Book Review: 30 Minute Rings 60 Quick and Creative Projects for Jewelers by Marthe Le Van
From the back of the book:
“60 Ring Projects by 40 top jewelers in 30 minutes flat!”
“Are you smitten with silver? Gaga over gold? Wild about wire? Then don’t waste another second because you can make totally chic ring you’ll love in just 30 minutes!”
From me:
“Uh, what is a bench tool kit?”
“What does it mean to Anneal the wire?”
I’ve been making jewelry now for about 3 years now – feeling pretty confident in my abilities and getting a stronger sense of my aesthetic and style.
When I first saw the title of this book I thought, “30 minute projects? Sign me UP!”
Then I read the writing on the bottom right corner of the book and looked between the covers for a project to make for this review. Apparently I’m no where near being a “jeweler”.
And that’s OK. It simply means I won’t be bored any time soon.
A big part of what we do here on Craft Test Dummies is let you, the reader, know just what you can expect from a product. That way you can decide if you want to spend your money on it or not.
So let me say that this is a good book. 60 projects for people who are jewelers – people who understand “jeweler speak” and don’t need step-by-step instructions. People who have a BENCH KIT and know now to use it.
There is no instructional introduction to the book, other than to tell you what your bench took kit should include and what your soldering kit should include. Right after those two lists 30 Minute Rings jumps right into the projects.
There is a finished photo of each project but no step out photos.
But that didn’t stop me.
I found two projects in the book that really didn’t require a Bench Tool Kit and I decided to try one of them out. It took me a little while to figure out what the instructions meant for me to do since there aren’t step by step photos but I did figure it out without too much trouble.
Once I understood the concepts I found the instructions made sense and were easy to follow. I could make another ring just like this and not have a bit of trouble.
About 30 Minute Rings:
- 136 Pages
- 60 Projects
- The MSRP is $21.95USD and is available at amazon.com for $13.19USD
- Includes a Bench Tool Kit and Soldering Kit checklist
I really like the ring that I created and I’m proud of myself for trying something I hadn’t tried before. (Which, by the way, is one of my favorite things about writing for CTD. I get to try out all sorts of things I probably wouldn’t have tried on my own!)
I like the idea of being able to make my own rings since I have really big hands and find it IMPOSSIBLE to find anything at the store that will fit. I especially like this ring because the way it’s made makes it easy to adjust the size. BONUS!
If you are a jeweler, I think you’ll like this book as a source of inspiration and a way to try some new designs. If you are a general crafter you might find it challenging or maybe even frustrating.
Either way, I’d love to know if you own or decide to buy this book what you make and how you felt about it. In the mean time I’m going to check out my local colleges’ adult education catalog and see if I can find some metal smith classes to take because some of the techniques are ones I’d like to learn.
If you are considering purchasing 30 Minute Rings by Marthe Le Van, please support CTD and use our affiliate links:
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