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It was all hands on deck last night at Anneville Jewelry Club's Sawing Circle! Seriously, we had great fun sharing our tips, tricks, and travails as we sawed, filed, stamped and sanded silver, copper and brass hands for the worldwide Hand Medal Project. Seventeen eager sawers discussed important details like whether the index finger in the template was oddly long, whether to stamp our artist numbers on the front or back, the best way to attach the ribbon, etc. Thanks to Nancy for the tip of putting a piece of paper in between two glued layers of metal - great way to saw two hands at once. Kathe showed a great example medal; we're hoping our ribbons will look as classy. Everyone agreed that putting the sandpaper in the sawframe made sanding a lot easier. We agreed to share resources - number stamps and ribbons - basically we're happy to give each other a hand!

Anneville Jewelry Club is participating in the Hand Medal Project as part of Kerianne Quick's SDSU team. The Hand Medal Project is an international metal arts collaboration in which jewelers around the world are making small, wearable hands as a sign of gratitude for health care workers. As part of Keri’s team, our goal is to produce 180 medals - one for each health care professional at Scripps. We have a team of 17 makers creating the small metal hand medals, envelopes and ribbons. More about the Hand Medal Project.

Tuesday, Sept. 8th from 6-8pm PDT
You're invited to join from your own studio and work alongside us via Zoom. How will it work? We have no idea! But it sounds fun to try. Collaborate with your Hand Medal Teammates or work on anything you like from class projects to professional commissions. Anne will be at her bench working and chit chatting in between muting her audio to hammer. Ame will be hosting, offering Zoom help and making Hand Medal Project envelopes. Whether you're on our Hand Medal Team, a team in another location or just wanting the fun of working at your bench with a friend, you're invited. To join on September 8th just hop online between 6-8pm (link opens Zoom).

Brought to us by SDSU instructor and materialsmith Kerianne Quick, the Hand Medal Project is an international metal arts collaboration in which metalsmiths around the world are making small, wearable hands as a sign of gratitude for health care workers. The hands are reminiscent of milagros or ex votos - religious objects used to invoke miracles. At great risk to themselves and their families, our health care workers are saving lives every day - a miracle indeed. As a part of Keri’s team, our goal is to produce 180 medals - one for each health care professional at Scripps. The Anneville Jewelry Club is a free group that comes together for excursions, online gatherings, group projects. This will be our second event for 2020. Joining our Hand Medal Team is totally free and, if you know us, we'll have some fun with it for sure. Read on for details and sign up.

Chinanshu "Cheena" Sharma on Jaipur Jewelry. Cheena will take us on a virtual excursion to the world-famous Johari Bazaar in her home town of Jaipur, India. Along the way she'll share a bit about her jewelry business background and her observations on design, color and craft.

Our All Craft Tool Sale on January 17th was a spectacular success. Before we could even get everything out of the boxes we had excited shoppers arriving. The tables in the lab groaned under the weight of bezel blocks, exotic hammers in all shapes and sizes, professional ring sizing sets, shaping blocks, mandrels, precision compasses, wax carving tools, burr sets, shaping blocks and tons more. Meanwhile over in Anne's Studio, buyers chatted happily as they poured over whisper-thin micro files, chasing hammers and boxes upon boxes of pliers in every size and shape imaginable. In addition to the tools, Anne and Tevel circulated through each room consulting on tool uses and throwing out jewelry making tips and tricks. Did I mention that the hallways were also packed with goodies from giant bracelet mandrels to patinas, saw blade sets and jewelry books? At 2:30 the fabulous Bette Barnett arrived to amaze us all with a free Keum Boo demo where she showed us how to use the exquisite gold and silver foil Tevel had on sale. Even though I helped set up, every time I turned around I saw something new out on a table. From all of the frantic shopping and sheepish grins as people left clutching their finds, it was clear that everyone really enjoyed it. Including us, at the end of it all we couldn't idly sit by and watch Tevel take everything back so we kept a few boxes on consignment. Stayed tuned for a Store update! And if you missed the fun, never fear, we're already working on when Tevel can return.