Glass Craft and Bead Expo 2007—Review

by Elizabeth Steinebach on April 13, 2007
Filed Under: REVIEWS

The South Point Hotel is the newest Casino on the southern end of Las Vegas Boulevard, home to the famous "Las Vegas Strip". I certainly enjoyed the facilities, from spacious rooms, good food, the two full sized ballrooms, which held the classes, to the large trade show hall, while comfortably sharing the venue to with a full rodeo, in the completely indoor equestrian center, just down the hall.

I only managed to take in a couple of lectures and one class. Hot glass seems to be the big draw. So any of you who love kilns, frit, and all things that go with hot glass, you missed a great opportunity. Everyone was cheerful, friendly and I saw a lot of beautiful new work come out of the classes.

There were two things that really caught my eye at the trade show. First, last fall I posted a question about what to cut dalle de verre or slab glass, with. I have been looking for the right combination of industrial brute force and compact size that is easy to clean and use in a small studio. Gemini Saw has a powerful new sliding flat bed, tile/glass saw called the Revolution XT. I have just talked to the wholesaler here in Ontario and they are waiting for all the appropriate documentation for CSA approval. So it should be coming to a supplier near you soon. They don't know the landed cost yet, and I would say be prepared for a serious price tag for a serious tool. I think it will be the right tool for me.

The other thing that caught my attention was the small booth from the Kokomo Hot Glass Studio. They are expanding their product range to include beautiful hand spun rondells, completely colored in spiral rods, or frit or optic textures. These are not the plain one color rondells of the past. They are also starting a bevel line using their art glass, so the colors are deep, rich or vivid and some are textured with some of their new texture designs. If any of you want something new and colorful, check it out, though you might have to call the Hot Glass studio, because this show was the product launch.

And if you noticed that their their regular hammer textured has changed, it's because they had to retool the drum that rolls onto the glass, leaving the texture. After about twenty years, the texture was so worn that they had to retool it. The texture is noticeably smaller because of the new retooling. They had no choice, because the drums are so expensive to replace. They figure it will be about ten to fifteen years before they will have to replace it. So stock up on any old hammer and save it for repairs.

So, if any of you participated at the show and would like to submit your thoughts, post your intention on the message board and I'll contact you.