Jewelry Lab: 52 Experiments, Investigations, and Explorations in Metal (Lab Series)

I bought this book for my 18yo son because he just started making metal jewelry. I thought this book would provide some good inspiration for him. He does really like the ideas and projects described and based just on that I would buy this book for him again. However, I was disappointed when it arrived looking like it was purchased at a garage sale or thrift store, not new from an online retailer. In this condition I would have expected to pay just a couple of dollars. Oh well.

This is a great book if you're a beader or other artist and want to expand your repertoire into metalworking. The book covers a wide variety of fundamental techniques (see Table of Contents). I've been working in beads and wire for more than ten years, but my metalworking experience was limited to a single day-long class that focused on basics like rivets, hammering, installing saw blades, and drilling with a flex-shaft. I read a couple reviews that complained the book was too advanced or lacked sufficient pictures for every step of each project, but I found the pictures to be just right based on what I learned in my brief class and what I've picked up from reading other books & magazines. I think that if you're the type of person who reads everything about jewelry that you can get your hands on and are familiar with the lingo of metalworking, you'll be able to figure out what you need to do, even if there's only one picture for the applicable project. If you're new to metalworking, this book will be a great introduction to baseline concepts and techniques that you'll find again and again in other publications/classes. If you are very new to jewelry or have absolutely no experience at all with metalworking tools, you might have some challenges, but they could certainly be overcome relatively easily through an internet search and/or YouTube. On a personal note, I've met Melissa Manley & Nick Mowers (another artist featured in the book), and own jewelry by both of them, so it was extra-cool to get my hands on such a fabulous book by an artist whose work I admire. Highly recommended.PS - I love my Kindle and use it all the time, but never for "how to" books like this. I can't imagine trying to use this book on a Kindle. I would definitely recommend the paperback version over the electronic version.)

I think this is a terrific resource book packed with lots and lots of techniques, so I'm giving it four stars. I would have given it five stars, but for one criticism: There aren't enough pictures in the step-by-step portion of the chapters. Oftentimes all you get is a picture of the completed jewelry piece, an excellent description of how to make it, and either one picture to demonstrate the process or sometimes no images at all. This makes it a very poor resource for beginners. However, it is excellent for intermediate to advanced jewelry artists in the mixed-media field with some experience. The book provides a very good overview of many, many techniques, so I think it is worth purchasing.I would like to address the criticism one reviewer made; she said she bought the kindle version of this book and it is all in black and white. Well, I also purchased the kindle version of this book and it is NOT produced in black and white. You can view it in full color on your iPhone or other smart phone, computer, nook, etc. just not the kindle. All eBooks viewed on a kindle device will appear in black and white, with photos showing up in shades of gray. This is due to the fact that the kindle only displays text and photos in b&w. I produced three eBooks myself (the Arty Jewelry series), each of them featuring hundreds of full-color photos. They appear in full color on every device except the kindle. So it is unfair and inaccurate to say that the kindle version of Jewelry Lab is in black and white.Sharilyn Miller, author of Wire Art Jewelry Workshop

My new best jewelry book! I have SO many, over 40, and don't know how I didn't see this one before. It is excellent.A huge variety of projects, all very creative and with tools and materials listed. There's not so much in terms of instruction as a beginner may want, but as an intermediate designer it's very simple to follow.I'm mesmerized by how many techniques are packed in here, and none are dated. Some unusual ideas for texture for example, for creating texture on metal. I'd never thought about hammering my sheets on a manhole cover, but she did. Also, she shows how to saw Plexiglass shapes and hammer sheets of metal into the crevices of the plexiglass in a sort of repousse.Fantastic stuff here.

I love the "experiments" in this book. As a relatively new, mostly self taught jewelry maker, it has really helped me to unleash my creativity and get over my hesitance at trying new techniques. Quickly becoming a favorite. You should buy this book.

Bought this for myself and two friends who also make jewelry. We all love it and plan to use it for projects to challenge ourselves to do new things with our art.

I have never been so excited to recieve a book than I was to recieve this one. As I sat and looked at the book, I wondered if I could do these techniques. They looked a little complicated. The very next day I broke this book out and, went shopping for some things I didn't have, came home and experimented. It was wonderful. They were easy to follow. The directions were perfect and not hard at all. I'd bought another jewelry technique book that had more techniques in them but a lot harder to follow and in fact, you had no idea where to start. Not so with this book. It got me excited about taking my jewelry craft to the next level. You wont be dissappointed.

A lovely book, well laid out, fab photos. It covers all the basic techniques in small bite size pieces so you never feel overwhelmed with too much information. I'd say it was a launchpad into the world of metalsmithing jewellery techniques rather than a 'covers everything you need to know' book. It is beautifully presented and a joy to read.

Good for beginners

a very useful and informative book,it will be a lot of help.

Great ideas, really good read :)

does not really suit my style