Do Handmade Jewelry Designers Need Any Special Education?

By Author: Mike nielson
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If you are interested in pursuing a career in jewelry and have an aptitude for jewelry design, you may be wondering by now if you need any special education in jewelry making. Although any type of education will help you further any career, there are many people who ultimately become handmade jewelry designers who don’t have a degree.

One way you can learn is by taking workshops on handmade designers jewelry making, or silversmithing and other professions that interest you within the jewelry industry. Another option is to enroll in a program that offers a certificate and / or jewelry designing apprenticeship. Make sure with either choice you do some research to determine whether your time, money and efforts will be worth your while.

You can become a professional handmade jewelry designer easily by going through an accredited program and this will increase your chances of getting a mentor in designing jewelry. A mentor will then teach you with a hands-on approach to jewelry making and this will mean more than any academic education you can receive. Hands-on jewelry design making will give you the ‘real ...
... world’ experience that you need for real success, because it is always easier to learn by doing than by merely observing or reading about jewelry craftsmanship.

Be leery of schools that advertise or promise jobs at the end of your education. These enticing guarantees may be too farfetched in today’s marketplace. You will most likely be able to find a jewelry designer position on your own, or even to start your own handmade designers jewelry company.

Besides, most companies hire based on ‘show and tell’. So if you can prove yourself to be competent with a strong and unique handmade jewelry portfolio, this will increase your odds of getting job offers. The better your work and the tighter your skills, the more you will attract genuine handmade jewelry design retailers to notice you.

There are hundreds of art schools and jewelry design colleges and universities throughout the US and Canada. In nearly every state or major province you will find opportunities to learn from master jewelers. Some of the education centers actually specialize in jewelry making, while the remaining on the list are more general in the “art” curriculum. It’s the difference of learning in a small environment versus a larger class of students.

So, attend jewelry making college or not? The choice is entirely up to you whether you want to invest the time and money, but the skills you may learn in addition to the current jewelry making skills you already posses may be worth the extra monetary and time sacrifice.

Mike Nielson, For more information on Silver handcrafted jewelry, handmade jewelry designers and handmade designers jewelry. Please visit: http://www.galerina.com/