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.