The year has a natural rhythm, and fall is time for shorter days, cooler weather, and back-to-school. After a busy summer, we’re back in our routines. The kids are at school, learning all kinds of wonderful new things. Now [ … ] Read More
How To Decontaminate Your Tumbler Barrel
I think it’s safe to say that most of us love our tumblers. They save us countless hours of hand polishing as well as beautifully work-hardening the creations that we have laboured over. I must confess that when I [ … ] Read More
Safety In The Metalsmithing Studio
Ever hear the phrase, ” it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye”? It comes from ancient Rome, where anything was allowed in wrestling except for eye-gouging. Nowadays, parents often say it to their children to discourage [ … ] Read More
Soldering Blocks – Which One Should I Use?
Quite often, when customers come into Workingsilver looking for a soldering block, they are not sure which block will work best for them. It’s true that there are many different blocks, which can get a little confusing, especially when [ … ] Read More
Which Pliers Should I Use?
Pliers are one of the most used tools on any jeweller’s bench. I have several different pair that I use constantly for a wide variety of techniques. For those of you that find the variety of pliers a little [ … ] Read More
Polish Your Style!
When I first ventured into silversmithing, there were a lot of things I knew nothing about. One of these was polishing. Like many other people, most of my experience with polishing silver had been either polishing my mother’s [ … ] Read More
St. Valentine’s Day- where love and jewellery collide
Ah, Valentine’s Day- a day for the hopeless romantics among us. In 270 A.D., Claudius, who was the Emperor of Rome at the time, had forbidden soldiers to be married because he thought that married men did not make [ … ] Read More
Resolutions/Intentions
A lot of us like to start out the new year by making a list of resolutions or setting intentions (experiencing the emotions resonating from what you choose to manifest in your life). Lose weight, get in better shape, [ … ] Read More
Turquoise – December
When I was a little girl, my parents would take my brother and me down to Washington state to visit my uncle and his family. They lived out in the country and when I got tired of playing with [ … ] Read More
Topaz and Citrine-November
For some people in the northern hemisphere, November can seem very gray and gloomy ( I like damp, cool weather, but I’ve also got moss growing on my north side!). The solution? Bring some topaz and citrine into your [ … ] Read More
Texture and Patina-the Dynamic Duo
Is your jewellery a snoozefest? Do you drift off while you’re making it because it’s so boring? Have no fear, texture and patina are here to save you from a life of criminally dull jewellery! These are two of [ … ] Read More
Opal and Pink Tourmaline- October
When I started reading about these two gemstones, I discovered that they both have associations with rainbows. In Australian aboriginal legend, when the Creator came down from Heaven on a rainbow, the stones that his foot touched started to [ … ] Read More