2nd October 2011

Where does the year go?! I can't believe that it is October already and I am having my usual panic about Christmas stock for the Manchester Christmas Market (starts the 17th November this year) and trying to finish commissions at the same time.

The next few weeks are going to be manic with commissions, stock production and teaching, but I do love the adrenalin rush!!

And I've welcomed another jeweller into my studio - Lucy Ramsbottom of Goldfinch Jewellery! Lucy is a fabulous jeweller who continually impresses me with her designs. She has two lovely collections about to launch so do watch out for that in the coming weeks.

I've also been taught how to update my products in the last couple of days - the little things that are vital in an ecommerce site - so I have removed most of my pieces from the site because they are out of stock. I'll be adding more images and items soon so please do keep an eye out for some new lines in the shop.

I'll be putting out a new workshop catalogue for 2012 soon so something else to check back for over the next couple of weeks.

All the best


4th July 2011

The show season has started so my focus has been firmly on that for a while, but with quite a lot of new stock made I am now back to working on commissions again. I have recently finished some challenging pieces which took time and a lot of mental effort!

I did spend a few days in Nottingham last week, where a friend of mine hosted a fabulous party for me. Thirty two lovely women descended on my jewellery, doing my ego the world of good. I hope they are enjoying their purchases as I type. I had such a good time that I've decided to offer that as another Silver Forge service - jewellery parties in your own home! Do get in touch if you want to find out more.

Off to the studio now to get on with some making...

3rd April 2011

It's been a while since Jo's diary was updated - not because she hasn't been up to anything new, but rather because she has been so busy!

And this weekend was no exception. Jo joined 999 designer makers for Liberty's (of London) "Best in British" yesterday. A long and very excited queue formed outside the store well before the stated opening time, and everyone was pleasantly surprised by coffee and biscuits upon registration. Each designer was allocated three minutes with a buyer, and Jo met the accessories buyers to show them the new men's range. Both were very pleasant and Jo left the session feeling relieved, and hoping for a second contact soon. Now back from the big smoke, Jo will be back to her commissions and classes.

OCTOBER 2010

With the Manchester Christmas Market looming fast, Jo now having to concentrate more on making jewllery stock. It is with great regret that she has had to delay some of her current jewellery commissions in order have stock for the Market.

The studio is unable to take on any more commission until after the Christmas period when they will receive the care and attention they deserve.

This is the first sterling silver cuttlefish casting we've done using the new Borel Crucible Furnace. Lovely bit of kit and it's just been through its bedding in temperature run.

This cast was a roughly shaped mould as we just wanted to see it in action. The crucible cooled very quickly and as we were very close to the melting point we didn't have a lot of time to pour it before it set. It took two attempts as the first one came out like as a block in the shape of the crucible bottom!

We ran the first one at 960'C and the second at 985'C and had enough time to pour. The smell of it is horrendous. Not one to do without an extraction fan.

You can see how the cuttlefish leaves its characteristic ridges in the sterling silver (these are the fainter ridges not the bold raised bits). The mould was smooth on one side (top pic) and then we scored some grooves on the opposite side.

We are going to have a lot of fun with this!

The first editions of our Faux Bone jewellery range are completed and its proved to be a very interesting material. The ability to revert the shape back to flat is great especially for bracelets and cuffs. If the fit is not perfect, you just heat it up again and adjust.

3 Apr '10 - Faux Bone

Our order of Faux Bone arrived a couple days ago and we've started cutting it out. Using a jewellery saw is not ideal as the blades tend to snap when it binds with the material.

29 Mar '10 - Borel Furnace arrives

Jo's new Borel Furnace arrived and what a beautiful piece of kit it is!
It gets up to 1100 °C so is perfect for jewellery commission work that requires melting down a customer's existing gold and silver rings to make new ones. A lot of customers are quite keen on using the gold or silver from their existing jewellery to have a custom piece made and the new furnace will allow us to do just that. It's also great for casting items in house. We are very excited about this new capability.

26 Mar '10 - Oops

Jo was handling some glass yesterday and it slipped out of her hands. Rather than let it fall, like every one will tell you, her instincts took over and she caught it. By that stage it was out of its protective cover and the result was a rather clean cut on her right hand. She was very lucky and it was a sharp reminder (sorry) to constantly think of safety.

Her commissions willl suffer this week but perhaps it's a good a time as any to catch up on admin!

24 Feb '10 - Go go go!

17 Feb '10 - Out on display

Jo has just returned from an inspiring display workshop which has generated loads of new ideas. In the next few weeks visitors to the jewellery studio will be able to see some of these ideas being implemented.

13 Feb '10 - Site tweaks

As you can see, we have started to finalise the look and feel of the site.  It's taken a while as we've both been very busy but we think it looks a lot better.

 Let us know what you think, and if there's anything we've missed - just shout!

I am still running my jewellery making workshops at the studio, so for a day of indulgence and creativity, feel free to get in touch!

All the best