I have to thank everyone for the on gold and
polishing, this Orchid group is a marvelous source of sharing and
support for a rather new jeweler. I have a question, can anyone
suggest what are the most useful magazines one can subscribe to
learn about new jewelry techniques and trends. I have found that
some magazines are entirely geared as sources for the shop
owner…How about the designer, the small scale jeweler that
contracts with galleries and/or sells through shows? Any
suggestions? Thanks Elizabeth
Elizabeth:
I’ve been looking through most all the trade publications and
long ago found most all of the to be geared toward the retail
stores and marketing/management. If you. like myself, are
primarily interested in the real nuts & bolts of making jewelery,
Lapidary Journal is my favorite one! For marketing and keeping
up on developements in the retail trade, I prefer Jeweler’s
Circular Keystone.
Best;
Steve
There are lots of great magazines. Lapidary Journal offers a lot
of great “how to” info (they also have a web site). Metalsmith
does not offer how tos but you will find very inspiring work by
many artmetal jewelers. There are many great books too- Penland
School of Craft Jewelry Book, The Oppi book which is a source of
info.
Elizabeth,
Although not a jewelers magazine, The Crafts Report is a good
source for all kinds of info. Each month there is also an
article featuring a couple of galleries. You can take a quick
look online at http://www.craftsreport.com/ This is the magazine
I wait for eagerly every month.
Nancy Bernardine-Widmer
Bernardine Art Jewelry
Elizabeth:
I, too am a one-person “operation” and I love Lapidary Journal.
They have a section where you’re taken step by step through a
project. Each is written by different jewelers/artists. Even
if you don’t make the piece, you (I) always learn some new
technique or trick.
Judy
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Elizebeth, Have you heard about the Craft Report.I believe you
will find it informative especially about shows and related
items,laws, featured works techniques. Also, Metalsmith is a
highly reccomended mag, with alot of features on many of our
heros in the artistic end of the trade. You will find alot of
connections for galleries and major schools.(Revere Academy etc)
And Lapidary Journal has alot of projects in metal with step by
step instruction. It seems to be marketing for more than
lapidary interests. hope this helps, Don Wollwage
The two magazines which have been most helpful to me for
techniques is Lapidary Journal. Each month, they publish a
section on “how to” geared towards the rank beginner and to the
more advanced. I use these publications for my students quite a
bit. They have pictures and step by step instructions.
The second magazine for trends and galleries would be Crafts
Report. http://www.craftsreport.com/
And for fun in the world of sculptuRe:
http://www.sculpture.org/
Hope this helps.
-k
Karen Christians
M E T A L W E R X
416 Main St.
Woburn, MA 01801
781/937-3532
http://www.metalwerx.com/
@metalart
Current Artwork:
Elizabeth
Like Steve, I like Lapidary Journal. If your interest lies with
galleries and/or shows, I think Ornament is more suited (the
"ornament" includes more than just jewelry; the mix and the
publication are excellent) You also might look at the Crafts
Report or American Craft.
Pam
Elizabeth & Steve,
Since no one seems to have mentioned us yet, I’m going to toot
my own horn a little, if you’ll allow it. Have you tried AJM
Magazine? As far as I know, it’s the only magazine out there
written for the professional jeweler and jewelry manufacturer.
Lapidary Journal is a very fine publication – I started my
career there as an assistant editor – but they are mostly geared
for the hobbyiest jeweler. If you’re a small shop, you’ll find
good info there, but you may not always find the you
need as a professional.
AJM is written for the person who is in the business of making
jewelry and selling it. That means one-of-a-kind, custom design
and retail bench jewelers as well as mass production. It’s
produced by Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America, but
you don’t have to be a member to receive the magazine.
Subscriptions only are $42 per year.
You may have tried us five or six years ago, and been put off
by the magazine’s then-emphasis on mass-production methods. But
times have changed, and so has our readership.Today, more and
more of AJM’s readers are small-shop designers and bench
jewelers. We’re trying hard to publish more articles that meet
their needs. If you haven’t taken a look lately, may I humbly
suggest you drop the kind folks at AJM a note and ask for a
sample copy? Their e-mail address is AJMMagazine@compuserve.com.
You can also surf over to http://mjsa.polygon.net/ajm to check
out the magazine’s Web site. Feature articles aren’t full text,
but you can read some of the columns, check out the Technology
Sourcebook, and even subscribe on-line, if you wish. You can also
e-mail them from the Web site.
If anyone has read AJM lately, and has any comments about the
magazine’s contents – good or bad! – I’d love to hear them.
Drop me a line at SuWade@ici.net, and let me know what you like
or don’t like about AJM.
Suzanne Wade
AJM Contributing Editor
SuWade@ici.net
Phone/Fax 508-339-7366
At the present I subscribe to Ornament, Lapidary Journal,
Metalsmith and the Craft Report. I’ve had a love/hate
relationship with the Lapidary Journal over the last 20 years,
sometimes letting my subscription lapse, but they have really
changed into an extremely useful and interesting magazine
consistently for the last few years. It just gets better from my
point of view. They must be getting good feedback from jewelers.
Metalsmith is a little academic, but often inspiring. Ornament
is hit or miss lately, but I love my almost 15 years of back
issues. Crafts Report has become increasingly relevant to the
business side of art in the last few years, since they changed
to a magazine format. If for some reason, I had to pick one, I
would now go with the Lapidary Journal.
Jima & Carlie Abbott /N. Calif/ @jica
check out our work on the web at:
http://www.artmecca.com/artwork/jica.htm
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