Jewellers Academy Podcast

This week on the Jewellers Academy Podcast, Jessica Rose is joined by jeweller Kelly Twigg for a conversation about what really happens when you commit to a year of jewellery training.
Kelly completed the Diploma in Silver Jewellery and is returning for another Diploma this year, and in this episode she shares the difference structured learning has made to her jewellery skills, confidence, creativity and business.
Together, Jess and Kelly explore the unexpected benefits of doing a Diploma: from improving technical ability and building a portfolio to finding accountability, making jewellery friends and creating space to learn just for yourself.
They discuss:
• Why structure helps you progress faster as a jeweller
• How accountability keeps creativity moving
• The role of mentoring and community in online learning
• Building confidence and overcoming imposter syndrome
• Growing your jewellery business through stronger making skills
• Why developing your creativity matters even if you're not building a business
• The surprising friendships that come from learning alongside others
If joining a Diploma has been on your mind, this conversation might help you decide whether now is your time. Enrolment for a September 2026 start ends on Fri 12th June 26. 
Find out more about Jewellers Academy Diploma programmes at jewellersacademy.com/diplomas

One of my favourite things about our Diploma Open Days is seeing who joins us.
This time we had jewellers at all different stages of their journey. Some people had never soldered before. Others had been making jewellery for 15 years. Some already had businesses and felt ready to take their work to the next level.
And as always, the questions were brilliant.
This isn't one of our usual podcast episodes. Instead, we're giving you the chance to listen in on our recent Diploma in Silver Jewellery Open Day.
If you couldn't join us live, this is your opportunity to hear the conversation, get a feel for the course and hear the questions other jewellers asked as they explored whether the Diploma was right for them.
Inside this bonus episode, we cover:
• How the Diploma in Silver Jewellery works
• The projects and techniques you'll learn throughout the year
• How assessment and certification work
• The support available to help you stay motivated and make progress
• What online jewellery learning really looks like
Plus I answered questions asked live on the day including:
• Is this Diploma suitable if I already have experience?
• Should I start with Silver, Fine or Advanced Jewellery Diploma?
• Will I learn to make settings or use pre-made settings?
• What if I'm worried about the cost of working with gold?
• Do I need to buy all new tools?
• Can I use my own stones and design ideas?
• Do I need a dedicated jewellery studio?
• Can I pay monthly and change payment options later?
Whether you're just starting out or looking to develop your jewellery skills further, we hope this gives you a useful insight into what it's really like to study on the Diploma in Silver Jewellery.
Useful links:
If you fancy watching the open day, and seeing all the projects you'll learn to make, you can find the video here
https://www.jewellersacademy.com/blog/your-questions-answered-diploma-in-silver-jewellery
View the full Diploma curriculum and course dates
https://www.jewellersacademy.com/diploma
Download the tools and materials list
https://www.jewellersacademy.com/diploma-toolkit
Book a no-obligation call with the team
Ready to join? Enrolment for the September 2026 intake closes on Friday 12th June 2026.

What separates the jewellers who keep progressing from those who feel stuck?
It isn't talent.
In this episode, Jessica Rose is joined by Anna Campbell to explore the real reasons many jewellery makers struggle to move forward and the practical steps that can help you build momentum, confidence and skills.
Together they discuss the challenges that can slow your progress, including lack of momentum, staying within your comfort zone, learning through trial and error without support, fear of wasting materials, comparison, self-doubt and waiting until you feel confident before taking action.
They also explore why structured learning, community, accountability and expert guidance can dramatically accelerate your growth as a jeweller.
Whether you're making jewellery as a creative hobby, developing professional skills or working towards building a jewellery business, this conversation is packed with encouragement and practical insights to help you keep moving forwards.
In this episode:
• Why momentum is often more important than motivation
• How comfort zones can limit creative growth
• The hidden cost of learning alone
• Why progress can feel invisible before breakthroughs happen
• The importance of structured jewellery training
• Overcoming the fear of wasting precious materials
• Building confidence through action
• How community and support can transform your journey
If you've ever looked at another jeweller and wondered why they seem to be progressing faster than you, this episode is for you.
In this episode we talk about the importance of momentum, support, structured learning and community when it comes to progressing as a jeweller. If you're ready to take the next step in your own jewellery journey, enrolment for our online Diploma programmes closes on Friday 12th June 26. We'd love to welcome you and support you in developing your skills, confidence and creativity over the coming year.
https://www.jewellersacademy.com/diplomas

What does it really take to build a full-time jewellery business from scratch?
In this inspiring episode of the Jewellers Academy podcast, Jessica Rose is joined by Alice Catherine to talk about her incredible journey from complete beginner during lockdown to running a successful jewellery business and shop on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.
Alice shares how she discovered jewellery making in 2021, enrolled on the Diploma in Silver Jewellery with Jewellers Academy just days later and funded her studies through selling jewellery online while she learned. Since then, she has built a thriving jewellery brand inspired by the Scottish coastline, grown an online audience of over 50,000 followers and now creates ocean-inspired jewellery in silver, gold and gemstones.
She has also achieved something many jewellers dream about: building a successful bricks and mortar jewellery shop with her jeweller's bench in the back, creating and selling her work from the same space, and growing the business to the point where she now employs staff and freelance support.
In this episode, Alice talks honestly about learning jewellery making online, building a sustainable handmade business, growing through social media and balancing creativity, business and motherhood. She also shares what it was really like starting out from a tiny attic workspace with no running water and why you do not need the perfect setup to begin.
 
Key moments in the episode:
00:00: Introduction
02:00: Introduction to Alice Catherine and her jewellery journey
03:16: Starting jewellery making during lockdown in 2021
04:10: Discovering Jewellers Academy and signing up for the Diploma
07:18: Funding the Diploma through jewellery sales
08:05: Balancing the Diploma alongside full-time work
08:45: Why online jewellery learning worked so well for Alice
11:43: The jewellery making skills Alice still uses every day
13:12: Revisiting Diploma tutorials years later
17:09: Moving to the Isle of Lewis and making jewellery in an attic workshop
19:07: Why you do not need the perfect workshop to start
20:07: Opening her jewellery shop in Stornoway
22:22: Learning about stock, casting and running a jewellery business
24:48: Creating a sustainable handmade jewellery brand
26:35: Growing an audience through Instagram and TikTok
27:45: Going viral on Instagram and growing to 50,000 followers
30:00: Why repeat customers matter more than follower numbers
31:18: Creating jewellery inspired by the ocean and Scottish islands
33:38: Building a team and balancing motherhood with business
35:14: Alice's advice for new jewellery makers considering the Diploma
37:08: Where to find and follow Alice Catherine Jewellery
 
Interested in following in Alice's footsteps and learning jewellery making?
Find out more about the Diploma in Silver Jewellery — Jewellers Academy and start your own jewellery journey with Jewellers Academy.
 
Find Alice
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicecatherinejewellery
Website:     Alice Catherine Jewellery

What happens when you realise the career you've built no longer feels creatively fulfilling?
In this week's episode of the Jewellers Academy podcast, Jessica Rose is joined by Michaela to talk about starting a jewellery business later in life, discovering jewellery making after years in office work, and how studying the Diploma in Silver Jewellery completely changed the direction of her life.
Michaela shares her journey from evening classes and wax carving workshops to jewellery markets, Etsy and building her own jewellery brand. Together they discuss learning jewellery making as an adult, changing careers creatively, studying jewellery making in Brighton, building confidence at the bench and the realities of starting a jewellery business from scratch.
In this episode, we cover:
Starting jewellery making later in life

Changing careers into a creative business

What it's like to study the Diploma in Silver Jewellery in person

Learning stone setting and jewellery techniques

Why in-person jewellery training can make such a difference

Building confidence as a jeweller

Jewellery markets, Etsy and Instagram

Creating organic and meaningful jewellery pieces

Finding fulfilment through creativity and making

Michaela also shares honest advice for anyone starting out on their jewellery journey:
"Just stick with it."
Whether you're dreaming of becoming a jeweller, thinking about taking a jewellery course, or wondering if it's too late to start something creative, this episode is a wonderful reminder that there is no single path into jewellery making.
02:00 : Introduction to Michaela and her jewellery journey
05:25 : How a trip to Bali sparked an interest in jewellery making
07:30 : Evening classes, wax carving and wanting to learn more
09:25 : Why in-person jewellery training mattered
11:30 : Discovering her creative style and organic jewellery design
12:40 : Creativity, fulfilment and making meaningful jewellery for others
17:50 : Working in travel, office jobs and feeling creatively unfulfilled
20:10 : Redundancy, career change and finding the Diploma in Silver Jewellery
22:45 : Why Michaela chose the 7-week intensive diploma in Brighton
25:55 : Learning stone setting and developing technical skills
29:10 : Creating the final diploma project
32:20 : Starting a jewellery business after the diploma
34:10 : Etsy, markets, Instagram and building a jewellery brand
36:40 : Advice for anyone starting jewellery making later in life
38:20 : Why Michaela recommends studying at Jewellers Academy Brighton
39:35 : Where to follow Michaela and final thoughts
 
If you'd love to learn jewellery making in-person like Michaela, you can join us in Brighton at Jewellers Academy Brighton.
We offer two ways to study for your Diploma in Brighton:
one day a week over the course of a year, or

a 7-week full-time intensive course, like Michaela completed.

The intensive option is especially popular with students travelling from further afield, and we've welcomed jewellers from all over the world to study with us in Brighton.
And if travelling to Brighton isn't possible, or you need more flexibility around work and family life, our online Diploma courses offer a highly supportive alternative. With mentored support, accountability and flexible learning, our online students achieve consistently high success rates while studying from home.
You can explore our online Diploma courses here:
Jewellers Academy Online Diplomas
 
Follow Michaela and her jewellery journey on Instagram: @nymferojewellery