jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Apr 22, 2018 6:07:43 GMT -5
Love the white eye and love that last set. The last set is really Georgia O'Keeffe-ish. Beautiful. Those O'Keeffe style melts as y'all refer to them(thanks but me not O'Keeffe in any form nor fashion) do require the most specific glass and process imaginable. A specific series of numbered vases from probably the finest glass blowing company in China. The vase has to be cut into specific shapes from specifically curved areas on these vases. Each piece has to have considerable grinding and specific placement under a shelf in the kiln to melt. Found this by accident. These vases I will pay higher internet price for. The US has little respect for these finest works of art though they were heavily imported here. So I can buy them off the internet on occasion. Serious competition for the Italians I have photos of a couple, let me fetch This one was cracked and the rascal still made me pay $50. Bartering with Asian folks no easy task. An importer of this brand here in Atlanta. You get lost looking into this one. In a thrift store, first one ever found for $25. Both weighed over 8 pounds so they were cheaper than raw art glass It is amazing the similarities in these vases. As if the employees were all trained to make the same patterns. I see a master blower teaching a large group of employees his style. A torturous task to blow such heavy vases all day long in the manner these were blown. The blowing process for this style is very physically demanding. The glass is of highest quality with unusually high color density. I fear they used seriously poisonous coloring agents now about outlawed here in US. Harmless in the form of glass but poisonous when melting color agents in.
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Post by toiv0 on Apr 22, 2018 7:16:04 GMT -5
Superb Mr James, I am thinking Wonder Woman...haha I don't have a tv at home only in the hotel when I am on the road. Rounding up some newer generation cabs, I think you will be happy. You are too generous Billy. Always looking forward at your art. Have me looking at glass fusing on you tube. Seen a guy doing holes, pretty cool. Probably start looking in the thrift shops and have to pull my kiln out of storage.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Apr 22, 2018 10:16:31 GMT -5
Rounding up some newer generation cabs, I think you will be happy. You are too generous Billy. Always looking forward at your art. Have me looking at glass fusing on you tube. Seen a guy doing holes, pretty cool. Probably start looking in the thrift shops and have to pull my kiln out of storage. About time you quite spending so much time being a couch potato(ha ha) and got something in motion. Moved the tile saw and the lapper outside finally, weather permitted. Very messy. Nice to have the water hose to wash down and drip water to the cutter/grinders. Best to have a ~10' X 10' heated room with floor drain that takes slurry and running water for you's Minnesota an's as lots of water needs to fly.
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Post by toiv0 on Apr 22, 2018 10:42:27 GMT -5
Always looking forward at your art. Have me looking at glass fusing on you tube. Seen a guy doing holes, pretty cool. Probably start looking in the thrift shops and have to pull my kiln out of storage. About time you quite spending so much time being a couch potato(ha ha) and got something in motion. Moved the tile saw and the lapper outside finally, weather permitted. Very messy. Nice to have the water hose to wash down and drip water to the cutter/grinders. Best to have a ~10' X 10' heated room with floor drain that takes slurry and running water for you's Minnesota an's as lots of water needs to fly. I think it was Thursday or Friday it finally hit 50 degrees for the high. They said it was 176 days since we had the last 50 degree day. I am ready to move I think. A big drain is a must, so is a water line buried 8 ft deep, you can get away with 6 ft if you dont walk or drive over the line and you have a warm winter.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Apr 22, 2018 10:45:16 GMT -5
Those O'Keeffe style melts as y'all refer to them(thanks but me not O'Keeffe in any form nor fashion) do require the most specific glass and process imaginable. A specific series of numbered vases from probably the finest glass blowing company in China. The vase has to be cut into specific shapes from specifically curved areas on these vases. Each piece has to have considerable grinding and specific placement under a shelf in the kiln to melt. Found this by accident. These vases I will pay higher internet price for. The US has little respect for these finest works of art though they were heavily imported here. So I can buy them off the internet on occasion. Serious competition for the Italians I have photos of a couple, let me fetch This one was cracked and the rascal still made me pay $50. Bartering with Asian folks no easy task. An importer of this brand here in Atlanta. You get lost looking into this one. In a thrift store, first one ever found for $25. Both weighed over 8 pounds so they were cheaper than raw art glass It is amazing the similarities in these vases. As if the employees were all trained to make the same patterns. I see a master blower teaching a large group of employees his style. A torturous task to blow such heavy vases all day long in the manner these were blown. The blowing process for this style is very physically demanding. The glass is of highest quality with unusually high color density. I fear they used seriously poisonous coloring agents now about outlawed here in US. Harmless in the form of glass but poisonous when melting color agents in. James - If you will give me the specific vase number and manufacturer I will keep my eye out for them here. There are an amazing amount of thrift stores and estate auctions here that I'm sure some will show up at for dirt cheap.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Apr 22, 2018 15:29:29 GMT -5
Kind offer hummingbirdstones. I hate to put you out. But I may take you up on that offer if I have problems with source. Thanks a bunch.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Apr 22, 2018 15:47:30 GMT -5
6 inches deep here Billy toiv0. We must have it good. Can't imagine anything freezing 6 feet down. Amazing. I spit out some glass yesterday. Thankful of the glass blower's scrap. Makes this glass thing so much easier. check em out a big Greek plate sawn up, most designs from adding chemicals and metals choice pieces A melt slab 12 X 18, lots of glass blower's scraps after melt cabs cut from slab fine shards from the local glass blower melted flat and ready to grind from light shades for pendant lighting more lipstick and Sci Fi. Got this melt figured out on a repetitive basis
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Post by toiv0 on Apr 22, 2018 15:57:32 GMT -5
Found my first vase, 3 bucks. Not going to buy, too much of a rookie. Should I go back and buy it? jamesp
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saxplayer
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2018
Posts: 1,327
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Post by saxplayer on Apr 22, 2018 18:54:15 GMT -5
@ Jamesp
How are you gonna distribute all this stuff? Have you had any luck getting bites for bigger bulk deals? I saw your post about Etsy etc but thats a tough cookie to crack. You have a ton of material and all of it is gorgeous. Just have to find the right avenue. Curious what you were doing to learn?
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Apr 23, 2018 6:10:32 GMT -5
Found my first vase, 3 bucks. Not going to buy, too much of a rookie. Should I go back and buy it? jamespFirstly, I find single colors regularly and have slowed down on buying them. I would buy that vase for that color for that price though. It is either machine or hand blown judging from the internal white layer and miss shapen mouth. Looks hand blown which is usually a good thing. Next step is the hammer and cook a couple of shards two ways - lower temp slump to simply flatten, and higher temp fuse to dome blob it. Many vases will not like your higher fuse temp and vitrify or crack badly. Some will melt into fine cab blobs. Flip the coin... Most will lay flat with lower slump temps. Keep in mind there are many temperature schedules but I use 'close to' the schedule for Spectrum glass for fuse and slump. Like 300/hour to 1000 and hold, then to 1250 and then hold and then to 1500 and hold and back down to 950 and hold for anneal, then slam to cool for FUSE. That white glass on the inside often gets cracks in it. Especially if machine blown. It is all a crap shoot Billy. I would try a slump schedule on it first. You know I dove in head first which really works best and spared no expense as I intend to turn a profit someday. I usually buy $200 worth of vases and run tests on 8-10 at a time purchased on a city wide shopping expedition. Either the glass gets tumbled with out being heated because it had problems w/heat, tumbled after slump flat, or tumbled after fuse. I buy +/- $3 vases regularly and bake their butts regularly. Some vases i know by their brand and know they will do what I tell them to do. Most are experiments and outcome unknown. I always have heating success with 1000's of pounds of glass blower's scraps, they are my bread and butter glass.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Apr 23, 2018 6:37:34 GMT -5
@ Jamesp How are you gonna distribute all this stuff? Have you had any luck getting bites for bigger bulk deals? I saw your post about Etsy etc but thats a tough cookie to crack. You have a ton of material and all of it is gorgeous. Just have to find the right avenue. Curious what you were doing to learn? I am like 4 months into 'production' sax. More made than you would imagine. I am treating this like a business venture so not expecting immediate pay back and spending fairly heavy. Am also treating it like an education meaning the cost of learning may have no payback. But having mucho fun. Learning curve still ramping rapidly. I know I have stashed the cabinet with at least 5000 polished pendants. At $2 each I recuperate all money invested and some. Getting found on Etsy is needle in haystack. So what is the marketing strategy ? The big question. I have decided to put contact info on stickers and attach them to the back of these glass cabs and distribute them to the plethora of jewelers at the large Atlanta art festivals every spring. for starts Looks to be 300 jewelers, maybe 100 of them would fall into category of using glass. Do it again next year equipped with a web site. Keep hammering away until I fail or get a market going. I have had several businesses. I have learned persistence pays off over time. Further, I can not photograph these like they look in real life. I get a big rise from people when they hold them in hand. So that may be the best strategy. May attend one of the festivals, that would answer questions fastest. I am having interest. At a decent percentage rate. Gut says I will easily pay off investment and some. The gut says, lol, has stirred me well in the past. Will see here soon.
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Post by MsAli on Apr 23, 2018 11:55:03 GMT -5
So what is the marketing strategy ? The big question.
Social Media and networking
I LOVE that greek stuff!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Apr 25, 2018 4:57:18 GMT -5
So what is the marketing strategy ? The big question. Social Media and networking I LOVE that greek stuff! I made bout 400 business cards to hand out to jewelers at the big spring art festivals starting with Inman Park Art Festival this weekend Alison. Will hand them out by the handful. Loads of art jewelers are at these festivals set up to sell. 100's over the next 2 months. Janke already secured me 2 jewelry makers. Me 2 thru friends, Decatur Glass Blowing wants to sell them at his showroom. Slowly building. Then I will roam around shops in Atlanta. I have sold jewelry here before. Soon will have website 'gemglass.biz.com' as domain has been secured. Business cards: The Greek stuff is easy. Sandwich reactives(and junk including raccoons) between 2 sheets of clear glass and cook. Cheap too.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Apr 25, 2018 7:22:18 GMT -5
Will hand them out by the handful. Loads of art jewelers are at these festivals set up to sell. 100's over the next 2 months. Janke already secured me 2 jewelry makers. Me 2 thru friends, Decatur Glass Blowing wants to sell them at his showroom. Slowly building. Then I will roam around shops in Atlanta. I have sold jewelry here before. Soon will have website 'gemglass.biz.com' as domain has been secured.
James, did you mean "gemglass.biz", no .com? Would be helpful if people can find you!
ETA - I realize you only have the domain name, and the site still has to be constructed. But get it straight!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Apr 25, 2018 7:58:03 GMT -5
Will hand them out by the handful. Loads of art jewelers are at these festivals set up to sell. 100's over the next 2 months. Janke already secured me 2 jewelry makers. Me 2 thru friends, Decatur Glass Blowing wants to sell them at his showroom. Slowly building. Then I will roam around shops in Atlanta. I have sold jewelry here before. Soon will have website 'gemglass.biz.com' as domain has been secured. James, did you mean "gemglass.biz", no .com? Would be helpful if people can find you! Correct you are Jean. Gemglass.biz and that is it. Never heard of Biz but that was the choice since com was used. Seeking another domain, gemglassart, hopefully a .com on that one. I had to use gemglassart on Etsy as Gemglass was taken there. Well, the website whenever it may come to fruition will refer clients to Etsy to close the deal because of their handy commerce capabilities. So, the website may be called gemglassart.com if .com can be secured to be in line w/name of Etsy shop. I do not like gemglass for the reason it gets spell checked to gem glass, grrr. OK Jean, I did a test flattening on the yellow/white/light blue vase you liked. Last night I flattened both of them(bought 2). Shaped a few, check em out. they have vitrification so the tumbler needs to remove the cloudy coating to clear glass for better view, killer:
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Post by rockpickerforever on Apr 25, 2018 8:01:21 GMT -5
I knew that vase would make some pretty pieces!
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Wooferhound
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Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,426
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Post by Wooferhound on Apr 25, 2018 13:06:08 GMT -5
But ... do you melt down old wine bottles into cheese serving dishes ?
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Apr 26, 2018 22:07:39 GMT -5
I knew that vase would make some pretty pieces! Hard to judge till you shape a cab out of it. Many of the plate melts come across as meh till you shape a cab out of them.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Apr 26, 2018 22:09:06 GMT -5
But ... do you melt down old wine bottles into cheese serving dishes ? Lol. I have a bottle mold, just need to drink the wine.
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