I currently live in the Santa Cruz mountains in Northern California. My studio is a nice little metal shed that used to be the property Workshop. (There's a great little sign labeled "Workshop" over the door.) When I torchwork, the sliding door is left open and the back window opened. This has provided enough air circulation.
Last night I started working with matched sets. Friends who sell my work have asked for matching necklaces and earrings.
Egads! I currently make earrings and usually make around 30 beads in the same style. Usually, this will result in 10 pair of earrings with around 10 beads remaining for bracelets. I challenged myself by trying to build two beads on the same mandrel. If you currently are a lampworker (torchworker), try this. It wasn't impossible, but did take some serious concentration. The end result was six attempts with five successful sets. In addition, I made a pendant to go along with each set.
It's raining cats and dogs right now, so it looks like a jewelry night tonight.
