So why is Devardi Glass turning out to be such a fantastic glass for lampworking? The answer it quite simple. For many decades, India has been the leading producer of decorative glass beads. No other country even comes close to what they produce. And that is what Devardi Glass was initially developed for. In fact, Devardi Glass is produced by one of the largest glass bead producers in India. The glass wasn’t produced to sell to others. It was produced for their own use to make their own beads, and improved over the years just for that purpose. And wouldn’t you want to make the best quality glass you could if it was for your own use? And wouldn’t you want to make the most vibrant and the largest variety of colors to sell as many beads as you could?
Of course, this is not to say that other manufacturers don’t also produce great lampworking glass. On the contrary, there are some other fantastic glasses on the market, such as Moretti, Laucha, Double Helix, Boro, Pyrex, and many others. It’s just to say that Devardi had an edge for this reason. There’s no question that Devardi Glass is up there with the big guys in quality. How else could a manufacturer of glass beads be so successful if the glass they also produce and use was not high quality?
So why hasn’t Devardi Glass been on the market this whole time? That answer is also quite simple. The manufacturer had their hands full with their bead making. Marketing the glass wasn’t an option, not only because they needed the glass themselves, but because they didn’t have the facilities to produce glass for themselves and the rest of the world. Since India has become much more developed recently, those facilities and skilled labor are now available. In addition, the recession has also hit India’s bead business. This left an avenue for the manufacturers of Devardi Glass to seek other markets for their products. And now, because of that, we can all enjoy using Devadi Glass.
Update June 11, 2009
Hello everyone,
Well, we’re finally up to date on our Devardi Glass shipments. Sorry again for some delays getting the glass out. We were unexpectedly inundated and behind for a while. In the future we will improve our system so that won’t happen.
And thank you again to everyone for your support and kindness. I am blessed to be part of such wonderful people. You are so appreciated.
I hope everyone is enjoying their Devardi Glass and the great new colors (or will be soon once it arrives). All this time I’ve been working to pack everyone’s glass, and all these wonderful colors keep passing me by, but I haven’t had any time to play myself. I’ve been drooling the whole time. I’ll be making some test beads soon though and I’ll post them on our site. We made a few with the pinks and they are posted on our site if anyone is interested. http://www.devardiglass.com/
I see a new thread has started on LE about Devardi Glass. We’re hoping it stays beneficial. Here is the link in case anyone wishes to read it and weigh in. http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131577&highlight=devardi
Thank you so very much for all the comments so far. We won’t be posting anything on LE. We tried that and it didn’t work, as some of you probably know. We will only post on our own website.
A few have mentioned the varying thicknesses and lengths in the Devardi glass rods. Remember, this is a handmade, hand pulled glass. To make this glass work in a machine pulled system, the chemical makeup would have to be altered. The glass would become runny and the colors less dense. The factory won’t do that. And, to keep the price at a minimum, we must sell a combination of different lengths and thicknesses. Grading them would mean you wouldn’t be able to buy pink and rose at $5.99/lb, not to mention the semi-opaques. We all know what they sell for elsewhere.
Thank you again everyone for your kind support. If anyone has any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to write. We are always here to help. The next shipment of 80 new colors has left India.
Kindest wishes,
Natasha
Update June 4, 2009
Thank you again to everyone who purchased our Devardi Glass or supported us in other ways. You are so appreciated. And thanks so much for everyone's suggestions and kind comments. Your patience and understanding during our initial stages of this business, along with your helpful comments, are a blessing. We're still working hard to get caught up with everyone's order. We should be up to date in just a few days. Please bear with us just a bit longer. Once we become more organized and expand a little we'll be able to get people's orders out quicker.
There's just a few colors we're out of at present. We are filling at least 95% of the colors people have ordered. We will strive to improve our inventory so that we will always have all the colors. Don't forget, in just a couple of months, we should have 80-90 new colors besides what are shown on our chart.
Thanks so much again. I will try to keep everyone updated with pertinent information either through newsletters or this blog.
Kindest wishes,
Natasha
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Update May 31, 2009.
Our new glass shipment is now available for sale. Please check our website to the right. Thank you to all those who have supported us either with your purchases or words of kindness. You're all so very precious to me. I'm so glad also that so many people are enjoying our Devardi Glass, the great colors, the great quality, and its affordability. We're doing all we can to offer a large variety of colors and to keep prices low. We're not out to make a million, just a living. And thanks to so many people, I think this Devardi Glass business will be successful.
I also just heard back from the glass factory in India. They said they have put on more workers to keep the supply of glass coming. It makes us feel good that we are able to help workers in an impoverished country earn a living. And we all know that this will slowly but surely improve working conditions there as well.
As some of you know, the Devardi glass factory has just added 80 new colors to their glass line. They will be available on our website in about 8 weeks. I ordered some of each color. Other exciting things the factory is doing is adding a sparkly luster to their dark rose colored rods. This will make the rose shimmer as it moves. Wow! Other items we will carry soon include luster rods, dichroic glass, a boro glass that mixes with COE104 Devardi glass, and many other items. Check back here to keep updated, or sign up to receive our newsletter on our site. Those who sign up on our site or who order from us will be notified first when our new shipments arrive.
Thanks again to everyone. Enjoy the glass.
Kindest wishes,
Natasha
Update: March 17, 2009. Thanks everyone again for your kind support. It's so greatly appreciated.
Our new shipment of Devardi Glass from India is now in transit to the US. Many new and exciting colors are in the order. Some of those colors we carried in our first shipment, some are on our chart at http://www.devardiglass.com/, and some are not on the chart or on our website. I think you're going to love them.
We don't have an arrival date yet, but if you wish to be notified when the glass shipment arrives, please sign up for our newsletter on our website http://www.devardiglass.com/ or http://www.devardi.com/. We’ll contact everyone on this list just before the glass arrives, and then again when the glass is ready for sale.
Also, don't forget, if you're an artist and would like to display pictures of your work with your contact information on our site, please visit our Artists' page on our website. This is a free service. We also have a banner exchange program. Look for that on our homepage.
One more thing before I sign off. On our homepage, there’s a link to the Christian Children’s Fund. Anyone interested in sponsoring a child in an impoverished country, please click on this link. It doesn’t cost much, but it is so worthwhile. A little bit goes a long way in feeding, clothing and schooling these needy children. If we all do a little bit, the world will be so much better.
Thank you. Natasha
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We'd like to thank everyone for their kind information, testing, purchases and reviews of Devardi Glass. We are the distributors and appreciate everyone's support. This glass seems to be working well for most people. It's not for everyone, and it's not the best glass ever. But we feel it is a great glass and it's very affordable. It is compatible with many COE 104 glasses, and offers many outstanding colors and features. For further information and independent reviews on Devardi Glass, you can visit our website at http://www.devardiglass.com/ or our other site at www.mailbuggygeneralstore.com/ Post any comments if you would like to.
Here's a picture of a quick bead showing the compatability of Devardi Glass with Moretti. The second bead is also with both glasses. Notice the metallic finish in the Devardi Metallic Black on the second bead.
Here are just some of the Devardi colors. You can click the following link for a more extensive chart: http://www.devardiglass.com/chart.html
Older blog:
Some have made comments about doing business with India. Some people believe that since conditions for the average worker in India can be substandard compared to what we are used to in the US and other more prosperous countries, and some industries in India have been found guilty of child labor, we should refrain from purchasing their products such as lampwork glass. In 1992, extensive reports were done by the US on India’s working conditions and some of that information is being circulated on the Internet. But let’s consider a few things for a moment. Is refusing to do business with countries like India the answer? Italy was once also a very impoverished country. Working conditions were horrendous there too not that long ago, including in their glass industry. Why is that no longer the case? It’s because other countries did business with them, not the other way around. The only way countries like Italy, India, China and others will change their labor practices is if we first demonstrate our discontent with less than favorable working conditions, but secondly, only if we do business with them, which provides them with the resources to make those changes. That also provides an incentive to change, to maintain that cash flow. India and other countries like them have come a long way recently in improving working conditions only because we have voiced our opinions of their labor practices, but also because the world has opened trade with them. Refusing to do business with India and similar countries because of unfavorable working conditions condemns the workers to those conditions more than anything. This has been proven in countries like India, China and Italy, and also even in the US. Child labor in India has been greatly reduced in recent years, especially in factories that produce glass and other hazardous materials, because of pressure from the outside world and from doing business with them, not the other way around.
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