Thursday 6 August 2009

Birmingham School of Jewellery

Last Sunday Stuart and I drove up to Birmingham to get ready for my three course I was delivering for the jewellery school. I've never driven to Birmingham before...well the centre anyway...only ever the NEC. It was surprisingly easy if I didn't take much notice of multimap...I'm sure I confuse myself too with it!! We drove straight to The SAS Raddison Hotel on Holloway Circus. The hotel was perfect for our stay...18 floors high with private apartments above for ???? floors - a very tall building!! On the 18th floor was a gym that I went and tried out on the sunday...felt a bit scary - I thought my cross trainer might jump forward and I'd end up out the window!!


SAS Raddison

The rooms were very comfortable..everything you could wish for. The beds were EXTREMELY comfortable - just what you need after a long days work!! The hotel was 5 mins from the Mailbox and Bullring so would be perfect for a weekend of shopping and relaxing if you had the time.


Our home for four days.




The Mailbox is a very 'trendy' area filled with nice shops, restaurants, galleries and a relaxed vibe. Stu and I had Tapas for dinner at Estillos on the Sunday night....the Paella was amazing!!! After a good nights sleep and a massive buffet breakfast I was ready to start my 3 day course. I took literally my whole workshop so got to the jewellery school early so I could get set up - Stu helped. We were greeted by one of the most friendliest security guards and caretakers I've met..they made us feel very welcome. Each day ran from 9.30-5pm with breaks if you wanted them. I had a group of 6 ladies from various areas around Birmingham and one from Belfast. The group were great and were all keen to learn what PMC is all about and how to work with it. What made the group so interesting is that each person had different reasons to be there and levels of jewellery making.


The Birmingham School of Jewellery

Throughout the 3 days we covered using:
  • paste to create a silver leaf
  • paste to create a hollow bead
  • lump to create a dry construction pendant
  • lump and torch firing to make a pair of earrings
  • soldering techniques on PMC to create a pair of stud earrings
  • dichroic glass and lump to create a pendant or ring
  • syringe to reate pattern and texture
  • cubic zirconias
  • and more.......

Hard at Work


The PMCers Bench


The Final Pieces



While we were gone Harry stayed with his Aunties.....as much as he loves them he was pleased to see us!!!

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