Customer Reviews

Jewelry Two Books In One: Projects to Practice & Inspire * Techniques to Adapt to Suit Your Own Designs

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a beginner, I picked up this lovely book and immediately was drawn to its format. The hard cover, yet internally spiral bound book, is for the majority of pages, split horizontally into two books with a seperate top and bottom section. The Top Section covers 23 different jewelry making projects, while the bottom section covers in detail 20 core craft techniques, from marking and cutting materials to soldering, polishing and setting stones.

While viewing the detailed steps in any of the beautifully photographed projects, one is referred by number to the specific technique employed in crafting that step. The reader can then turn to the specified technique in the bottom section of the book while still viewing the project step itself. This actually gives a nice flow to the project and stimulates the learning process in linear fashion. You don't lose focus on the idea of the project while searching through indexes or tables of contents to figure out which technique is required, and where to find it. You are sent to the specific information you need, and can refer back and forth between the project and the skill required for a particular step with only a flick of the eye.

This helps to make the book a good one for the beginner, as do the wide variety of projects, and the well detailed techniques. There is a good description of what is needed for a home workshop, how to set it up, what basic tools one needs to get started, and how to use them. I bought the book and pored eagerly through it, learning a lot. The 23 projects were selected to teach the basic techniques a beginner would employ, yet the results of each project are a lovely piece of jewelry that the artist would be proud to display.

The author has included at the back of the book a gallery of other artisans works which I found appealing as it showed what could be accomplished with more demanding techniques and experience. After reading the book, the beginner is able to view these items and identify most of the basic steps involved in their creation using their newfound knowledge.

Further in the back of the book are some useful tables and technical information of interest to the beginner,as well as a glossary of commonly used terms particular to the craft.

All in all, I loved the book because it very quickly showed me the individual steps and techniques needed in the crafting of a number of very simple yet appealing jewelry pieces, in a way that ingeniously allowed me to learn the techniques without losing focus on the flow and beauty of the project itself.

The author, Madeline Coles, has done a great job bring to the beginner both the joy and beauty of the craft on the 'artsy' level, while performing the difficult job of teaching a lot of very detail specific technical skills. I think she did a superlative job on both fronts.

I know this won't be the last book I will buy on the subject of jewelry making/SilverSmithing, but I'm glad it was my first!

I enjoyed the layout of the book allowing for an easy reference of techniques and their application. The book is easy to understand and as a beginner this was the first book I felt great about buying to assist me in getting started on projects.

I bought this book based on good reviews I read about it and I am not disappointed. The language is precise, the projects and techniques are explained well, the designs are appealing in their own right or can be altered to include your ideas, the price is right, and the idea of splitting the pages to individually show techniques and projects falls under the category of "why didn't anyone think of that before?" - all in all a great book that I will use often!

I bought this book because other reviews say it is a good book for beginners. I totally disagree. By the description and the reviews on Amazon, I thought it was the most wonderful beginner book available. I think most novice jewelry makers would be totally exasperated trying to make heads or tails of this book. I have been making beaded bracelets, necklaces and earrings for a couple of years. I know how to make bracelets with and without clasps, with and without crimp beads and with elastic or other stringing materials. I am pretty much self taught by books, but I wanted to learn more. The reviews convinced me this book would be good for me and great for someone who is just deciding whether to try making jewelry or not. If you are one of these a real beginner, please don't buy this book, it will discourage you. The first five pages would scare many beginners away from even trying. The list of Tools, equipment and materials to make jewelry is enough to stop some people. Fortunately, I had made jewelry and knew many of these items would be nice to have but weren't a necessity. Almost all the book is about making metal jewelry. On the contents page such titles as annealing, mitering, moning, pickling, drilling, cutting and sawing etc., etc., etc., made me think of a middle school shop class, not a novice interested in starting to make simple jewelry. It would be a great book for anyone interested in making metal jewelry and learning a "trade" but for anyone just starting out or interested in making beaded jewelry, don't buy this book.

When I came across this book I was surprised and impressed with the quality of both the design and the information that it contained. I took an intro to jewelry class at our local college, and have found that this book has more information and a better presentation than the class offered.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone getting started in the jewelry field, or who has trouble mastering certain techniques. It helped to show me things that my professor overlooked or shortcutted.
Well worth the money!

This book is clear, concise and well written. The pictures are really good. Not only is the information useful and well presented, but the projects are inspiring. An excellent investment.

As a beginner, I picked up this lovely book and immediately was drawn to its format. The hard cover, yet internally spiral bound book, is for the majority of pages, split into two books with a seperate top and bottom section. The Top Section covers 23 different jewelry making projects, while the bottom section covers in detail 20 core craft techniques, from cutting materials to soldering, polishing and setting stones.

While viewing the detailed steps in any of the beautifully photographed projects, one is referred by number to the specific technique employed in crafting that step. The reader can then turn to the specified technique in the bottom section of the book while still viewing the project step itself. This actually gives a nice flow to the project and stimulates the learning process in linear fashion. You don't lose focus on the idea of the project while searching through indexes or tables of contents to figure out which technique is required, and where to find it. You are sent to the specific information you need, and can refer back and forth between the project and the skill required for a particular step with only a flick of the eye.

This helps to make the book a good one for the beginner, as do the wide variety of projects, and the well detailed techniques. There is a good description of what is needed for a home workshop, how to set it up, what basic tools one needs to get started, and how to use them. I bought the book and pored eagerly through it, learning a lot. The 23 projects were selected to teach the basic techniques a beginner would employ, yet the results of each project are a lovely piece of jewelry that the artist would be proud to display.

The author has included at the back of the book a gallery of other artisans works which I found appealing as it showed what could be accomplished with more demanding techniques and experience. After reading the book, the beginner is able to view these items and identify most of the basic steps involved in their creation using their newfound knowledge.

Further in the back of the book were some useful tables and technical information of interest to the beginner,as well as a glossary of commonly used terms particular to the craft.

All in all, I loved the book because it very quickly taught me the individual steps and techniques needed in the crafting of a number of very appealing jewelry pieces, in a way that elegantly allowed me to learn the techniques without losing focus on the flow and beauty of the project itself.

The author, Madeline Coles, has made an honest effort to bring to the beginner both the joy and beauty of the craft on the 'artsy' level, while performing the difficult job of teaching a lot of very detail specific technical skills. I think she did a commendable job on both fronts.

I know this won't be the last book I will buy on the subject of jewelry making/SilverSmithing, but I'm glad it was my first!

Bought this book on recommendation of my silversmithing class instructor and she is right... Wonderful book. Awesome pictures and great split book (top half describes project- ring, bracelet etc - and the bottom describes the techniques used in different projects) format.
Clear descriptions of both the projects and techniques.
This book will be a permanent part of my collection.

I love this book! I first found it in the library and fell in love with the concept of having projects on top and the techniques in the bottom section. It really makes trying out new ideas easier without having to keep flipping the book from technique to project. I also found the directions extremely simple to understand and it had some ideas that I had not found anywhere else...ie....ref. soldering...I couldn't find pickling compound locally and wanted an option I could use in case I ran out...the book recommends using Alum which is something you can find in the spice aisle. Mind you, not all the projects are simple beginner projects or the materials readily found but the ideas are amazing and the directions and photos make it easy to understand. Definitely a keeper.

This book is really cool, it's great because it's really easy to understand. I'd reccomend it to any young inspiring artist interested in jewelry making! Great for beginners OR people that have had some experience in jewelry making.