Lazy Link Love - Tutorials (Online)

I want to start with the site that is, in my opinion, the most important for jewelers in any media and that is the Ganoksin website.

Tips From the Jewelers Bench http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
Bench Tube http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/

YouTube is always an option - go to http://youtube.com and search terms for your particular jewelry field (ie. wire wrapping, right angle weave, RAW, beading, soldering, etc)

Most of your favorite beading selling sites offer a Learning Feature:
Artbeads - http://www.artbeads.com/learning-center.html
Aunties Beads - http://snipurl.com/g1nli [www_auntiesbeads_com]
Fire Mountain Gems - http://www.firemountaingems.com/beading_howtos/default.asp
...check your favorite seller.

Marie Cristine has some free tutorials listed in her blog - as well as some really reasonably priced ones - http://snipurl.com/g1nzf [www_mariecristine_com]

Studio Heath - offers a wealth of information - http://www.studioheath.com/

Ruby's Beadwork - offers beady tutorials - http://www.rubysbeadwork.com/

Eni Oken's Jewelry Lessons - this is more than a list of tutorials it is a community of designers from beading and wire work - http://www.jewelrylessons.com/jewel/

Christine's How To Make Jewelry Blog - http://blog.how-to-make-jewelry.com/

WigJig offers 40+ pages of free tutorials - http://www.wigjig.com/making-jewelry-with-beads.htm

Don't forget your favorite Jewelry Making Magazine - most of the projects they print are also available (for a nomenal fee) on their website.

Sunday - Lazy Link Love....

Photo Credit: tanzanite_10ct_03 Super Gem from babarara on Flickr.com




Lazy Link Love...

Feeling a little lazy on this warm Sunday afternoon - so I thought I would show a little Link Love to some of my favorite resources...

Some great info about and examples of Colored Stones:

MUNSTEINER http://www.munsteiner-cut.de/

The Opal Society http://www.opalsociety.org/

AGTA http://www.agta.org/

Jewelry Television :
The Vault http://www.jewelrytelevision.com/vault
The Learning Library http://learning.jewelrytelevision.com/

Tutorials:

Eni Oken & Friends' Jewelry Lessons http://www.jewelrylessons.com/

Hans Meevis http://www.meevis.com/Jewelry-making-class-list.htm


Diamonds:

Rio Tinto http://www.riotintodiamonds.com/

Kimberly Process http://www.kimberleyprocess.com/


OKAY - have fun exploring these great sites and I'll see ya next time - going out to enjoy the sun!

MetalSmithing - Free Online Tutorials

5 Reasons Solder Doesn't Flow - Don Norris


I was asked for some tutorials, by a couple ladies in my Jewelry Making Class and thought I would share the info....

First - if you want to learn it there is probably a tutorial online for it - Google is your friend!

Two places I look to for metalsmithing info are Ganoksin (http://ganoksin.com) and YouTube (http://youtube.com)! Simply put the technique or term you are looking for in the search window.

Here is a small sample of interesting tutorials:

Making Strong Secure Jumprings from How-To-Make-Jewelry
http://snipurl.com/5q02c [www_wireworksecrets_com]

Making HeadpinsFree Headpin Tutorial from Etsy
http://snipurl.com/5q06l [www_etsy_com]
Jewelry 101 - Making Headpins from Michon Jewelry Blog
http://tinyurl.com/6qdgca
Making Headpins: Video demo from Beading Daily
http://tinyurl.com/5w4hz7

Patinas - Using Liver of Sulphur from Holly Gage
http://snipurl.com/5q079 [www_hollygage_com]
Patination from Ganoksin
http://snipurl.com/5q07z [www_ganoksin_com]

Fold Forming from Ganoksin
http://snipurl.com/5q08n [www_ganoksin_com]

Lost Wax Casting from Expert Village
http://snipurl.com/5q094 [www_expertvillage_com]
Cuttlefish Casting from Ganoksin
http://snipurl.com/5q09r [www_ganoksin_com]

Shakuto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi-_wtKb9Ms

Viking Knit Chain Making from YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfsyTn9XCsE

Wax Working from Ganoksin
http://snipurl.com/5q0ak [www_ganoksin_com]
Beginners Corner from Ganoksin
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/directory/library/subject/1

From Beginning to Very Complex - Tutorials by Hans Meevis
http://www.meevis.com/jewelry-making-class-list.htm

Bench Jewelers Television Network
(some free but for full use join for a minimal monthly fee)
http://www.benchtelevision.com/

MetalSmithing from Art Jewelry Magazine
http://www.artjewelrymag.com/art/default.aspx?c=ss&id=122

MetalSmithing from Jewelry Artist Magazine
http://www.jewelryartistmagazine.com/stepbystep/

What is The Ganoksin Project?

Ok...so you know about the Orchid Blogs and, if you had the time to read the lengthy bio, you know about how Ganoksin came to be. But there is so much more to this jewel!!!

The Ganoksin Project is...

The Tip's From The Jeweler's Bench Library: Ganoksin's rich collection of free online-articles, technical papers, reports, and news on virtually every aspect of the gem and jewelry industry.

The library features a HUGE range of topics from Beginner's Corner to Chasing and Repousse; Enameling to Surface Manipulation; Fabrication to Stone Setting; and even tips from the Pro's on Business & Marketing!

Who wrote all this info? Working and retired professionals in the Jewelry Industry! Names you know like Charles Lewton Brain (if you don't have his new "FoldForming" book add it to your Holiday list), Cynthia Eid, Tim McCreight (of "The Complete MetalSmith"), Robert Dancik...some of these pieces are reprints of articles from respected Industry magazines like MJSA as well as commercial publications such as JewelryArtist & ArtJewelry!

The Jeweler's Bench Exchange:

A project from the Orchid community of jewelry enthusiasts and professionals. We've tried to capture our benches in the midst of everyday turmoil. It all started from a post from Dave Sebaste who wrote on May 9, 2002:

I know a lot of us have digital cameras. What if everyone took a picture of what their bench looks like at this very moment, and we built a collection of these images on a Web page? No tidying up, or putting tools away. Just the state of being in which you now exist. Could be funny, interesting, possibly embarrassing to some, but I bet it would spark more than a few questions and ideas!

http://www.ganoksin.com/exhibition/v/BenchExchange/

MetalCalc - Measurement Conversions:
MetalCalc calculates the length or weight of various precious metal products based on the dimensions you enter. This section of Ganoksin.com also includes a collection of unit's conversion calculators.

http://www.ganoksin.com/MetalCalc/index.htm

Ganoksin's Guide to Industry Websites:

A comprehensive trade directory entirely devoted to online resources for the gem, jewelry and metals industry. Each suggested entry is reviewed by knowledgeable editors insuring the quality and accuracy of websites included in the Guide.

Help others make informed buying decisions with the resources listed . We welcome your opinions and experiences with ordering, customer service and and over all satisfaction.

http://www.ganoksin.com/resources/index.php

Ganoksin's BenchTube - Jewelry Making Videos : One of the newest features on the "NEW" Ganoksin Project features videos from leaders in the Industry!

The Orchid Jewelry Creation Gallery
You will find within this gallery section, a collection of representative works by members of The Orchid Discussion List. We warmly invite you to join our community and to take part in our jewelry related discussions.

Participation in The Orchid's Jewelry Creations Gallery is open and free of charge. We require jury quality pictures. While we do not judge your design work we reserve the right not to include any submission which the quality of pictures is poor.

http://www.ganoksin.com/exhibition/v/orchid/

So are you looking for inspiration? motivation? resources? a new technique? you can find it all at The Ganoksin Project!

Tomorrow - Orchid and the Orchid Digest...