Emma started work at her Mum-in-laws Stained Glass Centre, making Stained glass panels, Tiffany lamps and fused pieces and had been making Jewellery as a hobby for over 14 years. In the summer of 2004 health and safety regulations made workshop tours out of the question, without some major restructuring, tourists to the centre would no longer be able to see stained glass been made. What the Centre needed was something glass related that could be made in a small corner of our exhibition room, but what? Emma found the ideal choice – Lampworking – combining her jewellery making hobby with her love of glass, it was perfect! She rushed out and bought the kit and set about the task of make blobs of glass (“well they certainly couldn’t be classed as beads” – says Emma) on her kitchen table.
Soon Emma knew this was what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. With lots and lots of practice she started to improve, but found round beads boring to make and wanted to try something different. She had a play around and ‘Peter the Puffin’ was born, along with her love of all things sculptural. Sure they were fun to make, but who would buy them? Emma carried on making beads with the odd animal or alien bead thrown in, until friends convinced her to take sculptural beads seriously. How? They showed Emma the wonderful work of Sharon Peters. “Wow!! Sharon’s work was amazing and it really inspired me to do my own thing. After all she made quirky sculptural beads too and more importantly, she was making a living out of them.”
Adds Emma: “That was all I needed to kick start my new obsession, Critters!!”
See more of Emma’s work at www.beadenvy.co.uk