How to Get Started Making Jewellery - 21 Tips & Tricks From Our Students

How to Get Started Making Jewellery – 21 Tips & Tricks From Our Students

June 9, 2022
by Lucy

June 9, 2022
by Lucy

If you’re interested in how to get started making jewellery, you’ve come to the right place! Creating for some of us isn’t just a hobby, it’s life. It’s almost as if we don’t feel completely whole without it. I know if I have to spend the entire day working on the laptop (which I often do), I’m literally chomping at the bit to get back to creating jewellery so I can share more jewellery making tips with you, especially when it comes to how to get started making jewellery! I’m even itching right now to go test out some new ideas at the bench!

But before you go spending a fortune on new tools and every gadget out there, I want to be brutally honest about something: Making jewellery isn’t just about following instructions and then poof – we have a masterpiece. It’s a cliché I know, but it really is about taking things one step at a time.

Making jewellery, and making it well (we’re not a fan of hacking here), takes a lot of practice, grit, blood and tears (literally). But, that feeling you get after the ups and downs, the struggles to get to a piece completion, is like no other on earth. It’s then you know that it was all worth it. I made this, I did it, I WON!

I would love for every single person to be able to experience this “I WON” feeling. But it takes a special kind of person, with focus and determination to make it as a jeweller. And so I wanted to share with you some amazing advice on how to get started making jewellery from just a few of those special people, who are really nailing this metalsmithing malarkey:

Advice on how to get started making jewellery from members of the Metalsmith Academy

"Have order, learn one thing at a time, and practice until it’s perfect before moving on to the next jewellery product."

Susan Wells
@bluehill_jewellery

"Jewellery making is not as simple as people think, but with great guidance and learning from your mistakes, it is super soul-charging and rewarding!"

Marta Willis
Keepsake Jewellery

"Join a class and listen to the tutor. Don’t think you can do it yourself, it is all the little tips, tricks and techniques that make the difference."

Paula Morris
Rock and Metal Boutique

"If you can learn heat control, you can solder anything."

Marianne Jennings
Marianne Jennings Studio

"Keep an open mind, ask questions in the Community (and read all the other questions and answers - many are things you didn't know you needed to know), and be patient with yourself. Allow your creativity to blossom, and know that you'll grow into your own style after a while."

Ellen Morrissey
Tulip Magnolia

"If you've ever watched the movie ‘Finding Nemo’ ... Dora said it best: just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming! In other words... just keep practising & never give up!"

Barbara Schmidt

"There's more than one way to do most anything. I was surprised at the tips I picked up from the videos that had nothing to do with why I was watching the video in the first place."

Kelly Komejan
To Zen And Back

"Don’t let fear hold you back. Sometimes the most successful people aren’t even the most talented - they’re the most determined."

JD Wagner
Bronze Anchor Studios

"Learn the basics first; soldering, sawing, measuring twice cutting once, etc. Take your time, there is no rush to finish. It is OK to set something aside and revisit it at another point when you are ready."

Susan Lee
swimmingsusie

"Practice, practice, practice. It sounds like a cliche, but I found the more I pierced, the more I soldered, the more I measured, I got better, more confident and more relaxed."

Melanie Pfetten
my semi-precious

"Fix problems as they occur. Don’t wait till near completion to correct. Practice all of the safety rules such as eye protection, dust mask, and care with power tools."

Sandi Froehlich

"Don’t underestimate the importance of measuring and taking the time to do so. A little extra time can mean a huge difference in the appearance of the final product."

Ellen Limeres
IndigoMesa

"You'd be amazed at how little you need to make great work. Don't be a tool hoarder like me. I recently sat down and looked at my full studio, and realized I only use maybe 20% of my tools most of the time. The rest of them just sit there or in a box up in the attic or in the garage."

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Kanchana Nerato
Isara Designs

"Try not to derail yourself ordering and waiting on tools. Sure, there are a few tools you must have - but get going... don't stall out because you think you must have 'X' before you start on project 'Y'".

Camille Patton
Heart Hand and Fire

"Just try...errors are a way you learn. Don't give up... mistakes & patience pay off."

Shelley Roberts
Shelley Roberts Jewelry

"Take your time when doing things and be precise. In the long run you will end up with a better result."

Jennifer Trotte

"Don’t rush it! It takes longer to rectify mistakes. Think about construction and try it out in copper first. Don’t run before you can walk. Follow the Metalsmith Academy's Roadmap and practice the basic skills."

Sarah Forwood
DD and Mac

"Just do it! Have belief in yourself. Try, try, try, try again. I've learned to take it slow and not take shortcuts."

Laurie Fisher
Luv On The Rocks

"Making jewellery is so much fun - just be patient and start from the beginning. Don't be afraid to fail, because you learn so much more when you have to fix things."

Terry Rempel-Mroz
TerryRM Designs

"It's okay to start small. You don't need every single tool out there. It's like everything in life, if at first you don't succeed always try & try again!"

Tara Chaney
Terra Handcrafted

"Love what you do, make a plan and then enjoy the ride - you never know for sure where you will end up!"

Nancy Bullock
@nancyjunejewelry

A huge thank you to all our wonderful Metalsmith Academy members for sharing the wonderful advice, I couldn’t have said it any better!

And I hope that if you are thinking about getting into metalsmithing and how to get started making jewellery, you found this helpful. Just remember: Take it slow, work as accurately as you can and embrace the mistakes, they are after all the biggest lessons we ever learn.

But most importantly, believe you can do it, and you will. It’s not magic, I promise 🙂

Lucy xx

Looking for more jewellery making tips & lessons?

We would love to welcome you to the Metalsmith Academy where we can help you create the jewellery you always dreamed of.

Incredible classes with close up videos and crystal clear explanations
Extensive full colour handouts for all our classes (a firm favorite with our current members)
Quick win projects, we call them Express Bites. If you don’t have the time to commit to a full class, but want to learn some new skills quickly, these are for you
Bi-monthly challenges to help get those creative juices flowing
Active community forums – and when we say active, seriously it’s like a party over there!
Direct help – Lucy and Vennice are over in the forums every single day to help
Exclusive discounts
Tips and tricks galore – you got a problem, we create the content you need to fix it

Just click below to join the family now!