, something else I adore and am planning a return to very soon. Then came jewellery making, card making, back to jewellery making. One day, when I was searching for books I came across Cindy Jenkins book on making lampwork beads.....you can guess the rest!

Artist on the edge.....

This featured artist thing has come at a very odd time for me, I am indeed an artist on the edge. I did beads up north not so long ago and stood admiring my work, it suddenly stuck me, I was never going to have work like that again, you see I feel everything I have done so far has just been learning how to make beads, but not work I can call my style. Then the other day I was telling a customer about my work, that I like doing dots and twists and what I had been doing in the past when a thought stopped me in my tracks, the dots, the twists, the pokes, it's like a complusion to mess up the glass, I LOVE TEXTURE. Then I knew why, ceramics, polymerclay, saddlery, carving, wood carving, power carving. It's all about hand applied TEXTURE! It's like a bomb has gone off in my head.

Early beads with twists......

More beads with dots and twists......

My favourite beads.....

See what I mean! these are typical beads for me, these bead sets typically are all made along the same lines.

The work that follows shows more recent beads, that are typical of what I like to do.......florals and silver glass, more dots!




Artist over the edge......

But the winds of change are a blowing and whipping up a storm, you see on top of the texture revelation somes another realisation, that I have come full circle. Two years of making beads has taught me how to make beads, now I have this desire express and create my own, not just make, if you see what mean. This work is me on the way.......I'm starting to explore colour, teamed up with the theame 60's flower power. I'm also exploring chinese knotting.......... there will be a lot more of this to come......


And beyond........

Two nights ago I shocked my self. You see I was ill, and still in a quandry about what to make with my head still in bits, so I just picked up a rod and thought I'll have a go a horses head pendant, well I made a horses head, not a pendant, a head. It has ears, eyes, neck, cheeks, nostrils, it has details, and it is most definitly a horses head. I have never made one in glass, I have in clay, and I have painted them countless times, but not in glass. I know I can do better still, and I will.

My Dawn Horse...
Well, I'm now over the edge and into the next chapter, so whats next. Sculpural horse beads, pendants for sure, flower power and big bold bright beads that reflect the 60's hippy chick look. It's going to be fun and fab. Do check back, because this journey is going to be fun.

Love all,

Dawn, Lampwork Artist.

Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/dawnsbeadboutique
Website: http://dawnsbeadboutique.co.uk/

Pick of the week - I Heart U

A Little Blue by LushLampwork



Heart of Gold glass tag necklace by flyingcheesetoastie



Fused Heart Bling Ring by DolmairicDesigns



Forget-me-not Chintz by JosephineWadman



Venus on Fire by Shineon2



Blue love bracelet by jowalker98



Swirly Heart fused glass Coaster pair by helenbluefairy



I Heart U FHFteam 2010

Enjoy, Jolene.

Tuesday 24 August 2010

Little boy blue by helbels

Little Boy Blue

A treasury featuring some wonderful silver rich-beads by the FHFteam - all in shades of blue and green, curated by

helbels



Monday 23 August 2010

Pick of the week - Maple syrup

Copper Cored Big Hole Lampwork Bead by dilunah



Maple sunshine by flyingbead



Sublime delights by sublimebeads



Hot lava fused pendant by helenbluefairy



Moorland Haze by SarahDownton



A selection of golden sweet tones, the ambrosia of summer sunshine captured in glass. FHFteam 2010

Enjoy, Jolene.

Saturday 21 August 2010

Meet The Team

I thought it was high time that we FHFteam admin volunteers introduced ourselves (mug shots and all!). We keep things ticking over by doing all sorts of administrative tasks, trouble shooting with technical stuff and the general kicking around of promotional ideas for FHFteam.

Jolene Wolfe


Billie Jean Little

My name is Billie, I am a self-representing artist handcrafting flameworked glass beads in my home studio in France. As well as UK publications, my work has been featured in Step by Step Beads magazine (collaborative piece with Lynn Davy/Nemeton), and can be seen on pages 46 and 125 of the Kimberley Adams/Michele Sauvelle published book - Verre et Flame: Creation de Perles de Verre. I sell my work predominantly through The Art of Good Taste gallery in Limpertsberg, Luxembourg and on Etsy. I am SRA and SRAJD registered, and a member of GBUK. As well as being a glass artist, I am mum to two beautiful girls - Daisy (aged 6) and Ruby (aged 4), wife to James, and carer of two house rabbits - Twinkle and Lulu. www.billiejeanlittle.etsy.com


Julie Haveland-Beer

Three little people call me Mummy. Some friends call me Jules. But most people call me simply Julie :D I speak with an accent, and probably type with one too - it originates from the beautiful west coast of Norway. In 1996 I married a true Devonian, and we live in Westward Ho!, where every day I wake up to the sight and changing moods of the Atlantic Ocean.

I started bead making two years ago, after several years of creating jewellery using chain maille techniques, PMC and fusing. When Jolene initiated the Frit Happens! Etsy street team last year I saw that as a great opportunity, opened an Etsy Shop and joined.

My main admin duties within the team have been to help with the layout of the team blog and making sure all our members’ Etsy shops are linked to it. I have also assisted our members in setting up twitter and hootsuite to work for them.


Emma Mackintosh

I'm Emma, I live in the heart of the Lake District with my partner, several rapidly growing-up children, cats and ducks. I am a lampwork artist working with borosilicate glass to produce beads, knobs, cabochons and other items. My work has become increasingly sculptural and off-mandrel and my aim is always to produce work that is useful in some way as well as looking good. One of my lampwork knobs was featured in the Flow Magazine Spring edition gallery, having won second place in the Glass Challenge Sept/Oct 2009, and my work is for sale through Etsy and from my website, www.theflyingbead.co.uk



Jolene Wolfe

My name is Jolene, though most people call me Jo and I have been smitten with lampworking since June 2007. I think of myself as a tame pyromaniac. In April 2008 I took a week long class with Sally Carver and Diana East, July 2009 a class with Dora Schubert and in April this year I spent two days on a glass master class with Andrea Guarino.

My Daughter Ruby arrived in September 2008 and she totally changed the direction of how I approach lampwork. I often feed my addiction to melting glass by making twisties, shards and murrini, projects that could be picked up and put down to suit baby nap times. my website for glasswork is www.kitzbitzartglass.com I do also make beads sometimes which I sell on Etsy I am expecting our second baby in October this year.

I started FHFteam last year after seeing that there were quite a few people on Frit Happens! who were interested in belonging to an Etsy Street Team and now my jobs for the team involve general admin tasks, new member info and managing the FHFteam Etsy Hub Page.

I also do a lot of blogging about the team and run the team twitter feed.


Rachel Elliot

My name is Rachel and I have been working with glass since 2000. I have a degree in it from Edinburgh College of Art, graduating in 2007, although it took another 18 months before I bit the bullet and went into business for myself with my own studio in January 2009. There are very few glass disciplines I have not tried and I've even mastered a couple of them too! The studio is mainly equipped for kiln work with a few torches thrown in for flamey fun. My work can be found in various exhibitions in the UK and sometimes abroad, with details of current events on my website and I also sell from my Etsy shop too. My website also has details of any workshops I'm teaching as well as my CV, which has full details of all my past glassy deeds, if that's of interest!

My role within the FHFTeam is basically living in the world of Facebook and helping others to use it to full advantage with various easy yet effective activities. I'm also happy to help in any way I can with all things glassy having a knack for being able to troubleshoot my way out of most problems!



Lynn Davy

I'm Lynn and I make things out of beads - mostly tiny seed beads. I love lampwork and use lots of 'lampies' in my designs, although I'm too much of a wimp to torch myself ::) Colour is my 'thing', preferably lots of colours put together in an interesting and possibly random way, although recently I've been experimenting with more monochrome and structural ideas too. I've had quite a few projects published in various beading magazines since 2006, with more in the pipeline, and I sell tutorials, kits and the occasional piece of finished beadwork at www.etsy.com/shop/nemeton. This year I made it into the finals of the US 'Bead Dreams' competition for the first time, and was a finalist in the Ugly Necklace Contest for the fourth time in a row - kind of 'from the sublime to the ridiculous'! But that just about sums up my approach to beading ;D



George Harper

I'm George - not Bob - and I'm primarily a metalsmith and mailler. I work with mainly with silver, but with other metals too, but have a passion for glass and love to combine it with other materials.

I worked in advertising for nearly 20 years before having my daughter, and wanted to get back to making things with my hands, which led me through paper and mixed media to metal and beads. As well as making jewellery, I make a range of specialist findings for other designers and makers, with many created especially to compliment lampwork beads. I sell on Etsy and through my own website www.designedbygeorge.co.uk and I am hugely proud to be the inaugural chairman of the Guild of Jewellery Designers
Making lampwork beads is my hobby - I don't make beads to sell, and don't really want to, but I do occasionally sneak a few of my own beads into finished jewellery.

Sunday 15 August 2010

Pick of the week - Jade, Teal, Aqua, Sky and Baby

Jade Goddeess bead by sublimebeads



lilypond lampwork bead lentil set by helbels



Lampwork bead set by redsbeads



Blue Horn by flyingbead



Lilaea by josephinewadman



Delicious cool colours from FHFteam 2010

Enjoy, Jolene.

Sunday 8 August 2010

Pick of the week - Forget-me-not

My Old China Blue/Purple by cheekycherubdesigns



Wine bottle stopper - Viviane by flyingbead



Blue Bell Blooms by rainlilybeads



Red Rose Pendant by flyingcheesetoastie



Little blue flowers lampwork bead set by Beadbabies1



Stunning blue florals from some of our talented artists FHFteam 2010

Enjoy, Jolene.

Monday 2 August 2010

Pick of the week - Simplicity

Tumbled porcelain goddess bead by cgsbeads



Frosted Glamour Focal by shineon2



Paisley focal bead by chameleonsdesigns



3D white flower pendant by steampunkglass



Easter Island Moai Head Totem by flyingcheesetoastie



Pink frit swirlers mini set by SarahDownton




Creating pure elegance is far from simple. FHFteam 2010

Enjoy, Jolene.