glass alchemy changes

[D. dino i ninjah]

Right before the Ban GA's Cadmium colors were really suffering .. infact IMO ALL. their colors were really suffering since The parents left the buisness. the quality has been taking a nose dive.

this was happening BEFORE THE BAN.. The saturation lvls in their cads .. were horrible.. in the last batch of cads I bought from them ..


I would like to point out something though .. Northstar is no longer entirely american made. I have had a much harder time swallowing that than Im having with their (ga's) new sales plan. the last order of Cads I got I bought Momka .. and the momka will work for MOST of what I do ..

Im not mad at GA for selling direct at all. the 30% off occasionals is nice to be honest .. IDK if anyone noticed .. but even before the sale the prices were lower than normal .. for everything after I signed into my account.

THE membershit program .. seems to me to be a horrible Idea . . and that is where they are shooting themselves in the foot .. ITs like slapping your customers in the face. It has a lot to do with the way it was rolled out .. so artists getting Freee passes to the front of the line .. while others paid to get the ride the ride first pass .. and then the majority of the users .. getting slapped in the face .. ITs just bad marketing ..

IMO they could have done the exact same thing and just rolled it out .. in a more tactfull way.

I personally like the idea of buying direct .. many may remember there was a time when you could buy direct from NS as well ..

I know recently as a result of NS making colors overseas .. I have more desire to buy colors from companies that keep their operations based in the USA .. I also know that the 30- 40 a lb for ga ocasionals fits into my budget much better .. than the higher priced firsts available elsewhere .

what will make or break GA for me personally .. is the QUALITY of the occasionals their selling . IN order for this model to work for me .. The quality leavels have to at least be on or at the lvls they were when the parents were running the show.. I ordered from the sale this year .. and honestly I would order much more often .. IF the QUALITY of their color improves .. (i know their occasionals not firsts ... but I have been remixing odds and seconds for 15 years... the stuff from ga for the last 2 was really low quality IMO) really thats what is going to make or break them. People will pay more to support AMERICAN MADE .. but only if its reflected in the QUALITY.

I liked GA but you can only get let down so many times ... IF they could produce decent color .. and keep it in stock . .I could see me ordering from their ocasionals section much more often if the pricing stays at 30% off .. It puts the color right in the range I try to buy in .. ITs really only a matter of weather the QUALITY is there ..

as a consumer almost anytime you can buy direct from the manufacturer .. you usually save money .. I can live with 2 days longer shipping for savings and a direct buisness relationship with the manufacturer

[istandalone24/7]

what evidence do you have that NS uses overseas mfg plants to produce some of their colors? they just built a new huge and eco friendly (ish) facility.
if it was an article, do you have a link? first i'm hearing of this.

i don't doubt that NS uses chems from overseas though....

[Mike_Aurelius]

A lot of the rare earths and metals are sourced overseas, mostly from China and Africa. Because that's where the deposits of those minerals are. It's not a conspiracy, just "luck" of geology.

The -dymium rare earths are 99% sourced from China -- they pretty much control the market (and of course the price) for them. Same with cerium for glass polish.

[MUPH]

what evidence do you have that NS uses overseas mfg plants to produce some of their colors? they just built a new huge and eco friendly (ish) facility.
if it was an article, do you have a link? first i'm hearing of this.

i don't doubt that NS uses chems from overseas though....

I have also heard from someone in the industry that they produce a select few colors overseas, or atleast get the pucks from them. I doubt it will be in any article though

[menty666]

I don't mind buying direct for higher quantities, but it sounds like if you're like me and want to try a 1/4# here and there that you might have added to an order from a distro with stuff from other manufacturers (and possibly saved on shipping in the process), you're now SOL if you want to try the new stuff unless you buy straight from them.

Also, setting up a caste system is just straight out rude. I think we all assume manufacturers will float the super stars a deal or a preview from time to time, but to codify that pisses people off.

[A.I.]

^all their new transparent colors, plus illuminati and prob Lucy are made at gaffer glass in New Zealand. You may have seen those big globs of cullet northstar has posted, that's being made over seas, then re-pulled into rod at northstar in Oregon. Not what this thread is about but I don't like any of the new ns exp. colors.
That being said I kind of like the new ga set up, and I'm not a mega baller by any standards.

[istandalone24/7]

i'm not into the hype myself, but i have grown to love illuminati. it just looks good no matter what, bright as fuck.
thank you for sharing the info about New Zealand

[Mute]

Illuminati is not hype.

[menty666]

Illuminati is not hype.

Unless you spend the bulk of your time under UV lamps, any UV color is hype.

[Mute]

Unless you spend the bulk of your time under UV lamps, any UV color is hype.

We have a different definition of hype.

Hype to me is 50 shades of Paris green etc...

In my eyes its dope.

And I'm the one who started talking about this hype train choo choo in the first place.

[D. dino i ninjah]

Hype = any boro color that retail for over 100.00 a lb .. that isnt peach or doesnt have gold in it

[Mute]

Hype = any boro color that retail for over 100.00 a lb .. that isnt peach or doesnt have gold in it

Oh boy you guys are way in left field with this one...

[BORO]

I was told you can't batch raw uranium oxide into glass? ( in the us. )

I'm sure N.S. Would save some money to produce it in the u.s. ( If they could. )

I see a giant difference between producing a color at any cost. In turn changing the face of current boro art.

Vs.

Producing a color as cheap as possible by making it in a far off land with little to no environmental restriction.

[sunray]

Interesting thread.. At Trev's we have not been able to get 1/2 our orders from
GA for the last year and now the new deals they have make it impossible for stores to carry their product.
I know some of my glass blowers that do lined tubing are picky about the rod they
buy and GA has made it impossible for a few of the stores to have it on the shelves.
I think their new deal will come back to haunt them.. Mom and Dad did great running the company.

[D. dino i ninjah]

I just wanna chime in here because I usually bitch about things ... the glass I got from the sale this year " ocasionals" looks fucking Fabulous .. I still gotta try some out in the flame .. but I just thought I should mention it here ..

[BORO]

when the o.c . Sale ran, the "old stock" color that was discontinued, it was butter. And totally strait and even. (The last few pounds of cherrywood they had)

Makes me wonder when it was batched , how old it actually is?

[D. dino i ninjah]

Im down to my last few sticks of that Cherrywood.. and I wish they would make more ... I bought stapls for me cobalt 6 .. purple luster ... saphire (only sparkle I even kinda like that was availible) iris and .. treehugger .. rods look first ish in shape .. little air .. totaly worth it .. wish I had ordered double

[SNYD]

Iv'e been screwed enough from distributors Im happy to be able to buy direct from the manufacturer. But Im just a single artist that would rather buy 1/4 lb at a time and still get 30% off and not have to spend all of the very limited income I have on color just to get a discount. I have had zero issues getting hype colors too, just have to be patient and get it when you can. Also I have been under a rock for a while but I don't see northstar making any translucent colors that are air free like GA. Ill be the sole person to say I think the new program is great. I am glad abe started selling test colors direct as well.

[Jackass Glass]

Glad to hear it snyd this wasn't meant to be a ga bash thread by any means. All opinions are welcome.

[BORO]

fwiw, I have axis to the "big dog hype list" from g.a. ( I got axis at the end of 2015)

Thing is, it's a big list.

When they drop new color... you have 5-10 mins from the time you get the email, till the color sells out.
Yes, if your ready , you get a grip of said color. (Sometimes sells out in less than 5 mins)

I have not read into the 5000 thing, I don't know if it even affects the "list"

If your not on your toes , it's still gone fast as f#*$