Sunday, July 29, 2012

Why mass produced lampwork beads are bad for your jewelry business!

Like many industries, artistans, including lampworkers, have had to deal with the flooding of our national markets with cheap imports. In the United States, it's kind of beaten into us from a young age that our "great capitalism" will serve the consumer as competition forces cheaper goods to be produced. But when that competition comes from overseas, the door is opened to hurt local economies *and* introduce inferior goods to the market.

This post will deal with the latter (the former is a whole 'nother post in itself) and, even then, only under a very specific lens.

Jewelry artists: have you ever wondered why artisan quality lampwork is so much more than the cheap, and admittedly sometimes cute, strands you find at the bead stores and shows?

One word: Quality.

Now, I am not going to try to say that every artisan is producing perfect beads. But I can say that the imports are definitely inferior. Why does this affect you as a jewelry designer? This is why:

Yep. Broken beads right on the shelf.

I apologize for the poor quality of the photo, but it was part of a highly covert operation. Most stores do not like it when you take photos of broken merchandise. It makes it look, well, cheap.

The most likely reason for a broken lampwork bead is usually that it wasn't made properly to begin with. While some round or thicker beads can withstand the test of time without being annealed, today's fancy beads, *especially* flattened ones MUST be annealed. And the annealing must be in a kiln to be done properly. And that costs a lot of money. Money which the factories will not spend (because then prices will have to increase). They may try to get by with flame annealing or using fiber blankets to protect somewhat against thermal shock, but the beads will not be annealed.

Now, ask yourself: do you want to use beads that may break on the strand for no reason? Do you think your customers will appreciate it if they go to put on a bracelet you made and one of the pretty glass beads splits in two and falls off? That is why it is good practice as a jewelry artist to use quality handmade materials. It's not an issue of snobbery, or being an elitist over materials. It's good business sense to make products that are beautiful *and* stand up to everyday use.

I know there are other components in the jewelry field that should be looked at closely when trying to decide if that "good deal" is really good for your business. I would be interested in hearing from other artists, especially if they make components, on how some of the imports may not be up to snuff quality-wise.


I understand this can be a sensitive discussion, so if you would feel more comfortable emailing me your comments, which I will post under my name, or leaving your comment as "anonymous", that is totally understandable. I really just want to hear what people have to say!


13 comments:

  1. Amen Sister! I'm also a lampwork artist and it makes me sick to see beautiful jewelry designs made with "industrial" glass beads, knowing that they would be of far more value, quality and beauty had they used artisan lampwork beads.

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    1. I really think it is a matter of people not realizing that certain things are not a value just because they are cheaper...for example, cheap pewter makes me very suspicious it has lead in it, and I will pass it by no matter what the price. Your beads are lovely, by the way! =)

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  2. I have had this with filigree stampings. When I started out making jewelry again I was all over filigree wrapped beads like I had seen in a jewelry making book. I found some that looked similar enough on an Asian seller on a site much like Etsy, the price wasn't bad, and I ordered away. Alas, these filigree stampings were flimsy, the finish flaked off upon bending, and they broke easily. About a month or two later I found a great site which was selling quality US made brass stampings for a good price and free shipping worldwide (alas, it is no longer free ;;). I thought I'd give it another try and I was SMITTEN by the difference in quality. These stampings were heavier, had much greater detail, and I could see right at first glance these were much, much better quality. I haven't looked back since.

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    1. Thank you Sandra! This is exactly the type of thing I am wondering...I've noticed plating/finishes of any kind seems to be a big quality issue.

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  3. I would love to be educated on this process. I don't know the whole process. I'm not a lampworker so please, can you explain it to me? I am, however, a buyer! I buy a LOT of beads and often go to the shows. I see the broken beads and don't know why they break so easily. So...here's your opportunity. Educate me please.

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  4. Glass is prone to stress and when the stress is too great, the bead cracks. (The stress mostly comes from the skin of the bead cooling more quickly than the core.) The only way to relieve the internal stress is to cool the bead in a slow and controlled way...by using a kiln. This process is called annealing. The annealing point is around 950 degrees, depending on the coefficient of the glass.

    It is very easy for a bead maker to pop their freshly made bead in a kiln but like Rachel said, they are expensive to run...so if a company's goal is making masses of beads with low overhead, proper annealing is not profitable. On the other hand, an artist puts too much time and effort into each bead to not properly finish them off in the kiln. Hope that helps :)

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    1. Thanks for the excellent explanation, Denielle! I couldn't have said it better myself! :)

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  5. Very nice article, I tend to not use any lampwork beads unless I have obtained them directly from the artist. My main focus has always been to provide my customers with high quality jewelry at a reasonable price. Sure the mass produced beads would make my cost less, but I would have a fear that the slightest thing might cause the bead to crack and that is not what I want for my customers. Thanks for sharing! Annita

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  6. Well I started to make my own brass ball pins and some clasps now.It is fun and I do enjoy it and when I have the time I can turn out a lot that are beautiful.But it takes me about 4 hours to make one clasp so I am thinking I wont be selling many.The ball pins are kind of like meditation when I make them and I love to make them by the 100's.
    Love real lampies BTW.They are divine.
    Love and hugs Tanya

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  7. I have just uploaded a blog post on bead stress and have included a link here to your great post! I have photos of beads using a polarizer showing the importance of proper slow cooling of beads.

    http://www.debidesigns.co.uk/blog/2012/08/08/Why-Do-Lampwork-Artisans-Anneal-Their-Beads-Polarized-Photos.aspx

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  8. Thank you so much for your informative posting. I don't sell much jewelry (yet) and it is good to have this information BEFORE I do. I mostly make polymer beads, which aren't subject to the same stresses as glass by any means, but when I make jewelry with them, I usually include some glass as accent. I was not aware that the mass produced were so poorly done - no wonder they are so cheap.

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    1. Thank you JuLee! That's precisely why I wrote this post...so my fellow jewelry designers could understand the difference! :)

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