Here’s How To Embrace Jewellery Making from Home

Here’s How To Embrace Jewellery Making from Home

Jewellery making from home is the experience you didn’t know you needed and here’s why.

Being that time of year where we are wracking our brains for gift ideas, consider the value of gifting someone a creative experience from the comfort of their own home.

 

When many of our customers hear about our jewellery classes in the heart of Dublin they are delighted at the options and convenience of our central location but we are well aware that there are many folks who would dearly love the ring making experience but cannot attend in person.

 

For those people, we have designed our at home Ring Carving Kit so you can enjoy creating your own beautiful piece of jewellery from the comfort of your own home.

Ring Carving Kit Silverworks Dublin creative Gift Idea Handmade At Home Creative Ideas

 

Designed by our experienced Jewellers and Goldsmiths our Ring Carving Kit will supply you with all the tools you will need to create your very own ring plus you will get access to detailed online tutorials guiding you step by step.

 

Some of us prefer to get creative on our own terms and on our own turf. Being at home and taking our time can really allow the creative juices to flow. Those who like to work at a slower pace and do the thing right can put as much love and care as they wish into each step of the ring making process.

Jewellery Making Silverworks At Home Creative Activities At Home Ring Carving Jewellery Making Make your own Jewellery

We have taken great care to create an at home experience that is valuable and fun. We know that having the perfect ring is all about sizing so for those of you that don’t know your ring size, we offer a ring sizing kit for just €5 including postage. For those who do, you can enter your size in the message box at checkout when purchasing your kit to be sure it’s right for you.

 

So you’re looking for a cosy and creative alternative to the slew of expensive and exhausting Christmas parties this festive season, look no further than our at home Ring Carving Kit. Creative activities for one or as a group can make for a fun and enjoyable night in.

 

3 Classes To Sign Up To This November at Silver Works Dublin

3 Classes To Sign Up To This November at Silver Works Dublin

3 Classes To Sign Up To This November at Silver Works Dublin

We’re just one week into November and already, diaries are filling up as we go full steam ahead into the party season. Dare we say it but before we know it, Christmas will be well and truly upon us. We’re here to remind you that among the chaos, don’t forget to factor in a little fun, – the mindful, creative kind as well as all that partying. 

This month we’ve got plenty happening with our almost daily Forge A Ring classes which are proving more and more popular with teams and Christmas parties and we’re hosting our first gold version of the bestselling class at the start of December due to popular demand to make gold pieces during the class. 

Here’s the low down of which classes to sign up for this month. 

Make a Silver Charm – Saturday 19th November

The Make a Silver Charm class walks you through a ten-step process to make an initialed silver charm or pendant. You’ll be able to wear the charm as a pendant and can make use of a special discount to purchase your own necklace to add your charm to or add it to your favourite charm bracelet. 

You can choose from eight different shapes for your charm, including (but not limited to) a circular disc, diamond, star, square, or heart and will learn different hammering techniques to create your own texture on the charm.

Choose to add your initials before drilling a hole in the top of your charm so that it can be added to your bracelet or necklace once complete. Final touches allow you to decide if you want a super sparkly or edgy matte finish for your charm. With the guidance of our expert teachers, you’ll learn how to create your desired finish using the polishing machine.

The class takes place over a two-and-a-half-hour period and by the end, you get to walk away with your finished, handmade charm, totally unique to you. 

Gemstone Setting One Day Event – Sunday 27th November

Our One Day Gemstone Setting Class is the perfect place to start if you want to try your hand at Jewellery Design and making or if you have existing skills from previous courses and want to develop your skills further and this one – happening on 27th November – marks our final Gemstone Setting class of the year. So if it’s been on your 2022 bucket list to invest in your creative skills, this is your chance to tick it off before the year is out. 

The class size is kept small so that our students benefit from getting the most out of their time with our teachers and so that you feel comfortable and confident exploring your new skill. 

In this fun, flexible, one-day class, you’ll learn how to set gemstones using a flush setting into a sterling silver ring or pendant. Gemstone setting can be a little tricky so to enable a focus on this skill in particular, all sterling silver rings and pendants are pre-made for you to practice setting your stones into. 

Spend the morning practicing on copper before going all in on the real thing and setting your gemstones into your final sterling silver piece in the afternoon. 

This class is open to all learning stages, with the support and guidance of our expert goldsmith tutors who are there to guide you throughout.

Forge A Ring – Gold Edition – Saturday 3rd December

While not technically happening in November, this is a class you’ll need to book ASAP due to high demand. 

We’ve been inundated with requests to offer a class where you can make your own ring, in gold, and here it is! 

For those of you who want to learn from scratch how to make a ring of your own, you now have the chance to do so in solid gold. For those who prefer more delicate styles to their rings, you can opt to use the 2mm square wire. The alternative is to use a 4mm sheet, the same as our bestselling Forge a Silver Ring class, but in solid gold. 

With the help of your expert teacher leading the class, you’ll learn the basics of jewellery making step by step and walk away with a stunning gold ring of your own making to love and cherish. 

Book one of our best-selling jewellery-making workshops at Silver Works Dublin this November

Introducing our new Gold Forge a Ring Class

Introducing our new Gold Forge a Ring Class

We are very excited to be announcing our BRAND NEW class, Forge a GOLD Ring at Silver Works Dublin. 

You may be thinking that this class sounds a little familiar, and you’re right. Due to very popular demand, this new class is a twist on our classic, best selling, Forge a Silver Ring class. 

Time and time again, we receive questions and requests about whether you can do the Forge a Ring Class, making a gold ring instead of silver and until now, this was something you had to leave to our expert tutors and goldsmiths to do for you after the class. Part of the joy of the Forge a Ring class is that you get to walk away with your brand new, handmade ring at the end of the class so going forward, we’ll be running a special edition, gold version of the Forge a Ring class every 6-8 weeks. 

What this means for you is that if you prefer to wear gold jewellery, you can come in specially to this class and make a gold ring of your own. It’s the same class and the same process as the original Forge a Silver Ring class but it’s slightly more bespoke with more time spent with each student to enable you to make the ring using gold and to suit your style. 

The first Forge a Gold Ring class will be held on Saturday 5th November with just 5 spaces available. To find out more, visit our booking page here.

 

Got questions? Check out our FAQs below.

 

Do we need prior experience to do this class?

Absolutely not! This is a fun, interactive class designed for anyone to take part in! We teach you from scratch.

Do we get to keep the ring at the end?

Yes you do! It’s your ring to love and cherish after the class

I don’t like the thickness of the band, can I make my ring thinner or thicker? 

We offer a standard 4mm size band or a 2mm square wire band- which you can texture and finish any many different ways! Unfortunately as we have to order in the gold especially these are all the options of width that we can offer for this class

Can one of our group do the forge a ring class and one of us do the charm class?

Unfortunately not, as they are two very different procedures, they are really two separate classes that need 2 separate teachers.

 

Find our full FAQs here

 

How Creativity Can Improve Your Health

How Creativity Can Improve Your Health

Did you know that engaging in creative activities, even just colouring in, improves brain function, mental health and your physical health? At this time of year, many of us are ready to hunker down and hibernate with the dark nights and cold temperatures calling us to cosy up and embrace the creative, wholesome afternoons spent indoors. 

Well actually, we improvised on the latter part but we’re firm believers in there being no time like the present to embrace creativity. And now there are studies to back us up. The theory of cognition tells us about the principle of being creative as a basis of human life.  So how does doodling or learning new creative skills like jewellery making, make you healthy? Let’s break it down…

Boosts your immune system

Time to work on your penmanship and whip out that journal. Although experts aren’t totally clear on how, writing increases your CD4+ lymphocyte count, the key to your immune system. Sceptical? It sounds a bit mad but the studies are there to back it up. The studies show that people who write about their experiences daily, actually have stronger immune systems.

Improves mental health

Perhaps the most relatable health benefit of creativity is its ability to calm our minds. The average person has 60,000 thoughts per day. Taking time to do something creative like knitting, sewing, making jewellery helps to focus the mind with its calming effects even  being compared to meditation when doing activities like those, we experience a release of dopamine, a natural antidepressant. 

To take the mental health benefits  step further, creativity has also been shown to help process trauma. While writing can be used to manage negative emotions, painting and drawing can help people to process experiences or trauma that they struggle to articulate with words. 

Reduces dementia

The results of the theory of cognition study, specifically explores how creativity and art stimulates dementia patients. The study shows that

“creative activity can reduce depression and isolation, offering the power of choice and decisions. Towards the end of life, art and creativity offer a path of opening up the windows to people’s emotional interiors.”

It’s amazing that getting into the creative flow is actually proven to be good for us in more ways than providing entertainment for an afternoon. 

If you’re feeling inspired to start getting more creative, grab a pal or plan a solo date for yourself at one of our jewellery making classes or courses. Find out more about available classes here.

What is a Metal Clay Charm Class

What is a Metal Clay Charm Class

On Saturday 22nd October, back by popular demand, we’re kicking off round two of our newest workshop at Silver Works Dublin, the Metal Clay Charm Class. We spoke to our resident Metal Clay expert, Jane to fill you in on everything you need to know about the Metal Charm Class. 

Get ready to have some fun and let your playful side shine in this workshop. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for Saturday 22nd October. We guarantee you won’t want to miss this and we know how many of you had FOMO last time.

 

First up, what is metal clay?

  • Metal clay is a really magical medium to work with. Through heat, it turns from clay that can be shaped and stamped into solid silver.
  • You will start the class playing with a practice clay so you’ll have plenty of time to play and practice for your final design.
  • Then we move on to the metal clay itself and you will begin working on your two charms. 
  • At each step along the way, we will explain the process of turning your design into a final product you get to take home with you.
  • You get to pick what textures and stamps to add to your charms. Then, when the clay is dry, you will sand the pieces ready for the teacher to fire. You can watch the firing process and learn how to do this crucial part of the process. Once the piece has cooled down you will be handed back your final design that has now transformed into metal.
  • After that, we work on filing and polishing your charms, so they are ready to wear.

 

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What do you love most about working with metal clay? 

Metal clay is truly magical. It starts life as a soft clay and then you can turn it into fine silver metal before your very eyes. I never get tired of that process. The possibilities of working with metal clay are endless – you can shape by hand, cut out shapes using templates and cutters, add textures from so many things including natural things such as leaves, you can set stones directly in the clay, you can carve out a design in the dried clay – honestly, this is only the tip of the iceberg. There is always something new to learn.

I love the fact that there is no waste and every piece of dry clay even the clay dust can be recycled and made into fresh clay. It is relatively easy to do at home too and doesn’t require any large expensive equipment.

Even though the medium is playful and exciting the final product is a fine silver (999) piece that is hallmark quality.

 

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Who is the class best suited to?

The class is suitable for beginners who have an interest in learning the basic steps of working with metal clay. It just takes an open mind to be playful and a bit of patience to finesse your piece. It’s a great class to do with friends too or as a group as you can personalise your piece and it is something you will all remember doing together.

 

What are you most excited about teaching the class? 

I am most excited about spreading the word for metal clay and introducing new people to this craft. Whether you are a complete beginner who wants to make the charms for yourself or are already a jeweller who is intrigued to learn a new skill I can’t wait to meet everyone.

There aren’t many places in Ireland that teach metal clay so it’s exciting to add this class to Silverworks already packed programme of classes.

 

What advice would you give to someone on the fence about booking a class?

Give it a go you won’t be disappointed. The class is a 3-hour experience so not a massive investment time wise or financial. 

Plus, at the end of the class, you will have two charms that will be ready to wear that you make yourself from scratch and who wouldn’t want that?

If you’d like to find out more or secure your place at the Metal Clay Workshop (happening Saturday 22nd October), you can find out more here.