setting up a studio

[redemer123]

What is the best advice you can give me for starting a a studio? I'm a college student on a budget

[Lorraine Chandler]

Best advice is to read everything you can in the studio and safety forums and you be well equipped to set up an area for yourself.

[Alaska]

First, one would think that your studies would be more important than starting out with a new adventure in glass IMO.

The other issue is location. If renting then there are lease issues. If in the dorm a big no. If at home then yes if parents approve. Or if you own your own place then it becomes a time and cost problem.

As far as costs go, many lampworkes have thousands of dollars invested in the art. Considering that college, comes first how much are you willing to spend in both time and dollars?

As Lorraine stated, read what is here and in other lampworking forums. And posted as of August 11th these two new threads will provide a good insight as to direction and needs.

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=249677

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=249910

[Metamorphi]

Congratulations on wanting to continue your art alongside with your studies. As others have said there are quite a few factors to consider.

What is your skill level and do you have equipment already?
Then, how much do you want to spend?
Finally, what do you want to get out of your investment?

If you want to set up a small studio with the intention of creating beads for your own personal use, perhaps as something to do when you're not studying and you have no intention of selling beads. Then you will get along fine with a small budget of about $300. Enough to buy a hothead torch, glass, a few books on beginning lampwork and with some money left over to pay for batch annealing.

If you already have some of the equipment and have some skill, is this a step up for you? Do you want to sell your beads? If so, are you're looking for a larger space with ventilation, enough power/electricity to run everything, light?

At the end of the day, setting up a studio is variable. When I count the cost of my studio, the set up runs to about $8000. Because I've chosen to spend my money on expensive equipment, own a lot of glass and my intention is to make money from this investment.
However, I know people that are perfectly happy with their $300 hothead investment.

You'll need to tell us a little more about what you want to do before we can give you more detailed advice.

[redemer123]

Originally Posted by Metamorphi

Congratulations on wanting to continue your art alongside with your studies. As others have said there are quite a few factors to consider.

What is your skill level and do you have equipment already?
Then, how much do you want to spend?
Finally, what do you want to get out of your investment?

If you want to set up a small studio with the intention of creating beads for your own personal use, perhaps as something to do when you're not studying and you have no intention of selling beads. Then you will get along fine with a small budget of about $300. Enough to buy a hothead torch, glass, a few books on beginning lampwork and with some money left over to pay for batch annealing.

If you already have some of the equipment and have some skill, is this a step up for you? Do you want to sell your beads? If so, are you're looking for a larger space with ventilation, enough power/electricity to run everything, light?

At the end of the day, setting up a studio is variable. When I count the cost of my studio, the set up runs to about $8000. Because I've chosen to spend my money on expensive equipment, own a lot of glass and my intention is to make money from this investment.
However, I know people that are perfectly happy with their $300 hothead investment.

You'll need to tell us a little more about what you want to do before we can give you more detailed advice.

Thank you for your input, well to begin; I have absolutely no experience in this hobby. I discovered glass making a year ago and have since then researched all about glass making. and now since I am old enough to have a steady income I decided I actually wanted to delve into this hobby. As of now I have no equipment but I am carefully considering options and will likely make some purchases soon. Overall I think my intentions for this hobby are mainly for the personal satisfaction of creating pieces of art however I wouldn't mind selling some of my art to some people as well. I don't intend to make a job out of it, I just think selling some marbles or pendants to offset the costs of doing lamp work would be cool. As far as how much I want to spend, I think around $2000 is how much i'm looking to spend on my setup however I also don't mind paying a little extra for better equipment. Is that a viable estimate?

[Metamorphi]

Well it seems like you have a bit of a plan, the first thing I did before I spent a penny was to take some lessons to see if I actually did like making glass beads. I loved it, as soon as I could I ordered everything I needed. I thought I *had* done my research, but I actually learned a lot afterward when I found this form and WC. So, use this forum, do take the advice given and look at other threads. They will help you with your choices.

Your choices are personal, based on your budget and what you need. You won't know what you need until you've had a play and tried out a few different types of torches and set ups. So that would be the first thing I'd do. Don't try one type of torch and think, yep, that's it. I'll use that, you might find a different brand that suits you more.

Usually when people say they want to make pendants and marbles, I think they mean borosilicate glass. Do you intend to work in soft glass or boro? If you want to work in boro there is a higher cost involved because of the power you need to melt low coefficient glass. If it's boro you might consider a more dedicated borosilicate torch. Such as the Red Hot Max or Hellcat Burner.

If it is soft glass, then you can get a Minor Burner or a Mini CC (Both of these torches will melt boro, but slowwwwly). If I had my choice over, I'd go for the Mini CC over the Minor. The simple fact of that is that the Mini CC has a slightly wider flame and runs hotter. All the torches mentioned are Dual Fuel, which you've probably already heard about.

Dual fuel torches need oxygen to run, which means you will need oxy bottles or a concentrator. Now, this is where your problems start. Bottled oxy is pricey (I think that is true of all countries) oxygen concentrators are a good investment, but I've gone through two before I found the one that suited my torch and they are not cheap where I come from. Just my oxygen concentrators alone cost me 5k. Granted, if you're from the states they are considerably cheaper. It will take a chunk out of your budget.

Once your oxygen situation is sorted out you run into the problem of ventilation, space and location. If you have an apartment and you live on floors that require stair/lift access you'll find it near impossible to have your insurance cover you, or even if your landlord/body corporate will allow such things. Gas and oxygen aren't usually recommended to be on the second floor, let alone in your living space, because they could blow a small crater out of your building if something goes wrong. This means you will need a first floor garage or to hire studio space. If you're in this situation that is quite unlucky, because studio space is costly.

If you are fortunate enough to live on the ground floor and/or have access to an outside area then your issues are less compounded. You can run a pipe from your gas/oxy cylinders from outside to your torch inside (so long as it's less than 3m - about 12ft). You can do that in several ways, my method was to drill a hole in the wall, but some people put the pipes through the window. Now that I am in a studio, I don't have to have the gas bottle outside.

If you have a window and you torch near it, that will provide some ventilation and some air flow, however, it will not be nearly as good for your health as a proper ventilation system. I'm battling with electricians to try and get a ventilation system put in and 3 phase power. However it is studio space and the landlord has to agree. I can tell you right now that an open window and a four hour torch session is not enough ventilation and that is not using silver or silvered glasses. Think about that, your health is important. If you're going to be spending long hours at the torch refining your skills you will need good air flow and proper ventilation.

In saying all that, depending on your circumstances It is certainly do-able for the budget you have set yourself, provided you think about utilising secondhand equipment, particularly if you want a complete set up, dual fuel torch, kiln, oxy con, range of glass.

I hope this hasn't been too much information to take in, my biggest piece advice though really comes from the fact that selling beads is not as easy as it appears. There is a lot of work involved in marketing, finding your target customers, creating a style that sets you apart and obviously the packing and shipping when you do sell something (online) or the long tedious hours at a market working hard to sell your product. If you take some lessons and find that you love lampworking, then selling will never be a burden, you will make time for it all and continue with your studies.

Good luck.

[redemer123]

Originally Posted by Metamorphi

Well it seems like you have a bit of a plan, the first thing I did before I spent a penny was to take some lessons to see if I actually did like making glass beads. I loved it, as soon as I could I ordered everything I needed. I thought I *had* done my research, but I actually learned a lot afterward when I found this form and WC. So, use this forum, do take the advice given and look at other threads. They will help you with your choices.

Your choices are personal, based on your budget and what you need. You won't know what you need until you've had a play and tried out a few different types of torches and set ups. So that would be the first thing I'd do. Don't try one type of torch and think, yep, that's it. I'll use that, you might find a different brand that suits you more.

Usually when people say they want to make pendants and marbles, I think they mean borosilicate glass. Do you intend to work in soft glass or boro? If you want to work in boro there is a higher cost involved because of the power you need to melt low coefficient glass. If it's boro you might consider a more dedicated borosilicate torch. Such as the Red Hot Max or Hellcat Burner.

If it is soft glass, then you can get a Minor Burner or a Mini CC (Both of these torches will melt boro, but slowwwwly). If I had my choice over, I'd go for the Mini CC over the Minor. The simple fact of that is that the Mini CC has a slightly wider flame and runs hotter. All the torches mentioned are Dual Fuel, which you've probably already heard about.

Dual fuel torches need oxygen to run, which means you will need oxy bottles or a concentrator. Now, this is where your problems start. Bottled oxy is pricey (I think that is true of all countries) oxygen concentrators are a good investment, but I've gone through two before I found the one that suited my torch and they are not cheap where I come from. Just my oxygen concentrators alone cost me 5k. Granted, if you're from the states they are considerably cheaper. It will take a chunk out of your budget.

Once your oxygen situation is sorted out you run into the problem of ventilation, space and location. If you have an apartment and you live on floors that require stair/lift access you'll find it near impossible to have your insurance cover you, or even if your landlord/body corporate will allow such things. Gas and oxygen aren't usually recommended to be on the second floor, let alone in your living space, because they could blow a small crater out of your building if something goes wrong. This means you will need a first floor garage or to hire studio space. If you're in this situation that is quite unlucky, because studio space is costly.

If you are fortunate enough to live on the ground floor and/or have access to an outside area then your issues are less compounded. You can run a pipe from your gas/oxy cylinders from outside to your torch inside (so long as it's less than 3m - about 12ft). You can do that in several ways, my method was to drill a hole in the wall, but some people put the pipes through the window. Now that I am in a studio, I don't have to have the gas bottle outside.

If you have a window and you torch near it, that will provide some ventilation and some air flow, however, it will not be nearly as good for your health as a proper ventilation system. I'm battling with electricians to try and get a ventilation system put in and 3 phase power. However it is studio space and the landlord has to agree. I can tell you right now that an open window and a four hour torch session is not enough ventilation and that is not using silver or silvered glasses. Think about that, your health is important. If you're going to be spending long hours at the torch refining your skills you will need good air flow and proper ventilation.

In saying all that, depending on your circumstances It is certainly do-able for the budget you have set yourself, provided you think about utilising secondhand equipment, particularly if you want a complete set up, dual fuel torch, kiln, oxy con, range of glass.

I hope this hasn't been too much information to take in, my biggest piece advice though really comes from the fact that selling beads is not as easy as it appears. There is a lot of work involved in marketing, finding your target customers, creating a style that sets you apart and obviously the packing and shipping when you do sell something (online) or the long tedious hours at a market working hard to sell your product. If you take some lessons and find that you love lampworking, then selling will never be a burden, you will make time for it all and continue with your studies.

Good luck.

Thanks so much, this information has been greatly helpful. There are a few people on this forum that teach lamp working that are relatively close to me. Aside from hours of research my first step is to get a hold of a teacher and get some hands on before I purchase any equipment. Don't want to purchase a several thousand dollar setup and decide the hobby isn't for me lol. If you don't mind I may contact you directly in the future via personal message regarding questions I have. The detail and time you have put into writing the information in this thread is greatly appreciated.