Behind the Scenes ....

As many of you know we're working hard behind the scenes on a number of new products for Mangobeads.

Creating new products takes time, especially as we're keen to source all our materials and trades as locally as possible.

We take pride in the fact that all our mandrels, bead liners and of course beads come directly from North Devon. We take time to not only source good quality materials, but to ensure that anything we cannot do ourselves is done to the highest specification possible ensuring that the finished product is of a high standard.

Amongst all the new things we are working on I think the most exciting is our bracelet and range of accessories for interchangeable poppers.

The last two months has been a real test of determination for us as a small business. We struggle to get any manufacturer to consider the quantity of goods we are able to commit to in any one production run as a serious proposition. This makes our small batch runs both expensive and slow as we are not considered high priority.

But, this aside we have an excellent local engineer on board and although frustrating at times we seem to be winning.

The bead liner has been a great success and we are working on another batch to be ready for The International Festival of Glass later this year.

There are some things it's just too difficult to arrange in this country and one has to look else where for certain components, and this has been the case on the popper front. We are in the process of having our own designed and manufactured abroad, and are keen to make our own system rather than to import a lookalike Noosa product from another country. 

With regards to the bracelet we have again been looking for a local company, one that has the facilities and tooling we require. We think we have found such a company and will meet with the MD hopefully in the next week or so. We have drawings /samples of our designs and hope for a positive response. We also hope our design will offer a variation on the typical bracelet available, it will again be made from high quality materials sourced locally and ethically produced.

After 50 + emails, and Skype interviews we are awaiting our second set of samples, and the good news is I have been invited to China by our suppliers  KG who find me "energetic!" I think that's a compliment. Apart from this there is also the sickle stones (a tool that can be used to grind the back of cabs).

In other news, this week I have also spent far too much time convincing a supplier that Barnstaple is no longer a port. The mental exhaustion has been intense, but it's a process we have to go through. We have to order large quantities as well as ensuring that we get what we want, and that the quality is up to scratch.

So, things are progressing even if a little slowly. We have a good supply of "naked poppers" for Lampworkers and craft people, and our cab mandrel supply will be replenished tomorrow.

I am in the process of writing a bite-sized tutorial on how to make glass cabs suitable for the poppers. This will include the use of the cab mandrel, its preparation, the finishing of the Cab and preparation for gluing etc.

 I hope you have enjoyed your little "Behind the Scenes" insight into what we have been up to. 

It can be very frustrating both being a and living with a perfectionist (that's two in one house), but I hope that now you see although we are perfectionists this hasn't been our only problem.

Wanting to maintain high quality, have things ethically produced wherever possible and at the right price when you're only a small business can be quite a challenge.

Thanks for reading, and too for all your continued support.

Manda and David

Mangobeads Me and 'My Folklore Collection'

Well it's a little time since I did this for sure. Time to rectify that I think :)

As many of you know David and I took over a small workshop 18 months ago. We now have a 10 station lamp work studio where we host our own workshop and invite visiting tutors to teach here in North Devon.

I won't deny it's been a tough 18 months, apart from the usual business related problems I gave up my days at home and became a full time working girl at the studio.

Sadly it meant I also gave up a lot of my bead making time, it also took away for me the spontaneity of my creativity as I have had to plan my bead making around deliveries, workshops and general business related stuff.

In January this year I can truthfully say I was feeling uninspired and a little sad and sorry for myself. I Love the workshop and everything it brings us but I seemed to have given up my life to it and was beginning to loose site of where I was going with my bead making.

Having had so little time to make beads the selling side of things has really fallen for me such a sharp contrast to how things were when I first started silver coring back 4 years or so ago.

So with Flame Off looming and the prospect of being a 2012 demo artist very much on my mind , we decided something had to change :)

Because my bead making time had become so precious I had started expecting a lot of myself in the few short hours I could manage at the torch.My designs had become big and complicated and had a high failure rate which added to my despondency .

So I decided to go back to a set of beads I made back in 2008, they were aptly called at the time 'Folklore' as the colours and design were very reminiscent of canal boats, and Romany gipsies. Having kept the beads I decided to return to the colours and designs I had tried out then .....

We also decided to put a torch back in my old workshop and clean it up. We removed the cob webs and the toads that had moved in, stocked it with glass and lit up !!

Now I can make beads in the evening and at weekends as and when I want to. Its just lovely to have my own bit of space to be creative in again.

So most mornings I shall spend at the workshop and then I plan to come home keep up with the housework and make beads again :) utilising my time much more effectively.

Now I am sure you will have noticed that I am accumulating a few of my 'Folklore' beads :) This is in anticipation of Flame Off in April this year. I will be releasing these beads at the event and they will then subsequently be available on my web site :)

I have had lots of lovely lovely comments on them and a huge amount of interest and encouragement, so thank you all :)

So it's just to let know that the Mango behind Mangobeads is still here and shes looking forward to getting back into the swing of things with her bead making.