Earth and Fire Beads – Rachel Dawes
Rachel lives in Norfolk with her husband, two teenage sons and two tabby cats and began making lampwork beads about 4 years ago. At the time she was making jewellery which she sold on eBay. Whilst scouring the internet for beads Rachel came across some handmade lampwork glass beads. These were unlike anything she had ever seen before. A search for lampwork beads revealed a world of fantastically intricate and beautifully coloured glass treasures. Rachel knew at that moment that she had to learn how to make them! First she bought herself a couple of books which she read from cover to cover (several times!) Then she ordered a starter kit from Tuffnell Glass. Rachel remembers being absolutely terrified of lighting the torch for the first time and claims “needless to say my first beads weren’t up to much. But lampworking is incredibly addictive and even after those first few wonky beads I was hooked.”
Rachel has a few types of bead that she like to make but thinks her favourites are the slightly whimsical floral sets that she’s been making a lot of lately. Rachel says “I love doing these in different colour combinations and they make lovely fun and feminine jewellery. Sometimes my work can be very structured and precise as with my florals. Other times I like to be random and mix glass with silver, swirling and twisting the colours together to create organic style beads. There are so many things you can do with glass that I don’t think I will ever get bored with it. For something to hold my attention for 4 years it must be pretty special. I still get a buzz every time I open my kiln and see the results of yesterday’s beadmaking.”
See more of Rachel’s work at www.earthandfirebeads.co.uk