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| Bead & Jewelry Availability |
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| My beads and jewelry are available for purchase in several different ways: |
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| My website - I will have a variety of beads & jewelry on my site available for sale. This will vary from loose beads such as focals or earring pairs, to full sets of beads for jewelry creation. I will also have finished jewelry available, such as earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and other items using beads created by me. |
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| Auctions - I will try to have something on eBay and JustBeads.com
on a regular basis. My auction id for both sites is MistyCherie.
Occasionally I will need to go away on vacation or take some time to catch
up on special orders, and I will post a message on my website when that
occurs. |
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| Custom Orders - I will gladly make a custom order based on items
already in my gallery. If you see something
similar to what you want on my gallery,
I am sure we can work something out. If you would like to place a special
order, please register and use the Custom Order checkout
(this feature is not active yet, but it will be--in the meantime you can
email me directly to place
a custom order). |
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| Auction/Specials Notification - If you would like to be notified
of any specials, or the posting of auctions--please sign up for my mailing
list when you register. |
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| Print Catalog - I do not have a print catalog, as I add to my gallery all the time. The cost of providing a print catalog is prohibitive for me at this time. |
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| Wholesale - I do not sell my beads wholesale, but am willing to discuss minor price breaks if beads are ordered in a reasonable quantity. |
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| Shows/Galleries - I do not currently sell my lampwork beads or jewelry at art shows or have my work placed in any brick-and-mortar store or gallery. Tucson has a lot of beautiful stores and galleries for hand-crafted art and I hope to have my work in them at some point. When that happens, I will update this information and provide information as to where my work is being displayed. |
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| Are My Beads in Your Jewelry? - If you have used my beads in your jewelry/art creations, email me a picture and your information and I will proudly post it in my Designer's Gallery . If the item is available for sale, include information in case someone wishes to purchase it. |
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| Materials in Misty Cherie's Beads & Jewelry |
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| Materials in Misty Cherie Beads - I use Italian, German and American soft glass. The brand names are Effetre (formerly Moretti), Vetrofond and Lauscha. I do not use borosilicate (yet!). I sometimes decorate my beads with frit (crushed glass), pixie dust (mica-based sparkle), and enamels (very fine lead-free particles of color). I also use pure silver, copper, and gold foils. My beads are made with an oxygen/propane mix "GTT Lynx" torch and are placed in a digitally controlled kiln to be annealed for lasting durability and strength. |
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| Materials in Misty Cherie Jewelry - In making my jewelry, I only use the best materials. No one wants green ears or necks! I use fine .925 silver findings, Swarovski crystals, pearls, seed beads, and a variety of other things-all of only of the best quality! I also occasionally make items with niobium (very hypoallergenic metal) and gold vermeil (gold plate over .925 silver). If you have special needs due to a metal allergy, I will be happy to work with you to change out findings so that you can wear my jewelry in confidence and with no ill effects. Just make a special note of it on the order form, and I will contact you if I have any questions. |
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| I want to make sure that you are completely happy with your bead/jewelry purchase: |
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- To return items in the same condition as they were sent out: If for any reason you are not satisfied with any item purchased from me, you may return it for a refund. I ask that you please let me know by emailing me within 10 days of receipt of the item. Refunds do not include any (to-or-from) shipping costs. I do reserve the right to impose a small restocking fee on returns, but will only impose this fee on a case-by-case basis.
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| In case of a broken bead, at any time during the life of the bead:
If a bead should break at any time, you may return it for a replacement.
Please email me
and let me know if this happens. I guarantee by beads, even in the rare instances of breakage. Please understand that I will do my best, but the nature of glass usually does not allow for an
"exact" copy of the original bead. |
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| In case of jewelry breakage: If an item of jewelry that I created breaks, please contact me for repair assistance. I will gladly restring a necklace or bracelet if it should break during use. If you lose an earring, I will attempt to create a match, for a reasonable fee, to replace it. Just drop me an email with the problem, and we will discuss it. I want happy customers! |
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| The word "lampwork" is a term used to describe glass beads, vessels, marbles, or any other small glass item made by melting glass with a torch and wrapping it around a metal rod. The term "lampwork" was used many, many years ago when people used to use oil lamps to melt the glass to make beads. |
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| It is easy to confuse artisan-made lampwork, with mass-imported lampwork made from countries such as China, Turkey, and India. It's also easy to confuse artisan-made lampwork with Czech-made lampwork, which are sometimes of a higher quality than other mass-produced lampwork, but it is still mass-produced. Artisan-made lampwork is almost always more expensive and almost always of a higher quality, because it's more often kiln-annealed so it won't break easily. |
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| Annealing is the very important process of slow-cooling beads in a temperature controlled kiln (oven) so that the glass molecules have a chance to align themselves in the strongest and most durable way. This reduces stress in the glass, so that it becomes more stable and less likely to break. Keep in mind, it's still glass, and if smashed against a hard surface it may still break like any other type of glass! Many sellers of mass-produced lampwork claim that their beads are annealed. Cooling beads in a fiber blanket/vermiculite/sand is NOT annealing them! Doing this cools the beads way too quickly, and does not reduce the stress in the glass. This means un-annealed beads are more likely to break, or even crack or shatter suddenly (even if only on display). For glass to be "annealed," it must be placed in a kiln and slowly cooled, in controlled increments, over a period of several hours (how long depends on the type of glass). All of my beads are annealed in a digitally controlled kiln, in order to provide the best strength and durability possible. |
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| When buying lampwork, make sure you understand where it is coming from and what went into making it. There is a place for all beads - some of the mass-produced beads are very pretty these days, and cost effective for jewelry designers. However, artisan-made lampwork is usually of the highest quality, are often very unique (there certainly won't be millions of them floating around!) and made with more care for quality. Lampwork prices tend to vary, and it can be really hard to tell what's worth your money and what isn't. It's best to do your homework before buying any glass beads to make sure you are getting the quality you desire. |
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Informative Links: |
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| Lampwork Beads, Method and Artist Profiles |
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