In this shot, we can see, from his pile of finished beads still on their mandrels, the finished look of his work. To my surprise, the completed beads were not placed into ashes or vermiculite to cool slowly. Instead, they were laid on the ground in neat rows. I have to expect that the percentage of loss due to breakage must be quite high. I'll discuss this later.

This is not a brilliant photograph, but it was shot in-situ with a hand-held digital camera, in a factory that must have been at least 110 degrees hot. Unfortunately, I was not inspired to buy any of the beads I saw on display. At that moment, the store managers were busy inventorying and packing an order to be shipped for delivery.

JDA.