Today we’d like to introduce you to Vaughn Evans.
Hi Vaughn, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started blowing glass in 1999 when I was 16, because I wanted better beads for jewelry I was making and selling to friends. 10 years later, a customer asked if I could make marbles with cremation ashes, and everything just clicked. I fell in love with the concept, and after making a blog post and getting many more requests to make memorial glass keepsakes, I started learning web design and created CremationMarbles.com in the following few years.
I have since made cremation glass for thousands of people across the country, and beyond, improving my glassblowing skills as I go. I specialize in beads, marbles, pendants, worrystones, and paperweights.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Surviving off the money you make being an artist is brutal. Making the art is only step 1 of a seemingly infinite list of skillsets you must learn and manage to succeed. Photography and design, web design and hosting, marketing, social media… these are all things I wish I didn’t have to do. But it wouldn’t work if I didn’t. When you need a ‘webmaster’ to get whatever an ssl certificate is, or Google will tell people not to trust your website, that means YOU. You need to learn and adapt constantly to survive as a small business, today.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I make my art with borosilicate glass, a special heat resistant glass that is much more durable than regular glass. It takes much more heat to work, but the details are much finer and more interesting. The color palette is for the most part better, as well. A few brighter colors are not as good as ‘soft’ glass, but the other improvements far outweigh this one negative, in my opinion. Colors with sheens and sparkles that really blow people away are my favorite. The colors I use most are very new, (only a few years old!) so people have never seen anything like it before.
I use the colors to make many designs, but my favorites are my vortexes, my flowers, and the reticello, or ‘net’ design.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Reading “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn, and I highly recommend it.
Pricing:
- My standard cremation beads are $25, but there are many options.
- Cremation marbles start at $50, for a standard sized (5/8″) marble. I make them up to 3″!
- My standard ash pendants are $80.
- Every order I have ever made has been sent with extra cremation glass, as a bonus.
- Gift certificates are available at cremationmarbles.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Cremationmarbles.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cremation.marbles/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cremationmarbles/
- Other: https://VaughnEvans.com
