Latest Pebble Sets

   Here are some of the latest pebble bead sets that I have made, they are listed in my Etsy shop,  https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/pebbledreams  these beads are special to me because as most of you know I find the world of glitter and bling of no interest. My aim in bead making is to produce the more natural looking bead, the bead that has beauty without having to sparkle. I find it amazing how some people lust after the glitz and manufactured glamour that seems to command attention these days, when every day they walk past designs made by the greatest creator of all, mother nature and it is her amazing designs that really interest me.

   From an early age the natural world as been an infatuation of mine, from those snail shells I would collect in the garden, to the beautiful smooth pebbles picked from the beach on day trips, it all had an appeal that I still today find hard to explain. So I guess it was only natural that when I took up bead making the fancy pretty glam beads, busy with sparkle, flowers and gold stone would not appeal to me. Instead my first thoughts were around stone and wood effects, I soon found that by letting the glass and my flame mix and move the way they choose was producing the most stunning results, yes of course I had to make additions to the glass with metals and silver but they made the magic and very soon each morning became one of excitement when it came to opening my kiln door, a feeling I still experience today.

  

Magic Of The Fens

   This morning I found myself in a magical world that only the fens in winter can produce, around each bend in the road was another stunning picture of the fens at their very best, frozen, mysterious and totally raw.

   People have labelled me mad for going out in such cold conditions, but I answer with a smile and continue churning out the miles, for only I know how fitter I now feel, only I remember how much of an effort it was to do just simple chores and if cycling every day in all weathers helps my life improve then cycle I will.

   I was going to my torch today but instead I have spent a few hours having a good tidy in the barn, I guess I get carried away in my work at times and neglect the discarded rod ends, tools and bead design sketches that are scattered over the work benches, so it was time to start being a little more organized.
   I have been asked by a few people if I could post about the set up I have, the equipment and tools I use and the types of glass I use, so I'll get that sorted in the next few days.

Peace and Quiet

   It's just two days after Christmas and still the fens lay quiet, this morning my cycle ride took me through sun lit arable acres and along the great man-made drains of the marsh lands, with the clear cold air making cycling a real pleasure. After the strong winds of the last two days it was nice to enjoy a less strenuous couple of hours, giving more time to observe the water fowl and the hint of early morning frost that lingered in every patch of shade.

   With the new year fast approaching I have only a handful of days left before I have to up the miles I cycle, I have promised myself that this coming summer I will cycle back to my home village in Hertfordshire, which is from my door to the center of Ashwell, 50 miles. I know to most who road cycle this would be an easy ride that they would undertake every weekend, but to someone who is carrying the weight of two men it will be a big achievement, plus the training will I hope help me lose yet more weight than I have already.
   Tomorrow I'll be back at my torch though to be honest I did sneak in the barn yesterday to produce a few sets, guess this old bead maker is a glass addict, that's for sure.

Never Been Easy But It's My Life

   I know some people who have just found my blog were probably expecting a very different one, one of beads and more beads and I'm guessing some may be a little disappointed that this is not the case, but I'd like to thanks those who have messaged me telling me how much they have enjoyed reading the past posts. While I love my job and adore working with my flame, I also love the countryside in which I live, I love the village life, it was what I was born to and after having some really tough times I now enjoy every day as best I can, trying to include this in the posts I publish.
   When I first started making beads, like many others I became involved in bead groups, I sold at bead fairs and I entertained buyers here at my studio. But after a while I began to find the politics and all round way of life more and more uninteresting, yes I wanted to earn a living selling my beads, but having to befriend people just so that they may buy was not something I enjoyed and sadly many bead makers did and still do such things. So I began to keep myself to myself, I enjoyed working away in my own little world playing with the magic that only glass and fire can produce and what others were making never really excited me. I was never a follower, I wanted to walk the small lanes of learning rather than jumping upon the big highway grabbing hold of the latest fad like the majority of bead makers, I knew it was a risk keeping to myself but it was what I loved, every morning opening my kiln was a treat, some days I was disappointed,others I was thrilled by the results I saw, but most of all every time that kiln door opened I was looking at beads that started as my ideas and that was and still is important to me.

   So if your looking for just a bead blog, well I'm sure there are lots out there, if your looking for a blog which tells of the everyday life and feelings of a bead maker who as experienced the good and bad of the bead world and who choose to be different, then your at the right place. I can't promise every post will be super interesting of indeed exciting but I can promise they will be truthful, so to all those who have just found the blog, welcome, please feel free to comment on any post and I hope you enjoy the coming posts.
 

Great News

  At last I'm allowed to talk about the great news I've had concerning my beads, they are to be used in the coming new Dr Who series this spring, they are to be worn along with pendant in episode 9, so as you can imagine I'll be watching, hoping I see them.
   After so many years working in my little fenland studio I feel really lucky that somebody has chosen to used my beads in such a public way, every bead maker dreams of his or her beads being used in this way and I guess lady luck for once picked me.

   Today I make my yearly Christmas trip back home to Ashwell, the village of my childhood and the home of my family, the car is loaded with fen produce and Christmas fare, Christmas cards are ready to deliver and this little village boy has that special feeling that only Ashwell can bring to him.

Misty Start.

   Awaiting this bead maker is a cool misty start to the day, once more I head off into the fens to cycle the morning miles, once a chore, now a welcome routine. I must admit the winter months are less enjoyable than those of mid summer and the dark evenings mean I miss out on late afternoon rides, but still the fen charm never fails to brighten the morning, wildlife around every bend and the water birds fill every drain, those tiny narrow oceans that cross the dark soiled land of East Anglia.
   It's been a long journey so far but the weight lose as certainly made  difference to my way of life, I feel myself again and chores seem so must easier, before everything was such an effort, I felt wrong, the healthy feelings had left me many years go and I was just really unaware of how unhealthy I was becoming. Now, well the thoughts of enjoying the coming spring and summer without locking myself away in the shade and exploring many parts of the fenland that I would have only reached by car, are good ones.

   I hope to update this blog more often as some people have mentioned how they miss reading it, so I'm sure there will be more pictures of my cycling trips and my unique little world of beads to come.

Dragon Tear Pendants

   The new dragon tear pendants are a big hit with customers, the feedback I'm getting on facebook and twitter is great, makes you feel proud when that happens. Ideal for summer or beach wear they look great hung on leather cord, even this old bead maker as been wearing one for the last week, very unique so you know you'll own the only one.

   Though turquoise is always a favourite with customers I feel the green works really well too, take a look see what you think. I'm enjoying trying out new designs and other pendants too, I hope in the next few weeks I'll be showing you more new items, fingers crossed they will become popular and people will be walking around wearing a piece of Rob Johnson glass.

Sunshine And Tudors

      A weekend full of warm summer sunshine and the second set of giant Tudor listed on Etsy  www.etsy.com/shop/pebbledreams what more could an old bead maker ask for. The weather over the last week really has been superb, the fens have turned into that lush green land that every Spring brings with it and my adventures with glass have produced some results that have pleased me to say the least.

   I managed to produce a second set of huge Tudor beads, this time in Amber and with a larger number of beads, I think I may be fast becoming an addict, I seem to be able to find enough time between other sets and focal's to produce a set a week, they are all to be listed in the Etsy shop where they can at least be seen even if they don't sell.

   After I finish this blog update I'll be heading off to cycle a few miles in the morning sun, the roads will be quiet by then after the morning rush and the fen breeze will be a perfect way to blow away the odd weekend cobweb or two.

Been Playing With Bubbles and Dots

   The past couple of weeks have been busy ones for this bead maker, I've been working my way through jobs on the cottage and beading in the evenings and odd full days, it's been long days but this wonderful early summer weather has made things a lot easier. Each bead making session I have made one or two very large beads for a set idea I had, it's just a design which included bubbles and dots, flat dots and raised as you can see in the below pictures but there is something about them I really like. The beads are made with a hole size of 4mm with the use of leather cord in mind, the design is a little Tudor looking so the fact they could be hung upon leather appeals to me.

   I was happy with the results yet I see I need more work to get them how I really want them, colours may change a lot but the lime is a reasonable starting point and one that I think works. Being so large in size means they are heavy as a set but maybe the lucky customer who obtained them will split the set and use a few at a time, ideal for beach ware perhaps.

   After searching through similar sets online and taking note of the prices charged I took a gamble and listed them in my Etsy shop, www.etsy.com/shop/pebbledreams and they were sold within 20 minutes, so I'm guessing I judged the price about right and the design is not far out either.

   The Ebay shop has lots of new spacer sets this week plus I'm about to list some encased silver glass orphan sets on auction, these I'm sure will be snapped up as they are so useful to jewellery makers.

Etsy Shop Growing

   In the last couple of weeks the etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/pebbledreams as really taken off, lots of new customers and the sales are building, it has taken a while but by building the stock I truly believe I did the right thing and even more items are being added every day. The feedback from some of the customers is wonderful and refreshing, it really does make all the effort worth while.
   By the end of this month I want to have around 200 items listed on etsy and so far I'm on target, yes I could have just gone wild and listed any and everything I made but I made up my mind that only the beads I think are first class were to be listed and that continues.

   This coming weekend will be a busy one for me, I intend to make more pebble sets like those above which were listed this morning, you all know by now these are the kind of beads I enjoy making alongside my focal's so it's no surprise they will be an addition to the shop.
   In the mean time there are still bead sets going on auction and 'buy it now' in my ebay store, plus more spacers.

One Armed Bead Maker

   After plastering the kitchen ceiling yesterday this old bead hermit is wielding a useless right arm, no way is my flame to burn on this day of February and to say my arm is stiff would be an understatement, for after a sleepless night still this morning it is of no use.
   With luck I will return to my torch tomorrow, in the meantime I have the bright winter sunshine to admire here in the fens, the feeling of winter's end is blowing in the breeze and thoughts of early spring enter my head. Huge water birds travel across the flat lands of the east this morning and Kestrel hover above the wide headlands hunting small vole and mice, on such days I feel grateful to live in such a wild natural part of the country.

   The new stock of focal's in the etsy shop are really doing well with sales growing every week, as most who follow my work know, my focal's are my favourite's, in these beads I seem to express my love for all that's natural and I'm very happy to say more new customers are also seemingly starting to enjoy them as much as I do in making them. With over 100 now listed and more being added each and every day I'm starting to feel the selection is growing towards the scale I wanted.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/pebbledreams

Sunny Morning and Flame Burning Bright.

Sunny Morning and Flame Burning Bright

   The flat lands are swimming in bright sunshine this morning and this old bead hermit is in his barn working with his glass, cold fingers turning mandrel but warm heart beating once more at the magic my flame is producing, oh how good it is to be back among the glass rods, frit bottles and spider webs.
   With a sea of snow drops outside the window and the yellow hinted buds of the fresh new daffodils littering the garden, how can one not be full of ideas, many trials of colour ahead me thinks.

I'm Back !

I'm Back!

 
   Well first of all I must say it's nice to be back in the barn making beads, for the last six months it's been a very busy time here, we have been working hard on the cottage, doing most of the work ourselves, brickwork, plastering, painting etc etc, but now I can get back to my love of glass.
   The first job I need to do is build up stock in both the etsy and ebay shops, the etsy shop is already over the 100 mark, mainly focals and the ebay shop will be built up over the next few weeks also, ideally I'm looking for around 200 items in both shops, sets, spacers and focal beads, I believe that the larger selection you present then the better the number of sales, simple really.
   The fens are looking rather dry for the time of year, where other parts of the country have floods we have been really lucky, as yet we have missed the really heavy rains but of course we have the gales and high winds, the fens wouldn't be the fens without the winds. So far no snow as arrived, last year we had just one small falling and so maybe this winter we will be snow free, though I must say I do enjoy snow, I'm like a big kid when it comes to the white stuff.
   Ok, back to my torch, sets to make for the ebay shop today for this old bead maker, enjoy your day and keep warm.