The cat makes a wonderful subject for a lampwork bead because of the sleek properties of the short haired cat and because of the interesting and amusing poses a cat assumes. There is the one foot in the air, I’m licking my leg attitude, and the front feet tucked under pose. The cat comes in many colors and color combinations, and can even be portrayed in fantastical colors and still be recognizable. The cat can be shown in normal proportions or with certain parts exaggerated.

The cat is the most common pet in the US, and cat lovers have many figurines and other representations to chose from, including pins and rings and earrings. The lampwork cat makes a great necklace, no matter which pose the cat is shown in. Wholesale lampwork cat beads can be worked in multiples into a necklace of kitty lovers or good pals. Or a cat lamp work bead and several bird or fish lamp work beads can be worked into a statement, and necklace or bracelet, about the vagaries of the friendship of cats.

Lampwork glass beads of all kinds of wild and domesticated animals are available. Look for the lampwork cats you like best, and show them off in a display case or a necklace. Add other animals and pet beads, or beads representing a natural habitat or even pretty flowers around the cat or cats. Solo or in company the lampwork cats will catch the eye of every animal lover who sees it.

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After some progress is made in forming lampwork spacer beads, the lampworker begins to work on making lampwork focal beads. The beginning of each ornate lampwork bead is a simple bead shape, to which is added layers and other parts to form the final lampwork bead. These can be in the form of animals, fish, birds, amphibians and reptiles, or symbolic shapes like stars and crowns, and geometric beads where the bead form is simple and the ornamentation is in the application of the colors of glass.

Lampwork glass beads, whether made one at a time by the true lampwork artist, or made as quickly as possible by factories full of lampwork stations making wholesale lampwork beads, the process is the same, although the time to make the bead and the hardening process may be skimped on for Chinese lampwork beads. The workers in a factory setting are paid by the number of beads they produce that meet a given quality standard, so the worker meets that standard but has no time to make the beads any better. Lampwork beads wholesale must be treated with care as they are not given the post forming treatment to make then more sturdy. They are easy to break with just normal handling, unfortunately.

So, we have basic bead shapes used to practice lampworking techniques, lampwork beads made with care and talent by lampwork artists as focal beads for glass jewelry, and factory-made lampwork glass beads made as quickly as possible and not tempered as well as they might be. Keep these types in mind as you shop at bead shows and online, and make sure you get the type of lampwork beads you need for your envisioned project.

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