The questions people ask me are:
How did I start making jewelry?
How can I learn to make Jewelry?
What tools are needed to make jewelry?
I started making jewelry in 1965. I loved rocks and started collecting them when I was 5 or six. Every place I went with my mom and Dad, I’d pick up rocks that I thought were interesting. When I got in the car, I’d empty my pockets and put my treasures on the floor.
When I was seven my dad started taking me rockhounding and prospecting. Every year in May I’d get my dad to take me to the rock and gem show at the fair grounds.
When I was 12 my dad bought a slab saw, trim saw and a cabbing machine. We both learned to cut cabochons; My dad liked to set his cabs into belt buckles. I wanted to make jewelry with my cabochons. This motivated me to start reading everything that I could find about making jewelry. I took metal shop in junior high and metal shop and jewelry in high school. I took arts and industrial arts in college.
To start making jewelryyou should ask yourself what types of jewelry do I love. Start looking at pictures of different styles. Pinterest is a very good place to start. Start your own Pinterest and start saving pictures in separate categories. This will give you ideas and inspiration.
YouTube and Instagram are excellent sources of information about jewelry and suppliers.
The things that you can make will be limited by the following:
How much area do you have to work?
What area do you have for storing supplies?
How much can you spend on tools?
What materials can you afford?
It’s amazing how many products are available to make jewelry. When I started, I had to be resourceful to find things that I could use to make my jewelry. Even today you may want to find materials that you can find for free, that’s how I started. You can repurpose and recycle lots of things.
Start small with easy projects to test and learn how you can mmanipulated the materials before you try to make something. Learn about the pproperties of the materials you want to use.
Go to my blog, you can find some useful information that will help you.
You can see my studio @aijjewlery on Instagram. Follow the direct.me link in my bios it will take you to the many sights that I have. The link will also take you to my blog and YouTube.
If you have questions my email is david@argentimagination.com