Looking for jewelry making classes near Richmond? Here's what most studios won't tell you: fixed class schedules and packed rooms sometimes aren't the best way to learn. I'm located in Ashland, just 15 minutes north of Richmond, right in the heart of the RVA area. My studio is part workshop, part library, part enchanted backyard and it's built around a different way of teaching. Classes that work around your schedule, not the other way around Every workshop at AJ Newell Studio is...

You've seen the word. Maybe you've heard it in the context of handmade jewelry, or stumbled across it while looking for a creative class to try. But what exactly is metalsmithing and is it something a regular person with no art background can actually learn? Short answer: yes. Longer answer: keep reading. Metalsmithing, defined Metalsmithing is the craft of shaping, forming, and joining metal to create functional or decorative objects. Jewelry is the most common application, but metalsmithing...

You've thought about it. Maybe more than once. You saw someone's handmade earrings and wondered how they did that. Or you walked past a jewelry studio and felt a pull you couldn't quite explain. Or you've been crafting for years — knitting, painting, ceramics, whatever your thing is — and something about working with metal keeps catching your attention. Here's what I want to tell you: that pull is worth following. I've been teaching jewelry making for more than a decade, and I've watched...