We Wield the Hammer Training Program Prepares for Its Second Life

By Karen Dybis | July 15, 2026

We Wield the Hammer (WWTH), a Northern California metalsmith training program for women and girls of African descent, plans to return after a short hiatus under new owners.

Founded in 2019 by Oakland-based metal artist and educator Karen Smith, WWTH is in the process of transferring ownership and operations, including its studio, to Silvera Jewelry School. Instructor Omonivie Okhade will continue with WWTH, and expects to teach its first cohort with Silvera Jewelry School this fall.

Joe and Anat Silvera and Jenn Parnell Kirkpatrick, who run Silvera Jewelry School, are longtime WWTH supporters. Parnell Kirkpatrick was elected the new board president for WWTH, with Anat Silvera as vice president and her husband, Joe, treasurer. The recently elected board also includes secretary Evita B. McDaniels and member Melanie Eddy.

Smith, who’d been executive director of WWTH, will remain on its board during the transition but play a diminished role afterward. She says that it will be difficult to leave the nonprofit, but she is proud of what it achieved before she decided to step away last December.

“I have been humbled by the nearly insurmountable task of running the program, often solo, and am relieved to be able to hand it off to a group of people who not only believe in my vision but who came in working hard to assist me in cleaning up administrative challenges and to boost my shattered heart because I could no longer steward this ship,” Smith says.

Karen Smith founder of we wield the hammer — *Artist Karen Smith founded We Wield the Hammer in 2019.*

Joe Silvera tells JCK that Silvera Jewelry School is happy to give WWTH a home because its mission is important, especially as the Trump administration is pushing back against equity and diversity.

“Representation matters, and having more people be able to access and learn about jewelry-making is a huge benefit to all makers and the next generation of jewelers and artists. There is also the shortage of bench jewelers, and a program like WWTH can help get people interested in that career trajectory and trained along with an entrepreneurial jeweler trajectory,” he says.

“2026 is the rebirth year for WWTH,” says Silvera, noting that the new board is looking for jewelers to mentor WWTH students. “This is a volunteer effort right now,” he says, “but one thing we have heard from students is having someone checking in and continuing to be a presence in their artistic journeys is a huge help in keeping at it and pursuing their careers.

“We also hope to get equipment to help with bench jeweler training, like laser or pulse-arc welders for repair, microscopes for stone setting, and laptops and CADCAM software as well,” Silvera says.

The Silvera Jewelry School owners had reached out to Smith in 2025 when she feared she’d need to close down the organization. “We also had folks reaching out to us when the news came out, thinking we would be a good match for this, so I think there was a lot of energy behind it,” says Joe Silvera. He and his wife have known Smith for a long time—Joe was one of Smith’s first metalsmithing teachers.

He hopes WWTH will have several cohorts in 2027 for its introductory class and a new second-level class. He and the WWTH team also would like to further the partnership with Silvera Jewelry School so students can continue their education in more specialized classes.

Their overarching goal is to honor Smith’s work and intentions for the program. “It’s important to us that WWTH’s mission succeed,” says Silvera.

“We have run a successful jewelry school for 15 years, grew through the pandemic, and have both the organizational and technical knowledge that we think can get WWTH on a secure footing and moving forward,” he adds. “All of us have prior nonprofit experience and have all been teaching jewelry for over 20 years.”

Top: A We Wield the Hammer student works on a metalsmithing project. (Photos courtesy of We Wield the Hammer)