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THIS is where all the magic *coughcoughcough* happens. My comfy lil corner downstairs where I spend lots and lots of time. It's got all your important 'bits': fire extinguisher, oxygen concentrator (under the kiln area) and an exhaust system vented through the window. The propane hose, you'll notice, also goes outside so we don't have any nasty leaks in the house. That would be very bad. (I only have to go out on my deck to turn the propane on - it gets shut OFF and the line is purged every night after I'm done.) There is also another exhaust fan, not just the range one, that you can't see. If I turn it on high-high it's so strong I feel like *I* might be sucked up into it. Heheheh. 'New' for me is this nifty wall the hubbyman built to enclose the two work tables. *LOVES*
You can see here my water cup where UBER-BAD BEADS go to their death, my dipped mandrels, my many poking/shaping/torturing tools and 3,981 bits of pulled stringer. I like to pull stringer. A LOT of stringer. It's a sickness.
(The torch, btw, is a Bobcat from Willy & Wally of GTT Torches. )
 
Just some close-ups of everything so I can win that 'OverDone' award I've been trying for. I have the little jar of short-short but important stubbies on the left, the rubbermaid container of somewhat-longer stubbies on the right, and I've recently started a jar of full-length (probably soon-to-be-stubbies) rods that I 'might' need in a hurry but don't feel like turning around and grabbing them off the wall while I'm working so "HEY let's pile them up right here". I don't know. It works for me. :)
The aluminum foil wrapped "thing" is on the left is a fiber blanket. I never actually batch anneal my beads (I put those babies straight into the kiln) but it's still handy for parking 'experiment' beads in there so I can see how the colors are going to look when cooled off, rather than setting them straight down on the table and risk having a 900 degree-ish bead-on-a-stick roll off into my lap or something. The foil is simply to deter kitties from sleeping on it and getting it all icky-furry.
 
And finally - my glass. *happy sigh*
Shoe racks and PVC pipe from Lowe's. Just make sure to screw them to the wall really, really good with brackets and stuff. You wouldn't want this to tip over!!!
Some technical info for those who'd like to know:
The kiln is a Paragon S0676-3 Glass Fusing and Annealing Kiln with a digital thermowhateverthingy from www.hotglassbeads.com (purchased August '02).
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The oxygen concentrator (not pictured here but they all look the same, eh?) is from Paulette of Suncoast Beads (purchased in Spring '03).
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The main bead release (to dip mandrels) I use is Foster Fire (I can't seem to find a link to their web site at the moment) but I also use Fusion release (from Frantz Art Glass) from time to time. And Bucket of Sludge (also at Frantz).
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