Today’s article looks at the unusual story of how one man’s childhood experiments of creating fire using a magnifying glass has evolved into a unique and profitable jewelry business.

As a teenager, Bretwood Higman would experiment with a magnifying glass on the beach near his Alaskan home, transforming gravel into black glass and setting fire to zinc-based pennies.

Today this has progressed into Bretwood and a number of other artists using a 31 inch by 41 inch magnifying glass for a unique glass-working technique, creating ‘Sundrop Jewelry’.

The headquarters for Sundrop jewelry is the Minneapolis home of Shaun and Tawny Reynolds, where even in the height of winter you will find Tawny, Shaun, Bretwood and another Alaskan native, Erin McKittrick, using a thin Fresnel lens to melt glass into droplets for pendants and earrings, creating jewelry the green way.

Between them they produce the jewelry, run the website and handle the (increasing) amount of sales and shipping, linking to other sites such as Hunger Site, Fairy Godmother and Global Village, with pieces retailing at between $18 and $48. Focus is on the environment and working towards a sustainable future as much as it is on creating unique and quality pieces

Higman purchased his first lens at 13, before heading off to Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. He stayed in the area for a further two years upon completion of his course, apprenticing with glass artist Carol Trevis.

He admits that his initial pieces were crude, but after linking up with Shaun, Tawny and fellow Carleton graduate McKittrick techniques were developed and expanded, and the group were able to pitch and sell to local jewelry stores in the Minneapolis area.

So How Do They Do It?

A giant Fresnel lens is used to focus the sun onto a piece of colored glass, which will melt when it reaches 3000 degrees. As it is being pulled down by gravity the glass cools into a new form - a sundrop shape. The lens is not bowed like a traditional magnifying glass - it has ridges, and was originally invented for use in lighthouses.

The sunlight provides little heat until it is absorbed by a colored object, and it passes through clear glass without heating it. This means that clear and white glass can be fused with other colors using a kiln and a desktop propane torch before putting it under the lens.

For a demonstration of this remarkable technique, visit http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/style/44742347.html?elr=KArksUUUU

More information can also be found at the website www.sundropjewlery.com