Foundations of Jewellery Manufacturing

New 4 week course format!

This Foundation of Jewellery Manufacturing course is suited to anyone who wants to design and make their own jewellery - or who wants to find a career in the jewellery making space but doesn't know where to start. It is designed to give you real world insights into the mostly closed-off world of professional jewellery making. 

It is a practical & accelerated introduction, set in real life, i.e. taught by a working and experienced goldsmith (Nathan), held in a working environment. 

The course is over 4 Saturdays and consists of 8 sessions, these will be broken down into the 6 structured units of skill learning and then the remaining two are on a self directed project which you will be working on in the background starting in the first session and finishing last day. 

• Very limited places - class size is maximum 4 people. 
• 4 weeks, 28 hours of lessons, in the form of one 7 hour class each Saturday (10am-5pm with break ); 
• It is not required but recommended that participants also purchase a tool box or some basic equipment they need to set up at home - will provide guidance with this purchase after you make your booking, however please note that the cost is likely to be around 250 Euro for the toolkit. 

Dates

Class will run each Saturday from 10:00 - 17:00 Uhr (with a break) for 4 weeks. 

Materials 

Base metals such as copper and brass will be used for most practice and sample pieces. Some Silver will be provided to each student at the beginning for a the ring making module and also for a sand casting module though any other materials students will be required to purchase themselves. 

Course components: 

You will cover the following in the course: 

• Design
• Concept development and how to sketch for jewellery design.
• Technical and bench drawing for Jewellery.
  
  

• Materials 
• Wax- Working with hard and soft jewellery waxes for casting.
• Silver- Understanding this wonderful and complex metal.
• Alloys- How to make Sterling Silver and learn about other precious alloys.

• Suppliers 
• Measuring & estimating amounts- Pricing/ procuring/ Practical maths. 
• Casting - How to get your waxes cast and what to know.
• Who, where & what- Help getting those precious materials.

• The Workshop 
• Setting up the workbench- Your own bench at home, where to start.
• Safety- Everything you need to know to practise jewellery making safely
• Tools & equipment- What to get first, the brands, on a budget.
• Hand tools- The complete beginners list.
• Workshop equipment- Machines to help and save time.
• Liquids, polishes &
  other perishables - What you need and where to get it.

• Wax carving 
• How to work with jewellery wax- Learn the format to make any design.
• Ring making- Signets, stacking, stones, organic.
• Soft wax and organic shapes- Experimental techniques and how to.

• Metal forming
• Ring forming- You will make your very first ring from raw silver grain.
• Sizing- Learn how to accurately make a ring to the perfect size everytime.
• rolling mill work- The pasta machine for metal ( My favourite tool)

• Joining techniques 
• Soldering of ring- The learn the correct technique for soldering perfectly.
• Shepards hook and post backs for earrings- What you need to know
• Jump rings and chain making intro.- The humble jumpring and all it can do.

• Finishing techniques
• Filing - The backbone of any jewellery making practise, technique is key.
• Sanding- How to make your own sticks, how to get a perfect polish.
• Polishing - An art in itself, find out why and learn it all.