Julie Frahm - Glass Jewellery

Harlequin Glass — those vibrant, multicoloured cups that were popular in the 1950s and 1960s, often sold in sets of six. While complete sets are hard to find, I had a few broken and mismatched pieces in my collection, so I decided to do something a little adventurous…

I broke my usual rule and melted all the different bits together into one bead. Normally I don’t mix glass types—you can’t be sure they’ll be compatible—but these worked beautifully. It seems they were all made from the same kind of glass after all!

A lovely little experiment that turned into a multicoloured bead full of vintage charm. 🎨

The final photo is a work in progress shot of my necklace after 14 days of Melted Moments. Can’t wait to wear it when it’s all done!

Reyka Gin — how pretty is this bottle? I was so excited when someone donated it to me. The colour is just that little bit different from so many others I’ve used.

When I first started making beads from wine and gin bottles, you could often find me holding bottles up to the light in bottle shops — trying to catch a glimpse of their true colour. Not shopping for drinks… just for glass!

This one didn’t disappoint. Subtle, soft, and beautiful melted down.

Do you have a favourite bottle — for the drink, the colour, or both?

I shared the white milk glass goblet the other day — today it’s blue milk glass! This piece started life as a candlestick. The colour is just gorgeous.

It’s not quite like other opaque glass I’ve melted — there’s something a bit more magical about this old glass, a kind of lustre or lusciousness that makes the beads sparkle.

I love that even a simple candlestick can shine again as something new. 

 

A beautiful perfume bottle today. I’m always curious to see what happens when I melt pieces like this — sometimes they work out beautifully, and sometimes… well, I have an epic fail to share soon!

This one was a pleasant surprise — it kept its colour so well, and the silver foil I added felt like the perfect little nod to the original bottle’s elegance.

I love when a little experiment turns into something special. 💚

Have you ever thought about turning something like this into beads? Or flower sticks? Giving it a new purpose?

When I was sorting through my stash of glass — some collected, some gifted — I found this purple cup. It was such an unusual piece, with its mix of colours and swirly pattern, I just had to see what would happen when I put it in the flame.

Would it keep that swirl? Would the purple stay vibrant? I couldn’t wait to peek inside the kiln — and it did! The beads kept that streaky finish and the purple stayed so bright. Who would have thought a $2 cup could turn into such pretty beads? 💜

Have you got anything in your collection that you might like to turn into beads?

Fever Tree Tonic Water bottles — they say the secret to a great G&T is the tonic, and Fever Tree is one of my favourites! Good for sipping and melting down into beads.

The glass is clear, melts beautifully, and I can decorate it with almost anything. For this project, I used a blend of smashed-up glass (frit) that I made myself. I love mixing my own frit blends — it means every bead is just that little bit more unique.

Cheers to good tonic and beautiful beads!

White Milk Glass. Today’s bead begins with a white milk glass goblet — simple, sturdy, and once treasured on someone’s shelf. Milk glass has been around since the 1500s, originally made to mimic fine porcelain but accessible for everyday homes.

When I first melted this piece, it felt so different to work with — maybe it’s the opacity? But I love how it melts into something new yet keeps that soft, milky glow. The beads turned out simple and sparkling — just like the goblet, but now with a new purpose. 🤍

And yes — that’s my finger with a fresh cut! Occupational hazard when you work with broken glass. It happens all the time… I’m pretty used to it by now.

Pink Depression Glass today! Depression glass was made in lots of beautiful colours — green is the most well-known, but there’s also blue, brown, and this lovely pink.

One of the rules I’ve always stuck to with recycled glass is: don’t mix it! You can’t tell what the COE (coefficient of expansion) is just by looking, so if two glasses aren’t compatible, they can crack or break when they come out of the kiln.

But today I decided to break the rules — I mixed pink and green Depression Glass, just to see what would happen. And it worked!

Bethany Wine Chardonnay bottles — another favourite to melt! I was first introduced to Bethany Wines when I did a SALA exhibition there about 10 years ago. I used their beautiful bottles to create a special range of jewellery, and we were all so happy with how it turned out that we just kept going!

I still love visiting the winery whenever I can — wandering among their old bottles and dreaming up what they might become next. These beads were finished with pixie dust, one of my favourite little touches. People often ask, “Are these really glass?” — and I love saying yes!

Cranberry Glass — how beautiful is that pink? I think this piece was probably from the late 1800’s.

I remember finding a pink bowl in an antique shop in the Barossa Valley, back when I was just getting fascinated by all the different old glass out there. It was damaged — still priced what felt like expensively — but I was so intrigued by the colour and the history. Did you know Cranberry Glass gets its colour from gold added during the glassmaking process? Incredible.

I bought it, and when the shop lady pointed out the damage, I didn’t have the heart to tell her I was planning to smash it anyway! Pink is a tricky colour to find in glass, so I was grateful this experiment worked — the beads turned out so pretty.

And I have kept an eye out for similar items whenever I visit antique shops. What old glass are you intrigued by? 💗