Last year I swore off presses.

I had ordered three expensive presses from Germany and they arrived with guide pins that weren't tapered - and were NOT stainless steel as they had stated in the description. At ~$80 per press - imagine my disappointment when the Stainless Steel guide pins rusted in the Texas atmosphere. Owner was not easy with making it right... not pleased...

So - I figured for the quintessential handmade handshaped bead - it should be unique. OOAK (do you know how long it took me to realize what that meant?) I can control so many more things with this method, but it is much more time consuming. I have mentioned before - but I work with a set of brass calipers on my torch mounted marver so I can check dimensions as I work. So - matching beads are possible *(as with the olive earrings shown above).

I almost worked solely in these tiles this week - loving the fact that the light is more able to penetrate a thinner bead AND this allows the color to shine. I also love the mirror smooth surfaces here - as chill marks don't add anything to this set!!

I did end up playing the balancing act a bit with the gorgeous droplet earrings (shown at bottom of page)...

I do receive emails asking if these are made with presses... one woman suggesting they were cut with a saw, then polished... LOL
It just involves a ton of patience - a hand held marver and tenacity. Maybe we can call it being stubborn. But the results are very pretty.... smiles - Jill

The relief from straight edges....

Imagine balancing a 1/2"D blob of molten moving glass - moving it constantly until it rounds out - and is centered enough to hang straight from its own glass mandrel loop... - then imagine a matching pair?? I love the challenge. #nopresses