Encased Floral Beads with Sarah Murphy

Develop your beadmaking skills in this one-day flameworking course focused on creating delicate encased floral beads. Guided by artist Sarah Murphy, participants will build on existing beadmaking knowledge, learning how to construct simple floral designs in soft glass and encase them in clear glass to create depth, clarity, and a magnified effect.

Through step-by-step demonstrations and supported hands-on practice, you’ll refine torch control, shaping, surface decoration, and encasing techniques. You’ll also explore:

• Working with stringers and encasing to your advantage
• Making vine stringers for floral designs
• Painting with stringers to add detail
• How to achieve ‘bubbles’ in controlled locations
• Encasing larger beads

The focus is on process, confidence, and skill development, with time to experiment and troubleshoot alongside the group.

This class is best suited to participants who have completed our Intro to Beadmaking class or have equivalent flameworking experience.

Details

• 10.30 am – 4 pm with a half-hour break for lunch
• Ages 16+
• Intro to Beadmaking or similar experience required

What to bring

• A water bottle and your enthusiasm!
• Wear light, breathable layers with long sleeves and pants. Fully enclosed shoes and natural-fibre clothing (denim, wool, cotton, linen) are required.
• Long hair must be tied back.
• We recommend bringing your own lunch so you don’t miss out on class time. Alternatively, Brodburger is onsite if you’d like to order during the break.
• All tools, materials, and safety equipment will be provided.

What you’ll make

The focus is on learning encasing and floral techniques rather than producing finished jewellery, so outcomes will vary based on individual progress and experimentation. Participants can expect to complete one encased floral bead each.

Please note: Due to the nature of working with glass, some beads may crack or break during the annealing process. While we do our best to help you succeed, we can’t guarantee that every piece will be safe to take home.

Collecting your work

Finished beads will be ready for collection from the following Wednesday after the workshop, during our opening hours from Wednesday to Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm. Domestic or international postage is available on request.

Important to know – minimum numbers

We require a minimum number of participants (2) for the workshop to proceed. If the class does not meet the minimum enrolment, we will contact you ahead of time to reschedule your booking or offer a full refund. We recommend booking early to secure your place and help the class go ahead as planned.