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Welcome New Members!
Welcome to all the ISGB members who joined in April:
Arizona
Patricia Basto
California
Marcia Page
Barbara Birbeck
Claudia Wreyford
Japan
Brenda Stander
Maine
Cate Lamb
Michigan
Roy Kapp
Val Oswalt
New Jersey
Sandra Lupo
Ohio
Mary Lockwood
Virginia
Jennifer Wicks
Wisconsin
Sally Wilmeth
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Rakow Research Library
A world of glass knowledge is at your fingertips. Check out the Rakow Research Library at Corning Museum of Glass!
Click Here
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Bead Release Archives
Looking for a back issue of the Bead Release electronic newsletter?
Click Here!
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Contact Us ISGB Sarah Riggle, Administrator 85 East Gay Street Suite 707 Columbus, OH 43215 614.222.2243 admin@isgb.org :: |
 Use your creativity to help a child through a tough time.
Beads of Courage! |
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President's Message
by Angie Ramey, President
Greetings, Everyone!
As we turn the calendar on another month, I've really been pondering the theme of our conference for 2015...."Forging Connections, Celebrating Community"....and all that those words really mean. I feel so blessed to be part of such an accepting and welcoming community of artists and craftspeople. Our membership is made up of all levels of glassworkers from beginners to flameworkers with decades of experience, yet ISGB somehow manages to provide something of value for all of them. And the connections we make with one another through a shared artistic journey often give us the gift of friendships that last throughout our lifetime even as those friends drift from the glass world into other creative outlets and back again. It is with great sadness that we must say farewell to one of those lasting friends and a valued member of ISGB. On April 21st, one of our treasured East Central regional members, Annmarie Frances (Stanesa), lost her battle with cancer, and I asked her friend and East Central RD, Kiersten Kern, to share a few words about Annmarie and the lasting legacy that she leaves in our community.
"Annmarie Frances (Stanesa) started lampworking in 2006 after working in the corporate world for over 20 years. She worked with both soft glass and boro and recently became inspired by the complexity of sculptural work, making it her latest focus. Annmarie was active in Beads of Courage and donated on a regular basis. In 2013 she hosted the Beads of Courage Bead Challenge for Michigan.
During her treatments at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, she continued to lampwork and teach. She even made "Healing Hearts" that are glass pocket hearts that she gave to other patients and caregivers at the center. Her goal was to inspire others to appreciate all things glass.
Annmarie was one of the most positive people you could know, her smile would light up a room and everyone who knew her will miss her."
Please keep Annmarie's family and friends in your thoughts, and remember to treasure the connections in your life each and every day.
-Angie
Angie Ramey, President
International Society of Glass Beadmakers
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"Showing" Off Your Beads!
by Lisa Liddy District Director
Bead shows are obviously a great way to sell your beads and get your name out into the public, but how to display them to the best advantage? So many options, so many beads...let's look at it from a few perspectives.
Audience
You want to showcase the beads that appeal best to the audience for a particular show. Do your homework. Are the buyers there for collectibles, sets, focals, bargains? Get your bestsellers front and center. Add the supporting cast to fill in. If the buyers are likely on a budget or not familiar with handmade glass beads, then putting your highest-priced beads out front may stop them from looking closely at your "bread and butter" items. If the majority of the buyers are looking for collectibles and art beads, then get those in the forefront and put the sets and bargains off to the side.
Space
There's never enough space! And yet, there is. It's just how you use that space. With jewelry, I always count on layering and multiple-height displays. It's much the same logic with beads. If you can, use table risers to add height to tables or request taller tables; keep your buyers from having to bend down. Build up to catch the attention of the buyer two rows over...they'll never see your stuff unless they are right in front of you if it's all on one level Obviously you have to display for stability, but check out Joy Munshower's taller focal display or Marcy Lamberson's "tree" displays...both great examples of eye catchers. And if you're beads are the size of Ali VandeGrift's, then you can probably see them from the parking lot!
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| | Marcy Lamberson's Display |
Avoid putting out too much stock (advice that I struggle with each and every show... "what if a piece that isn't out could sell?"). I'll say it again, avoid putting out too much stock. Visual overload causes many people to just shut down and give up on the idea of buying anything. If you have multiples of a style/color, don't put all of them out at once. Leave some to fill in after you sell. Plus having only on or two of the PERFECT PURPLE focal feeds that sense of urgency not to wait to buy it (or is that just me?). As a buyer, if I see 20 of the same or very similar beads (we're not talking sets), I'm going to hold off on my purchase til I get further through a show...and I may not make it back. But, if there's only one, the perception is "get it now...it's not going to last." The contradiction to this advice is when you've got beads that make a huge impact in a bowl together ...check out how Aja Vaz and Kris Schaible group their beads. Simple, but big "statement."
Keep the overall layout simple. Do a trial run before the show using space that matches the table size you have to work with. Cut out paper placeholders for your displays or photos of previous groupings that you print to size. Pretend you're moving furniture around a dollhouse and get that perfect layout before you get to the show. Then take photos with your cellphone that you can refer to while you are setting up. You'll cut your set-up time down and you won't be likely to forget to put a whole display grouping out! Some of my favorite bead displays were Kimberly Affleck's iconic seahorses place on trays of rice or beans...Holly Cooper's bead display uses simple holders on a tablecloth. Less is more.
Lighting
You probably need additional lighting for most indoor venues. If a room has great lighting, that's a bonus, but often it is miles above you. And what if you're placed in a hallway or other nook/cranny section of a smaller boutique type venue? Lack of lighting could mean lack of audience. Small lamps that a) travel well and b) focus some light on your work are a great investment. IKEA has ones that can practically be called "throwaway," but they do the job.
So these are just one person's suggestions to consider. Not the "book" on show displays, but rather a short excerpt.
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Building a New Studio!
by Kristina Logan
It is sometimes hard for me to believe that I have been making beads for twenty five years, but I turned fifty this year so the math must be right. Bead making out of my Volkswagen van and traveling from show to show feels like a long time ago. I haven't planned on any specific celebration to mark my twenty fifth year of production, but it is nice timing that this year I am moving into a new studio space. I have loved every studio that I have worked in (including the van), but my excitement is as high as ever for my next studio move.
My first stationary studio was in a 1900's brick mill called "The Henschel Building" that once made nautical equipment (think ships' telegraphs, instruments, foghorns and bells) in Amesbury, Massachusetts. It was a huge building, and I had a partitioned space in the corner of the top floor. The studio had high ceilings with huge windows on all sides. When I started there, I had just graduated with an art degree and was also working for a local glass artist. My factory style studio made me feel on top of the world, and I was very happy there. I made beads and taught classes there for 6 years. I only decided to leave the building and relocate my studio when I bought a tall, narrow 1880s house north of Amesbury in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In Portsmouth, I settled my studio into the basement space of my victorian home. Once I moved out the mothballs and painted every possible surface white, I grew comfortable there making beads. The physical change in space was a difficult transition, but I loved working from home, and I have been happy and productive in my cozy studio for the past 18 years. Since I expanded from bead making and jewelry to also do pāte de verre and cold work, I have looked for ways to find more space.     Last fall I set my sights on the little garage in my back yard. It was more of a shed than a garage and with little foundation, it was listing heavily to one side. I began drawing, dreaming, and planning for a new studio on that site. Before any manual work could take place, I had to go to Portsmouth City Hall and begin the logistical journey of piles paper work. It took about 4 months to design the building, hire surveyors, file forms, and pay application fees. After meeting with the historic, conservation, and zoning boards and the building department, I was finally given permission to break ground on my new fifteen by thirty foot building. Demolition began in September. Excavation was surprisingly thrilling to me. Like my seven year old son, I was very excited about having an excavator in my back yard. I also discovered that New Hampshire is named the Granite State for a good reason. We hit ledge and the footing for the studio became a little more involved. Huge masses of dirt were moved, forms were set in place, and cement was poured. The plans became a reality.  
  So far, I have loved the process of the build. I like demolition, hauling debris to the recycling center, hastily cutting back forsythia bushes when a cement truck can't quite pull in, watching tubing for radiant floor heat being set, and handing off a nail gun to someone who really knows how to use it. Mostly, I stand by and watch the work being done, and keep on working in the basement studio. We raced against the weather and the studio was "buttoned up" against the cold with roof and windows just in time for the many feet of New England snow. The January snow and cold brought construction to a stand still, but work has begun again now that the white patches have finally melted away. I am eagerly starting the interior work. The new space will be large enough for the torch, metal work, and casting, and I will now have enough room for workshops!
Stay tuned for the next phases in the project!
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Industry News & Opportunities
Kendra Bruno, Executive Director
AmazonSmile benefits ISGB and as an Amazon customer, you can select our organization. Support ISGB while you shop!
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HOT TIPS
By Kiersten Kern
Encasing Boro by Rashan Jones Boro is the same all over but everyone's work styles are different. I urge everyone to continue to do their own Research & Development. There are lots more resources available these days; YouTube, FB groups, etc., but the best feedback you'll ever get will be from your own two hands. A really good way to insure a clean opal encasement is to clean your glass AND your opal. I prefer ISO alcohol for both. A quick wipe down of the glass and soak your opal for a moment as well. Then use tweezers to drop it into the tube to avoid contaminating it with finger oils. Have a handy tip, fun technique, or helpful bit of advice for your fellow beadmakers? Share the knowledge! Email Kiersten here. Thanks!
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