Like real gooseberries, the glass gooseberry beads you see here are translucent green with delicate white veins running over the surfaces from the stems to the dried flowers at the tips, and you can see the seeds inside. The glass dried flower at the end of each gooseberry has been built around a copper wire for strength and the edges have been rounded so they will not snag on clothing. These beads are hand-formed in the flame of a torch from colored glass and copper. As a result the color will not rub, flake or chip off, and no two gooseberries are exactly alike. The gooseberry beads are made on a 2" long copper wire stem that you can make into a wrapped loop or cut short as in the picture above to make a simple hanging loop.
I make gooseberries in a range of colors from tart yellow green (shown in the upper pictures) through slightly riper green-yellow (shown in the left front corner and center above), ripe yellow (at the left rear corner), and slightly overripe golden brown (at the far right edge). I usually try to include several different levels of ripeness in a jewelry piece that features multiple gooseberries. If you would like your gooseberries to be a specific color, just let me know.
I can make glass goosberry beads (BBOG-W) in a range of sizes to suit specific needs. Since all sizes of beads require the same steps and amount of time to make, all are sold at the same price. In the photo above, the black glass cube at the center is 10mm high and has been provided as a reference. The smallest goosberries shown in this photo are the pair at the front left corner and are approximately 10mm in diameter. These are a great size for earrings and bracelets. If needed I can make them as small as 8mm in diameter. The more usual size for necklaces are shown at the left rear (12mm to 14mm in diameter) and on the right (around 16mm). I have made glass gooseberries up to 19mm in diameter, but at that size they are "larger than life" for most cultivars and begin to lose their realism.
