Name: Len Nessen
Email: @ljnessen
Address: 4494 Willow Tree Dr. Middletown, MD 21769
Hello: My interests are both repair and custom creation of
jewelry. I am a Federal employee, currently eligible to retire,
and am at the start of the learning curve regarding jewelry and
gemstone competence. My part-time business (OCAW, Inc.) involves
vintage fountain pen restoration and repair, and for the last six
months or so, “simple” jewelry repair and creation. I have taken
several classes, purchased several instructional videos, bought
and read a number of books, and messed up a number of pieces of
my wife’s and daughter’s jewelry (although they are both very
pleased about this current interest).
Although I am fairly good at the vintage pen work, jewelry skills
are not coming easy. Also, the high cost of gold is somewhat
discouraging. As a result, I imagine I will be doing ~99% of my
learning in silver. Therefore, I hope to find an area of
silversmithing (that includes the use of semiprecious stones)
that I can not only use as a mechanism for learning, but that can
stand alone, based on its own intrinsic properties, rather than
just being the material that was chosen BECAUSE gold is so
expensive.
I will be attending the show in Tuscon next month (first time
for me) and am very much looking forward to it. I am also, of
course, looking forward to learning from the postings in Orchid.
All advice will be greatly appreciated. LN