Hi everyone, I know of several production jewelers that will make a
piece or parts of a piece, and send it to a caster to have it
replicated many times. So, the person will have parts on hand to make
different pieces for their production line. This, of course, makes
production go much faster. I’ve considered doing this myself. Is this
considered acceptable to other jewelers? Any discussion on this topic
would be appreciated.
Thanks so much, Sarah Philbeck
Hi Sarah,
In my humble opinion, not only is this acceptable, it’s darned smart.
Someone finally clued me in on sub-contracting my actual casting
process. It makes sense for the small operation from a number of
perspectives:
They do it all the time and have the expertise - higher success
rate, fresh investment, etc. They even do the spruing, which is always
my least favorite part.
I don’t have to take up precious space in my studio with kiln
(although I’m actually looking for one now), casting machine, etc.
No mess!
No investment (the $ kind) in relatively expensive equipment!
Leaves me free to spend my time doing other, more creative
processes.
Don’t get me wrong… the casting process if fun (until you have a
mold blow out or not fill completely) and I love it. From a cost and
time efficiency perspective, it doesn’t make sense to me to do it
myself unless I cast a lot…at least a couple times a week.
I also understand they will make store molds and shoot/cast waxes for
you on demand. I haven’t taken advantage of this service as my pieces
are mostly one-of-a-kind.
As a side note, I used a company called SANTI in Ohio (?) and was
very pleased. I’m sure there are many others who also do fine work.
Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio and
Carolina Artisans’ Gallery
Charlotte, NC (USA)
dave@sebaste.com mailto:dave@sebaste.com