As a jewelry designer, you have a purpose. Your purpose is to figure out, untangle and solve, with each new piece of jewelry you make, how both you, as well as the wearer, will understand your inspirations and the design elements and forms you chose to express them, and why this piece of jewelry is right for them. Not as easy as it might first appear. There are no pre-set formulas here. There are artistic principles of composition, yes, but how you implement them is still up to you. Moreover, your pieces have to wear well, drape well, and connect with the desires of people who will want to wear or buy them. Jewelry design involves an ongoing effort, on many levels, to merge voice and inspiration with form. Often challenging, but very rewarding.
BECOMING THE BEAD ARTIST AND JEWELRY DESIGNER: The Ongoing Tensions Between Inspiration and Form
As a jewelry designer, you have a purpose. Your purpose is to figure out, untangle and solve, with each new piece of jewelry you make, how both you, as well as the wearer or buyer, will understand your inspirations and the design elements and forms you chose to express them, and why this particular piece of jewelry is right for them. Not as easy as it might first appear. There are no pre-set formulas here. There are artistic principles of composition, yes, but how you implement them is still up to you. Moreover, your pieces have to wear well, drape well, and connect with the desires of people who will want to wear or buy them.
You will want the piece to be beautiful and appealing. So you will be applying a lot of art theories about color, perspective, composition and the like. You will quickly discover that much about color use and the use of lines and planes and shapes and so forth in art is very subjective. People see things differently. They may bring with them some biases to the situation. Many of the physical materials you will use may not reflect or refract the color and other artistic effects more easily achieved with paints.
You want the piece to be durable. So you will be applying a lot of theories and practices of architects and engineers and mechanical physicists. You will need to intuitively and intrinsically understand what about your choices leads to the jewelry keeping its shape, and what about your choices allows the jewelry to move, drape and flow. You also will be attentive to issues of physical mechanics, particularly how jewelry responds to forces of stress, strain and movement. This may mean making tradeoffs between beauty and function, appeal and durability, desire and acceptance.
You want the piece to be satisfying and accepted by various viewing, wearing, buying and collecting audiences. So you will have to have some understanding of the role jewelry plays in different people’s lives. Jewelry is more than some object to them; jewelry is something they inhabit — reflective of soul, culture, status, aspiration. You will recognize that people ascribe the qualities of the jewelry to the qualities of the person wearing it. You will bring to the forefront ideas underlying psychology and anthropology and sociology, and even party planning, while designing your jewelry or introducing it publicly. You may find the necessity to compromise part of your vision for something socially acceptable, or in some degree of conformance with a client’s taste or style.
SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER Merging Your Voice With Form
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets how to apply techniques and modify art theories from the Jewelry Designer’s perspective. To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
Some Updates and Things Happening. (Please share this newsletter)
In this Issue: 1. Color Dilemmas For The Jewelry Designer 2. Is Your Jewelry Ready To Be Shown In A Gallery? 3. Craft a compelling biographical sketch 4. Architectural Basics of Jewelry Design 5. Teaching PEARL KNOTTING at FiftyForward in Donelson 3/22/25, 12–3pm 6. An Especially Clever Collaboration 7. Latest question posed by member — please share your comments 8. So You Want To Do Craft Shows Some articles you may have missed Featured
1. I am always trying to explain how jewelry designers have to think differently than visual artists when it comes to the use of color.
COLOR DILEMMAS FOR THE JEWELRY DESIGNER: Managing, Challenging, Exploiting and Violating Color Theory
Color is the single most important Design Element. Most artists and jewelry designers learn about how to use and control for color in art schools. They learn about how colors are perceived. How to combine colors and maximize the appealing effects of such combinations. How the perceptions of color vary, given the context, and how to anticipate these variations. These art theories work well for those who paint. But not so well for those who design jewelry.
How Artists and Jewelry Designers
Respond Differently To The Use Of Color
The artist is concerned with achieving harmony, balance and evoking an emotional response. Color theories point the way. The artist wants to be guided by these and conform to them. To the artist, color theory is more about objectives and universals. They tap into the brain’s propensity to balance things out. People are prewired with an anxiety response. Our brains have some presets so that we avoid snakes and spiders. When things get too unbalanced and too unharmonious, the brain gets edgy. We begin to interpret things as not as interesting, perhaps somewhat unsatisfying, even ugly.
Color schemes show what colors in combination yield a balance in energy and wave length signatures. For example, and with a lot of oversimplification, color theory points out that in any project, the proportion of red should equal the proportion of green. If red has an energy signature of +1, then the energy signature of green would be -1. Added together, they equal zero. The brain wants things to equal zero. Balanced. Harmonious. And artists who follow the theories about color are secure in this. They recognize that all people want the colors in front of them to balance out to zero. Color theory leads the way. Artists want to be guided and conform to it.
For the jewelry designer, however, color theories are a starting point, but quickly break down. This is because jewelry is only art as it is worn. That means the jewelry will move with the person, shift from one type of light to another as the person moves from room to room or from inside to outside. The materials used in jewelry do not come in every color of the rainbow. You cannot crush them up and blend them. Even with a simple round bead, the color will vary across the bead, becoming lighter or darker, sometimes even changing the color as presented, as you move around the curved surface, perceive the hole piercing through the bead, at the hole’s end with added shadows. Many beads will even cast a color shadow extending well beyond the boundary of the bead, but changing scope and direction as the wearer pivots or the lighting changes. The silhouette of any piece of jewelry will shift in shape as the jewelry shifts in position in responses to the forces of movement, stresses and strains. Unlike a painting, jewelry is never static. The perceived colors keep changing. If from any one position, the jewelry appears less than appealing, this is awkward for the wearer. People viewing jewelry attribute the qualities of the jewelry to the qualities of the person wearing it. This situation is unacceptable to the professional jewelry designer. The wearer should always look good. So color, as a design element with all its attributes of expression, must be managed differently.
The artist manages the perception of color. The jewelry designer manages its sensation.
2. Is Your Jewelry Ready To Be Shown In A Gallery?
As I talk to jewelry designers who aren’t yet showing in galleries, one of their biggest concerns about approaching galleries for representation is that they are concerned their artwork might not be “gallery quality.” As they think about presenting a portfolio to a gallery owner, these desigmers fear that they may face ridicule and rejection of their art.
I understand that presenting jewelry pieces to galleries can be an intimidating prospect. I also acknowledge that some gallery owners are more critical than they need be in rejecting designers’ work. However, many designers are allowing the fear of rejection to prevent them from establishing successful long-term relationships with galleries that would be interested in their work. It’s important to remember, that no matter where you are in your jewelry designing career and development, there are galleries that would be a fit for your work.
A jewelry designer who is very early in her/his career might not be able to immediately secure representation with a top gallery that represents well-established designers. There are many galleries, however, that have built successful businesses around working with designers who are newer to the market and, consequently are selling their work at a better value.
5 Questions You Can Ask to Evaluate Your Gallery-readiness When deciding whether or not you are ready to approach galleries, ask yourself the following questions:
Am I using the highest quality materials I can obtain for my work?
Is my presentation clean and professional?
Have I created a consistent body of work that can show well together?
Do I have a professional, engaging biography and artist’s statement?
Is my portfolio polished and appealingly organized?
If you can answer “yes” to all of those questions, you are ready to approach galleries — it’s that simple.
Once you are ready, it will be important to build a list of appropriate galleries to approach, and you will need to develop a strategy for presenting yourself, your portfolio and your work to the galleries, but you can do so with the full confidence that your work is ready for galleries.
3. Craft a compelling biographical sketch!
The Biographical Sketch or Profile
Your customers, your sales venues, your clients all love stories, and they want to know yours. Your story might be a profile on a social media site. It might be a synopsis on the back of your portfolio or print book on demand. It might be part of a grant or art show application.
You will want to create several versions of varying lengths, but all basically highlighting the same information. I suggest creating versions which are 25 words, 50 words, 100 words, 250 words, 500 words. Your first 25 words should sound fun, intriguing, exciting, enticing, creating wonder and curiosity … you get the point.
Do not follow a template. You want your bio or profile to feel authentically your own.
Write your bio for a portfolio in the 3rd person. Write your profile for a social media site (think Facebook) targeted at family and friends in the 1st person. Write your profile for a social media site (think LinkedIn) targeted at potential employers in the 3rd person.
Within your Sketch or Profile, you will want to anticipate what people will be curious about. When someone first sees your jewelry, they will try to understand it, categorize it, emotionally connect to it. The greater the connection, the more likely the sale. How well has your bio helped them?
4. I strongly advocate that, whatever technique(s) you specialize in, that you learn the Architectural Basics of Jewelry Design which underly the technique.
Whenever you create a piece of jewelry, it is important to try to anticipate how your choice of materials, techniques and technologies might positively or negatively affect how the piece moves and feels (called Support) and how its components maintain shape and integrity (called Structure) when worn. Achieving balance between support and structure means that the piece is at its point of least vulnerability. This is where all the materials, techniques and technologies have been leveraged to optimize the four S’s: Strength, Suppleness, Stability and Synergy.
Guiding Questions: (1) How do your design choices positively or negatively affect support and structure? (2) How do you redefine techniques in architectural terms? (3) How will aging of materials affect the integrity of the piece? (4) What are the anatomical parts of a piece of jewelry? (5) Is the ‘art’ of jewelry the whole piece,or only centerpiece?
5. I’ll be teaching my Intro to Pearl Knotting class, Saturday, 3/22/25, 12–3pm, in Donelson at Fifty Forward
For more information, contact the Middle Tennessee Gem & Mineral Society. Click here.
6. I recently came across this gallery exhibit which I thought was an especially clever collaboration
Flow by Beppe Kessler
Here we have a brooch. Each half was created by a different jewelry designer.
Beppe Kessler (b. 1952, The Netherlands), a contemporary painter and jewelry maker, lives and works in the Netherlands.
Kanya Charoensupkul (b. 1947, Thailand) has been creating and exhibiting her work locally and internationally since the 1970s, following her training in printmaking.
Their works reflect their inner states of mind with fluid, open-ended stories of life expressed through their use of shape, form, color, and texture. While their art leans toward the abstract, it remains uncategorized within traditional abstraction, perhaps because both artists work across various media not typically aligned with this genre, using unique methods to express their artistic visions.
Materials are central to both artists’ work, deeply connected to their training. Kanya incorporates paper into her paintings, using it to construct textures and forms, while Beppe integrates textiles, stretching fabric over carefully designed and crafted frames. Both artists also engage with collage: Beppe in her small sculptures and wearable art, and Kanya directly within her paintings.
8. I started, with my partner Jayden, selling jewelry with hope, persistence, grit — all at craft fairs and flea markets. I wrote this book — SO YOU WANT TO DO CRAFT SHOWS — illustrating the lessons we learned.
Doing craft shows is a wonderful experience. You can make a lot of money at craft shows, you meet new people, you have new adventures. You learn a lot about business and arts and crafts designing.
IF… you do your homework when selecting them, and verify all information
IF… you are very organized in preparing for them, setting up, selling and re-packing up IF… you promote, promote, promote.
CRAFT SHOWS
In this book, I discuss 16 lessons I learned, including How To:
• Find, Evaluate and Select Craft Shows Right for You
• Determine a Set of Realistic Goals
• Compute a Simple Break-Even Analysis
• Develop Your Applications and Apply in the Smartest Ways
• Understand How Much Inventory to Bring
• Set Up and Present Both Yourself and Your Wares
• Best Promote and Operate Your Craft Show Business
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What You Will Learn Intro to Book and Acknowledgements
LESSON 1: Not Every Craft Show Is Alike
LESSON 2: Research All Your Possibilities
LESSON 3: Know Which Craft Shows Are For You
LESSON 4: Set Realistic Goals / Determine Break-Even Point
LESSON 5: Get Those Applications In Early
LESSON 6: Promote, Promote, Promote
LESSON 7: Set Up For Success
LESSON 8: Bring Enough Inventory To Sell
LESSON 9: Sell Yourself And Your Craft At The Show
LESSON 10: Make A List Of Things To Bring
LESSON 11: Be Prepared To Accept Credit Cards
LESSON 12: Price Things To Sell
LESSON 13: Keep Your Money Safe
LESSON 14: Generate Follow-Up Sales
LESSON 15: Take Care Of Yourself
LESSON 16: Be Nice To Your Neighbors
Some Final Words Of Advice Helpful Resources Thank You And Request For Reviews About Warren Feld, Jewelry Designer Other Articles And Tutorials
WARREN FELD JEWELRY (www.warrenfeldjewelry.com) Custom Design, Workshops, Video Tutorials, Webinars, Coaching, Kits, Group Activities, Repairs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join our community of jewelry designers on my Patreon hub Be part of a community of jewelry designers who recognize that we have a different way of thinking and doing than other types of crafters or artists. One free downloadable Mini-Lesson of your choice for all new members! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS ABOUT JEWELRY DESIGN WORTH ANSWERING
As you work your way through the chapters in this book, it is important to recognize and understand the larger social and professional contexts within which jewelry design is but a part, and your place in it. Towards this end, I have formulated some essential questions every designer needs to have answers for and have deeper understandings about. Another way to look at this is that answers to these questions become your evidence for determining whether you are on the right track for becoming fluent in jewelry design.
(1) Why are there disciplinary conflicts between art and craft, and between art and design?
(2) How do you resolve tensions between aesthetics and functionality within an object like jewelry?
(3) What is jewelry, and what is it for?
(4) Is jewelry necessary?
(5) What does it mean to be successful as a jewelry artist working today?
(6) What does it mean to think like a jewelry designer? How does this differ from thinking like an artist or thinking like a craftsperson?
(7) How does the jewelry designer know when a piece is finished and successful?
(8) How do you place a value on a piece of jewelry?
(9) How do you introduce your jewelry into a public setting, either to wear or to collect or to buy?
(10) Why does some jewelry draw your attention, and others do not?
(11) What does it mean to be a contemporary jewelry designer?
SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER Merging Your Voice With Form
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets how to apply techniques and modify art theories from the Jewelry Designer’s perspective. To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
Long thought merely a craft, or, sometimes alternatively, a subset of art, painting and sculpture, we have begun to recognize that Jewelry Design is something more. Jewelry making encapsulates the designer’s anticipation, not only of aesthetic requirements, but also those of function and context, as well. Creating jewelry means understanding how to make strategic design choices at the boundary between jewelry and person. Translating inspirations and aspirations into designs and finished products requires an intuitive, integrative sensitivity to shared understandings brought to the design situation by the designer and all the audiences ultimately invested in the product. The better designer is able to bring a high level of coherence and consistency to the process of managing all this — shared understandings, knowledge and skills, evaluative review, and reflection and adjustment. This is called ‘fluency’ in design. For the jewelry designer, there is a defined set of concepts and principles which revolve around this disciplinary literacy — the professional way of thinking through design, production, communication, marketing, selling and critique — and how to be proficient at this. This is what this book is all about.
DISCIPLINARY LITERACY AND FLUENCY IN DESIGN
Jeremy thought that the only thing he wanted to do in life was design jewelry. He loved it. So it was not a question of “if” or “when” or “how”. But he told me it was always important not to get tricked by fashion. It was mandatory not to seek the trendy object. Not to turn away from that odd thing. And to pay very close attention to the details of how jewelry designers think, act, speak and reflect.
I thought about his advice a lot over the years of my own career as a jewelry designer. The disciplined designer needs to be attuned to the discipline way of seeing the world, understanding it, responding to it, and asserting that creative spark within it. Yes, I believe jewelry designers have a special way of thinking through selecting design elements, composing, constructing, and manipulating objects. Different than crafters. Different than artists. Different than other disciplines and their core ways of defining things and thinking things through. Different than what other disciplines use as evidence to determine if their pieces are finished and successful.
Yet jewelry design does not yet exist as an established discipline. It is claimed by art. It is claimed by craft. It is claimed by design. And each of these more established disciplines offer conflicting advice about what is expected of the designer. How should she think? How should she organize her tasks? How should she tap into her creative self? How should she select materials, techniques and technologies? How should she assert her creativity and introduce her ideas and objects to others? How much does she need to know about how and why people wear and inhabit jewelry? What impact should she strive to have on others or the more general culture and society as a whole?
In this book, I try to formulate a disciplinary literacy unique and special and legitimate for jewelry designers. Such literacy encompasses a basic vocabulary about materials, techniques, color and other design elements and rules of composition. It also includes the kinds of thinking routines and strategies jewelry designers need to know in order to be fluent, flexible and original. It includes what the jewelry designer needs to know and do when introducing their pieces publicly, either to have others wear, buy or collect their pieces.
These routines and strategies are at the heart of the designer’s knowledges, skills and understandings related to creativity, elaboration, embellishment, reflection, critique and metacognition. This disciplinary literacy in design is very similar to how sounds are made into music. This literacy is very similar to how words are made into literature. There is an underlying vocabulary and grammar to jewelry design, from decoding to comprehension to fluency. The jewelry designer is dependent upon this disciplinary literacy to the extent that she or he is able to move from inspiration to aspiration to implementation and management towards finish and success.
At the heart of this disciplinary literacy are the tools and strategies designers use to think through and make choices which optimize aesthetics and functionality within a specific context. Again, these literacy tools and strategies enable the designer to create something out of nothing, to translate inspiration into aspiration, and to influence content and meaning in context.
There are four sets of tools, routines and strategies which designers employ to determine how to create, what to create, how to know a piece is finished and how to know a piece is successful. These are,
(1) Decoding
(2) Composing, Constructing and Manipulating
(3) Expressing Intent and Content
(4) Expressing Intent and Content within a Context
You don’t become a jewelry designer to be something.
You become a jewelry designer to do something.
The question becomes: How do you learn to do that something?
How do you learn to be fluent, flexible and original in design? And develop an automaticity? And self-direction? And an ability to maneuver within new or unfamiliar situations? And a comfort when introducing your pieces in public?
We call this ‘literacy’. For the jewelry designer, literacy means developing the abilities to think like a designer. These include,
o Reading a piece of jewelry. Here you the designer are able to break down and decode a piece of jewelry into its essential graphical and design elements. This aspect of fluency and literacy is very descriptive.
o Writing a piece of jewelry. Here you the designer are able to identify, create or change the arrangement of these design elements within a composition. Fluency and literacy are very analytical.
o Expressing a piece of jewelry. Here you the designer use the design elements and principles underlying any arrangement to convey content and meaning. Fluency and literacy are very interpretive.
o Expressing a piece of jewelry in context. Here you the designer are able to anticipate, reflect upon and incorporate into your own thinking the understandings and reactions of various client groups to the piece, the degree they desire and value the piece, and whether they see the piece as finished and successful. The jewelry is introduced publicly, whether for someone to admire or wear or buy or collect. The designer comfortably moves back and forth between the objective and subjective, and the universal and the specific. The designer analyzes contextual variables, particularly the shared understandings as these relate to desire, and in line with that, thus determining value and worth. Fluency and literacy are very judgmental.
Everyone knows that anyone can put beads and other pieces together on a string and make a necklace. But can anyone make a necklace that draws attention? That evokes some kind of emotional response? That resonates with someone where they say, not merely “I like that”, but, more importantly, say “I want to wear that!” or “I want to buy that!”? Which wears well, drapes well, moves well as the person wearing it moves? Which is durable, supportive and keeps its silhouette and shape? Which doesn’t feel underdone or over done? Which is appropriate for a given context, situation, culture or society?
True, anyone can put beads on a string. But that does not make them artists or designers. From artists and designers, we expect jewelry which is something more. More than parts. More than an assemblage of colors, shapes, lines, points and other design elements. More than simple arrangements of lights and darks, rounds and squares, longs and shorts, negative and positive spaces. We expect to see the artist’s hand. We expect the jewelry to be impactful for the wearer. We expect both wearer and viewer, and seller and buyer, and exhibitor and collector, to share expectations for what makes the jewelry finished and successful.
Jewelry design is an occupation in the process of professionalization. Regrettably, this betwixt and between status means, when the designer seeks answers to questions like What goes together well?, or What would happen if?, or What would things be like if I had made different choices?, the designer still has to rely on contradictory advice and answers. Should s/he follow the Craft Approach? Or rely on Art Tradition? Or take cues from the Design Perspective? Each larger paradigm, so to speak, would take the designer in different directions. This can be confusing. Frustrating. Unsettling.
As a whole, the jewelry design profession has become strong in identifying things which go together well. There are color schemes, and proven ideas about shapes, and balance, and distribution, and proportions. But when we try to factor in the individualistic characteristics associated with the designer and his or her intent, things get muddied. And when we try to anticipate the subjective reactions of all our audiences, as we introduce our creative products into the creative marketplace, things get more muddied still. What should govern our judgments about success and failure, right and wrong? What should guide us? What can we look to for helping us answer the What would happen if or What would things be like if questions?
SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER Merging Your Voice With Form
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets how to apply techniques and modify art theories from the Jewelry Designer’s perspective. To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
First (and foremost): Jewelry is art only as it is worn.
Second: Jewelry should reflect the artist’s intent Creativity is not merely Doing. It’s Thinking, as well.
Third: Jewelry is something affected by, and in return, affects the contexts within which it is introduced. The purpose of jewelry design is to communicate a designer’s idea in a way which others understand and will come to desire. Jewelry is not designed in a vacuum; rather, it results from the interaction of the artist and his or her various audiences, and is communicative at its core.
Fourth: Jewelry design should be seen as a constructive process involving the balancing act of maintaining both shape (structure) as well as good movement, drape and flow (support); jewelry should be seen as more architectural than craft or art alone.
Fifth: Design choices are best made and strategically managed at the boundary between jewelry and person, where the artist can best determine when enough is enough, and the piece is most resonant.
Sixth: Jewelry must succeed aesthetically, functionally, and contextually, and, as such, jewelry design choices must reflect the full scope of all this, if jewelry is to be judged as finished, successful and, most importantly, resonant.
Seventh: Everyone has a level of creativity within them, and they can learn and be taught how to be better and more literate jewelry designers.
Eighth: Students need to learn a deeper understanding about why some pieces of jewelry attract your attention, and others do not. Successful teaching of jewelry design requires strategies leading students to be more literate in how they select, combine and arrange design elements, and to be fluent, flexible and original in how they manipulate, construct, and reveal their compositions.
Ninth: Successful jewelry designing can only be learned within an agreed upon disciplinary literacy. That is, jewelry design requires its own specialized vocabulary, grammar and way of thinking things through and solving problems in order to prepare the designer to be fluent, flexible and original.
Tenth (and final): Disciplinary literacy should be learned developmentally. You start at the beginning, learn a core set of skills and how they are inter-related and inter-dependent. Then you add in a second set of integrated and inter-dependent skills. Next and third set, and so forth, increasing the sophistication of skills in a developmental and integrative sense. The caveat, if you have been making jewelry for a while, it is particularly helpful to go back and relearn things in an organized, developmental approach, which can be very revealing, even to the experienced designer, about how your design choices impact your pieces and your success.
Our curriculum emerged from our understandings about disciplinary literacy in jewelry design and our attempts to implement what we learned from it. This curriculum evolved into this book.
Here you will begin to understand
The challenges jewelry designers face
How to channel your excitement
How to develop your passion
How to cultivate your practice
How to understand what jewelry means and how jewelry is used by various audiences
The variety of materials, techniques and technologies you might want to explore and incorporate into what you do
The creative process, and the things involved in translating inspirations into aspirations into designs
What it means to develop a passion for design
The role desire plays in how people come to recognize and understand whether a piece is finished and successful, and how values are set and imposed on any piece of jewelry
Principles of composition, construction and manipulation, and the intricacies and dependencies of various design elements, such as color, point, line, plane, shape, forms, themes, among others
Creating and using components
The architectural bases of jewelry design
What the ideas underlying “good design” are, as well as those associated with “good contemporary design”
How design concepts are applied in real life
The psychological, cognitive and sexuality underpinnings of jewelry design
Your professional responsibilities as a jewelry designer
Entering the creative marketplace and threading the business needle
Self-care
In fact, the book covers the full range of things you need to learn (or teach others) in order become fluent, flexible and original in jewelry design
Sadly, the field of jewelry design has little academic scholarship relative to the ideas which must support it. This is mostly because jewelry design is not thought of as a discipline apart from art or craft. And this is a disservice to we designers.
Most description and analysis focus on the accomplishments of various successful designers. These texts detail their biographies, their use of artistic elements and techniques, and their influence over styles and fashions. This information is important, but insufficient to support jewelry design as a profession all its own, relevant for today and tomorrow, and inclusive of all of us who call ourselves jewelry designers.
This book covers the bases of those critical professional, think-like-a-designer skills jewelry designers need to develop and at which to become proficient.
SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER Merging Your Voice With Form
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets how to apply techniques and modify art theories from the Jewelry Designer’s perspective. To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
In the 1990s, my partner and I decided we wanted to set up a training program, but something different than what already existed. It was obvious to us that what already existed wasn’t working.
It came down to this: our bead store customers and our jewelry making students were not challenging us. They were not pushing us to seek out new materials. They were not demanding that we more critically evaluate the quality, usefulness, and long term staying power of various stringing materials and jewelry findings options. They were not wondering why some things broke or didn’t come together well. They were not encouraging us to explore the craft, improve upon it, search for more variations on existing methods and more ideas about new methods, and see where we could take it.
The typical customer, at that time, would learn one technique, apply it to one pattern, and do this pattern over and over again, perhaps only varying the colors. They would make at least 10 or 12 of the exact same pieces, again, typically only varying in color choices, and carry them around in zip lock plastic bags secured in their purses. They rarely deviated from using the same materials, the same clasps, the same jewelry findings. They never asked questions about what else they could do. They never varied their techniques. They never challenged themselves. They never questioned why things broke, or didn’t come together well, or why people liked or didn’t like the pieces they were making.
Students wanted us to tell them, step-by-step, how to do it. They didn’t want to think about it. They just wanted to make something quickly, that looked good on them, matched what they were wearing, and could be worn home. Uninterested in whether there were better stringing materials for the project. Or a more clever way to construct the clasp assembly. Or better choices of colors, patterns, textures or materials. Or things they could do to make the piece move better, drape better and be more comfortable to wear. Or even take the time to consider the appropriateness of the technique or the appropriateness of the piece itself, given where and when and how the piece was intended to be worn.
We began to see that this was not a customer or student problem. It was not any personal characteristics. Or motivations. Or experiences. Or skill level. This was a problem about what they learned and how they were taught and their level of expectations about what to assume and what to anticipate. They weren’t learning or getting taught that disciplinary way of asking questions, solving problems and day-to-day thinking unique to jewelry designers. They were not learning how to become literate in design. Their expectations about what was good, acceptable, finished, successful — you get the idea — were low. Bead and jewelry magazines, video tutorials, craft and bead stores, jewelry design programs set these low bars and reinforced them. As a result, they convinced their readers and students and practitioners to understand jewelry merely as an object to be worn, not inhabited. And not part of any kind of public interaction or dialog.
Jewelry design, at the time we began in business, was considered more a hobby or an avocation than an occupation or a profession. There was the assumption that no special knowledge was required. You were either creative or you were not. And all it took to make a piece of jewelry was to reduce a project to a series of steps where jewelry making was basically paint-by-numbers.
Art and Design concepts were dumbed down for jewelry makers, rather than elaborated and reinforced. It was assumed that everyone universally used the same criteria for judging a piece as finished and successful. As a consequence, there was a lot of standardization in jewelry designs, materials and construction. Too much sameness. Not enough variation and originality. Too much focus on fashion and product consumption. Too much diminishing of individuality and the reflection of the artist’s hand in design. And with all this standardization, an increasing risk that the jewelry artist was no longer a necessary and critical part of jewelry making and its design.
Around this time, the art world seemed to want to make a big push to encompass jewelry, as well. Jewelry was defined as a subset of painting or sculpture. And this lent an air of professionalization to the field. Jewelry making here became a beauty contest. But jewelry design was divorced from the materials it was made from, the constructive choices necessary for it to function, and the person who was to wear it.
Before designing jewelry, I had been a painter. For several years when I began designing jewelry, I approached jewelry projects as if I were painting them. This was very frustrating. I couldn’t get the color effects I wanted to achieve. Or the sense of line and shape and dimension. To compensate for my repeated feelings of failure, I actually pulled out my acrylic paints and canvas and painted my creations as I had visualized them in my mind. I could paint jewelry well. But, stuck as I was in this painter-as-designer-rut, I could not satisfactorily translate my vision into a satisfying piece of jewelry.
It finally began to dawn on me the things which needed to be learned and needed to be taught. I needed to approach jewelry from the jewelry’s standpoint. I needed to understand the components and beads used in jewelry on their own terms — how they asserted themselves within each of my projects. Beads and related components were not paints. I needed to understand what happened to all these components over time. I needed to understand how the placement of each component, as well as clusters of components, affected people within the situations they found themselves. I needed to understand much more about light and shadow and reflection and refraction. I needed more insight into how things moved, draped and flowed, all the while keeping their shape. Starting with a merely mechanical view of making jewelry wasn’t cutting it. Nor was starting with an artistic view of the aesthetics of jewelry. We needed to incorporate aspects of design, as well.
My partner and I began organizing our evolving ideas and values about the designing of jewelry into something we called The Design Perspective. These ideas and values form a sort of Design Manifesto. They are principles at the core of any jewelry design discipline. These principles take the designer beyond craft. They integrate art with function and context. These principles were, and continue to be, as follows, and it is my hope, as you read through the book, that these become yours, as well.
SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER Merging Your Voice With Form
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets how to apply techniques and modify art theories from the Jewelry Designer’s perspective. To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
Abstract Color is the single most important Design Element. Most artists and jewelry designers learn about how to use and control for color in art schools. They learn about how colors are perceived. How to combine colors and maximize the appealing effects of such combinations. How the perceptions of color vary, given the context, and how to anticipate these variations. These art theories work well for those who paint. But not so well for those who design jewelry.
How Artists and Jewelry Designers Respond Differently To The Use Of Color
The artist is concerned with achieving harmony, balance and evoking an emotional response. Color theories point the way. The artist wants to be guided by these and conform to them. To the artist, color theory is more about objectives and universals. They tap into the brain’s propensity to balance things out. People are prewired with an anxiety response. Our brains have some presets so that we avoid snakes and spiders. When things get too unbalanced and too unharmonious, the brain gets edgy. We begin to interpret things as not as interesting, perhaps somewhat unsatisfying, even ugly.
Color schemes show what colors in combination yield a balance in energy and wave length signatures. For example, and with a lot of oversimplification, color theory points out that in any project, the proportion of red should equal the proportion of green. If red has an energy signature of +1, then the energy signature of green would be -1. Added together, they equal zero. The brain wants things to equal zero. Balanced. Harmonious. And artists who follow the theories about color are secure in this. They recognize that all people want the colors in front of them to balance out to zero. Color theory leads the way. Artists want to be guided and conform to it.
For the jewelry designer, however, color theories are a starting point, but quickly break down. This is because jewelry is only art as it is worn. That means the jewelry will move with the person, shift from one type of light to another as the person moves from room to room or from inside to outside. The materials used in jewelry do not come in every color of the rainbow. You cannot crush them up and blend them. Even with a simple round bead, the color will vary across the bead, becoming lighter or darker, sometimes even changing the color as presented, as you move around the curved surface, perceive the hole piercing through the bead, at the hole’s end with added shadows. Many beads will even cast a color shadow extending well beyond the boundary of the bead, but changing scope and direction as the wearer pivots or the lighting changes. The silhouette of any piece of jewelry will shift in shape as the jewelry shifts in position in responses to the forces of movement, stresses and strains. Unlike a painting, jewelry is never static. The perceived colors keep changing. If from any one position, the jewelry appears less than appealing, this is awkward for the wearer. People viewing jewelry attribute the qualities of the jewelry to the qualities of the person wearing it. This situation is unacceptable to the professional jewelry designer. The wearer should always look good. So color, as a design element with all its attributes of expression, must be managed differently.
The artist manages the perception of color. The jewelry designer manages its sensation. Perceptions may be managed as objective, universal responses to color. Sensations result from designers manipulating, exploiting, challenging and violating theories of color, because sensations are more subjective, less predictable and are context specific. The artist seeks an emotional response. The jewelry design seeks something a little bit more, a slight edginess beyond harmony, what I call resonance. An emotional response to jewelry would be I like it. A resonant response to jewelry would be I want to wear it, or I want to buy it.
PAINTS vs. BEADS
How one becomes fluent in art is by necessity different than how one becomes fluent in jewelry design. Jewelry designers must learn to think differently than artists when working with colors. They must learn to be able to anticipate and control the sensation of colors by wearer AND viewer, as the jewelry is worn.
With artists, color is applied. With jewelry designers, color is arranged. Because color is not applied per se, the bead — its very being — creates a series of dilemmas for the colorist.
(1) Availability of Colors Beads do not come in every color. The perceived color on any bead has a lot of variation due to the shape, curvature and faceting of beads, as well as the effects of the hole and its drilled channel. Some beads will cast a shadow past their boundary. Some beads have striations or other similar effects where different colors are strewn within and throughout the bead. The perception of color may differ as the bead is viewed under different light sources, or indoor or outdoor, or different casts of shadows. Different types of bead finishes reflect, absorb or refract light differently from each other. The perceived color of the bead might vary based on the colors of the clothing, skin tone, hair style and color, and makeup of the person wearing the jewelry.
With paint, you can construct any color and can create many coloration effects. But, once completed, the painting is static as is the lighting. There will be a more consistent perception of colors and colorations.
(2) Position Painting is observed in fixed position with fixed lighting with a viewer standing in front of it. Jewelry is observed as it moves, with varying light and shadow conditions by someone who wears it and others who view it. Jewelry will also shift positions as it is worn.
(3) Appeal and Functionality Jewelry has to succeed both visually and functionally. The things contributing to function, from canvas to clasp assembly, offer their own complications to the sensation of color.
Paintings are judged by appeal alone.
(4) 2 or more colors in contrast When you have 2 or more colors existing within the same composition, they may affect the perception of color of any one of them. They may blend, exude temperature, feel closer or more distant. The proportion of each color present will affect how they are perceived. The juxtaposition of 2 or more colors has a critical effect on the sensation of colors, moreso, complicated because jewelry moves.
(5) Transitioning from one bead to the next With jewelry, more attention must be given to the transitioning from one bead to the next, one color to the next, because this often is not fluid or natural. There will be gaps of light between beads, or negative spaces not taken up by the volume of each component. With jewelry, as it moves, it is more often the case that perceptions of color will not conform to scientific universals.
(6) Goals The goal for the artist is to evoke emotions based on harmony and balance with a little variety. Evidence of finish and success lie in establishing harmony and balance.
The goal for the jewelry designer is resonance with a little more of an edge to it that takes the viewer slightly beyond harmony and balance. Evidence of finish and success relates to how the designer and the wearer establish some shared understanding that the values and desires of each have been met when the jewelry is worn.
DESIGNING JEWELRY INVOLVES MAKING A WHOLE HOST OF CHOICES
As designers, we…
Select materials and techniques, leveraging their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses
Anticipate how the parts we use to make a piece of jewelry assert their needs for color
Anticipate shared universal understandings among self, viewer, wearer, exhibitor, collector and seller about color and its use
Think through how colors relate to our inspirations and how they might impact our aspirations
Pick colors
Place and arrange colors
Distribute the proportions of colors
Play with and experiment with color values and color intensities
Leverage the synergistic effects and what happens when two (or more) colors are placed next to one another
Create focus, rhythm, balance, dimension and movement with color
Create satisfying blending and transitioning strategies using color
Anticipate how color and the play of color within our piece might be affected by contextual or situational variables
Reflect on how our choices about color affect how the piece of jewelry is judged as finished and successful by our various client audiences
Use color to promote the coherency of our pieces, and the speed and extent to which attention by others continues to spread
PICKING COLORS FOR JEWELRY DESIGNS
The jewelry designer has to pick colors pleasing to the designer, as well as anticipate what colors will be pleasing to the wearer or buyer. This makes picking colors very personal and subjective. We all know that designs are imperfect. Beads are imperfect. Colors are imperfect. So part of picking colors has to be very strategic and well-managed.
Colors are used by the designer to clarify and intensify the effects she or he wants to achieve. They are used to:
Delineate segments, forms, themes, areas
Express naturalism or abstraction
Enhance the sense of structure or physicality (forward/recede; emphasize mass or lines or surfaces or points)
Stimulate the senses (warmth or cold; memories; enlarging or decreasing)
Play with light and shadow (surprise, distort, challenge, contradict, provoke)
Alter the natural relationship between the jewelry and the situation it is worn in (context, clothing, body and face types/skin tones, setting)
The resulting relationships between space and mass, negative and positive areas
Focus attention, particularly providing information about direction, boundaries, permissions
Color Tools At The Designer’s Discretion
Both the artist as well as the jewelry designer have three primary color tools at their discretion. For the artist, these tools are used to control perceptions of color. For the jewelry designer, however, these tools are used to control the sensations and experiencing of color.
TOOL 1: SENSATION OF COLOR BALANCES (Light Values)
Individually, each color is perceived in the same way. Each color is associated with a particular energy and wavelength signature. Both artist and jewelry designer can assume that each color standing fixed and alone is perceived in the same way universally. For the jewelry designer, however, since jewelry is worn and moves, the designer cannot assume that in any one minute, each color will be perceived consistently in the same way.
TOOL 2: SENSATION OF COLOR CONTRASTS (Color Schemes/Color Wheel, Color Proportions)
When 2 or more colors co-exist in the same space, they affect each other. Color schemes and information about color proportions have been scientifically derived. These determine, to oversimplify things, a zero-zero point where the positive and negative energy signatures of each color balance out to zero. With a composition of blue and orange, this contrast color scheme indicates that their energy signatures would balance out to zero. When dealing with proportions, color theory determines that there should be one orange for every 3 blues, again to achieve harmony within this zero balance point. In this way, certain combinations of colors are seen as more appealing than others.
For the artist, she or he can achieve these universal understandings about color contrasts within any composition. For the jewelry designer, not so much. Color schemes and color proportions are a good place for the designer to start any project. But because movement and context will continually distort perceptions of these colors as the jewelry is worn, more color management will be called for, if the piece is to feel finished and successful. The jewelry designer literally has to work hard to trick the brain so that it interprets the inevitably resulting imperfections in color use as PERFECTions.
TOOL 3: SENSATION OF COLOR CONTRASTS IN CONTEXT (simultaneity effects, shared understandings)
When 2 or more colors are present, and you take into effect more contextual information, you often find that colors experienced simultaneously can affect how each color is perceived apart from what you would predict from things like color light values, color schemes or color proportions.
A yellow square inside a white box appears to feel cooler than that same yellow square in a black box. Similarly with the red square. Colors appearing simultaneously can be made to feel to be receding/approaching, warm/gold, blending and bridging, overcoming gaps and negative spaces or paralyzed by them, establishing dimensionality and movement, redirecting attention, blurring or bounding, smaller or larger.
Any color with a gray or black undertone will take on the characteristics of the color beside it. Besides the obvious black diamond color, other colors which have gray or black undertones include prairie green, Montana blue, French rose, purple violet, Colorado topaz.
Other types of beads which allow you to create simultaneity effects: silver, gold, anything with a mirror or foil effect, color-lined beads.
Thus, Simultaneity Effects are a boon to the jewelry designer. They are great tools for TRICKING THE BRAIN and …
Making the variation in color as expressed within the bead or other object as more homogeneous
Filling in the gaps of light between beads
Assisting in the guiding attention along or the sense of movement of colors along a line or plane
Assisting in establishing dimensionality in a piece that otherwise would appear flat
Harmonizing, Blending or Bridging two or more colors which, as a set, don’t quite match up on the color wheel
Establishing frames, boundaries or silhouettes
Re-directing the eye to another place, or creating sense of movement
The Blue Waterfall Necklace
In this Blue Waterfall Necklace, which is one of my designs, I capitalized on the use of simultaneity effects. As you can see in the image above, there are three colors which I lined up together: Sapphire (cube), Crystal Diffusion (cathedral) and Indian Sapphire (which is a rounder shape). Normally, you would not mix sapphire and Indian sapphire in the same piece. They don’t really go together. Using a color in between — crystal diffusion in this case — which acts in a similar way to a gray color bead, I was able to blend the characteristics of the Indian sapphire bead on one side and the sapphire bead on the other. When you look at the finished piece, the colors lined up in each segment appear harmonious.
Some additional examples of strategic color use that I have done:
A. Putting a transparent faceted olivine bead next to a transparent faceted capri blue bead. In bright or direct light, depending on in what direction from the light the person wearing the piece is standing, will cast a color shadow — either an olivine shadow over the capri bead, or a capri blue shadow over the olivine bead. That means, when the person orients their stance in various positions, you will often get a muddy brown look, rather than distinct olivine and capri blue colors.
This arrangement would also be the beginning of an analogous color scheme. In this scheme no color should predominate. If one does, it starts to look less satisfying. If we rely on a different color theory about color proportions, then we want to have 1.5 blue green for every 1 olivine. In this case, we could not meet the criteria for both the color scheme rule and the color proportion rule.
In any event, I would probably first place a sterling silver or gold bead between the olivine and capri. These metal beads will create that simultaneous effect. When a person is wearing the piece, sometimes, depending on the lighting and the person’s stance, the capri and its shadow will take up a greater volume, and vice versa with the olivine. There won’t be that occasional muddy look.
B. In my piece — Little Tapestries: Ghindia — I embedded red crystal beads within a seam. They are not visible if you are standing in front of the person wearing the piece. I wanted the person wearing the piece to subtly catch the eye (bright red flashes of color reflecting the light) of anyone to her side or just behind her.
C. It is difficult to mix materials within the same piece. That is partly because the brain/eye interaction with each type of material is often different, and this is unsettling for the brain. Painful. When the brain is unsettled, the piece gets interpreted as unsatisfactory, unappealing, even ugly. Successfully mixing materials gets very caught up in an understanding of light and shadow. And an understanding of light and shadow is very influenced by and influential in the use of color.
The surface of a material has many characteristics which the jewelry designer leverages within the finished piece. Light might reflect off this surface, such as with opaque glass or shiny metal. Light might be brought into and below the surface before getting reflected back, such as with many gemstones and opalescent glass. Light might refract through the piece at different angles, even creating a prism effect. Light might be absorbed below the surface, as with pearls.
The surface might be a solid color. It might be a mix of colors. It might be matte. It may be flat, have crevices, have matrixing, or have inclusions. It may have fire or flashing coloration effects. There may be tonal differences. There may be pattern or textural differences. It may convey movement. It may convey depth.
One example that comes up a lot: it is difficult to mix gemstone with glass. For most gemstones, the light travels from the eye to the surface of the material, then continues below the surface, before bouncing back. For most glass, the light travels from the eye to the surface of the material, then bounces back; it does not penetrate the surface. When mixing gemstones and glass, if the brain’s interaction with the materials requires a shift in the activity of physical perception, then this is often uneasy and painful for the brain.
If I were to mix glass and gemstone, I would choose glass which mimics the brain/eye/light effect. I would choose a translucent glass bead where this effect is mirrored to that with the gemstone.
Let’s say I created a necklace of opal beads. With opals, the light penetrates below the surface, interacts with movement (fire effect), then bounces back to the eye. I can mirror this effect with silver lined translucent glass beads. The silver lining within the transparent glass mimics the sense of ‘fire’. If I had added a silver lined transparent bead instead, this would not work as well. Here, with the transparent bead, the light hits the surface of the glass and the silver lining intensifies the experience of the particular color of the glass.
Let’s stick with this opal necklace. Say I added an opaque black seed bead in between each opal bead. If small enough, this configuration kicks in the GESTALT cognitive behavior. The brain “sees” a gap between each opal bead, and not a glass bead. The brain fills in the gap with color approximating that of the opal beads. If this seed bead gets too large relative to the opal bead, however, a different cognitive process kicks in. Here the brain has to deal with the perceptual anomaly of light bouncing back and forth in different ways — eye to surface and eye to below surface. Again, painful for the brain.
D. Substituting one material for another will result in a very different experience of the object for the wearer. Take, for example, a Chakra bracelet strung on cable wire with a clasp. Say the beads used are gemstones. Each gemstone has spiritual and healing properties. Each gemstone has a coloration, and each different coloration, too, is associated with certain spiritual and healing properties. Moreover, every individual has their own unique needs for which set of gemstones and which assortment of colorations are best and most appropriate. This can get even more complicated in that each situation and context may have its own requirements.
The designer could have used glass or acrylic beads instead. These would be less spiritual, less healing, less valuable and less durable over time. Only the property of coloration would be the critical variable leading to spiritual and healing properties. The sensations the wearer would have with the gemstone bracelet would differ significantly from those with the glass or acrylic bracelet.
YOU CANNOT SEPARATE THE COLOR FROM THE HOW AND WHY IT WAS CHOSEN
With any art object, the designer and the artist are at the core of it all. Its success depends on the types of choices made. Though both disciplines overlap some, artists and designers have to resort to a different thinking process when making choices about color.
When someone interacts with any art object, the brain tries everything it can to make sense of and harmonize the situation. Should it like it or not? Should it touch it, wear it, buy it, or not? Should it influence you to share your observations and emotions, or not? The brain tries to zero-sum the light values by taking into effect each color’s energy signature. It has to weigh information about how much of one color there is in relation to one or more other colors. It has to evaluate information about emotional and other meaningful content the juxtaposition and placement of any set of colors within any context or situation represents. It has to fill in the blanks — gaps and negative spaces — where it might expect to see some color but does not. It has to determine whether the person should expend the time and energy to attend to the whole object, or stop at just a small part of it. It has to attend to color, whether static or moving.
The artist seeks to anticipate how people perceive color, and based on color theories, can recognize how certain universals come into play. They emphasize these universals. This results in harmony and balance.
The jewelry designer has a different task, more complex, riskier. The designer, in anticipation of how others perceive, recognize and interpret colors in their lives, has to establish within any design a strategy for how color is used to enhance expression within any piece. The jewelry designer must anticipate the effects of movement on color. The jewelry designer is the manager. The designer is the controller. The designer is the influencer. The designer brings to the situation personal values and desires. The designer establishes and conveys intent and meaning resulting from the choices, including and especially about color, she or he has made. Fluent designers can decode color and its use intuitively and quickly, and apply color in more expressive ways to convey inspiration, show the designer’s strategy and intent, and trigger an especially resonant, energetic response by wearers and viewers alike.
The viewer and wearer then must determine whether the designer’s use of color meets and assists them in expressing their own values, needs and desires. They might wear or buy it. They might show it to their friends. They might merely complement the designer. They might walk away.
Jewelry making has aspects of craft to it, but it is so much more. It is art. It is architecture. It is communicative and interactive. It moves with the person wearing it. It is reflective of the jewelry designer’s hand. And it defines and reaffirms the narrative stories of everyone who wears it, views it, buys it, exhibits it, collects it, talks about it.
To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
Craft and art techniques and theories are of little help. These do not show how to make trade-offs between beauty and functionality. Nor how to introduce pieces publicly. These provide weak rules for determining when a piece of jewelry is finished and successful. Often, the desires and motivations of wearers, viewers and buyers are minimized or ignored.
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets craft techniques, modifies art theories, and introduces architectural, socio-cultural and perceptual-cognitive considerations so that jewelry makers are better prepared to approach design.
By the end of So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer, established jewelry artisan Warren Feld teaches you how to
· Select materials, techniques and technologies
· Choose, compose, construct and manipulate jewelry design elements
· Anticipate expectations, perceptions, values and desires of client audiences
· Develop those soft skills of creativity, inspiration, aspiration and passion
Warren Feld examines with you all those things which lead to your success as a jewelry designer, and your associated design practice or business.
I have been designing jewelry and teaching classes for over 38 years now.
What excites me is finding answers to such questions as:
What does it mean to be fluent and literate in design?
What are the implications for defining jewelry as an “object” versus as an “intent”?
Why does some jewelry draw your attention, and others do not?
How does jewelry design take you beyond art or craft?
How do you judge a piece as finished and successful?
Why is disciplinary literacy in design important for introducing your works publicly, as well as selling your works in the creative marketplace?
My ideas have developed and evolved over time. These are ideas about jewelry, its design, and the necessary tradeoffs between appeal and functionality. These are ideas which express the why and the how jewelry design differs from art or craft. These are ideas which are embedded in and emerge from the special disciplinary and literacy requirements all jewelry designers need to learn so that they can think and speak and work like designers. These are ideas about how to introduce jewelry into the creative marketplace. These ideas center on fluency, flexibility and originality. And that’s what you want to be as a jewelry designer: fluent, flexible and original.
I teach classes in jewelry design and applications.
I want my students to learn the mechanics of various techniques. This is obvious. But I want them to go beyond the basic mechanics. I want them to be able to have a great degree of management control over the interplay of aesthetic elements. I also want them to have a great degree of insight, strategy and “smartness” in how things get constructed architecturally. Last, I want them, and this is important, to understand and recognize and incorporate into their designs how and why people desire things — why they want to wear things and why they want to buy things and why they want to tell all their friends about the things they are wearing and buying.
Literacy involves all these things: craft, art, design, context. Teaching a disciplinary literacy specific to jewelry design is a lot like teaching literacy in reading and writing. We want our students to comprehend. We want them to be able to be self-directed in organizing and implementing their basic tasks. We want them to be able to function in unfamiliar situations and respond when problems arise. We want them to develop an originality in their work — originality in the sense that they can differentiate themselves from other jewelry designers. We want them to anticipate the shared understandings their various audiences have about whether a piece is inhabitable — that is, finished and successful for them. We want them to think like designers. And, we want a high level of automaticity in all this. The basic jewelry design curriculum does not accomplish this. There is an absence of strategy and strategic thinking.
Hence this book and guide for anyone who wants to become a successful jewelry designer. This book is for someone who wants to develop that strategic kind of thinking and speaking and doing which underly their discipline we call Jewelry Design.
For more articles about Fluency in Design, click over to our Jewelry Designers’ Hub
SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER Merging Your Voice With Form
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets how to apply techniques and modify art theories from the Jewelry Designer’s perspective. To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
But when you think jewelry and speak jewelry and work jewelry, this is what you become.
Yes, jewelry making has aspects of craft to it. But it is so much more. It is art. It is architecture. It is communicative and interactive. It is reflective of the jewelry designer’s hand. And it defines or reaffirms the self- and social-identities of everyone who wears it, views it, buys it, exhibits it, collects it, talks about it.
To go beyond craft as a jewelry designer, you need to become literate in this discipline called jewelry design. As a person literate in jewelry design, you become your authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. You gain the skills necessary to design jewelry whether the situation is familiar or not. You are a jewelry designer.
The literate jewelry designer grasps the differences between jewelry as object and jewelry as intent. That is, you recognize how a piece of jewelry needs to be orchestrated from many angles. How jewelry making involves more than following a set of steps. How jewelry, without design, is just sculpture. How jewelry is a very communicative, public and interactive work of art and design. How jewelry focuses attention. How true design enhances the dignity of the person wearing it. And how the success of a jewelry designer, and associated practice or business, comes down to what’s happening at the boundary between the jewelry and the body – that is, jewelry is art only as it is worn.
Read more articles about becoming Fluent in Jewelry Design on our Jewelry Designers’ Hub.
SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER Merging Your Voice With Form
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets how to apply techniques and modify art theories from the Jewelry Designer’s perspective. To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
“Asheville and its surrounding area in Western North Carolina boast a strong history with the arts. Penland School of Craft was founded in 1929, the Southern Highland Craft Guild started in 1930, Black Mountain College thrived from 1933 to 1957, and the Asheville Art Museum opened in 1948. More recently, Asheville’s River Arts District (RAD) began to develop in the 1990s, growing dramatically in the 2010s. Until late September 2024, it comprised more than two dozen old brick buildings and warehouses—mostly remnants of its time as an industrial hub—painted with bright murals and filled with vibrant studios, galleries, restaurants, and bars. With this rich artistic presence (which had a $3 billion economic contribution to Buncombe County in 2023), it is not surprising that, even amidst the shocking destruction and loss of life caused by Hurricane Helene, the impact on the arts community is keenly felt and widely acknowledged, even by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. “
“I think the artists will suffer a lot of economic uncertainty. But on the other side of that I think a lot of art inspiration will come out of something so deeply felt by the artists.” —Jessica Blissett
“I feel like a small river pebble being worn round by a constant current of change. And I’m so beyond grateful for all the hugs, and prayers and folks putting in orders on my shop even though I don’t have a studio right now.” —Alice Scott
“While the waters and winds of Hurricane Helene ravaged studios and stalled practices that artists have spent their entire careers building, the tight social networks and a sense of hope remain. Artists have set up online fundraisers and raffles for friends, served meals through the World Central Kitchen (Deb Karash has helped serve tens of thousands of hot meals in downtown Asheville), and shoveled a lot of dirt and debris out of art spaces. Many are expressing optimism and sharing heart-warming experiences of fellow artists supporting one another. Blissett, for example, observed, “Those less affected at their homes donned hazmat suits and threw themselves into the cleanup. Those who lost so much still kept at the tasks at hand.” Foundation Studios conveyed the pervasive feeling of loss mixed with promise, posting on social media, “In the grand scheme of things we are lucky. This is an art gallery & studios, not a home (though it felt like it). These are things, not lives (though souls were put into them). If there’s one thing artists will do, it’s make more art!” “
Treats Studios in Spruce Pine provides a list of artists affected with links to make direct donations or support through direct sales: www.treatsstudios.org/artist-support-helene
Instagram is trying to phase out the use of hashtags.
Artist, social media influencer, and faculty expert Dina Brodsky recommends not focusing too much time on hashtags when you post.
“Honestly, they’re not really a thing anymore and it’s something that Instagram is trying to phase out.”
Unless it is a branded hashtag (when you specifically want a publication, gallery, or brand to see you), or you’re using your own: it doesn’t really matter.
3. Meet the world’s rarest mineral. It was only found once!
A single gemstone from Myanmar holds the title of Earth’s rarest mineral, kyawthuite.
“The kyawthuite crystal was discovered in 2010 by sapphire hunters in the Chaung Gyi Valley, near Mogok, Myanmar. Initially mistaken for an ordinary gem, it was later identified as unique by Dr. Kyaw Thu, a prominent mineralogist. After extensive analysis, the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) officially recognized kyawthuite as a new mineral in 2015. Today, the sole specimen resides in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, where it is safeguarded as a geological treasure.”
4. Pewter. A Most Misunderstood Metal by Ana LopezFrom an article in Metalsmith Magazine 44(3):
“Now that pewter alloys are lead-free, a surprising number of artists are revisiting pewter’s unique qualities and complex history. Pewter is a tin-based alloy. Since tin is brittle, it is combined with other metals to improve its durability and working properties. And because it alloys easily and has a very low melting temperature, it can form a eutectic mixture with other metals, reducing the melting temperatures of each component. For metalsmiths, the nightmare scenario is heating silver that unbeknownst to them has been in contact with pewter, which leads to a meltdown in every sense.”
“Conversely, fans of pewter rave about its accessibility and forgiving nature. For example, welded pewter joints provide a seamless construction without being brittle. Pewter can be formed with wood tools, and can be melted with just a small butane torch. Since no amount of hammering, rolling, or forming will cause it to stiffen, there is no need to stop and anneal the metal. And since it’s a poor conductor, pewtersmiths can hold elements in place with masking tape while soldering with a torch. It can be liqueified in a saucepan on a hotplate and cast into a silicone mold. Scrap metal can be endlessly melted down for reuse, so nothing goes to waste. Finally, it is food safe— and considerably less expensive than silver.”
5. At the shop, I went through 3 pearl knotting instructors, and was never satisfied. Not only could their students not do a consistently good job, particularly when they tried to repeat what they learned after their classes, but also these instructors could not do a consistently good job themselves. So, after a lot of research, I wrote this book: PEARL KNOTTING…Warren’s Way.
Classic Elegance! Timeless! Architectural Perfection! Learn a simple Pearl Knotting technique anyone can do. No special tools. Beautiful. Durable. Wearable.
PEARL KNOTTING Doesn’t Need To Be Hard
In this very detailed book, with thoroughly-explained instructions and pictures, you are taught a non-traditional Pearl Knotting technique which is very easy for anyone to learn and do. Does not use special tools. Goes slowly step-by-step. Presents a simple way to tie knots and position the knots to securely abut the bead. Anticipates both appeal and functionality. Shows clearly how to attach your clasp and finish off your cords. And achieves that timeless, architectural perfection we want in our pearl knotted pieces.
Most traditional techniques are very frustrating. These can get overly complicated and awkward. They rely on tools for making and positioning the knots. When attempting to follow traditional techniques, people often find they cannot tie the knots, make good knots, get the knots close enough to the beads, nor centered between them. How to attach the piece to the clasp gets simplified or glossed over. Fortunately, Pearl Knotting doesn’t need to be this hard.
Pearl Knotting…Warren’s Way teaches you how to: • Hand-knot without tools • Select stringing materials • Begin and finish pieces by (1) attaching directly to the clasp, (2) using French wire bullion, (3), using clam shell bead tips, or, (4) making a continuous piece without a clasp • Add cord • Buy pearls, care for them, string and restring them, store them
By the end of this book, you will have mastered hand-knotting pearls.
Not comfortable showing prices online? Publish a private page.
Create a website page that is only accessible via private link, in which you feature the prices of the pieces you have on sale.
Next to your product information and image, add an INQUIRE Button.
Whenever an interested buyer asks about the prices of certain pieces, send them the private/exclusive link so they can see the works.
Also, include them immediately in your email database. Flag them as more likely to be interested in your work, because they have taken the effort to click on the INQUIRE button.
I was burnt out in my job as Director of a non-profit, health care organization when I met Jayden at a local bar. I was so bored in my job. Bored with the people I worked with. Bored with the tasks. Bored with the goals. I felt so disconnected from the field of health care. I wanted to stop the world and jump off. But into what, I had no idea.
I so much yearned for some creative spark. Some creative excitement. Something that challenged me, was artistic, was fun. And someone to do these things with. And, in 1987, I met Jayden. Jayden epitomizes creativity.
Soon after we met, Jayden moved to Nashville. But she was having difficulty finding a job. There was a recession going on at the time. At one point, I asked her what she could do, and she said that she could make jewelry. I thought we could build a business around that.
And so we did. Land of Odds was born.
Initially the business was oriented around Jayden’s design work. She made all kinds of jewelry from beads to wire to silver fabrication to lampwork. And at first, I had little interest in actually making or designing jewelry. But gradually, very gradually, I began learning the various techniques and the different kinds of materials and components. We took in a lot of repairs. I found it intellectually challenging to figure out why something broke — construction, technique, something about the wearing. I began to formalize some ideas and hypotheses into rules and principles.
Around 1998, Jayden and I wanted to offer jewelry making classes in our shop. But we did not want to repeat and replicate the types of classes already offered at other craft and bead shops in town. We did not want to do the Step-by-Step paint-by-number approach to jewelry making. We wanted to integrate architectural considerations with those of art. While we recognize that all jewelry making has some aspect of craft to it, we wanted to inspire our students to go beyond this. Jewelry beyond craft.
Over the next couple of years, with the help and guidance from many local artisans and craft teachers, we developed an educational curriculum embedded within what is called the Design Perspective. That is, our classes would teach students how to manage both beauty and functionality, and how to make the necessary tradeoffs between these within their finished pieces. Our classes would guide students in developing a literacy and fluency in jewelry design.
Eventually Jayden retired and our business began to revolve around my own designs and my developing understanding of the Design Perspective. After 35+ years in the business, I came away with some strong beliefs about what jewelry designers should be taught and how they should be taught. I’ve encapsulated all this within this text So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer and its companion book Conquering The Creative Marketplace.
Promote your current projects, promotional copy, News & Views, videos, reels, tutorials, instructions, social media posts online in this newsletter and on our jewelry designers’ Patreon hub.
No deadlines! Opportunity available all the time. No fees. But don’t wait to take advantage of this opportunity. This copyrighted material is published here with permission of the author(s) as noted, or with Land of Odds or Warren Feld Jewelry. All rights reserved.
Repairs Stumping You? Let Me Take A Look
I take in a lot of jewelry repairs. People either bring them to me in Columbia, TN, or, I pick them up and deliver them back in Nashville. I am in Nashville at least once a week. It’s been convenient for most people to meet me at Green Hills Mall. But if not, I can come to your workplace or your home. This is perfectly fine for me. My turnaround time typically is 3-4 weeks.
I do most repairs, but I do not do any soldering. I also do not repair watches. These are the kinds of repairs I do:
o Beaded jewelry o Pearl knotting, hand knotting o Size/Length adjustment o Re-stringing o Wire work/weave/wrap o Micro macrame o Broken clasp replacfement o Earring repair o Replace lost rhinestones or gemstones o Stone setting o Stretchy bracelet o Metal working which does not involve soldering o Bead woven jewelry and purses o Beaded clothing o Custom jewelry design
WARREN FELD JEWELRY (www.warrenfeldjewelry.com) Custom Design, Workshops, Video Tutorials, Webinars, Coaching, Kits, Group Activities, Repairs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join our community of jewelry designers on myPatreon hub Be part of a community of jewelry designers who recognize that we have a different way of thinking and doing than other types of crafters or artists. One free downloadable Mini-Lesson of your choice for all new members! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Join my community of jewelry designers on myPatreon hub From Warren and Land of Odds Use December’s Discount Code For Extra 25% Off @Land of Odds: DECEMBER25 www.landofodds.comDecember 1, 2024Hi everyone, Some Updates and Things Happening. (Please share this newsletter)
Did the people closest to you, your family and friends, encourage or discourage your pursuit of art as a profession? Share your experiences or thoughts on the influence friends or family have had on your pursuit of your art and/or jewelry designing.
2. I have always tried to push my jewelry making students to see themselves as professionals providing a service to others. I wrote my first book — SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER — with this foremost in my mind. If I were teaching an undergraduate college class in jewelry design, this would be my textbook.
Jewelry making has aspects of craft to it, but it is so much more. It is art. It is architecture. It is communicative and interactive. It moves with the person wearing it. It is reflective of the jewelry designer’s hand. And it defines and reaffirms the narrative stories of everyone who wears it, views it, buys it, exhibits it, collects it, talks about it.
To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.
Craft and art techniques and theories are of little help. These do not show how to make trade-offs between beauty and functionality. Nor how to introduce pieces publicly. These provide weak rules for determining when a piece of jewelry is finished and successful. Often, the desires and motivations of wearers, viewers and buyers are minimized or ignored.
So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets craft techniques, modifies art theories, and introduces architectural, socio-cultural and perceptual-cognitive considerations so that jewelry makers are better prepared to approach design.
By the end of So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer, established jewelry artisan Warren Feld teaches you how to • Select materials, techniques and technologies • Choose, compose, construct and manipulate jewelry design elements • Anticipate expectations, perceptions, values and desires of client audiences • Develop those soft skills of creativity, inspiration, aspiration and passion
Warren Feld examines with you all those things which lead to your success as a jewelry designer, and your associated design practice or business.
This book is for someone who wants to develop that strategic kind of thinking and speaking and doing which underly their discipline we call Jewelry Design. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Why I wrote this book and acknowledgements AN INTRODUCTION
1. JEWELRY BEYOND CRAFT: GAINING A DISCIPLINARY LITERACY AND FLUENCY IN DESIGN
2. GETTING STARTED 2a. BECOMING THE BEAD ARTIST AND JEWELRY DESIGNER: The Ongoing Tensions Between Inspiration and Form 2b. BECOMING THE BEAD ARTIST AND JEWELRY DESIGNER: 5 Essential Questions Every Jewelry Designer Should Have An Answer For 2c. GETTING STARTED: CHANNELING YOUR EXCITEMENT 2d. GETTING STARTED: DEVELOPING YOUR PASSION 2e. GETTING STARTED: CULTIVATING YOUR PRACTICE
3. WHAT IS JEWELRY, Really?
4. MATERIALS, TECHNIQUES AND TECHNOLOGIES 4a. MATERIALS: Knowing What To Know 4b. TECHNIQUES AND TECHNOLOGIES: Knowing What To Do 4c. MIXED MEDIA / MIXED TECHNIQUES
5. RULES OF COMPOSITION, CONSTRUCTION, AND MANIPULATION 5a. JEWELRY DESIGN COMPOSITION: PLAYING WITH BUILDING BLOCKS CALLED DESIGN ELEMENTS 5b. THE JEWELRY DESIGNER’S APPROACH TO COLOR 5c. POINT, LINE, PLANE, SHAPE, FORM, THEME: Creating Something Out Of Nothing 5d. JEWELRY DESIGN PRINCIPLES: COMPOSING, CONSTRUCTING, MANIPULATING 5e. HOW TO DESIGN AN UGLY NECKLACE: The Ultimate Designer’s Challenge / You Be The Judge 5f. ARCHITECTURAL BASICS OF JEWELRY DESIGN: Building In The Necessary Support and Structure 5g. ARCHITECTURAL BASICS OF JEWELRY DESIGN: Anatomy of a Necklace 5h. ARCHITECTURAL BASICS OF JEWELRY DESIGN: Sizing
6. DESIGN MANAGEMENT 6a. THE PROFICIENT DESIGNER: The Path To Resonance 6b. JEWELRY DESIGN: A Managed Process 6c. COMPONENT BASED DESIGN SYSTEMS: Building Both Efficiency As Well As Effectiveness Into Your Jewelry Designs
7. INTRODUCING YOUR DESIGNS PUBLICLY 7a. SHARED UNDERSTANDINGS AND DESIRES: THE CONVERSATION CENTERED WITHIN A DESIGN 7b. “BACKWARD-DESIGN” IS FORWARDS THINKING
8. DEVELOPING THOSE INTUITIVE SKILLS WITHIN 8a. CREATIVITY ISN’T FOUND, IT’S DEVELOPED 8b. INSPIRATION AND ASPIRATION 8c. YOUR PASSION FOR DESIGN: Finding It, Developing It, and Embedding It In Your Designs
9. JEWELRY IN CONTEXT 9a. CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY IS NOT A “LOOK” — IT’S A WAY OF “THINKING” 9b. CONTEMPORIZING TRADITIONAL JEWELRY: Transitioning From Conformity To Individuality 9c. Fashion-Style-Taste-Art-Design: Coordinating Aesthetics With Pleasure 9d. Designing With The Brain In Mind: Perception, Cognition, Sexuality 9e. SELF CARE
10. TEACHING DISCIPLINARY LITERACY: Strategic Learning in Jewelry Design
SOME FINAL WORDS BY WARREN FELD ABOUT WARREN FELD OTHER ARTICLES AND TUTORIALS BY WARREN FELD
3. If you’re lacking confidence when pricing your art… Set a price at which you’ll sell the maximum number of pieces, and achieve the maximum profit for your business. Your goal: a consistent and steady level of sales (the price can’t prohibit most interested buyers from buying). Flipside: don’t price it so low that you’re not generating profit for yourself (or any gallery you apply to). “To do this, start by understanding your baselines: what does it cost to produce? What is the framing cost? Time?”
4. “Is my art good enough to be in boutiques and galleries?”
There is always a boutique or gallery out there in which you can show your jewelry.
Just like there are jewelry designers at every phase of development & progression, the same is true for boutiques and galleries (at every level of development).
As the boutique or gallery becomes more established and grows, they will become able to be more selective and assertive.
“Our job, especially in the early phases, is to show our work to as many boutiques and galleries as possible. Find those that are interested in your work, and grow right along with your galleries.”
5. It’s approaching the end of the year. You might have some excess inventory that you need to sell, and want to take advantage of the season to promote a sale.
Feel free to use or adapt either of these two images (my copyright so you have full permission) in your marketing:
6. People are often hesitant about signing up for coaching services. One thing we don’t think about as much when it comes to finding the motivation to be consistent with your jewelry designing is something I talk about a lot in other contexts: Know Thyself.
This is something I work on with designers when coaching them. When I’m struggling with consistency, it’s not the same mayhem necessarily that you’re working with. Our remedies are going to be different potions. We have to do the work to know who we are, to look honestly and as objectively as possible at our patterns, and to understand why we struggle with certain things.
If you’re getting pummeled by procrastination, what’s behind it? Fear? What are you afraid of? Why?
Is your tendency toward perfectionism? Where’s that rooted?
Wondering why you’re not getting the sales you anticipated?
Got shiny object syndrome? Always looking for the next thing to pull you in and not letting yourself mature into something remarkable? What part of you thinks it’s being nourished by that pattern?
There’s a lot we can do to motivate and channel creative effort, but it’s all going to be short-lived if we don’t get to the root of our patterns. So who are you and what are your actions and mindsets that are in the way of your motivation?
I hope you’ll give yourself some time to consider these questions. If you’re ready for support in this critical exploration, review my COACHING services. Book your coaching session now.
— Warren
7. People are always wondering what types of jewelry I make. This is how I describe my personal jewelry making style.
My Personal Style My personal style centers on a few key elements. I like to…
– Mix colors in unexpected ways, particularly colors you would not ordinarily assume would complement one another
– Use a lot of what are called “grays”, such as black diamond, montana blue, colorado topaz, alexandrite, and other “simultaneity effects”
– Combine both bead weaving, bead stringing, and wire-working techniques within the same piece, but typically the emphasis is on bead weaving techniques.
– Modify traditional weaving and stringing techniques or come up with my own new ones– I’m very experimental
– Define and play with forms and themes, and thresholds, frames and transitions from one form to the next
– Have pieces that emphasize the sensual and sexual
– Create unusual, unexpected placement of shapes, such as using curved tubes where you might expect a straight tube instead, or using a cube where you would expect a flat rondelle
– Add dimensionality, curvature, and interlocking forms, where I can, to make my pieces both fashionable and contemporary
– Add a sense of movement and move-ability, wherever possible, and likewise, anticipate the aesthetic and functional impacts and effects which come from movement when worn
– Push the limits of, and experiment with, the materials and techniques I am using
– Organize my pieces into Series I call “Collections.” For each Collection, I study a particular culture or technique or design theory, and play with what I’ve learned. How can I adopt what I’ve learned to my individual style and approach? Each Collection, then, is a personal challenge of expression and expressiveness.
– Consider that both the art (appeal) and architecture (function) goals both must be satisfied to the fullest, which most often requires making tradeoffs in design,
– Believe that jewelry can be judged as art only as it is worn, thus, designed in anticipation of this principle.
8. Some Quick Notes a. Added 70 new colors, size 11/0 Miyuki seed beads to Land of Odds catalog. Shop here.
b. Added 130 new colors, delicas (size 11/0) to Land of Odds catalog. Shop here.
c. Added 159 new colors, size 8/0 Miyuki seed beads to Land of Odds catalog. Shop here.
d. Added 202 new colors, size 6/0 Miyuki seed beads to Land of Odds catalog. Shop here.
“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing.” / Georgia O’Keeffe
WARREN FELD JEWELRY (www.warrenfeldjewelry.com) Custom Design, Workshops, Video Tutorials, Webinars, Coaching, Kits, Group Activities, Repairs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join our community of jewelry designers on myPatreon hub Be part of a community of jewelry designers who recognize that we have a different way of thinking and doing than other types of crafters or artists. One free downloadable Mini-Lesson of your choice for all new members! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some Updates and Things Happening. (Please share this newsletter)
1. I have been participating with the Columbia TN Arts Council over the last several months. Their major tasks are to develop a sense of community among artists (broadly defined), and a sense of place in a several block area off the downtown identified as the Columbia Arts District. I wrote a visioning plan for this District which I want to share, and welcome any feedback and ideas for programs, and community and economic development.
The Columbia ARTS DISTRICT (CAD) was created to provide a haven for artists to live and work. The CAD is located a few blocks from Downtown Columbia in the South Garden/High Street area. The City has established historic zoning overlays to protect historic and cultural assets that include distinct neighborhoods like the ARTS DISTRICT. The area currently comprises several blocks of old warehouses, old houses (some historically significant), mobile homes and manufactured homes, and vacant lots. One warehouse building was turned into a multi-story mix of artist studios, retail spaces, coffee house, some office space. There are some restaurants and specialty shops in the District, but not many. Columbia is a small town of about 45,000 residents, growing 2–3% annually, and is located about 45 miles south of Nashville.
The BIG question for me was whether you can create a community-based Arts District, where the focus and energy emerge from how the community interacts with and finds meaningful experiences within the space, rather than focusing on physical design per se.
My SECONDARY question was whether a District designed to bring artists to live, work and play together can remain competitively viable over time, or will the community either lose interest or will the area become so attractive that gentrification negates its original reason for being. Time will tell, … as will smart thinking, planning, and cooperative partnering.
What makes a space into a place? Placemaking inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community. Strengthening the connection between people and the places they share, placemaking refers to a collaborative process by which we can shape our public realm in order to maximize shared value. More than just promoting better urban design, placemaking facilitates creative patterns of use, paying particular attention to the physical, cultural, and social identities that define a place and support its ongoing evolution.
Great public spaces are those places where celebrations are held, social and economic exchanges occur, friends run into each other, and cultures mix. They are the “front porches” of our public institutions — libraries, field houses, schools — where we interact with each other and government. When these spaces work well, they serve as the stage for our public lives.
3. I encourage you to take advantage of the very low prices of delica beads on the Land of Odds website.
Compare Our Prices To What You Are Paying:
In this monthly newsletter, occasionally, like in this newsletter, you will find a discount coupon code that you can use on the Land of Odds website.
You can also become a paid subscribing member on our Jewelry Designers’ Patreon Hub, which entitles you to a 25% discount as long as you maintain your subscription.
4. If you have the resources, I strongly suggest you look into furthering your jewelry design education by attending a degree program. Here are the top 30 jewelry design programs in the United States:
Here are some of the leading jewelry design programs in the United States, known for their specialized curriculums, faculty expertise, and facilities. While specific rankings can vary by source, these schools are widely regarded as some of the best for jewelry design.
1. Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) — Providence, RI
Offers a strong focus on metalwork, traditional jewelry techniques, and contemporary design principles.
2. Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) — Savannah, GA
Provides a comprehensive approach with state-of-the-art facilities and focuses on various facets of jewelry design and business.
3. Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) — New York, NY
Known for hands-on learning and access to New York City’s fashion and jewelry industry.
4. California College of the Arts (CCA) — San Francisco, CA
Emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches and sustainable design practices.
5. Parsons School of Design — New York, NY
Offers access to an extensive network in the fashion and luxury sectors, with an emphasis on innovative design.
6. Pratt Institute — Brooklyn, NY
Known for a strong arts program and a metal/jewelry design program focused on both technical skills and creativity.
7. Cranbrook Academy of Art — Bloomfield Hills, MI
Known for a small student body and intensive, personalized instruction.
8. University of the Arts — Philadelphia, PA
Offers a jewelry and metals program that includes contemporary jewelry, metalsmithing, and interdisciplinary work.
9. School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) — Chicago, IL
Known for an experimental approach that blends traditional and digital techniques.
10. Temple University’s Tyler School of Art — Philadelphia, PA
Focuses on combining creative expression with technical skill development.
11. University of Washington — Seattle, WA
Known for a broad curriculum that includes both traditional metalworking and experimental materials.
12. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) — Richmond, VA
Offers a BFA in Craft and Material Studies with a focus on metals and jewelry.
13. SUNY New Paltz — New Paltz, NY
Known for its Metal/Jewelry Design program that integrates both artistic development and technical skill.
14. Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) — Boston, MA
Offers a program with a focus on metalsmithing, jewelry, and art history.
15. University of Oregon — Eugene, OR
Known for a jewelry program that encourages both traditional and experimental methods.
16. California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) — Long Beach, CA
Offers a BFA in 3D Media focusing on metal and jewelry arts.
17. University of Georgia — Athens, GA
Strong focus on craftsmanship and a broad approach to metal and jewelry design.
18. University of Kansas — Lawrence, KS
The jewelry and metals program is known for its commitment to traditional techniques and design principles.
19. Texas State University — San Marcos, TX
Offers a BFA with a concentration in Metals and Jewelry, focusing on both technique and conceptual development.
20. Indiana University Bloomington — Bloomington, IN
Known for its craft-focused metalsmithing program, including traditional and contemporary approaches.
21. North Bennet Street School — Boston, MA
Provides a specialized training program in jewelry-making with a focus on bench skills and craftsmanship.
22. College for Creative Studies (CCS) — Detroit, MI
Focuses on both jewelry and metalsmithing, providing a solid technical foundation.
23. Kent State University — Kent, OH
Offers a jewelry/metals concentration that emphasizes craftsmanship and innovative design.
24. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — Champaign, IL
Known for an interdisciplinary approach, blending jewelry design with broader art and design disciplines.
25. Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) — Rochester, NY
The School for American Crafts at RIT is highly regarded for its jewelry and metals programs.
26. Appalachian State University — Boone, NC
Offers a focused jewelry and metals concentration that emphasizes skill development and conceptual work.
27. University of North Texas (UNT) — Denton, TX
Known for a metals and jewelry program that encourages experimentation and craftsmanship.
28. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) — Milwaukee, WI
Provides a curriculum that emphasizes both skill and design in jewelry-making.
29. Arizona State University (ASU) — Tempe, AZ
Offers a robust jewelry program as part of its larger art program, with access to a variety of tools and techniques.
30. Oregon College of Art and Craft (OCAC) — Portland, OR
Although it closed in 2019, its legacy remains influential, and several of its faculty and alumni continue to contribute to the field.
Each program has unique strengths, from technical skills to conceptual approaches and connections to the industry.
5. I wanted to share this email I received from Miguel Mayher at the Professional Artists Assn. We were beginning to discuss the need to be consistent in using Instagram and Emails to promote our businesses. I had brought up that it was difficult to maintain my motivation, especially given the time it takes to use social media.
Hi warren feld,
Yesterday, we talked about feeling overwhelmed.
Overwhelmed by the amount of energy and time that seems required to stay up to date on Instagram & your Email Newsletters.
And how that can hold you back from getting the consistent art income you desire.
Today, I want to dive deeper into why this feeling is SO COMMON in artists and what’s actually causing it.
📱 There are over *2 billion* monthly active users on Instagram. 🤯 And when you open the feed, it can be overwhelming. 🙅🏻♀️ It’s enough to make an established artist yell “nope!”…
…and close the app immediately, never to open it again.
Avoiding Instagram & Email doesn’t just stop you from using the tools, it also affects your entire “sharing your journey” workflow.
Some artists hold their cards close to their chest, but then expect strangers to buy the finished artwork at first glance.
Because when you’re opposed to these tools (and yes, they are just tools), you’re left waiting until you finish every artwork before you share it.
Or even worse — waiting for your next “show” to announce it to the world.
Then your audience doesn’t feel like they were part of that creative process… …they are not invested in your artist journey… …because you are not sharing it with them.
And so surprise, surprise… they are not “bought in”.
Maybe you do end up sending that jam-packed newsletter with a smorgasbord of updates about the last 6 months…
….not QUITE what you wanted, but you settle, “good enough I guess…”.
And a whole world of steady monthly direct sales seems out of reach for you.
Here’s the truth though… it’s not your fault:
Instagram is a hungry beast and the algorithm does reward consistency.
Emails are easy for writers, using WORDS, but not for most visual artists.
So without a good framework to simplify all this, it’s natural to get lost.
The big problem is the time and energy required to keep the Instagram & Email wheels turning…
👨👩👧👦 Competes with your family time 🎨 Competes with your studio time 🤹♀️ Competes with “life’s demands” time
And so how can you justify investing your precious time and energy in them?
You don’t have a simple system to navigate the sea of online art marketing.
If you had a clear system, it’d be hard to get lost, even if you’re an introvert.
I have an amazingly simple framework to share with you at the end of this week, but for now, here’s some encouragement…
❌ You DON’T need to POST EVERY DAY. ❌ You DON’T need to EMAIL EVERY WEEK.
And most importantly… stop thinking of your newsletters as NEWS.
Start thinking of them as Letters, or even better, POSTCARDS.
They are a casual conversation. Ideally one single topic per email. And they either share your journey… or give an opportunity to buy from you.
No middle ground.
I know even this is a lot easier said than done, but don’t worry, over the next few days I’ll be holding your hand and helping you out.
In tomorrow’s email, I’ll share a simple framework that will help you look at your online marketing as an enjoyable documenting of your journey.
Even if you are not a writer.
Talk soon,
Miguel
Director of Education The Professional Artist Association ProfessionalArtist.com P.S. Remember, feeling overwhelmed is normal, but it doesn’t have to stop you.
6. I’ve added additional articles to my collection HOW TO BEAD A ROGUE ELEPHANT. Check these out:
TRANSITIONS A piece of jewelry is a series of sections, each integral to the piece, which must flow together visually and functionally. For example, transitioning from the strap to the centerpiece. How the jewelry designer manages the transitions between each section will determine to a great degree the success of the piece.
DOUBT / SELF-DOUBT For the novice, all that excitement at the beginning, when thinking about making jewelry and making some pieces, sometimes collides with a wall of developing self-doubt. It’s not easy to quiet a doubt. Doubt may hold you back, but it can also be seen as an opportunity.
But the artist appeals to that part of our being which is not dependent on wisdom, to that in us which is a gift and not an acquisition- and, therefore, more permanently enduring. He speaks to our capacity for delight and wonder, to the sense of mystery surrounding our lives; to our sense of pity, and beauty, and pain; to the latent feeling of fellowship with all creation- and to the subtle but invincible conviction of solidarity that knits together the loneliness of innumerable hearts, to the solidarity in dreams, in joy, in sorrow, in aspirations, in illusions, in hope, in fear, which binds men to each other, which binds together all humanity- the dead to the living and the living to the unborn. / Joseph Conrad
8. Now is a good time to begin planning for enrichment travel and skills development opportunities you might take advantage of in 2025. Here are some ideas:
Here are 20 jewelry-related travel and learning opportunities in 2025, perfect for designers and enthusiasts who want hands-on experience, cultural immersion, and networking:
Tucson Gem and Mineral Show — This iconic show offers a variety of workshops in jewelry making and design (Feb 8–11, Tucson, AZ). More information: Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.
Colors of the Stone — Held in Tucson alongside the Gem Show, with classes in bead making, metal clay, enameling, and more (Feb 1–8, 2025). Details: Colors of the Stone
Santa Fe Symposium — An annual jewelry technology conference, ideal for designers interested in advanced techniques and business insights (Santa Fe, NM). Find details at Santa Fe Symposium.
Pasadena Bead & Design Show — Featuring jewelry making and design workshops, Pasadena’s show offers a space for artists and buyers (Jan 17–19, 2025). Learn more: Bead & Design Shows
Studio di Mare — Sogni d’Oro — In Italy, join immersive jewelry retreats that blend cultural exploration with expert-led classes in enameling and stone setting (Summer 2025, San Mango Piemonte). More info: Studio di Mare
Great Bead Escape Retreat — A jewelry workshop retreat in Florida offering classes by skilled instructors, suitable for beginners and experienced crafters alike (April 23–27, 2025, Live Oak, FL). Explore more: The Great Bead Escape
Marin Arts & Crafts Show — A blend of jewelry and fine arts workshops in a scenic setting, ideal for creatives (Mar 7–9, 2025, San Rafael, CA). Details at Marin Arts & Crafts Show.
Jewelry Arts Academy — Florence — Offers jewelry design and goldsmithing programs with Italian artisans in Florence. Contact them at Jewelry Arts Academy.
SNAG Conference — Society of North American Goldsmiths hosts its annual conference with workshops and talks on metalsmithing and jewelry (Spring 2025, Location TBA). Info: SNAG Conference.
Ecole des Arts Joailliers — A prestigious Parisian school offering workshops and courses on traditional French jewelry techniques. Check out L’École Van Cleef & Arpels.
Penland School of Craft — Located in North Carolina, Penland offers workshops in metalworking and jewelry design throughout the year. Discover more: Penland School.
Istanbul Jewelry Show — Workshops and networking in a historic jewelry hub, with thousands of international jewelers (March 2025, Istanbul, Turkey). Info at Istanbul Jewelry Show.
John C. Campbell Folk School — This school in North Carolina provides jewelry and metalsmithing workshops year-round in a peaceful, rural setting. See John C. Campbell Folk School.
Munich Jewellery Week — An annual celebration of contemporary jewelry art in Munich, Germany, with exhibitions, talks, and workshops (March 2025). Visit Munich Jewellery Week.
Craft in America Jewelry Residency — A Los Angeles residency offering workshops, talks, and mentorship for emerging jewelers. Find out more at Craft in America.
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts — Tennessee-based school offers multi-day workshops in metals and jewelry design. Learn more: Arrowmont.
American Jewelry Design Council Workshop — A one-day workshop for emerging jewelry artists in the U.S. More details: AJDC.
Jewelry Studies International — Offers annual workshops in Austin, Texas, on topics like CAD jewelry design and hand engraving. See Jewelry Studies International.
Walnut Creek Bead & Design Show — A bead and jewelry show with classes in techniques like chainmaille and wire wrapping (Mar 21–23, 2025). Details: Bead & Design Shows
Jewelry Design Lab NYC — Based in New York City, this lab offers short-term and seasonal classes in modern jewelry-making techniques. Find out more at Jewelry Design Lab NYC.
These programs provide a diverse range of learning, travel, and cultural experiences to enhance skills and deepen your appreciation of jewelry design worldwide.
Some more ideas:
1. Gemstone Mining Experience in Sri Lanka
Travel to Sri Lanka to visit traditional sapphire mines, learn about sourcing gemstones, and attend workshops on stone cutting and polishing.
2. Jewelry Design Retreat in Bali
Join a retreat focused on traditional Balinese silversmithing techniques, including hands-on workshops with local artisans.
3. Italian Goldsmithing Tour in Florence, Italy
Explore Florence’s historic goldsmithing district, including visits to renowned ateliers and classes on classic Italian jewelry techniques.
4. Diamond District Tour in Antwerp, Belgium
Gain exclusive insights into the diamond trade with a behind-the-scenes tour of Antwerp’s Diamond District and attend a masterclass on diamond grading.
5. Native American Jewelry Workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Discover Native American jewelry traditions with workshops led by expert artisans in silver and turquoise jewelry.
6. Gemstone Safari in Tanzania
Participate in a guided tour of Tanzanian tanzanite mines, with sessions on gem selection, sourcing ethics, and jewelry design.
7. Paris Jewelry Week
Attend Paris Jewelry Week, featuring exhibitions, workshops, and networking events with prominent European designers and jewelry houses.
8. Jewelry Design Masterclass in Jaipur, India
Study Indian jewelry design, from enameling to intricate gemstone settings, with local artisans in the “Pink City,” Jaipur.
9. Silversmithing Workshop in Taxco, Mexico
Taxco is famous for silver. Join a workshop to learn silver jewelry crafting techniques from skilled Mexican artisans.
10. Luxury Jewelry Show Tour in Dubai
Tour Dubai’s high-end jewelry markets, attend the International Jewellery Show, and visit the Gold Souk for an insider look at the luxury jewelry industry.
11. Art Deco Jewelry Tour in New York City
A guided tour through New York’s Art Deco landmarks and workshops focusing on jewelry inspired by this iconic style.
12. Lapidary Arts Course in Idar-Oberstein, Germany
Idar-Oberstein is known for its gem-cutting industry. Attend a course on lapidary arts and gem faceting techniques.
13. Pearl Cultivation Workshop in Okinawa, Japan
Learn about pearl farming in Okinawa with tours of pearl farms, plus hands-on sessions in pearl grading and jewelry design.
14. Scandinavian Design Tour in Copenhagen, Denmark
A guided tour focusing on Scandinavian jewelry design, featuring visits to design museums, workshops, and jewelry houses.
15. Thai Gold and Gemstone Tour in Bangkok, Thailand
Explore Bangkok’s gem and gold markets, attend workshops on Thai goldsmithing, and learn about local jewelry design traditions.
16. Russian Enameling and Filigree Workshop in St. Petersburg
Learn traditional Russian techniques of enameling and filigree in a workshop setting in historic St. Petersburg.
17. Artisanal Gold Mining Tour in Colombia
Visit artisanal gold mines in Colombia and attend workshops focused on sustainable and ethical jewelry sourcing.
18. Swiss Watchmaking and Jewelry Workshop in Geneva, Switzerland
Discover Swiss craftsmanship with a combination of jewelry-making and watchmaking workshops and factory tours.
19. African Beadwork and Jewelry Design Tour in Ghana
Join a cultural tour and workshop on traditional African beadwork and jewelry-making in Ghana’s artisan villages.
20. Modern Jewelry Design Course in Barcelona, Spain
Attend a design-intensive course focusing on modern techniques, including 3D jewelry design, hosted in Barcelona.
These trips offer unique learning experiences, hands-on practice, and exposure to global jewelry design techniques and cultures.
That’s it for now! There is a lot of creative expression all around the world right now. Hope you get to experience a lot of it, either first hand, or through social media online.
WSF
SOME POSTS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
(1) HOLD THEIR ATTENTION WITH TEXT HOOKS One way of keeping and holding someone’s attention is to use what is called a text hook or verbal hook at the beginning — literally within the first 2 seconds.
(3) How To Bead A Rogue Elephant: DOUBT AND SELF-DOUBT For the novice, all that excitement at the beginning, when thinking about making jewelry and making some pieces, sometimes collides with a wall of developing self-doubt. It’s not easy to quiet a doubt. Doubt may hold you back, but it can also be seen as an opportunity.
(4) How To Bead A Rogue Elephant: TRANSITIONS A piece of jewelry is a series of sections, each integral to the piece, which must flow together visually and functionally. For example, transitioning from the strap to the centerpiece. How the jewelry designer manages the transitions between each section will determine to a great degree the success of the piece.
(6) COLUMBIA ARTS DISTRICT: CASE STUDIES There are many approaches various towns and cities have taken when finding that mix of art and planning necessary for revitalization, and community and economic development.
(7) COLUMBIA TENNESSEE ARTS DISTRICT VISIONING PLAN Establishing an arts identity can take many directions. A vibrant arts scene no longer means a street lined with art galleries. It can include a broader segment of the creative community — theatre, music, writing, crafts, fashion, media arts, applied arts and graphic design, interior design. The specific arts identity for any community is shaped by those arts for which a community has a special affinity for, as well as the types of assets available to support those arts.
Feature your jewelry Here next week In This Newsletter, as well as, on our Jewelry Designer’s Hub!
Promote your current projects, promotional copy, News & Views, videos, reels, tutorials, instructions, social media posts online in this newsletter and on our jewelry designers’ Patreon hub.
No deadlines! Opportunity available all the time. No fees.
But don’t wait to take advantage of this opportunity.
“Our story is rooted in the personal testimony of our founder, B. Batson-Paculabo, which tells of how she overcame a low season of adversity with a God encounter and answered prayers that led to liberation and unlocking gifts from within.”
This copyrighted material is published here with permission of the author(s) as noted, or with Land of Odds or Warren Feld Jewelry. All rights reserved.
Repairs Stumping You? Let Me Take A Look
I take in a lot of jewelry repairs. People either bring them to me in Columbia, TN, or, I pick them up and deliver them back in Nashville. I am in Nashville at least once a week. It’s been convenient for most people to meet me at Green Hills Mall. But if not, I can come to your workplace or your home. This is perfectly fine for me. My turnaround time typically is 3–4 weeks.
I do most repairs, but I do not do any soldering. I also do not repair watches. These are the kinds of repairs I do:
o Beaded jewelry o Pearl knotting, hand knotting o Size/Length adjustment o Re-stringing o Wire work/weave/wrap o Micro macrame o Broken clasp replacfement o Earring repair o Replace lost rhinestones or gemstones o Stone setting o Stretchy bracelet o Metal working which does not involve soldering o Bead woven jewelry and purses o Beaded clothing o Custom jewelry design
WARREN FELD JEWELRY (www.warrenfeldjewelry.com) Custom Design, Workshops, Video Tutorials, Webinars, Coaching, Kits, Group Activities, Repairs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join our community of jewelry designers on my Patreon hub Be part of a community of jewelry designers who recognize that we have a different way of thinking and doing than other types of crafters or artists. One free downloadable Mini-Lesson of your choice for all new members! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Access an ever-expanding library of articles, videos, podcast episodes, charts, and graphs available 24/7. Whether you’re interested in the latest trends in jewelry design and techniques or problem-solving at the bench, we have a wealth of information ready to help you learn, grow, and thrive.
Tons of info about jewelry and every kind of technique of jewelry making.
b. The 2024 Summer Design Challenge Winning Design
Matthew Piorkowski’s winning piece, “Interstellar”, features a stunning fantasy-cut octagon ametrine showcased in a custom yellow-gold pendant setting. Centered on the bail is a brilliant square-shaped diamond with sixteen accenting diamonds along the left side of the pendant mounting, creating visual interest along the path of the diamonds.
Rio Grande runs a seasonal challenge called For the Love of Jewelers Design Challenge. They haven’t announced winter or spring submissions rules yet. Check on their website: www.riogrande.com
In the ever-evolving world of artificial intelligence, the ability to create photorealistic images has become a groundbreaking achievement. ChatAI‘s Image Generator, powered by advanced Stable Diffusion models, offers users the tools to create images that blur the line between reality and AI-generated art. This article will guide you through the 7 steps to create photorealistic images with Stable Diffusion, focusing on the art of prompting. We’ll start by explaining what photorealistic images are, delve into the concept of Stable Diffusion, and then provide a step-by-step guide to crafting effective prompts. At the end, we will share 15 example prompts to inspire your creativity.
3. I encourage you to take advantage of the very low prices of delica beads on the Land of Odds website.
Compare Our Prices To What You Are Paying:
In this monthly newsletter, occasionally, like in this newsletter, you will find a discount coupon code that you can use on the Land of Odds website.
You can also become a paid subscribing member on our Jewelry Designers’ Patreon Hub, which entitles you to a 25% discount as long as you maintain your subscription.
4. 🎭 As a jewelry designer, it is important to identify your direction, voice, & identity.
Direction is understanding what work you want to make, and why you are making it (your emotional response to your work).
Voice is your unique take on your work’s descriptions and your unique way of portraying messages within your work.
Identity is about what you have experienced: what makes you you, including aspects like your family or where you grew up.
5. I’m always faulting craft show vendors for not having good enough signage for their booths. Recently, I came across this sign, and liked it.
6. What does jewelry sound like, I, for no particular reason, asked myself the other day, so I went to take a look.
To my surprise, there are thousands of jewelry sound effects. There are sounds the jewelry makes when someone wears it. There are sounds the jewelry makes when someone makes it.
7. Sometimes, as jewelry designers, we feel we don’t have the luxury of great access to resources — support, money, materials. There are opportunities available to you. Read the first of what will be a series of articles about this here.
NOTE: The word “artist” is often used in these opportunities, but in most cases, you should take this to be broadly defined, to include jewelry makers and fine craftspersons,
“Often burdened with a bad reputation, an artist’s career is not the easiest path.
It’s true, that unstable income is not particularly reassuring in a world increasingly governed by financial power. After graduation, many young artists leave behind the schools where they had access to resources, mentorship, and time to create, often needing to fully realize how valuable that support was. This transition into the professional world can be daunting as they face the challenge of establishing themselves in a competitive industry.
With this in mind, we have created a series specifically dedicated to programs, grants, residencies and incubators, all aimed at supporting artists in research. This includes selected open calls, formative meetings, articles, and interviews published on Klimt02 to help artists better understand these opportunities and confidently use them as valuable resources to expand and communicate their creative practice.
This series will be continually updated to reflect the latest opportunities, ensuring you, the readers, have access to the most current information and resources published on Klimt02.”
8. Are you wondering if working with me as a coach would be a good fit?
Not sure if you’re ready or if you’re at the right place in your jewelry design journey? But you’re thinking that you want to do something powerful to bring more meaning to your art and start to actually make the pieces your soul is craving (maybe silently, maybe4 LOUDLY) to express?
Jewelry Design is not a simple, easy path. It is full of incredible challenges, and those are different for every designer. You will be confronted with struggle, obstacles will be placed at your feet, you’ll be bowled over by tedium, and frustrated by setbacks, befuddled when introducing your work publicly. Most things you will learn come from the art world or craft world, and don’t fit perfectly with what it means to design jewelry. The thing to remember is that those challenges are yours. They belong to you because you stepped into that world we call design. You have that desire to find and explore what all that means.
So often that first step in working deciding to work with a coach is the most difficult. But it is all about having the right guide through all the barriers and dilemmas and vagaries when designing jewelry.
I’m here to talk if you’re feeling stuck and curious about what it would be like to have the support of my mentorship program with you on the journey. Go ahead and schedule a free consultation to talk about your jewelry and problem solve some ways to jump start your creativity. This is a completely no-pressure opportunity to talk about your work and see if we can bring fresh energy, more meaning, and bitter impact to your art.
I’m here to offer guidance and if you think it’s a good fit to work together moving forward, that is great.
But really, this is a free opportunity, no pressure, absolutely no obligation. Let’s talk about where you’re at.
The easiest way to begin the process is to sign up here: COACHING WITH WARREN FELD You can review what coaching entails. You can submit a form on this web page. When I receive it, I’ll schedule our free initial consultation. Beginning the process does not obligate you to anything.
That’s it for now! There is a lot of creative expression all around the world right now. Hope you get to experience a lot of it, either first hand, or through social media online.
Promote your current projects, promotional copy, News & Views, videos, reels, tutorials, instructions, social media posts online in this newsletter and on our jewelry designers’ Patreon hub.
No deadlines! Opportunity available all the time. No fees.
But don’t wait to take advantage of this opportunity.
This copyrighted material is published here with permission of the author(s) as noted, or with Land of Odds or Warren Feld Jewelry. All rights reserved.
Repairs Stumping You? Let Me Take A Look
I take in a lot of jewelry repairs. People either bring them to me in Columbia, TN, or, I pick them up and deliver them back in Nashville. I am in Nashville at least once a week. It’s been convenient for most people to meet me at Green Hills Mall. But if not, I can come to your workplace or your home. This is perfectly fine for me. My turnaround time typically is 3–4 weeks.
I do most repairs, but I do not do any soldering. I also do not repair watches. These are the kinds of repairs I do:
o Beaded jewelry o Pearl knotting, hand knotting o Size/Length adjustment o Re-stringing o Wire work/weave/wrap o Micro macrame o Broken clasp replacfement o Earring repair o Replace lost rhinestones or gemstones o Stone setting o Stretchy bracelet o Metal working which does not involve soldering o Bead woven jewelry and purses o Beaded clothing o Custom jewelry design
WARREN FELD JEWELRY (www.warrenfeldjewelry.com) Custom Design, Workshops, Video Tutorials, Webinars, Coaching, Kits, Group Activities, Repairs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join our community of jewelry designers on my Patreon hub Be part of a community of jewelry designers who recognize that we have a different way of thinking and doing than other types of crafters or artists. One free downloadable Mini-Lesson of your choice for all new members! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Access an ever-expanding library of articles, videos, podcast episodes, charts, and graphs available 24/7. Whether you’re interested in the latest trends in jewelry design and techniques or problem-solving at the bench, we have a wealth of information ready to help you learn, grow, and thrive.
Tons of info about jewelry and every kind of technique of jewelry making.
b. The 2024 Summer Design Challenge Winning Design
Matthew Piorkowski’s winning piece, “Interstellar”, features a stunning fantasy-cut octagon ametrine showcased in a custom yellow-gold pendant setting. Centered on the bail is a brilliant square-shaped diamond with sixteen accenting diamonds along the left side of the pendant mounting, creating visual interest along the path of the diamonds.
Rio Grande runs a seasonal challenge called For the Love of Jewelers Design Challenge. They haven’t announced winter or spring submissions rules yet. Check on their website: www.riogrande.com
In the ever-evolving world of artificial intelligence, the ability to create photorealistic images has become a groundbreaking achievement. ChatAI‘s Image Generator, powered by advanced Stable Diffusion models, offers users the tools to create images that blur the line between reality and AI-generated art. This article will guide you through the 7 steps to create photorealistic images with Stable Diffusion, focusing on the art of prompting. We’ll start by explaining what photorealistic images are, delve into the concept of Stable Diffusion, and then provide a step-by-step guide to crafting effective prompts. At the end, we will share 15 example prompts to inspire your creativity.
3. I encourage you to take advantage of the very low prices of delica beads on the Land of Odds website.
Compare Our Prices To What You Are Paying:
In this monthly newsletter, occasionally, like in this newsletter, you will find a discount coupon code that you can use on the Land of Odds website.
You can also become a paid subscribing member on our Jewelry Designers’ Patreon Hub, which entitles you to a 25% discount as long as you maintain your subscription.
4. 🎭 As a jewelry designer, it is important to identify your direction, voice, & identity.
Direction is understanding what work you want to make, and why you are making it (your emotional response to your work).
Voice is your unique take on your work’s descriptions and your unique way of portraying messages within your work.
Identity is about what you have experienced: what makes you you, including aspects like your family or where you grew up.
5. I’m always faulting craft show vendors for not having good enough signage for their booths. Recently, I came across this sign, and liked it.
6. What does jewelry sound like, I, for no particular reason, asked myself the other day, so I went to take a look.
To my surprise, there are thousands of jewelry sound effects. There are sounds the jewelry makes when someone wears it. There are sounds the jewelry makes when someone makes it.
7. Sometimes, as jewelry designers, we feel we don’t have the luxury of great access to resources — support, money, materials. There are opportunities available to you. Read the first of what will be a series of articles about this here.
NOTE: The word “artist” is often used in these opportunities, but in most cases, you should take this to be broadly defined, to include jewelry makers and fine craftspersons,
“Often burdened with a bad reputation, an artist’s career is not the easiest path.
It’s true, that unstable income is not particularly reassuring in a world increasingly governed by financial power. After graduation, many young artists leave behind the schools where they had access to resources, mentorship, and time to create, often needing to fully realize how valuable that support was. This transition into the professional world can be daunting as they face the challenge of establishing themselves in a competitive industry.
With this in mind, we have created a series specifically dedicated to programs, grants, residencies and incubators, all aimed at supporting artists in research. This includes selected open calls, formative meetings, articles, and interviews published on Klimt02 to help artists better understand these opportunities and confidently use them as valuable resources to expand and communicate their creative practice.
This series will be continually updated to reflect the latest opportunities, ensuring you, the readers, have access to the most current information and resources published on Klimt02.”
8. Are you wondering if working with me as a coach would be a good fit?
Not sure if you’re ready or if you’re at the right place in your jewelry design journey? But you’re thinking that you want to do something powerful to bring more meaning to your art and start to actually make the pieces your soul is craving (maybe silently, maybe4 LOUDLY) to express?
Jewelry Design is not a simple, easy path. It is full of incredible challenges, and those are different for every designer. You will be confronted with struggle, obstacles will be placed at your feet, you’ll be bowled over by tedium, and frustrated by setbacks, befuddled when introducing your work publicly. Most things you will learn come from the art world or craft world, and don’t fit perfectly with what it means to design jewelry. The thing to remember is that those challenges are yours. They belong to you because you stepped into that world we call design. You have that desire to find and explore what all that means.
So often that first step in working deciding to work with a coach is the most difficult. But it is all about having the right guide through all the barriers and dilemmas and vagaries when designing jewelry.
I’m here to talk if you’re feeling stuck and curious about what it would be like to have the support of my mentorship program with you on the journey. Go ahead and schedule a free consultation to talk about your jewelry and problem solve some ways to jump start your creativity. This is a completely no-pressure opportunity to talk about your work and see if we can bring fresh energy, more meaning, and bitter impact to your art.
I’m here to offer guidance and if you think it’s a good fit to work together moving forward, that is great.
But really, this is a free opportunity, no pressure, absolutely no obligation. Let’s talk about where you’re at.
The easiest way to begin the process is to sign up here: COACHING WITH WARREN FELD You can review what coaching entails. You can submit a form on this web page. When I receive it, I’ll schedule our free initial consultation. Beginning the process does not obligate you to anything.
That’s it for now! There is a lot of creative expression all around the world right now. Hope you get to experience a lot of it, either first hand, or through social media online.
Promote your current projects, promotional copy, News & Views, videos, reels, tutorials, instructions, social media posts online in this newsletter and on our jewelry designers’ Patreon hub.
No deadlines! Opportunity available all the time. No fees.
But don’t wait to take advantage of this opportunity.
This copyrighted material is published here with permission of the author(s) as noted, or with Land of Odds or Warren Feld Jewelry. All rights reserved.
Repairs Stumping You? Let Me Take A Look
I take in a lot of jewelry repairs. People either bring them to me in Columbia, TN, or, I pick them up and deliver them back in Nashville. I am in Nashville at least once a week. It’s been convenient for most people to meet me at Green Hills Mall. But if not, I can come to your workplace or your home. This is perfectly fine for me. My turnaround time typically is 3–4 weeks.
I do most repairs, but I do not do any soldering. I also do not repair watches. These are the kinds of repairs I do:
o Beaded jewelry o Pearl knotting, hand knotting o Size/Length adjustment o Re-stringing o Wire work/weave/wrap o Micro macrame o Broken clasp replacfement o Earring repair o Replace lost rhinestones or gemstones o Stone setting o Stretchy bracelet o Metal working which does not involve soldering o Bead woven jewelry and purses o Beaded clothing o Custom jewelry design
WARREN FELD JEWELRY (www.warrenfeldjewelry.com) Custom Design, Workshops, Video Tutorials, Webinars, Coaching, Kits, Group Activities, Repairs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join our community of jewelry designers on my Patreon hub Be part of a community of jewelry designers who recognize that we have a different way of thinking and doing than other types of crafters or artists. One free downloadable Mini-Lesson of your choice for all new members! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Before the pandemic, I was trying to arrange some Enrichment Travel tours. One was to Rome. This was part of the itinerary. If any group wants me to lead a Jewelry Discovery Tour to Rome or elsewhere, I would be happy to talk with you about this.
BARCELONA
1. BEAD STORE SHOPPING
There are about 11 bead shops very close to each other on Carrer del Call / Carrer de la Boqueria off the Rambla in the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic). Most of these stores specialize in gemstone beads, and some of these stores specialize in jewelry findings and stringing materials. Some have finished jewelry. Most allow retail sales, some are primarily wholesale, where I would use my wholesale license. (3 hour walking tour; less than 1 mile; begin at 3pm (any day except Monday or Sunday) when these shops are most likely to be open)
BARCELONA 2. ART JEWELRY GALLERY TOUR
Visit prominent art jewelry galleries in Barcelona, including those shown below. About 5 hours with lunch break. Need bus. About 6 miles between furthest points.
A. Masriera Gallery Passeig de Gracia, 41) (hours mon-sat, 10am-8:00pm)(
The Bagués dynasty has bejeweled Barcelonians since 1839. While they stock much that glitters, the Lluís Masriera line of original Art Nouveau pieces is truly unique; intricate flying nymphs, lifelike golden insects, and other easily recognizable motifs from the period take on a new depth of beauty when executed in the translucent enameling process that Masriera himself developed.
B. Klimt02 SL Gallery (Carrer de la Riera de Sant Miguel, 65) (Hours Tues-Fri, 5–8pm)
The gallery show in Barcelona the work of the best international jewelry artists; as well as showing it to the international community, thanks to our gallery website. Avant garde artists. It is owned by Amador Bertomeu and Leo Caballero and has become an influential and informative source of information for everyone interested in contemporary jewelry.
Before the pandemic, I was trying to arrange some Enrichment Travel tours. One was to Rome. This was part of the itinerary. If any group wants me to lead a Jewelry Discovery Tour to Rome or elsewhere, I would be happy to talk with you about this. — Warren@warrenfeldjewelry.com
Some favorite sites and studios in Instanbul:1. Topkapi Museum, Treasury Section Guided Tour
Once the palace of the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Topkapi is a vast treasury of Islamic culture, jewelry, costumes, science and weaponry. This tour is of the Treasury section (7 Halls of Exhibits) of the Topkapi Palace Museum (3rd courtyard) where you will find masterpieces of Turkish art of jewelry from different centuries and exquisite creations from the Far East, India and Europe.(2 hours guided tour of Treasury Section; 1–2 hours free time for guests to wander other parts of museum on their own.) Open every day except Tues, 9am-4:45pm (til 6:45 in april- october) 2015: most of Treasury Section is under restoration and is closed; check back for when work is finished)
WALKING TOUR OF ARTISAN JEWELRY GALLERIES IN NISANTASI / TESVIKIYE AREA Nisantasi / Tesvikiye is one of the best shopping districts of Istanbul. It contains designer label stores, very nice restaurants and cafes, a beautiful mall, and a few outstanding hotels. It is home to several galleries showcasing the best of Turkish jewelry artists and artisan jewelry. The store hours in this district are typically 11–7pm Tuesday through Saturday. Need to verify Monday and Sunday hours.
Urart (abdi ipekci Cad. 18/1)
One of Turkey’s most established jewelry companies, Urart makes re-creations, and also chic interpretations, of ancient Anatolian designs and motifs, Hittite symbols of noblesse and glory, the arabesques of Islamic art speaking to the infinity, Seljuk tiles echoing the dreams of the Silk Road or fluid objects of modern life… Design commits to matter, not only the striking form but also the wisdom that abides at the heart of a culture.
İn her first years, Zeynep Erol was mainly inspired by nature and created forms with her own modern interpretation. İn later years however, her designs have become more geometrical. Zeynep Erol’s Jewelry reflects her spiritual inner world, affections, relations, feelings, desires and change in the philosophy of life. The main materials used by Zeynep Erol in creating her pieces are; green, white and red gold (18k) together with silver (950). The selection of the remaining materials and the precious stones are chosen differently for each particular theme she wants to get across. A wide range of materials such as coconut shells, pearls, brilliants, sapphire, ruby, emeralds, quartz, glass, rose cut and uncut diamonds, sandalwood and feathers are used by her as necessary.
Based in Istanbul, jeweller and sculptor Aida Bergsen creates jewellery with different themes that reflect traces of her hometown and its multi-layered cultural fibre. She Draws inspiration mainly from mythological heroes, organic forms and the human anatomy. Each of her wearable sculptures are meticulously crafted in wax then transformed into timeless jewels using traditional techniques.”I try to re-inerprate traditional crafts and skills in jewellery making in order to create a more contemporary approach. I like to have a play on the contrast between light and shadow as I believe it is key in capturing form at a deeper level.”Aida
Bergsen was awarded with the “étoile de mode” at BIJHORCA in Paris and she was named the first runner- up for the very prestigious Couture Show Las Vegas in 2011 and 2014.
ECNP Gallery is a contemporary jewelry gallery showing the designs and collections of Ela Cindoruk and Nazan Pak. Partners since 1989, Ela and Nazan’s designs and creative process have reflected their philosophy of ‘less is more’. The duo have participated in numerous fairs in Turkey and abroad; their works can be found in many museum shops and galleries. Ela has received the 2012 Red Rot Design Award. Same year, the creative duo was awarded 2012 Jewelry Designer of the Year Award of Elle Style Awards. On September 2014, the designers opened their new showroom and studio, on the 21st year work anniversary. The showroom also has a gallery under its roof, Ela and Nazan’s a long time dream, a reflection of their commitment to design and aesthetic and their ambition to this gallery hosts design exhibits and aims at becoming a meeting point for the design/art world.
SODA, founded in 2010, focuses on contemporary trends in art, particularly of jewelry artists. They are interested in showcasing the use of new materials and design concepts. Some permanent artist representations as well as rotating exhbitis.
7. Alef(Tesvikiye Mh, Haci Emin Efendi Sokak, No:4)
This goldsmith adapts classical goldsmith principles to contemporary techniques and designs. Alef’s founder, jewelry designer Yeşim Yüksek,
BoyBeyi is a family-run business that has been around for more than 100 years, their collection features many traditional rose-cut diamonds, as well as modern and colorful pieces, all inspired by the Turkish culture.
WALKING TOUR OF JEWELRY GALLERIES, JEWELRY AND BEAD SHOPS IN AND NEAR THE GRAND BAZAAR
This walking tour takes you in and around the Grand Bazaar, discovering jewelry galleries displaying works by local artists, as well as a myriad of stores in the Grand Bazaar which sell jewelry, beads and beading supplies.
Tiara(yavuz Sinan mah., rakip gumus pala cad. No; 69)
Antique jewelry, award-winning designs, modern designs that reflect trends in the world, some might find at Tiara Jewelry … Byzantine, Roman and Ottoman cultures, inspired by the collections, since the ancient civilizations in history has produced reflections of jewelry. Traditional hand-made items by craftsmen in the production of valuable, native jewelry lovers to win the admiration of the foreign guests
Widely considered to be one of Istanbul’s top jewellers, with several locations throughout the city. The cuffs are studded with precious stones, the necklaces are vintage-inspired, and the gold rings are topped with enormous yellow diamonds. The Bazaar outpost is Kafkas’ first store, and you’ll often find the owners presiding behind the glittering displays.
Sevan Bıçakçı has started his journey as a jeweler when he was only 12 years old as an intern in Hovsep Çatak’s workshop. His first personal collection that he created in 2002 was inspired by the historical Grand Bazaar — Sultanahmet area where he spends a considerable part of his daily life. Since then his unique designs that require intensive craftsmanship have been attracting the attention of collectors as well as some distinguished stores.
4. Walk up Nuruosmaniye Caddessi Past the heart of jewelry and bead stores in the Grand Bazaar
There are piles and piles of antique rings, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings from Central Asia, as well as walls covered in strands of colorful beads made out of precious and semiprecious stones.
OPTIONAL: 3 block side trip to http://www.haciburhan.com) aka Emin Bead Company, Sterling Silver Handcrafted Turkish Beads. Sell different silver jewelry, beads and accessories for silver jewelry. Wholesale. Eminsinan Mah. Yeniceriler Cad. Evkaf Sok. No: 15 (Formerly 9) Cemberlitas, Fatih (verify store hours)
5. Angel Old Jewellery (kiliccilar sok., cuhaci han No: 36)
When you’re visiting this tiny, poorly lit (the blindingly bright interior doesn’t do their products any justice) store, you will be transformed into a museum where you can purchase anything you want from a collection of princess-worthy jewelry. From tiaras to necklaces, brooches to bracelets, these elegant pieces are bedecked with intricate, precious stones like diamonds. This store has both antique pieces, as well as new jewelry that looks vintage due to a special ageing method they use.
In the Grand Bazaar’s Cevahir Bedestani, Bagus sells the proprietor’s own reasonably priced collection of handmade jewelry made with silver and semiprecious stones as well as intriguing pieces imported from countries including India, Nepal, Thailand, and Indonesia.
