Joy Lait, Louisville, KY

Stone Crow Glass Beads

glass jewelry

Joy Lait moved from California to Kentucky in 1999. She became fascinated with the bead making process after seeing it on TV. Meeting Louisville glass bead artist Bonnie Blincoe at the Kentucky Crafted: The Market, she took a class with Bonnie to learn how to make lampworked beads. She has since become a full-time bead maker and a part-time paralegal and legal secretary.

Lampworking is a process where glass rods are melted onto a steel rod or mandrel with a torch, to make beads. Joy feels that the lampworking process is always full of surprises, as she works with the molten glass. Her business is named “Stone Crow,” after the English phrase “stone the crows,” which means – surprises. Joy’s work is influenced by nature and she often etches her beads in mild acid to give them a matte surface.

Joy’s work can be found at Glassworks and Hawks View, Louisville, KY; at True Kentucky, Glendale, KY; and the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, Berea, KY.