Jewellery Making Courses
COVID-19
Jewellery Making Workshops are currently being held with reduced numbers and following Covid-19 rules for regional Victorian students only. You must be fully vaccinated or have a valid vaccination exemption certificate to attend a workshop.
Feel free to contact Bec via email or call 0457 700 070 if you would like to discuss or have any questions. We are following advice from the Australian Government in relation to Coronavirus (COVID-19). Your safety and wellbeing are our highest priority.
Visit the Department of Health and Human Services Victoria, for more information on symptoms and how to protect yourself against COVID-19.
Jewellery Making Workshops
Learn to make contemporary jewellery with goldsmith Bec de Podolinsky.
Jewellery making courses are held at Pod Studio just outside Kyneton - a one hour drive north of Melbourne along the Calder Freeway.
Previous experience isn't necessary and these fun jewellery classes are suitable for beginners and students with some experience. You'll have the chance to design your own piece of jewellery and in most classes, everyone will be making something different.
Our students come from all over Australia and internationally including the UK, Ireland, Canada, USA, Malaysia, China, Japan, France and New Zealand.
You can see what past students have made on the Pod Jewellery Pinterest Board.
Read what our customers have to say about our jewellery courses. Pod Jewellery has a five star rating on Google, Facebook, Trip Advisor and via independent reviews our website. You read these reviews by clicking on a workshop.
10 things we do differently
- Jewellery workshops take one or two days (or two half days).
- We provide all tools, equipment and materials (including sterling silver).
- Work with sterling silver (not copper) or for an extra fee, gold or platinum. The selection of silver you have to choose from is enormous, so you'll be able to make incredible pieces of jewellery.
- Design your own jewellery and make a piece that suits your taste.
- Full-day worskhops include lunch. All workshops include morning / afternoon tea.
- Only pay a $100 deposit when booking ($250 deposit for the Intensive Beginners Jewellery Short Course). Pay the balance two weeks before the workshop or pre-pay your balance in instalments via direct bank deposit.
- Pay using afterpay, zipPay, Visa, MasterCard, Amex, PayPal and direct bank deposit.
- Get a 10% discount on selected local accommodation when completing a workshop.
- Our jewellery classes are small with a maximum of six students (three during Covid-19 restrictions), so you'll receive lots of help.
- We also give you:
- making instructions, so you can make more pieces when you get home.
- a list of suppliers, so you know where to buy precious metals and have things cast.
- a list of tools used during the workshop. Jewellery making tools and jewellery tool kits are available for purchase from Pod Studio or online here.
- details of where you can get free assistance starting a business.
We offer the following Jewellery Making Workshops:
- Intensive beginners jewellery making (includes lunch)
- Silver ring (includes lunch)
- Silver earring/pendant
- Lost wax silver ring
- Silver bangle (includes lunch)
- Stone setting - bezel set ring making (includes lunch)
- Stone setting in wax (includes lunch)
Private tuition and private group jewellery making classes are also available. Please email your enquiry here.
Scroll down for more details about each workshop and upcoming dates. A minimum of two students are required for a workshop to run (and three students for the Intensive Beginners Jewellery Short Course).
Pod Studio is located outside Kyneton, so we head into town to eat lunch at one of our amazing local cafés. Gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options are available. Lunch is included in the workshop fee for full day workshops.
Getting here
Workshops are held at the Pod Jewellery Studio in Kyneton - a one-hour drive north of Melbourne along the Calder Freeway. You can also catch a V/Line train from Southern Cross Station to Kyneton. Kyneton is on the Bendigo line. Pod Studio is located just out of Kyneton and is not within walking distance of the station or local accommodation. You can arrange transport from the station to the studio by calling Kyneton Ride-Share on 0458 826 393. If your class is during the week, call Kyneton Taxis on 0448 522 227.
Workshops
INTENSIVE BEGINNERS JEWELLERY MAKING SHORT COURSE $1200 (Two full days - 9am-4pm - includes lunch both days)
Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 November 2021 - Fully booked
Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 December 2021 - Fully booked
2022
Friday 28 and Saturday 29 January 2022 - Fully booked
Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 February 2022 - Fully booked
Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 February 2022 - Fully booked
Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 March 2022 - 2 spaces available
Friday 18 and Saturday 19 March 2022 - 3 spaces available
Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 April 2022 - 2 spaces available
This hugely popular intensive beginners jewellery making course is held over two-full-days during the week or on a weekend.
You’ll work at your own pace while learning the fundamentals of jewellery making. There’s no additional costs and no need to pay extra to work in silver, as up to 70 grams is included in your workshop fee. And rather than attending three-hour classes week-after-week, you'll learn it all in two days.
Everyone will be making different pieces of jewellery, so you'll see how various types of jewellery are made. Classes are held around a big jewellers bench, so you'll have your own space and tool kit to use during the class. And the beauty of working around this big jewellers bench, is that you'll see what everyone else is working on. It's great fun and a really supportive environment in which to learn.
At the end of this course you’ll take home at least five finished pieces of silver jewellery - one pair of earrings, a pendant, (and/or a second pair of earrings) and several rings. These pieces of jewellery look very professional and you'll be amazed by what you are able to make over the two days. And unlike any other jewellery making classes where you’re given a piece of metal (usually copper) to work with, you also get to choose from an enormous selection of sterling silver sheet, and plain, patterned and embossed wire.
More than 100 students have completed this workshop since I started teaching it in mid-2020 and many are now making and selling their own jewellery.
This course is 13 hours in total and is limited to three people. Both days, we each lunch at a local cafe. Lunch included in your course fee. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options are available. A delicious morning and afternoon tea is also provided both days. This class requires three students run.
INTENSIVE BEGINNERS JEWELLERY REFRESHER CLASS ($600 - One full day - includes lunch)
Thursday 2 December 2021 - 2 spaces available
2022
Tuesday 15 February 2022 - 3 spaces available
If you've completed the Intensive Beginners Jewellery Short Course and want to refresh your skills, then this one-day class is for you.
You may have been making from home or perhaps haven't had the chance to set up a work space and practice your skills since you completed the Intensive Beginners Jewellery Short Course. This refresher course will bring you back up to speed with soldering and making pieces.
You can complete pieces you've been working on at home, learn to use your soldering torch properly or practice soldering a little more. You're also welcome to bring your own handheld torch if you'd like to get some more experience using your own torch. You can also choose to come along and make some new pieces in the workshop.
After you book in, I'll be in touch to see what you'd like to work on and will then try to tailor the workshop to your needs. This workshop doesn't include Stone Setting.
Please note: This workshop is only available to students who have completed the Intensive Beginners Jewellery Short Course.
It's one full day and includes lunch. Class is limited to three students.
SILVER RING WORKSHOP $500 (Full day workshop, includes lunch)
Thursday 9 December 2021 - Fully booked
2022
Monday 7 February 2022 - 1 space available
Saturday 19 February 2022 - 3 spaces available
Create your own made-to-measure sterling silver ring in one day. No previous experience is necessary. You will have lots of flexibility to make a ring band that suits your finger and can finish it with a textured, brushed, polished, oxidised or fine silver finish.
You'll learn to saw, file, solder and emery your ring. You can then choose to polish, hammer texture, brush or oxidise the surface of your silver ring. At the end of this fun class, you’ll take home your beautiful handmade sterling silver ring. You can see rings made in this class on the Silver Ring Pinterest Board.
If you'd like to make a more detailed ring, a ring that isn't round, or chunkier ring, rather than a band, then consider the Lost Wax Silver Ring Workshop. Working with lost wax is a skill you can continue to use when you get home, without needing to spend thousands of dollars on tools. If you'd like to make signet rings, you'll need to book in for the Lost Wax Silver Ring Workshop .
The Silver Ring and Silver Bangle Workshop are held together, so if you are coming along with someone else and one would like to make a ring and the other a bangle, just book in for the Silver Ring or Silver Bangle Class on the same date, and you'll be making your pieces together.
LOST WAX SILVER RING WORKSHOP $550 (2 x half days)
9am-1pm Friday 18 February and Friday 4 March 2022 - 3 spaces available
2-6pm Friday 18 February and Friday 4 March 2022 - 3 spaces available
2-6pm Sunday 6 and Sunday 20 March 2022 - 3 spaces available
Spend half a day learning to carve a ring from wax. The ring is then sent to Melbourne to be cast in either sterling silver (15 grams and one casting fee are included your course fees) or for an extra fee gold or platinum. One week later, we will gather again for half a day to finish making your sterling silver ring.
Working with wax is really relaxing, students often describe it as therapeutic. Many people who have completed this workshop have continued making jewellery from wax as a hobby. A number of people have started their own small businesses making and selling their own jewellery.
Once you have the knowledge, lost wax carving is something you can continue from home without needing to purchase a lot of expensive tools after the workshop. You can apply the skills you learn in this workshop to carve brooches, earrings and pendants. You also receive making instructions and all the information you will need to get your pieces cast. You can also purchase a Lost Wax tool kit, which has everything you need to start making pieces as soon as you get home.
For some inspiration on the types of pieces you can make using the lost wax process, check out the Pod Jewellery Pinterest board on Lost Wax Making.
The Silver Earring Making Workshop is held in the morning before the Lost Wax Ring Making Workshop, you may want to attend both workshops. Read more about Silver Earring workshop here.
This workshop is a pre-requisite for our Stone Setting in Wax Workshop
If you're unable to make the second half of the Lost Wax Silver Ring Workshop on the date listed, get in touch to arrange joining the second half of the workshop at a later date.
HALF DAY SILVER EARRING/PENDANT WORKSHOP - $350 (4 hours 9am-1pm)
Thursday 3 March 2022 - 3 spaces available
Spend half a day designing and making a pair of sterling silver drop or stud earrings, or a pendant to take home and wear. Learn to saw shapes, texture surfaces and emboss patterns into metal using one of a selection of patterned rolling plates. You'll also learn to make earring hooks, posts or a pendant bail, along with other skills you can use to make your own creations at home.
At the end of this fun class, you’ll take home your pair of handmade one-of-a-kind sterling silver earrings or a pendant.
The Lost Wax Silver Ring Workshop is held in the afternoon following the Silver Ring Workshop, you may want to attend both workshops. Read more about Lost Wax Silver Ring Workshop.
STONE SETTING IN WAX $700 (1.5 days, includes lunch on the first day)
2022
9:30am-4pm Thursday 17 February and 2-6pm Thursday 3 March 2022 - 2 spaces available
9:30am-4pm Saturday 5 March and 9am-1pm Sunday 20 March 2022 - 2 spaces available
This intermediate stone setting course is a follow-on from the Lost Wax Silver Ring Workshop.
Stone Setting in Wax is very addictive. Once you have these skills, you'll be making pieces for everyone.
In this class, you'll learn several different types of setting and then put them into practice to create two rings in wax that will be then cast into silver.
The setting styles covered include:
- how to flush set stones into wax, which will then be cast into place.
- creating a bezel setting for a facetted gemstone to be cast in place.
- building an organic setting to fit a raw uncut gemstone, a tumbled stone, a facetted gemstone or a crystal and then setting after the piece has been cast.
On the first half day you work with wax to carve your ring, create your settings or set your stones in wax. The wax rings are then taken to Melbourne to be cast in silver (15 grams of silver and one casting fee is included in the course cost), or gold or platinum (at an additional cost). We gather again for half a day one week later so you can clean and polish the rings and set your stones.
Many types of stones cannot be cast in the wax, as they can't take the heat of the casting process. So knowing how to set stones after the piece has been cast will give you more variety in terms of the types of gemstones you can use.
Please note: this is an intermediate wax setting class, you must have completed the Lost Wax Silver Ring Workshop or have previous experience carving wax.
STONE SETTING BEZEL SET RING WORKSHOP $550 (One full day - includes lunch)
Sunday 20 February 2022 - 2 spaces available
Learn to create a made-to-measure sterling silver ring band and bezel set a cabochon stone in this stone setting course. We work with sterling silver in the workshop or for an additional fee you can make your ring from gold. You learn to make the entire piece, including the ring band, which will fit your finger perfectly, so you will be able to wear your ring home after the workshop.
Please note: this gemstone setting class is of an intermediate level, you must have completed the Intensive Beginners Jewellery Short Course or jewellery classes elsewhere and have some knowledge of soldering and sawing.
This workshop often runs the day after the Intensive Beginners Jewellery Short Course. If you're booked in for the Intensive Beginners Jewellery Short Course on the days before this class, you can also book in for the stone setting workshop, so you can complete these classes over three consecutive days.
SILVER BANGLE WORKSHOP - (Full day workshop includes lunch) - $570
Thursday 9 December 2021 - 1 space available -
2022
Monday 7 February 2022 - 1 space available
Saturday 19 February 2022 - 3 spaces available
Create your own made-to-measure sterling silver bangle in one-day. This workshop is perfect if have trouble finding a bangle that fits your wrist or can't find a style that you like. Previous experience is not necessary.
Many bangles are made from hollow tube. Bangles in this workshop are made from solid sterling silver. Choose the profile (shape) of the silver including half round, oval, square, round or rectangle and then decide whether to make a round or oval bangle. At the end of this fun class, you’ll take home your beautiful handmade sterling silver bangle.
The Silver Bangle and Silver Ring Workshop are held together, as the technique is similar, so if you are coming along with someone else and one would like to make a ring and the other a bangle, just book in for the Silver Bangle or Silver Ring class on the same date, and you'll be making your pieces together.
PRIVATE JEWELLERY LESSONS - from $400 for a three hour minimum
Private jewellery making lessons are a great way to learn techniques such as soldering or how to make specific pieces of jewellery. You can choose to com e along as an individual or a small group. Private lessons include the use of tools and some consumables such as sterling silver solder. All metal including sterling silver is an additional fee based on weight. This is payable on the day. You are also welcome to bring along your own metal for the workshop.
JEWELLERY WORKSHOP GIFT CERTIFICATES
Pod Gift Certificates are the perfect present for a friend or loved one. They can be used for a Jewellery Making workshop, to purchase jewellery tools or to buy jewellery from the Pod Jewellery collection. Pod Gift Certificates are beautifully designed and arrive gift-wrapped and ready to give.
Places are limited to six students in all jewellery workshops and jewellery making courses. A $100 deposit is payable on all workshops and courses. If you cancel less than four weeks prior to the start date of the workshop, your $100 deposit will not be refunded.
If you're unable to attend, you can transfer your workshop booking to another person (for the same workshop dates only). If the workshop does not run and is cancelled by us, you will receive a full refund or can choose be transferred to another workshop. Gift certificates are not refundable. We do not offer fee reductions, refunds or make-up classes to students who miss classes.
There are no refunds for students cancelling within seven days (168 hours) of the start of any jewellery making courses or workshops.
STONE SETTING BEZEL SET RING WORKSHOP $550 (One full day - includes lunch)
Monday 19 April 2021 (3 spaces available - new workshop date)
Friday 14 May 2021 (3 spaces available - new workshop date)
Learn to create a made-to-measure sterling silver ring band and bezel set a cabochon stone in this stone setting course. We work with sterling silver in the workshop or for an additional fee you can make your ring from gold. You learn to make the entire piece, including the ring band, which will fit your finger perfectly, so you will be able to wear your ring home after the workshop.
Please note: this gemstone setting class is of an intermediate level, you must have completed the Intensive Beginners Jewellery Short Course or jewellery classes elsewhere and have some knowledge of soldering and sawing.
SAND (DELFT CLAY) CASTING WORKSHOP $420 (Full day workshop, includes lunch)
Sunday 29 November 2020 (Fully booked)
2021 - $420
Saturday 20 March 2021 (3 spaces available)
Saturday 19 June 2021 (Fully booked)
Learn to cast pieces of jewellery and small sculptures in sand (delft clay). Casting is great fun and has been used to make jewellery for thousands of years.
You can see some pieces that have been cast using this method on the Pod Jewellery Sand Casting Pinterest board.
In this one day workshop, you will learn how to create a clay mould, so you can successfully cast your own piece. We then clean and finish your piece so it's ready to wear. We work with sterling silver in this workshop, which is included in the fee. You can also bring your own gold jewellery to melt down and cast into a new piece of jewellery. Gold jewellery must be yellow or rose gold. Due to the difficulty in casting, we do not cast white gold.
This method can also be used to cast almost any hard object including shells, sticks, acorns, seeds, pottery, existing pieces of jewellery, nuts, keys and other metal objects, teeth, bone, gum nuts and so much more. You can bring along something you would like to cast in silver, or use one of the many objects already available in the studio.
SILVER BANGLE WORKSHOP - (Full day workshop includes lunch) - $420
Saturday 7 November 2020 (2 spaces available)
Sunday 6 December 2020 (Fully booked)
Sunday 13 December 2020 (2 spaces available)
2021- $450 (Full day workshop, includes lunch)
Sunday 28 February 2021 (3 spaces available)
Friday 12 March 2021 (3 spaces available)
Wednesday 14 April 2021 (3 spaces available)
Sunday 23 May 2021 (3 spaces available)
Create your own made-to-measure sterling silver bangle in one-day. This workshop is perfect if have trouble finding a bangle that fits your wrist or can't find a style that you like. Previous experience is not necessary.
Many bangles are made from hollow tube. Bangles in this workshop are made from solid sterling silver. Choose the profile (shape) of the silver including half round, oval, square, round or rectangle and then decide whether to make a round or oval bangle. At the end of this fun class, you’ll take home your beautiful handmade sterling silver bangle.
The Silver Bangle and Silver Ring Workshop are held together, as the technique is similar, so if you are coming along with someone else and one would like to make a ring and the other a bangle, just book in for the Silver Bangle or Silver Ring class on the same date, and you'll be making your pieces together.
SILVER JEWELLERY CUTTLEFISH CASTING WORKSHOP - (Full day workshop includes lunch) - $420
In this full day workshop, you will learn to carve cuttlefish bone and how to set up your cuttlefish bone, so it can successfully cast your design. We work with sterling silver in this workshop, which is included in the fee. You can also bring your own gold jewellery to melt down and cast into a new piece of jewellery.
You can see some of the amazing pieces that can be cast using cuttlefish bone and the lovely pattern that's applied to the piece when it's cast on my Pinterest board.
PRIVATE JEWELLERY LESSONS - from $450 for a three hour minimum
Private jewellery making lessons are a great way to learn techniques such as soldering or how to make specific pieces of jewellery. You can choose to com e along as an individual or a small group. Private lessons include the use of tools and some consumables such as sterling silver solder. All metal including sterling silver is an additional fee based on weight. This is payable on the day. You are also welcome to bring along your own metal for the workshop.
JEWELLERY WORKSHOP GIFT CERTIFICATES
Pod Gift Certificates are the perfect present for a friend or loved one. They can be used for a Jewellery Making workshop, to purchase jewellery tools or to buy jewellery from the Pod Jewellery collection. Pod Gift Certificates are beautifully designed and arrive gift-wrapped and ready to give.
Places are limited to six students in all jewellery workshops and jewellery making courses. A $100 deposit is payable on all workshops and courses. If you cancel less than four weeks prior to the start date of the workshop, your $100 deposit will not be refunded.
If you're unable to attend, you can transfer your workshop booking to another person (for the same workshop dates only). If the workshop does not run and is cancelled by us, you will receive a full refund or can choose be transferred to another workshop. Gift certificates are not refundable. We do not offer fee reductions, refunds or make-up classes to students who miss classes.
There are no refunds for students cancelling within seven days (168 hours) of the start of any jewellery making courses or workshops.
