Creation is Messy’s goal is to communicate clearly about all Messy Colors so
that lampworking glass artists are confident that their purchase of Messy
Color will be consistent with previous purchases. If a production melt is
lighter or darker than our standards for that specific Messy Color, then we
sell it as a Messy Unique. We’ve found that this helps keep our pricing low
by offsetting the cost of some of our melts and is also an advantage for our
artists. For example, those who find regular Cirrus too time consuming to
strike in small bead sizes can use Unique Cirrus (511806-1) to achieve
cloudiness faster in smaller sizes.
The second scenario in which Messy Uniques occur is when we transfer a formula
from our test pot to the production pot. Oftentimes our test pot reveals an
exciting new color, but when melted in a larger pot it loses the special
qualities we targeted in the test melt. Messy Unique Sunshine (now sold out)
is a good example of this. Our test pots revealed a soft cake batter yellow,
but in production it became a bright carnival yellow. We chose to sell this
one pot as a Unique and go back to the drawing table for a cake batter yellow.
All Messy Uniques are subject to the same standards of compatibility, quality
control, and testing as our regular Messy Color line. You can read more about
our compatibility testing method here. We also
physically inspect each Messy Unique rod sold with the intent of selling only
premium quality rods: straight and smooth, consistent 4-7 mm diameters, free
from irregularities, stones, bumps, dust, scratches, bubbles, etc. You can
rest assured that our Messy Uniques are of the same standard of premium
quality that you have come to expect of Messy Color.
To find a particular Messy Unique, please visit the regular Messy Color page.
There is a link next to each Messy Color paddle to link to the Uniques for
that specific color. If you do not see a link, then there are no Uniques
for that particular Messy Color.
If you are looking for more information on a particular Unique that you do
not see listed on our site, please contact info@creationismessy.com.
What is Messy 96?
Creation is Messy produces Messy Color™ at a private family-owned
factory in China which produces lampworked and fused products for export
to Europe, Japan, and the U.S.A. The factory has produced their own rod
for about 20 years for in house production to make swizzle sticks, animals,
flowers, holiday ornaments, and the like. They have traditionally worked in
the range of a 96 coefficient of expansion. In 2006, Creation is Messy
formed a partnership with them to bring new colors to the 104 palette by
adjusting the compatibility of their glass.
The factory continues to use 96 compatible glass in house for production,
and as such they occasionally melt batches of custom order colors. Creation
is Messy has partnered with the factory to offer these colors on a limited
basis. The color selection we offered is almost completely sold out. The
remaining colors can be found at Frantz Art Glass.
I like to use my rods down to the nubs. How can I remove the Messy stickers?
If you soak the sticker in water for a few minutes, it will easily detach
itself from the rod.
Why are Messy rods so uniform if they are hand pulled?
CiM experiences the same difficulties and irregularities in glass production
as other manufacturers. We are dedicated to producing the highest quality
glass rods, so we reject pots of glass that do not test compatible or can
otherwise be characterized as just "bad" glass.
When a pot does pass our compatibility tests, we hand inspect each rod to
check that they are straight and smooth, consistent 4-7 mm diameters, free
from irregularities, stones, bumps, dust, scratches, bubbles, etc. Basically,
we only sell the very best rods of the cane pull to our customers.
How are CiM item numbers organized?
CiM item numbers are composed of three parts. The first three digits "511" are
the manufacturer code designated for Creation is Messy by Frantz Art Glass (in the
same way that 591 indicates Effetre, 791 indicates Vetrofond, etc.)
The fourth digit
indicates one of the different families of colors as follows:
An example of a Messy Color tag on our rods
1 red
2 orange
3 yellow
4 green
5 blue
6 purple
7 brown
8 neutral
9 pink
The last two digits indicate the order in which Messy Colors were introduced to the marketplace.
For example, "51" would indicate that the color was the fifty first color we ever produced.
All Messy Color rods are between 4 and 6 mm in diameter. Some Messy Colors are available in thinner
or fatter diameters. To indicate diameters that are not 4-6 mm in our item number system, we add a -S
after the initial six digits of the item number. We then add more numbers to indicate as follows:
An example of a tag on a Messy Color stringer
-S01 1-2 mm
-S02 2-3 mm
-S04 4-6 mm
-S06 6-8 mm
-S08 8-10 mm
An example of a tag on a Messy Color large diameter rod
In response to feedback from our testing team, we are gradually phasing out the 2-3 mm stringer size and
replacing it with a 1-2 mm size. Both the 1-2 mm and the 2-3 mm will continue to be available in Messy Clear only.
Another part of our item number system relates to Uniques. When a color melt comes out a different
hue than what we would consider standard, but the production run tests fine in all other ways including
compatibility, then we sell that run as a Messy Unique. Uniques are designated by a -1, -2, -3, etc. after
the item number. For example, when a production run of Kryptonite turns out slightly too green, we call that
Messy Unique Kryptonite 511449-1.
An example of a Messy Unique tag on our rods
A Limited Run is a color that we produced but decided not to continue producing, either because we find
it too similar to other colors in our regular Messy Color line, or because we found it problematic to
faithfully reproduce. An example of the former is 511656 Black Currant, since it was so similar to Eggplant.
An example of the latter is Chai, which we found expensive to make and more often melted out to the pinkish
hues of the Chai Uniques (which are similar to other colors in our palette) instead of its sought after
brown hue. Please note that some colors that were introduced as regular colors have been called "Limited Runs"
after the fact when we discovered the difficulties involved with them.
An example of a Messy Limited Run tag on our rods
This item number system was implemented on the production end in 2010 the Year of the Tiger. You may notice differences
between your rod tags and the examples above as the rods cycle thru inventory for all of our various resellers. For
example, your Clear rods 6-8 mm may say "511834-6" instead of 511834-S06. You may also find some rods labelled Uniques
instead of Limited Runs. We hope these clarifications will assist Messy artists in making decisions about which colors
they can count on in our line to be reproduced consistently for their work. If you are at all confused about which item you
have, please feel free to contact us for further information.
Do you make stringers of Messy Colors?
In spring 2010, we began producing stringers of some of our more popular colors that would translate
well to smaller diameters.
We know that stringers have been traditionally sold in 2-3 mm diameters; we originally produced in this size.
However, in a recent poll, our testing team expressed an overwhelming preference for the 1-2 mm size. So we are
phasing out the 2-3 mm diameter in preference for the 1-2 mm.
Messy Clear will continue to be available in both the 1-2 mm and 2-3 mm sizes.
We have packaged as carefully as possible to prevent breakage. Each quarter pound bundle is wrapped carefully in
tissue paper and tagged. We do not tag the stringers themselves as we found this cause for breakage.
We are committed, as part of our mission, to maintaining adequate inventory of all Messy Colors so that artists
have access to consistent colors whenever they need them. As part of this mission, we are
offering adequate inventory of stringers in Hades (intense black), Tuxedo (regular black), Peace (opaque white), and
Clear.
We introduced stringers in a variety of other Messy Colors to test the marketplace beyond the
aforementioned colors. The 1-2 mm size is more difficult to pull and the prices are higher
than 4-7 mm rod accordingly. We plan to gauge the response from the marketplace in order to determine if any stringers
(other than Hades, Tuxedo, Peace, and Clear) will become a permanent part of the Messy Color line.
As this is an experiment, we are not sure which colors or how much quantity will be
available at any given time. Frantz Art Glass has the most complete selection available. We encourage you to browse
the stringer section of Frantz's site to
see what colors are currently available.
A Messy Color paddle showing size availability
If you would like to know if stringers are available in any given color, simply look at the paddle image for size
availability. If a size is listed, then the color is available in 4-7 mm and the listed size. For example, Messy Olive, as shown here,
is available in 1-2 mm as indicated as well as 4-7 mm.
If there are no sizes on the paddle, then it is available in 4-7 mm only.
Messy Color frit is made from the same high quality glass that we pull into cane. It is hand inspected and packaged
to ensure the highest standard.
The frits we offer are sifted to be consistently sized in standard sizes 0 or 1. Colors are individually packaged and
not blended. To date, we have produced frit in a limited number of colors.
Frantz Art Glass sells a selection of Messy Color frits in 2 oz or 1 lb packages at both retail and wholesale pricing. They
have the following colors available: Bordello, Celadon, Peacock Green, French Blue, Halong Bay, Ginger, Cirrus, Hades, Gelly's
Sty, Rose Quartz, and Leaky Pen. We encourage you to browse
Frantz's Messy Color frit selection.
GG Glass carries some of our more popular Messy Colors as frits in her 104
coe compatible frit blends. We encourage you to browse Gail's fabulous selection of 104 blends for inspiration.
If you are looking for frit of a color that is not listed above, custom orders are possible. Please contact us for more information
about minimum order quantities and pricing.