DIGITAL LAMPWORKING MAGAZINE

DIANE’S RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT.  THIS IS COPIED FROM WITHIN LAST MONTH’S EMAIL NOTICE WHEN THE MAY ISSUE WENT OUT.      25% OF OUR MEMBERS DID NOT READ THIS, SO WE ARE PUTTING IT HERE.

Greetings from Tennessee!

I have some news I want to share with everyone; news that is bittersweet. The June 2021 issue of Soda Lime Times will be the last one. While I had planned to publish the magazine for several more years, I have the opportunity to retire and enjoy more time with my boyfriend, Dave. I will miss producing SLT every month, but it was an offer I couldn’t pass up. So, the news is bitter because it is the end of an era, but sweet because a new era awaits.

To everyone who has supported the magazine through your subscriptions or purchase of back issues, thank you! To everyone who stuck with me through good times and bad, thank you! Thank you to my advertisers, those who have contributed content, and everyone who has sent in photos for the gallery. And of course, I cannot begin to tell you all how much it has meant to me to see so many beads being created for Beads of Courage. Soda Lime Times feels more like family than a company to me, and I will miss being part of it.

One of the things I will miss most is working with Darryle Jadaa, Karen Leonardo and Anna Miller (who help with editing, layout, and/or other aspects of production), with Tina Whittimore (who built and maintains the website, manages the subscriptions, helps with writing and layout, and handles customer service), with Karen Colaneri (who provides the magazine with her cute and whimsical Beads of Courage tutorials), and with Hannah Rosner (who helps to market the magazine on social media). We may not work in an office together, but these women are all an integral part of the magazine.

Tina will continue to maintain the website where I will sell back issues and Beads of Courage tutorial collections, and I will also have my Etsy store open for back issue sales, just as before. The only difference is that I will not be producing any new issues.

When Paul and I started Soda Lime Times ten years ago, it was just an idea and a dream. He had one set of skills, and I had another, and it just happened that we had the perfect combination of talents to give it a shot. We had no idea how much we didn’t know about publishing a magazine! I can laugh about it now, but when I look back, I cringe thinking how blindly we jumped into our new adventure! You all believed in us, and you made our dream a reality. There is no community in the world more giving and caring than the lampwork community. I am blessed to be a member of this remarkable group.

Thanks again for a great ten years! Perhaps now I can melt some of the ton of glass I have in my studio!

Diane