Everybody in the pool!

Jewelry Discussion
21

Custom jobs are very demanding as your eyes do not always see what
the other is picturing! My personal enjoyment is to create an
original piece, then finding to whom it was made for! I let them
choose most often but have directed peoples interest in other ideas.
Everytime I take in a custom I explain to them I have artist right to
change design so what they are conceiving will work. 50% non
refundable deposit is also required! I always show my customers the
change before it’s cast, soldered, ect. I have had stepchild
customers that you cannot please, but experience has taught me when
to say no. Your sanity is more important than their whims!

Ringman john Henry

22 
   So, I think if someone can design original jewelry in a cad
package they can call themselves designers even if they don't have
the know how to make the stuff.

Hi Craig;

First, I never said someone had to be able to actually make jewelry
to design it. But if they don’t know a lot about what goes into
making jewelry, then maybe the designs they come up with can be made,
maybe not. But if they don’t at least have access to the knowledge,
this is a formula for marketing disaster. Imagine . . . promise a
dozen designs, they sign the contract, it goes to a manufacturer.
Oops, half of them won’t work, the deadline looms. More disaster,
they’re costing way too much for setting. Well, take it overseas.
Oops, they stole the designs and beat you to the market. Well, put
them out anyway. Oops, they’re coming back missing stones, cracks in
mountings, etc. Why? Because they were designed by somebody who
knows cad but not jewelry and nobody else in the picture knew the
difference. And on another note, why would you go to all the trouble
to custom cut stones, as you do, and then put them in a ship-and-clip
out-of-the-box manufactured mounting? Makes no sense at all.
Obviously you’ve figured out you’re not going to compete on
calibrated runs against Asian cutters, but since you think well of
the potential of cad-cam, why don’t you consider having some designs
made that showcase what’s unique about your goods? I find it
interesting that you wish that your market understood the difference
between good stone cutting and production junk. Why doesn’t that kind
of thinking translate to your attitude about the metalwork?

David L. Huffman

23

Dear all,

I agree with most of the postings so far that there is a growing
number of so called Master Goldsmiths who do not really have the
right to the title. Over here in the UK luckily we have the
Goldsmiths’ Company which has influence over our trade since 1300.
Companies can register their apprentices at the Goldsmiths Hall for
an approved indentured apprenticeship in the many aspects of our
trade. Your indentures stated what area of the trade you were to be
trained in, such as goldsmith, silversmith, engraver, lapidary and
many other sections. I was indentured at the Goldsmiths Hall in 1961
as a Goldsmith and completed my apprenticeship in 1967,this is when
I became a goldsmith journeyman, and also a freeman of the
Goldsmiths Company, after a further three years I was asked to train
an apprentice, then I became a Master Goldsmith, which in simple
terms meant that I was master to the apprentice, I trained two
further apprentices. So in my time I have steered three young men
into profitable careers, I hope!! and I think I have earned the
right to call myself a master goldsmith. As for designer craftsmen, I
think this is a title taken by many, but not earned, without the
benefit of workshop, at the bench training. As for us metalsmiths,
it has been the same way through the ages, the designer gets the
credit for the metalsmiths work, I can not list the times that I
have had to work miracles to turn a so called design into a piece of
beauty. One last gripe from me, I recently visited an exhibition of
retrospective work,held in London of a well known English designer
silversmith. No where on show amongst the items of silverware was
there any mention of the actual skilled craftsmen who made the work,
many of whome I personally know, maybe there was by line in the
catalogue but the pieces on show were all credited as made by the
designer.

Peace and good wishes to all Orchidians
James Miller FIPG

24

When I read David’s first post on this subject, I sensed that he was
indeed “having a bad day” as he put it…an intellectual person
grappling with the thorns and suffering the abrasions caused through
indirect contact with those who farm the soils in the periphery of
the trade.

I know seasoned goldsmiths/jewellers who are fully capable of
spending a great deal of energy paying tribute to their various
nemeses in verbal thrashings or written venom, and have been a
broadcaster of these sort of rantings myself.

In reading the responses in the days since the original posting, I
find comfort. I’ll tell you why. It’s the commonality of the
emotion.

I am simply too busy doing what I love to be angry anymore.
Occasionally cynical, maybe.

Sure, there are moments when I must defend my trade from detractors
who will never understand what I do, who will find me guilty by
association with the evils of the diamond trade, the internet
merchants who flog disposable trinkets, and the greedy opportunists
who misrepresent what they sell to a largely unsophisticated market.

Smile and wave, I say.

After spending 29 years in this trade, and entertaining the idea of
finding a different line of work for many of those years during some
of the more painful moments, I have resigned myself to full-on
concentration toward the positive side of things. Affirmation from a
steadily growing list of clients helps, but I really think that
being respected by one’s peers in the trade goes a long way in
bringing about a sense of peace.

David, I respect you greatly, and sometimes, when I read your
written work, think that we must live in some sort of parallel
mini-universe. Our demons and obsessions are nearly identical.

Sure, call yourself what you wish…metalsmith, studio jeweller,
goldsmith, platinumsmith, but I don’t think any sort of simplistic
description covers the scope of what it is that you or I actually
do. And in our present-day world, the terms “jeweller”, or
“jewellery designer” are so generic, so misunderstood, and such
bloody lies that you’ve simply got to disassociate yourself from
such derogatory terminology and its purveyors.

There have been previous threads regarding the question of how we,
as craftspersons, define ourselves, and it occurred to me that there
are clearly understood definitions of what lawyers, accountants,
boilermakers and plumbers do, all due to the efforts of their
specific associations to prescribe training regimens and proof of
ability through practicum and examination. You either are, or you
aren’t, there’s no grey area. They, and their respective clients,
are protected through legislation, and mutual respect is assured
through professional guidelines.

The person calling themselves a “master goldsmith” can do so because
nobody can call him on it. A “jewellery designer” will never be
taken off the list at the union hall for selling Tiffany knock-offs
made in the third world, but will instead be rewarded for their
audacity through copious internet sales and eagerly supported by the
whole of the diamond marketing trade who are far more concerned with
volume of sales today than for any sort of assurance of longevity,
historically assured by the “traditional” jewellery trade. They are
fully behind internet sales, and will not only sell to anyone who
can put diamonds into some sort of mounting, they will sell directly
to the public and hire a sweatshop full of immigrant labour to
produce the jewellery “themselves”.

If I had my way (I never will!) those who set diamonds for a living
would receive a royalty directly from the diamond trade on a
per-carat basis under license, and the un-licensed would be denied
access to diamond purchase or appraisal services. Failure of setting
work which results in stone loss would be punishable be license
suspension. As aging idealists, could we stop being subservient to
our masters, the diamond trade, by forming the Gleamster’s Union?

Imagine the outcome. They never found ol’ Jimmy Hoffa.

Oh, yeah, the design thingy. Sorry for meandering.

The proponents of Cad/Cam technology tell us that anybody with the
software can be a “designer”, and those who purchase the mill can be
a “smith”. Cast with stones in, you are now a “setter”. Such
“designers” enter competitions and win top honours, but, curiously,
none of them even earn a place in the “finished goods” category.

The truth is in what you do, not in what you say. The evidence of
the years of obsessive learning and practice, of the compulsive need
to raise the bar on your own expectations of what you should be able
to produce as a finished work…is found in the close examination of
the detail in your creations. Beyond design, there is a
highly-skilled manipulation of materials necessary to assemble an
item which is pleasing to the eye, comfortable to wear, and a
lasting tribute to a human being who had made it his or her life’s
work to produce such works of art.

Personally, I could have gone to medical school and studied to be a
brain surgeon twice in the length of time I considered myself to be
an apprentice in this trade, and would NEVER refer to myself as a
master. The pretentious nature of the various terminologies used to
self-describe those who are in the business of trading trinkets for
dollars is appalling, but until the diamond trade gets behind the
capable to elevate them out of this muck, we’re all gonna have an
aromatic load of it to scrape off of our shoes at the end of each
day.I don’t foresee this happening, but it wouldn’t hurt to
requisition the diamond trade to provide a little more ammunition
for those jewellery professionals among us who are constantly
getting bloodied in the trenches.

Mr. Huffman, thanks for keeping it real. My colleagues and I salute
you.

David Keeling
www.davidkeelingjewellery.com

25

Hi David,

I just went back and read your original post, because I have (big
surprise!) been thinking a lot about this thread. And I saw that
you’re not upset about the split between designing and making per
se. I’m sure you know its history (which, for those who don’t, is
extraordinarily long, and expanded exponentially with the Industrial
Revolution) and you actually enjoy working with/for some designers.
What seems to be upsetting you is the expansion of the field and
the entry into it of people with little art and no craft.

I have a lot of ideas about this, but I’m going to limit myself (I
hope!) to three. First, IMHO, this is also what has been happening
in art world, at least for a couple of decades: a lot of kids who
never really learned to draw but are in the Whitney Biennial a year
after graduating and have become the collectors’ new darlings. Lots
of out- sized egos and a craving for celebrity, with Andy Warhol’s
famous prediction being fulfilled. Do they get more than 15 minutes
each? Some of them do–I thought Julian Schnabel would last a year,
but he’s still going strong. However, I only know that because he
shows up in interior design magazines. Like you, if I had a dog, I
would train it to use Art in America as a fire hydrant. Given your
background, you probably understand this phenomenon a lot better
than I do. Do you think it’s related to the explosion of “jewelry
designers”? Are the reasons similar?

But (idea #2) there’s another element I know is at work, and that
has to do with women, creativity, available jobs, and the growth of
home-based businesses. I am one of those women and I know lots of
them. We adore jewelry. We hunger for outlets for our creativity,
which many of us discovered late. We feel as if we understand the
market, because we’re part of it (or want to be, but can’t afford to
be). Some of us are old hippies, who simply find straight jobs
intolerable (and they have become more intolerable than they were in
1972, and we have gotten older and less tolerant). We have all
these ideas in our heads and we want to see them realized, but we
can’t afford to go back to school and learn what you have learned.
Nor do we have enough years left to gain your experience. And we
need to make a living, fast.

The bead store where I made my first pair of earrings now has so many
classes that they are essentially running a school. They now teach a
"metalsmithing" series (they use little butane torches, but, yes,
it’s the basic course: sawing, soldering, bezel setting, hand
finishing, etc.). And, like stores all over the country, and dozens
of web sites, and books galore, they teach how to turn your love of
jewelry into a home-based business, so you can quit your disgusting
day job. I know of no other craft where this kind of explosion has
occurred.

I have stayed small, and I make my own designs, and I don’t really
have much hope that I will make a living from jewelry. But now for
idea #3. I know several apparel designers. (In the early 70s, I made
my living by crocheting “artwear,” until I was put out of business
by the Portuguese–who I now think of as the “pre-Chinese.”) The
ones I know are also accomplished seamstresses and once made all
the clothes they sold. With a little success, they moved to the
atelier model. Then they discovered that, if they paid their
seamstresses enough so that said seamstresses could make their
mortgage payments, they ended up like you–working 80 hours a week
and barely able to make their own mortgage payments. So they
decided to out-source. And they are now making a living–they go to
Bali, or some other “underdeveloped” country, a couple of times a
year and, a couple of months later, they have product at prices the
clothing stores will accept. Even if they are scrupulous about
working conditions and other Fair Trade issues. A couple I know
have been doing this for well over a decade now.

Do other “jewelry designers” know “apparel designers”? You bet. Are
they learning from them? You bet. Do lots of those “jewelry
designers” you Googled out-source? Oh, yes–lots of them are barely
covering the costs of their trips abroad, and are shipping out of
their garages, but they still get to do something that at least
feels creative (“design”). However, whether they out-source or not,
most of them have day jobs, if only part time. (Does anyone on this
list recognize themselves here?)

Maybe the ones who come to you aren’t out-sourcing because they
noticed that both the price points and the market for “fine designer
jewelry” are higher-end than they are for the stuff they learned to
make at the bead store. So they thought, hey, I got ideas, I’ll try
this! And those price points mean that they can (still…) make
some of their living without out-sourcing. And maybe the "square peg"
problem also results from the fact that, unlike sewing, fine jewelry
isn’t “women’s work,” so there’s a skill gap that doesn’t exist with
the apparel designers.

This is way too long. I’ll shut up now.

Lisa Orlando
Aphrodite’s Ornaments

26

Watching this thread of lament for the past week tends to give me
the downers!!

I have been ‘designing’ and creating my own jewely (much of it
commission work) for 30 years now. I never had a course in
designing…never even had an art course, though I have painted some
(not bad). I have also ‘created’ in metal and wood over the
years…making what I saw in my mind’s eye. If you asked me to draw
a face or figure, I couldn’t do it. If you asked me to ‘create’ a
face or figure, I would.

I find, in this world, there are those who can create in the two
dimensional sphere while others work best in three dimensional. Many
can work between the two. Unfortunately, there are far too many of
the former who have no concept of the latter. That is the
disconnect metalsmiths face everyday.

A designer (while perhaps a wonderful ‘artist’) may conceive
beautiful objects, many of which even adhere to the rules(?) of
design, but have little or no concept of how an object might be
’created’ in the three dimensional sense. This is the first
principal I explain to my jewelry students; I call it ‘design and
engineering’. It is based on the idea that designing is not enough,
rather it is only the first step. The second step is a process
similiar to ‘reverse engineering’ whereby one must dissemble the two
dimensional object and recreate it in their mind as three
dimensional. Only then, can they perform an evaluation of how it
must be put together. Then they must outline each step, from ‘A to
Z’, so as to minimize loss of material and time yet achieve the
closest possible replication of the original object. Unfortunately,
sometimes it just cannot be done!

That is why I believe it so important that those new to the process
of making jewelry learn the process in an organized manner, step by
step, and become proficient in the various ‘protocols’ of each step
so one does not interfere with the next.

There will always, I believe, be a division between the pure
designer and metalsmith. The former will concieve and render while
the latter will continue to puzzle it out. But those who instruct
and teach would do well to insure that those they send out into the
world understand these differences and work to minimize them.
Designers and metalsmiths working closely together is one way to
improve the situation but providing each side with a better
understanding of the other’s functions will go even further.

DUH and cheers from Don at The Charles Belle Studio in SOFL where
simple elegance IS fine jewelry! @coralnut2

27

I don’t know much about jewelry design or manufacturing thus the
reason I signed up for the list. I’m not good at cad yet so I’m
also not sure what goes into drawing a good design that will work. I
don’t claim to be anything but a stone cutter. I don’t cut run of
the mill stones because it’s boring and the resulting stone is
unremarkable. I work at making the material perform to the best
optical limits based on its refractive index and critical angles in a
pleasing pattern.

The funny thing about stones is that people can understand the
difference between a well cut, colored stone and not care because
they are cheap. They’d rather have the big stone with no
scinitilation and a big fish eye, than a smaller stone with a lot of
fire.

There’s obviously some other underlying thread to this whole
discussion, so I’ll just bow out since I don’t know much about making
jewelry.

Craig
www.creativecutgems.com

28

I am going to tread (no pun intended) into this with some
nervousness because I may be exactly what the true “smiths”
(master, gold or metal) despise.

I don’t try to pass myself off as a jeweler but, I do say I “design
jewelry” and yes, my business card says “jewelry designer”. I have
a caster who I respect immensely. I have a bench jeweler who I
respect immensely and I have stone dealers who I trust implicitly.
All these components and people make my designs viable. When my
bench jeweler says a design won’t work or suggests that between two
different designs (for a certain stone); he feels one is much more
unique than another - - I listen. When my caster recommended that
a design’s best method of manufacture was a kick-press; I drove up
to RI; picked up the phenomenally heavy kick press; drove to
Queens, NY to pick up the custom punches and created the pieces.

It is not that I am trying to take some “short-cut”. It is that,
honestly, I do not have the hand dexterity to create some of the
pieces I envision. Just because I don’t have that; doesn’t mean I
should turn my back on what I do love; which is to design. If
anyone has any familiarity with the American silver produced in the
1800s (Gorham Shiebler, Tiffany, etc.), you know exactly what can be
produced when there is a collaboration between designer and “smith”.
I created an anniversary project for a client which included not
only a custom watch fob; a nautical chain design complete with the
longitude and latitude of where they married, but a box made of teak
and mahogany in which to keep the watch, fob and chain. On top of
the box, a mixed metal plaque of the couple’s initials. That project
involved a jeweler, a caster, a hand-engraver, a gentleman in Miami
who hand-makes the wood boxes and, believe it or not, a contractor I
know to create the recess within the box’s top to inset the copper
and sterling plaque. Does this negate the uniqueness of the end
result? Does my vision for the complete project get negated because
I relied on all these other experts? If so, then an architect must
be meaningless because he or she relies on others for the plumbing,
masonry, electrical, etc., etc.

There are aspects and people in all walks of life who are not
“quality”. I would like to think that some jewelry designers are
quality; some are not. Some “smiths” are quality; some are not.
Case in point: A customer wanted a custom wedding band. Nothing
unusual or even that unique but custom nonetheless. She wanted a two
tone gold wedding band for her husband to replace one which had been
destroyed. I opted to use slightly different sizes so that the
ring’s shape (width and height) would be different than the mass
produced pieces. I took the gold into one of (then two) bench
jewelers I was using at the time. He literally suggested I just buy
a premade one and tell the customer it was custom. Needless to say,
I don’t use him anymore.

If my clients and people with whom I work consider me or my designs
“quality”, then I am doing something right - - but, I will be the
first to admit, I am not a “smith” of any degree. However, I am not
“drek” nor am I a “short order cook” in a greasy spoon of any
degree.

Cameron

29 
In reading the responses in the days since the original posting, I
find comfort. I'll tell you why. It's the commonality of the
emotion.

Hello David,

I suspect I won’t be the only one to say this but thank you for a
great post! Well said, well reasoned and entirely thought provoking.

As one of the wanna-bees in this great, glorious and glutted business
of ours --well, yours really because I’m still working at making the
“business” part of it happen-- I found your words both sobering and
inspirational. Well done sir!

Cheers,
Trevor F.
in The City of Light

30 
Jewelry is being touted as one of the great alternate careers by the
career transition specialists.  I know this because the literature
mentioning it was presented to me.

What!?! That’s insane! I mean, I love our industries, but…
It’s hardly an easy career to transition into.

Elaine
Elaine Luther
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com ™
Hard to Find Tools for Metal Clay

31 
Designer jewelry is like designer cheese, designer laundry
detergent, designer toilet paper. It's worse than a cliche. It's
drek.

yea, but david i have prostituted myself to several highend designer
jewelry companies over the years, most currently one that i am asked
to come up with any embellishments off their junk, and other designs
i can come up with, and i do the models AND the production also, in
wood, so i try to charge big for the designs, for a change in my
life, not big enough probably, so i am a designer jewelry
designer, right??, dp

32 
    I just went back and read your original post . . . And I saw
that you're not upset about the split between designing and making
per se. What seems to be upsetting you is the expansion of the field
and the  entry into it of people with little art and no craft.

Hi Lisa;

Thanks for a great post, and thanks, David Keeling, for your
wonderful email.

Lisa, you are correct in your observations. I think these people are
hypnotized. They think that life is a “reality show”. Been there
myself. In the 70’s, there were millions of kids in America who
wanted to be rock guitarists. Most of them gave it up after they got
married and had kids to support. I was one of them. I had, at the
peak of my garage band career, a girlfriend who was a classical
musician. She had studied since she was a little child. She had two
music degrees and lived for years in a tiny apartment in NY to study
with a famous Russian teacher. She had studied in Paris, too. She
practiced for hours, every day. Now she plays in a couple local
community orchestras, and teaches privately. Same story for her
husband, a real fine classical guitarist. Together they barely make a
living wage. I think they are both wonderful musicians. I made their
wedding bands.

The other night I watched a few minutes of that new “reality” show,
“The Cut” which is sort of a take off on Donald Trump’s “The
Apprentice”. It should be called, “I Wanna Be a Rich and Famous
Designer!”. I don’t know what’s real about it. I hate those shows,
but it’s like driving past a car wreck for me. Hate yourself for it,
but you can’t stop yourself from looking. Man, that Tommy Hilfiger
is a first class Butt-Head. Chilling to watch those arrogant little
idiot wannabees trembling before an even bigger carnivorous ego.
Remded me of the end of the movie, Jurassic Park, when the nasty
little Velociraptors tried to take on Big, Bad, T. Rex.

Here’s how Orchid, in my opinion, is NOT a reality show:

Suppose you’re in a room full of musicians, the likes of Ray C.,
Luciano P., Cannonball A., Andre S., Jimmy H., Thelonius M., you get
the picture. In walks this street kid with baggy pants halfway to
his knees and he says, “hey, I wanna be a famous rapper like
FiftyCent. Anybody know where I can get a recording contract? Do you
think I’ll need to go to prison first?” Cannonball would take the kid
aside and use his famous line on him, “Listen here kid, cool is not a
state of mind… it’s reality”.

People seem to believe that you can put a minimum of effort into
something and you’ll get “discovered” and be an overnight success or
at least make a good living and have a lot of time left over for
travel. They seem to think that the jewelry business is the last
place where this can happen. This kind of thinking is fine for
teenagers.

Here’s the most important part of what I have to say. After this, I’m
not going to say it again. I’m going to learn to do what David
Keeling has suggested. I’m going to “smile and wave”. Here it is:

There are exceptions to all the long and difficult paths to success.
Newbies who got their stuff into fancy stores, people who hit it big
on the internet, people who got picked out of the craft fairs to
design a line for Tiffany. Don’t count on it. The odds are
tremendous, it’s a prospect that gets less likely every day. There
are people who open up little stores and love every minute of it and
make good money. Other’s do that and wonder when they’ll get their
life back and wish they could pay themselves as regularly as they pay
their employees. So, for every different level of success, here’s the
rule of thumb: The amount of money and marketing and general chutzpah
you have to put into a successful jewelry career is going to be
inversely proportional to the level of skill you put into making the
jewelry and working at your business and all of it dependant on your
expectations. In simple terms, if it isn’t good enough to sell
itself, you’re going to have to sell the hell out of it unless you
just like doing it. You can pay others to do everything for you, but
you’ll always get what you pay for there.

There’s a tremendous amount of free advice here on Orchid. Enough
experts and sources of and services to do whatever you’d
like with a jewelry career. A remarkable resource. That’s what
Hanuman set out to build here. But if you’re looking for the easy
road to riches, or even the easy road to a good living, you’ve not
been paying attention to what people have been posting all these
years. Don’t be surprises if you struggle. If it turns out not to be
a bed of roses for you, I and others will be glad to advise you on
your next step. But odd are, if anybody here has been successful,
they’ve probably worked hard for it or at least thrown gobs of money
at it or both. And some of us, like Hanuman and myself, are
privileged to measure success in ways other than just money. Best of
luck to all.

David L. Huffman

33

Hello Craig;

I hope I wasn’t discouraging or seemed critical when I replied to
your cad-cam post. But in a previous post, you’d mentioned buying
ready-made mountings for your stones. Then I visit your site, and
see you have stones that are not run-of-the-mill stuff. I’m not sure
how successful you’ll be marketing the lab grown stones. I like them,
but I don’t sell much of them. But whatever the case, I really think
you might try what a friend of mine does. He comes up with a lot of
unusual stones. Some are large, some are unique cuts. He can’t sell
them to someone if they can’t either buy a mounting to fit or make
one up themselves. So, I make up a mounting for some of these
stones, wholesale it to him, and he sells the stone, mounted. He gets
to wholesale the stone, and there’s usually a little room for a small
margin on the mounting too. Everybody’s happy. I think it will be
problematic for you to sell off-the-shelf mountings if you have to
get more for the stones. I think most retailers are not that savvy
about a well cut stone unless you can bring it to their attention.
Setting it in a generic mounting is likely to make them question the
extra price. And keep at that cad thing. If you can get that down,
you can make your own designs, and it’s likely, since you’ll be the
artist in both cases, that the stones and the mountings will go well
together.

Best of luck.
David L. Huffman

34 
       . . . I am not a "smith" of any degree.  However, I am not
"drek" nor am I  a "short order cook" in a greasy spoon of any
degree.

Hi Cameron;

I hope, in my typical use of a broad brush, I didn’t get any paint on
you, but you are what I call “the exception that proves the rule”.
First, you know your material. Second, you defer to the experts you
rely on. Third, you give credit where credit is due. When I work with
such a designer, even if the designs are difficult, I will pull out
all the stops to make it happen. The one’s I don’t like are the ones
who have studied nothing, never worked with tools. They just look at
lots of magazines and copy, copy, copy. Then they get petulant when
you can’t pull a rabbit out of a hat. They’re just certain that it
can be done (because they saw it and copied it and forgot they copied
it or think copying is all anybody does). They’ll want you to carve
what is typically a cad design, or fabricate what can only be cast,
etc. They’ll never understand why you can’t set emeralds the way you
set diamonds because to them, the only difference is the color. They
don’t know how anything is made, but they won’t sacrifice a single
precious chicken scratch on their design, or their design is so
devoid of that you need a mind reader to see it and they
are willing to let you keep guessing. And they can’t understand why
it all costs so much. These “Designers” aren’t the only culprits.
Retailers and sales people can make our lives miserable this way too.
Lalique didn’t make a lot of his own work, neither did Tiffany. But
they also didn’t make it a secret who the experts were who pulled it
off.

David L. Huffman

35 
    I'd guess that the ratio of jewelry designers on e-bay to
actresses pouring coffee in Hollywood is about 100 to 1.  Don't
mean to stir up trouble (well, maybe just a little trouble . . ). 
Do people really think this is going to be that easy?

I’m not EXACTLY what you’re complaining about, but I may be close.
I started making silver jewelry over 15 years ago, but dropped it
when I got busy with my “day” job after a move to Portland Oregon. I
used to be a programmer, errr, “senior software design engineer”,
whatever! The pretentiousness of titles like that was one of many
annoyances with that job. So I’m not overly enthused over (or
impressed by) titles in this field, either.

Now I got pretty good at what I was doing (for a novice) lo those 15
years ago, but its been 15 years since I touched a torch and I’m
just about back at square one. I’m actually making and selling
jewelry for the first time in 15 years. I don’t fancy myself a
master ANYTHING at this point and maybe never. Especially not at my
age - there’s just not time to “master” these skills.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t make what I envision and enjoy what I
make, and go as far as I can manage.

Right now I’m making (and selling) what basically amounts to wire
wrap style jewelry - what I can make with a few hand tools and no
torch. It’s not been my style in the past and I don’t intend for it
to be my style for very long now.

Unfortunately, the stuff is selling well. I doubt I’ll ever really
be able to totally drop the stuff, but maybe I can get more creative
with it and more skilled at the techniques involved so I can be
happier with the end results.

I tend to be VERY critical of my own work - the only stuff I still
have from my last bout at the bench are the very first things I ever
made, which I characterize as “not good enough to sell” because of
obvious (to me) solder joints. However, others tell me the joints
are almost imperceptible and I have honestly seen similar items for
sale at Portland market that had globs of solder balled up and
hanging off them - REALLY obvious solder joints.

I do believe this tendency toward perfectionism is going to be a
problem for me. I’m currently working for some folks who used to be
“silversmiths” but now are into production of copper electroplated
statuary, some of it quite large (and very expensive). I polish for
them. (And I’m finding out that polishing large pieces is LOTS
different from polishing the odd bangle or ring, LOL!)

They’re all about production, I’m all about process. I’m learning
from them how to focus more on production and to accept less than
perfection. However, I can’t accept the path they’ve chosen, which,
while lucrative, strikes me as crushingly boring. They make the
same couple of dozen figures over and over and over and over and over
and over again. They spend all spring, summer, and most of the fall
driving all over the country to big shows. They’re surely
profitable, but please, not for me.

Frankly, where I’m headed is towards actual smithing and metal art.
The jewelry is how I got started, and its how I will finance my
progress towards my end goal. I love the stuff Cynthia Eid does,
though its far more sophisticated than what I envision. I doubt my
metal art will ever sell as well as my jewelry has in the past (and
is starting to again now).

But if I were all about the money, I’d still be Programming in
Portland.

I do this because I love doing it, and I’m working towards a goal to
make art in metal because that’s where my creativity is leading me.
When I was younger, I had a child to support and a “good job” that
was difficult for me to just up and dump. I wish I had taken the
plunge 15 years ago, or better yet, I wish there had been a metal
arts program at the college I attended. I’ve always had an artistic
bent, but never found the medium I could really express it in - until
now. Even 15 years ago, when I was casting and working with a torch,
I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with what I was learning.
It has literally been less than six months since I had my epiphany
and understood where I needed to go. I have never been able to
envision anything I truly considered to be original in jewelry and
honestly have only considered myself to be a competent craftsman
(when I was at my peak, which isn’t now, LOL!).

But I CAN envision works of art in metal, that truly do come from
somewhere deep inside. I know that sounds kind of hokey, but its
how I feel. At this stage in my life I doubt I have the time left to
fully expand on those visions, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going
to try to take it to the limit anyway. I doubt I’ll ever be a patch
on any of the fine metalsmiths on this list, but hey, I’m all about
process anyway. Getting there is most of the fun.

That’s why I’m “Sojourner”, after all.

Sojourner

36 
    Jewelry is being touted as one of the great alternate careers
by the career transition specialists.  I know this because the
literature mentioning it was presented to me.

That seems so totally crazy considering the training needed to be any
kind of competent metalsmith and the huge amount of money needed for
the materials involved in jewelry making both metal, gems, and tools
and equipment. What could they be thinking? You only do
this because you can’t seem to do anything else.

37

Janet,

        Jewelry is being touted as one of the great alternate
careers by the career transition specialists.  I know this because
the literature mentioning it was presented to me.

What part of the industry are “they” touting? You can go to school
in Paris Texas or GIA and become a fairly competent bench jeweler and
if you get a job doing remount shows or work in a mall setting you
can make a decent living right off the bat. If you are a confident
G.G. you can do appraisals to back up your newly honed bench skills.
Depending on your geographic location you can make a fairly good
living.

NOW if you want to sell “ART” that is a whole different ball of wax.
Selling art takes different skills and good marketing is part of that
skill I have not met too many jewelers that have the ability to make
jewelry and market themselves both. Most successful jewelry artists
have gobs of backup money and marketing help and quit making and
design while others do their bidding. They become managers of a
machine that produces their ideas. Surround themselves with people
that can conceptualize their ideas into reality. This was true in
the past and is true today From Davinci to Warhol, Faberge to Yurman
they all had help, their crew, and their homies, whatever. The one
important point is they were really good at managing people to turn
their ideas into reality (or what we perceive to be reality) So in
my mind it boils down to this:

This creative thing that we expel into the universe is really about
stroking our egos.(What a beautiful creation you have wrought!) It is
the AHHH that people have pushed out of their larynx when viewing the
Sistine Chapel. Even though Mic is dead, he was, deep down inside,
while laying on that scaffold painting his brains out, going for the
stroke. To his fortune his stroke came from the pope who included
enough for himself, his wife, his many children and his entourage.

Regards
J Morley
Goldsmith/Laser welding

38 
    i have prostituted myself to several highend designer jewelry
companies over the years

The question of what someone is worth and what they are paid is
usually related to their skill, their experience, and their
attitude.

I have always had the choice to be grateful for an opportunity, and
gain experience and knowledge, or look for a job that was more
appropriate. If I did not like what I was doing, I left. There was
always another opportunity. Depending on where you live, (I was in
Los Angeles) or where you choose to live, can help you or hinder
you achieving your goal.

If you make a list of steps to achieve a goal, and then figure out
how to do each step, over time you will achieve your goal.

I washed dishes for a restaurant, (my shift was from 5pm till 12pm,
had 6-7 hours a day to play) in order to afford materials and time
to do silversmithing as a hobby, as I did not want the pressure of
having to do jewelry for a living.

There is a front end and a back end to everything. If you make
jewelry, and have your own business, you must have a business plan to
market and sell it.

There are nice people out there to work for. Find them. There are
people who want to teach what they know. They need you. The more
dedicated you are to helping them achieve their goal, the more they
will help you achieve yours.

Richard Hart

39 
     I used to be a programmer, errr, "senior software design
engineer", whatever! The pretentiousness of titles like that was
one of many annoyances with that job. So I'm not overly enthused
over (or impressed by) titles in this field, either.

What titles? In my first job I was a “stone picker.” Really.
That’s not how I have it on my resume, by the way.

Elaine
Elaine Luther
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com ™
Hard to Find Tools for Metal Clay

40

Oh man, this whole discussion is overwhelming and terrifying. I am
secretly glad that the prospects of ‘success’ are slim, because the
mere idea makes my stomach cramp. People in general completely
terrify me. I am awed people who are really good at craftsmanship of
some kind and aspire to become good enough to hang on the fringes of
those long shadows. There has never been a point in my life where I
wasn’t creating something, it is as necessary as breathing. Craft
fairs, galleries, and stores terrify me. Fortunatly, I make enough
now to fund my obsession, and that is all I’m concerned with at this
point. TG I can actually do that and that my husband is wonderfully
understanding and supportive. I get sick at the thought of trying to
make a living wage from the things I make – not the creative
processes I could do that without sleep or food for days (if not for
the kids), but the marketing and hawking of myself aspects…that
would be much harder to deal with. So, I’ll never be a household
name, I can live with that, LOL.

Dawn B. in Texas