Crafting a Silver Spoon
Keepsakes & Mementos
Have you ever wanted to make a silver spoon? Perhaps a keepsake spoon, a gift for a newborn baby or happy newlyweds? A coffee scoop for morning rituals or perhaps you really need a fancy spoon to stir your Friday night Negroni?
This full day hands-on workshop is a lot of fun and will give you the opportunity to make your very own spoon in sterling silver.
The humble spoon was one of the earliest examples of cutlery and the use of silver spoons goes back to the ancient Greeks when it was normal to carry a spoon and drinking vessel when dining away from home! Today, a silver spoon is still a traditional gift for a new baby or a wedding present. Tutor Erin Pearce invites you to spend a day forging and fabricating your very own Copper and Fine Silver spoons.
Delving into the values of reciprocity and the sharing of the skills, space and time, we invite you to experiment with techniques and designs in copper, before creating a Fine Silver teaspoon. Let’s see what you can bring to the table!
When: Weekends 10:00am – 4:00pm
Duration: 1 Day (6 hours)
Class size: Maximum 6 people
Cost: $465
As part of Joynton & 107 Projects, The Bench will provide subsidised courses to residents in the Zetland, Sydney area. For further information please email us at jewellery@thebench.sydney
ABOUT THE COURSE
Prerequisite
These classes are not designed for silversmiths; they are for people who just want to experience and understand the skills of the craftsmen and women who create beautiful silverware. Students will be required to have a basic understanding of annealing and soldering metal, and will need to be comfortable with repetitive hammering for long periods of time.
Course Objectives
This course is an excellent introduction to working with metals. Using traditional tools and methods to transform a piece of silver using hammering and forging – a process known as hand raising – into a simple utensil. Using hammers and stakes, we focus on traditional silversmithing techniques to manipulate silver into 3D form. Learn how we stretch, thin and shape metal to create elegant forms. In the process of making your spoon you will learn how to anneal, forge, form and solder.
These are some of the techniques that you will be guided through:
Metallurgy
Annealing, Forging, Forming
Complex solder joins (for both fine jewellery and standard jewellery connections)
Industry standard finishing/polishing
New materials knowledge and understanding through application
Temperature control
Chemicals and their uses
Design planning
Course Outcomes
Everyone will complete one silver spoon. You will complete this course having increased your skills set and you will leave with the understanding and confidence to continue making basic utensils.
What’s Included
Tuition fee includes all materials, tools and enough silver to make one spoon. You will be provided with copper to sample, sterling silver, consumables – saw blades, solder, emery paper, industry standard polishing equipment, notes, trade connections.
The Tutor: Erin Pearce
Erin Pearce is an award-winning Jeweller, who began her career almost 20 years ago with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Practicing across multiple artistic disciplines allowed her the opportunity to pursue an increasing motivation to explore concepts through jewellery making. Erin expanded her skills through a number of roles and jewellery courses within the industry, before undertaking an apprenticeship in Jewellery Manufacture.
In 2020 Erin formally launched her own jewellery manufacturing business, Mill Foundry, with a personal focus on further exploration of technique and a desire to learn through every piece she creates. Her work is influenced by mid-century modern design and a constant consideration of the placement of both herself, and her work, between the worlds of Contemporary Art and traditional jewellery manufacturing.
The Bench workshop
The Workshop
The Bench is a modern, light filled, industry standard workshop focusing on education and training. It is a relaxed and friendly place to learn traditional and contemporary jewellery techniques, a space to develop ideas and projects such as ring making, silver jewellery and stone setting gems. We provide concept based jewellery classes to the absolute beginner, the aspiring maker and to the professional jeweller.
The Bench is a safe working and learning environment, complete with a wide inventory of tools and equipment, such as Vaniman polishing extraction, enamelling kiln, fume cabinets, micromotors, soldering torches, rolling mill, tumbler, ultrasonic and more.
Location
The Bench acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of our land – Australia. The Bench acknowledges the Gadigal of the Eora Nation as the traditional custodians of this place we now call Sydney.
Joynton Avenue Creative Centre in Green Square
Joynton Avenue Creative Centre in Green Square
The Bench is located at the exquisite historic site, Joynton Avenue Creative Centre in Green Square, and is easily accessed by bus, train (Green Square Station), ride or walk.
The Bench cultivates inclusive, creative and accessible spaces for everyone to have the opportunity to feel safe and welcomed.
The building has full wheelchair accessibility, ramp access from street and park entrances, internal lift for access to upper levels and a unisex accessible toilet on each level.
THE BENCH, Joynton Avenue Creative Centre
3A Joynton Ave, Zetland NSW 2017
Additional notes
All the tools, materials and consumables you need for the course will be available at the venue; including an apron. You may want to buy further materials from our metal suppliers – your tutor will provide you with supplier information.
For health and safety reasons, please bring along with you the following
Hair tie: If you have long hair, please bring along something to tie it back with
Closed in shoes: We will be working with hot, sharp and heavy tools, so please wear shoes, which will protect your feet. Avoid wearing loose flowing garments.
Sketch book/note book/ pen and/or pencil: Please bring along a notebook for your own notes and design ideas. Notes will be provided to complement the techniques you will be learning but you may wish to make your own notes.
Remember: If you use glasses for reading and /or close up work please remember to bring them along.
Book your course
Questions?
Email us at: jewellery@thebench.sydney
or call us on: 0406 794 112