From Britain with Love

The Claire Aristides Bead Boutique & School is located in Kingly Court, a lively courtyard packed with independent boutiques and cafes, just off London’s Carnaby Street. Being on the second floor with a balcony overlooking the courtyard, it’s slightly removed from all of the noise and hubbub below and the studio has a lovely feeling of calm, especially in the evening when the courtyard is lit up with fairy lights which reflect off the colourful beads displayed in the shop window.

On arrival at the studio we were seated at a large mirrored table laid out with jewellery mats and tool kits and were offered a glass of champagne. Karla, our tutor, talked us through each of the tools that we would be using to create our chain maille bracelets, then showed us how to use jewellery pliers to carefully open and close the ‘jump rings’ which would form the links in the chain. Then it was time for us to have a go ourselves...

Now I like to think I’m quite good with my hands and I’m a bit of DIY queen so I’m no stranger to pliers, but both myself and my friend Inger found it quite tricky at first to get the hang of holding a tiny ring using pliers in one hand, while gently prising it open with another pair of pliers in the other hand.

At this point we did wonder whether we’d even manage to create a few links, never mind an entire bracelet made up of around 80 interconnected rings. Happily, our ever patient tutor Karla was on hand to dispense tips and advice and gradually our clunky hands seemed to understand what was required of them, and instead of pinging across the table, the rings were soon linking and entwining to form the beginnings of a beautiful chain.

It certainly takes some concentration though, and the technique is not as simple as you might imagine – which of course makes it all the more satisfying when you master it. I had wrongly assumed that the rings were simply linked together in clusters of four. In fact, each cluster of four rings is made up of two separate sets of two interlinked rings (still with me? take a look at the photos and you’ll get the gist).

There is skill and a certain amount of manual dexterity required, which might make this course less suitable for people who have reduced mobility in their fingers. But for everyone else, it’s really just a question of concentrating until you’ve got the technique mastered and then it’s plain sailing as you simply carry on until you’ve created a chain long enough to fit around you wrist. Oh and the champagne seems to help loosen those fingers up as well!

Once the chain is the correct length, a clasp is added and the chain finally begins to look like a proper bracelet. Then the fun really starts when we get to choose how we want to decorate our bracelets. There is a huge selection of beautiful beads in the shop, from glass and metal beads to semi precious stones and Swarovski crystals. Karla also brought out a treasure trove full of assorted odd beads, which we delighted in rummaging through to find just the right selection to embellish our creations. 

I decided to create a charm bracelet using a selection of vintage style glass flowers, a turquoise butterfly and some pink and aqua glass beads. Inger went for bolder colours with some hand painted floral beads and rich coloured glass hearts. Karla demonstrated the technique of using wire headpins to attach the beads to the bracelet, and within minutes our plain silver chains had been transformed into unique and eclectic chunky charm bracelets. 

By now our time was almost up and we couldn’t believe that in just two hours we’d gone from complete jewellery making novices to having created our own (though we say it ourselves) rather spectacular designer bracelets. As we bade Karla farewell with our new bracelets jingling on our wrists, we reflected that it’s not often that you can learn a new skill and get such instant and impressive results.

What is so nice about this course is that it’s just complicated enough to make you feel that you really are learning a new skill, but it’s easy enough that anyone can do it, even without any prior experience. We left the studio feeling relaxed, satisfied and inspired, having had a really enjoyable evening out.

These short taster classes are a great value way to try out a new skill and ideal for groups (why not meet up with friends after work and have fun making unique and original Christmas gifts together?). Or you can purchase gift vouchers from the boutique and let your friends choose from the wide variety of different jewellery courses on offer.

If you’ve been inspired by what you’ve learnt on a Claire Aristides jewellery course, you can buy all of the equipment including tool kits, beads and accessories in the boutique afterwards, so you can continue to make your own beautiful jewellery at home. And who knows, what begins as a hobby might turn out to be the start of a thriving business... 

Resources

To find out more about jewellery making workshops at the Claire Aristides Bead Boutique & Jewellery School, click here.

Recommended Reading:

Buy Claire Aristides' inspirational new book Bejeweled which features 30 'how to' projects for making designer jewellery.

Feeling inspired? Take a look at the Creative Courses category in our Directory, where you'll find a variety of inspiring hands-on courses: from cool crafts to fashion, interiors, cooking and gardening.

If you run a creative course that you think our readers would be interested in hearing about, please let us know by emailing editor@frombritainwithlove.com

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