Take the Time to Make Great Jewelry
If you find yourself here, I bet questions like “Where should I start?” or “Is this the right class for me?” have already crossed your mind. I have great news: There is no right place and I’m here to pass along tried and true recommendations for building your skills.
I designed each class and everything Custom Deluxe offers to be a choose-your-own-adventure for jewelry making. Each course is great independent of the others, but you can mix and match to suit your interests.
Start with what you enjoy most
Look at what you like (ok, I’m not talking about how you take your coffee or your favorite shows). Take a minute to jot down the answers to these following questions:
Do you like having a project with a clear plan?
Do you prefer having a finish line in front of you to stay motivated?
Do you excel when given time to yourself to practice?
Do you have a specific jewelry making goal? (ex. Design a gemstone ring, create a collection, learn as much as possible)
Let these answers be your guide to choosing your path.
If you love a good project, start by enrolling in the Stacker Rings or Textured Band Rings course. These classes are jam-packed with introductory skills in a short amount of time. You’ll find yourself focused on a specific set of goals during class and will have a finished piece of jewelry due to all your hard work.
If you excel with practice, enjoy having a little more time to ruminate over new ideas, and aren’t already devoted to making a specific piece, then beginning with the multi-week Welcome to Jewelry class is a great choice. You’ll be exposed to more materials and techniques over the weeks and explore each by making low-stakes samples. All of your skills are put together in the end as you work on a final project that brings everything together.
My favorite analogy for our classes is this: Welcome to Jewelry is like taking a language/grammar class with a short final project and the other classes are like courses where we read different books together. Take these classes simultaneously or in any order depending on what style of learning you prefer.
Check in with your current and past skills
By taking classes with different instructors across the country inside university classrooms, craft schools, and artists’ studios, I built a wealth of knowledge and took my time honing in on a variety of ways to tackle many metalsmithing processes. This has been invaluable to my craftsmanship! Choosing to learn the same technique (sawing, soldering, forming, etc) from different instructors, helps you quickly realize which is the best way for you personally. That’s your sweet spot ✨
If you’ve recently taken a metalsmithing class, consider what skills you want to grow and improve the most. With that in mind, look for a class that lets you practice that skill.
Do you want to create customized metal pieces in shapes you can’t buy a metal punch for? Well, that sounds like you need to brush up on some sawing skills in the Welcome to Jewelry class .
Is stone setting your dream? Enrolling in a fundamental class like Textured Band Rings will get you more familiar with shaping metal and then you can progress to Bezel Setting and the Rosecut Gemstone Pendant classes.
Set a goal
Having the best tools and most niche skills doesn’t always make for amazing work. Finding your creative voice takes time, practice, and usually a little bit of adventurousness.
If you go all-in on practicing and can shape metal, fabricate, and finish like a rockstar, your creativity will have the space to shine. Seeing good ideas executed poorly never feels great but perfection isn’t a reliable goal either. Instead, aim for work that feels intentional and well-executed. This is a great goal for all skill levels of jewelry artists.
Final thoughts
Investing time in your creative practice is a powerful act and getting started is key. Make the first move by enrolling in your first class or picking up that saw frame collecting dust in your closet. If you’ve read this far, that’s a sign you are in this for the long haul and I can’t wait to hear about the pieces you are dreaming up.
As always, reach out with questions about classes and project ideas! Looking forward to seeing you in class and building our little community of jewelry makers and artists.
Xx
Lindsey