Great Vacation, Great Book!

We just got back from a great time on vacation at Rehoboth Beach, DE. What a great place to relax! It’s good for singles, but great for families. We always have a wonderful time. We lay on the beach all day, sunning and wave jumping, out past the breakers. I love to jog on the beach, and then go into the ocean for a cool-off swim. We love to park our car and not move it for 5 days! There are so many places to eat and shop, and the alleys between streets are filled with lovely flowers, great shops and cafes, and even water bowls for the ever-present pups. You can rent bicycles and pedal to other nearby beach communities, too. Each one has a different ‘flavor’, and they are all good!

There are and lots and lots of galleries and craft shops, and - you guessed it – endless hand-crafted jewelry to see and enjoy! That’s always part of my exploration when I go on vacation. At Browseabout Books on Rehoboth Ave, I picked up a great new book that I recommend highly; Joanna Gollberg’s The Ultimate Jeweler’s guide – The Illustrated Reference of Techniques, Tools, and Materials. I thought it was the perfect souvenir for my vacation. I love Gollberg’s books. They are always chock full of great color photos, and packed with lots of information. This one covers all the basic details and specs of precious and base metals, solders, and even mining ethics, then moves on to a wide selection of basic tools, full of great photos and info about ways to use them, and even how to make some of your own. She continues through all of the basic jewelry-making techniques, from cold-connections through fabrication, forming, texturing, stone setting, and finishing. This book is just perfect for beginners and still full of info for the experienced metal worker. I learned a lot just from a quick skim, and I think my jewelry students will love it! It’s an easy book to browse through and read, and with its spiral spine, it will stay open on your bench while you follow the techniques. I think this one’s destined to be a classic, second only to Tim McCreight’s Complete Metalsmith.

Well, I'm back now, and YEOW!! I can’t work in this mess. Mess-clearing has been my summer, but that's another story. It’s time to clean off my bench, and get some making done!