Venbead

The Venerable Bead Handmade Borosilicate Glass Jewelry

Cranston, Rhode Island On Etsy since 2007

3,280 Sales | 5 out of 5 stars

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Buyers bought gifts from this shop and gave them 5-star reviews!

Venbead

The Venerable Bead Handmade Borosilicate Glass Jewelry

Cranston, Rhode Island | 3,280 Sales

5 out of 5 stars

Shop owner

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Announcement    My Pet Cremation Pendants are available here on Etsy. If you want to memorialize a human loved one please visit my website www.venbeadcremationjewelry.com Handmade borosilicate or boro glass pendants and lampwork beaded jewelry born in the torch of Paula Hamilton. Now featuring mixed metal and enameled jewelry too.

Announcement

Last updated on Nov 13, 2019

My Pet Cremation Pendants are available here on Etsy. If you want to memorialize a human loved one please visit my website www.venbeadcremationjewelry.com Handmade borosilicate or boro glass pendants and lampwork beaded jewelry born in the torch of Paula Hamilton. Now featuring mixed metal and enameled jewelry too.

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3280 Sales
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Paula Hamilton

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Paula Hamilton

Reviews

Average item review
5 out of 5 stars
(1562)
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quality 69 shipping 223 customer service 223

About Venbead

Sales 3,280
On Etsy since 2007
  • Two days after receiving my breast cancer diagnosis I had photographer Kristen Walker come and take these photos.
  • Despite my internal state, I decided not to cancel and capture the beads and these presurgery moments.
  • I am glad these pictures were taken. I can look back and see that while life was so uncertain then, it was and is good.
  • Melting glass is like meditating only with better hand eye coordination. Photo by DS Brennan
  • My career is very fulfilling, but there is a different sense of accomplishment in making art from fire and glass.

I melt borosilicate glass rods in the flame of a torch to create wearable works of art.

My name is Paula Hamilton and I am The Venerable Bead. I am a recently remarried mother of two beautiful and smart children ages 22 and 19. I am a clinical social worker and I am also a breast cancer survivor. I’ve had a love affair with bead and jewelry designing since 1994. It has changed forms many times but never waned. The glass bug hit in early 2005 while I was reading a Bead and Button magazine article about a borosilicate bead artist who started glassing in her 40's. I had never seen borosilicate glass before but I felt drawn to it. After that, I started buying boro beads from self representing artists to incorporate into my jewelry. Then it occurred to me that I could probably learn how to make them myself. In the Spring of 2005 I took a wonderful nine week lampworking class at the Worcester Center for Crafts taught by the very talented Jennifer Geldard and in July 2005 I set up a glass studio in my home.
I discovered Etsy in 2007 and have been happily selling my glass ever since. Over the last few years I have added metalwork and enameling to my skill set in an ever increasing effort to raise the bar for my glass work.
Growing up, most kids in my neighborhood had lemonade stands. I tried selling painted rocks and gave the lemonade away just to get people to stop and look at my creations. Things haven’t changed that much. Welcome to my Etsy shop.

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  • Paula Hamilton

    Owner, Maker, Designer

    As of April 16, 2012 I am on the other side of breast cancer. While I won't let it define my life it certainly has punctuated it! Meet the new and improved Paula. Cancer has taught me true balance. It can only get better from here.

Shop policies

Last updated on November 24, 2019
Welcome to The Venerable Bead. I have been creating wearable works of art since 1994 and melting glass since 2005. It's been an incredible journey. I hope you enjoy your shopping experience as much as I love my Etsy shop. If you like what you see, want to tell me how you found me or have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm very convo friendly!

Accepted payment methods

Paypal Mastercard Visa American Express Discover Apple Pay Giftcard
Accepts Etsy Gift Cards and Etsy Credits
Returns and exchanges
I gladly accept returns and exchanges
Contact me within: 14 days of delivery
Ship items back within: 30 days of delivery
I don't accept cancellations
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
The following items can't be returned or exchanged
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can't accept returns for:
  • Custom or personalized orders
  • Perishable products (like food or flowers)
  • Digital downloads
  • Intimate items (for health/hygiene reasons)
Returns and exchange details
If for some reason you are unhappy with your purchase (*GASP*) Please let me know via convo or e-mail venbead [!at] cox.net within 7 days of receipt of merchandise. I will exchange the item or refund your money less shipping once I have received it in it's original condition.
The cremation pendants are not refundable.
Payment
Payment is through paypal or direct checkout.

RI residents are required to pay 7% tax on their purchases which is automatically calculated at checkout.
Shipping
US: USPS first class with delivery confirmation
Free for purchases over $35
Otherwise it's $3.50 for first item and .50 for each additional item

Canada:
$7.50 for first item
.50 for each additional item

Outside of US/Canada:
$10.50 for first item
.50 for each additional item

If you would like me to ship USPS priority mail, express mail or want to purchase insurance please contact me and I will adjust the listing or if you have already purchased I can send you a paypal invoice for the adjusted amount.
I print labels directly from Etsy so the address you have listed with Etsy is the address your packages with be sent to unless you let me know otherwise.
I am not responsible for items lost or damaged in shipping.

**** A special note about customs fees: I am required by US federal law to fill out the customs form on all international packages. I am also required to check off commercial and fill in the purchase price of the item. Please understand that misprepresenting the package in any way is risking fines and jail time and I cannot and will not do that. :)
International customers are responsible for all fees associated with shipping to their respective countries. Orders that are shipped to countries outside of the United States may be subject to import taxes, customs duties and fees levied by the destination country. I have no control over these charges and cannot predict what they may be.
Additional policies and FAQs
Special Orders:
I am happy to do custom work for you. Please convo me your request through Convo and I will let you know if it is something I can do. Check out my sold items to see what else I have made. Please keep in mind that I may add a $5 surcharge to special order requests.

Special Note About Glass:
Glass breaks. All my pieces have been annealed in a digitally controlled kiln and should last a lifetime. Most are made of borosilicate glass which is a hard glass like pyrex so they are durable and will withstand a little tumble to the carpet. However, a trip into the sink or onto the tile floor in the bathroom will likely yield a sad fate. For this reason, please be careful in allowing children to wear glass jewelry.

Borosilicate glass is a luminous glass high in silver and other metals. It is best viewed in natural sunlight to see it's brilliance. I photograph my jewelry outdoors in the shade and indoors under a photo tent and simulated daylight bulbs because I want you to see the brilliance that is boro. Some of my boro may look darker in regular indoor lighting. I will make special note of this in my listing if I think this is the case about a particular piece. I also may provide an additional photo of indoor lighting at times if I think there is a big discrepancy.

I rarely make trades and I do not sell my work as components for other jewelry makers.

All items are made and packaged for shipment in a pet free smoke free home.