Chevron Beads

I came across Chevron beads in my quest to create my own crafts, key chains.  I thought these unique beads worthy of their own blog.  Although Beads made of glass seem common, Chevron beads have hand crafted appeal and also have a rich history dating back from Murano, Italy in the late 14^th century.

The process is described below (taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevron_bead):

 "The initial core is formed from a molten ball of glass (called a "gather") that was melted in a furnace. If the glassworker is making beads...The gather (with the air bubble in its center) is plunged into a star-shaped mould, which can have anywhere between five and fifteen points. Several layers of glass can be applied, returning to the mould as desired, to create either a star-shaped or smooth effect for each layer. After all layers have been applied, metal plates are affixed to the still hot glass, which is "drawn" or stretched out into a long rod, called a "cane", by pulling from both ends in opposite directions."