How did you get into metalsmithing? "I developed an obsession with turquoise in 2018. It literally developed overnight. Until then, I used to think it was an "old lady stone", guess I'm an old lady now ;). Anyhow, I bought a few pieces of old Navajo jewelry and the workmanship was amazing, so I wanted to know how it was all put together. I looked up silversmithing classes and came up on Harold studio and the rest is history (not that long of a history I guess).   What inspires you? I find inspiration in different places...antiques, old metal structures and even stones themselves (sometimes I "sit" on them until it "comes" to me what they should be). My love for vintage and rustic shows in textures and designs of my jewelry. What is your design process? Design process...as much as I overplan in all other aspects of my life, jewelry design just comes to me. I start working on something and it develops into...

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...

Here at the studio, I have a hard time keeping track of solder. Because there are so many people using the studio, sometimes things don't get put back in their designated space. If I didn't have a system for knowing what is hard, medium and easy solder, I would go crazy. Here is my system as well as a handy sign you are more than welcome to print out and use for yourself! • Only use sheet solder • Color code it with a sharpie:     Black for Hard     Red for Medium     Blue for Easy I have a color guide for anyone who doesn't know at the studio • Keep it in a container like this one .  I have the container labeled so I can just flip open the lid and see... My solder, in its right place, ready to be cut and used! Do you have any other ways you use to keep track of your solder? Please share them with us!...