I said to someone the other day that making glass beads from recycled glass sources was “quite a process” and when I went on to explain it all to them, they agreed! It all starts with a glass object, usually a bottle, that needs to have labels removed and cleaned. Then once the bottle is clean and dry I put it into a pillow case and use a hammer to break the glass. I warm the glass on a hot plate before I put it in the flame, otherwise there would be shattered glass everywhere. Well, there still is a lot of glass everywhere, but warming it up helps the transition to the flame. Next step is making the bead! The fun part. After the bead is made it goes into the kiln, goes through an annealing process and the next day I can take the beads out, take them off their mandrel, and then clean the holes. THEN….they are ready to make into jewellery!
