Blog Author

Halstead Jewelry Author Erica

Erica is the former Studio Coordinator at Halstead. She spent 14 years with the company across a variety of departments but fell in love with metalsmithing. Erica's top tip for new metalsmiths is: "Practice! Be patient with yourself and have fun with it. Don't be afraid to ask questions. All of us at Halstead enjoy helping people whether it's questions on products or technical help in the studio. We're here for you."

Articles by Erica

Learn how to make crystal jewelry We cover crystal points, geodes, slabs, and more.

How to Make Crystal Jewelry - Alternative Setting Techniques

Not all stones are perfectly calibrated. This blog covers alternative stone setting methods for crystals, geodes, and slabs. Use these techniques to make crystal jewelry.

Erica walks you through a variety of techniques to learn how to size a ring up or down, a great skill to have in your jewelry studio business.

How to Size a Ring in the Jewelry Studio

Having the skills to size rings can be very handy for your jewelry studio business, especially if you don't have the right size for a customer in stock. Learn sizing to capture more sales and offer superior service to your clients.

Learn how to calculate the right material length for finger rings, plus design tips and tricks for beautify, one-of-a-kind rings.

Making Rings: Tips and Tricks

This blog covers important information – like how to buy the right material for making rings. But we’ll also discuss the fun stuff – design ideas and tips and tricks for creating one-of-a-kind rings!

Learn about different types of gold material used to make jewelry. The nine options explored in this article include alloys as well as layered materials and base metals.

9 Types of Gold Jewelry

Gold is seductive. The luminous metal has inspired artists and wearers throughout human history. This reference article will explore different golden materials used in the jewelry arts.

Learn how to solder pattern wire rings or stacking rings made from half round wire stock. Use basic soldering & forming techniques for rings you will love.

Soldering Half Round Wire & Pattern Wire to Make Rings - lock

We love to make silver rings in the Halstead Studio. These simple stackers are a low price-point crowd pleaser. If you're preparing for a show, a holiday is around the corner or you just want to bulk up inventory, ring bands can be a great addition to your collection.

New to making custom silver bezel settings? Learn how to measure and calculate exactly how much material you need and order at the right quantity.

How to Buy Bezel Strip Wire

If you make custom cabochon settings on a regular basis, it makes sense to buy basic bezel strip by the troy ounce coil so you always have material on hand. But, if you need just a little fancy gallery bezel for a special project or you rarely set custom...

Learn how to make a hinge in your jewelry designs. This essential mechanism will allow you to tackle lockets, boxes, poison rings and more!

How To Make A Hinge For Jewelry

Learn how to make a basic knuckle hinge in your jewelry designs using tubing, sheet metal and jewelry wire.

Learn how to finish jewelry chain to make necklaces or bracelets from bulk footage chain lengths. See how to solder chains for secure clasp connections.

How to Make Chain Necklaces & Bracelets

Find instructions and tips on how to make chain necklaces and bracelets! Large and small chain links are covered including different chain styles and finishing techniques.

Read our glossary of hammers used in jewelry making. This essential overview will explore types of hammers and how to completely outfit your studio.

Types of Hammers Used in Jewelry Making

Read all about the types of hammers used in the jewelry studio & check out our Facebook LIVE videos for tips, techniques & more!

Review our quick quide to ready-made stone settings to make your jewelry fabrication time more efficient so you can focus on your custom work.

Types of Jewelry Settings

Interested in ready-made stone settings? We cover a wide range of pre-made jewelry settings and tools in this guide, which also include hints and favorite new tools.

Learn how to create a custom granular cabochon setting in this easy pendant tutorial for your jewelry studio practice. Stretch your metalsmithing skills.

Setting a Cabochon Pendant Tutorial - lock

Enjoy an afternoon in the studio creating beautiful cabochon settings! This how-to guide will show you step-by-step how to make custom cabochon settings in a few short hours.

Essential Tools for Your New Jewelry Studio

Build your jewelry studio bench with Erica's top picks of essential tools for metalsmiths.

Learn about the torches used for jewelry soldering and how to clean your metal with pickle.

Soldering 101: Torches and Pickling

Learn all about the torches used for jewelry soldering, including the various pros and cons. We’ll also cover your pickling solution and talk about ways to remove firescale

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