Purple Grape Swirls - Armadillo Style Compatible with Trollbeads

I know that purple is not every one's favorite color, but if you love purple, than this bead is for you. Doug finished this bead the other day, and when I saw it, I loved the style and the color. The style is similar to the Trollbeads' Armadillo style, but the color is really unique. It is made from Lauscha glass which is a German glass that just happens to have some of my favorite colors, which includes this purple and a beautiful red.

As the title infers, the purple is a beautiful grape-like purple. The design of the purple is in arrow-like shapes and the background is an elegant black. A great color combination for this time of the year. This bead style is a favorite design of our customers and one that has a higher difficulty level.

If you would like to see more photos, just click on the photo above!

Glass Bead of the Week

This bead is so perfectly beautiful. It's my favorite for the week. Doug created it in a style that is similar to the Trollbeads Armadillo look. It is currently up for auction on eBay. Below is a brief description of it.

Here is a gorgeous red and white glass charm. It has a white background with swirls of red on top, which have an almost arrow-like shape. The red swirls are a brighter red than you would normally find in Italian glass. This bead is made from Lauscha German glass which is a beautiful, rich red. This bead style is a favorite design of our customers and one that has a higher difficulty level.

"How Do You Do That?"

This is a question we are frequently asked. Every bead Doug creates is individually made in a flame from a torch. The glass is melted, carefully crafted and made on a mandrel so there will be a center hole. (A mandrel is another name for a long metal bar.)

After he crafts a bead in the flame, he puts them in a kiln (like a very hot oven) which is set at over 900 degrees. Then Doug's beads are put through a special process called annealing. After a time of bathing in the kiln, the beads are allowed to cool slowly and over the course of the next few hours are brought down to room temperature. (Our kiln is digitally controlled.) This whole process is the key to making them very durable. A little known secret is that many of the glass beads that are made in China and other places overseas are not annealed. They may break much more easily. Annealed beads should last a lifetime.

We feel that quality is of the upmost importance and that is why we take the extra time and cost to make sure your beads are made right.

Trollbeads Style with 18k Gold Core

Recently, Doug has been offering glass beads with 18k Gold cores...

These are made for Trollbeads bracelets and have been crafted with a most unusual 18k Gold core. Here is the latest example of this new design.

Ancient Amber

This beautiful bead has been made with a honey-amber colored Italian glass. On the top of this glass bead is an ivory glass design, which gives this charm an old and very unique look. I think you will find that the gold core is amazingly gorgeous and it compliments the amber and ivory so well.