Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Featured Shop - Glitterbird Glass


Decorative Dish - Blue Green and White - Handmade Fused Glass


Wine Bottle Stopper Blue Arctic Ice - High Relief - Large

We are a mother and daughter team who, several years ago, took a series of classes in both glass fusing and PMC (precious metal clay) at a local glass studio. We found it to be an outlet that perfectly suited our personalities and so we invested in the equipment, tools and glass stock necessary to form a small home studio. We enjoy the days-long process, the challenges, and the outcomes involved in creating treasures with glass and precious metals. We love the sparkle and glitter and the amazing relationship it has with light.


Inspiration strikes at the most interesting times, we can see a painting, a color combination, a flower or just about anything and ideas are sparked. We often draw out the design / concept so we don’t forget, which is why we have lots of napkins and odd pieces of note paper in our workspace! 

It often starts with a particular idea, but sometimes we stare at the glass and what we intended to do becomes something else entirely. That’s what we love about the creative process and inspiration; it guides us where we are supposed to go.


Projects are always fluid, and there are always several in progress at different stages, at any given time. There are many stages, and stops and starts, because glass fusing is not something you can do in one sitting.

• There’s the time spent cleaning the glass - and keeping it clean - until we place it into the kiln.
• Glass scraps that have to be sorted by color and size, to be incorporated into future projects.
• There are always sheets and pieces of glass laid out on a table where we can “percolate” for a while about what we want to do with them.
• There will be some on the cutting table waiting to be “sliced and diced” or cut in a circle.
• After cutting, there must be some nipping and shaping to be done.
• And at the far end of the cutting table, there will be a line of beauties waiting for their turn in the kiln. Some of them will be slumped into or over a mold.
• After coming out of the kiln some are not quite smooth and are then lined up waiting to be cold worked (hand filed or smoothed out on the grinder).
• There are pieces that are lined up to be fire polished for a second or third time, with additional elements added at each firing.
• And then there is the time we spend cleaning the kiln shelf and reapplying kiln wash (while wearing my respirator). And cleaning and reapplying kiln wash to the molds. And remixing the wash when we’ve run out.
• All crafters have to spend administrative time on things like placing orders, tracking expenses and so on, so we won’t go into all that.
• There are some technical aspects of glass that we have to factor into our projects – coefficient of expansion, annealing, and calculating firing schedules.

So if you have ever wondered what we mean by “days-long process” perhaps all this helps to clarify! Working with glass can be dirty, messy, wet, and sometimes a bit bloody – but we love it.

Our styles are quite different, which helps brings a wide variety to our shop. We critique each other's work and push each other to grow and evolve our design work. We strive to stay original and avoid replication so that our customers can be assured that theirs is a completely unique piece.

 Cobalt Blue Necklace - Dichroic Glass Triangles

While jewelry is a large portion of our work, we also make a growing assortment of decorative and functional items that make lovely design accents for the home, all of which are hand cut, shaped, kiln-fired and cold worked in our little studio. Right here in the U.S.A.

As a SPECIAL OFFER FOR 3 days only!  Expires September 21st

COUPON CODE:   PFTB15OFF    Enjoy 15% off of your order with her shop.

 Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/GlitterbirdGlass/
Twitter: twitter.com/GlitterbirdGlam
Blog: glitterbirdglamour.blogspot.com/
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/glitterbirdglamour/
Pinterest: pinterest.com/spraydm/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/glitterglass
Google+: plus.google.com/u/0/103184449632714823503/about



25 comments:

  1. Enjoyed this article about our friend, Glitter ... No wonder Glass Artists refer to their work as a “days-long process”!!!

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  2. I am a huge fan of Dee's work! Amazing pieces in your shop! So proud to have you as a member of our team.

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  3. I always thought that fused glass seemed like an interesting craft to learn, but I had no idea how much went into it! Thank you for letting me glimpse into the life of a glass artist - it makes your already amazing work seem even more so!

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  4. I LOVE Dee's shop, her pieces look amazing and her photo's are just top notch. It is so wonderful having you as a teammate and one day i look forward to owning one of your beautiful pieces :)

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  5. Wow it is a long process work but at the end we get a beautiful glass pieces.
    Dee, I love your shop:)

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  6. Wow, sounds like a lot of work. Would love to see this in progress one day!

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  7. Fascinating! Now I know how hard you work, lol! Thanks so much for sharing your process with us. You do stunning work!

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  8. Really enjoyed reading about your craft and your passion for it, that is amazing how you work. Your glass pieces are truly beautiful. Well done in all you are doing. You are FANTASTIC!

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  9. Lovely insight into the hardwork and long process that goes into making your lovely pieces

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  10. Wonderful article! So nice to know what goes into each piece. Love Glitterbird Glass!

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  11. Such Pretty items wonderful article

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  12. Wonderful post! I am a proud owner of Dee's work, love my earrings and a matching pendant! Keep doing your magic!

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  13. Loved the post. I can identify with the many scraps of paper with sketches and the 'days long' projects. No wonder my house is a cluttered mess all the time. (No studio here...small house with husband who has several WWII research projects going at the same time.)

    Great that you have someone to bounce ideas off of and to push you. You guys are the dynamic duo. Love your work!

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  14. love this post!! great to learn more about your awesome shop and you!!!

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  15. Great article and beautiful items in Dee's shop!

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  16. Glass does take time! Nice to get to know the Glitter girls better!

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  17. As a fellow glass artist, I can totally relate to how long it takes to make lovely projects like yours come to life! Love your work! *Ü*

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  18. I love how detailed your post was. After spending 20 years around my Mom's full time huge glass studio I understand the work load all too well. I was her shop cleaner after all. I did learn something too, I had NO IDEA that you were 2 PEOPLE! Say what?! Mother and daughter team - how cool is that!!!!

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  19. Great post! I think is so great that you two get to work together. My mom was also a glass artist - altough we don't get to work together, it is still great to have someone to bounce ideas off of.

    Love your work!

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  20. Thanks everyone, for the wonderful comments. And thanks to the leaders of the Promotional Frenzy Team for giving me this feature!

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  21. I love Glitter's artwork! Thank you for sharing!

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  22. Wonderful article... so nice to read all about your creations and about you! It is so cool that you and your daughter share your interests!

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  23. uniquecozytreasures - Loved the article. Working with glass sounds very challenging and fun.

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  25. I have long been an admirer of your lovely work and especially of how you bring some stunning colors together !! really glad to read more about you ! And it gives a new perspective on all the hard work behind a craft I have not read much on! All the very best to you both and please do keep bringing many more beautiful pieces to us ! :)

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