Meghan makes jewelry for runners, triathletes, duathletes, swimmers, cyclists, yogis with her business Girls Run Fast. Jewelry to celebrate your accomplishment and more. Meghan makes jewelry for runners, triathletes, duathletes, swimmers, cyclists, yogis with her business Girls Run Fast. Jewelry to celebrate your accomplishment and more. How did you get into metalsmithing? I took my first class when I was at the university working on my BFA, it sparked my interest then but at that time I could not  fit any more classes into my schedule. I got back into it and  started taking classes again  twenty years later after teaching art for many years. What inspires you? My life experiences and the experiences of the people in my life.  I started making my running pendants when I was training for a marathon and continue to get ideas for new pendants from events in our lives. One of my newer designs is a runner with a dog , inspired by our new dog. What is your design...

Gem Resources , International is a valued supplier for Harold Jewelry. We recommend them to you, because whether you are just starting out in your jewelry design education or, you’re a seasoned artisan, you’ll find a stone that’s perfect for your design idea.  The Minnesota-based company offers a wide selection of faceted natural and lab-created gems that come in styles such as rose-cut, checkerboard and bullet. Rough-cut gems are an option in stones like citrine, aquamarine, white topaz, a few kinds of garnet and peridot to name some examples. Plus, they have natural and lab-created stone cabochons (also called ‘cabs’), which are known to be easier to set than faceted or rough gems. They also have a choice of drilled stones or drops. Some of these drilled stones come in novel shapes – like boots! Are you in search of details about certain jewelry making processes for your latest design? Gem Resources International’s website has a nice section of ‘How-to Guides...

Everyone melts their jewelry piece when in the middle of creating their design idea from time to time. Everyone. Those with years of experience do it, too.  However, we all want to do better, be more efficient in our work -  wasting less time and material. Here are some tips to help you melt your creations less often: • Always focus on heating the metal, not the solder. Look to achieve a muted orange-red glow vs. a bright orange color of your metal. The latter could quickly turn your bezel or other smaller elements into a metal puddle. • Heat the metal evenly, using the outer-most part of your flame, moving your torch slowly in circular motions over your piece. • Concentrate the heat of the torch on the larger parts of your piece – the base, a band, for example, instead of the bezel or other smaller delicate decorations. Keep in mind that metal is conductive. Heat will travel throughout your piece from the larger elements to the smaller ones. • As you heat your pi...