Preparing the mandrel...
As a beadmaker, I begin by dipping a stainless steel mandrel or wire into a clay based substance similar to kiln wash and let it dry.

Heating the glass rod and mandrel...
I then select rods of glass which I heat in the flame of an oxygen/natural gas torch. The mandrel must also be heated or the glass will not stick. When both the glass and the mandrel are sufficiently warm, I begin rotating the mandrel (with my non-dominant hand) while allowing the glass to wind upon it.

Shaping the Bead...
Getting a good shape is quite often the longest part of the process, though onlookers tend to be most impressed with surface decoration. I usually rely solely upon heat and gravity to shape my beads, however I sometimes use a graphite paddle to coax the bead into the shape I want. Other common tools that I use for shaping beads are pliers, tweezers, picks, and even a rod of glass itself. I take great pride in creating truly one-of-a-kind glass pieces where no two pieces are ever exactly alike!

Decorating the Bead...
There are many ways to decorate a bead. One is to draw with a stringer, or fiber (a small thread of glass, usually 3mm or less in diameter) on the surface, making dots, lines, or combinations. Dots are particularly versatile and can be piled on top of each other in many intriguing ways. Additionally, a sharp pointed object, i.e.; a steel tungsten rake (or pick) or stringer of glass can be dragged through the surface design to make feathers, hearts or other designs. Another very old, traditional design involves sagging one part of a striped bead by heating it more, or rubbing it with the paddle to shift the design into waves. Glass can also be broken into very small chunks (known as frit) or even finely ground powders in which the bead can be rolled; it can also be decorated with metals; silver, gold, copper, palladium, and platinum. These are typically applied as very fine leaf, slightly thicker foil, fine wire or mesh, or even as a metallic deposit (known as fuming).

Annealing...
Good quality glass beads, like any warm or hot-glass item, are then annealed. I make sure that large or complex beads go into an annealing kiln immediately; smaller ones may be allowed to cool slowly with a fiber blanket or by being plunged into vermiculite, and then "batch annealed" at a later time.