[Jewelry making - Article 00805] - Re: [Orchid] How others got started in jewelry making?

[Bonnie Cooper]

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Hi Altana,

    I just joined Orchid, so please forgive my delayed post to your
    question about getting into the jewelry industry. I spent most of my
    working years as a graphic designer before embarking on this new
    venture in jewelry design and goldsmithing. So I know your art and
    design background will help you greatly and would encourage you to
    complete your degree at some point. Because I wanted to jump start
    my new jewelry career and wanted to be my own boss, I chose the
    educational route to learn my skills rather than seeking out an
    apprenticeship. At times, I wish I was working side by side with a
    master jeweler, to answer my questions and give me that level of
    comfort that I am lacking by being on my own. However, I've also
    heard that working as an apprentice can be very tedious and
    unrewarding, doing all the gruntwork and not getting enough quality
    instructional time to learn the more challenging aspects of working
    at the bench. So, if you can afford to go to a quality jewelry
    school, I would recommend doing that. 

    You have already gotten some excellent advice from fellow Orchid
    members about schools, but perhaps I can add to that knowledge base
    as I have studied at GIA, New Approach and Revere. I did the Applied
    Jewelry Arts program at GIA in Carlsbad, which is a 6 month program
    and includes jewelry design, CAD/CAM, wax carving, casting and mold
    making. I also did their Accredited Jewelry Professional program
    through their Distance Education department. My personal feelings
    about GIA is that it was a wonderful experience, but frustrating as
    well. GIA is a huge entity that is slow to make changes in its
    curriculum to take advantage of new techniques and tools, and I
    found some of my classes to be too pedantic. I think 6 months of
    instruction is much longer than necessary and this only adds to the
    cost involved, especially considering the high cost of living in
    California. Also, they should recommend that students take the AJP
    courses prior to doing the AJA program, as it is assumed you already
    have a basic knowledge of jewelry manufacturing. After realizing
    that I wanted to learn my bench skills, and not wanting to do
    another 6 months at GIA, I looked at other options and decided to
    choose between Revere and New Approach because they are so highly
    regarded within the industry. 

    I ended up doing the Graduate Bench Jeweler program at New Approach
    because I had been purchasing a lot of stones and knew they would be
    the focus of my jewelry. I don't think you can find a better stone
    setting instructor than Blaine Lewis. Also, Blaine is so open to new
    ideas, technology and tools that he keeps his instruction evolving
    to take advantage of them. The program at New Approach is 3 months
    long (half the length of GIA's bench program) and the cost of living
    in Virginia Beach is much more reasonable than California. Also,
    Blaine has some other gifted instructors that come in to teach at
    his school like Kate Wolf for wax carving and Jason Marchiafava for
    hand engraving. 

    That said, I would have liked to receive more instruction in
    producing hand fabricated jewelry. So to compensate, I've started
    doing workshops at the Revere Academy, which really seems to cater
    to that aspect of jewelry making. The benefit of doing Revere's
    Master Classes is not just limited to learning new skills, but
    exposes you to the industry's finest. I learned so much from Doug
    Zaruba last spring on the last half day of instruction, just by
    picking his brain. He has such a wealth of information about every
    aspect of the business and was so willing to share. I really look
    forward to doing more of the Revere workshops in the future. 

    In choosing the right school for yourself, I think you would benefit
    by knowing what type of jewelry you want to make. But many times we
    won't know that till we've had more training and experience. I know
    my own jewelry education will be never ending and that there are so
    many teachers out there that I can learn from. Thanks to all of you
    who give back to the industry. 

Bonnie Cooper
bonniecooper AT comcast.net

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