I thought it would be good to tell you a little about myself and how I became interested in lampwork bead making.

        I am Rob Johnson and I'm 42 years of age, married to Yvonne and have one step daughter, Nicola. We live in our cottage deep in the fabulous fenlands of the Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border. I make all my beads from my studio at home and I just love the way of life out here: the people are really laid back, no rushing around, it's a real village life here.

        Now I'll tell you how I got to know about lampwork. Around five years ago, we went on a family holiday to the Highlands of Scotland.  While on a day trip to Loch Ness, we stumbled upon a wonderful shop selling hand crafted glass. When we entered the shop, we saw a guy making lampwork beads and pendants at a torch in the centre of the shop. I stood there in awe of this guy and the fantastic work he was producing before our eyes. I was amazed at the ease at which he could work the hot glass, manipulating it into shape and adding colours. I just knew from that moment that one day I would be able to do the same; the lampwork bug had sown its seed and I was hooked.

        Then there came a time in my life when I decided that I just had to find a hobby to help me take time off from my landscaping work. Ok, yes I loved working with stone and I gained enormous satisfaction from helping people produce their dream gardens.  But there was never a switch-off time for me; even evenings were spent getting materials ordered and quotes completed and I just had to find a way of relaxing at weekends. So this is when I decided to take a look into the idea of making lampwork beads and after hours of research I decided to give it a go.

        Now I have to state that I'm a very firm believer in being self-taught.  Dont get me wrong: I have nothing against people taking lessons from experienced lampworkers and there are some fantastic teachers out there, their experience being priceless.  But for me I feel that by teaching oneself, what I learn always seems to sink in more. Plus I have great fun experimenting for hours, but again this is just my preference. So I obtained a couple of good books on lampwork and spent a few weeks reading up on the subject until I felt it was really what I wanted to do and it was time to obtain the equipment I required to start.

        It was not too long before I was heading off to East Yorkshire to put myself in the capable hands of the Tuffnells at Tuffnell Glass. They were great and were willing to give me any advice I needed. After hours spent talking beads with these guys and watching them work I was soon heading back to the fens with all my newly acquired goodies and full of great expectations.

        I spent the next few weeks making basic beads, some of which really were strange shapes and playing with the glass to learn how it moved and how different glass reacted in the flame. Over the months my beads started to improve and it was suggested that I try to sell some on ebay to cover the cost of my glass. This I did and after the amazement of realizing people thought enough of my beads to buy them, I started to place more on ebay.  I then found I was spending a lot more hours at my torch trying different designs and after a few more months I opened my ebay shop, "Beads Of Glass". In my shop I started to sell more bead designs together with opaque and transparent spacer beads; the response was great and has continued to this day.

        Around four months ago I decided I wanted to start putting more time into my bead making and knowing my heart was not in my landscaping anymore, this is what I did.

      Now I can't imagine my life without lampwork and the people who I have come to know through my beads. I would never be able to replace that stomach turning feeling of excitement when a new set is born from my flame, nor the feeling of pride when I see some of the stunning jewellery my customers produce with my beads.

So that's a little look into my life and why I took up this fantastic craft.