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click dolly for home	*ABOUT US* girls in the shop	Take a BEADIFUL STROLL visit and shop the Pandosy Village Area. Here are listings and a map to let you know who our neighbours are! West Ave/Pandosy Pandosy/Groves more maps coming!
BEADS	*ABOUT US* girls in the shop
FINDINGS & TOOLS	We aim to please and we learn as we teach & grow! If you have any questions or growing informationv for us we would love to hear from you! Is there interest in a beady forum type setup on this site??
ART & ARTISTS	Kristin( in black) Sharon(in white). Kristin Butler and SharonMacKenzie Two 'sisters' on a mission in the Mission in Kelowna to spread the bead word to as many people as possible. Everyone CAN bead and express their personality daily in adornments on their person. In fact many are suprised at their own creativity once we give them a little shove in the positive direction THEY want to go. KRISTIN BUTLER Always having a love for jewellery art Kristin studied jewellery arts and silversmithing at BCCT, took design courses at Emily Carr and had her own design studio in Vancouver. She has collected beads for many years ever since her Auntie brought her back a few from a vacation. SHARON MACKENZIE Sharon comes from an artist/jewellery background. She operated an art/consignment shop in the North Shuswap, the 'Artreeum,' where she sold her own and local art.Using natural materials Sharon created a line of jewellery inovative and fun! Some pieces were even edible in the 'Natuellery' line. She also took Digital art and Design at UCC and is using her 'art' in many ways. TRYING TO GET TO THE STORE??? Here is the link to MAP QUEST to find us http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address &searchtype=address&country=CA&addtohistory=&address= 510+West+Ave&city=Kelowna&state=BC&zipcode=V1Y+4Z4 Once you reach the page I give you just remove the little plus signs and leave spaces instead. Clear as mud? Phone us or email and I'll talk you through it!
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BELLA VISTA STUDIOS TOUR & INSTRUCTION - Thank You Pat Doyle Kristin and I had a day Of Wonderous Fun and Intense Concentration at Bella Vista Studios in Vernon. here are some pics I hope you enjoy. Bella Vista Glass beads are IN-STORE and coming on-line as soon as humanly possible.
Kristin and Pat	Me and Pat
Pat gave us a tour of her studio ( big play room really with kilns, clay, stained glass stuff and too much fun)and taught us all about safety and the limits and dangers involved in working with a torch and melting glass. Kristin demonstrates the downside in trying to keep her 'cheater' glasses in place underneath the required safety glasses.
	Pat 'Demonstrates' the technique of working with the mandrel which will hold the glass bead and slowly melting the glass rod in the torch. Its hard to see the melting, dripping, globule of glass perfectly behind and inside of the flame as you try to smoothly drape it over the mandrel. I can guess it takes a while to perfect this. The glass rod is red hot and sometimes is different colours in the flame.
Can you see how Pat is holding the mandrel? If you don't hold it level (horizontal)while you continually turn it the hot glass will glob off center with gravity. Some people may like this effect but it doesn't hang straightfor the' regular' beader to work with. Pat demonstrated ways to work with that darn glob if your hand forgets what its doing and your bead ends up a little wanky!
	I was way too nervous and excited so I made Kristin go first. She didn't hesitate to oblidge me and took to waving her glass rod about a bit to start to heat it gently. If you place the rod of glass in the flame too quickly the glass will sputter and most likely break and/or pop off and stab you. ( No kidding, a friend was informing us of a glassbead maker scary story that i should get right before I tell you.)
A rear view of Kristin concentrating and getting ready to apply the hot glass to the mandrel. See all of the glass rod colours to choose from? It was crazy fun and too many choices to imagine the designs WOW
	Side view of glass being applied to the mandrel. The mandrel has a bead release on it (white stuff) that will enable the bead to slide off after being in the kiln. You really aren't suppose to have the mandrel in the direct flame.Its to be just behind the flame but still kept warm or the bead may crack whist applying more glass.
Kristin learns the technique of applying 'dots' to the glass.
Thats All for now. Yes I did make beads too and I tried NOT to hog the torch. Below are our BEAD BABIES. I already made one into a pendant.