Shiny New Skills
I’ve always been a crow – and I don’t mean the GoT kind.
I’ve always liked shiny things in the form of jewelry. So, when I made it my New Year’s resolution this year to finally learn how to make jewelry, you bet people held me to it. Good thing too, because it was every bit as fun as I thought it would be. After Instagram story-ing my classes and getting a lot of questions, I thought it be better to share my experience on the blog. Here goes!
I took my classes at a shop and studio called Mountain Gems in North Burnaby. There are a few places across Vancouver that offer classes, but Mountain Gems was highly recommended to me by the talented Rish Jewelry. We had our booths next to each other at an East Side Flea market a few of years ago and she was lovely enough to share some resources.
The curriculum looked great too! Over eight weeks, I learned how to saw, pierce, polish, file and texture silver and brass. From there I designed my own pieces and finished the class with a ring, a bracelet a necklace and a pair of earrings. While the course only cost $249 (before tax), there were some additional expenses such as materials (silver, brass, stones) and a starter tool kit ($125). Still, I thought it was well worth it.
Class sizes were pretty small, but this gave each of us plenty of one-on-one attention from our amazing instructor – Kelly Allanson. Kelly was a powerful resource and it wasn’t uncommon to hear her named called at least 30 times in a single class. Super patient and FULL of wisdom, if you ever “botched” your piece, you could trust Kelly to have a solution to fix it.
This class was very hands-on, so don’t think the instructor will do the work (or fixing for you). However, you can leave fully proud in your pieces since you can honestly say you did it all yourself. Below are just a couple of my pieces (completed and during my weeks of learning).
It was fun to see everyone’s personality come out in their designed jewelry. As a creative person, it was immensely satisfying to see an idea manifest into something tangible that I can wear for years to come. Do I think I’ll continue this hobby? Most certainly! But, I’ll admit my savings for an additional class (intermediate available) and tools/materials will have to wait until after I return from Peru.
