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.

In this class students will learn techniques for building bezel mountings for pear and trillion faceted stones and setting those stones in a pendant with file-worked accents. The techniques covered will enable the student to make settings for any angular faceted stone.