Fun Things to Do

Customising your own Pieces

You can make your own customised jewellery; create unique pieces to match your outfits and it’s an ideal way of updating your wardrobe using the latest colours and jewellery designs.

Fun to Do and Makes Great Presents

Personalised jewellery makes great gifts, especially if one of your creations has been much admired by friends, then you know what to give them!

It’s quite a useful and practical hobby. You can make jewellery anywhere, at home whilst watching the television, or sitting in the garden, or even whilst on holiday.

Special but Economical too

You don't need any expensive tools and equipment or much outlay to begin this new hobby, just a few pairs of pliers and a wire cutter. You can recycle jewellery that you already have, things you don’t wear anymore, sentimental pieces or broken jewellery items. An odd earring can be added to a charm bracelet or necklace and broken beaded pieces can be taken apart or restrung.

So Much Choice

There are many different types of jewellery making, such as; bead-stringing, bead-weaving, silversmithing, wirework, making beads etc. The best way to begin is to start off with something relatively easy, such as bead stringing using cord or tigertail thread and basic wire skills classes. This would give you the essential basics and help you decide which type of jewellery making that you’d like to progress further with.

How to Start your new Hobby

Attending jewellery-making classes should give you a good grounding of the basics with tutor support. The benefit of this is that you can be shown how to do it and corrected if you go wrong. There is an opportunity to meet other people and share ideas, designs and inspiration. You can usually find classes or workshops held at bead and craft shops, local colleges or jewellery designer-makers like myself that run classes.

How I Got Started

My own jewellery making began back in the 1980’s. I had a love of unusual dangly earrings and wanted to learn how to make my own unique creations and show my individuality. Over the years, I’ve mostly developed my jewellery skills through trial and error. I also went to college to learn silversmithing and get some qualifications.

Changing Direction

I worked as the inhouse designer at a football club before retraining as a teacher 8 years ago, teaching design and jewellery making in colleges.

I now work as a jewellery designer-maker and freelance teacher, teaching jewellery classes at local colleges, my own bebeady 1-day classes and one-off jewellery workshops for various groups. Over the past year these have included; an over 50’s craft group, a farmers women’s guild, Anglo-Saxon themed family learning for the Forest of Bowland and a workshop for the Royal Exchange in Manchester.

My aim is to make my classes the sort of class I would like to attend myself and encourage my students’ creativity and help them have an enjoyable day learning some new skills.

Book on a Jewellery Course and have a go

So, why not come on one of my jewellery making courses and learn how to make your own jewellery. Each day course is themed to cover particular skills, designs and materials, from the basics to the more advanced. If you don’t live near Lancashire, it’s on the way to the Lake District, or there are many interesting places to visit in the area if you want to make a long weekend of it.

By Samantha Taylor

More information about Samantha's courses and work:

www.bebeady.co.uk

www.jewelleryartist.co.uk