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A few weeks ago I went to a fascinating talk on Feng Shui in Singapore at the Asian Civilizations Museum (well worth a visit if you are in Singapore). It was delivered by one of the world's experts on the subject, Dr Evelyn Lip who has written a series of books on how to apply the principles of Feng Shui to every aspect of life.You have probably heard of Feng Shui in many different contexts. Most often, Feng Shui is mentioned as a way to move your furniture around in order to achieve a sort of harmonious balance within the home. Although the placement of your furniture is indeed a major aspect of making your home and other places more Feng Shui friendly, there is a lot more to this ancient practice. Feng Shui is something that has been around for a very long time and is based around the harmony of the five elements: earth, gold, fire, water and wood. The words Feng Shui is thought to have originated from village life where wind (Feng) and water (Shui) were the two elements that could impact the lives of the farmers.As with many ancient practices, Feng Shui has experienced a rebirth within Western civilization as people continue to search for ways to strike a harmonious balance within their lives. Feng Shui is multifaceted and at times can be quite complex, but if you simply want to know the basics behind Feng Shui so that you can give it a try within your own home then it isn’t too terribly difficult to start. 

Learn more about this ancient principle in our eBook, 'Feng Shui Decorating: More Than Furniture Placement.'

Collecting glass is such a pleasure for the thousands of people in the world who are mesmerized by its beauty. To think that from sand, potash and a sprinkling of metal oxides an artisan can make objects that take your breath away.

What to collect – that is the question. Collecting glass is a very personal, deciding what kind of glass to collect is a personal decision with many factors coming in to play. Knowledge is acquired over time to make a collection a thing of beauty. A little background knowledge in the field of collecting glass will help to zone in on a type of glassware that will become the focus for a collection.

  There is no hard and fast rule to collecting. Some people are very rigorous in their attempts to stay within the parameters of a certain category while others will buy pieces for their beauty and a collection will be made from an assortment of categories. Here are a few ideas of broad categories of glass that can be collected. As more is learnt about an interesting category a collection can become more and more focused.  

Art Glass – hand made glass produced from the late 1800’s through to the 1950’s. Being hand worked means that no two pieces will ever be the same. Some of the better known companies to produce Art Glass are Durand, Tiffany, Loetz and D’Argental.

Color – an easy formula for a collection is to buy glass of a certain color. If not a lot is known about glassware then this can be the perfect way to start a collection. Collectable colored glassware are black, Vaseline (yellow-green), cobalt, opaque cream (custard), opaque green (jadeite), opaque white (milk), pink, ruby and forest green.

Crystal Glass – contains lead oxide instead of the usual sodium or potassium oxides. This gives the glass a brightness and hardness; crystal can be cut to great effect.

Depression Glass – inexpensive machine made glass produced from the mid 1920’s through the 1930’s. Used as premiums with purchases such as food products and soaps. They were given out in movie theatres and service stations. It comes in a wide range of colors, such as, amber, yellow, blue, pink, red, green, cobalt, white and crystal.

These are only four of the many categories of glass collection. I collect very modern glass objects made by young artisans in Australia. I love the way they mold the molten glass to almost organic shapes.

Looking after a glass collection is not difficult when you know what you are doing. There are some basic rules to follow so that breakage does not happen. Cleaning, packing and moving and showing are all easy with a little instruction.

To find out more check out, 'Collecting and Caring for Your Glass' in the Hobbies and Crafts section of DareToBePublications.com

I love glass. I was given my first piece as a child. A small glass cat, which through the years was added to and then lost. I have a feeling one of my sons may have played a little rough when young. It doesn't matter. It was the start for me of a lifelong love of glass.

I have collected all sorts of glass and have modified my collection over the years to suit the stage of life and I guess my tastes and budget at that time. For instance, when I lived in an old early twentieth century house I collected a lot of Art Deco glass. This has been replaced (or is stored in cupboards) with modern glass. I love the things the new artisans do with glass. And my taste in homes has also gone modern.

Over the years I (or my children) have broken, smashed, chipped so many pieces. I was always looking for information to make things easier and kept this in a little notebook. Looking after glass isn't difficult if you know how and there are some basic things to do so accidents do not occur.

I used to move a lot and it was always sad when I would open a box and find something broken. This was one of the first things I set out to find out about. How to wrap and send glasswhich is so great. without breakage. I can now, of course, send glass anywhere (and do, presents mainly)

Well, Fran and I have turned my little notebook of scribbles into an ebook that we are really proud of. It is the first of our ideas and we hope it will be of service to all the other glass lovers out there that just aren't quite sure how to care for their glass.

Collecting and Caring for Your Glass is available in the Hobbies and Crafts section of DareToBe.com, we hope you get a chance to take a look.

Do you have a penchant for fun and you're looking for new and exciting things to try?

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