Online learning & Metalsmithing resources

We all learn differently, and at the end of the day it is all about practice. The more time you spend doing something, the more you learn. read on for some of our favorite resources.

Personally, I’m a visual learner. I love a good video tutorial! Even better, watch an instructor and learn a skill in person. Much of metalsmithing is about how we position our body and hold our materials and tools, so to see someone else do this in person and be able to mimic what they do is invaluable. If you can’t make it to one of our classes or participate in private lessons, there are some really great options for online learning and support. We’ve asked all of our Alloy instructors for their favorites so that we can share them with you.


LUCY WALKER JEWELRY

Lucy Walker is top of our list for a reason. Excellent information you can trust!

Lucy Walker is at the top of our list for trusted, thoughful, and well made jewelry making content. Lucy Walker's blog has a vast amount of excellent and free information to comb through. Her youtube channel is an incredible resource for free video tutorials. If you want access to even more videos, she offers affordable memberships for the Lucy Walker Jewellery Metalsmith Academy. Many of the tutorials are project based, but with a specific skill in mind. Her shop is filled with all kinds of goodies, including saw piercing templates and stone setting practice kits!

Craftsy has some excellent online tutorials as well.

We highly recommend Joanna Gollberg’s class Soldering: Strategies for Better Results. Master your torch and conquer challenging jewelry fabrication with ease! Learn proper heat control for a variety of tasks. Find out how to properly stage complicated projects, from curved and round pieces to intricate wire joints, and practice two sweat-soldering methods that offer greater precision. Then, successfully solder intricate designs with Joanna’s foolproof tips for stick soldering with wire solder, and learn to solder multiple joints at once to quickly make prong settings. Finally, learn troubleshooting tips every metalsmith needs to know and discover how to refine your pieces with texture or polish for a flawless, professional finish.

Another great tutorial on Craftsy is Mark Nelson’s Foundations in Silversmithing. You’ll learn best practices for silversmithing jewelry, from expert soldering setup to heat control, torch use, stone-setting and finishing techniques.

Metalsmith Society

The Metalsmith Society is an excellent resource for online tips and tricks from a multitude of metalsmiths.

Corkie Bolton created the Metalsmith Society in 2018 and has given our community such a special thing. You can look to their Instagram page for a ton of tips and tricks, submitted from jewelers all over the world. They also have special discount codes to some of the biggest jewelry manufacturers for tools and materials as well as giveaways of expensive equipment!

If you’re looking for some in person instruction, but you’re not in the Kansas City area, take a look at this extensive LIST that Corkie has put together of where to take in person classes.

Youtube channels we recommend

  • Rio Grande , one of our resources for tools and materials has a you tube channel with lots of good info. Take a look at this inspiring video about what makes us jewelers.

  • Andrew Berry is a delightful British jeweler with a variety of types of videos on his you tube channel from specific techniques to unboxing videos and deep dives into specific tools.

  • Nancy Hamilton is a bit nutty, but tons of fun and she knows what she’s talking about.

  • Estona Jewelery Tutorials are really well produced, in depth tutorials that give you well rounded, specific info in many areas. I highly recommend her sand casting tutorial if you’re interested in casting without all the expensive equipment traditional lost wax casting involves.

society of northern american goldsmiths

SNAG is an inclusive community committed to advancing the multifaceted field of metalsmithing, jewelry and adornment by inspiring creativity and furthering education and opportunities.

SNAG (Society of North american goldsmiths)

SNAG’s website also offers a directory of locations to take in person workshops and classes.

They also have an extensive page on their website dedicated to opportunities in the jewelry community including job openings, upcoming workshops and jewelry related events.

As a member of SNAG, you gain access to their online resources page, filled with artist talks, presentations and demonstrations from previous conferences and symposiums.

ganoskin - jewelry making resource

Ganoksin is the world's largest community for metalsmiths and jewelry-makers of all levels. There website has so much to offer it’s hard to even tell you what we’d recommend. Just go take a tour of their website and get lost in the vast amount of information available to soak up.

Meritmade

Our teacher Kelly has created some great resources for you in the MeritMade BLOG as well her YOUTUBE channel.

Check out some of Kelly’s past blog posts like her recommended tools, favorite vendors, and torch recommendations.

MeritMade’s YouTube channel  is also super helpful for things like Torch Setup and using a patina.

Needing some one on one online instruction? Alloy has a couple of ways to connect from a distance.

Our AMA calls (Ask me anything) are an excellent resource if you want some advice or feedback on literally anything jewelry related. Sharing is caring and we’re happy to share our knowledge with you. In an AMA call you get 45 minutes with either Kelly or Louise to pick our brains and we’ll answer your questions to the best of our ability.

We also offer virtual private lessons where we’ll give you one on one instruction from our bench to yours. Just make sure that you include specific information about how we can help you when booking , and we’ll try to make learning virtually just as good as if you were in our Kansas City studio.

In the Kansas city area? below are some other local jewelry learning opportunities!

One of our favorite local Kansas City metalsmiths is Genevieve Flynn. Kelly and Louise have both received some instruction over the years from Genevieve, and we would highly recommend keeping an eye out for future workshop releases from her studio. She brings in out of town metalsmiths to teach interesting technique based workshops that are rare opportunities for advanced learning.

Hammerspace has a TON of opportunities to work with metal, both jewelry and non jewelry related, including bladesmithing, 3D modeling, casting, and blacksmithing!

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