Fine Handmade Lampwork Glass Beads and Jewelry by PolychromeBeads

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Fine Handmade Lampwork Glass Beads and Jewelry

Welcome To PolychromeBeads's Shop

Hello everyone. My name is Aimée Milan, and I am a self-representing artist and have been making glass beads for about eleven years now. I have been an artist for much, much longer (don't even ask how long - it might give away my age!). My beads are made using a technique called "lampworking". The glass is melted in a VERY VERY hot flame and "wound" onto a metal rod, called a mandrel, that has previously been coated with a clay-like substance called a release. When all the decoration is finished the bead, still on the mandrel and still very hot, is placed into a 965-degree kiln to "anneal" overnight. This allows the glass to get to the same temperature throughout, and then cool down slowly to prevent cracking. Beads that are not annealed can be little "time bombs" waiting to crack!

I also have a website, www.polychromebeads.com, where you will find links to my auctions, gallery pages of past work, and my bloggy ramblings!