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Session runs: Sunday afternoon

Hallmarking

Would you like to know more about the process of hallmarking your work to sell?  The legalities and process around hallmarking can be a bit bewildering. As metal clay artists and jewellery makers that want to sell our pieces, how do we know when we need to get work hallmarked? And how do we go about it? How much does it cost?

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Anna has gone through the process and attended an assay office tour so this talk will be a practical guide to hallmarking for the jewellery artist. You'll have the opportunity to ask questions and get clear about hallmarking and next steps for you.

Anna will talk about this during one of our evening round-table sessions.​

Geometric designs and mandalas

Clément's work is instantly recognisable with its stunning geometric and mandala designs. Join him in this session where he shares some of his tips on how to draw these designs and how they can be transferred to make your very own texture plates.
 

Session runs: Sunday morning

Using modelling techniques with metal clay

Modelling human figures can be very difficult, and is an advanced level of work. In this session Corina will share some fundamental techniques or so called tricks that artists, sculptors, use to model a human figure, which will help be hugely helpful. This workshop was specifically designed for those working with metal clay, but it is equally useful for those who are passionate about modelling and who work with other materials like polymer or ceramic clay. Besides learning how to model a human figure you will also learn about:

Types of tools and their use

A basic idea of anatomy of the skull and position of muscles 

Dividing the face and placing the eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks etc. 

Maintaining proportions

Session runs: Sunday morning

Making silver flowers by hand

Let Etsuko show you her special techniques and tricks for creating stunning flower designs using Art Clay Silver Clay.

She will show how she makes some different designs, styles, and sizes. These can be made into independent pieces, or added as decorations to other designs.

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Session runs: Sunday afternoon

How to acheve a mirror finish on silver

Grainne will demo each step of the process to achieve a super shiny mirror finish. If you've seen her work, you know she has mastered the mirror finishing process!

Grainne will show you some tips and techniques on what to do in the dry clay stage and after firing so a professional quality finish can be achieved, bringing your jewellery pieces to the next level. She will share the tools and materials she uses in each step of the process.

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Session runs: Saturday morning

Using Instagram for jewellers and craft businesses

With its visual focus Instagram is a great platform for jewellers and crafters, and can be the number one place to get noticed, attract customers, meet other jewellers and of course, bring in sales for your business.

With over 10,000 followers on her Jewellers Academy Instagram Jessica has some real knowledge in how to make this work.

In this sessions you'll learn the techniques and strategies for growing a loyal following on instagram. How can you attract the right people to get the conversions you want?

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Session runs: Saturday morning

Creating video for your jewellery or craft business

Video is invaluable as a marketing and product producing tool. It is easy to digest, and if done right, entertaining and engaging. It will help you increase engagement on your digital and social channels, use it to educate your customers, you can even package it and turn it into a sellable product. It will help you reach your audience with a new medium.

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Jessica has spent a lot of time both behind and in front of a camera, and is now producing professional video content for both marketing and jewellery education. Not sure if Jessica knows what she is talking about? Have a little look at her video podcast page on Jewellers Academy.

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In this session Jessica goes through some of the basics on how to plan and execute your video, how to make it (and you!) look professional, and about the set up needed.

Session runs: Saturday afternoon

What can I do with the JoolTool?

Been wondering if  the JoolTool would be useful in your jewellery making?
 

Joy loves it for finishing and polishing her silver finishing, speeding up polishing of copper and bronze massively (the bronze butterfly here was polished on a JoolTool), grinding glass for her little drop-out jars - and much more! In this session you'll learn about Joy's favourite abrasives and discs, and see how she uses the tool.

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Session runs: Saturday Afternoon

Humankind's Downfall - Chalice for Master's Registry

Join Julia Rai for a roundtable conversation about the process of how she made her spectacular Chalice for the Master's Registry. Weighing in at a whooping 600 grammes, and standing at 14 cm tall, this is a impressive piece of metal clay work, using lots of different techniques and processes.

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Julia spent over 120 hours working on this statement artwork. Join her to find out how she did it (we are thinking lots of coffee must have been involved!), and why she did it. Julia will also be showing some of her other Master's Registry work. 

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"Humankind’s greed and lust for power at the expense of the planet that sustains it will be the cause of its downfall" - Julia Rai

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Julia will talk about this during one of our evening round-table sessions.

Magic Minxy Mould Making

If you spot Leigh away from her studio, there is a very big chance you'll find moulding compound in her bag. She follows the good old metal clay motto of "If it stands still long enough, mould it!"

Mould making can be used to create replicas of items using lots of different materials, like silver clay, base metal clay, polymer clay, and resin. During this session Leigh will discuss the various different options of moulding compounds available and their appropriate applications, idiosyncrasies as well as hints and tips. Leigh will demonstrate how to create successful moulds that can be used over and over, and will show you the tricks of the trade to be able to create crisp,  intricate imprints every single time.

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Session runs: Saturday afternoon

Setting fused glass in silver

Lisel uses a lot of glass as decoration and to add colour to her work. Join this talk where she will show you the best practices in setting glass in silver. Lisel will do a hands-on demonstration of 3-4 very easy and fun ways to set fused glass into metal clay.

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Session runs: Sunday morning

Riveting silver and polymer clay to add colour

Riveting is a fabulous technique to have in your jewellery making repertoire, Use it to add decorations, colour, designs, to create new bails, or to update existing designs.

In this class Meropi will discuss: 

• Why and where we are using rivets;

• Basic principles for riveting;

• Different kinds of rivets and different riveting techniques 

Meropi will have lots of samples showing different techniques and will also do a quick demo of riveting of a silver and polymer clay piece.

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Session runs: Saturday afternoon

Keum-Boo on silver

Want to experience the Midas touch? Whilst we can’t turn you into King Midas, Petra can show you some tricks that will make you feel like him! Adding gold will not just add value to your work, it also looks stunning with the contrast between silver and gold.

In this session Petra will run though different techniques of how to add real gold to your silver, discussing some of the options available and their individual benefits. She’ll run through how to choose the best materials, and what tools and equipment you need, as well as how to avoid some common pitfalls. Petra will demonstrate Keum-Boo, an ancient Korean technique, which was introduced to the metal clay world by Celie Fago.

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Session runs: Saturday morning

Successfully embedding bezel wire

Sulie will show her method for embedding bezel settings in metal clay prior to firing. This method does not require any soldering, and is perfect for artists who would like to begin incorporating non-fireable stones into their work, but are unsure how to do so.

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Learn how to make the shrinkage of the clay work for, rather than against us.

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Sulie will talk about this during one of our evening round-table sessions.

Looking after your kiln

Get the low-down on how to best look after your kiln from leading kiln manufacturer Paragon Kilns!

We're very honoured to have Todd Lokash, the President at Paragon Industries, L.P. joining us. He has travelled all the way from Texas, USA, to be with us at this event. He'll talk to you about basic kiln care for metal clay makers, ceramicist, and glass fusers. He'll let you know about how you can give your kiln its best life. If you've ever wondered "what do I do when I see an error message", "should it really look like this...", "why does it make that noise!", or even  "is it going to explode..." then this is a great sessions for you!

And if you're a more experience kiln user, Todd will cover how to give your kiln some love which will help it stay a faithful companion for a long time! He'll talk about changing elements, checking thermocouples, and other handy tips you should know about to help your kiln have a looooong and happy life, being well used and loved.

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Paragon Industries, located in Mesquite, Texas, USA manufactures quality kilns and industrial furnaces. Paragon builds speciality kilns for ceramics, copper enamelling, glass fusing, slumping, pottery, heat treating, silver clay, metal clay, Art Clay Silver, PMC, raku jewelry, and much more. Paragon kilns and furnaces come in a variety of chamber shapes and sizes. Paragon also designs and builds industrial furnaces for heat treating, dental, and knife making as well as custom kilns and furnaces quickly designed and built to the customers exact specifications.

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Session runs: Saturday morning & Saturday afternoon

Turn your hobby into a business!

What are the practical implications of turning your metal clay hobby into a business? Starting your own business can be a scary prospect. If you have no experience it will take you way outside your comfort zone. You will be asking yourself all kinds of questions like “where do I start?” or “what if it doesn’t work?” and of course, “how will I support myself?”.

Certainly there are lots of formalities to consider when running a business. But what are the practical aspects to consider when deciding if you want to start a business at all? This talk will summarise as many of these points as possible and also spend some time on discussions and questions. 

Tracey and Steve have been there,  done that, got the t-shirt, liked the fit - and are still wearing it, so are in a great position to share their knowledge. In the session they will cover topics like;

what are the reasons why you want to run a business, economic considerations, how much time do you have, how confident are you as a person? If you turn your hobby into a business, what will you do in your spare time? Administration and self-discipline, social Interaction versus working alone, and practicalities of using your home versus renting space somewhere else.

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Session runs: Saturday morning

Marketing your jewellery or craft business

As artists we spend our time learning and developing our jewellery making skills, techniques and designs. But if you want to launch and build a successful business, your creativity will only be a part of the journey. Whilst social media is an amazing tool to help us reach our target audiences, it is only a small part of your promotional armoury. Marketing you and your business encompasses so much more.

In this session Tracey and Steve will take a look at the different areas of marketing that you may have thought about, or maybe even dismissed, and how they could help you improve your business.

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The talk will summarise as many marketing tools as possible, and give some practical examples of the successes and failures encountered on Tracey's personal journey. The session will end with time for discussion and questions.

Tracey and Steve will cover areas like:

• Branding

• Target Audience

• Advertising & Promotion – which media, the costs, creating your artwork

• Websites – how to build you own economically

• Social & Business Networking – both electronically and in person

• Email Marketing – creating and managing databases to target your audience and messages

• Pricing

• Exhibitions and Craft Fairs

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Session runs: Saturday afternoon