This past weekend I attended what I would like to call a little jewelry making continuing education class. And while it wasn’t at the GIA it was at the quaint little Moxie Beads located on the north end of Main Street in Santa Monica. I could go on about Moxies extremely friendly and very knowledgeable staff, but I will save my wordy praise of customer service for a later dated yelp review.

Basic Soldering 101 was the class and Christy was the fabulous instructor. Christy started us off with some soldering basics from familiarizing ourselves with our work station, basic safety, getting to know the tools we were to be working with and lastly the process. Since I mainly work with wire wrapping and rings are my specialty I was super excited about gaining the knowledge behind the joining of two metals. The class focused on working with sterling silver and we began with getting the soldering technique down, this was perfect because we had ample time to practice practice practice, make mistakes, ask questions and then try again. We did this by practicing on closing jump rings and while I don’t anticipate myself using my skills to make jump rings in the future this was a great place to hone in on the art.

 After we worked on that for a bit Christy taught us to make our own toggle clasp, but also left us to our own devices to get creative. I decided to work more on rings. From cleaning, pickling, soldering, pickling again and then shaping I worked on a variety of mini stackables.

If you follow me on IG you have already had a chance to check out my brief workshop video, but if not you can enjoy below.

If you are interested in possibly taking up a new hobby and have a love for jewelry, I suggested looking into the classes that Moxie Beads offer. They are affordable, informative and come with 2 extra hours of in store bench time to return and practice more of what you learned! This place truly has something to offer everyone. I left Moxie Beads with my very own soldering kit which they conveniently packaged for our option to buy and I couldn’t be more excited to set up my very own work station at home and get to work on some fun creations of my own!  

I don’t know about all of you but I’m assuming you will agree with me in that you couldn’t have asked for a better mother. She has taught you that you should always reach for the stars. She is the builder of traditions and a maker of childhood memories. Regardless of your ups and downs, she is patient, and always kind with a voice of reason impossible to ignore. And in the end is always there with sometimes a much needed encouragement and everlasting unconditional love. So while Mother’s Day only comes once a year and you may not acknowledge how important she is in your life as much as you do on this one particular day, this year tell your mom how much you appreciate her with these lovely sensible keepsakes which will continue to remind of your love throughout the year!

 

I would like to take a moment to pay homage to an all-time favorite novel and a timeless classic… The Great Gatsby and how I couldn’t be more excited about taking some time out to indulge the soon to be released remake of the film. Aside from the fact that the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel remains an imaginative favorite of mine there's one more reason I’m definitely going to want to see Baz Luhrmann's upcoming remake: The jewelry! After recently reading of the collaboration for jewelry design between the films production designer and Tiffany & Co. baubles I couldn’t wait to take a peek into the wardrobe of jewels. Jon King, the jeweler’s executive vice president, said that "it’s a natural role for Tiffany. Tiffany was certainly part of this era. The brand was at the center of the parties of the rich and famous.”  I can just see it now… decadence, glitter, sumptuous fashion, the exuberant spirit of the Roaring 20’s and the lovely Carey Mulligan as the enigmatic Daisy Buchanan. I hope all of you out there will enjoy the Art Deco inspired Jazz Age Glamour... one-of-a-kind platinum and diamond-encrusted bracelets, rings, headpieces and long pearl necklaces this film adaptation has in store!

 

For more on the Great Gatsby costumes check out this Vogue piece as Miuccia Prada discusses the collaboration in recreating the Roaring 20's