Hollow Formed Beads

 
Supply List

Class Description

Taught by Odette Channell

8-week course (meets once a week for 3 hours)

Beads are historically the first type of jewelry ever created. Humans have had the drive to create wearable art since that first bead was strung at least 72,000 years ago. In this time the everlasting bead has taken on countless forms crafted from a myriad of materials. And still the exploration and desire continues.

Explore making different styles of metal beads in this 8 session introduction to hollow forms for jewelry. Building from sheet metal, learn to form and fabricate round and angular beads and practice tricky solder set-ups.  

This course will introduce you to Round (spherical and lentil forms), Cone, and Cube shaped beads utilizing dapping, tapering, and scoring and bending along with precise fitting and soldering. These geometric shapes can be the foundation of countless variations for future pieces. Creating hollow forms is a fundamental principle of metalsmithing and will allow you to build volume into all of your jewelry designs. Demonstrations will be shown in copper and brass, however students will have the option of  working in silver. 

This class is for intermediate level jewelers; students with prior metalsmithing experience. Basic soldering skills are required. To take this course students are expected to have familiarity with jewelry fabrication processes. Our Welcome to Jewelry class offers this introduction.

Class size 4-12 students.

All students enrolled in this multi-session course will receive free punch cards to support their coursework outside of class time. punch card amounts are dependent on the length of the class session, see our chart here. These hours can be used during Open Studio and are valid for the duration of the course. Additionally, students have access to discounted hourly student rates and 12-hour bench cards.

Early Bird Special pricing for the Late Summer Session is $580 and will be in effect through July 30th, 2026, when pricing will increase to $620.

Refunds & Credit

Please email us at info@bkmetalworks.com to withdraw from class. Withdrawals from class more than 7 days prior to the start of the class will receive a full refund for the class minus a 10% processing fee. If cancellation occurs 3-6 days prior to the class, we will provide a 50% refund. Cancellations 48 hours or less receive a 25% refund. Refunds will not be provided for no-shows or same-day cancellations.

We do not refund tuition for classes that students miss due to their own circumstances. There will be no refunds once the class begins in any circumstance, nor can we transfer you to a later semester. Students enrolled in multi-session studio courses (excluding workshops and intensives) may make-up hours from missed classes during open studio hours throughout the duration of the session.

We reserve the right to cancel or discontinue any class, in which case you may choose to receive a refund, apply the class credit towards a different course, or receive a tuition credit for future use. Tuition credits are valid for up to one year. Refunds will be issued within 30 days.