I've been away for a couple of days for my brother's wedding. Had a lovely time.

Here's a couple of photos of a lampwork-decorated cheese knife I made for them:

It's going to be extremely hot here this week so I probably won't be in the studio much, if at all. 41C (106F) for the next 3 days, and not cooling down much after that. Even with the air conditioner on, the added heat from the kiln makes the studio too hot to work in for long.

This is a photo of the glass storage area in my studio:

These are glass rods which I melt and wind around a stainless steel 'mandrel' to create the hole. The beads, once formed, are annealed in a digitally-controlled kiln. The annealing process removes any internal stress in the glass and thus strengthens the bead. 

The jars on the shelf and in the spice rack contain frit - crushed glass which is used to decorate the beads.

I've never written a blog before but I came across MyCraft on Etsy and thought I would give it a go.

I'm a self-employed lampwork glass artist based in Adelaide, South Australia. I've been lampworking since late 2006, after being introduced to the medium by a friend. 

Beyond my interest in glass, my passion is politics and human rights. I have degrees in International Studies (politics and international relations majors) and Social Health. 

I sell my glass beads and jewellery on Etsy (http://elysiumbeads.etsy.com) and have a personal website (currently being redesigned) at http://www.elysiumbeads.com

I've been concentrating on making Pandora/Troll/Biagi-style large hole sterling silver-cored beads over the last 6 months but I also love making focal beads and bead sets. I occasionally make vessels (perfume bottles) and lately have started making bead specifically for decorating canape knives/forks, wine bottle stoppers, cheese knives etc etc...

Some technical information:

I currently use a MiniCC torch with a single 5lpm oxygen concentrator but have ordered a GTT Cricket torch which should arrive within the next month or so. Having worked on a Hothead, Minor and MiniCC, I'm looking forward to experiencing the Cricket as I've heard very good things about it. 

I make my beads primarily from Effetre/Moretti, Vetrofond, Double Helix and Lauscha glass, although I occasionally also use Reichenbach and Gaffer. I hope to try boro when I have the Cricket up and running.