Wedding season is about to start, which means you and your significant other might find yourselves in the often daunting search for wedding bands. For many couples, up to this point, this is the most expensive investment in jewelry that you have made (minus the engagement ring) and the variety of metal and style options […]
Recently a good friend asked if I could make her fiancé a wedding band. Both are active people living in Colorado and he wanted a silver band to match his lifestyle. They sent along a few examples of rings he liked and we settled on a ring with a rough texture and areas of oxidation that would […]
I was recently fortunate to participate in a jewelry show, along with 4 other jewelers, at Designer Gold in Hanover, NH where I also work. In the months prior to the show I was caught up in a wave of activity that took hold of the studio. The atmosphere of creativity and hard work was infectious. […]
I just finished listening to an interesting question and answer session with Maria Popova on the Tim Ferriss show. In the interview, she quoted from Dan Gilbert’s book, Stumbling on Happiness, in which he writes: “Human beings are works in progress who mistakenly think they are finished”. Maria Popova goes on to talk about the delicate balance between […]
My sister recently wrote a great blog post discussing how we too often conflate success with struggle and hard work. She raised the question: is a goal that is easily achieved some how less valuable than one achieved through long hours of grit and perseverance? Her post prompted me to apply the same questions surrounding the idea […]
The beauty of jewelry making is that there is always something new to learn. It is a profession that you can spend your whole life working at and still discover new techniques and new challenges. The knowledge I have gained in the four years since I started my study of silversmithing is only a tiny […]
Time to roll up your sleeves, because the real work is about to begin! Maybe if I chose to make designs that didn’t have quite so many different planes and curves, then polishing would be a breeze, but I don’t play like that! Why should I make it easier for myself?! Every time I tell […]
Ok this is where it starts to get fun! Not that the first steps weren’t fun, but working in wax is a more calm and contemplative type of fun. In these steps you get to use a big torch and just blast the metal until it is molten hot and ready to cast. Truth be […]
Lost wax casting is the process of creating an original work out of wax, which is then casted into metal (bronze, silver, gold…). I had no idea what I was getting myself into the first time I signed up for my first lost wax casting class, but I fell in love ALMOST immediately. My first […]
