I have the wonderful opportunity to give the speech, My Life in Jewelry this week at the Self-Employment in the Arts Conference, to a group of college students.

After only eight drafts, I finally got the speech just right.

After I’d finished it, I wondered if I’d chosen the right topics. So much to tell them! So much to share!

What would other jewelers tell college students, if they had the chance?

I posed that question on the Orchid list, and you can read the answers at Ganoksin.com. Here’s the thread. You can read the whole thread by clicking Thread Next to get to the next email in that thread. Lots of terrific, heartfelt responses.

Here’s a video about my week at Ox-Bow School of Art where I took Metal Casting Class. Maria MEEP made the video for me using my photos and the sounds I recorded while I was there. I was inspired by Visiting Artist Nina Katchadourian to record some sounds.

You can see more of my step by step photos on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos.

Pam East, the go-to person for enameling on metal clay, has a terrific kickstarter going that you can still get in on. You have the chance to pre-order the DVDs, or choose other terrific thank you rewards.

Check it out here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pameast/enameling-on-metal-clay-videos

http://www.lovebugstudios.com/2013/06/28/crapology-101-5-great-reasons-to-take-that-class-anyway

And a friend sent me this post (rant) on why young people shouldn’t go to an expensive art school for college. But don’t think that doesn’t apply to you if you’ve already graduated! The post makes some great points and has terrific resources.

https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/138c5efd45e9

Years ago, I took a prospective student tour at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, my top choice school. As we walked down the gorgeous, tree lined streets, a guy leaned out his dorm window and yelled,

“Don’t go here, it’s too hard!”

A high school senior just posted on Orchid that she’s looking for an affordable jewelry school to attend after high school.

And I thought, “Don’t go here, it’s too hard.”

It depends on her goals and skills, but the road to being an employed by someone else bench jeweler is long and hard. She can certainly get there. And there was in interesting recent thread on Orchid about career paths for jewelers. Some guys (because it’s mostly guys doing bench work) said, “it’s too hard, don’t go here.” Some guys were like, “what ‘er you talking about, this is a great field, you gotta do it this way.”

The best path in jewelry is to be the owner. Own the store, own the business. The most successful financially are usually not the employed benchie, but the business owner.

So to that young high school student — whatever path she wishes to take, whether she aspires to be a benchie or wants to live the itinerant life of the crafts show artist — she’ll need to be a business owner.

In addition to being an amazing craftsperson, designer and creator, she’ll need to be an amazing business person, who gets as jazzed about marketing and sales and accounting as she does about making jewelry. Business is a creative endeavor. It’s a different kind of creative, but it is creative.

On the other hand, as Tom Hanks says to Gena Davis in A League of Their Own, when she says she’s quitting baseball because it’s too hard,

“It’s the hard that makes it good, if it weren’t hard, everybody’d do it.”

For me, that’s so true of metalsmithing. It’s really hard. It takes years to get good. (Yes, there are some annoying people who take to it like a duck to water, but for most of us, it’s a journey of effort and learning.)

An actor (I can’t seem to track down the quote as I remember it) was asked in an interview what advise he would give to young actors and he said, basically, “Don’t go here, it’s too hard.” He said something to the effect of, “if there’s anything else you can do, anything, then do it.” Only go into acting if absolutely must, if you must have it, must do it.

(anyone remember who that was? I’m hearing it in my mind as Steve Martin or Alan Alda. If you know, please post a comment! Thanks!)

If you’ve got that passion, that fire for creating jewelry, then nothing can stop you. Not logic, not reason, not people pointing out all the fine careers where you’re more likely to get health insurance and retirement plans.

To those who don’t understand your unwavering passion for your craft, you can quote and say,

“If you don’t know, ain’t nobody can tell you.”

Photo credit: Mary Gober.

Etsy is in town!

Learn to Improve Your Etsy Shop with Shop Critiques (Chicago)
Sunday, June 23, 2013 from 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM
Chicago, Illinois

More details here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6958582307#

The second event is with Berwyn Makers:

Berwyn Makers Meetup July speaker event: “Hack Your Etsy Shop”

For our July meeting we welcome Sunah Suh of Etsy as she presents “Hack Your Etsy Shop: Tips and tricks to get the most out of your selling experience”. This event will be a great chance for both new and seasoned sellers to learn about new tools available on the popular independent craft website directly from someone that helped develop them. Attendees will also have the opportunity to give Sunah feedback on their own selling experience and suggest ways to improve the site. Definitely a “must see” for anyone interested in selling on Etsy!

Where: 22 Studio/Gallery, 6910 Cermak Rd, Berwyn, IL 60402
When: Thursday July 11, 7:30-9:30pm
This event is free, but a $5 suggested donation is encouraged for use of the space.
Light refreshments will be served, and guests are welcome to bring food or drink to share!

About the speaker: Sunah is a Software Engineer on Etsy’s Seller Economics team, which builds data-driven software that help existing sellers grow their businesses on Etsy. She loves hearing sellers’ stories and working on features that empower creative enterprise. When she’s not helping make Etsy better, she can usually be found working on sundry urban homesteading projects. Her woefully-in-need-of-updating website can be found at www.sunahsuh.com

About Berwyn Makers: Berwyn Makers provides support and resources for local makers/artisans looking to turn their art or craft into a business. We meet once a month at Studio 22 in Berwyn, IL – just 9 miles west of downtown Chicago. We are focused on creating a community of Makers in the near-west suburban area of Chicago. Members hail from Berwyn, Oak Park, North Riverside, Elmwood Park, and beyond.
All members are encouraged to attend meetings to strengthen our community and enjoy the company of like-minded creative types. Meetings will vary from hand-on workshops, discussions/critiques, and social gatherings. Check out our calendar of events to see what’s coming up! http://www.berwynmakers.wordpress.com
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affiliate partner

http://www.mjsa.org/careers_and_education/mjsa_guide_to_schools

This scholarship is intended to make a Metalwerx class or workshop
available to a committed and worthy student, jeweler or metalsmith, who,
due to financial circumstances, would not otherwise be able to attend.
Up to $500 will be awarded towards a winter 2012 Metalwerx course.

Please visit our website for complete scholarship application criteria
and a link to the online application: metalwerx.com/scholarship2011

And the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts has a scholarship specifically for beaders: http://www.revereacademy.com/guide/scholarship/scholarship-for-beaders

The scholarship is focused on beaders, or bead artists who already make jewelry. The winner receives an all-expenses-paid scholarship from anywhere in the US to San Francisco, including air, lodging, tuition and fees for any regular 3-day class.

Entry Fee: None
Eligibility: Must be a new student to Revere Academy, currently making jewelry using beads, and reside in the U.S.A.
How to Apply: Online application at callforentry.org (CAFE). Registration on CAFE is required.
Deadline: October 15, 2011
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BLICK ART MATERIALS: Save up to 85% on Select Items through October 19th!

All Things Metal Clay is proud to be an affiliate with Blick Art Materials.

I don’t usually post classes here — it’s a big world to cover, after all. But this upcoming retreat, with 4 classes in 9 nines, sounds too cool not to mention. Gordon Uyehara, Lora Hart and Catherine Davies Paetz are the teachers.

In Ohio. Check it out here: http://metalclayclassesincleveland.blogspot.com

This looks to be a wonderful and educational event. Here’s what they say about it:

The Midwest Craft Caucus is a two-day conference for handmade business owners.

June 4-5, 2011 at the Economic Community Development Institute (ECDI) in Columbus, Ohio.

Why should I attend?

To learn strategies for growing and sustaining your handmade business.
To network with other handmade business owners and craft community leaders.
To brush up on business basics and learn online and offline methods to increase your visibility and sales.
To build a handmade business that is profitable, viable, and fulfilling

It’s only $60.00 for two days, and it says there will be 100 attendees, so sign up quickly!

Details are here: http://www.midwestcraftcaucus.com