Dichroic Glass Artisan Snaps

The creation of Dichroic (dī-ˈkrō-ik ) glass dates back to at least the 4th century AD. Dichroic's word origin is from the Greek, dikhroos, meaning "having two colors"; Di - two, chroic - colors. Modern dichroic glass is available as a result of materials research carried out by NASA in the 1960's. They used it in the development of specialty filters for their space program. Dichroic coatings are produced by vacuum depositing multiple thin layers of exotic materials onto a glass substrate. This creates an optical filter that can selectively reflect and transmit wavelengths of light, thus creating "two colors" depending on the angle you are looking at.
It is important to understand that each dichroic snap is unique. All snaps are hand cut from different sheets of patterned and non patterned dichroic glass, layered and then fired in a kiln (often twice - or more). If you have chosen a patterned snap, the pattern and coloring you receive may not be exactly as pictured. It will be from the same piece of glass, but there is a pattern and color variation throughout the glass. The image shown is a sample of one of the several patterns used to create the snaps. This particular pattern is called Fairy Wings.

About the Artist

My name is Bev Haggett, and I am a Glass Artisan living on Vancouver Island, in Cobble Hill, British Columbia. I started working with glass in the late 1980’s, as a hobby to relieve the stresses of a demanding corporate career. My art work was initially created using traditional stained glass, using both copper foil and lead came techniques. I gifted much of my work, and then started to be asked to do commission pieces.

When I retired in 2001, I took my interest and passion for glass work to a whole new level. I began to explore other techniques, working with a kiln, creating fused art work, jewelry and other glass pieces. I then branched out and began to sell my work in local Christmas craft shows, as well as every Saturday at a local weekly market. Subsequent to those markets, I was one of the vendors (and co-manager) at the Marketplace at B.C. Ferries, Duke Point terminal for the past 12 years.

I have been featured in the Provincial Government's Beautiful B.C. magazine (no longer published), and my work continues to be offered internally on the governments website for their Awards and Recognition program. I have also enjoyed sharing my passion for glass work throughout the years by teaching in a variety of venues.

I am very pleased to join the Snap it Up Jewelry family and to introduce my handcrafted fused Dichroic glass pieces to the product line. I especially love creating with Dichroic glass which is a very unique specialty glass in the world of jewelry making.