I believe (but don't quote me) that you can buy a studio card for 10 hours for $100. As far as I am concerned, this is a great deal. For those of us who enjoy making lampwork beads but don't have the money, the desire or the location to set up our own studio, Beadfx has a great, safe and clean facility that you can use and if you're only paying $5 an hour, it's a tough deal to beat!
I just got back from a session there tonight, where I learned that the Happy Hour Torching program, which started this past spring, will be continuing on into the fall. Some Thursday nights are busier than others so it's always best to call ahead and book a torch in advance (there are 6 available in total).
The other benefit of HHT evenings is that resident lampwork artist extraordinaire, Dwyn Tomlinson, is there from 7 to 9 p.m. and is always willing to give pointers, answer questions, solve problems and/or let you watch while she creates her fabulous beads. If you're very lucky and ask her nicely or bribe her with cookies, she's also happy to give the occasional demo or two about a technique or a type of glass.
For example, tonight Dwyn was giving someone a quick demonstration on how to make a round bead, something I am not consistent with at all (I'm kind of partial to the irregularly shaped ones anyway!). Since I happened to be sitting at the torch next to her, I got the benefit of the lesson as well. Even though I've heard the technique before, seen her do it and even tried it myself before, tonight for some reason, it worked for me and I think I made at least 3 or 4 perfectly round beads. I'm so excited! I'll have to wait until I'm back at the store to get the finished product to be sure (did I mention that the Beadfx Bead Fairy is responsible for taking your beads out of the kiln the next morning after they are properly annealed and removing them from the mandrell? Again, you get a lot of value for your $5!!)
So I ask you:
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