Greetings! I'm Laurie Jager. I'd like to introduce myself, welcome you to our site and talk a little about Bergamini Beads.
I was first introduced to these exquisite hand-blown cane glass beads (a.k.a. furnace glass beads) in the fall of 2001 when my niece, Carrie Mathews - the previous owner of Bergamini Beads, gave a bagful to my daughter. The first time I saw these beads, I was thunderstruck by their beauty. I quickly bribed my daughter into giving up half of them to me. I immediately started designing jewelry and by the spring of 2002 Laurel Studio Jewelry Design was born. Since that time, I have been designing and selling cane glass jewelry at craft shows, women's clothing stores and galleries throughout Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland.
The instant infatuation I developed for these glass beads is solely what inspired me to get into jewelry design. Up until that time, I had been working in Graphic Design and Marketing at Penn State University's Center for Arts & Crafts and my creative work was mainly drawing and photography. The beauty of these furnace glass beads truly inspired me to change the course of my career and creative pursuits. Their vivid colors and graceful striping reminded me of the colors and curvilinear shapes that had been prevalent in my work at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI, where I had majored in Textile Design & Fashion History in the early 80s.
In November of 2005, I had the opportunity to acquire the bead business from my niece and eagerly took it. So now, I am proud and excited to announce that Laurel Studio will be producing and selling (wholesale and retail) these delightful glass beads along with it's popular jewelry line. I will be working with one of the country's top glass artists, Benjamin Wright, to produce these top-quality furnace glass beads.
Fine quality hand-blown furnace glass requires great skill and experience, dexterity, strength and creativity to make. Due to this difficulty level, it is only produced by a handful of glassblowers and cutters in the U.S. Much of what you see in today’s marketplace is mass-produced of inferior materials and imported from places like China. The beads that Ben and I produce are Made-in-the-USA and made of the best materials available. They are sought after by designers and jewelry artists for their exquisite colorations, extremely fine striping and wide range of bead sizes and shapes.
So, let me welcome you to our site! Please spend a minute and browse. It is a work in progress so please check back regularly.
My husband and business partner, Ron, and our sweet, little dog Molly are always here - in State College, PA - making beads, sorting beads, packing beads, dreaming up new beads - well, you get the picture - and we are happy to talk with you and answer any questions you may have about this site and our products. We can be reached at 814.861.3958 Mon-Fri 9-5pm ET.
Thanks for stopping by!
Laurie J.
Laurie with 5 month old Molly!
Bergamini Beads Home /Furnace Glass Bead Catalog Page 1 / /Shows / Furnace Glass Bead Catalog Page 2/
How to Order Our Furnace Glass Beads/Furnace Glass Bead Pricing