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 blogging for Jewellers Academy and wrote this case study on my experiences of getting featured in the press. If you'd like to read it you can find it here >

As part of my role for the London Jewellery School I've been writing the Business Matters column in Making Jewellery magazine for six months now. We've been doing an interview series with jewellers on different aspects of jewellery business. However, this month I am actually featured! I wrote an article on getting press coverage which would be relevant for all small businesses. The magazine is available from Smiths and larger supermarkets so do check it out! It's issue 116, March 2018. This image is shared with permission, copyright GMC publications

I'm really excited to have been asked to teach at the You Can Make It 2017 metal clay residential conference in Dorset in March next year. When? 24-26th March 2017 Where? Springfield Country Hotel Leisure Club and Spa , Grange Road, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 5AL, England What? YCMI is a residential metal clay conference held in a spa hotel in Dorset. There is a selection of full day masterclasses , hands on sessions , demos and talks to choose from taking place over the weekend. There are so many techniques and projects you can learn over the course of the weekend - check out the website for all the information . There is also the chance to get to know other metal clayers, take part in a charm swap (where you make a number of metal clay charms and swap with others to build up your own unique bracelet) and the ‘Your favourite make’ competition, visit the Make it Market and more. The event is sponsored and subsidised to make it as affordable as possible. Check out the ...

I haven't blogged for a while as I have been working hard to prepare my classes for the new six day jewellery business bootcamp at the   London Jewellery School The first bootcamp will run from Tuesday 16th July and will be taught by a number of different  experts in the jewellery business including Jessica Rose, NatWest Everywoman award winning entrepreneur  and jewellery artists  Hayley Kruger  and Rosie Sanders  (and me!). It is ideal for anyone who wants to set up a jewellery business or who wants to take their business to the next level. The course contents are as follows Developing and defining a clear vision for your business   • Identifying what makes you unique from other jewellery businesses  • Working out a clear action plan and strategy for going forward  • Identifying how to launch a new business or grow an existing business into a more profitable model.  • Pricing and selling your jewellery  • Marketing...