Helen has a new BFF. This lady is a walking library of knowledge to do with beads and resources. And she is generous in sharing her knowledge. Bennett has given me permission to list these resources which will be of interest to artisans in Ontario, Canada. And a starting point for artisans in other provinces to create their own resources library.

"I thought all of you might want to have the following very useful set of links to a range of business information for people working in the arts and crafts field: [Declaration of interest: I work for the government ministry that maintains this site. Would be glad to get your comments, criticisms, etc. on whether it's useful for you].

~ Ontarioartist.ca, the Ontario artists' information portal at: http://ontarioartist.ca/en/index.htm , especially the section for visual artists (subsection on Crafts and Design) at: http://ontarioartist.ca/en/visual.htm. This has a ton of good links to every kind of business, health/safety and financial information you could want, both specific to Ontario and general for Canada.

~ "Arts and Artists Info-Guide", by the Canada-Ontario Business Service Centre, at: http://www.canadabu siness.ca/ servlet/ContentServer?cid= 1170131555538&lang=en&pagename=CBSC_ ON%2Fdisplay&c=GuideInfoGuide

~ "How To Start an Artisan and Craft Business in Ontario", also by the Canada-Ontario Business Service Centre, at: http://www.canadabu siness.ca/servlet/ContentServer?cid= 1180668704753&lang=en&pagename=CBSC_ ON%2Fdisplay&c=GuideHowto

~ The Canadian Crafts Council's Learning Centre -- misc. professional advice -- at: http://www.canadian craftsfederation.ca/html/educate_centre.html.

~ "Square Feet", the artists' guide to buying and renting workspace , http://www.torontoartscape.on.ca/community/ pace-related resources/square-feet

~ "The Art of Managing Your Career", a guide for artists of all kinds, at: http://www.cultural hrc.ca/amyc/e/index.htm, plus an additional piece specifically for craftspeople at: http://www.cultural hrc.ca/amyc/e/disciplines/CHRC_AMYC_Crafts-en.pdf and for visual artists at: http://www.culturalhrc.ca/amyc/e/disciplines/visual_arts.htm

~ Cultural Careers Council Ontario -- website for business and professional development for artists/crafters, and for small arts businesses who have staff -- at: http://www.workinculture.on.ca/

~ CARFAC (Canadian Artists Representation) 's publications for visual artists, on various business, legal and copyright/intellectual property issues -- for sale at: http://www.carfacon tario.ca/services/books (see especially http://www.carfacon tario.ca/publications/advisory_ notes_cd_rom, and http://www.carfacon tario.ca/resources (they are not available free online but might be in some public libraries)

~ The Canadian Giftware and Crafts industry -- Industry Canada's information page, focused on the more industrial side of the business. It has links to a variety of trade sources some of which are of interest to us , at: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/gc-acaa.nsf/eng/Home

~ Canada Revenue Agency's general guide for small businesses, at: http://www.cra- arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/rc4070/README. html

~ The Ontario Craft Council's publications on matters of interest to Ontario crafters, including a large guide to local craft shows, for sale at: http://craft.on.ca/Publications/Our_Publications.

~ Ontario Craft Council Workshops, including some on business skills, at: http://craft. on.ca/Programs/Craftsmarts

~ The market for crafts in Canada -- market studies by the Canadian Crafts Council, online at: http://www.canadiancraftsfederation .ca/html/ advocate_ ccf.html , especially the "Canadian fine craft niche market" study at: http://dsp-psd. pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/CH4-103-2005E.pdf .

~ The Healthy Artist Guide to a Less Toxic Studio, a Canadian guide, at: http://www.environmentaldefence.ca/toxicnation/artist/index.htm (there's a lot more good health and safety information for craftspeople on the other sites above).

- Bennett McCardle"

Didn't I tell you this woman is great? Well, didn't I? Thank you Bennett for this list.

Check out these resources and get back to me with your opinion. Together we can be better artisans.

Helen

Now that I've moved over to WillUBead Studio I have to show you some of the stuff I've done. Right? Right!

These photos are of some of my favourite bits of my artisan jewellery.

What is beach glass? Beach glass starts life as bottles and other glass garbage that has worked its way into the waters of oceans, seas, and inland seas like Lake Superior. Beach glass is worn and smoothed by tides and sands washes up on the beaches.The earrings here are made of jewellery grade copper wire and frosted glass. Some call this glass beach glass but the glass used in these earrings are not strictly beach glass: this is glass that has sandblasted by human and not by sea.

My sister wants to go to Spain for a holiday. It's a serious plan ~ she has already taken night school classes to learn the language.

She needs money to realize this plan but like so many of us, she is an IGG (Instant Gratification Girl) who, when stressed, goes shopping. A bit of retail therapy, if you know what I mean.

This bracelet was made as a reminder when she goes shopping that she can choose between saving the money in her Going to Spain savings account OR making the purchase and delaying her trip indefinitely. It works best when she wears it but often she forgets to put it on for our mall crawls.

The bracelet is a bit of memory wire that's been stretched and pulled and manipulated and allowing ot to sit on my workbench for a couple of weeks. I had been trying to make a cuff bracelet but this bit of curlique happened when St. Serendipity did her magic. There are wrapped wire beads and glass beads, too. There are even a couple of hearts.

I found a pattern for netting and decided to try it. This bracelet is the result of playing with the design. I changed the bead colours. Then I made a mistake (secret: I don't do so well following directions).

Then I repeated the strip and sewed it together. And that's what makes the design for this bracelet all mine. Black and silver seed beads were used for this bracelet and this strong contrast is what appeals to so many people.

I love Raku pottery: the technique of adding salts and other chemicals during the firing stage in pottery making. As the name suggests, it is a Japanese innovation and this innovation will never make 2 things exactly the same. I love the randomness of the technique.
Well, I met a potter, Vera Romoda, who makes pottery beads with this technique. When asked recently who my favourite supplier is, I immediately thought of Vera. Only a very few people receive artisan jewellery with Vera's Raku Beads. They are that valuable to me.
The pendant of the necklace to the right is a Raku piece from Vera. The necklace itself has glass beads and semi-precious gem chips. The pendant hangs off centre. Why? Just to be different. Visit Vera at http://www.BeadsByAllMeans.com.

I have some more stuff to show you but I'll save it for another day.
Helen

An Introduction

Hello. My name is Helen and I'm a beadaholic.
I started my business life in 2007 after much encouragement and not a little prodding. My first shop was Lampwork and Beads ~ I let it go. My next incarnation was with Etsy. Unfortunately, the spacer in the name Glass0Beads is a zero not a letter and that had to be explained everywhere.
Now I've got me a new name and a new directory. Artfire is a directory like Etsy: dedicated to all things hand crafted. Unlike Etsy, there are 2 levels of membership: paid and unpaid. The paid membership gives you more perks than the unpaid membership and I've opted for the freebie. I have the option of an upgrade in the future.
Now, here I am. WillUBead Studio.Blogspot.com. And I am WillUBead.Studio.artfire.com. That '.' makes a real difference as a spacer, doesn't it ~~ I don't have to explain it.
And that's my Introduction. Now I'm off to dress up this blog.
Thank you for reading my stuff at Glass0Beads (Glass #0 Beads) and I hope you will enjoy and participate here, too.
C'est tout. ...Helen