WAX JEWELLERY MAKING COURSES
Our emphasis is on individual treatment tailored to your interests. We understand everyone has their own personal goals, tastes and aesthetic preferences so we will work with you to structure your learning so you can efficiently build the skills you need to make the designs you want!
We keep classes small meaning different people can work on different courses at the same time. We guide you every step of the way!
- In-person courses in our Burleigh Heads studio every Tuesday, Friday & Saturday 9-3:30
- Online video courses & Ebooks also available (see below)
New to Jewellery Making? One of the four listed below would be a great start. Have a read through the descriptions to see which ones most suit you or contact us!
Testimonials
ONLINE VIDEO COURSES
We have a growing number of highly detailed video tutorials with step by step instructions. Many more are on the way.
If there are skills & techniques you can’t find here and would like to see tutorials for, please be in touch.
Two Claw Setting Video Course
DOWNLOADABLE eBOOKS
JEWELLERY MAKING AND WAX CARVING TOOLS
We have a range of customized tools to suit our coarse material and workflows, many of which are designed and manufactured by us in QLD Burleigh Heads.
Silversmithing COURSES
Children Welcome!!
Jewellery & Sculpture
All our classes are open to kids! They can learn how make jewellery for themselves and their friends or make a big monster sculpture, and much more! The options are limitless!
Creativity and hand-eye coordination are essential skills for young people to develop. Our classes are tailored, meaning we will help them make things they are interested in. Empowering a child with the knowledge to design and create will develop confidence and problem solving skills and set them off discovering and exploring their own interests.
Creative skills are a lifelong outlet of happiness and contentment and can provide a head start for a creative career.
What is Wax Jewellery Making?
Anything you create in wax can be cast in metal. You can sculpt your own designs from scratch or make moulds of objects, such as leaves or coral, to create your designs. It is also the perfect means to mass-produce your own designs.
Wax can be cut, carved, welded, and experimented on, in different ways to create different textures. If you carve too much off, just weld a blob back on and try again.
Creating Texture using Wax
Wax is an incredibly versatile medium for sculpting & creating texture. It also lends itself to experimentation to discover new and exciting techniques.
Advanced Wax Sculpture
Like all skills, the more you practice, the better you get. With a little instruction on correct sculpture techniques you can begin to hone your sculpting skills.
Our studio is fully equipped with all the sculpting gear you could need including a high power microscope with video camera, reference models & carving tools.
What is Mould Making?
A mould is simply a rubber negative which allows you to make infinite copies of your designs and objects through wax injection. Simply inject your mould and in seconds you have a perfect wax copy ready for casting or modification.
Or you can create standard components and combine them in different ways.
Creating your own Design Components
Why make things from scratch every time? Making moulds of commonly used components such as ring blanks, bezels and decorative elements means you can quickly assemble loads of new designs in a fraction of the time of traditional methods.
To give a very simple example, create moulds of the above two components. Simply inject the moulds with wax, weld the components together, tidy up with carving tools where necessary and cast.
Using Found Objects
Make a mould of an object such as leaves, coral, insects or other jewellery and incorporate it into you designs, the whole object or just the texture.
Silversmithing
We are fully equipped to guide students through all kinds of silversmithing techniques. Take a look at some of these projects for inspiration or tell us what you would like to make and we will do our best to help you to create your own masterpiece. We also have courses available for many of these things.
Silver soldering, bezel, flush & claw stone setting, enamelling, and metal finishing techniques. Or just show us some pictures of designs you like and we can teach you what you need to know to make it yourself.
There are a wide range of skills to be learned. Contact us to enquire about something specific.
Delft Clay Casting
This process involves two interlocking, locating aluminium canisters filled with compacted clay, which together contain a negative of your design. A channel is created for pouring molten metal such as silver, pewter or bronze, as well as some more channels to allow for air displacement.
How much detail can I achieve? The clay casting is still able to achieve detail although it has a much more handmade aesthetic.
Can I do this at home? Yes, with just a minimal tool set of canisters, delft clay and a blowtorch.
What kind of jewellery can I make using this method? Anything which can be pressed into the clay and removed without pulling the clay out with it (i.e. it can’t have undercuts).
I don't know where to start!
This is a normal reaction! One of the three listed below would be a great start! Have a read through the descriptions to see which ones most suit you or contact us!
Introduction to Wax Jewellery Making (3hrs)
The Intensive Wax Jewellery course (24hrs in several sessions)
Ongoing Jewellery Sessions (weekly, fortnightly or whatever works for you!)