Lampworkers

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "Christina Peterson" :

]It sounds like the distinction would be artists' beads and product beads. ]Though of course both catagories include good stuff and substandard stuff. ]Another distinction would be puchases from the makers and purchases for a ]lot (some mass or number) of handmade beads from distributors. That would ]include Indian beads and Venetian hand blown beads.

i think, *from my pov*, i like the "artist" and "artisan" distinctions. i'll have to go back and work on that page again later tonight. thanks.

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from Deirdre S. :

]There is a range of quality in each of the proposed categories. And it ]isn't easy to find good stuff based -only- on its category. ] ]Does that sound like a fair statement?

yeah - and my job just got harder!

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "laura" :

]Which could be a wonderful marketing point. If Vicki wants to, she can ]point out that she has the knowledge to distinguish quality from ]non-quality, in effect saying "Here are the distinctions and there is good ]and bad work to be found in all categories. However, I select only the ]best, so you don't have to worry about that part of it".

ye, gods! i doubt i'm anywhere near having that kind of knowledge! to a large extent, i'm trusting that the artists here are being honest with me! [and having watched Nicole work]

i think i'm in danger of drowning on this one!

glub

glub

glub

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

Which could be a wonderful marketing point. If Vicki wants to, she can point out that she has the knowledge to distinguish quality from non-quality, in effect saying "Here are the distinctions and there is good and bad work to be found in all categories. However, I select only the best, so you don't have to worry about that part of it".

Laura

Not just you, either. It is deep water, no matter who is flailing around in it, IMO.

And I think it doesn't hurt to be honest with consumers about that fact...

Deirdre

Maybe the best a seller can offer is evidence of how dilligently they try to find and use quality components. And some info about the criteria they use in making decisions -- saying "yes" to one kind of thing, and "no" to another.

Then the buyer can match those criteria against their own and make a decision about how well they match. Then the 'right' seller and the 'right' buyer end up recognizing each other based on their common standards of judgment on quality issues.

Deirdre

Oh, honesty is paramount. I have no idea what level of expertise folks here have. If she doesn't feel comfortable with the suggestion, it isn't a good one for her, at least not today.

Laura

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from Deirdre S. :

]Not just you, either. It is deep water, no matter who is flailing ]around in it, IMO. ] ]And I think it doesn't hurt to be honest with consumers about that ]fact...

LOL! good point! my problem is - - it's so HARD to get the concepts across unless i have the customer standing right there in front of me and can SHOW them what i'm talking about. "see the difference here, compared to this" "these seed beads look 'non-uniform', but it doesn't affect the design" etc.

and lord help me if any one ever asks what kind of glass any of them are made from! i have GOT to find a way to start saving that info!

SPECIAL NOTE TO LAMPWORKERS: i dearly love your work. i lust after it. i buy as much of it as i can. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE when you send me beads, send them with an invoice! and include your business card! because all the information

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "laura" :

]Or maybe not, then :) Or maybe later, when you feel more confident.

LOL! good point. if my head would hold all the information it needs, and not leak like a sieve!

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

"Restrict the cat"?? That would be "cats", plus a couple of big dogs with tails that are constantly knocking things over. All in all, I enjoy their company so much that I don't mind the occasional breakage. I can always make more beads and bottles!

Interesting side story about how to use broken glass stuff. I used to teach a beginning stained glass to the local bible college, and next door was a pottery class. I noticed one day that the pottery students were visiting our stained glass classroom a lot. It turned out that they were collecting our scraps, the ones that were too small to re-use, and grinding them up. Then they used the powder to line plates, bowls, ashtrays, whatever. They'd fire these, and the results were absolutely beautiful. Like enamel, which I guess it was, or close enough. Has anybody else ever tried this, or seen it done?

- Steve R St Louis

I thought my ISP deal (mandatory 1-year sign-up to get the "great rates" they were offering) included free Web site hosting, but it doesn't. I'm a complete idiot when it comes to computers and Web stuff. I've got an el cheapo digital camera around here somewhere but I wouldn't know where or how to post any pictures. I see other people doing it all the time, though. Advice, please?

- Steve R St Louis

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "Steve Richardson" :

]"Restrict the cat"?? That would be "cats", plus a couple of big dogs with ]tails that are constantly knocking things over. All in all, I enjoy their ]company so much that I don't mind the occasional breakage. I can always ]make more beads and bottles!

trust me - *I* would find a way to keep them away! if you don't mind, that's totally up to you.

]Interesting side story about how to use broken glass stuff. [snip] ] Has anybody else ever tried this, or seen it ]done?

no, but it sounds gorgeous!!!

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

Don't be too quick to abandon "ethnocentricity" here, it's not entirely a bad thing. We lost our electronics industries to cheaper imports with perceived higher quality. We lost our steel industry. We lost our rubber industry. We're losing our automotive industry, and I'll go out on a limb and predict that we'll eventually lose our commercial aircraft industry. All because we tend to buy the least-expensive option that doesn't sacrifice quality. That cheaper option may end up being more expensive in the long run, though, if you include the hidden costs of lost jobs and unemployment payments and uninsured hospital patients and the reduced (or no) tax revenues from now-idle American workers. I'm not fanatical about "buy American" (hey, I have a British Triumph in my garage) but in general it's better to buy something that helps the country, even on a tiny scale, than something that doesn't. (Omigawd, he's raving about imports again! Somebody stop him!)

Of course there's the other point of view, that workers in a lot of places overseas really need the economic boost that American buying can give, and we're all citizens of a world community. Why aren't these things ever clear-cut and simple?

- Steve R

I think you're right ... enamel -is- powdered glass, with some kind of medium to spread it on the surfaces to be decorated, and/or to hold it in place for the firing step.

I agree that enamel is very cool looking. And I like the idea of one art's 'waste' being another art's raw material ...

Deirdre

On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 18:39:25 -0400, vj wrote (in message ):

Yep, and when you have the nice stuff right there, it's a snap to show the difference. I think I'll make a few beadwoven samples from craft store quality seed beads and quality Japanese beads and photograph them side by side. If you guys want to use the photos, feel free.

I can just see two peyote stitch samples, and the obvious differences between them. Might not be as obvious in Herringbone stitch, but I'd bet it would still be detectable.

If I had a camera that was capable of doing it, I'd take photos of the holes in cheap production lampwork and some artist-quality lampwork to show the difference. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Kathy N-V

And I'd love to show my students the differences, too... I look forward to the 'side by side' photos.

Deirdre

I agree with you, Deirdre.

I would like to note in particular, that art has traditional transcended borders, bcause it reflects humanity, which I feel is a more important catagory than nationality.

Tina

Of course you can distinguish between what's good and what isn't. It's harder when you don't have the bead in front of you. I think the majority of people here know the difference, and certainly way more than the average consumer. Even lots more than many "educated" consumers.

Tina

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "Christina Peterson" :

]Of course you can distinguish between what's good and what isn't.

well - sometimes, i can. sometimes not. remember that bead show i went to, where i wasn't sure if what was being offered was "real" or not? i couldn't tell. so i left without buying. because i wanted to be sure, and i decided i'd rather buy from someone i knew than take that chance.

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)