This page will change constantly, so check back frequently.
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VENDORS
Since my work is all about the materials, I need great resources. There are some vendors that I use consistently, and they are featured below. These companies, most of which are mom-and-pop operations, are critically important to me. They provide superior products and service, at fair prices. Since most of them are artists themselves, they have an innate understanding of my needs as an artist.
Because my work is varied in terms of materials, I do a lot of web-surfing, looking for the odd item(s). Ebay, Overstock.com, Freecycle. com, and thrift stores are high on my list as resources of china and such.
Finally, I am always on the lookout for great "stuff", and my friends are incredibly generous with their cast-offs.
I tell anyone who will listen, "Don't let anything go to the landfill without talking to me first!"
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Mosaic Rocks: Natural stone tesserae for mosaic artists
Bill Buckingham is one of the owners of Mosaic Rocks and my primary contact. He provides an excellent variety of natural materials, with the mosaic artist in mind, from stone & marble to fossils, shells, and minerals. He also provides superior service to his clients.
I like Bill because he’s a nice man & runs a good business, but I also support Mosaic Rocks because of Bill’s seemingly unstoppable enthusiasm for the art of mosaic. He designed and maintains the Mosaic Atlas, a virtual museum of mosaic art in public spaces around the world; with Lynn Moor of MosaicSmalti.com, he produces annually Mosaic Art, an International Portfolio of Contemporary Art; he maintains a blog on his Mosaic Rocks site, which features new materials and the artists using them; he has developed a separate website for artists working with natural materials, called Mosaic Rock Stars; he is very involved with the Society of American Mosaic Artists; he invests large amounts of his time developing exhibition avenues for mosaic artists; and, he is a mosaic artist himself. Go, Bill!
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Maryland Mosaics:
Mosaic materials from A to Z
Kathy Scherr is the driving force of this remarkable storefront for mosaic materials. Whenever I read a comment from an artist about their experience with Maryland Mosaics, it is always given with great enthusiasm for Kathy’s range of materials, competitive pricing, her willingness to offer advice, and her overall unsurpassed service.
I’ve known Kathy now for just about as long as I have been working with mosaic. I met her originally on Ebay, and she ran a very successful Ebay business for a number of years. There came a time, however, that Kathy wanted to expand her product lines, and it just made sense to develop her own virtual retail operation. I have so much fun wandering through Kathy’s store… there’s just about anything I would want (and a lot that I never knew I wanted but had to have as soon as I saw it!) right in one spot. Kathy is kind and very generous with her customers… she’s the kind of small business owner we’d like to see more of.
| Murano Millefiori: Millefiori slices from the Effetre factory in Murano, Italy
Michele, owner of this delicious storefront, offers a product that is beyond compare in the U.S. : millefiori by the piece. There are many places you can go to purchase mixed bags of millefiori, but when I use this material, I want to be able to select the specific size, color & pattern that will work best for my piece. Also, her prices are better that any other vendor anyway, I believe. Michele is always ready to answer questions, and she will do whatever she can to get her clients the product they need. She visits the factory in Venice herself, so she has an excellent relationship with her supplier. I can’t say enough about how much I enjoy working with Michele.
Michele is also very supportive of the Society of American Mosaic Artists.
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Arctic Mermaid Mosaics: specializing in High Quality Glass Mosaic Tile at affordable prices
Owner, Terri Ann, is a delight. She has a good variety of good quality, traditional glass tesserae, but that’s not what I go to Terri Ann for. I really like “mixing up” my materials, and I like Terri Ann’s selection of Broken China Tile. She has a hard time keeping it in stock, because it’s apparently a popular item at her bricks-and-mortar retail shop. But, she is always very attentive to her customers, and I can count on her to let me know the moment a back-ordered selection hits the door. I really appreciate great service, and Terri Ann gives me just that. |
| Tracy’s Stained Glass Workshop:
for all of your stained glass tools,
supplies, and accessories
Tracy is the only one of these six TOP vendors that I really don’t have a personal relationship with. That doesn’t mean I’ve not talked directly with Tracy, however. I remember one of my first orders, there was a problem (I don’t remember what it was), and Tracy picked up the phone and called me to resolve the issue right away. Like the others, I depend on Tracy’s shop to have what I’m looking for, and to get it to me safely, quickly, and for a competitive price. I’ve bought glass from other online sources, but Tracy is my sole supplier for this material now.
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