Silvera Jewelry School

09/04/2026

POLISH AND FINISH�
Most makers learn to polish their jewelry on the fly and pick up habits that are harder to unlearn than to avoid in the first place. This class teaches you to do it right from the start.

In one day with Joe Silvera, you'll learn to spot and remove firescale, choose the right abrasives for your home studio, use a flex shaft, buffing motor, and tumbler, and achieve a high-luster, matte, or textured surface with confidence.

Tomorrow this class, along with all Silvera classes, will be 15% off through Labor Day Weekend.
Details drop tomorrow.

In-Person + Online�Friday, October 16�10:00AM – 5:00PM PT

Prerequisite: Prior experience with jewelry fabrication, metal clay, or casting.

08/30/2026

GRAPHITE ON ENAMEL�
If you've been enameling for a while, you know how vivid and immediate the color can be. Graphite takes it somewhere quieter and more nuanced. Applied to an enamel surface and fired, it creates depth, shading, and detail that enamel alone can't achieve. Realistic imagery, delicate washes, textural mark-making that looks more like drawing than jewelry.

In this four-session enameling class with Jenn Parnell Kirkpatrick, you'll learn:
* How to prepare your enamel surface for graphite
* Drawing and shading techniques including crosshatching, blending, and line work
* Working with pencils, water-soluble graphite, and graphite powder
* How to fire your graphite layers correctly
* Post-firing techniques to develop the piece further
It's one of those classes that quietly expands what you think enamel can do.

In-Person + Online�Tuesdays, October 13 – November 3�6:00PM – 9:00PM PT

Register here�

Graphite is a powerful tool in combination with enameling. From realistic imagery to textural mark making, explore how you can use graphite and enamel in this class! From washes to crosshatching, blending and line making, we will cover a range of results you can achieve. We will also cover where gra...

08/27/2026

ANODIZING NIOBIUM�
If you or your customers have sensitive skin, niobium is worth knowing. As a pure elemental metal, it is completely nickel-free, which makes it equal to titanium as one of the most genuinely hypoallergenic materials available for jewelry making. Even safer than stainless steel, and the color makes it so much more fun!

Through anodizing, a process that uses electrical voltage to create an oxide layer directly in the metal itself, niobium produces a full spectrum of vivid, permanent color. Not paint. Not plating. The color is the metal. It won't chip, scratch off, or fade.

In this two-session metalsmithing class with Janice Von Itter, you'll learn to set up an anodizing bath and power source, prepare niobium for anodizing, achieve and layer colors, texture and form the metal, and understand the safety protocols involved. You'll leave with the skills and the knowledge to offer your customers something genuinely beautiful and genuinely wearable.

In-Person + Online�Tuesdays, September 29 – October 6�6:30PM – 9:30PM PT
No prerequisites. All levels welcome.

08/24/2026

BEGINNING BASKETRY WORKSHOP
with Peeta Tinay

In this 1 day workshop, you’ll build a complete basket from dyed round reed, guided step by step from the interwoven base through shaping, tension, finishing, and dyeing. Every student gets individualized attention throughout the weaving process, and you’ll leave with the basket you made plus a handout covering materials, suppliers, and basketry guild resources for continuing on your own.

No experience required. All tools provided. A wide range of colors to choose from.

Note: A $30 kit fee is payable to the instructor on the day of class.

In-Person
Friday, October 30
10:00AM – 4:00PM PT
1105 Virginia Street, Berkeley

No prerequisites. Open to all levels.

08/23/2026

Jewelry 3: Bezels, Borders and Overlay
Ready to move beyond basic bezels? Learn to design and fabricating a custom pendant with multiple stone settings and decorative elements that make your jewelry look professional.

You'll learn how to make twisted wire borders, melt silver into granules for decoration, sweat solder sheet metal overlays, fabricate a bail, and texture metal without stamps or hammers. This is where your silver soldering skills get more precise, your jewelry design decisions get more intentional, and your work starts looking distinctly yours.

The techniques you learn here show up in almost every piece of fabricated jewelry: bezels with decorative borders, layered overlays, granulation accents. Once you can do this, you can make almost anything.

In-Person + Online
Wednesdays, Sept 9 - Oct 14
10:00AM - 1:00PM PT

Jewelry 3: Bezels, Borders and Overlay
Ready to move beyond basic bezels? Learn to design and fabricating a custom pendant with multiple stone settings and decorative elements that make your jewelry look professional.

You'll learn how to make twisted wire borders, melt silver into granules for decoration, sweat solder sheet metal overlays, fabricate a bail, and texture metal without stamps or hammers. This is where your silver soldering skills get more precise, your jewelry design decisions get more intentional, and your work starts looking distinctly yours.

The techniques you learn here show up in almost every piece of fabricated jewelry: bezels with decorative borders, layered overlays, granulation accents. Once you can do this, you can make almost anything.

In-Person + Online
Wednesdays, Sept 9 - Oct 14
10:00AM - 1:00PM PT

Register here: https://www.silverajewelry.com/classes/w/ID/550/eventID/9367/details.asp

08/19/2026

Ancient Egyptian Jewelry
In this class, you’ll learn about the history of Ancient Egyptian jewelry and art alongside studio techniques from the era. You’ll also explore the meaning and role jewelry played in Egyptian society.

You’ll cover:
* Faience - a signature Egyptian material - how to make and use it
* Hieroglyphs, including crafting your name in hieroglyphic form
* Jewelry forms: collars, pectorals, bracelets, rings, earrings, hair ornaments, and girdles
* Chasing and inlay techniques
* Beading for wesekh collars
* Making a stirrup ring
* The amuletic, honorary, and funerary roles of jewelry in Egyptian society

Taught by Jenn Parnell Kirkpatrick. Open to all levels - beginners welcome! A materials kit is included.

Weekend Workshop
In-Person or Online
Sept 26 - 27
10AM-5PM PT