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About Me
 My name is Faith Oriold I have been creating one-of-a-kind wearable art jewelry since 2005 in my suburban Chicago studio. Jewelry design has become a thriving outlet for my creativity eventually expanding from designing and creating these one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces to creating handmade lampwork art glass beads to incorporate into these designs.
A portion of all my sales is donated to supporting those individuals who participate in the various walks for breast cancer. These individuals help raise much needed dollars for research into this disease.
I am a member of SRAJD (#216) – Self-Representing Artist Jewelry Designer and SRA (#O-8) - Self-Representing Artist - Glass Artist. These organizations are comprised of individual jewelry designers and glass artists who design, create and sell their own unique works of art and not mass produced items. When you purchase your jewelry and/or beads from members of these organizations you can be assured that you are getting a truly unique, handmade artisan design.
My jewelry is created using only the finest components including semi-precious gemstones, .925 sterling silver, Balinese silver components, Karen Hill Tribe silver components, Swarovski crystals and pearls, freshwater pearls and handmade lampwork art glass beads – both soft and hard glass. I enjoy utilizing a variety of materials in my work as the design possibilities are endless.
About Lampwork Beads, Balinese Silver Components and Hill Tribe Silver Componenets
Lampwork glass beads are created by melting glass rods in a very hot flame and winding the molten glass around a steel rod. This is referred to as "Lampworking". Lampworking is usually done with a fuel gas and oxygen torch and various hand tools that are used to shape and manipulate the glass. The molten glass is continually wound around the mandrel until the desired bead size and style are achieved. Once a base bead is formed, design elements including additional layers of glass, metals such as silver, gold, palladium and copper, are added to create that one-of-a-kind bead. By adding these elements, bead artists are able to create intricate designs including florals, geometric and organics. The bead is then placed into a kiln to start the annealing process which insures the bead's durability and longevity. Glass beads that are not properly annealed will easily break. When purchasing lampwork beads, you should always make sure that they have been kiln annealed. Because each bead is individually handmade, no two will ever be identical thus allowing jewelry designers the ability to create unique one-of-a-kind pieces.
Effetre/Moretti, Vetrofond, Color is Messy (CIM), Bullseye and Lauscha (soft glass) are soda lime based glass. These glasses are called soft because they have a lower melting temperature, than hard glass and have a longer working time when removed from the flame. Because soft glass is softer and easier to manipulate, artists can acheive some amazing florals and geometic designs with this glass. This is the glass that I use in my lampwork beads.
Borosilicate (hard glass) is a boron based glass and has a higher melting temperature than soft glass. Because it does not hold heat very long it is harder to manipulate into various shapes and designs. Boro bead artists create the most amazing organic and color infused beads with this glass.
Silver beads, charms and jewelry components from the Karen Hill Tribe in Thailand are individually handmade pieces resulting in unique and stunning works of silver art. Karen Hill Tribe Silver is highly sought after as it has tremendous appeal that is original, stunningly beautiful and of the highest quality. Thai silver beads and components are 95 - 99% silver.
Balinese silver beads and components are handcrafted by highly skilled artisans in Bali, Indonesia. These beads are sterling silver and are created by dedicated and skilled silver artisans. Balinese silversmiths are known worldwide for their intricate designs and attention to detail. Be aware of imitations listed as "Bali Style" beads.
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