Lush Lampwork – Julie Fountain
“I have always had something “crafty” on the go” says Julie, “in fact, as a child I would drive my mum mad with cries of “what can I make?” (imagine whiney voice!). I was just the same as I grew up, and in an effort to get my daughter to play with me, I bought her a box of cheap glass beads and silver-plated findings in 2005. She half-heartedly strung a couple of chokers and simple bracelets together, got bored and wandered off – but I was already hooked!”
Julie’s jewellery-making skills rapidly improved and she naturally started to learn more about handmade glass lampwork beads. “It wasn’t long before I just had to have a go! I bought my hot head torch at the end of August 2007, booked a lesson with Sally Carver a couple of weeks later – and upgraded to a semi-professional kit just another week or two after that!
In January 2010 Julie took the plunge and gave up the day job to make beads and teach lampworking full time from her very well-equipped “ torch porch” in the beautiful Worcestershire town of Malvern. Her beads and tutorials regularly pop up in the UK beading magazines and in October 2009 she was thrilled to win a British Bead Award.
See Julie’s work at http://www.lushlampwork.co.uk or catch up with her at one of the many bead fairs she exhibits at.