The Delphi Blog

Here's a great idea for a night in with the ladies ...Jennifer Newman, Delphi's Director of Merchandising, recently hosted a Mosaics and Wine night for a few of her friends. It was a fabulous event (all of the ladies are now addicted to making mosaics!) Here's how you can plan a similar experience for your closest friends. 1. Send out invitations. You can use a free service like Evite to send out stylish invitations to your girlfriends. We recommend no more than a dozen people. Ask them to bring an item to mosaic (a flowerpot, a wooden box, a small table, a trivet, etc.) 2. Plan your menu. Snacks and beverages like sangria, beer, salad, artichoke dip, veggies and chocolate covered strawberries are always well-received. Make it a pot luck and ask each lady to bring a food item or beverage. 3. Gather your supplies. You'll need a few pairs of wheeled tile nippers , an assortment of mosaic tiles (glass and ceramic), clear silicone adhesive and colored grout. 4. Set the mood . Use folding tables and disposable table cloths for easy cleanup later. It's also nice to have finished projects on hand (if you've done this before) or mosaic books for inspiration. Fr

Delphi is proud to introduce its 2012 Born to Do Glass T-Shirt . With its detailed black, white and red design, the shirt embodies a cool, biker vibe. It features a seamless double-needle top stitched collar with taped neck and shoulders and a double needle sleeve and hem. Made from 100 percent cotton, this durable and comfortable t-shirt is long lasting and offers a flattering unisex fit. It comes in black and is offered in every size from Small to 2X-Large (and it's only $11.95! )

We received so many impressive entries into the Light Up Our Blog contest, we've decided to showcase a series of them on the blog. Check back frequently, and you might just find your entry in the spotlight! Jacqueline King has been working as a professional glass artist for four years in Australia and uses Delphi Glass as her major supplier. She has recently been recognized in many publications from the US 'Best of Worldwide Glass Artists' to Australian Art Collector Magazine. Although she's relatively new to glass and still considers herself an emerging artist, she now teaches copper foiling and kiln-forming to other aspiring artists. Images: These are three of Jacqueline's 'functional' pieces she makes from a wide range of art glass. The bases are made from salvaged timber and some include Australian agate, fossil and semi-precious stones. Visit Jacqueline King on her website.

Over the weekend I attended the 23rd Annual Hyde Park Village Art Fair. The trendy area of Hyde Park, located in Tampa, FL, was the perfect setting for a show of its kind. The brick-paved streets were lined with booths showcasing high end art - everything from life-sized sculptures and paintings, to handcrafted sterling silver jewelry. One of the exhibitors was world-renowned glass artist and Delphi customer Vincent Pernicano . I recognized his work three booths away. There is something so captivating about his approach to mixed media. Pernicano, who has won several awards for his work, including the 2009 Delphi Art Glass Festival Online Competition, uses layers of colored glass that have been cut into shapes and fused together with glass frit and fusible glass paints to create three-dimensional components. The glass components are then backed with wood and attached to a canvas-covered wood-backed panel and frame that has been pre-painted with acrylics and/or oil paints and sealed with five coates of varnish. Dichroic glass stones are sometimes added as accents to the finished piece. Pernicano lives and works in a small community in Northern Michigan, but his ar

There are some fun events coming up at the West Michigan Glass Art Center , so I thought I'd share... 1. Battle of the Glass Blowers Friday, April 13, 5 p.m.-10 p.m. and Saturday, April 14, noon-6 p.m. Battle of the Glassblowers is a high energy glassblowing "battle" in West Michigan Glass Art Center's Hot Shop to create incredible glass blown objects. Winners also receive bragging rights! Fast paced team glass blowing competitions and individual competitions are judged by a panel of esteemed judges from our Kalamazoo community. To pique your curiosity, our timed categories include, Fastest Goblet, Fanciest Goblet, and Mystery Winged Object. Come out and cheer on your favorite glassblower! Event is Free! 2. Glass Art Center Auction Saturday, April 28, 6 p.m.-9 p.m. This year's Glass Art Center Auction promises exquisite glass art, entertainment packages and more to delight your artistic soul! The net proceeds from the auction support our scholarship program. Join us for an exciting night of bidding, socializing and snacking. Tickets for the Glass Art Center Auction are $20 per person in advance and $25 at the door. Advance tickets are available on West Michiga

At Delphi's latest Glass Getaway, 14 Ceramic Studio/Paint-Your-Own-Pottery owners from Texas and Oklahoma gathered in Austin to learn how to make money with glass. Participants learned how to make nine exclusive fused glass projects that they can recreate in their own studios. In addition, glass artist and business expert, Denise Christmas-Gibson, shared marketing ideas and best practices for implementing glass programs. This is, by far, the best class Ive attended in 10 years of business,said Michelle Booth of Glazed Over studio in Houston. These [projects] were cute, fun, easy projects that will make my studio money and my customers happy. Christmas-Gibson agreed that the getaway was a success. When studios get together like this, they share ideas with eachother and brainstorm together, Christmas-Gibson said. It's really great to see participants getting so much value out of these workshops. So far this year, Delphi has hosted Glass Getaways in Phoenix, AZ, Lansing, MI, and several other locations upon request. Plans are underway for a workshop in the Alabama/Georgia area and other cities in the near future. For more information on Delphi's Ceramic Studio/PYO

I'm always looking for ways to use my scrap, so I decided to give the round screen melt set a try. I had mixed feelings about it, because I made the mistake of not following the fusing schedule, and tried to wing it with my pre-programmed kiln. Despite the error of my ways, I ended up with some very pretty glass using two colors of opal art glass scraps. With my screen melt complete, I used a Sharpie pen to trace out my images, and began cutting them with my Taurus 3 Ring Saw . Once I finished the shapes, I put the pendants and purse hangars back in my skutt Firebox 14 kiln , for a fire polish on the slow tack fuse. Some got bails, some wire wrapping, and the others were epoxied to purse hangers . Looking back, If you follow the Delphi directions labeled as users manual in the product description on the screen melt kit, I can imagine the wonderful bowls and pieces that could be created. Learn more about Michelle Rodriquez on her website. The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of Delphi Glass. De

For the last few years, Dan Daniels, founder of Delphi Glass, has had his eye on China. With its rich art history and growing middle class, the country offers a new opportunity for the largest art glass retailer in America. In the United States, art glass, like woodworking or quilting, is a popular pastime. But until recently, China didnt have the luxury of pastimes. Ten or even five years ago, the Chinese didnt have the time or money to take on a hobby, Daniels said. Now thats starting to change. As a result of economic development, leisure-time activities are becoming more and more common in China. People are spending free time with their families, playing outside or visiting the mall. But there are no big box craft stores offering paper crafts, jewelry or sewing supplies in China. The craft industry as we know it in the U.S. is simply non-existent. Likewise, there are no art glass stores offering stained glass , fusing or flameworking products. Art glass as an art form, however, is not new to China. In 2000, an art professor named Zhuang Xiaowei, who studied art glass at Wolverhampton University in the U.K., opened a glass studio at Shaghai University to

The representatives in Delphi's Call Center did a little team building project today creating a fun in/out board for scheduling lunches, breaks, etc. It turned out so well, I had to share! For the board they used Diamond Tech Clear Crafting Tiles and Creative Images Color Slide. Click here to see more photos. Would you use something like this in your home or office?

You may know Judi Rusho by the Epic Kiln Carving post we shared on Facebook last week, or by one of her many jewelry pieces floating around on Pinterest. Jodi is a glass artist who is known for stacking, tacking, slumping, fusing and etching discarded glass items into tasteful, functional art. How did you get started in glass? I was originally interested in lampworking , bought a kiln and couldn't afford to buy glass or any more equipment. Not being particularly patient, I promptly rounded up some bottles and started melting them. I liked the recycled aspect, and when other artists told me that it couldn't be done, I was in for the duration. I'm nothing if not determined. I began in 1999, and have learned so much since then! Happily, I finally made my first lampwork beads last year. Why glass? If you look around your home or office right now, I bet you'll see more glass things than you expect. Glass is everywhere around us, is critical to our lifestyles, and yet, for the most part, we are only marginally aware of it. Glass can be so many things, it can be gorgeous or dangerous, decorative or functional, frequently both. I find that fascinating

2012 is looking like a banner year for art glass. To give you an idea of what your fellow artists are creating, we've compiled a list of our top 10 most popular products since January. Among the most notable trends of 2012 are fused jewelry and bottle art. In particular, artists are loving Colour de Verre's round bead molds and our wide selection holey molds . We are also seeing a growing interest in bottle art. Bottle art is everywhere on social networks and in our artist gallery . Artists have dedicated entire Pinterest pin boards to Bottle Art (Delphi included). Number one on our list is the Craig Mitchell Smith 7-Piece Floral and Foliage mold . Customers are loving its quality and versatility, and Craig is becoming quite the celebrity! Check out the list for other notable favorites. What's your favorite product so far this year? 1. Craig Mitchell Smith Floral and Foliage Mold 2. Simple Round Beads Mold/Small Ring Beads Mold 3. Safe Art Soldering Flux 4. Heart Jewelry Holey Mold 5. Wind Chimes Bottle Art Kit 6. Keepsake Box Bottle Art Kit 7. Circle Jewelry Holey Mold 8. Diamond Jewelry Holey Mold 9. Luminary Bottle