Thank you for your purchase!
You’ve just joined the worldwide community of artist-made glass bead collectors. Glass beads have been a valuable source of trade and cherished possessions for thousands of years of human civilization – with proper care your new ShebaMakeda bead will last you a lifetime and even beyond.

Your bead was created using a traditional hot glass technique called lampworking (or flameworking, torchworking or glass beadmaking). I formed your bead within the flame of my torch using fine Italian, German and/or American glass. Once the design and sculpting was complete, I placed it in a digitally controlled kiln to be annealed (slowly cooled to release the inner stresses within the glass).

Care and maintenance:

While i do everything in my power to create strong, well designed and very stable beads, please keep in mind each bead is still made of glass and therefore (much like any other item made of glass) should be considered fragile.

DO NOT drop, bang or crush your bead or expose it to extreme temperatures.  If you do (or after any accidents) please take the time to carefully inspect your bead for damage before wearing or displaying it again.

DO NOT wear your beads in the shower, pool, jacuzzi or anywhere else they may be exposed to chemicals or harsh conditions.  Certain decorative effects (especially beads with metallic or iridescent finishes) may reactive negatively to those environments.

PLEASE DO NOT wear chipped, cracked or broken beads.  Broken glass is sharp and it will cut you (ask me how i know!).  If you still love your bead, glue it back together and keep it for display purposes only.

To clean your bead (if necessary):

DO NOT use any abrasives, strong chemicals or commercial glass cleansers as they may destroy the finish on your bead.  I recommend using nothing harsher than a quick dip in a mild dish soap and water mixture OR rubbing alcohol followed by a gentle polish with a soft cotton or microfibre cloth.  For deeply embedded dirt an extra-soft (child’s) toothbrush used gently should remove any deposits.

DO NOT leave your beads to soak in water or any other liquids.  A quick dip when cleaning is all it needs.

The ShebaMakeda one-year warranty:

 Hot glass is as much a science as an art.  The fabulous colours and interactions that create such spectacular effects are not due to pigments (like in a painting) but to the chemical reactions that result from mixing the various metals, minerals and oxides used to create each glass colour and/or technique.

Contemporary studio glass beadmaking is in the midst of a huge revolution with new types of glass and techniques constantly in development.  Most manufacturers hand mix their glass in relatively small quantities and the formulas and colours can vary from batch to batch.  Mixing different brands and colours of glass often creates fantastic interactions that spur oodles of creativity in the glass beadmaking community – but every once in a while those same interactions can lead to incompatibilities that may result in the bead cracking days, weeks or even months later.

Therefore, I guarantee all my beads against thermal cracks* for a period of one year from the date of purchase. I don’t ever expect a crack of this type to happen but if it does, please let me know immediately as this means I will have to make adjustments to the technical aspects of my creation or annealing process.

My ultimate goal is for you to be as happy with your new bead or sculpture

as I was creating it…