The Penland Book of Jewelry

If you have a thirst for beautiful jewellery, whether it be buying or creating, 'The Penland Book of Jewelry' should be in your collection. The book includes 10 'Hands On' step by step instructions on such techniques as soldering gold and steel, lost wax casting and making a die. It is full of stunning images of incredible work by experienced contemporary jewelers who have all taught at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. Whether you would ever make use of the step by step techniques is not important, as this is one of those books that you will constantly look at simply for the wonderful gallery of work it includes. Definitely an inspirational book.




Work by Ed Brickman



Work by Marcia Macdonald



Setting a pearl on a River Stone by Tom McCarthy

'Chain Mail Jewelry' by Terry Taylor & Dylon Whyte

I must admit I have only made one project from this book, but that in no way reflects on the quality of this book (it's purely my laziness). I had never used the method of chain mail, and now have great admiration for those who do, as it is not as easy as it looks! In saying that, I do believe this is an excellent book. Beautifully presented with excellent coloured photos. The step by step instructions are well written with very helpful illustrations. 144 pages with a hard cover and classy presentation, complete with a gallery of stunning pieces. This book includes 12 projects for the beginner; 8 projects in the intermediate section, followed by 9 projects for the advanced. Here are photos of a few of the projects offered -


Braided Bracelet Page 98 'Advanced' This project involves making 3 seperate strands of chain mail and then braiding them




Diamond Chain Mail Earrings Page 111 'Advanced' A geometric design using rings with an inner dimension of 2.4mm




Rain Earrings Page 122 'Advanced' Flat chain mail interspersed with pearls




Mobioused Rosettes Bracelet Page 48 'Beginner' A variation of European 4-1 chain mail




Sprialing Chain Page 57 'Beginner' A stunning chain made from 2 different sizes of jump rings




Hana-Gusari Bangle Page 77 'Intermediate' An alternating design attached to a silver bangle




Lace Mail Cocktail Collar with Pearls Page 83 'Intermediate' Made from 3 sizes of jump rings ending in dainty pearls



I would thoroughly recommend this book. The instructions are so well written and illustrated, it doesn't leave you in the middle of a project wondering what direction to go in next. Enjoy and have fun!




This is my anklet chain I made using the project from 'Chain Mail Jewelry'

Making Silver Chains by Glen F. Waszek

I was looking at my vast library of jewellery making books and was making an effort to choose the one I feel I've enjoyed the most. Making Silver Chains jumped out of the shelf saying pick me! pick me! It does stand out amongst the others as being a very well written resource. It has excellent photos and step by step instructions on each of the 28 projects plus a how-to of 4 types of fasteners. The tutorials are sorted into sections - Trace Chains - Curb Chains - The Idiot's Delight and Other Circular Link Chains - Loop-in-Loop Chains - Fancy Link Chains. They all involve soldering, so if you are looking for a book demonstrating chains where soldering is not involved this book definitely will not interest you.

The book features a gallery of work, and it has the mandatory techniques, materials and tools section. I must say that it does have some interesting techniques shown.

All in all I think this is an excellent book, very well written and with thorough descriptions. I can't think of anything negative to say about this book. It has been in my collection for quite a few years and used quite often. Highly recommended!

I have added a small collection of pages from Making Silver Chains, also a photo of a bracelet I made from The Basic Curb Chain tutorial. I was very pleased with the finished piece.