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OK. You have just brought home your first acetylene tank and are ready to attach your new acetylene/air torch. This is the day you have dreamed of -- soldering at home, in your workshop -- yet there is that nagging doubt in the back of your head. You have heard horror stories of tanks, fires and explosions. Oh, why did you think you would ever be able to have a full jewelry studio at home? The instruction manual is full of hard core information that seems geared toward experienced welders -- you do not even know how to put the thing together, and even if you do figure it out, you fear you will blow up your home and the entire neighborhood.... (2007) Complete Story
It takes an interesting person to make interesting jewelry and Holly Lee fits the bill. Originally from a family that moved every three years, Lee blossomed in the two years she studied at Tai Pei American high school in Taiwan. "This school's open-minded and innovative way of teaching formed much of the person I am today. Imagine classrooms without desks, where students lay on pillows and listened to music," reminisces the fortysomething brunette.... (2005) Complete Story
With a simple corrugation tool and basic metalsmithing skills, you can make these great earrings. The newest toy in my studio is a Microfold Brake. I have been having a wonderful time learning what can be done with this tool, experimenting and making metalwork that combines microfolding with my other favorite techniques. I have used the Microfold Brake for bracelets, earrings, pins, boxes, a teapot, and a Hanukkah menorah, yet I feel like I am just getting started with my explorations! I find the immediacy of the tool very alluring. I also like the way the rippling corrugation can be either organic - or geometric looking, depending on how it is manipulated and
finished. (2003) Complete Story
Jewelry maker and studio boss Barbara Heinrich keeps business strategies and artistic expression in harmony while creating jewelry designs that strike a chord. When technical mastery meets metal and brilliant stones in her studio, the result is a high-carat opera whose chorus is gold, diamonds hit the high notes, and colored stones are the featured players. When jewelry feels like music, it is unmistakably a Heinrich design.... (2005) Complete Story
This project is a slight variation on the standard box clasp, the clasp outlined here uses two tongues rather than one. This means that the clasp is much more secure, so theres no need for the figure of 8 safety mechanism which can sometimes spoil the clean lines of a piece. I learnt to make this clasp whilst at North Bennet Street School in Boston. The project shown here uses round tube with an inside diameter of 5mm to house the clasp mechanism. Of course the shape of the clasps housing can be changed to suit the bracelet or necklace design. However using tubing with an inside diameter anything smaller than 5mm would prove to be tricky, since there may not be room for a double tongue..... (2006) Complete Story
