March is National Craft Month, and what better way to kick the winter blues than by going out with friends or family and making something by hand?
Not sure about your skill level in jewellery? No problem! We have lots of introductory courses of different durations from 1 day workshops to 8 week courses.
Running in March we have a one-day stacking ring workshop and a 1 day band ring workshop. In our stacking ring workshop participants learn different wire twisting techniques and will make three different sterling silver rings. In our 1 day band ring workshop you can get more adventurous with your ring designs starting from sterling silver sheet. Students can cut out designs, experiment with hammered textures, or layer different shape cut-outs onto their rings.
Check out our website for more details on classes!
Student work from our one-day stacking ring workshop.
Student work from our one-day silver band ring workshop.
This year’s colour of the year is “cloud dancer”, but with as much of the white stuff as we’ve been getting, today calls for a little more “mocha mousse” warmth from 2025.
If you are lucky enough to get to stay inside today, we hope that you are cuddled up with a cup of comfort.
Or if you are lucky enough to enjoy playing in frosty fluff outside, we hope that your joy burns bright and your toes thaw quickly when you come home.
Warm thoughts, all around.
In fact, why not throw on your personal regalia, your most cherished parure, and host an indoor dance party?
And if you have been inspired to adorn yourself in toasty tones, but find that you lack such noble finery, drop by Jewel Envy and get comfy with our handmade jewellery!
It may sound obvious, but many people are in the habit of sleeping with their rings on.
So why does this matter? Your hands often swell at night and if you are wearing a ring all the time you may become so accustomed to it that you might not realize it has drastically reduced the circulation to your finger, which can cause nerve damage.
Another problem may occur over time is that your hands can change around the ring, so that it no longer comes off at any point.
Both situations can lead to a trip to the hospital and end with a surgeon cutting off your ring.
If you like your ring, protect it and take it off at night.
’20 Tips on maintaining our Jewellery’, Gillian E. Batcher, 2013
Charles Lewton-Brain invented Fold Forming. Fold Forming is a way of forming sheet metal quickly into 3D organic shapes as well as textures. This method uses sheets of metal without the need for soldering. Basically, you use sheet metal, fold it, work it and then unfold it.
It was developed in the 1980s. It emphasizes forming using the metals characteristics. It is about following what the metal likes to do as opposed to forcing form upon the metal, keeping in mind the plasticity ductility and elasticity of the metal.
You can fold form with most metals like aluminum, niobium, titanium, gold, silver, platinum and steel.
Depletion gilding is a surface treatment accomplished by continually heating sterling silver and placing in an acidic solution called “pickle”. Sterling silver is an alloy of 92.5% fine silver and 7.5% copper. Heating and pickling sterling silver removes copper from the surface of the alloy, allowing the fine silver to show up more prominently. The result is a white satiny finish on the surface of the silver. Depletion gilding lasts longer on sunken/protected areas on jewellery since it can be burnished off of the surface of the metal.
The Poppy brooch by Zoey Perse features depletion gilding in the sunken areas of the petal. The contrast of the satiny white petals against polished silver makes them the focal point of the brooch.
The Orchid necklace by Jamie Rosario is a fully depletion gilded pendant with burnishes edges that accentuate its curvilinear design.
Metal wears over time and rings are the most common pieces of jewellery that need to be repaired because they are worn the most.
If you notice your ring is much thinner under your finger than the areas in between your fingers, your ring may need to be re-shanked.
This is the process where the thin area of metal is cut out and a thicker piece of metal is soldered back into place. If a thin ring has cracked it can be soldered back together but a good jeweller will also suggest re-shanking for a longer lasting solution.
Silver prices have gone up mainly because more people want silver than there is available. It’s no longer used just for jewellery — it’s a key material in solar panels, electric vehicles, computer chips, and modern electronics, all of which are growing fast. Mining silver takes time, and new supply can’t ramp up quickly, so demand is outpacing production. On top of that, when the world feels uncertain due to wars, economic slowdowns, or debt worries, people often turn to precious metals like silver as a safer place to put their money, which pushes prices higher.
Another reason prices are climbing is financial investing. Large investors are buying silver through funds that physically store the metal, which means less silver is available on the open market. When supply is tied up in vaults and exchange inventories are low, prices rise. At the same time, things like a weaker U.S. dollar, expectations of lower interest rates, and fears about inflation make silver more attractive as a way to protect money’s value — adding even more pressure for prices to keep going up.
What this means for handmade jewellery?
Material Costs for Jewelry Makers Go Up
When silver spot prices rise sharply, the raw material cost for your pieces goes up too — whether you’re using sterling grain, sheet, wire, or casting grain. Jewellers don’t usually buy metal at old prices indefinitely: suppliers tend to base casting grain & wholesale metal costs on recent spot price averages, so costs rise with the market.
Result:
Your cost per ounce of silver increases — which directly raises the cost of production.
Profit margins shrink if you don’t raise prices.
Many makers raise retail prices of silver jewelry accordingly.
Retail Prices Likely Rise (Consumers Pay More)
Because silver is now more expensive, most brands and artisans will either:
Increase retail prices, or
Reduce the amount of silver in designs to keep prices accessible.
That means:
Simple earrings that once sold for, say, C$50–90 may edge upward.
Larger, heavier pieces (e.g., chunky bracelets, large pendants) become proportionally more expensive.
In Canada, this is amplified because the silver price saw record levels in Canadian dollars as well as USD.
We hope everyone had a good holiday period, and is facing the beginning of 2026 with renewed optimism and enthusiasm! Just a few PSAs: there’s lots of new jewellery in the studio, some of it totally uplifting! Stop in and say hi, and browse – we’d love to see you!
Thinking about taking a class? Just a reminder that we’ve had to put up our class prices for 2026, sadly the increases in metal prices and inflation mean that we need to adjust our classes. It’s not all bad news, though – if you have a gift certificate from 2025, you can book your class in January or February at the 2025 pricing!
Enjoy the wintry weather – we’ve passed the shortest day, so although it’s cold and showy, the daylight is definitely getting longer!
New work by House of Cassady, available in studio now.
