Jewellery Workshops

Stacking rings are one of my favourite workshops to run. There's something really pleasing about the process — cutting and forming each band, getting the solder joins clean, then building up a little stack that's completely your own. Every set that comes out of the workshop is different, and that's exactly how it should be.
If you'd like to try a day workshop, head to www.jewelleryworkshops.co.uk to see what's coming up — or drop us a message and we'll point you in the right direction.

This term's workholding project has challenged how we work at the bench. 🔧
The thing about soldering multiple components is that they have to stay exactly where you put them while you heat them. Which is easier said than done. This term we looked at all the different ways you can make that happen: borax used as a sticky flux to hold pieces, binding wire, titanium clips, soldering clay, third hands, even just gravity if you set things up right.
And then this — the investment jig. You position everything perfectly in plasticine first (plasticine never goes near the flame — it's setup only), build a wall around it, pour in investment powder, and let it set overnight. What you end up with is a completely custom, heat-resistant jig that holds every joint exactly in place while you solder.
It's a technique that sounds complicated until you do it. Then it just makes complete sense.
The finished pieces here are granule earrings — look at all those tiny balls, all soldered precisely in place. That's what good workholding makes possible.
All the details for next term are at www.jewelleryworkshops.co.uk — I'd love to have you with us.

One of the things I love most about running term-time classes is the projects. Not just the finished pieces — although look at these 😍 — but what the projects actually ask of the students.
This term we tackled etching. It's a technique that uses acid to bite into the surface of the metal, creating recessed pattern and texture that you simply can't replicate any other way. You apply a resist to protect the areas you want to keep, expose the design you want to etch, and then the acid does its work.
But that's only part of it. The planning has to happen before any of that — your design needs to work in reverse, you need to think about how the piece will be finished, whether you're piercing the shape out, adding a stone, oxidising the recessed areas to make the detail pop. There are a lot of decisions, and a lot of steps.
That's what makes it such a good term project. You can't rush it. You have to think it through. And when it comes together — as it clearly has here — it really shows what people are capable of when they're given the time and the space to properly learn something.
Every piece here was made by one of our term-time students. I couldn't be prouder of the lot of them.
If you'd like to join us for next term, all the details are at www.jewelleryworkshops.co.uk — I'd love to have you at the bench.

More from the term-time students — and this time it's not just the pieces I want to show you. It's the people who made them.
Three students, three big smiles, and their finished work. I love these photos so much.
Something I find myself saying to students a lot is that jewellery making isn't really one big moment — it's lots of smaller ones. The first time a solder join flows properly. Getting a bezel to fit just right. Filing something back and having another go. Every single step is part of it, and every single step counts.
The finished piece is the goal, yes. But it's the process — all those little wins along the way — that actually builds the skill and the confidence. By the time you're holding up your finished work with a face like these three, you've already done so much more than you probably realise.
Celebrating that matters. It always will.
If you've been thinking about joining us for next term, I'd love to have you at the bench. All the details are at www.jewelleryworkshops.co.uk 🔗

Ever wondered what you could actually make in a week? ✨
Swipe through to see everything that's waiting for you on our Beginners Silversmithing Week — 13th–17th April here in Alcester.
In five days you'll work through eight core silversmithing skills — from saw piercing and soldering to stone setting and polishing — and leave with four finished pieces you've made entirely by hand.
No experience needed. All tools, materials and equipment provided. Small group, lots of one-to-one time.
Places still available — pop over to www.jewelleryworkshops.co.uk to book, or drop us a message if you have any questions. We'd love to have you with us! 😊