Silversmith+Jeweler

A Blog for the Silversmiths + Jewelers.

Kat from The Superstitious Jackalope jewelry line shows us her at home jewelry studio along with some of her must have organizational tools for a home jewelry studio....
Today we are going over our favorite tips and tools for stamping when making jewelry. From getting good impressions to what tools we prefer. Tools we use: Heavy brass hammer Steel block Rubber block or sand bag Electrical Tape Double sided tape Various Stamps (love these border stamps ) Copper metal ...
Kristi from Northwoods Silver has been silversmithing for about a year and her home jewelry studio is in her basement! ...
Follow along as we show you how to make an ocean jasper cabochon ring. Tools & materials used for Ocean Jasper Cabochon Ring Project project: Materials: 20 gauge Silver Sheet 1/2 round Wire for the Ring Band (we used decorative ring band  ) bezel strip (we used serrated bezel  ) Easy, medium and hard silver solder Cabochon    Any half round wire between 12g and 6g will be good for rings depending on the size of the stone and the desired look of the band. Keep in mind, the higher the number the thinner the wire.  Tools: Ring Sizers Calipers Fine tip sharpie Nippers Jewelry Saw Flat nose pliers and or Miter Jig Wire cutters  Wubber bail pliers .  The Wubber 7 & 9mm bail making pliers are a favorite around the studio. Steel Block Rawhide or Nylon Hammer Ring Mandrel Ring Clamp Bech Pin Flex Shaft Polishing Wheels: Yellow, Red and Blue Radial Discs Silicone wheels fine and medium grit Bezel Rocker or Bezel Pusher Burnishing ...
Today we are going to talk about one of the most useful tools on our jeweler's bench... Calipers! These are the calipers we use at the studio:  6" digital calipers Uses: Depth and diameter of stones. Checking bur sizes. Inside diameter of rings. (you need to be able to create the correct size ring. Scribe for straight lines. Know the thickness of your metal. Know if you filed your metal straight by holding them in. Drawbacks: Convert to inches and can easily hit the convert button. Easy to accidentally hit the zero out button ...
At home with Mike Marcum of MIIIK3 Mike has some great insight on where to pickup tools, how to make your jewelry bench work for you, and getting it done that are inspiring for anyone wanting to start making jewelry from home. So make sure to check them out in our next at home studio tour! ...
During these crazy times while everybody staying inside and possibly in need of inspiration we thought we’d start a new series. This is our first studio tour at home with Shad of Silver Saguaros ! So sit back, enjoy and maybe pickup a few tips for organizing your bench. You can find Shad here:  Etsy Silver Saguaros We especially love this eagle claw pendant that is up there now! Instagram @silversaguaros ...
Today we are going over all the steps for you to be able to make your own french ear wires. This is something you can do when you’re not feeling inspired creatively, but still want (or need!) to be in the studio and productive. Sometimes we don’t feel especially creative, but pushing through with a project like making and stockpiling a bunch of ear-wires helps us get into the right frame of mind for our next design. And, when you are in a creativity frenzy, you'll have all the ear-wires your jewelry needs and deserves.  So here is our quick video on the process we use to make our own ear-wires. ...
How did you get into metalsmithing? I have always loved silver and turquoise and wanted to do something that included those in my creative outlet. My early childhood, I grew up in Arizona so that had a lot of influence on my interest in the Southwestern styles. My Dad had a very close friend who had the largest Turquoise belt buckle I had ever seen. I thought it was so beautiful and special, I will never forget it. I also credit my start into silversmithing to my Mom! She passed down her turquoise ring from the 1970’s to me when I was sixteen. I still wear the ring almost daily. We spent our summers in the Northwoods of Wisconsin on a lake (my favorite place) and every year on one of our “town” visits, we would visit a silver shop and would get to pick something out. That is why I named my business Northwoods Silver. My path to metalsmithing was a bit untraditional, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Just 8 months ago, I took my first class at Harold Studio and have take...