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Writing for Craft Business magazine

I was commissioned to write an article for Craft Business magazine on using silver clay for business and it's been published! My article is in the April 2018 issue, page 30. You can download a copy for free here >

Make! Craft Britain on BBC Four featuring silver clay jewellery making

It was fantastic to see silver clay being featured on Make! Craft Britain on BBC Four this week. In case you missed it, the series showcases two main crafts per episode and this week it included cross stitch and silver clay. Silver clay is a great craft to feature as it is an easy way to make silver jewellery from home with little need for equipment. Jewellery artist Lisa Cain taught the silver clay class from a gorgeous location in Newcastle and it was lovely to see beginners so excited about their work. If you missed it and you're in the UK you can watch the replay on BBC iplayer here until 27th April 2018. Unfortunately, it isn't available to watch outside the UK (the BBC is paid for by a licence fee and you have to be a fee payer to watch). However, they have released this clip of the polishing and burnishing of the final pieces which is available worldwide and you can watch it here (click the link below). How to burnish silver clay   I hope that seeing silv...

Making silver charms for a charm swap

I'm looking forward to attending the You Can Make It residential metal clay conference in just a few weeks time. Although I'll admit I'm not looking forward to the train journey! This time last year I still lived in London and so the journey was only a few hours. This time I live in Scotland and it's likely to be at least 7 hours on the train. I looked at the option of flying but I'm teaching soldering and need to bring all my equipment. I didn't fancy getting there to find my butane torches had been confiscated at the airport! I'll do a blog post on my epic journey! I've just checked, it's 470 miles away. Last year I only had to travel 130 miles. Anyway, I've been getting ready for the conference, writing some notes for my workshop sessions, making sure I have all the materials and samples I need etc. One of the fun things I've been preparing for is the charm swap. We make charms and then swap them with others at the conference and make a...

Silver clay on the BBC

If you are reading this blog then you probably already know that I make jewellery with a material called metal clay. It's not a well known material so I was really pleased to see it featuring on a programme on BBC1. The programme is called Countryfile and a metal clay artist called Emma Mitchell was featured, interviewed by Anita Rani. Emma talked about the mental health benefits of getting out into the countryside and getting inspiration from nature and natural surroundings. They picked leaves and other natural materials and used them to make moulds and silver jewellery. It's fantastic that silver clay was featured on TV as it raises awareness of the material. The metal clay world is quite small but I haven't met Emma yet although she is also teaching at the Y ou Can Make It metal clay conference in March so I am looking forward to meeting her there. You can watch the programme here on the BBC iplayer until 6th March 2018 (but only if you're in the UK unfortun...

Business matters article for Making Jewellery magazine

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

Featured member at Creative Edinburgh

I am pleased to have been chosen as one of Creative Edinburgh's featured members this month! Being a part of Creative Edinburgh has been fantastic for me, especially when I first arrived here. I was able to attend some networking events, meet other artists and make connections. It was through a Creative Edinburgh meeting that I got in touch with Lynn from the Arienas Collective and I now teach regularly for them. I am also a member of a creative entrepreneurs group that meets monthly to keep each other accountable, set goals and support each other and I met those members at an event too! I also found the studio that I have through them too - lots to be grateful for them for. In addition to this I was filmed for a video business card as part of my Creative Edinburgh membership. You can see the film here. Our Member - Anna Campbell [ Jewellery Tutor ] from Creative Edinburgh on Vimeo . You can see my full profile here If you have the opportunity to join a group like thi...

Behind the scenes at Making Jewellery magazine - writing a silver clay jewellery tutorial

I'm really excited that the silver clay tutorial I wrote for Making Jewellery magazine had been published. I was even more excited that my work was chosen for the front cover! I was commissioned to write the tutorial by Sian Hamilton, the editor of Making Jewellery magazine. Each issue has a theme and the theme for issue 114, January 2018 was fire and ice. I was asked to make six different pieces, write the step by step instructions and take photos as well. It's a lot to do and I didn't have a long time to get it done. I started off thinking about designs. I actually started making a totally different piece but I woke up one morning and decided it wasn't complex enough for a tutorial. It was two days of work and I had to start from scratch but some elements of the idea did stick. I decided to make lentil beads. These are round beads that are domed. It's an interesting project that works well in silver clay with lots of possibilities for beginners and mor...