The last of my spring shows have concluded and I am now home for the next six weeks or so to manufacture new jewelry items for my booth. It has been lovely to have time to enjoy a soda on my garden patio and to play with my dog, not to mention putter in my garden. It is also pleasant to find time to do a few cooking sessions and fill my freezer with wonderful dishes that will keep my family fed in style for the next few months.
My newest purchase for the studio is a jeweler’s bench. It is a used one from a retiring jeweler. It is banged up and needs a bit of sanding, otherwise it is sturdy, of the right height and has a nice pull out catch drawer for silver shavings. I haven’t figured out where to put it yet, but I’m hoping to get it moved into my studio sometime in the next week or so. I’ve also purchased new zippered walls for my booth, a new rolling canopy bag and am shopping for photo lights so that I can set up an area to shoot my jewelry more easily. I am so far behind on photographing my work it isn’t funny.
My Advanced Colored Stones class ended last week. I got an A on my lab final where I had to identify 20 stones and I’m waiting to learn what I scored on the written final. I’m glad that I started back to college last Fall. I’ve learned so much about the jewelry profession and about the raw materials that I work with every day. I have more to share with my customers about stones and it has made me a better buyer now that I’m more aware of stone treatments and where stones come from. There is still much to learn before I can start offering appraisal services to my customers. I’m looking forward to continuing my education.
