When it comes to jewellery, small-scale educational facilities offer a unique opportunity for students to learn the craft in an intimate and supportive environment. With a focus on hands-on learning and personalised teaching, these spaces provide the ideal setting for beginners and experienced students to develop valuable skills and pursue their passion for the art of jewellery making and design. Online courses are another great way to access new skills more cost-effectively and are well-suited to those looking to expand their knowledge on a budget.
SquarePeg Studios
SquarePeg Studios is a Sydney-based jewellery making and metalsmithing facility established in 2011. It houses jewellery artist studios and a jewellery school under one roof, and is a central hub for the jewellery community. The resident artists bene t from the supportive and creative environment, with the opportunity to teach and learn in the jewellery school. SquarePeg hosts several public events annually, encouraging the community to see what they do and experience the vibrant creative space. Beginners will learn the foundations of jewellery making, saw piercing, texturing, forming and soldering while making a band ring as their first project.
Beginner courses are designed to provide foundation skills in the art of jewellery making, and are beneficial for any first-timer. Some of the beginners courses are considered all-levels, as they can also bene t experienced jewellery makers looking to advance a new skill. Once relevant beginner courses are completed, SquarePeg has an array of intermediate courses available.
Intermediate students will learn new applicable techniques and build upon design ideas conceptually each term. Techniques taught can include hollow forming, particular findings and married metals. Intermediate courses are designed to help students build on their existing skills or add a new one to their existing repertoire.
Courses
MAKE A RING IN A DAY – Beginner
Price from $215
Make a sterling silver ring from scratch in one day. In this beginners course, your experienced tutor will guide you through the foundations of metalsmithing and allow you to experience and understand all the steps involved.
SAND CASTING WITH SAPPHIRES – Intermediate
Price from $480
In this intermediate one-day workshop, Kirra-lea Caynes will guide you through designing and sand-casting jewellery pieces with cast-in-place faceted stones, teaching you three new setting techniques: flush, bead, and claw. You will have time to create at least three pieces, each using one of the introduced setting techniques, which can be polished, worn, or cast later. All courses available at squarepegstudios.com.au/school/all/
The Bench
The Bench Jewellery School and Workshop is at the Joynton Avenue Creative Centre in Sydney. Their focus is education and training for traditional and contemporary jewellery techniques. The workshop provides jewellery classes, specialisations, and private lessons and focuses on establishing a creative community. The Bench is dedicated to developing quality courses for both the community and jewellery industry professionals.
They offer core courses focused on the principles of jewellery making and trendy courses such as permanent jewellery. Their ‘taster’ courses teach a class focusing on one technique, such as bezel setting or stacked rings. Setting, soldering and wax casting courses can be completed in only a few days and designing in wax, stone setting, and project development courses take up to eight weeks, ultimately there is a course for all individuals with all kinds of learning schedules. They also offer bench work time to work on independent creative projects with a tutor assisting occasionally for jewellers to better maximise their knowledge and time.
Courses
LEARN TO MAKE JEWELLERY – Introductory
Price from $595
This course has no formal training requirements, aiming to guide you through the various jewellery making techniques, including sawing, piercing, annealing, texturing, shaping, soldering, and finishing. By the end of the course, you will have acquired the basic skills necessary to create your sterling silver ring and have the opportunity to create a simple design using your newfound skills with the support and guidance of the tutor.
GOLD JEWELLERY TECHNIQUES – Competent
Price from $480
This course is purposed to help intermediate and advanced students become more con dent with gold techniques. The course offers guidance on various methods, such as metallurgy, complex solder joints, finishing and polishing, temperature control, chemical usage, and design planning, taught by experienced tutors specialising in traditional and contemporary design. All courses available at thebench.sydney/courses.
Jewellery Design House – Online
With the Jewellery Design House online courses you can learn to design beautiful print-worthy pieces and draw and render different colours and cuts for realistic, beautiful gemstones in your designs all at the click of a button. Your designs can be sent to clients to help bring their vision to life before the real creation process begins.
Creative director, Samantha Kelly has over 12 years of design and manufacturing experience and is passionate about teaching beautiful design skills. Jewellery House Design focuses on teaching gouache, watercolour and procreating digital designs for jewellery and gemstones to assist in rendering. Jewellery Design House has a passion for teaching their students about the art of design and watching their happiness as their creations come to life.
Courses
REFINING QUICK SKETCHES – Beginner
Free
This free beginner course is the perfect way for jewellers to become comfortable with the practice of drawing and understanding shapes of gemstones. Along with your paper and pencil, follow the step-by-step guide and advance your drawing skills.
PROCREATE COURSE | DESIGN A PAIR OF TOPAZ EARRINGS – Advanced
Price from $128
This course guides with comprehensive steps on designing jewellery in Procreate. You will learn about the app, how to import images, create a cast shadow, present on a textured background, and change the colour of gemstones. Requires an iPad Pro and a Procreate subscription.All courses available at jewellerydesignhouse.com.au/courses.
Jewellery making is an ever-evolving art form with so many new techniques to master. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced jeweller, there
is always something new to learn and discover. Training results in a deeper understanding of the importance of each process and minimises mistakes that can come from learning alone. Experimenting and expanding your skillset is an invaluable way to broaden your offerings and expand as an industry professional.
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