Lapidary class on Dec. 14, 2013, at Graceful Customs Studio

If you ever admired a polished natural stone and appreciated the beauty of its colors brought out by its shine, come learn the very simple techniques of lapidary!  We will provide you with a pre-shape stone and show you how to bring out its beauty!  $85.00, all materials supplied, grace@gracefulcustoms.com, Gilroy, Ca

Metal working workshop open house-Nov. 9, 2013

For those who like to solder, form, and create projects out of metal, you are welcomed to stop by on Sat., Nov. 9, 2013 here at Graceful Customs Studio.  We will be working on  projects, you can ask questions like how to make rivets, products to polish metals, setting cabachons,
electro-forming supplies, and see demos, or demo a technique yourself.  Carmen Martinez, our instructor for the silver-soldering classes will be here to show us her latest projects and help you move forward in your metal art.  We will have soldering torches available for your use and a huge anvil to hammer!  Hours:  12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. drop in anytime.  No cost.  e-mail Grace at Grace@GracefulCustoms.com to let us know what your interest is!  And feel free to share with us what you have been working on!

Happy Birthday Jelveh!

Well Jelveh had another birthday last weekend at our Open House.  We met new friends, Jewelry makers Jennifer and Marisa, thanks Pat for bringing them to our Studio.  Jelveh demo'ed Frank's new SUPER Round-About, it took her about 30 min. to make that bead!  Ron Martinez was here showing off all his latest carved gems while he worked all day.  Carmen was set up so show us her soldering techniques and was heard hammering away, texturing something!  We had 3 Leche Cake with Jelveh and she opened up her gifts from Grace, a new apron and bags embroidered with her  name!

Saturday, June 2, 2012, Lapidary class & Workshop

Jim & Jennifer will be here on June 2, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., to teach a basic lapidary class.  They will give a brief summary of lapidary techniques and equipment will be set up for you to shape and polish a finished cabachon or two!  Cost is only $75, all materials and supplies will be free.  And anyone who has already had the basics and is experienced using lapidary equipment is invited to work on their own stones,  for $15.00/ hr. e-mail me for more info:  Grace@GracefulCustoms.com

Holiday Boutique & Happy Holidays!

It was another great holiday boutique this year, we had new artists and new friends stop by to see our wares and snack on goodies! Jelveh was busy making jewelry on the spot, Ron was carving away, and I was busy raffling off (free) hourly gifts. Thank you all for participating, we will see you soon! Grace

2011 Christmas Boutique

Visit us during our Christmas Boutique on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, 1:00 pm to 6:00 p.m., lampworking glass bead making demonstrations, open torch time (make a bead yourself), finished jewelry, soaps, quilts, lapidary stones, and other handmade crafts by various artists available for sale! Hourly raffle of gifts. Snacks and drinks served! 10730 Center Ave., Gilroy, CA 95020, grace@gracefulcustoms.com

Lapidary Weekend Class -Slicing, shaping, sanding & polishing!

Well, another first for us! Our first Lapidary class was held here at Graceful Customs Studio with Instructors Jim & Jennifer! They were excited to share their experience and knowledge of lapidary this past weekend. Frank & Jim & Jennifer had been busy for months building and remodeling enough lapidary equipment to accommodate a class. We had 5 students and everyone had one finished cabachon, except for Bill, he finished 3! Thank you very much Jim & Jennifer for all your talents and knowledge that comes only from actual experience and the love of shaping and polishing the Earth's most natural material. It is gratifying to work with our hands and see beauty come from a natural resource, nothing artificial about this hobby! Of course, we jewelry makers all want to make everything wearable, but sometimes you open up a rock, like the geode above, and don't want to disturb the beauty inside! We are planning "Lapidary Workshops" on a regular basis next year, as well as making this introductory class available again! We will also have Silver-smithing, gem carving, wire-wrapping, and chain maille classes, in addition to our lampworking classes. E-mail me of your interests so we can add you to our wait lists!

Great Day, Great Friends at Open House

It was a beautiful day to be outside, many thanks to Jim & Jennifer for demo-ing lapidary techniques and all their beautiful cabachons, oops didn't get a pic of them, sorry; Ron & Jim looked like their were enjoying the day, we had new drop-ins, new students, friends, all with many artistic interests! The food was sweet, and we gave several prizes, jewelry, tools, and new aluminum sheet cut outs which Jelveh kindly showed us how to apply to create bubbly effects, Sioux demo-ed her technique of implossion, and Barb took a turn at the torch, along with a couple of newbies! Barb also tried out our new V-Fantasy wheel to practice what she had learned in a class! Thank you all for participating! Stay tune for more!

NEW! LAPIDARY CLASS, Sat., Aug. 27, 2011

Check out the natural gems shown below! Jim Ziegler will be here to show us the basics of lapidary techniques that you can use to make a rough rock into a polished gem! You can set the stone in silver or wire-wrapped it as a pendant. More info to follow, e-mail me if you are interested!

JULY 23, 2011 OPEN HOUSE!

Come join us for our July 23, Saturday open house! We will have our usual lampworking demos and open torch time. Jelveh from Jelveh Designs will be showing off her latest designs. Jim Ziegler and his lovely wife Jennifer will be showing the latest techniques of Lapidary work! See what you can make from a rough stone! We will be hosting a Lapidary class with Jim, on Saturday, August 27, 2011, all materials and equipment provided. Cost of class is only $75.00
And on Sat. & Sun., August 13 & 14, Carmen Martinez will have a basic silver-smithing class, take one or two classes. We will be learning how to work with the different metals, torches, solder materials, and will set a cabachon, stone or glass, in a silver setting that can be finished as a pendant or ring. More info available, e-mail me! Cost of class is $125 for one day, material kit extra.
Open house is 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. on Saturday July 23!