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.

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. 

Explore various ways of making ear ornaments from posts, hoops to dangles using sterling silver wire, sheet and tubing. Add a pop of color by incorporating natural stone beads! Students will learn how to use the Smith Little torch, fine-tune their soldering skills, and some fun shape and texture making tools to spice up their earring game. Each student will leave with at least three pairs of earrings.

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.

This weekly class presents students with the fundamentals of jewelry and metalsmithing skills. Among the many techniques we will cover, students will learn how to effectively shape, join, polish, texture, and patina metal. 

This introductory course focuses on developing fundamental hand skills, good studio habits, and an appreciation for quality craftsmanship. Students will learn essential fabrication techniques by designing and producing unique, handcrafted jewelry.

This class will cover a broad array of new applications for stone setting, ranging from taking thick-wall bezels and modifying them by filing, drilling, and texturing to using sheet metal or wire to create cones that can be shaped into unconventional, free-form prong settings for irregular or odd-shaped stones. This course will also cover explanations of custom tools, modification of existing tools, and learning to use your flex shaft to make the most of it’s capabilities.

Join us for a special hands-on workshop devoted to barware! Make a sterling cocktail stir spoon and a set of martini picks. Forging, forming, fabrication and surface embellishment techniques will be demonstrated. Students are invited to stay after class for a cocktail hour with special guest mix master, Michael Tzannes, who will finish the day with recipes and tasting of artisanal bitters for the craft cocktail! 

One of the most important things a student should do after learning basic metalsmithing skills is to practice them as much as possible, and you will get the opportunity to do just that in Jewelry 2. Students will elaborate on those basic techniques and use them as a stepping stone to create more complicated pieces and designs. Topics covered will include intermediate to advanced soldering techniques, piercing and filing skills, creating settings for stones or other objects, fabricating hollow forms and/or boxes, scoring, and of course, finishing. The instructor will also demonstrate tricks and shortcuts she's learned over many years of experience and hard work. 

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. 

In this course, we’ll look at many different specimens with a focus on the most common gemstones used in the jewelry trade.We will also learn about different enhancements/treatments, artificial gemstones, and how to identify them with gemological tools.

Upon completion of this practical workshop on gemstones, students should be familiar with the most common gemstones in the gem/jewelry trade in terms of name, physical properties, and optical properties.  In addition, participants will be able to describe these stone’s internal and external characteristics and identify the mineral. 

In this workshop students will explore a variety of stone setting techniques, specifically pave, bead setting, and French cut. In depth demonstration and numerous samples will be thoroughly covered and executed throughout the workshop. Due to the level of detail and hand strength required to execute these techniques, students should have excellent vision (with the aid of magnification) and ample hand strength to push over prongs and cut metal using burs in the flexshaft. Previous stone setting experience strongly encouraged. 

Explore the exciting potential of screen-printing original drawings, existing imagery, and repetitive patterns onto an enameled surface while also learning to adapt these methods for use in the sgraffito technique. 

This condensed exploration of metalworking fundamentals is perfect for those who have always wanted to learn jewelry-making but never had the time. Saw, anneal, solder, file, texture, solder inlay, and more while creating one-of-a-kind jewelry!

This workshop will cover how to photograph matte and shiny objects using a pop up tent kit and iPhone, as well at editing photos using simple tools on the phone. The students will learn these techniques with objects provided by the instructor, and then move on to their own objects with the instructor's guidance. 

In this class, students will explore the use of polymer clay and wire to create an armature, instead of relying on pre-fabricated findings to dictate the forms for their polymer jewelry. Demonstrations will focus on creating a flexible hook and loop bracelet, a tall cuff, and a sculptural cuff.