MeritMade Commentaries - Sweet 16 for MeritMake!

Last week we hosted our 16th Make a Ring workshop through MeritMake and we are so blown away with the amazing response to these classes and how much we, personally, get from each and every one of them.

MeritMake began in January of 2016, as a way for Kelly to educate people about what it really takes to make quality jewelry, fulfill her desire to share her craft and, honestly, pay the bills in the slowest months of the year. What has happened from there has been a dream come true.

The first handful of classes were held in Kansas City and housed out of the MeritMade studio at Bonfire, in Mission, KS. In May, we teamed up with the good folks at the Little Craft Show and brought the workshop to Springdale, Arkansas. Last week, we returned from taking the class to Colorado and hosted our 16th workshop at a private party in Fayetteville, AR!

Frank, the Forrester, all loaded up and ready to go!

Our hosts in Colorado were the awesome ladies of Double Dutch Hair Studio [now closed]. We hosted two classes and we had way too much fun! It is always exciting to see how each class plays out and going somewhere new made this all the more exciting. Denver really knocked it out of the park, both in the creativity and the awesome people! We met an airline pilot, other metalsmiths & jewelry makers, lawyers, accountants, stylists, chemists; so many interesting people investing in themselves and their creativity for so many different reasons!

Terra gets set up

class 1- not spunky at all!

Kelly gives soldering demo

class 2- Rocking it!

Amy prays for her gorgeous ring

And in the end, that is what it is all about for us:

We do these workshops to share and educate about our craft.

We do these workshops to remind you that the beauty is in the process.

We do these workshops because the desire to teach burns as hot as the torch.

We do these workshops to provide people the opportunity to invest in themselves.

We do these workshops to give your creativity a place to come out and play.

We do these workshops to give you a chance to surprise yourself with what you are truly capable of.

We do these workshops because it is too much damn fun not to.

Thank you for supporting us and giving yourself a chance!

xo

Terra

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Make sure you sign up for the newsletter to get first access to public classes! We hope to see you soon.

Want more information on the Make a Ring workshop? Check out this post.

Already been through the Make a Ring workshop and looking to take it to the next level? Check out this post from Kelly on what tools you need to get started.

MeritMade Commentaries - Introductions

I'd like to introduce you to the people behind MeritMade. 

Meet Me. My name is Kelly. I'm the owner, designer, creator and general head honcho around these parts. I received my BFA from KU in Metalsmithing and practiced as a repair and commercial jeweler at Kizer Cummings Fine Jewelry for a couple years. I am always trying to learn something new and stretch my skills. In fact this summer, I will be attending a week long intensive workshop to learn hand engraving! I'm a general goofball and love getting outside to travel, hike, backpack and camp.  

Meet Terra. Terra is the coach. She is the one that keeps this ship afloat and on task. Without her, I would probably still be missing all my deadlines and dawdling in left field. I truly don't know what I would do without her, and I'm excited to see her role with MeritMade grow in the near future. Oh and if you can't tell from her photo above, Terra also likes to be outside doing the camping, hiking, backpacking thing.

Meet Carolyn. Carolyn is the Intern. This hard working gal started out by taking one of my Make a Ring Workshops and just couldn't get enough. As a trade off for learning how to metalsmith and hone her skills, she helps assist with the production of some of the MeritMade Essentials like the helio earrings and stacker rings. I love having her around and watching her grow. Keep your eye on her as I'm sure she is going to be making some rocking stuff of her own design soon!

Meet Brad. Brad is the #1 supporter. Without the push and support from him, MeritMade wouldn't even exist. He designed the logo. He listens when I talk about MeritMade incessantly. He provides helpful feedback and suggestions. The list goes on. I'm so thankful to have him in my life and supporting my crazy hare brained antics. 

Do you want to join the MeritMade Team? Contact me at kelly@meritmadekc.com. I'm always looking to collaborate and grow.

xo - Kelly

MeritMade Commentaries - Make a Ring Workshop

This Saturday will be our 5th Make a Ring workshop, and it feels like we are really starting to find our rhythm. It has been so much fun watching the creativity and skills of our students. Teaching was always part of the plan, but we had no idea it would we such a fulfilling experience.

stone selection

Each class begins with selecting a stone. There is a nice variety to pick from that includes jaspers, agates, turquoise and more in all different colors. The stone is a major part of the ring and this is the opportunity to really define what you want your ring to look like. Once the stones have been selected, we work with you to come up with a design that is both beautiful and functional. 

designing

The designs are then transferred to silver and the real fun starts. During the fabrication process you learn a variety of basic metalsmithing techniques: sawing, filling, forming, stamping, soldering etc. We are there every step of the way to help and guide. It may seem a bit daunting at first, but pretty quickly you realize that it is worth the effort. 

sawing demo

stamping

forming a band

Of course the best part is when it is all done and you leave with a ring YOU made that will last a life time. As if a super awesome ring wasn't enough, the icing on the cake is that you also leave with a greater understanding and appreciation for the craft of metalsmithing and creating jewelry.

soldering is fun, because you get to play with fire

We really can't get enough of these workshops. It is so fun for us to watch the rings come to life. Each ring is just as unique as the individuals that create them. We will definitely be doing more in the future. If you are interested in participating, click on over to our workshop page where you can find the most up to date information. We would love your feedback on future cities we should travel to and different skills/types of jewelry you want to learn. 

all the smiling faces

all photographs by Morgan Miller Photography

MeritMade Commentaries - NOT THIS YEAR!!

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Oh no it’s already AUGUST! Holy moly where has the summer gone? Our thoughts are shifting towards fall and back to school. The hot summer days are numbered. For me this means that I have to start thinking about DUN DUN DUUUUN!!!, the holiday.

As someone who ultimately produces goods to sell, the holiday season is one of the most productive and crazy times of year. Jewelry is a popular gift item, and I would be a moron not to have jewelry made and accessible to the buyer. Yep, that is you! I remember last year, I spent every night at the studio. I didn’t have a plan. All I knew is that if I could just keep making stuff, I would be OK. By the end of it, I was completely burnt out.

Looking back, I’m glad I worked that hard, but did it really need to be so stressful. I could have genuinely benefited from a goal and furthermore a plan to reach that goal. For those of you who know me personally, you know that goals and plans are probably two of my biggest weaknesses. I’d rather fly by the seat of my pants. See where the wind takes me. You know, live life as an adventure! The unknown/unplanned, although fun, is just not going to cut it this year! So I'm going to do it. I'm going to go against all of my internal being and I am creating a plan! And dangit, I'm going to do my best to stick to it.

The first step of the plan is to make myself and my work more available. I refuse to start an etsy and drown in the sea of terrible jewelry, so that is out of the question. Facebook for business doesn't seem to be all that good at showing you my content unless I pay for it. Followers on instagram are awesome, but it's essentially useless if you want to post a link. So I'm taking matters into my own hands. I want to build up my mailing list. I want to supply to you all good content. I want for members of my mailing list to get the first chance to buy something, before anyone else. To be able to purchase a unique one of a kind piece of jewelry that will last a lifetime. I'm even considering making a members exclusive line. I want for shopping and working with me to be as easy, awesome and fabulous as possible.

xo, meritmade