Learn silverclay

At Learn Silverclay, we offer jewellery making courses in an exciting versatile new material called Precious Metal Clay (PMC). This material enables individuals with no prior silversmithing experience to produce fantastic designs in pure silver (99.9%)

Courses are taught in small groups (minimum 2 maximum 6) in my fully equipped workshop in the heart of the Sussex countryside. My workshop is located in my garden, a wonderful green space full of flowers and wildlife. We live on the outskirts of a small village called Newick and the house overlooks fields of grazing horses. I can’t think of a nicer location but then I’m biased. Come along and judge for yourself, to the silver workshop in the heart of the Sussex countryside.

I have designed to courses to enable absolute beginners to produce fantastic results. However we do also tailor each course to the abilities of the participants.

What is PMC?

PMC stands for Precious Metal Clay. It is a fantastic new material developed in Japan. It contains tiny silver particles, a non-toxic organic binder and water. In this form it resembles clay and you can easily manipulate it. Simply roll, press and stamp into just like a clay to create designs. Now here comes the clever part. Once you are happy with your design you let the clay dry out until the water evaporates then it is fired in a kiln or even with a hand held torch. All the organic binder burns off and the silver particles fuse together. Hey presto, it turns into pure (99.9%) silver.

There is a small amount of shrinkage (10% with PMC3) but other than that the design detail remains unchanged.

Read our blog post all about the day we spent at Learn Silverclay

You might like to read our blog post all about the day we spent at Learn Silverclay, attempting to do just that. It might give you some ideas for jewellery you’d like to create for yourself! Read post >>