Delicious Art Glass

It’s been an emotional couple of days. We have talked and talked about what to do because our idea is not going down well with some crafts people. The fear is that they will loose money which is only natural and that we won’t put the effort into selling because we will have already received our fee. Trying anything new or different is scary and risky but what could we do to make it better?

At 2.30am last night a better option came to me. We would deduct the fee from peoples sales. If there are no sales then we loose out too and are taking a risk as well. I really want to do this it’s a dream come true for me and I’m not out to rip anyone off, I just know there can be a better fairer way to do things. Just like fair trade products but for Irish crafts people rather then abroad. I wanted to use the term fair trade but I can’t unless money is going to 3rd world countries. I wanted to use the guaranteed Irish symbol but I can’t because I am a classed as a retailer however individual crafts people can apply to use it. We also don’t qualify for grants because we are classed as retail as well. If I had called it a gallery it would have been different.

So we are learning as we go along and doing our best to make Truly Gifted work

Majella

Over the past few days my lovely mother in law Annelies Spang came to visit from The Netherlands. She is also an artist take a look at her work here

So I arranged a ladies night to have fun with art. As luck would have it my friend Angelique brought over some lovely porcelain paint so we could paint on tiles. Annelies suggested we do some stippling with the tops of nails and off we went. And here is what we made

What is Truly Gifted ?

Truly Gifted is a unquie concept. An Idea brought to life by Majella Spang of Delicious Art Glass (yes me) who wanted a shop with just more then her glass peices. So why not a shop that works like a market! Cutting out the middle man and bringing great products at great prices to Mallow, Co. Cork

But equally important for me it’ll have a glass studio yippeee!

I have found a beautiful building in the main street. It is above a boutique and we have 2 floors. See it here

We will be renting out spaces to Irish artists and crafts people starting at €6.05 a week with no commission taken. There will be a selection of space’s available from tables, glass cabinets, card racks, shelves and clothing rails.

There will also be wall space available, which will operate on a normal commission basis because they can be expensive and can sometimes be more difficult to sell.

Also I’d love people to come and give workshops and demonstrations for adults & children. I’ll also be giving workshops in glass fusing either on a Wednesday evening or on Sunday afternoon’s.

Artists and crafts people (which I’ll now refer to as designers) get 100% of the sales no commission taken.  They don’t need to be there, unless they want to be of course as we do all the selling. However I would be doing a meet the designer day and encourage designers to drop in any time.

Why do I want to do this?

Because I’m sick of taking my crafts to shops and they multiply my price by 2 or 3 and they end up with more then the designer. Also becasue sometimes market and fairs are sometimes not the right place to be. Many of them are outdoors or in a marquee of some sort. Then items can get wet even in a tent moisture builds up and drips down as well as winds blowing away signs or business cards. So I want to open this shop similar to a market and as fairly as I can. Only Irish goods can be sold, absolutely no imports, non handmade items or mass produced items.

I think this is a great opportunity for designers to get their items showcased in a shop in a busy town. It’s also great for designers starting out to test the market and their product and looking for ways to expand their craft and use the space as a means of growth.

What do you think?

So I’ve been missing for a while. I’ve been doing workshops, creating and visiting family. I got a box of brass vintage supplies the other day and I’ve been so busy with that. Sometimes there is so much to choose from my brain gets frazzled! Here are some of the things I’ve been making

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Today I cleaned up my studio and decided to be productive. So I made some cute fishes and a bowl. Have a look

So I’ve been very busy but it looks like the shop is going to happen after all. I’ll have a studio big enough to give workshops and a gallery & shop. I’ve just finished organising a night course for autumn/winter and I’m excited. We won’t be open until late Sept early Oct so there is plenty of time to fit everything out. There will be a series of shelving, tables and hanging spaces as well. Each space will be rented out per week from €5 excluding vat depending on how much space is needed.

It will be called Truly Gifted, Handmade Irish Art’s and Crafts. Crafters can join the Truly Gifted Family for free and we’ll handle the advertising/selling and paper bags of course! I’m still finishing off the application form but I’ll put up a post as soon as it’s ready. I’ll also be looking for people to give workshops too

Hi everyone, I’m a very busy bee lately so read on!

I am in the planning stages of opening an Irish fair trade arts and crafts shop in Mallow Co. Cork. I have found a beautiful building in the main street so there will be plenty of footfall.

Right now we are looking at renting out a space to you the Irish crafter for €25 a week with no commission taken. Table size 1sq. meter and in the future there will also be wall space available. We hope to open in July & I’ll also have my glass studio there

You get 100% of the sales and you don’t need to be there, unless you want to be of course we do all the selling. I want to do this because I’m sick of taking my crafts to shops and they multiply my price by 2 or 3 and they end up with more then the crafter/artist. And because I’m sick of freezing my butt off at markets!!!

I want to open this shop as fair trade and Irish goods only absolutely no imports or non handmade items. This is a great opportunity for you to get your items showcased in a shop in a busy town rather then a market stall. It’s also great for crafter’s starting out to test the market.

So please contact me if you are interested: 0834123737 majella@deliciousartglass.com

Stunning blue dichro earrings suitable for any occasion

€10.00 via PayPal, €2 shipping within the EU, €5 for the rest of the world.

via Etsy

Pendant comes with a gift box and a chain.

€20.00 via PayPal, €2 shipping within the EU, €5 for the rest of the world.

via Etsy

A few weeks ago I decided to make a wall panel. But what to make I thought, since i’d never made one before I was nervous. So I found this lovely pattern in one of my books and off I went!

Step 1

The first thing I had to do was enlarge the pattern & pick my colours. I chose to use shades of green & blue to resemble sea weed under the ocean

Step 2

Then I had to cut all the pieces out and grind them into the correct shape as it’s impossible to get deep curves with a glass scorer

Step 3

After all the pieces were cut & ground into shape I put it in for a tack fuse.  A tack fuse just melts each bit to the back piece of glass so I can easily fill it in with frit

tack fused

Here it is tack fused and ready to go.  A tack fuse goes to 749 degrees

I poured different shades of frit in between the peices to compleate the panel. Frit is ground glass and it comes in different granes. I continued the green/blue theme

Here it is all done after a full fuse. A full fuse goes to 800 degrees Celsius and the whole panel becomes 1 piece of glass

Each time it’s been in the kiln takes a day. It needs to heat up & cool down slow so it doesn’t crack or break. Also cooling it down toughens the glass so it is stronger

I really enjoyed making my first big piece & it is currently on sale at the friars gate theater in Kilmallock Co. Limerick for €150