Wholesale Slumped Bottles

I've finally got things in order here so I can expand a bit. My first project has been getting my slumped bottles ready for wholesale orders. They make great impulse purchases in wine stores, gift shops, and even bars; and are unique serving pieces for the right appetizer or dessert.

The lucky thing is that before I had my line sheet half finished, I had my first wholesale order! My bottle plates are being used in an upscale restaurant in Raleigh to serve appetizers. I'm hoping to get a photo or two of them in action, and I promise to share if/when that happens!

The bottles are heavy, so shipping is expensive. Although I'm happy to ship them, I've decided to concentrate my efforts locally. People will have the option of picking up their order, and if they order enough bottles I'll deliver them for free.

If you have a business in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina area and want more information, you can get my wholesale slumped bottle details in PDF format.

Moving Chains to New Shop on Artfire

Many of you visit my Etsy shop to buy sterling silver and gold vermeil chains. I've been stocking up, because I always ship more chain orders in the fall and winter than during the rest of the year. This year Etsy threw me a hurdle--they've changed the rules about what is acceptable to sell there, and commercially finished chains are no longer allowed. I can leave what I already have listed until the end of the year, but I can't relist any chains that sell out, or add any new ones.

While I understand the reasoning behind the decision, and personally agree with it, the timing could not have been worse for me! I've been looking at other venues to make the chains available, and I've decided to add them to my Bonanzle shop and open a shop on ArtFire.

I've spent the past few days setting up shop on ArtFire, where commercially finished chains are welcomed. To help kick off the new digs, I've got a coupon code you can use to save 15% on everything at LuckyGirlTrading on ArtFire: LUCKYME

I've still got a good bit of inventory to list there, so if you're looking for something and don't see it just let me know!

Visit LuckyGirlTrading's ArtFire Shop

New Slumped Bottle Plates

I've been slowly working at getting photos taken and descriptions written for some of the pieces I had finished before my surgery. The doc told me not to push myself at all, and to have a very boring month. I've listened, and it's driving me nuts! I can't wait until I can use my right hand again. And I'm sure my family feels the same, I know they're tired of tying my shoes.



I've got another "tie-dye" bottle ready, this one is yellow, pink, and orange. It's so cheerful! And I was thrilled with the way this Grey Goose Vodka bottle came out. All of the printing on the bottle is intact, and it's lovely! Apparently someone else thought so too, because it's already been sold.



This cobalt blue tequila bottle came out nicely too. There's something about blue glass that catches everyone's eye! My favorite, though, is this Midori bottle. All of the lovely, bumpy texture of the original bottle held up through the kiln-firing process, even as the bottle slumped to a fairly flat shape.

My First Tie-Dyed Bottle Plate

Okay, it's not really tie-dyed, but it does remind of a tie-dyed shirt. This bottle took over two weeks to make. I thoroughly washed and dried an empty liquor bottle, then diluted some kiln-hardy blue paint and dripped it in inside. Then I waited for the paint to dry. And waited. And waited. Several days later it was dry enough to add the purple paint, and then the waiting began again. I didn't want to put the bottle in the kiln while there was any hint of moisture inside for fear of the bottle popping in the heat and causing a lot of damage. Seven days later it looked dry, so I let it sit another day just to be safe. After a full day (and night!) in the kiln, it came out looking like this. I love the look, so I've got a few more in progress. In the meantime, I'll have this available for purchase in my etsy shop tomorrow.

More Fun with Bottles

I've been experimenting with more bottles. I like how this Absolut bottle turned out: it's fairly flat except for the bottom, which has curled up in a nice way. Natalia asked if I cut the bottom of a bottle off if the bottle would fuse without the bump. When I get a glass saw in my studio I plan to give it a try. I've been wanting a saw since I first laid eyes on Deb DiSalvo's blog--she creates some of the most beautiful and creative glass work I've ever seen.


This Crown Royal bottle came out nicely, too. There are no dark spots in the glass, this was just a difficult piece to photograph. It's got a nice shape, and I think it will be nice to add some rubber bumpers on the bottom so it won't mark up a table. It might make a nice clock, like Journeys and Adventures suggested, and I might try that with the next bottle shaped like this.

Artist Victoria O'Neill suggested hanging a bottle in a window, and NothingLikeit asked whether I could put some small pieces of colored glass inside the bottle before I flatten it. I thought that pretty-ing one up for a window decoration sounded like fun, but I didn't want to risk mixing different kinds of glass. (Different kinds of glass expand at different rates, so putting glass with unknown expansion rates togther means that at best the glass will likely be unstable, and could shatter at any time. So I put a ton of pink/purple mica inside a bottle, put it in the kiln to flatten, and got this surprise.


It looks like sparkly sand, not at all pink or purple, and much more clear areas than I expected. It's nice, though, and reminds me of a day at the beach.

Fun with Bottles

I've been playing around with some old bottles in my kiln. This one makes me smile every time I see it! You can see a few air bubbles trapped inside, and these make the top surface a bit curvy so I'm not sure how useful this will be as a plate or tray. I like the cute snowman shape it has, so I'll do some more testing and see what I can come up with. And maybe buy some more yummy Pom Wonderful juice so I have more of these bottles to play with. What would you do with this flattened bottle?