Dichroic Jewelry by the McCoy Family

Essential Glassworks is a family business established in 1992 which creates fine jewelry from dichroic art glass. The company consists of Michael, Nancie and Heather who each contribute their expertise to the hand crafted elegant jewelry pictured here.

Each piece of jewelry is hand crafted with individual characteristics and not mass produced. Dichroic art glass is the component of the jewelry that adds such a wild display of color and light. Dichroic, Greek for two lights, is a dynamic art glass that transmits and reflects color. The glass is created through vacuum deposition in which chemicals are introduced into a spinning vacuum with the glass forcing an ultra-thin quartz crystal structure to grow on the surface of the glass. The crystal structure literally bends the light, creating a visual feast of movement between color spectrums.

If you want to be showered with compliments, you'll definitely need to begin collecting their work!

Moppet Keychains and Magnets

Aren't these guys cute? You can get them as a keychain or a magnet. We have 8 different designs of pewter dogs and cats in this type of style. They are made by Jami Miyamoto, she also make the dog tags we carry.

Flameworked Glass Business Card Holders

We just received the most beautiful business card holders. They will add such a touch of class to any desk. They are hand crafted by Kahlil Deerman of Boulder, Colorado. Kahlil uses flameworking techniques to make these card holders from a high strength glass called borosilicate often referred to as "pyrex". This type of glass adds durability and comes in a wide range of colors.

This is what Kahlil has to say about working with this type of glass, "I love the variety and intensity of the colors available in the boro-pallette, the clarity and compatibility of these colors is fascinating. I find that the color combinations are infinite, as I am continually finding new patterns and designs!"

Fused Glass Angels

These fused glass angels from Ronda and Randy Dougherty are just what you need to brighten up your day. The angels are created by stacking several sheets of clear fusible glass together. Then raw chemicals such as tin oxide and cobalt carbonate are combined and suspended in fluid to achieve a color palette. The chemicals are then applied to the top sheet of the stack of fusible glass. The pieces are then placed in a kiln and fired to temperatures above 2000 degrees. The halo and wings are from steel and copper and are added after the glass has been annealed and cooled.

We have the angels ranging in size from three inches to seven inches. They can be used as an ornament, hung on the wall or in the window. Everyone needs a guardian angel and these are sure to please with their fabulous colors and charm.

Lampworked Glass Jewelry by Jane Barthelemy

Northwest jewelry designer Jane Barthelemy creates her colorful necklaces, earrings, bracelets and pendants in innovative, multi-layered glass designs. She infuses the finest of old-world craftsmanship with eclectic, energized, modern style.

Jane's exclusive lamp beads are made entirely by hand over a single flame. Many of the beads have an internal layer of 24k gold or sterling silver, which adds luminosity to transparent colors. Jane says, "Each color must be layered one at a time while keeping the molten glass at a constant temperature, or the bead will crack. After several trials, we allow the bead to cool and it's true colors appear. The final result is often quite a surprise, even more beautiful than what I had originally envisioned!"

Originally from Boston, Jane lived in Italy where she sang as a primadonna in Italian opera theaters. While living and singing in Venice, she fell in love with glass and learned to make lamp work beads. She frequently created beads and jewelry to wear for her own performances on stage. In 1993, she tired of the life of a performer, returned to the USA and began to create her own jewelry collections.

Luminettes from Joline El-Hai aka Night Lights

New work is arriving from our recent trip to Philadelphia for the Buyers Market of American Craft. The first to appear is night lights from Bella Luz made by Joline El-Hai. Joline is from Seattle and makes "luminettes" from translucent prints and copper frames. The image is a print of her original color pencil and pastel on paper artwork.

Joline speaks about her work and her inspiration:

As a child I would sit on our back porch in the late afternoon sun, sewing sequins onto scraps of black velvet. The effect of the dramatic light and glowing colors fascinated me, and it is this love of color combined with light that still inspires my artwork. Since 1975, I have created works with glass. I like to take flat pieces of colored glass, paint them, fire and fuse them, glue found objects onto them, lead them together and set them in embellished wooden frames with lights inside to create richly colored and textured light-boxes. I think of them as scenes from a theater that one might dream about. My wall sconces, night-lights ("luminettes" as I call them) and other lighting products are miniature versions of my glass light boxes, though the materials are very different. The Bella Luz line of luminettes and lamps start out as drawings ...pastel, colored pencil, and watercolor. These are photographed and reproduced as translucent photographic prints. The images are then housed in fancifully shaped copper frames that have been hand-textured, colored by patina, and illuminated by light bulbs. I also enjoy making jewelry, gardening, and raising my daughter Sarina.