Portland Jewelry Academy

We are in week 15 of the 16 weeks of Introduction to Jewelry Manufacturing. These students are dipping their toes into the world of wax carving! They've done a comfort fit and an oval domed ring, their next step is a rope top ring. Here we have some snapshots of the steps they take to complete their waxes, including making tools. Next week they'll have the opportunity to cast their carvings 🤗

In PJA's Custom Jewelry and Bead Setting course students learn to make and cut natural rubber molds for jewelry production. Here we have a glimpse of the way Jason teaches them mold cutting. In this demo he covered ✨️removable cores✨️

Should we make a reel out of one of Jason's mold cutting demos?

At Portland Jewelry Academy, our methods of instruction have evolved over the 11 years we've been doing it. Here's is what it looks like to learn for Jason in 2026!

Jason sits at his bench and works mostly as normal, but he has 3 cameras and a microphone capturing his work. He records through his microscope, a top view of his hands at work, and a side view to capture his posture. On his desktop, he records these views with closed captioning and crisp audio. While demonstrating, his second monitor is shared via HDMI with TV screens present at each student bench. This allows students to stay comfortably seated in their space while getting an optimal view of the instruction taking place. Here they can take notes, look at their tools and materials Jason references, and ask more informed questions as the demo takes place.

Once the demo is complete, Jason saves the recorded lesson to a shared folder which students are able to access via mini PCs stationed at each bench. Here they can refer back to any demo as needed.

This is just one of the many ways we utilize this technology at PJA and it works really well. There are still moments that require standing during instruction (ex: casting or using a roll mill), but recording and streaming benchwork like this has been a game-changer for both students and instructor.

If you've made it this far in the caption, drop any questions you have below! If you're an alumni, share what instruction was like when you were a student working through the Introduction to Jewelry Manufacturing program.

Last week we held the platinum practical. Students who have completed Introduction to Jewelry Manufacturing are invited to attend this week long course! This time we switched up the project from twisted wire filigree to this fun dandelion pendant for practice working with this metal. We're very proud of the work this group did!

It won't let me correct the spelling of Taqueria! Or delete this and redo......I feel old