Our Top Picks for Who, What and Where!

We've been asked lately to give some tips on how to teach good jewelry classes, and then several of our clients have asked where and who to take classes from and what classes I would recommend - so today's blog is a list of the above. Now, I can't list all the classes I'd recommend because that's an almost endless list, but here's a good selection for starters!

First, here's an article we wrote for Rena Klingenberg's Home Jewelry Business Success website:

"Teach Jewelry Classes with Something Extra"

Rena's site, and her blog, are great tools for those in the hand-crafted jewelry business and our article gives those jewelry artists interested in teaching classes some great pointers to keep your students coming back for more and how to get them to refer you to others as well!

Now, for who, where and what - here's my top picks for some great classes from some great instructors - both online and in person!

For wire wrapping and bead stringing:

MiShel Designs (of course!) We give private jewelry lessons in our Glendale, AZ studio and we also teach at some bead shows, so just call 602-625-7299 for more information.

For just about any type of jewelry making, our friends over at Creative U in Carefree, AZ have a great line up. Call Creative U at 480-575-8500 for all their classes and info. They're a fun, very knowledgable bunch of gals!! Oh, and did I mention that they're lots of FUN!!

For Precious Metal Clay (PMC) our friend Kathy Hunter over at the Loft Art Studios in Scottsdale has you covered!! Kathy's classes are very informative and lots of fun and she'll definitely get your creative juices flowing. Plus, she's got lots of other instructors (and guest instructors too, who stop by her studio to teach) so check things out by visiting The Loft Studios and Gallery website for all her classes and info.

For super cool wire and metal jewelry Connie Fox has some of the best classes around. She's located in sunny San Diego and her website, Jatayu, has all the information on her classes. Plus, she has several free online tutorials and fabulous beads and supplies for sale, too!

Now - there's several instructors who are super great, but unfortunately I haven't gotten to take classes from them in person yet (notice I said, YET! - I only 'know them' via their books, DVD's or online tutorials), and they are:

One of the best books on the market (my opinion - hey, it's my blog!!) for beginning wire work is All Wired Up by Mark Lareau. Basically, it's the backbone for all you need to get started bending wire with very easy to follow instructions and illustrations!

Beaducation - Lisa Niven Kelly and the rest of her fabulous instructors such as Kris Silva, Lisa Claxton and more! Anything wire - chainmaille, stamping, bending, soldering, cold connections, weaving, etc. They have lots of free online tutorials as well as all the tools and supplies to get you started creating wonderful jewelry!

Then, there's Eni Oken's website for all, and I mean ALL, the jewelry making you could ask for! Go to Jewelry Lessons by Eni Oken and Friends to learn all sorts of wonderful things! This is a comprehensive website - filled to the brim with everything to help you create beautiful jewelry!

Sharilyn Miller - Fabulous jewelry instructor! Sharilyn's book Bead On A Wire (she has others, too!) is fantastic for learning basic and a bit more advanced wire techniques and she has several DVD tutorials available on her website too, from wire wrapped rings, tribal jewelry, rubber stamped jewelry and more. Go check it out!

Okay - I've got tons more info for you up my sleeves, but it's summer and my sleeves are short right now - so if you'd like more - just send me a message and I'll share whatever info I can with you!

Until next time,
Peace, Love and Happy Learning!!
Cheers,
~Shel~