Calling out to all the artists

There are two ways of doing an apprenticeship: A formal one and simply by just being employed. I am unsure of the Uk conditions of a formal apprenticeship, in mine if I was unhappy where I was doing it i could transfer it to another company.

You could use my previous post pretty much as a guide for any trade.

Doing an electrician 'job' would to be honest probably easier and pay more initially. And you would probably be in a situation to go self employed within 2-3 years. very much unlike jewellery.
The trade I am in is constantly pushing me to learn new things and I am always trying new ways of doing things so one would only be able to go self employed with good experience in about 5 - 10 years. It all depends on yourself and how much you push yourself to learn things. That is why I recc. getting a part time course in the interim. Some jewellery makers become ''jobbers' which mean once they know how to do the basics they are able to rent a little space in an existing workshop and offer services to the local jewellers. (ring sizings etc)

In your situation I recon maybe working and trying yr best to save a bit for a evening course would really help you alot cause it wouldnt be as expensive nor time consuming as a full 3 year course and ya get really good contacts etc. Evening courses arent that expensive. Grab a few prospectus 's from yr closest colleges etc, there must be one in driving distance that offers a evening metal work course, ifnot ask around, maybe even the local colleges know where. Btw I got my present job for my trade by applying for a job that wasnt my trade in a company that dealt with that area of business, but I thought hey at least I would be dealing with what I knew. As it landed up I got to do what I wanted anyhow.

About differing trades, ie: electrician vs jewellery making. There is a thing called a niche market. You already stated that yr local jewellers dont do manufacturing or repairs so you know already that there is a demand in your area for this type of service. Which is good. If ya pick up a local yellow pages and look up electricians you will notice loads of them. This is a simple market reasearch that tells you who your competition is, and how many of them there are. Something to ponder.

If ya have a goal or dream dont let go of it.

i just started to print out my portfolio, looking good, i hope :S

Nice one mech.... your gonna have to show me some of it your stuff really excites me

I visited Connexions today, which is sort of like a careers advice place for young people. I told them what I wanted to do and they said it was fairly obvious that because I kept coming back to the subject of being a jeweller, then thats what I really wanted to do. I have an interview next week with someone who knows what all my options are.

I also just had a quick run round town finding retail jobs in Clintons Cards and Clarks Shoes, got some application forms to fill in.

I am aware of evening classes that are being organised for the summer and winter, so I will definately be taking myself along to those.

I will be able to think about what I want to do once I get a small job and am safe in the knowledge that for the time being I am financially secure. I don't care if I only work as a salesperson for a week, the money would be greatly appreciated, giving me time to relax and finally get my head around exactly what it is im going to do

Oh wow! My girlfriends mum was talking to a jeweller in Newark who shes known for a year. She says that she is going to start taking on apprentices, wants me to give her a call and arrange a time and date for her to see me and my c.v.

Shes 40 years old, designs and makes her own jewellery, owns a shop and apparently is a lovely woman! I really, really want this sooooooooo badly!

Sounds like the perfect opportunity to me

That sounds great! good luck

hey, good networking anthrax sounds like a great opportunity, you should definately go for it!!

Mech> you don't have to use InDesign to create a PDF portfolio, if you have photoshop CS, you can save it as PDF and automate to a presentation or multipage document.... but while we're on the subject of portfolios and stuff, i've noticed that lately a lot of design employers are asking for InDesign experience, and i've never used the programme myself, am i right in thinking it's a layout/DTP kind of programme for print?

sounds good. good luck. make sure ya ask about the things i mentioned. If all goes well and you get the job, you will probably need to buy a few basic tools. check with her.
go to a market and ya can pick em up real cheap, not best quality but just to get started. But check with her. most gold smiths have a set of personal tools such as files, hammers, pliers, size-sticks etc. Some of the tools are specialised though but she can order them for you. In some cases you wont be needing them at first any how, she would probably supply them for you at her own expense. Be sure to ask these things. Nothing I have posted here is for my benefit, use it, and ask me if ya need any info etc.

All your help has been really fantastic, I couldn't have asked for anything else

I have her number and am going to call her tomorrow to see about an interview. Apparently they havn't set the workshop up yet, so I'm hoping I might be able to help them with that. That way, when it comes to the actualy apprenticeship, I will have an advantage over everyone else because the owners will already know me

Really happy about this

Fingers crossed, it will all work out

Once again I thank all of you for what you have said

Well, I guess it really depends. What exactly are you looking for in terms of job occupation, and what would you want your Long-Time career to be?

Hey there. late into the discussion, but I am a jeweller, so I wanted to hop in...


I would suggest at your age that you do go and do an arts based jewellery program where you will be introduced to a mulititude of techniques and tools that you may not get exposed to in a stricter sales based trade studio. Do that so you can explore your own style and direction, eventually narrowing what aspect of the field you want to work in, and also that will then tell you what style of jeweller you would be interested in apprenticing with... ( and if you want to do it that way! I recommend it though, very practical skills based! ) There are lots of different emphases. For example, I am a contemporary art jeweller, who works out of a smell private studio. I make one of a kind things that are very much my own personal style, unlikely to be something you would ever see produced in multiples. I sell to Galleries, who sell for me, or some have a consignment relationship, and represent my work for me. In addition i do custom work.

It is a very different thing to work in the mass production, or evenstudio multiple aspect of jewellery production. There is also the possibility of narrowing your focus , specializing in one technique, such as stone setting, or casting...

You have lots of options, some focussing on production, practical techniques, sales, etc etc, and others on artistry, of course they are not mutually exclusive, but look for which school has what emphasis in their programs... germany has some great technical skills programs offered if you like that sort of thing and want some international expereince at some point... check out pfortziem( sp? ! )

Portfolio, the advice you have been given seems pretty sound!Take the extra steps to make it look like you care about your work and are ready to be proffessional in your approach.

Good luck!
PS you can see a few pics of what I do in my gallery, or at www.cabc.ca( I think, at any rate the site for the crafts association of BC, under member portfolios...)

cheers!
Andrea

cabc.net

Hugs

With greetings from the green island
andy and clare

Well, since this seems to be the thread for it, I'm going to do a small amount of hijacking and ask a few things myself...

Basically, I'm after advice.
I've decided that I want to have a career making jewellery and to that end I've been on a course that taught me a few basics, have built myself a bench and bought a set of basic tools.
I'm 26 - going back to uni isn't an option - there's no way I can afford the money, especially with the absurd top up fees that are being introduced.
Also, I'm currently too old for a modern apprenticeship (although I've heard rumours about the age restriction being lifted soon).

So, what's a good way to proceed from here?

I'm planning on writing a letter that I can send out to as many jewellers as I can find the addresses for asking for any advice they can offer - is this a good idea or is it just likely to annoy people?

How can I get a highly polished finish without a polishing machine?
Currently I've been using moving from files -> 280 grit paper -> 600 grit paper -> dialux blue compound on cardboard, then on a piece of synthetic fleece, and using a lot of elbow grease. Is there anything I can use to get a better finish or am I stuck here until I get a machine?

Are there any particular shapes/objects that would be good to practice on?
What kind of things would get me the most useful practise, given that I can't really afford to go through loads of silver, so I have to use what I have in the most efficient way possible?

Bov, I'd like to answer your question about the letter sending. In my opinion as long as the letter is short and to the point it won't annoy anyone, to the contrary, I think it will show people that you have drive and ambition.

There are quite a lot of small jewellery designers about with websites, maybe asking them in a short email where they learned their trade might give you some other ideas on how to learn your chosen trade.

Good Luck hun. I know you have the talent to succeed. If there is anything you need doing that I can help with just shout.

I have said earlier in the thread that there are 2 ways of doing an apprenticeship. formally or just by working for a jeweller without all the formalities, you get much the same experience. Sending out letters will not really get much response, most people wont reply unless they have a vacancy. But it is prob worth trying imho.

The 2nd best way of polishing is by tumbling. But if you can afford to buy a tumbler ya can afford a polishing machine. if you have a drill, which I cannot see ya being able to make much without one ya can buy the fittings to do slight polishing work, basicaly using the drill like a mini polisher. In the good old days before electricity they used leather to sharpen and polish things.

Silver is probably the best and cheapest metal to use. if ya have a bench then you probably have a leather 'skin' to catch the metal fillings. By not leaving tools or anything in your skin and keeping it clean you can catch up to 95 - 98% of all the pieces which can be melted again using a basic torch. Professional tradesman allow up to 5% loss but aim for 2%

are you going to Falmouth Bovrilmonkey?

Yep, hopefully

At the moment I don't have a power drill - I've been using a pin vice and a couple of drill bits to drill holes through the silver, it takes a while but it's obviously a lot cheaper.
The next purchase I've got planned is a ring mandrel, but a decent drill's next on the list, possibly one with a flex shaft attachment.

i have a nice silver ring that's not polished and i like it like that it's clean, but not polished, why not try design some things that look nice all rough and non-polished, until you get a polishing thingy?

also if you have a good camera, and if it's just for practise or trying to build a portfolio, why not recycle the things you make? so long as you have a good camera to record everything, you can melt stuff back down perhaps?

The reason I'm after learning how to give something the highest possible polish is because I was told it's far more valuable as far as technique is concerned - once I can polish something to a mirror finish, then I can just stop a few steps early for different finishes.
Personally, I prefer the way silver looks after sanding with some wet 600 grit paper, but I see it as more important that I get as much practise and learn as much as possible.

I don't have a camera that's good enough unfortunately, or I'd start recycling stuff.
I'm considering going to the local college and trying to speak to some photography students - if they take pictures of things I make, it'd be mutually beneficial - we'd both get some good photos for our portfolios