7 Metalsmithing Instructors Who Rock

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For a lot of metalsmiths, making jewelry is more than a hobby. It’s a passion, a vocation, and a business. Whether you’re just starting to learn metalsmithing or you’ve been at it for a while, you are not alone. Here are seven women who take their role as metalsmithing instructors very seriously. And they also know how to have fun! Their enthusiasm for making jewelry is so contagious that they can’t help sharing knowledge and inspiration wherever they go.

We interviewed all seven of these artists on Jewelry Artist Podcast, and we hope you’ll enjoy listening to their words directly—their passion and dedication shines through!

Karen Smith, metalsmithing instructor — Karen Smith, advocate, and jeweler

Karen Smith: We Wield the Hammer

After a voice told artist Karen Smith she’d go to Senegal, she went. Apprenticing there with a master goldsmith, she was watched constantly but silently by a young girl. “She thinks you’re a ghost,” someone finally told Karen. “She’s never seen a woman do what you’re doing.” In response, in 2019 Karen launched We Wield the Hammer in Oakland, CA, determined to empower young women of African descent to wield all the tools and equipment in a good jewelry studio, and launch their own businesses, too. Read more and listen to We Wield the Hammer with Karen Smith.

Listen: We Wield the Hammer with Karen Smith.

Susan Lenart, metalsmithing instructor — Susan Lenart, artist and metalsmith

Susan Lenart: Metalsmithing as a Journey

The first time I met Susan Lenart was in a cold connections workshop at an art retreat. Her class blew my mind—she taught us to infuse found objects, wire, hand tools, and other jewelry-making bits and pieces with kinetic energy—but to attend to them with intense focus and skill. It was like a journey we all went on together, with Susan as our guide. In addition to being an accomplished artist and jeweler, Susan is also an author, metalsmithing instructor, and expert at product development. In her episode of Jewelry Artist Podcast, Susan and I talk about her metalsmithing lifestyle and how listening to her artistic voice is the key to her success. Her course in Intentional Metalsmithing is teaching jewelers how to express their artistic voices and create original, well-crafted works. See photos of Susan’s latest work and listen as she invites us to discover together.

Listen: Susan Lenart, Metalsmithing as a Journey

Anie Piliguian, metalsmithing instructor — Anie and her jeweler father, Vasken Kaplanian

Anie Piliguian: Inventor & Maker with Heart

Growing up at the jeweler’s bench, Anie Piliguian learned a can-do attitude and meticulous skills from her father. She credits him for teaching her not to fear anything at the bench. Since inventing the JOOLTOOL, her focus has been on teaching jewelers everything she knows so they can make jewelry successfully. As a lifelong maker, she continues to improve her own work and finds that she frequently learns as much from her students and she hopes they’re learning from her. Listen in for a peek behind the scenes of Anie’s business and hear how she approaches life with bravery and gratitude. Plus, learn about Anie’s early experience with making jewelry for a rock star.

Listen: Anie Piliguian, Inventor & Maker with Heart

Kieu Pham Gray, metalsmithing instructor — Kieu Pham Gray, jewelry making entrepreneur

Kieu Pham Gray: On the Go and Moving Fast

Metalsmithing instructor Kieu Pham Gray loves figuring out how to make things happen, from engineering kinetic jewelry that’s meant to be played with to pivoting her business model. Leaving the corporate world behind nearly 20 years ago because she “didn’t fit the mold,” Kieu has been an active jewelry entrepreneur ever since. She’s a jewelry artist, teacher, retail supplier, and event promoter. When Covid shut down her in-person teaching, she was online with a couple of casual classes in two weeks. Today her Virtually Ever Crafting is its own business line. Learn her approach for keeping balance in her busy life — and discover which unlikely profession she does think about returning to for just a moment from time to time.

Listen: Kieu Pham Gray Makes It Work, Plus 6 Jewelry Tools She Developed

Francesca Watson, metalsmithing instructor — Francesca Watson, artist and instructor

Francesca Watson: Jewelry Making Enabler

Overnight, Francesca Watson began developing her online jewelry program in earnest. When COVID-19 struck, her teaching studio already offered some tutorials online, but The Makery had been all about learning in person. Suddenly, online was her only real option. Since then, she’s worked out a lot more bugs and now plays host to over 1,500 remote students who tune in regularly. The experience has been disruptive but energizing, and Francesca is now “1000% committed” to teaching metalsmithing online, come what may. It’s just her way of doing things: jump into what you want and look for the good everywhere else. Listen to Francesca, check out photos of her work, and learn the most important things she learned in her journey as a jewelry maker.

Listen: Francesca Watson, Self-Described Jewelry Enabler

Kate Richbourg, metalsmithing instructor — Kate Richbourg, beader and metalsmith

Kate Richbourg: Be Creative, Be Real

“I should have been a business major!” Kate Richbourg was recently out of college and facing the classic artist’s dilemma. Kate realized she needed a way of pursuing what she loved without living so close to the economic edge. Trying new things, she discovered that jewelry brought out her creativity best. Today Kate is well known in the bead and metal communities for both her inspiring lessons and designs. Her instructor persona is driven to explore the newest technologies for teaching, while the artist is more laid back, taking pleasure in vintage styles and Old-World craftsmanship. Listen and read as she shares her lively story of self-discovery—plus her best tip for making project writing easier.

Listen: Practice is Power with Kate Richbourg

Kate Wolf, metalsmithing instructor — Kate Wolf, instructor and jeweler

Kate Wolf: The Zen of Carving Wax

Metalsmithing instructor Kate Wolf has three loves: carving wax, designing tools, and teaching. All three center around creating wax models for jewelry casting. Today she focuses a lot on tool design and develops online workshops to replace the live classes she had to suspend but really, really misses. Once she starts working in wax, though, there’s nothing like its state of easy concentration or the wild ride of jewelry design she still finds exciting after more than 40 years. Read Kate’s artist profile and listen as she talks about creativity, tips for working comfortably, customizing tools, and overcoming that sense of being an imposter at work that everyone sometimes feels.

Listen: The Zen of Carving Wax with Kate Wolf

We hope you’re feeling inspired after listening to the stories of these metalsmithing instructors! Whether your goal is are learn more techniques and create more jewelry or to become a metalsmithing instructor yourself, there are so many inspirational women paving the way.