Now Let's Talk About Gaffer!

gemsinbloom · #1 2010-08-04, 7:41am

Another order I am going to place soon with a new company for me. The Chalcedony is what motivates me to order from this company ( love it ) but it would be a shame to just order one color.

What else do you folks love from Gaffer? Is the Blue Chalcedony better than the regular, or?

Thanks!

TBC Beads · #2 2010-08-04, 7:50am

I haven't had a chance to order much more Gaffer than I got when I picked up some Blue Chalcedony (which I love Love LOVE!), so I don't have a lot to add. However, I did get a couple of other colors that I like a lot. The Cream is smooth and non-reactive, which is nice when I want an off-white base that stays an even color. I got the Apricot on a whim, and it's not quite what I was thinking it would be, leading to my one complaint: The colors on the website don't seem to be at all representational. They appear to be computer-generated color swatches, instead of real pictures of glass, and that's unfortunate IMO. So while I do plan on getting more Gaffer, I'll be doing it with the understanding that the colors may not be anything like they seem on the website and it will be a bit of a crapshoot.

VictorZulu · #3 2010-08-04, 4:12pm

Look at post 130 on this link. http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...r+beads&page=5 It says it is an almost complete range of colors for Gaffer. She has made disk beads with most of the colors.

gemsinbloom · #4 2010-08-04, 4:15pm

Thank is very helpful, thank you Victor.

tammydownunder · #5 2010-08-04, 4:18pm

I love the opaque colors each and every one of them. You do have to be careful with the black and white and make sure you get what you want. Talk to the girls and they will steer you straight. The transparents are very dense so you have to work with them in the darker colors -think CIM leaky pen dark)

Elizabeth Beads · #6 2010-08-04, 4:41pm

Don't neglect the Veiled Cane. It is lovely. Denim Blue and Amazon Green are awesome too. And Blue Chalcedony rocks.

Lisi · #7 2010-08-05, 7:17pm

The enamel white is a stark white, and I'm telling ya, you cannot get any whiter than that! It's very very soft and soupy like Effetre dark ivory and will swallow up any color of frit or stringer you put on it. I've never used it on the surface of another color though. Maybe it's nice as dots that stay white, I don't know.

I want to try everything they have, lol!

TBC Beads · #8 2010-08-08, 5:34am

VZ, that's a great reference thread, thank you for posting it!

MagpieGlass · #9 2010-08-08, 5:46am

I pretty much love any of their colors I've gotten my hands on. I think they have some of the best purples. (well, maybe next to CIM which I don't have any of). The glass melts like a dream and is close to zero shockiness.

Transparents are -- REALLY -- dense. I thin my 50/50 with Gaffer clear. My favorite transparent is Cerulean ... it is the most gorgeous sapphire blue. I just received an order since they finally had my Mushroom (I've been waiting for it since 10/09). It is similar to Nougat in Bullseye. Haven't gotten it in the flame yet.

I started buying Gaffer because of the Chalcedonies. They are both gorgeous ... one is just more of a neutral brown tone base and the other is more of a blue base. There was discussion of Gaffer coming out with a whole line chalcedony color shifting colors.

Call or email the Gaffer Girls. They answer the phone at Gaffer USA ... they are totally awesome. They will give you all kinds of advice, working tips and are great about throwing in freebies of anything your "thinking about" and sometimes what you haven't thought about, yet.

Most of what I have so far is light bases (for frits), the Chals, and a little bit of each of the lusters. MultiColor Dark (96) has some cool reactions with Purple Luster as a base.