The Art and Craft of Making Jewelry: A Complete Guide to Essential Techniques

Nice book, packed with helpful information about general jewelry making and metal work. Info on tools needed and good resources for materials. I’ve probably checked this book out from the library five times - nice to own a copy now.

Wow - a picture does say a thousand words and this book is loaded with images that clarify a process, show a finished piece in all its beauty, and inspire confidence to design your own work utilizing the techniques described in this book. The highlights for me in this book are the "Bench Tips" as they provide little tips to help you in the process of working with metal...and yes, a more appropriate title would be "The Art & Craft of Making Metal Jewelry." The techniques described (pretty much covers everything) are short and I would have like more information, particularly if I were a beginner. The organization is excellent (see below). The gallery/completed pieces are perfect for throughout each section of the book. The few projects provided are definitely doable, maybe for the beginner, but more appropriately for the intermediate to advanced metal worker. Each project has each step clearly stated and labeled. CONTENTS (as there is no Search Inside this Book): *Introduction *Metals & Their Properties (highly recommend this) *Tools & Equipment (covers all the truly necessary pieces; the "Tool Kit" listing is very handy; includes recommended Safety Equipment - would have liked more info here, but many of the Bench Tips provide additional recommendations that are excellent reminders) *Metalworking Basics *Forming Metal (bending/shaping, forging, dapping, die forming, scoring, repousse, casting) *Texturing Metal (roller, etching) *Layering Metal (applique, granulation, filigree, kum boo) *Mixing Metals (mokume gane) *Adding Color (enamel, resin inlay, bezels, stones, *Mechanisms (findings, clasps, hinges, chains) *Metal Clay (very brief - basically just mentioning it and showing unique pieces) *Templates (for the projects described in book) *Contributing Authors (contributing in the sense of their pieces shown within the pages of the book) *Acknowledgements *About the Author *Index This is definitely a book for the PROFESSIONAL jewelry maker and a worthy reference tool for their library.

This is really the best beginner-intermediate level jewelry making book that I have seen so far. Whereas most instructional books consist mainly of hideous jewelry designs that they demonstrate how to make, this book is a "survey" (of sorts) of the different techniques, with many examples of truly beautiful jewelry that were made with each technique. Inspiring, yet achievable. If you are a beginner, or would like to extend your skill set, this is really the best bet for the buck.

When I buy an "instructional" book, I nearly always find one or two handy tricks which make the book worth it's price. This one is loaded with great tips! Joanna Gollberg is a whiz at the technical aspects of the craft and she's very good at making the information understandable. If I could only have two books in my metalsmithing collection, this would be on the shelf along with Tim McCreight's Fundamentals.

I buy a TON of books about jewelry making, and for probably over a year now every book I've been buying has been something I immediately regretted--and quickly tossed to the "Shelf Of Neglect" section on my bookshelf (that's 3rd row down if yer ever over to visit) :-) While I'm not a newbie to metalsmithing stuff, this book would be perfect for a beginner--BUT!! It's still good enough to keep even someone who really knows their stuff (like me*) finding it interesting as well! I'mna shaddup now so I can go look at it some more! *Not trying to sound like a fat-head or something, just once you learn the basics you can only see them SO many times before growing painfully bored... hope that makes sense.