Through fabrication methods and proper soldering techniques, students will learn how create a wire prong setting to trap objects in their jewelry. We’ll also learn a variety of soldering techniques (such as sheet & wire applique, open filigree wire work, and simple kinetics) which will help students add surprising and delightful details to their work. Many other short cuts, tips & tricks, and techniques will be covered as we go along! Soldering small to large components will be a major part of this class.

Explore the infinite possibilities of synclastic and anticlastic forming. These techniques allow us to create complex three-dimensional structures from a single sheet of metal and seamlessly combine concave and convex curves.

Explore personal approaches to working with enamel, developing your technical and design skills in independent ways. A variety of techniques will be demonstrated and students can focus on those that interest them most. Use of opaque, transparent and opalescent color, foils, painting and drawing techniques, cloisonné, liquid enamels, torch firing and experimental explorations will be discussed as well as soldering before and after enameling. Both beginning and advanced students will be challenged to work at their own level of experience.

Precision pulse arc welding is revolutionizing the jewelry world. Unlike soldering, welding can happen right next to stones or other heat sensitive materials, making some designs that were previously impossible, and repairs that would have been a nightmare, a quick and easy reality. Join us to receive hands-on, mentored experience with a full range of welders, so that each participant will be able to understand how this technology can positively effect their jewelry fabrication, repair and design.

Explore the natural world in this 5-day workshop that investigates how organic materials can be translated into through metal to create stunning pieces of jewelry. The instructor will be demonstrating forming, fusing, and forging techniques for creating form and dimension, while addressing applications of color through patina formulas, guilder's paste, and enameling. Students will be asked to consider the forms in nature that most inspire them, and to draw from those forms, colors, and textures to create their naturally inspired jewelry. 

Determine the best way to describe your product, identify potential clients, get work into the marketplace, and create a cost-effective marketing plan. From press kits to artist statements, pick up essential skills needed to promote a craft business.

Create ear wires, clasps, pin backs, hairpins and other findings! If you've been buying commercial findings or closures out of a catalog and are tired of the same old design and high cost, this course is the perfect solution! Techniques covered don't require a lot of tools so students can repeat the process at home without a substantial investment.

Micro pulse arc welding is widely known to be a useful tool to increase efficiency with basic bench tasks such as ring sizing, connections near heat-sensitive stones, and repairing porous castings. It works well on gold, silver, stainless steel, titanium, platinum, and copper, whether connecting tiny jewelry components or larger elements for small metal sculptures. Our pulse arc welder can go well beyond these general jobs to include tacking complex pieces before soldering, welding long seams for hollow construction, and connecting dissimilar metals such as titanium to gold.

Pursue individual projects with questions answered by a professional jeweler. Finish up work hiding in your bench and get advice on new pieces. This class is loaded with great bench tips to guide students through projects with success.

Build upon the basic techniques covered in Jewelry 1 to open up design possibilities and create more complex pieces.  Discover advanced soldering techniques, more exciting stone settings, tool making, and strategies to design and produce more successful jewelry. Students will set stones, fabricate hollow forms, and more!

Pursue individual projects with questions answered by a professional jeweler. Finish up work hiding in your bench and get advice on new pieces. This class is loaded with great bench tips to guide students through projects with success.

Mokume Gane is an ancient decorative metalworking technique characterized by bold lines, swirls, and curves that look strikingly similar to wood grain. Explore the mokume gane process by creating and patterning billets , and then using this material to create beautiful and exotic jewelry objects!

This course is designed for people who want to continue learning new and more advanced techniques to add to their repertoire. Some of the techniques students can expect learn through new projects are advanced soldering techniques, scoring (for perfect angles, bends, and corners) , fabricating hollow forms, stone setting, and more! Students are welcome to bring their own ideas for what they might want to cover in class as well as unfinished work so they can have support and guidance completing past projects. 

Fabricate a pouring vessel such as a teapot, oilcan, cup, creamer, watering can, etc. Constructing vessels is a faster way to start than using only traditional raising (hammering) techniques.  Additionally, when a hollow form is constructed using tabs, the soldered seams are much stronger and the form can then be manipulated and decorated with hammers to add character! This workshop will be a study in the fabrication and utilization of three forms; tabbed cylinder, truncated cone and a long hollow taper. These forms, once constructed will be combined to form a pouring vessel. 

Learn how to fuse steel and gold to create dramatic mixed metals jewelry! Techniques covered include how to work with mild (cold rolled) steel, and fabrication methods required to create jewelry from steel including sourcing, cutting, forming, texturing, adding Keum Boo, patinating and sealing. 

This is a fantastic opportunity to gain a working knowledge of chasing through detailed demonstrations, experimentation and different assignments. This class will equip students to further explore chasing with confidence and to fluidly express their own aesthetics through chasing. Liza teaches, lectures, and exhibits her chased works nationally, and is the creator of Nechamkin Chasing Tools™. She is a highly skilled and accomplished chaser, specializing in the creation of custom silver pieces that are rich with highly ornamental chasing and repousse designs.

This class will allow students with beginner skills to work on projects that they have started and/or imagined.  It is perfect for perfect for students who have explored jewelry and metals in another class or workshop, and wish to receive further instruction to develop new techniques and expand on their existing knowledge. Over three days, students will learn about basic hinges to create movement, box construction (for jewelry or small objects), and alternative setting techniques.  

Jump into this three day class for a fun exploration of all things ring! Combine fabrication techniques in gold and silver, argentium fusion, embossing, direct casting, creative use of scrap and more to create one-of-a-kind rings. Add value and color to your jewelry by adding a touch of gold to a silver piece. This class not only combines gold and silver, but also classical techniques with practical shortcuts for making work efficiently. From elegant to funky, we will look at ways to make rings that are unique to your taste. 

This course will help students advance stone setting skills with hands-on experience and knowledge from an expert in the jewelry industry. Students will be taken step by step through the process of channel setting through up to two ring projects.

Have you always wanted to learn to make jewelry but never had the time? If that is the case, this condensed three-day exploration of beginning jewelry basics may be your ideal solution. While completing a ring or pendant with a stone set in it,  students will learn foundational skills that are necessary for all metalsmithing projects. 

Ring in the holiday season by creating your very own jingle bell! Over the course of just one day, students can expect to learn the forming and finishing techniques needed to create a bell that rings. Participants will start by cutting out their bell shape template from flat sheet metal.  Then, using simple forming tools, discover how to hammer the form of the jingle bell, and finish it off by polishing and adding wire for hanging as a necklace or decoration!

Learn how to hold a stone using only wire and create a tear-drop style silver pendant. We will be using a variety of wires and pliers to bend, tie, and form a pendant with a secure center stone. This will include learning different weaving, coil, and framing patterns. These are all cold-fusion techniques, no heat or glue involved, and no hammers necessary. These wire working methods can be applied to other areas of artistry to accentuate your work with wire. 

The necklace has endured the test of time as one of the oldest and most popular forms of body adornment. It has been made by every culture and in every single material imaginable, but yet the possibilities for this jewelry object are continuously expanded upon by makers almost every single day. Learn how to create a necklace from start to finish: design, fabricate, polish, and adorn yourself with a dynamic and personalized neck piece in record time.