Edinburgh jeweller

Fancy bezels, prongs and bails online course, Jewellers Academy It's Black Friday again and even before the day arrived there were lots of deals around (and surely more to come). Black Friday is fairly new to the UK but it's always good to look out for a deal! Here are some of the best I've seen for metal clay artists. Do share any I've missed in the comments and I'll add them in Clay, materials and tools Cookson Gold has discounts on clay and tools I haven't seen any other discounts on metal clay but there are a lot of discounts on gemstones and beads out there including Beads Direct and Kernowcraft . Elsilver  also have discounts, it's worth checking out their 25% off offer on dies. Online courses Jewellers Academy has 50% off their courses including 3 metal clay courses. Tip: buy the bundle with Julia Rai's metal clay charms course and my stone setting torch fired course as it's the same cost as my course on its own! There's al...

Wow! There are so many excellent silver clay and jewellery making masterclasses being run in the UK this year! Here are the ones that I have found. Please do add a comment below if there are any that I have forgotten. It's definitely worth regularly checking the Metal Clay Academy events page as this is a great source of information for all things metal clay. Lisa Barth Copyright Lisa Barth Lisa Barth is visiting Tracy Spurgin's excellent workshop, Craftworx in Yorkshire. I spent three blissful days there last year at Terry Kovalcik 's masterclass. Lisa Barth will be doing two masterclasses Leather cuff 3rd-4th April Designing from the stone 5th-7th April Anna Mazon Copyright Anna Mazon Anna Mazon is visiting Lynne Glazzard this year. Herbarium open pendant 11th-12th May Patrik Kusek Copyright Patrik Kusek Patrik Kusek is visiting the Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery and teaching a number of masterclasses as well as the Rio Rewards cert...

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 ...

Yesterday (1/11/11) Mitsubishi announced that they are going to start retailing sterling silver clay . This is an interesting and welcome development in the world of metal clay. Up until now silver clay from all manufacturers has been 999 fine silver. This means that 99.9% of the silver is made up of silver particles, the rest is copper. 999 fine silver can be hallmarked but in the UK 925 sterling silver is still the most widely recognised form of silver. The Metal Clay Academy website is an excellent and impartial resource if you are interested in finding out more about this fantastic material.  The recipe for sterling silver clay was made available earlier this year through the experimentation of Lisa Cain, director of the Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery . The full recipe was made freely available when it was published in Volume 2 number 2 issue of Metal Clay Artist magazine . It can be made by blending the correct combination of fine silver clay and copper clay. However, t...

So fantastic to be featured on the MCSJ honour roll 

My box bead finally passed I am finally a graduate of the Diploma in Metal Clay  from the Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery . I passed grade one in January  and decided, after a bit of thought, to do grade two and three together in five days. I decided this because the jewellery school is so far from home and the travelling takes about five hours each way and of course, costs a lot. So I returned to Cornwall in March  for both levels. It was very intensive and I think if I was to do it again I would do one and two together and three and four together. I ended up not completing either level 2 or 3 in March. I had a few earring wires to make for level 2 but a lot to do for level 3.  So, I decided to try to do what I could at home before returning this week. Even though I had seven months to make the pieces at a leisurely pace I didn't of course! Although I also didn't leave it to the last weekend either which was good. One of the things that hadn't passed was m...

The final day and I knew that I had a lot to do. Sandra and I got in for about 9.10 again and I started building my box bead. I'd been worried about it but I quite enjoyed it once it was mostly secure! I will make one again. In fact, I may have to because it didn't pass! My sides are too close to the edge. I had wanted to fire it anyway but Julia recommended I take it home to see if I could make it work. We had a lot to do today and I learnt loads of new techniques. I soldered three jump rings I'd made into a chain. I was very pleased with this as I have previously done a silversmithing course and really didn't get to grips with soldering. I also made a necklace clasp first time. My earrings were a bit of a triumph this time! I love the shell mould stud earrings. The posts stayed in and didn't need re-firing which was a relief. They look great, a good size. I enjoyed the keum boo and the liver of sulphur made the gold I added really pop out. The gold painted dome ...

What we're making over the next two days! After a lot of thought I decided to do the level 3 directly after the level 2. This was primarily because of the travel time and costs. It takes about 5 hours to travel from the jewellery school to my home on a week day and at least an hour longer on a Sunday. It also costs about  90 pounds. However, from my experience, I think I would probably recommend that people do those levels at separate times. I went into the level 3 not yet having passed level 2. I had two pairs of earrings that had to be made again and three pairs of earring wires to make. So I did feel a little behind going into day four and a little worried about the increase in complexity. At this level we are making two brooches, three pairs of earrings and a box bead. There are also some techniques that we will be learning including clasp making, soldering and chain making. I am looking forward to seeing how to use keum boo (adding gold leaf to silver clay) and correctly u...

Ring, resin charm, domed earrings, leaf charm, bezel set pendant The final day of the intermediate course. Sandra and I arrived at about 9.10 and got started straight away. There was a lot of finishing to do! Everything had come out of the kiln OK which was a relief! I spent a lot of time on my bezel set stone pendant. I really don't like it! But at least it passed in the end. I had to raise the stone up slightly with copper wire to get it to sit right - such a nightmare! Took three attempts! It polished up pretty well and is slightly reminiscent of a peacock feather which was the plan. I don't think I'll be doing a bezel setting again! We had to make some domed earrings which was done by laying the clay over ping pong balls. I used a cuttlefish as a texture and I was quite pleased with it but unfortunately it didn't pass because the texture on the two earrings are so different. I then had a nightmare when drilling them, the hole is not in the right place. So I sus...

Carved earrings, leaf charm and ring from day one Today we made a bezel for a stone set pendant. It's not my kind of thing really! It hasn't gone well. We made our own texture from an eraser (the type that you stick on the end of a pencil), that was easy to do and effective. The bezel part was just annoying! And ended up going through the clay so I had to make another piece to stick the bezel in. Hopefully it will fire OK. We also chose a glittery glass cabochon to make into a pendant. I always pick blue! I can't help it. We made the pendant and I learnt how to catch the glass with clay so that it will stay on and also how to fire silver and glass. That was something new and I was glad to get a chance to try that out. We also learnt how to weave PMC paper clay. I was looking forward to learning this and then made a very basic error, cutting my paper clay the wrong way. This meant that I had loads less than everyone else. Undeterred I went for a complicated twill weavin...

Our tasks for the next three days! I am back once again at the  Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery  on the  Intermediate Silver Clay course . There are six of us on the course from as far afield as Ireland. The course is three days and we have a whole list of things we will make during this time. This is a certificated course so things have to be made to the correct standard. It puts the extra pressure on but at least it means the qualification is worth something, you don't just get it for turning up! Today I made a band ring, two bracelet charms and a pair of carved silver earrings. I don't tend to make band rings. Silver clay shrinks when it is fired so sizing rings can be a problem. It is also not really as strong as sterling silver (although soon this won't be a problem with silver clay !) so it isn't something I would make to sell. However, I have made rings before on courses so I felt OK with making this one. I have textured it with a basic diagonal line and...

The metal clay community is very excited about the development of sterling silver metal clay. Lisa Cain, who runs the Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery, worked hard to develop a sterling silver clay from commercially available silver and copper clay. In the press release Lisa Cain said 'My motivation for developing this new option was the very real need for this type of clay, especially here in the UK where hallmarking laws influence the materials we artists can use credibly in our commercial work.' The recipe, firing schedule and test results will be published in the April edition of Metal Clay Artist magazine (volume 2 issue 2). Lisa has said that she is not interested in making money from her discovery and that her 'interest is set firmly on innovation' and 'artistry in metal clay'. As a student at the MCSJ I was fortunate to see a few pieces that had been made from this clay last week. I am looking forward to reading the full article in the magazine soon. ...

I spent a very informative and experimental weekend learning how to use Bronze and Copper Clay at the Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery which is fast becoming my second home! The tutor was Carol Douglas who showed us some of her work which was both inspiring and intimidating! There were four of us on the course, with varying experience (I was probably the least experienced of us all). Carol spent some time at the beginning of the first day explaining about the issues of using bronze and copper clay. They aren't as easy to fire as silver clay, with most types having to be kiln fired in charcoal. Results can still be mixed and pieces can end up needing to be fired again. Because of our experience Carol let us loose on lots of different projects at the same time in order to experiment with the clays. I found this really helpful because I was able to try out lots of different techniques that I wouldn't normally try in order to see what came out well. I made a number of differen...

I've had quite a busy creative week this week! Etsy UK I went along to the Etsy UK meet up in London on Wednesday 12th January. I went on my own but soon found people to chat to. It was interesting to meet some people who were new to Etsy like me and some old hands. I do recommend signing up for the Etsy UK mailing list as you do get info on interesting goings on and inspirational interviews Random quotes on my blog I have added a random quote generator to my blog which appears at the top of the page, below the banner. I am a quote collector and always enjoy art that includes quotations. I would love to include quotes in my own work but they will have to be short ones so they will fit onto jewellery! I have added over 100 quotes to my random quote generator so every time you refresh the page you should see a new one. This photo shows an example of the kind of art work I love that includes quotes. Unfortunately I am not sure who the artist is but this was on display, with other wo...

Last weekend I went to the Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery for the first time. It is near Par in Cornwall. This is a LOOOOOONG way from my house! I loaded up the ipad (I work in technology so this is a work ipad - I am very lucky, they are so cool!) with a couple of films, some books, some games etc and stocked up on snacks. The train journey from Paddington was fine and I was lucky enough to be staying at the Boslowen guest house which was recommended by other students at the jewellery school. They picked me up from the train station and took me to and from the jewellery school every day which was so handy as I can't drive and I think cabs are a bit scarce around that way. Saturday 8th January Another student from the jewellery school was also staying at the Boslowen so we were dropped off there together. MCSJ is based in a farm building that was mentioned in a Daphne Du Maurier book. The workshop we were taught in was large and very well stocked with all the equipment we could ...

I do like to think all my options through and so have spent a lot of time thinking about how best to complete my Higher Metal Clay Diploma , mostly at Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery. The diploma is made up of the following seven parts Art Clay level 1 Art Clay level 2 Introduction to Bronze and Copper Clay Grade 1 Metal Clay for beginners Grade 2 Metal Clay Intermediate Skills Grade 3 Metal Clay Advanced Grade 4 Metal Clay Design and Construction There is an alternate grade 4 class called 'Teaching Metal Clay Effectively'. I have no doubt that I would learn from this but as a qualified teacher with a Post Graduate Certificate in Education in the Post Compulsory and Training sector I already have a higher qualification. Plus I have ten years experience as a teacher. I feel the design and construction module is going to be a lot more challenging for me and so I have decided to do that. I have already completed my Art Clay Level 1 at the London Jewellery School so only 6 courses...

My Art Clay level 1 certificate has arrived! It's very exciting and I feel I am on my way to the higher diploma as it is one of the seven parts!

I am proud to say that I have just passed my Art Clay level 1 certificate. It is an industry standard course which allows me to teach Art Clay beginners sessions. This was a three day course which I took at the London Jewellery School . I was very fortunate to be taught by Julia Rai , a world class name in Silver Clay and an excellent teacher. She was the first person in the world to achieve level 3 Metal Clay Masters Registry (at the time of writing only two people have achieved that level and the second is also from the UK). The Art Clay level 1 course is very intense, you make seven items that have to conform to the standards required. Having done a beginners course and made a few items at home I found some of the things OK to make and some things challenging. I'm very pleased with a couple of items My favourites are lacy ball earrings daily casual ring I'm not a big fan of rings and they can be difficult to size because Art Clay and PMC shrink when fired. However, I am chuf...