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A place with all the tools you need for your creativity and hands-on-learning.
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NextFab’s North Philadelphia makerspace is designed to let your creativity carry you in new directions. Connect with your inner maker and make your daydreams tangible with help from our Jewelry department.
Led by expert craftspeople and with access to the best tools and materials at your disposal, our jewelry making classes will help you truly master the craft of jewelry-making. Combining lecture-style and demonstrations with hands-on opportunities, our introductory and intermediate jewelry making classes and workshops are designed to help you become a better and more inspired maker.
Even after your very first class, you’ll have better insights into the fine craftsmanship of enameling, lost wax casting, setting bezels, silversmithing, and more. Where you take those skills next is up to you!
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Our jewelry metalworking classes in Philadelphia are designed to make you a more confident, more inspired, and more capable creator in the fine art of metalwork. Under our instruction, you’ll be sure to start to gain confidence in your jewelry craft.
After completing your introductory courses or workshops in jewelry or even ring making with NextFab, you’ll have access to all of a professional’s tools in the intricate craft of jewelry making. From the basics to more advanced techniques like stone setting and casting, our jewelry making classes in Philadelphia are designed to cover the gamut of inspired would-be makers like you.
One of our popular courses is our Jewelry Studio Orientation course, which serves as the gateway to the exciting world of jewelry making. Get your hands on the soldering iron, polish your metal to a lustrous shine, and learn to craft stunning pieces you might have otherwise thought impossible.
Those with a bit more experience under their belt can enjoy more advanced coursework, such as our Jewelry Torchwork I class. Intricate tasks such as soldering, annealing, shaping, and fusing await you in this hot course.
Our Stone Setting 1: Basics with Bezels course is perfect for intermediate students who want to refine their bezeling skills. Learn to set a variety of gemstones, discover unconventional and partial bezels that celebrate a stone’s natural beauty, and learn to highlight focal points with ease.
Niki Leist was working out of her home studio with her soldering touch, but realized how unsafe that was both for her own health and safety but for her newborn daughter. Her jewelry features lost-wax casting and keum-boo techniques, where she typically hand-carves pieces in wax and then casts them in sterling silver. She utilizes the jewelry community meetups, small classes and private instruction, and the jewelry benches at NextFab to complete her work.
The creative journey may be your own, but you’ll have plenty of company along the way. Be prepared to meet burgeoning jewelry makers just like yourself in our jewelry department. Whether you wish to form a community of like-minded creators or simply want to learn the tricks and skills needed from practiced mentors, you’re sure to find the support you crave here at NextFab.
Many of our community members use our makerspace as their hub for creation, assembling fine jewelry pieces they simply can’t while at home. Others enjoy access to the latest dedicated tools that we make available at the maker’s bench. Either way, our studio is the perfect spot to connect with other makers and get feedback on your pieces in progress.
Members in the jewelry department can rent their own dedicated work bench. Everything from equipment to materials are well stocked and well maintained to ensure you have everything you need to create your next masterpiece.
With access to NextFab’s equipment, mentorship, and safety practices, jewelers at every level have the freedom to get their hands dirty. And with 24/7 access to our studio (by application), you can let the spark of creativity ignite at any time you need it to. Artists, entrepreneurs, hobbyists, and more are all welcome to embark on ring making, stone setting, and beyond.
Where your creativity takes you only yours to know. But NextFab can help you get there. We can assist in sourcing materials, forming community, and staying up to date on jewelry trends to inspire your next piece. Think of our makerspace as your hub for the act of creation.
Cody Heller had been using wire wrapping techniques for over 8 years to make pendants with semi-precious gemstones. Since joining NextFab, Cody has focused on developing his soldering and fabrication skills. He has crafted many unique settings to highlight his collection of gems, stones, and crystals. Each one-of-a-kind setting that he embarks on creates new challenges that push his creative direction and skill set forward. The benefits of having a dedicated jewelry studio like NextFab span from design flexibility to tools and technology to community support. The practicalities of these benefits, and how using NextFab as a dedicated studio works for a jeweler are, it is not difficult to set up a bench to work at in your own home or studio. Where it gets challenging is when you have a project that requires a piece of equipment you haven’t invested in yet or when you hit a wall that keeps you from being productive. Being in a studio where you have the resources available to you to learn a new technique or get exposed to a different method of making can elevate your work and get you past any bumps along the road.
If you have questions about any of our jewelry making tools, feel free to speak with a course instructor or makerspace proctor at any time!
NextFab is the best place to create because the possibilities are nearly infinite. Use our makerspace’s state-of-the-art equipment and receive expert instruction in the inclusive jewelry classes and jewelry workshops you’ve been looking for. Our jewelry and metalworking classes near North Philadelphia, PA will take your craft to the next level. Perhaps most importantly, our community of makers will expand your horizons!
To begin your jewelry making journey, become a member at NextFab today. Our jewelry classes are sure to inspire the creative in you that’s bursting to get free.