Edinburgh jeweller

My Mollie Makes issue 1 Thanks to a twitter friend, Rachel Jinks aka @MogsTogs (her website is linked here ), I found out that I might be able to make some money out of my old issues of Mollie Makes . Mollie Makes is a cult UK craft magazine that started in 2011. I have been a subscriber from the beginning and really love the style of it, especially the artist features. I had a number of issues just waiting to be recycled until I happened to see a tweet from @MogsTogs saying that she got 50 pounds on ebay for issue 1! So I quickly removed that from the recycling pile! My copy is in mint condition and has an unopened craft kit on the front so it has a good chance of finding a new home. And it currently has a bid of £49.01! I've listed all the copies that I have on ebay , with my auctions finishing on Saturday 3rd March. It is so true that one person's trash is another person's treasure! I'll blog and let you know how much I made! And thanks to Rachel for tweeting a...

A friend asked if I fancied popping along to Hyper Japan this weekend. It was a Japanese culture event at Earls Court, London. It was fun wandering around seeing all the products and people. Here are some of the photos I took Lots of fantastic, cute toys!  Some real talent at the Manga workshop  Music I always love the cherry blossom motif, great on this plate There was a sushi roll championship. You may not be able to see but this pile of sushi had a smoke effect! Cookery demonstrations My lunch! A very good vegetable ramen gyoza I enjoyed my Sunday outing!

It was the one day designer sale at Craft Central yesterday so I gathered a couple of work friends and went for a browse around. My friends hadn't been before and one bought two bracelets! They both said it was great to get out of the office and do something a little different. Here are a couple of things that I saw and really loved Copyright A Alicia This knitted necklace from A Alicia caught my eye. She had a lot of really interesting fabric pieces on display today. Copyright Angela Fung I rather loved this ring from Angela Fung . The gem inside spins round. She also had gems that moved in other rings and cufflinks. Excellent design and execution. Copyright Kate Hodgson Kate Hodgson had some really interesting rings set with gems and enamelled internal sections

Craftcast There are a number of really excellent online resources now for learning to craft. I really want to recommend Alison Lee's Craftcast . I have now purchased two recordings from Craftcast and have subscribed to the free podcast via itunes. You can also virtually attend classes and then ask questions as you would in any class. I haven't done this yet because the time difference has meant that they are normally in the middle of the night for me here in the UK! I do know that some students from the UK and Europe do virtually attend the live sessions but I am happy with the recordings and a good nights sleep! It is so great to be able to get real value out of them, they are packed full of hints and tips. I love that I can  download them, unlike some online services, and watch them as many times as I like! Being able to watch it again may make it better than physically attending a real class! The two recordings I have purchased (so far!) are Copyright Donna Penoyer...

It looks like 2012 is shaping up to be a great year for metal clay masterclasses in the UK. Here are those that I know of. Please do comment on this post if you know of any others that I have missed as I may want to book on myself! Joy Funnell Joy Funnell specialises in metal clay and enamelled pieces. I have been fortunate enough to have a one to one class with Joy and I would highly recommend all of her masterclasses. This year she's going from one end of the country to the other! Discoidal rings copyright Joy Funnell Discoidal rings with enamelled accents by Joy Funnell 19th - 20th March Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery Copyright Joy Funnell Joyful jewellery with enamelled accents 21st - 22nd March Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery Copyright Joy Funnell Feathered friends with enamelled accents and keum boo 11th - 12th August Craftworx Jewellery Workshop, East Yorkshire Terry Kovalcik Terry Kovalcik is coming over from the US to ...

PR for your jewellery business course The London Jewellery School has a new tutor - me! I am really excited to announce that I will be teaching PR for your Jewellery Business for the London Jewellery School this year. Last year I taught Social Networking for Artists at the Mary Ward Centre. The course was full and will be running again. Social networking and pr are very popular subjects with business owners and, with some helpful tips, you can improve how you promote your business and connect with your customers. So if you want to know how to write an effective press release and who to send it to how to use a business twitter and facebook account effectively to connect with your customers how to promote your products and website Do please book onto this evening taster class. I look forward to meeting you

From Jessica Shae

I feel like I haven't posted on the blog for a while - sorry about that! I have been really busy with some very exciting commissions. First of all, I was commissioned to make a pendant for a British TV and film actress! I shall discretely not name names! I made this bee pendant which was thankfully very well received. It was made using silver clay. I made a silicone mould of a bee using a bead that I had. I textured the back and front of the pendant with netting to make it look like a honeycomb. The bee is a symbol of achieving the impossible and I will be adding this to my Etsy shop soon I was then also commissioned to make some cufflinks for another famous person! I was specifically asked to write 'Crazy Arnold' on them. I used a photopolmer plate to create a mould of the letters and set them in silver clay. After kiln firing I soldered on the cufflink backs. I found this article from Art Clay Guild UK chairman Nicola Callow really helpful when soldering onto silve...