JEWELLERY BASICS
A SIX WEEK COURSE
—There will be two jewellery courses in 2025: one in February and one in September. Click the button below to send an email and let me know that you’re interested!—
Creativity is becoming increasingly recognised as an important part of life; whether you’re typically an academic or an artist, there is value in craft for everyone. Learning new skills unleashes new energy; embarking on something creative can rejuvenate you! Jewellery is one of the world’s oldest art forms, dating all the way back to the stone age. This particular creative avenue allows you to not only explore your creativity, but will give you the skills to craft something functional, and/or wearable too.
Within this six week course, you can become a little part of the vast history of jewellery, covering a multitude of techniques from piercing, forming, soldering, waxwork, and finishing, and everything in between. These techniques will allow you to craft earrings, pendants AND rings as we go. The course is £350, or two lots of £175 and will take place on Thursdays in the beautiful, historical city of Winchester.
Who’s teaching me?
This course will be taught by me, Emily! I graduated from UCA in 2019 with a BA in Jewellery; I am also a member of the Association of Contemporary Jewellery, Design Nation and Society of Designer Craftsmen. My work has been featured in a number of exhibitions, from London to Inverness, Munich to Beijing.
How long is the course and when will it take place?
This course is six weeks long, taking place on Thursday evenings; the first will be 6-9pm and the following five will be 6:30-9:00pm. In the first release of this brand new course, we shall be starting on Thursday 20th February 2025. It will take place on the next five consecutive Thursdays: 27th, 6th March, 13th, 20th with 27th March being the final session. Don’t you worry! There will be plenty of opportunities to come back, following this course. We have Jewellery Club: a regular evening session in which you come armed with your own project (or things to finish). I will also be running mini follow-up workshops for the opportunity to look at certain techniques and styles in more detail.
Do I need any experience?
Absolutely not! This course is designed to introduce you to all of the skills you will need to create anything your heart desires. Everyone is welcome but the course is designed for folks who don’t have any experience.
How do I book and pay?
This course (and booking) will work a little differently to normal. Instead of booking via a checkout system, I will be organising this one via email and BACS. Simply click the button to the side and an email already addressed to me with subject and content already filled in will pop up! If you’ve got any questions, feel free to add them in. But all you really have to do is hit send! Once your email of interest has been received, I will send through payment details for either the full total or the deposit, depending on the option that you’d prefer. Once you’ve made the first payment, that is your place secured! We’ll be in touch over the following weeks with a few follow-up questions.
What’s included and what do I need?
Each person will receive a starter pack which includes a sketchbook, saw blades, and copper sheet to create samples. Each workshop has enough materials included to carry out the task planned in weeks 1-5. If you wish for more, there will be some available to purchase. All of the tools and sundries will be provided; you don’t need to bring anything but enthusiasm! Make sure that you wear clothes that you don’t mind getting a little mucky, and close-toed shoes just in case anything gets dropped! If you’ve got long hair, make sure to bring something to tie it back and don’t wear anything too loose/drapey/dangly! Refreshments will also be provided; if you have any intolerances/dietary requirements/allergies/health conditions, please let me know beforehand! I do my best to cater to everyone!
Why should I join?
For so many reasons! For a little ‘me’ time, for mindfulness, to disappear into an activity and forget about the world! To learn a whole variety of new skills, to open your eyes to the world of handmade, to try something different! The opportunity to make gifts or a series of pieces for yourself; the opportunity to meet a new group of people.
Could I get this experience for someone else?
Of course! If we weren’t teaching it, we’d love this as a gift too! If you’d like to purchase this as a gift, please still follow the normal email route via the buttons on this page; we’ll want the name of the person who will be coming along and some information about them too! Digital gift vouchers are available.
What will we learn?
You will be learning a vast range of skills to kickstart your foray into jewellery, and all of the little tidbits that make doing so, much more straightforward. Week One will introduce you to jewellery tools and basic skills, including using a piercing saw to both cut sheet metal and create something in wax. In Week Two, we will be working with assorted wires, forming the metal and creating joins in order to make a ring. In Week Three, we will be working with a combination of sheet and wire. With the skills learnt so far, you can then start to experiment with your own forms and shapes as you learn how to make a pendant. The focus of this week will be joining methods. Week Four will focus on earrings and ‘finishing’. Polishing and finishing is an incredibly valuable skill to learn. For this part of the course, you will be taught how to sand and refine your work to a high standard using both papers and a polishing machine, with a whole variety of attachments. Week Five will focus on ‘design’; I will introduce a few, new, valuable skills to help explore a smorgasbord of possible ideas and how we can use the different techniques you have learnt over the previous weeks to create something especially for you! The last week, Week Six, will be your chance to bring together all of the skills you have learnt and create your own original piece. For this, you will need to supply your own materials based on your design. I will direct you to trustworthy suppliers and teach you how to order your silver, including how to best plan your pieces to suit your budget. If you prefer, you can revisit unfinished pieces from the previous weeks or even have your wax piece from week one cast and use this last evening to refine and polish it up!
How much is it?
This course is £350 for 6 weeks, which will include the starter kit and the materials for 5 out of 6 weeks. This is the equivalent of £58.33 per session! I acknowledge the financial difficulty that the coming months may bring so if you’d prefer to pay in two instalments of £175, I’d be happy to do that too! If you opt for the second option, the second part of the deposit will need to be paid by the end of January 2025.
*If you wish to order materials for Week Six, we can talk through this in Week Five!
Where will I be?
You will be in the cosy quarters of The Colour Factory! We even have our very own jewellery studio kitted out with 5 bench spaces, pegs and cut outs. We have a little cubby for storing our tools; it even has a polishing motor fitted in the corner! The Colour Factory itself is on Gordon Road in Winchester; it is just two streets over from the high street and 10 minutes walk from the train station. If you’re driving, we have a public car park just on our doorstep.
What happens next?
Once you’ve finished the Jewellery Basics Course, there is Jewellery Club - an opportunity to use the workshop in a slightly more informal setting. This isn’t a taught session but I will be around to help guide you and provide tips and direction as and when you need them! This is a really good opportunity to practise the skills that you’ve learnt throughout the course, finish anything unfinished, start new projects in the company of likeminded folks and people to bounce ideas off, and socialise! Click here to find out more about Jewellery Club. I will also be hosting other workshops and mini-courses too! These will be shorter, and more ‘up-close’ looks at particular styles or techniques to show you the endless possibilities within the jewellery world!
What are the boring bits I ought to know?
The price includes your starter pack and the materials for classes 1-5. For the fifth week, we will be designing - you will just need your sketchbooks, enthusiasm and curiosity for what I have planned! For the final/sixth week, you have the opportunity to work on your own project or revisit pieces from previous weeks. Materials for your own project (Week Six) must be covered by you, but I would be happy to help you design a piece suitable for a budget, source materials and figure out how much you’ll need. There are no discounts or refunds if you miss a class for any reason; please be sure you can attend all six classes before booking your space. A non-refundable 50% deposit (£175) is required to secure your space with the remainder to be paid before the course begins. No alcohol is to be consumed before attending any of these dates; I reserve the right to refuse your participation if I suspect that any alcohol has been consumed. This course is not suitable for pregnant folks.
