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/  

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

Rio Grande - the giant US jewellery supplier has a massive selection of videos and tutorials on their website, available for free...
This page will take you to a series of videos with jewellers telling their stories and talking about their work, which I particularly liked - but do click further around - if you click on resources at the top right of their website, you'll find all sorts of other useful videos and downloads
https://www.riogrande.com/category/resource-center/search-results?queryTerm=FTLOJ&tags=&contentTypes=&pageSize=32&categoryId=&page=1&searchType=1  

Files are one of the most useful and universal tools in jewellery making. They come in a wide variety of shapes and styles, but every jeweller is likely to find at least one amongst their kit, and if they do metalwork, then probably a whole handful of different ones!

Files are steel tools that have teeth cut into them, the file is used to remove areas of metal (or also for use with other materials - wax, wood, acrylic and more...) to refine or change a shape or surface.

We use files to smooth edges, to remove marks or blemishes from surfaces, and to change the shape or profile of pieces and it is therefore important to use the right file for the job...

My top 5 tips for files....

1. - the best files to start with for general silver jewellery making are a #2 cut half round file (you then have a flat, a curved and a corner surfaces to use), and a small set of needle files (needle files are mini files that come in a wide range of shapes and profiles and are great for fitting into different nooks and crannies).
2. - Files don't come with handles fitted - this is so you can choose and fit a handle that suits your hands best. Make sure to fit a handle to your full size files at least, as the better you can hold the file, the easier and more effective it will be to use efficiently
3. - a #0 or #00 file is a rough file useful for working with wood, acrylic and wax as being rougher it will not get clogged up with filings as quickly 
4. - if a regular hand file will fit and has the right shape surface, don't use a needle file - the larger file is much more efficient. Do change down to finer grades as soon as you have the main shape created, as
5. - choose the grade of the file you use (both hand files and needle files come in different grades) to suit what you need to do - if you just need to remove a small imperfection or surface mark, use a finer (#2 or #4) file - if you need to remove a lot of material - use a coarser #0 file, or use a saw to cut more off and then go back to filing

Images below - a flat hand file, a regular wooden file handle, a file brush (for cleaning out the teeth if it gets blocked)

How does 1-1 (individual) tuition work??

1-1 tuition is your own private jewellery making class with me - it can be arranged exactly to suit you - it can either be the same / similar content as one of my scheduled classes, but arranged at a date that suits you better, or with the content altered to suit you better, or it can be a completely different topic that i don't currently offer as a scheduled class that you'd like to work on...

First - 
Think about what you'd like to learn how to do, or what you'd like to work towards creating...

Step 1
Contact me to see if it is possible, and tell me a little about you and your background / existing skills. Send pictures if at all possible, as this makes it way easier to explain things!
I will let you know whether it is something that can be achieved in a day, or will take longer to work towards and need a longer term plan... ​If it happens to be something I can't help you with, I can usually offer suggestions of where might be able to help you instead.

Step 2
If we've agreed a project, or range of projects, then we set a date - you let me know what days of the week work best for you and how soon you'd like to start, and I check my calendar... 

​Step 3
If we have projects and a date agreed, then payment is needed to confirm the booking, at which point I'll make a full plan for the session and order any materials needed for the project/s.
A day of personalised 1-1 tuition costs £255 with me at my workshop in central London and includes all materials needed. For bookings of more than a day, block bookings (with a discount) are possible.
Mini bookings of half a day, or an evening are also possible if you are looking for a quick fix! (Depending on the project of course!)

Is there anything you'd like to know about individual (1-1) tuition, or any of my other classes???
​Feel free to message me at [email protected] or leave a comment below....

I can also offer personalised small group sessions - if you have one, two, or three friends that would like to join you for a day or half day of tuition, then I can happily arrange a session just for you - whether you are a group of beginners that fancy a different kind of day out and trying something new. or whether you are a group of jewellers that would like to broaden your skills together - do get in touch and I can arrange something just for you!

I have been making jewellery for well over 20 years and teaching jewellery making for 7, but one of my favourite things to do is to learn more. It may be unexpected, but for me it is vital on many counts and one of the most productive ways to spend my time, and money. The making process is key to my work, and to keep my brain and hands ticking over and my passion and curiosity for it alive, I need to keep challenging myself, moving forward and trying new things. For me, thinking you know it all is when I start to stagnate, get stuck in my own ways, and get boring as an artist/designer, and unhelpful as a teacher. 

There are many ways to learn new things - and I will be adding my perspective on different aspects in future posts, but this one is all about taking classes - as I have spent the last two days as a student, further exploring metal clay.

One of the best ways to learn is in person with an experienced tutor - you have them there in front of you to show you processes, to watch up close, to ask questions, and to chat with. Whether this is in a 1-1 tutorial, in a large group class or anything in between, this is one of my favourite ways to learn new things and challenge myself. In a 1-1 or small group - you get a lot more of the tutors time - it is more intensive and you can go into more detail, but in a group class, you get the alternative benefit of the other students' experiences, ideas and variations on the theme, which can be just as fascinating and helpful as the teachers.

For me taking classes is never about going home with a finished piece of jewellery, the idea or design of the class project doesn't need to appeal, for me, it is about the techniques involved and practicing them to be able to apply them to my own designs and ideas.

Firstly - however much you think you know - in jewellery making there are many different ways of working, different approaches to design, and new tips, tricks and ideas to discover. The more people you meet, the more new ideas you get, and the more different teachers you learn from, the more you can learn, even if you take the same class with 5 different teachers, you will still learn something new each time!

You can end up taking classes and different teachers telling you contradictory things - each teacher is giving you the best of their experience and what works best for them, and this can be confusing, but for me it is a great opportunity - if one way isn't working for you, try doing things a different way - give yourself a new perspective, and then work out what works best for you. So long as it is safe, efficient and gives the desired result, how you get there can take many routes and you get to work out your own!

Jewellery making (if you think outside of traditional fine jewellery, but even just within that) is such a large field in terms of the breadth and depth of skills possible, that you can quite easily study just one aspect all your life and still have questions, or want to improve.

This weekend I have been at Metal Clay Meet Up - working with silver clay. I have been working with silver clay for maybe 9 years, done many classes in it as well as certificates, and for the last few years have been teaching with it myself, but this weekend I got to meet teachers I have not met before and worked with different variations of the clay that I don't normally use, as well as getting the time and opportunity to experiment outside of what I normally do / teach with the clay. The pieces I made over the two days are not particularly impressive, but that was not my goal, I have left with some exciting new ideas for working with the clay, and a renewed fascination for the material itself as well as fresh tips and advice for working with it.

Finally - as a teacher - it is challenging, and great to be 'the other side' of the classroom - it helps me to keep improving my teaching skills. It is a great way to remind myself of the challenges my students are facing - the pressures of being put on the spot to make something , and to think about what can help them to relax and learn, and to experience what works well or not so well from a student perspective.

What are your thoughts on taking classes - do you have a different view? Do share your own ideas and experiences in the comments....