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Adventures in Jewelry Making: Taking & Teaching Classes
I love jewelry making… let me just start with that. As you might have read in my June blog post about my trip to Harold Studio, last year the Halsteads surprised us by turning a storage space into a...
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Add Meaning with Birthstones
Birthstones make it easy to create jewelry with special meaning, from mothers’ pendants to grandmas’ bracelets and more. They fit right in with the current personalized jewelry trend, but birthstones...
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Trend Alert: Unconventional Earrings
We’re in love with all of these new choices for earring findings! You can take a little adventure without leaving home just by switching out your usual studs for ear threads or by adding a cuff to one...
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Adventures in Jewelry Making: 2015 Jewelry Studio Recap!
From a steady stream of in-house classes and visiting guest instructors swinging by and making jewelry in the studio with us, we’ve had an amazing time this year. We learned a lot of new techniques...
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Top 5 Jewelry Trends for Valentine’s Day 2016
Christmas may not be over yet, but we’re already setting our sights on the next big jewelry holiday around the corner. Cupid’s helpers have to plan ahead after all! Here are the Top 5 Jewelry Trends...
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Refresh Your Jewelry Collection
With wedding season right around the corner, it’s time to refresh your jewelry line. But, it may not be necessary to start your bridal jewelry collection from scratch. Take a look at your current...
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Soldered Silver & Brass Snowflake Pendant Tutorial
Here’s a project I’ve been working on in the jewelry making studio. It’s a great way to practice sawing metal, soldering sterling silver and brass sheet together and setting cubic zirconia loose...
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A Great Resource for Your Jewelry Studio
The 2016 Halstead catalog has more than 200 pages of jewelry supplies from sterling silver findings and chain to sheet metal, wire, tools and more. It’s also packed with tips and useful information, so...
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A Jeweler’s Guide to Gauges & Tempers
When you’re talking (or reading!) about jewelry supplies, you’ll often hear the words “gauge” and “temper.” Both are important to know when you’re choosing wire, blanks, findings and sheet to use for...
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TrendSpotting in Tucson
We had a blast at this year’s Tucson Gem Shows looking for what’s fresh and new; forecasting jewelry trends for the coming year; catching up with industry friends and making new ones. Designers,...
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Intro to Stakes: Fold Forming Leaf Earrings
Our new metalsmithing stakes and TruStrike hammers are the perfect excuse to get into the jewelry making studio and experiment with forming and texture. Here’s a project you can make in an afternoon...
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It’s a Wonderful Day for a Giveaway!
Congratulations to our winner: Rebecca W. It’s a beautiful, breezy day here in Prescott, AZ so we thought why not celebrate the day with a giveaway? One lucky winner will receive an 8 piece color...
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Mother’s Day Trends
May 8th is just around the corner. Here are a few inspirational ideas for Mother’s Day and the upcoming seasons. Rings – Trending for quite awhile now, finger rings are all the craze. Whether they are...
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4 Metal Surface Finishes
We get a lot of questions about precious metal surface finishes. How are they applied? Why? Finishes can be broken down into four main categories: Plating, Anti-tarnish treatments, Tool texture...
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2016 Halstead Design Challenge: Kinetic
What a wild ride it has been! We are thrilled to announce the results of the Halstead Design Challenge! Read on for descriptions, photos and video clips of the winning pieces in the competition. The...
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Halstead Giveaway!
We’re giving away a 16pc Designer Block Dapping and Die Set made by Pepe Tools. The set includes 14 punches, 1 dapping block and a wooden base. We’re giving one of these away on June 6th, 2016. See the...
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Granular Stacking Rings Tutorial
Here’s a fun little project that we recently made here in the Halstead Jewelry Studio, where we hold classes for employees. In three hours, all participants walked away with three rings and stronger...
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Jewelry Clasps & Closures 101
There are so many choices for jewelry clasps and closures and choosing the right one can make a big difference in the look and longevity of your handmade jewelry. Take a peek at this blog post before...
View ArticleBarb Switzer – Teacher, Editor, Illustrator & Wire Artist
Barb Switzer: Wire Wrapping Artist and Teacher!
View ArticleJewelry Trends at the 2013 Oscars
The Hollywood red carpet did not disappoint last night. There were a number of hot trends and plenty of old tinsel town glam to...
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