Borosilicate Electrodes Restocked, and the Sunsetting of Yanlux

Hello Lightning Tamers!

I’ve just restocked our borosilicate electrode inventory on the store, and this restock comes with some bittersweet news.

Yanlux Warehouse Is Sunsetting

Aware of the shrinking of neon related supplies, I reached out to Nicolas Caracata about Yanlux and was told that they put away their equipment some time last year. This means the inventory we’re restocking from now on comes from what remains of their stock. It’s not exactly clear how much is left — the owner hasn’t made a definitive statement on how much longer he can sell this product. What I can say is that this is drawn from a finite, unreplenished supply, and it won’t last forever.

Back in February I sent a newsletter for a previous borosilicate restock, sharing why the 12mm borosilicate electrodes have shifted from a single wire loop to a twist cap, which is related to this change for Yanlux.

In an email from November 20th, 2025, Nicolas was generous enough to share more context on the decision to sunset his business, and I think it’s worth passing along in his own words:

“Given the general economic difficulties, and the challenges facing the neon industry in particular, we have decided to put all our equipment into storage. To meet our customers’ needs, we have built up a stock, which will allow us to continue this activity for some time.

Regarding the causes of this decline, I believe there are two main reasons: firstly, the general economic crisis, which is forcing businesses to reduce their marketing and advertising spending, and secondly, the competition from LEDs, which are gaining an increasingly large share of our sector. However, the qualities of neon should allow this product to remain viable.”

— Nicolas Caracata, Yanlux

What’s Back in Stock

12mm Borosilicate Electrodes — Twist Cap
$8.50 · 100 pcs in stock

12mm Borosilicate Electrodes — Bulk Twist Cap (50 pcs)
$273.00 · 2 in stock · backorder available · tariffs included

16mm Borosilicate Electrodes — Wire Loop
$10.00 · 61 pcs in stock

16mm Borosilicate Electrodes — Bulk Loop (50 pcs)
$295.00 · 1 in stock · backorder available · tariffs included

A Reminder: Neon Electrodes Are a Convenience, Not a Requirement

With moments like this — a supplier stepping away — it feels like the right time to remind everyone in this space of something important: the electrodes we sell, whether borosilicate or soft glass, exist for convenience. They are not the only path into plasma light sculpture, and they’re not some proprietary black box.

Making electrodes, in both borosilicate and soft glass, is a learnable skill. It’s a technique with roots in scientific glassblowing, and it’s been carried into plasma art by working artists — Mundy Hepburn in soda lime, and Wayne Strattman in borosilicate.

As an honorable mention, the Subaman himself, Bruce Suba Talks about this on EP 25: Bruce Suba – Learn as much as you can, and MORE!

If you want to learn the process yourself, there’s a straightforward guide in The Art of Plasma by Wayne Strattman on pages 61-67. It walks through using uranium glass as a transition glass between tungsten and borosilicate — a simple, accessible glass-to-metal seal. On the soda lime side, Mundy Hepburn uses dumet wire to make that same kind of seal work in soft glass.

You can check out the Research Lab Library and read the 🆓 Vacuum Sealing Techniques by A. Roth on pages 134, 165, and 460

The truth is, the range of electrode types possible in plasma artwork is still underexplored — by working artists, by engineers, and by curious newcomers finding their way into this field. That includes me. There’s real room here for people to experiment, learn the glasswork, and push past what’s commercially available.

If you’re restocking with us today, that’s great — we’re glad to make this convenient for you. But if you’re the kind of maker who wants to go further and build your own electrodes, know that the door is wide open, and there’s a body of techniques out there ready to be picked up.