Sessions will help attendees improve skills that are increasingly important to sales and profits
Three “Custom Design Insights” seminars will highlight MJSA’s At the Bench Live program at JCK Las Vegas.

MJSA will present six seminars over the course of three days (May 31 to June 2), and each of those days will feature a session focusing on custom design and bench work. On May 30, Mark Maxwell will show how to design in CAD with a personal, handcrafted touch by applying classic goldsmithing techniques to milled wax models. Maxwell, a JA-certified master bench jeweler and owner of Mark Maxwell Designer/Goldsmith (www.mmgoldsmith.com), also will teach a hands-on, step-by-step seminar on May 31 where he will show participants how to create accurate hand renderings that can help boost their custom design business.

Kate Wolf will wrap up the “Insights” series with a June 1 session on using wax techniques to create perfectly matching shadow bands. Wolf, a master of the art of wax carving, hosts workshops at Wolf Designs (www.katewolfdesigns.com) and owns Wolf Tools.

Rounding out the At the Bench Live program will be Chris Ploof, owner of Chris Ploof Studio (www.chrisploof.com), and Brad Simon, an award-winning designer (www.bwsimon.com) and JA-certified master bench jeweler. Ploof will help participants gain a competitive edge by showing them how to quickly, efficiently, and creatively create custom rings (May 30). Simon will demonstrate a unique method for high quality, speedy pavé setting (May 31) and methods for setting princess cuts without fear of chipping (June 1).

The sponsors of MJSA At the Bench Live are FedEx and Stuller Inc., which supplied the bench and tools.

Based on the monthly At the Bench pictorial column in MJSA Journal, At the Bench Live seminars feature interactive demonstrations by the industry’s top jewelry makers. They are held at select locations nationwide every year.
        
For more information, please contact Gerry Davies, MJSA director of communications, at 1-800-444-6572, Ext. 3051 or write to gerry.davies@mjsa.org.

JCK