Studio Stuff
Proper ventilation in your studio is vital to your health. The metals
inherent in glass and the silver and gold we use as foil or in fuming
are toxic and exposure to these should be minimized. Therefore you need
both clean air coming in and an exhaust system of some sort to take the
bad air out.
Here's the NEW store studio... we have a 6.5 x 6.5' workbench and a 6' x 6' vent hood.
This is a tight shot of my work area... notice the beadmaking/fusing kiln from Mike
Crowley of The Glass Hive on the workbench, another against the wall. I highly recommend his
kilns if you want to do fusing. If you only want to make beads, we sell
the Chili Pepper Kiln at Blue Fire Beads. Call us at 815.462.4900.
We have 8 torches and 2 kilns, we offer torch rental at $10/hour, which
includes annealing. Call for a time slot - 815.462.4900. We host a
monthly open torch on the first Friday of each month from 3pm - 8pm. We also bring in
some of the big names in beadmaking to teach workshops several times a
year and I also teach one-on-ones and half day workshops.
A home studio
For 3 years, I had a home studio, until we opened our bead store,
where I torch now. Here's a photo of my home studio, which is now a
guest room. You
can have a home studio with adequate ventilation. The ventilation is
really important, so find a 350
c.f.m. oven hood at Grainger Supply. Vent it outside through a vent
overhead or thru a window. Don't use the flexible dryer tubing! The aluminum flashing that hangs down below
the vent hood
in the photo re-directed the bad air coming from the torch area up to
the fan,
instead of allowing it to push past, thereby contaminating the room
air. If you need help with hook up, email me and I can help walk you thru it.
When you take a lampwork class with me, I will give you catalogs and a handout with recommendations on torches, kilns, tools, glass, ventilation, suppliers, etc.
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