Diva of the Month - Barb Reed

Another month... and time to get to know another Diva! This month's Diva of the Month is Barb Reed for River's Edge Glass.

Barb was born in Brooklyn, NY and has lived in Florida and Connecticut. And she's been lucky enough to call Michigan - her current state -  home a few times.

Alien Invasion Set

Barb's glass studio is in a corner of her basement. She calls it "a work in progress."  Barb recently upgraded from a hot head to a cricket with natural gas and a concentrator.  She hopes to get some walls up so sawdust from her husband's projects don’t get all over her glass.

Rose and Gray Tabs

Barb's acquired a lampworking habit  about 2005.  She was returning home from a canoeing trip in WI and stopped at a funny place called Jurustic Park.  There she saw lampworking being done.  She later found out the stained glass store in her hometown offered a beginning lampwork class (about 4 hours).  As happens to so many glass workers, Barb was hooked from class one. She quickly found out about some of the online lampworking forums and have learned a ton from them and started selling her beads on Etsy in 2008.

 Turquoise & Ivory Dread or Focal Bead

Barb describes her style as "all over the place.  I make a lot of dread beads, buttons and dot beads.  I think I do better at the patterned beads rather than organic ones – must be some of the engineer in me."

Gray Ivory Green Amoeba Button

Her favorite beads to make tend to be small and she loves making two-tone waves. Barb enjoys these because while they may appear simple, they can be made with an endless combination of colors.

Wave Beads - Barb's Favorite!

River's Edge Glass on Artfire

River's Edge Glass on Etsy

River's Edge Glass on Flickr

Be sure to join us every week to read more about Barb and her work!