This class explores techniques for creating maximum visual impact with minimal amounts of gold. Students will learn how to overlay 18k wire on a ring shank, fabricate 22k gold bezels for cabochons, and construct sterling silver backplates with 22k rims. These components will be assembled into a finished piece, with a focus on maintaining clean, precise solder seams between metals.

Instruction will include methods for stone setting that minimize tool marks, making custom titanium soldering clips, reducing material waste, applying texture and patina, and a range of professional tips and tricks to enhance craftsmanship.

This class will focus on the techniques I use in my own work to maximize the appearance of gold while minimizing the cost.  Many of these techniques are pure metalsmithing but some rely on cutting cabochons or altering existing cabochons to make setting require less metal.  I’ll teach you how to solder and fuse thin veneers of gold over sterling silver, which unlike Keum Boo, can be annealed, soldered and manipulated without losing the color of the gold.  I’ll cover fabrication techniques that keep the contrast between silver and gold crisp and clean.  We’ll also cover the basics of cutting a cabochon. I cut all my stones in a way that makes minimizes the amount of gold needed to securely set the cabochon. This is a huge money saver when using gold bezels.

This class is all about incorporating ball bearings into jewelry to make smoothly spinning kinetic bling.  I’ll cover fabricating the mechanisms that hold a ball bearing to a ring, then a bezel set cabochon to the ball bearing allowing the setting to spin freely.  Along the way I’ll show all sorts of techniques that can be incorporated into many different designs.  Tips and tricks will include but are not limited to texturing with a hammer handpiece, liver of sulfur patination, using small amounts of gold to make a big visual impact and soldering complicated assemblies with ease.

In this class, students will learn how to integrate ball bearings into a spinning ring with hinged elements that rise and fall using centrifugal force. Additionally, we’ll explore ways to maximize the visual impact of small amounts of gold. By the end of the class, each student will have crafted a one-of-a-kind ring and gained new techniques to incorporate into their future work.

This class is all about teensy tiny moving parts. They can seem intimidating at first but with a little guidance you’ll be crushing it. And by crushing it I actually mean not crushing it because then they wouldn’t work anymore. I’ll cover building 22k gold bezels for cabochons, making saddle settings for drilled stones, making tiny hinges and riveting them together without freezing the hinge, making a little swivel hook for ear wires so that the earrings don’t go flying off the next time you’re headbanging in the mosh pit, and tons of other little tips and tricks that have applications in all sorts of scenarios.

This class is an exploration of the techniques Alex uses to take relatively small amounts of gold and exploit them for maximum visual impact. Students will make an 18k wire overlay for a ring shank, fabricate bezels for cabochons in 22k gold, and make a gold-rimmed silver backplate for the bezel. They will then solder all of the elements together to make a completed piece. Along the way, Alex will explain ways to keep the solder seams between metals crisp and clean, set stones in ways that leave minimal tool marks, make custom titanium soldering clips, keep waste to a minimum, and many other tips and tricks.

Ah, gold. It looks beautiful, it’s a pleasure to work with, and it enables me to sell my work at a price that compensates me for my labor. Sadly, it’s also very expensive. I
would just rob an armored car full of gold bouillon, but I promised myself I’d never go back to prison. I would miss Baleigh way too much and after all the money spent and
pain endured getting all my prison tattoos laser removed, it would be silly to get myself incarcerated again. That’s why I’ve developed a plethora of techniques that allow me to
get the great visual impact of gold while using minimal amounts. This project is designed to teach you a few of these techniques.

This class is all about teensy tiny moving parts. They can seem intimidating at first but with a little guidance you’ll be crushing it. And by crushing it I actually mean not crushing it because then they wouldn’t work anymore. I’ll cover building 22k gold bezels for cabochons, making saddle settings for drilled stones, making tiny hinges and riveting them together without freezing the hinge, making a little swivel hook for ear wires so that the earrings don’t go flying off the next time you’re headbanging in the mosh pit, and tons of other little tips and tricks that have applications in all sorts of scenarios.

This class is an exploration of the techniques I use in my own work to take relatively small amounts of gold and exploit them for maximum visual impact. We’ll cover making an 18k wire overlay for a ring shank, fabricating bezels for cabochons in 22k gold, making a backplate for the bezel in sterling silver with a rim of 22k and joining all these elements together to make a completed piece. Along the way I’ll explain ways to keep the solder seams between metals crisp and clean, techniques for setting stones that leave minimal tool marks, making custom titanium soldering clips, keeping waste to a minimum, texturing, patination and many other tips and tricks.

With gold prices at a record high, working with it can be more intimidating than ever. In this class I will share the techniques I use in my own work to maximize the appearance of gold while minimizing the cost. Students will leave the class with the skills necessary to fabricate in gold and silver with confidence. In this class we’ll utilize these skills to create a pair of earrings with gold bezel set cabochons, gold-rimmed back plates and diamonds flush set in gold-capped silver rods. Alex will also show us how to make swivel hooks that secure the earrings so you can “swing your head about with reckless abandon and not lose a precious jewel”.

This unique virtual class is all about stealing the long cherished secrets of blacksmiths to make jewelry! I’ll show you how to sneak into their workshops late at night and plunder all their anvils, hammers, and tongs. Just kidding. What we’re actually going to do is take the classic blacksmithing technique known as the pineapple twist and modify it for jewelry scale work. After mastering the basic principals and learning how to make a wide range of different patterns, I’ll show you how to make a cuff and a ring.

In this class students will learn how to build a saddle setting for a drilled stone, riveting fragile materials without risking breaking the stone, building small hinges, making a safety catch for French hook style ear wires as well as many other tips and tricks. Intermediate to advanced metalsmithing skills are required for this class.  

In this workshop students will learn how to mix sterling silver and 22k gold for the making of jewelry. The techniques covered in class will include making bi-metal sheet, sheathing sterling silver rings with a thin but durable layer of gold, building gold-rimmed bezel settings for cabochons and faceted stones, fabrication techniques to keep the contrast between metals sharp and defined. Participants will have the opportunity to employ these techniques in a manner that reflects their own aesthetic, leaving the workshop with a unique piece of jewelry as well as many new techniques and skills to explore and implement in their own work. This is not a beginner-level class, but open to advanced-intermediate to advanced-skill levels.

In this class, students will learn how to make a two-stone ring in sterling silver and 22k gold. Techniques covered include fusing 22k, mixing gold and silver elements cleanly and easily, creating bezels for unusual shapes of stones and how to set the stones, fabricating a tapered ring shank, soldering complex shapes together with ease, texturing with a hammer hand piece and many other tips and tricks.

In this class, students will learn how to make a two-stone ring in sterling silver and 22k gold. Techniques covered include fusing 22k, mixing gold and silver elements cleanly and easily, creating bezels for unusual shapes of stones and how to set the stones, fabricating a tapered ring shank, soldering complex shapes together with ease, texturing with a hammer hand piece and many other tips and tricks. The class consists of 3 2 hour sessions over Zoom. Students will receive one month access to the recordings of the class at the end of the last session. Times are eastern standard.