Edinburgh jeweller

One of the benefits of starting the Make A Ring A Month movement is that I get to choose the theme each month! I had already settled on t exture as the theme for January and had a good idea of what I wanted my ring to look like. And weirdly it has ended up as I imagined it would (that doesn't often happen!). I decided to create a hollow form ring because I am a bit obsessed with making box forms at the moment. If you'd like to learn how to do that I suggest taking a look at this online course  with Tracey Spurgin. I then carved into the silver clay to make the texture. I use the  dockyard micro carving tools .  I kiln fired the ring (I always recommend kiln firing rings as they need the strength of a long hot firing). I fired at 880 centigrade for 1.5 hours. Although I'll add here that I'm pretty sure my kiln is underfiring at them moment meaning that it is heating up to lower than the temperature it states. I need to do a proper kiln test f...

I've been overwhelmed by the number of people being inspired by the Ring A Month challenge. At the time of writing, we have 351 members in the Facebook group and 300 followers on Instagram. If you'd like to join in there's still time! Facebook group  https://www.facebook.com/groups/makearingamonth/ Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/ringamonth/ I have decided to announce the theme for the coming month a week before the start of the month. This is to give people time to think about their designs, particularly those that are busy and have a lot to fit in. The theme for February 2019 is .... music and lyrics Here are some ideas to get you thinking about how to interpret the theme Be inspired by A song/piece of music you love A specific lyric from a song  A style of music e.g. classical, metal, rap, funk etc A musical An instrument/s Music artwork (CD/LP sleeve or music video) A concert you went to (or wish you went to!) A music festival Choose ...

Rent a studio or work from home? Some thoughts on how to decide There comes a point when you need to decide if you’ve outgrown your jewellery making workspace at home. So, what are the pros and cons of renting a jewellery studio versus working from home? It took me a while to decide to rent a desk space in a studio to work from rather than work at home. I currently share a studio at Hill Street Design House in Edinburgh. This has been a really great move for me for lots of reasons but might not be the right choice for everyone so I wanted to give some of the pros and cons and my thought processes on it if you are also thinking about it. Hill Street Design House event hire room Jewellery making from home Pros Cost This is the main consideration for me. It doesn’t cost me any extra to work from home plus I don’t have additional costs e.g. travel Time The time it takes to travel to and from the studio could be more usefully used making jewellery from home (an...

I started the  Make a Ring a Month 2019 challenge at new year (there's still time to join in, you can find the group here > ). We have members at all levels of experience in jewellery making so I thought I'd write this blog post sharing some online ring making classes for those that are beginners, those that want to make more advanced designs or those that fancy trying a new technique. I am only covering classes I can personally recommend here (with the exception of Hattie Sanderson I know all the teachers listed below). I have no doubt that there are loads of resources out there but this will hopefully give a start to those that are interested. If something catches your eye then do click on the link to find out more. (Just to be clear, I do work for Jewellers Academy but have not been asked to promote their courses and these are not affiliate links). For beginners in making silver rings Make a silver ring with Rosie Sanders -  £45 Jewellers Academy link ...

The theme for January for the Make a Ring a Month 2019 challenge is texture (find out more about the Ring a Month challenge here > if you don't already know about it) Here are some prompts and ideas: stamping engraving rolling mill found textures bought textures carving woven hammered drilling The main aim of the ring a month challenge is to make a ring a month. If you already have some design ideas in mind then feel free to carry on, you don't have to stick to the theme. I know I find themes helpful so I will continue to have one each month.

There have been lots of jewellery challenges going around for the last couple of years including make a pendant a day, a ring a week, a bird a week etc. I do love these kind of thing but know that committing to making something every day or even every week is just too much for me. So I've been thinking for a while about a monthly challenge, something that would be some work but would still feel do-able. On new years eve I decided to go for it and set up a Facebook group called Make a Ring a Month 2019 . I posted about this group on one jewellery forum on the evening of 31st December and before the new year arrived 30 people signed up! By the next day, we'd hit 100 and we are currently on 189 members from all over the world. When I first set it up I really didn't know how it would go. I thought that it might be me and about 20 other people that I know. I'm so glad that others have joined in too, it goes to show that it wasn't just me wanting a challenge for 2019....