JULIE WONG SONTAG ~ UGLIBEADS JULIE WONG SONTAG ~ UGLIBEADS JULIE WONG SONTAG ~ UGLIBEADS JULIE WONG S
and developing new skills. Stepping outside my comfort zone now and then is a
good thing. So, it’s not that I really think the beads I sell are ugly - it’s just a little
tongue-in-cheek reminder that if I’m not adding any true Uglibeads to my personal collection, I’m not taking enough time to play and experiment at the torch.
Can you tell us a little about the history behind Uglibeads and how your business
and art has evolved?
My interest in beads and jewelry started very early on in childhood. I was always
making stuff, and I was into so many different things - sewing, embroidery, drawing and painting - anything I could get my hands on. For Christmas one year my
parents bought me a little bead loom, and it was all downhill from there. Beads
and jewelry have stayed with me over the years, along with all those other forms
of artistic expression. I’ve always been happiest late at night when everyone else
is asleep, quietly beading, stitching, or drawing.
When I was in art school in my mid-20’s, totally by chance I ended up in a glassblowing class. The thought of working with glass had never crossed my mind until I walked into the hot shop not knowing which end of a blowpipe was hot. I’m
not really sure what I fell in love with first - fire... intense heat... the flow of molten
glass... the graceful dance with gravity... Probably all of those thing! It was mesmerizing. That summer I signed up for a glass beadmaking class. Lampworking
has many of the qualities that I loved about glassblowing, but it is so much more
accessible. I loved the idea of being able to work with glass at home. Combined
with my love for beads and jewelry, it seemed like a perfect fit.
From the very first moment I lit the torch I was hooked. I just kept thinking, ‘this is
what I was meant to do.’ As soon as the class was over, Uglibeads was born! I left
art school, and went into business full time selling my beads on eBay. The market
for lampwork on eBay in those days was very good. It was a lot of fun to watch
some of those auctions go up and up and up... After some time I transitioned to
selling beads exclusively on my own website. I also sold in auction format there,
and held regular sales affectionately known as ‘The Lunchbox’ (they were always
at lunch time). I’ve never been a very prolific bead maker - I’m incredibly slow
and really, really selective about what I offer for sale - so low supply and high de-