Meet the Divas

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Amy Sims of Amy Sims Designs:

I became a lampwork glass bead addict (I mean artist!) about 10 years ago. I specialize in large-hole beads that are compatible with all of the popular European bracelets. I’m a native Texan, spent 14 years in Ohio, and just recently relocated to the Atlanta area. I’m a mother of two, a pilot’s wife, an artist, and a perfectionist. (Learning to let go of that, slowly….) Making glass beads is the coolest artistic thing I’ve ever done. I continue to learn and improve, and take classes from other bead artists as often as my schedule/bank account will allow. Visit my website at www.amysimsdesigns.com Location: Marietta, GA Cindy Haberman of Cindy Lynne Glass: (Our Founding Leader!) I am mom to three rescue dogs each has rescued me in their own special way. My love for glass began as a child I was always drawn to the carnival games that awarded glass pieces as a prize. In my twenties I started collecting Depression glass delighting every time I found a piece that matched my pattern. I always knew someday my dream of melting glass would come true and then it happened, in 2006 a neighbor taught me how to fuse glass, although I enjoyed the process of fusing I longed for more. A quest for my own kiln led me to a woman who was selling her lampworking studio. Armed with the tools I set about reading everything I could find on lampworking and finally one day I lit that torch for the very first time and it felt like I was home! I’m not much for planning my torching sessions; I just let the glass take me where it wants to go. One thing you will rarely see in my Etsy shop are sets, I don’t do sets, my attention span is far too short I prefer to work on focals and especially love Dichroic. I also very much enjoy making my baloonimals they seem to make people smile and making people smile is a fabulous reward! Location: Florida

Holly Dare of Holly's Folly Glass:

I make LARGE lampwork glass focal beads, hollow glass beads, and sculptural beads. My day job is in food safe rubber stamps so I also make a lot of “sweet treat” beads: ice cream cones, cakes, cupcakes and candy. I also love playing with size and scale… making a giant version of something and then making it again in a teeny tiny version. Mostly, I love to explore with technique just to see what happens. I find this process endlessly exciting. Location: Los Angeles, CA.

Kathleen Robinson-Young of Ugly Duckling Beads

I love to watch the dance of the flame when it meets a rod of glass. Of all the things I've done the bead-making process is a soothing and healing time for me, a time to release the daily stress in life. My current body of work is a mixture of soft and hard glass, using Silver leaf, Gold foil, and copper wire and ranges from miniature “floral-scapes” to whimsical fish, frogs, and faces… to tried and proven dots and organics. My friends describe me as “swinging from the chandelier” and it’s definitely represented in my work. I want to “lift up”, inspire, encourage, and make an impact on the my customers. There’s no greater compliment than someone willing to purchase something I've created. Location: Detroit, Michigan

Lara Lutrick of Lutrick:

My name is Lara Lutrick and I have been making lampwork beads since 1997. Lampworking is my passion; it feeds my soul and my need to create. Using a flame to manipulate glass into a bead is like magic. The solid glass becomes a viscous liquid, which can be manipulated into untold numbers of objects. As an art form, bead making is unique. The results are immediate and the art is wearable and can be used in creating beautiful jewelry. My full-time job is as an RN in a local family practice clinic. I enjoy helping people understand their health. Location: Maple Valley, WA

Rosemarie Hanus of Spawn of Flame:

I have been melting glass and winding beads since 2003. I love the immediate gratification of lampworking, whether the results are great or dismal. The style of my beads is organic, yet similar from bead to bead; I call this Organized Chaos. I currently make obsessively matched sets of beads (I should name this eXtreme Bead Matching). I hike with my family and my dog and get much inspiration from the outdoors. My other pets, a cat and numerous fish – they don’t hike, but I don’t fault them for that! Location: Bath Township in Northeast Ohio