I've been lampworking in soft glass for about 18 years. I have done beads and off mandrel hearts. My lampworking buddy and I started at our local craft center. When they closed our teacher, Elisa Minasian, opened her studio to us and the other addicts. Before Elisa had to close, we had classes with Wes Fleming, Kristina Logan, Emilio Santini, and Vittorio Costantini. We were incredibly lucky.