Another mini series of posts - with information about more online resources that I'm enjoying and think you might too!!

Crafts Magazine is a national magazine that has been running for 50 years, focusing on contemporary craft practices - it highlights all sorts of different makers, including jewellers, with interview and interesting articles.

Currently they are offering free online access to their entire back catalogue - so if you're interested, do have a look before the offer ends! 

https://ocean.exacteditions.com/magazines/21416/issues/ 

There are lots of free, and paid for resources available online for jewellers and this series of posts will highlight some of the ones that I think are the most useful...

Next up I'd like to recommend a few people on YouTube - there are of course thousands of jewellery tutorials and videos on YouTube - and some are better than others...

Three of the best ones I've come across include; - 

• Andrew Berry - a skilled bench jeweller, Andrew has a range of free to access videos as well as a paid subscription to access further additional content https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChYy8RQRBeEYHOrK3iNCe1Q 
• Beadaholique - have a range of videos useful for anyone working with beads https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_bUcF0Vda0W0K6Ek7ygorw 
  
• Cool Tools - a US metalclay supplier - has a wide range of good videos for anyone interested in learning more about working with silver, or metal clays https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrM13BPXBCHDUhFrR23saEA 

There are lots of free, and paid for resources available online for jewellers and this series of posts will highlight some of the ones that I think are the most useful...

Ganoksin is an American based site, that hosts all sorts of useful articles and information for jewellers - most of which can be accessed for free...

They do also have a paid membership option where you can access forums, and list your business, as well as gain discounts with a variety of suppliers, but as a free - non-member, you get free access to their huge library of learning resources including articles, videos and some step by step tutorials here at  - https://www.ganoksin.com/learning-center/  

First in a series of mini posts with information and ideas to help jewellers or other creatives looking for inspiration....

One of my first points of call if I'm stuck for inspiration, or starting a new project is often a museum or gallery - there are hundreds of these however, so it really helps to decide on a topic or a theme that you want to look at, to help you choose somewhere that will interest you, and where to start, once you get there... Whether it is just for fun, or with a particular intention (i.e. designing a new collection or piece of jewellery) - give yourself a starting point...

Museums and galleries are of course all closed as I write this, but that doesn't mean we can't access the treasures they hold - all of the big museums, and a lot of smaller ones too, have online collections that you can browse, or search, and many have additional online resources such as virtual tours, podcasts, or films about different elements of their collections...

For example - Victoria and Albert Museum -  https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections?type=featured 
Tate Galleries -  https://www.tate.org.uk/art 
Royal Academy -  https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/articles/tag/videos 
Natural History Museum -  https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover.html 
Museum of Modern Art - MoMA, New York -  https://www.moma.org/collection/ 
Tacoma Museum of Art -  http://tacoma.emuseum.com/emuseum/ 
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam -  https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/search/collection 
Many other places are also offering all sorts of digital options  including online performances or question and answer sessions, even tutorials - if there is something that you're interested in - whether it is - it may well be out there waiting for you - whether you're interested in jellyfish, or contemporary dance, Viking long-ships, or Manga cartoons, start searching a few museum collections, and you may be surprised what you can find...

There are craft fairs around everywhere, and especially in the Autumn... Obviously this year is a little different from most, but many of the best fairs are running online events instead of their regular London events, and they will no doubt be back to 'in person' fairs as soon as it is safe to...

if you're looking for gifts for Christmas, or just to treat yourself, or for some creative inspiration - it is well worth looking out for 

Some of my favourites around London that are well worth looking out for include; - 

• Goldsmiths Fair - is at the end of September each year - https://www.goldsmithsfair.co.uk/ - you can still view a lot of the information from this year's online event
• Made London - next online at https://madelondon-marylebone.co.uk/ - 5-8 November 2020
• Handmade in Britain - next online at https://interact.handmadeinbritain.co.uk/ - 10-15 November 2020
• Urban Makers at Old Spitalfields Market - keep an eye on urbanmakers.co.uk/events/visit-us/urban-makers-at-old-spitalfields-market/ - next event is October 30/1 November 2020
• Cockpit Arts Open Studios - https:/cockpitarts.com/shop-cockpit/open-studios/ - next event is 29 Nov - 1 Dec and 6-8 December 2020
• The London Artisan - keep an eye on - www.thelondonartisan.com/ - next event is 19-20 December
• Craft Central - keep an eye on - www.craftcentral.org.uk/
• Desire - no fairs scheduled for now - but do check them out in the future - fairs in London and Winchester that showcase just jewellers and silversmiths - https://www.desirefair.com/ 
• East Finchley Open - keep an eye on - www.eastfinchleyopen.org.uk/ 
• Handmade in Highgate - no events coming up - but keep an eye on - https://hand-made-in-highgate.com/
• Muswell Hill Creatives - keep an eye on - www.muswellhillcreatives.com/

These are just a few events coming up - if you know of any more - do share the details in the comments!!