Day 10

Zigzag barrel beads.  I used Ivory color instead of white.  Not having an original in front of me, I can't say whether the stark white or the off-white is more accurate, but I find the slightly off-white to be warmer and more pleasant to my eye for these beads.

I've made versions of these before, so nothing new to me in skills, but they still require focus and concentration to get them right.  If you look at the Hon necklace featured a few posts back, you will see a few beads similar to these, but with black base beads.  The technique is the same, regardless of the color scheme.  

See the one standing on end?  This is to illustrate the importance of getting the hole right.  If you moosh the glass on when making the bead, it spreads and makes a sharp edge.  This is more delicate than the puckered holes and also will cut a string, where the puckered hole won't.  

I view the smooth dimple as a mark of skill and look for it on any bead I pick up.  I also don't sell or even give away any bead I make that has a sharp edge to the hole.  There are diamond-coated reamers made for removing the sharp edges.  But they always look like they were tool-worked.  I want my beads to show that they are made right the first time.  

If you are ever in the market for glass beads, look for little details like this.  It tells you that the maker actually cares about the beads and isn't just cranking them out as fast as possible to make a few bucks.