Week 12: Reflections
Looking back at the last 3 months of my apprenticeship, school, and favorite pieces
Finally, gold!
After designing or making jewelry pretty much every day for 3 months, it seems fitting that my first gold piece coincides with this week.
The saying goes that it takes 10,000 hours to achieve mastery. I’m probably around 300. But considering I didn’t know anything about how to make fine jewelry prior to a few months ago, I feel quite accomplished with the foundation I have today!
I want to reflect this week on the past 3 months of my jewelry apprenticeship, school, and favorite pieces.
Apprenticeship
I had no idea what to expect when I reached out to work with ileava jewelry. I was nervous about whether I’d be useful and unsure exactly what I was committing my time and energy to.
My worries didn’t last long though as I was buzzing from my first day at the studio. The owners, Maya and Georges, are wonderful mentors incredibly generous with their knowledge (thanks, guys!).
They introduced me to the lost wax casting technique of jewelry making and taught me countless skills ranging from the technical (like wire-wrapping and micro-welding) to broader lessons about selling and marketing luxury products.
Needless to say I’m very glad I listened to my mom’s encouragement to try something new with ileava jewelry. (Moms really are always right, aren’t they?)
School
At jewelry school, I learned to solder and make fabricated jewelry (so instead of using wax like I learned at ileava, we use heat to connect metal and tools to file it into shape).
The Master Sensei (teacher) provides a lot of guidance around proper body positioning and techniques. For instance, he told me that the piece should be moved according to my body, not the other way around; the elbows should generally be tucked for controlled arm movements.
I discovered that the school offers courses in traditional Japanese hand engraving and stone setting. Hopefully by next year I’ll progress to learning that as well!
Attending the school is very much worth the investment. I get one-on-one guidance from people who dedicate their lives to making fine jewelry. Plus the result of my “homework” is sterling silver pieces that I get to keep and wear!
My Favorite Pieces
I made a lot of sterling silver pieces (and one gold piece!) in the last 3 months. As my boyfriend somewhat hyperbolically said the other night, my home studio space “looks like it belongs to someone who has been making jewelry for the last 70 years”.
With each attempt I learned about what works technically and what I like aesthetically.
I thought it would be fun to share a little photo round-up of my favorite pieces so far:
Looking ahead, I plan to create a little grouping of pieces predominantly designed with Mitsuro Hikime (the traditional Japanese wax). I really resonate with Japanese materials and craftsmanship, so I’d like to incorporate them as much as possible.
Expect to see pieces with ribboning, Akoya pearls, and gold. I’m excited for the next 3 months!