Bringing the bolo tie back with this 3 hour intro to jewelry making workshop. This playful project will introduce to a variety of jewelry making techniques and you will leave with a personalized and modernized brass and deer hide leather bolo tie.

In this workshop you will learn:

•How to use the disc cutter to create circles, half circles and moon shapes

•How to texture your brass pieces with hammers and metal stamps

•How to use files and emery paper to give your piece a professional finish

•How to join metal pieces with soldering

•How to use adhesives and other joining techniques to attach special jewelry findings

Skill requirements: No previous jewelry making experience required.

Material requirements: All supplies will be provided.

About your instructor:

Gillian Johnson, Designer and Founder at Hawkly

Gillian has taken many metalsmithing courses in Toronto, Santa Monica and San Miguel d’ Allende and has been running jewelry and accessories businesses for over 10 years.

The love of jewelry and travel have always been two constants in Gillian’s life, resulting in many adventures around the world; hiking in Sri Lanka, biking through Italy, silversmithing in Mexico, rock climbing in Joshua Tree and more. Returning to her love of jewelry, Hawkly is an expression of all the patterns, cultures, colours and smiles experienced during this ongoing adventure.

Gillian has settled between Toronto and a yurt in rural Ontario, where each piece is handcrafted with an emphasis on lost wax casting, combined with other metal smithing and beading techniques. Mixed metals, including sterling silver, bronze, brass and even a touch of gold, are carefully combined in an exploration of adornment and celebration of human touch.