London Jewellery School founder Jessica Rose‘s first jewellery making book, Bead and Wire Fashion Jewelry , is about to hit the shops, so we decided to ask her about how it came about and what it is like to produce a book.   Tell us a little about the book and where the idea came from […]

How you present and package your handmade jewellery can be just as important as the finish on the pieces themselves. So why not complement your jewellery with handmade gift boxes. Here are a few of our favourites that we’ve found online – they are in a variety of languages but provide picture tutorials or templates […]

We know that summer is no where near over (or at least we hope not!) but if you run a jewellery business or just like keeping up with the trends it’s important to know what’s coming next. The pantone colours for autumn 2014 (or as they ‘call it colors for fall’!) should be on your […]

London Jewellery School tutor Gail Florio specialises in wedding jewellery and accessories and to help anyone wanting to create their own wedding look she has creates a downloadable tutorial showing you the key techniques for some beautiful wedding accessories. The tutorial includes: a vintage style comb for the bride using wire work and Swarovski pearls; […]

Polymer and metal clay fan Emily Jones takes a look at the options for getting cleaner cuts and more unusual shapes with your clay. If you like me love to create jewellery from polymer clay or metal clay, you probably have a collection of cookie cutters in a variety of shapes and sizes. If you […]

A big trend this summer is for layered bracelets – that is wearing several bracelets on the same arm at once. Which for those of us with an extensive bracelet habit is excellent news. Time to show several off at once. And the really good news is that they don’t have to match. You can […]

London Jewellery School tutor Anna Campbell reviews a sumptuous new jewellery book that takes a look at the less seen side of jewellery.   Jewellery artist Lorena Angulo did not start out with the idea of writing a book. She was interested in the backs of jewellery, particularly brooches. How did others make the pin […]

Continuing our series of reviews of jewellery making books,  we asked  stone setting tutor Gill Newton to look at Stonesetting for Fine Jewellery – Tools Techniques Gemstones by Paul Leibold, 2014 . Stone setting is a specialist and extensive subject and Liebold’s book is a useful addition. With contents pages more akin to an index […]

As subscribers to our blog or newsletter you will no doubt be aware of the existence of silver clay. However, do you know about the other metal clays that are available? Metal clay tutor and artist Anna Campbell gives you the rundown of the main metal clays on the market. Silver and gold metal clays […]

The Financial Times may not be the first place to tun to for style but it recently reported that “the Downton effect” has brought tiaras back into fashion outside the bridal market with younger women opting for some hair bling. Fine jewellery suppliers such as Tiffany and Graff report rising sales in high end hair […]

Continuing our reviews of inspiring jewellery books, Anna Campbell takes a look a must for all bead lovers. If you’re not familiar with publisher Lark Crafts ‘500 series’ of books then you’re in for a treat. Each book features 500 gorgeous pieces of contemporary craft following a theme and with titles such as 500 rings […]

Agate is one of the birthstones for this month and unlike most birthstones it comes in a wide variety of colours which got us thinking that we should find out a bit more about this popular and varied gemstone. According to Geology.com an agate is “a translucent variety of microcrystalline quartz. It is used as […]

This is the first in an occasion series of post where London Jewellery School staff, tutors and perhaps even students tell us about their favourite jewellery books or review new ones. Today’s post is from Emily Jones, the school’s deputy manager and a self-confessed polymer clay addict. I love making jewellery and other things with […]

Time to ‘fess up. How big is your stash? And is it organised? Do you keep storage boxes in front of cupboards in case the doors burst open and your treasures spill out? Far too many of us wouldn’t necessarily know what’s in all our cupboards and boxes. So organising our materials has many advantages […]

Anna Campbell tells us why she never wants to stop learning. I met my first serious boyfriend at university when I did my undergraduate degree. Among other things he called me a ‘paper chaser’, someone who loves the validation of a certificate. We split up years ago when I had one degree. I do now […]

London Jewellery School tutor Anna Campbell says it’s time to breathe new life into your unworn jewellery. Hands up if one of your favourite hobbies is buying jewellery supplies? Just as I thought! Whether it’s a trip around the bead shop or a splurge online we all love the excitement of the new. But this weekend, […]

As it is school holiday time so we are sharing a family friendly jewellery project that can be made with household items – rolled paper beads. These are fun project which don’t require many tools and one you have the basic technique you can experiment with different papers, colours and sizes. Materials Step 1 Step […]

Anna Campbell discovers the contents of her kitchen cupboards can be useful in her workshop too. Jewellers pickle is an acid used for getting rid of firescale on metal, particularly after soldering. Many people are wary about having it in the home, especially those of us with small children or animals. I made do without […]

London Jewellery School tutor Penny Akester recently wrote about sourcing fair trade metals now she turns her attention to gemstones in her final article on more sustainable jewellery making. If you’re working in gemstones, (and this applies to a lot of other materials too) – don’t be afraid to ask your suppliers where their stones […]

Debbie Carlton is an amazing evangelist for both polymer and metal clay which she uses in her own jewellery, teaches and writes about. We find out how why she loves these materials so much. You work with precious metal clay and polymer clay – what attracted you to these materials? I ‘discovered’ both polymer and […]