Welcome to Brilliant Beads.
 Here you will find Artisan Lampwork beads made by myself,
Carrie Tahquechi.
Lampwork is a beautiful art form that has taken hold of my mind and heart for some time now. With each bead I create I find myself looking deeper into the glass, finding new combinations I just have to try. It is addictive and soothing all at once to take molten drippy glass and turn it into a beautiful bead with many colors and layers. The sparkle and shine along with the multitude of colors is what drew me to Artisan lampwork, each new bead being a miniature piece of art I could look at for hours.
Recently I have been combining my beads with sterling silver wire and creating amazing Chain Maille necklaces and bracelets. I just love the cool feeling of the silver and the glass when I put on a piece. The metal and glass warm slightly when worn and they just feel so great against the skin.
On the gallery and auction pages you will find some of my most recent work. Bead sets and focals as well as finished jewelry pieces. Please take a look around.
I hope that you too become addicted to the beauty of handmade Artisan lampwork beads.
A little about Lampworking.
Each bead is created with love and care, one at a time by Carrie. A glass rod about the size of a pencil is heated to molten in a torch flame. The glass is then wound onto a metal, clay coated mandrel. All of the dots swirls, colors and other decorations are applied by hand separately to this basic glass base. After the bead is finished it goes straight into the kiln for annealing to strengthen the glass and make it as durable as glass can be.
Why buy artisan lampwork beads.
The lampwork beads on this site are created one at a time by a self representing artist. Care is taken to insure that the beads you receive will be well made, beautiful pieces of art. They are properly annealed in a digitally controlled kiln for the proper time at the proper temperature for the glass they are made from. After annealing each bead is cleaned of the clay inside and inspected before being made into jewelry or photographed for sale.
Something to Remember…
These beads are made of GLASS. They are carefully created and annealed to strengthen them. Please treat your beads with the care and respect you would any other glass piece of art. If you abuse them by banging them against a hard surface they will break, just as any other glass object would. Some have been known to survive a fall onto a concrete floor but I would consider that just plain good luck.
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