Blog Author

Halstead Jewelry Author Erica

Erica is the former Studio Coordinator at Halstead. She spent 14 years with the company across a variety of departments but fell in love with metalsmithing. Erica's top tip for new metalsmiths is: "Practice! Be patient with yourself and have fun with it. Don't be afraid to ask questions. All of us at Halstead enjoy helping people whether it's questions on products or technical help in the studio. We're here for you."

Articles by Erica

Learn how to make a hinge in your jewelry designs. This essential mechanism will allow you to tackle lockets, boxes, poison rings and more!

How To Make A Hinge For Jewelry

Inspired by the 2018 Halstead Design Challenge, learn how to make a basic knuckle hinge in your jewelry designs using tubing, sheet and wire.

Learn how to prong set stones in this quick guide to setting techniques. Will cover the vocabulary you need to know and the skills you can start practicing.

How to Prong Set Stones: A Step by Step Guide

Learn how to set stones in prong settings! This tutorial covers stone vocabulary and the basics to prong set both faceted stone and cabochon cuts.

Learn tips for chain finishing to make necklaces or other jewelry from bulk footage chain lengths. See how to solder chains for secure clasp connections.

Tips for Chain End Finishing

Find instructions and tips on finishing footage chain! Large and small chain links are covered including different chain styles and finishing techniques.

Erica Stice explores ways to embellish finger ring bands in this inspirational article that explores techniques for ring making.

4 Ideas for Embellishing Ring Bands

Get creative in your jewelry studio! These four rings were made in a day using silver bands and stacking rings combined with pattern sheet, links, rivets and other fun findings!

Flex shaft attachments can be overwhelming! Learn which ones you need in your jewelry studio along with techniques and tips for jewelry finishing.

Flex Shaft Attachments for Finishing -

A flex shaft (or Dremel) rotary is one of the most indispensable metalsmithing tools in the jewelry studio . We use flex shafts for sanding, polishing, cutting and drilling. They shave time off in the studio so we can move on to other projects. I love our flex shaft but ...

Glossary of Hammers Used in Jewelry Making

Read all about the types of hammers used in the jewelry studio & check out our Facebook LIVE videos for tips, techniques & more!

Need a new jewelry soldering station? Read Erica's article to learn how to choose the right soldering fuel and torch tips for your home studio.

Solders, Torches & Fuels Used in a Jewelry Studio

Picking a fuel type for your jewelry studio can be an arduous research session. We've narrowed it down with the pros and cons for each type, with additional information on torch tips included - updated February 2019.

Review our quick quide to ready-made stone settings to make your jewelry fabrication time more efficient so you can focus on your custom work.

Jeweler's Guide to Types of Ready Made Settings

Interested in ready-made stone settings? We cover a wide range of pre-made jewelry settings and tools in this guide, which also include hints and favorite new tools.

Learn how to create a custom granular cabochon setting in this easy pendant tutorial for your jewelry studio practice. Stretch your metalsmithing skills.

Setting a Cabochon Pendant Tutorial

Enjoy an afternoon in the studio creating beautiful cabochon pendants! This how-to guide will show you step-by-step how to make custom cabochon settings in a few short hours.

Learn how to select jewelry wire gauge thickness and hardness temper for your material needs in this handy guide to jewelry metals properties.

What Jewelry Wire Gauge & Hardness Do You Need?

Learn the ins and outs of sheet and wire gauges and metal tempers so you can make the right choices for your jewelry designs. This popular blog post was updated in 2019.

Halstead Jewelry Studio Coordinator Erica Stice lists her recommendations for the most essential tools to get for your new jewelry studio space.

Essential Tools for Your New Jewelry Studio

Build your studio bench with Erica's top picks of essential tools for metalsmiths.

Firescale naturally occurs while soldering silver. Learn about the pickling process to remove firescale from your silver jewelry pieces.

Jewelry Soldering 101: Firescale & Pickling

Firescale naturally occurs during the soldering process. Read on to learn what firescale is and how to pickle it off your jewelry.

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