A growing number of the 500,000 beaders in the U.S. are deciding to go beyond simple stringing and bead crafting into the realm of more sophisticated metal jewelry. The techniques are simple, the tools affordable, and the space requirements small - a kitchen table will do. Getting Started Making Metal Jewelry is the ideal introduction. Master teacher Mark Lareau offers practical advice on equipping a home workshop, and demystifies such basics as cutting, soldering, buffing, stamping, and wirework. Along the way, he gives step-by-step instructions for projects designed to help the reader build skills while creating beautiful designs. Pendants, earrings, bracelets, rings, and chains in styles from contemporary and funky to classic and elegant are presented, and the reader is encouraged to expand her own creativity and personal style. The primary competition for this book is expensive, arty, and short on practical instruction for the beginner. Getting Started Making Metal Jewelry is packed with clear, explicit step-by-step photographs that make learning easy and success likely.

Author Biography

Mark Lareau started his wireworking and metalsmithing odyssey in 1998 when he began making simple wire jewelry and basic mobiles. In 1992, Mark and his wife, Viki, opened The Bead Factory, a full-service retail bead store in Tacoma, Washington, and he has been teaching classes there since. Viki and Mark are also the founders of the Puget Sound Bead Festival, the most successful consumer bead event on the West Coast. Mark is the author of All Wired Up (Interweave Press, 2000), with 75,000 copies sold.