Nickates offers complete glass bead making kits.  Each bead making kit includes all the basic bead making tools to start a class.  Beginners will have plenty of glass bead rods and instructional information from the resource glass bead book included with the kit to make additional informative supply purchases.  Torches, glass rods, glass sheets, tools and equipment to make glass beads can be purchased separate as needed.  Instructors and schools please call for bulk kit discounts.  Nickates 508-580-1220.  Do you have a fast computer.  Watch how easy and fun custom glass bead making really is. Click here to purchase your glass bead equipment. OR use our handy menu to the left.

Just a few FACTS about making your own custom glass beads.  

The glass industry took on the glass bead making market for three reason.  Our customers have a love for colored glass, they are crafter's and in most cases they are entrepreneurs.  There are no secrets to melting glass and rolling it around a metal mandrel.  Don’t be sold on purchasing an elaborate set up.  Start by watching Nickates 3 minute  “how to make glass beads video”.  From there you will set the stage for having fun making custom glass beads for well under $150.  This includes a stack of morretti glass rods to play with.  After you make a few custom made glass beads you will thank us for expressing how inexpensive and easy it is to start making your own glass jewelry.

For starters, your probably a stained glass nut, crafting windows and other custom projects.

You probably make lots of gifts, items for everyone you know, occasions and holiday gifts.  Glass bead making focuses more on design and fashion. Knowing this you should understand it’s very easy to promote your glass beads to a larger audience.  Its like comparing shoe stores to pool companies.  Your able to move your love for glass into a money making field that has a broader market. The mark up is incredible based on your overhead.  You can make hundreds of glass beads for pennies.

From our stand point as a glass bead supply company that’s bad.

Well the jewelry industry is worth trillions.  Were not interested in selling every jewelry hand tool or glass bead torch head ranging from 200-$500 to confuse you.  Nickates is not interested in carrying 400 different colored glass rods.  Were not interested in selling the production China glass beads, jewelry fittings or garnishing to support your custom bead hobby.  Nickates is focused on the instructors, artists and hobbyist that are looking for the essential  bead supplies, having fun and saving money.

Our glass rods are Italian Moretti glass rods.

Nickates sells glass moretti rods in bulk assortments, giving you a generous amount in each glass rod assortment.  Moretti is the most popular glass bead making rods.  Moretti is know for different glass rod styles, opal glass rods, transparent glass rods, filigrana glass rods, and alabaster glass rods.  Some may change after working with the flame but morretti is know for retaining color and its torch flow.  You should avoid any glass rod distributor stocking are selling  China imported glass rods.  As a beginner you should just trust us on this matter.  Its like painting a house,  its a lot of work and if the paint isn't the best you just wasted your time.

Glass bead making tools are not unique.

A torch and metal mandrel, what more could you need?  Well to have fun nothing.  To offer a few suggestions and still have fun making glass beads we recommend only the essentials.  For around $50 we stock and distribute the “Hot Head” torch head.  As above its like painting your house, trust us!  Other substitutes, gizmo’s, self lighting stuff will not work.  The hot head was designed to use map gas which is hotter than propane.  This torch head is simple and durable mixing oxygen and map gas for small to large size glass beads.   A glass fiber blanket material which prevents the bead from cooling down too fast is required.  A glass bead kiln would be a treat but overkill for anyone making glass beads as a hobby.  Using a glass bead kiln or say small quick fire kiln helps you anneal your glass beads at a set temperature so they can cool slower.  A glass mandrel rest to hold your metal mandrels while they dry.  A glass bead release powder.  The bead release keeps the hot glass from sticking to the metal rod.  Bead release is simply a material coated on the metal mandrel to help separate the hot glass from the metal rods.  Our best selling glass bead making tool “the book”.  We stock only 2-3 books on how to make custom glass beads.  Fact is one instructional book is all you need.  Other glass bead making books will only talk about the same techniques with maybe a splash of history, da da da.  Fact is if your going to advance your custom glass bead making into a business or just looking for pure advanced bead making knowledge, go to the web.  Hundreds and hundreds of free glass bead video's are out on the web.  Its great, its free and the web has so many videos from professional bead makers.