Ōtaki: Glass & Silver Jewellery Day

Join us in our Ōtaki Beach studio for a fabulous day of working with colourful molten glass! Our expert tutor Emily Napolitano will share her skills with us and guide you through the process of hand-crafting glass beads. Whether you're a beginner or someone who's taken one or more of our glass bead taster glasses, this is a fantastic opportunity to work in glass, and finish your pieces beautifully with sterling silver fittings.

This class is a great way for absolute beginners to get a taste of working with glass or those with some experience to develop their skills and produce beautiful beads that can be used in a myriad of ways, including making a unique gift for your loved one (or yourself!).

As one of the earliest forms of human adornment, beads have long functioned as a way to express individuality, and what better way to do that than to learn to make your own unique beads?

Students are shown correct lampworking techniques to produce several decorative beads, how many beads you make is up to you, some students make up to 10 while others make fewer using trickier techniques.

Use sterling silver to craft finished wearable pieces of jewellery using your handmade glass beads. Beginners may wish to use pre-made findings (earring hooks and catches) or those with some metalwork experience can create custom pieces to really elevate their work. We have a great range of pre-made quality findings and connections, chains and cords. You can also choose from a wide variety of "base metal" findings to create multiple simple pieces of jewellery.

Kids over 12 (or so) are welcome to take the class but anyone under 16 must be accompanied by an enrolled parent or caregiver. This class uses gas torches and molten glass.

Sturdy closed - toe shoes must be worn. Tea and coffee will be provided but please BYO lunch.