You were asked to use your jewelry metalsmith skills to make something for someone else’s product line.   It’s exciting!   Such opportunities are a good way to make some regular money for a period of time, get your name out there in a new way and work in collaboration with designers, or entrepreneurs. However, it’s your first offer of this kind, it can also be a bit overwhelming – especially if you haven’t created anything like the particular design requested of you. You want to be fair to your client, and yourself in regards to your time and the cost of materials. What does that look like? A contract agreement of some kind?  Here are some essential details Harold Studio recommends considering and including in a contract before you agree to take on the work. 1.      Arrange for a beta production period where you are paid to design and create from their specs a sample of prototypes for approval. This way, you know how long a certain piece ta...

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...

After weeks of productivity and finishing jewelry pieces that make you proud, your river of creative ideas seems to freeze over. You look at your stones, stamped designs and metal patina samples in hope that they may somehow trigger a spark of an idea, or magically convey a concept because you’re making intense eye contact with them. Yet, still nothing comes to mind. Not to worry! The following are just some ways that can help you get your creative mojo back: • Schedule time for you and Inspiration to meet. Don’t panic. This won’t necessarily take more time from your packed schedule. You can get inspiration while on a morning walk/run/jog in nature, listening to your playlist of favorite tunes, doodling or sketching, and going to your local art museum or gallery with a friend. Inspiration is happiest to meet you when you are  in relaxed, fun situations. • Socialize/network with other jewelry designers. This has a few different benefits to socializing with othe...

You saw a pair of earrings a friend made at a local design studio and felt inspired to try your hand at it, too. However, you’d like to do it first at home because you want to mess up a few times without any curious onlookers and to see if you like the process in general. You can find supplies online, in specific tool-focused groups on social media, thrift stores, and flea markets at reasonable and or discounted prices. Your shopping list for tools needed to make metal jewelry is as follows (most of the items on this list, minus the Dremel® drill and flex shaft and can be found for $25 or less). Jewelry Tools for Cutting, Piercing, Rough Finishing  • A jeweler’s saw frame. • Saw blades #03, 02, 01, 0, and 1. • A wooden bench pin. Or you if you’re particularly handy, you can cut a piece of 1” board with a “V” cut into it to clamp onto a table with a C-clamp. • A set of needle files.  • Sandpapers with a variety of fine and medium grits.   • A r...

Arizona Artist Series: Rebecca/ MissHotcakes Q&A Rebecca of MissHotcakes has a quirky unique style that mixes her love of the vintage and weird in a beautiful way through her jewelry designs. Learn more about her process and style in our latest Arizona Artist segment below! How did you get into metalsmithing? Jewelry making has been something I’ve been doing since high school, maybe earlier, so it’s always been an interest of mine. It started with beads, and then in the late 90s, there were hemp necklaces/bracelets. More recently, I was on the lookout for vintage buttons, and I also was using felt for a bit. I enjoyed that, but I found that I wanted to elevate my skill set, which led me to taking a course at Harold in 2015. I fell in love with the process and the ability to really create something out of nothing.  Creating is just such an important thing to me, and metalsmithing is really my favorite way to scratch my creative itch. What insp...

Tips on Taking Good Jewelry Product Shots from a Professional Photographer – Part 1.   By: Amy Juneau Phoenix Photographer, Sage, of Desert Sage Photography, met with me recently to share some basic tips on how to shoot good jewelry product shots. She has 6 years of experience as a jewelry product photographer and 10 years of experience photographing weddings.   She’s been a real gem (pun intended) in creating quality photos for Harold Jewelry.   Check out her advice in answer to my questions below: AJ: What do you recommend for removing/avoiding dust and debris in close up shots? S:    It depends on what background you wish to photograph the jewelry on. A white background looks professional, but it can be tricky, as it shows lint and random debris easily. Keep a lint roller and or tape handy (Sage always asks her jewelry artist clients what is their preference for a background before a shoot). If you have a photo editing software, like Photoshop, and are...