1. The Fed Meeting, A Big Week In Earnings, & A Surprising Job Number 2. How Do You Exercise Your Brain? 3. Glass blowing – a long-standing art form, or a new hobby? 4. Where Are My Tax Documents? 5. Ask Us A Question! 6. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing…” 7. Cheaper Electric Vehicles?

1 | Week In Review

The Fed Meeting, A Big Week In Earnings, & A Surprising Job Number

A strong jobs report could throw a wrench into the Fed’s plan to slow growth, with unemployment at a 50 year low. What does that mean for the Fed’s job and when is the much-anticipated recession? Unique market circumstances could lead to unique historical outcomes. Annex Wealth Management’s Dave Spano and Derek Felske discuss.

2 | Poll Recap

How Do You Exercise Your Brain?

Last week we asked you the different ways you keep your brain active in retirement. 

Radio host Danny Clayton and Director of Client Learning and Development Deanne Phillips, CFP®, CDFA®, ABFPsm took your responses and discussed brain productivity in retirement.  

Listen to their discussion below! 

3 | Client Exclusive

Glass blowing – a long-standing art form, or a new hobby?

If you haven’t tuned into the Netflix reality show Blown Away, you might not know the long history of glassblowing, how it’s come to be discovered, and how through years of perfecting the technique, it’s now accessible to anyone who wants to give it a try.

Before man, nature was the original glassblower. When lightning strikes a sandy beach, glass rods called fulgurites form in the sand where the most heat is transferred. Also, when a volcano erupts and sand and lava fuse, dark colored glass called obsidian is formed.[1] Creating glass takes an extreme amount of heat and the right natural materials, but nature found a way.

It wasn’t until the first century B.C. in Syria that people attempted to recreate the natural process of not only making glass but having enough control of it to form a shape. Glass is known as an amorphous solid. The two words don’t seem like they’d go together, but they describe glass perfectly. It’s solid, but it has a molecular structure that is random, like a liquid. Its amorphous structure is what makes it transparent, meaning light can get through it easily just like with liquid.[2] Once craftsman began to understand the properties and process of making glass, it didn’t take long before they began to experiment.

As the craft began to grow, glass became a faster product to produce, and replaced clay for everyday products. In the Middle Ages, the process called Lampworking became popular for the intricate and detailed pieces that were created using this style. Lampworkers created beads, vessels, and small containers, while glassblowers typically worked with larger quantities.

The Italians were so proud of their lampworking craft that they sequestered their artists to an island called Murano in order to keep their advanced techniques a secret from the rest of the world and ward off competitors of the highly profitable product.[3] Artisans lived in fear of punishment by death if they shared their secrets. Lampworking eventually made its way off the island, but Italy remains one of the masters of the craft throughout the world.

So, what is glassblowing after all? Well, it is exactly as its name suggests. Glass is heated to a molten temperature of 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit so it becomes liquified and easier to work with. Once it reaches that temperature, the liquified glass is placed onto the end of a thin tube, where the artist actually blows softly in order to expand the glass.[4] Controlling the amount of air and the pressure is an essential part the process – you only need enough air to blow out a candle to do the job. The artist uses breath, tools, and gravity to shape the glass as it slowly begins to cool. Artists also can create molds of intricate shapes and then blow the glass into the molds.[5]

The glass is often reheated several times during the creation process in order to maintain its workability, but when the product is done, the glass takes hours, or even days, to cool in a temperature-controlled chamber called an annealer to avoid breaking the glass by rapid temperature changes.

The possibilities seem almost endless for shapes, patterns, and colors on each piece. Adding certain minerals and elements to the hot glass can create different colors. For example, cobalt is added to clear glass to create a rich blue color, and gold salts are added to create a light pink when put in the intense heat.[6]

Interested in trying it for yourself? Thanks to the many hundreds of years of craftsmanship and knowledge, glassblowing is an artform that has lasted through the ages and has become accessible to more than just certified artists. Check around your area for an art studio that offers classes for all experience levels. Learn a new skill and witness the amazing transformation of glass into a beautiful or functional object right before your eyes!

Have an idea you’d like us to write about, or a story to share? Send us an email at cl************@*********th.com.

[1] https://coursehorse.com/nyc/guides/glassblowing  

[2]https://coursehorse.com/nyc/guides/glassblowing

[3]https://workingtheflame.com/glass-blowing-facts/

[4]https://workingtheflame.com/glass-blowing-facts/

[5]https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/getty-museum/antiquities/ancient-glassmaking/a/glassmaking-history-and-techniques

[6] https://grayartglass.com/blogs/news/how-do-you-colour-the-glass-in-glassblowing#:~:text=The%20answer%20is%20minerals%20and,See%20it%20for%20yourself! 

Where Are My Tax Documents?

Your custodian will gather all the required data from all fund companies and create your 1099 statements. A 1099 statement is generated if you have one of the following: sales proceeds in a non-qualified account, or a distribution from a qualified account (IRA).

These statements are generated throughout January and February, and the custodian (TD Ameritrade, Schwab or Fidelity) mails the statements to our clients at that time. You can also view your 1099 statements once they are available if you have online access at TD Ameritrade, Schwab or Fidelity. Most clients report receiving their 1099 statements in late February.

If you have any questions please contact your Wealth Manager or Client Service Manager.

Thank you!

Annex Wealth Management

5 | Ask Annex

Ask Us A Question!

6 | Quote of the Week