(Editor’s Note: The following was reported on the Internet ‘Facebook’ via NTV News Channel Station. We are repeating what was written at that time. A film report was made last week by the TV Station.)
Chris and Stephanie Haussler shared with NTV News how they create their jewelry and glass designs.
They have been married for 31 years, in 2007 they started their own Business “Pixybug Designs” combining their talents.
Stephanie grew up in Sabetha, Kan., and Chris grew up in Grand Island and Doniphan, Neb. They met at Peru State College. Stephanie said she only makes jewelry she would want to wear.
“I try to make it comfortable, fun and not like anything else,” she said. Chris does a little of everything from cute, to quirky, funny and tiny glass designs.
“I don’t know how I ended up doing what I’m doing, but it works for me,” Chris said. Chris used the bunsen burner before in chemistry class in college, as he has a biology degree. The bunsen burner is the air gas burner he uses to melt glass and create his item designs. “That was my really rudimentary introduction to melting glass,” he said.
When asked what was their inspiration in starting up their business Stephanie said jokingly it was an ‘ultimatum’.
“The ultimatum he gave me, about either not buying any more beads or selling what I made, and so I started our company,” Stephanie said. She took multiple classes and worked at places related to art crafts, but she said everything she learned was mostly self-taught, as she practiced a lot by herself. As Stephanie did that, Chris took multiple melting-glass classes throughout the 15 years with the business. During the pandemic, he also took online classes, with one of the instructors being from South Africa.
Chris and Stephanie have a daughter, 24-year-old Mina. They said they think their daughter is proud of what they do.
“This benefitted her too, because it taught her to deal with the public, as she would come to the in-person showings with us, and help us out,” Stephanie said.
When COVID-19 hit, the couple went from doing showings at different events and farmers markets, to promoting their designs in online platforms like Facebook, and Instagram. They said that surprisingly the business was doing even better not doing in-person showings.
“This stuff makes people smile (talking about his designs), and they needed some joy, and happiness and a little tiny chicken can do that,” Chris said. They said they found a lot of online support, especially in the glass community.
The items they create can take up to 45 hours to make, it all depends on the design. They both have jobs outside of Pixybug Designs. Stephanie has been a book keeper and office manager at a Lawrence gasoline station for 30 years. Chris has been a lab-technician at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Clay Center for 30 years as well.
Their work has opened up multiple opportunities for them. They have been published in magazines. Chris has also written tutorials for glass articles. He is a member of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers (ISGB), this year he was one of four artistsin the world asked to do a glass melting demonstration.
In 2022, one of Chris’s marbles will be part of “The World’s Biggest Marble Treasure Hunt,” which will have handmade art marbles made by 160 glass artists. The goal of this treasure hunt is to bring awareness to the general public about fine art marbles while creating a fun, family-friendly activity. This first-place treasure has more than 158 pieces valued at more than $45,000.
When it comes to the designs they sell, if neither Chris nor Stephanie did it, they support other artists in the country, and they collaborate on designs together.
“Never could we have imagined all the wonderful things that have happened through our art,” Stephanie said. “The people we met the customers we have had for years,” Chris added.
They said it’s amazing to have a partner that shares the same passion. They said they just hope to continue to grow as artists.
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