Beading and assemblage with Sophie Kyron

Sophie Kyron, and her jewellery label of the same name, is known for a loyal following of fans including fashion editors and celebrities such as Toni Collette, Kate Ceberano and Miranda Kerr, as well as many folks in her home town of Perth. Over 20 years she grew her business to supplying over 120 stockists in Australia and overseas, and employing a team of six in her Perth studio and store.

During her two-day workshop, you will learn wire beading techniques with foundation patterns, and be introduced to the limitless ways of assembling and anchoring pieces with other mediums, including recycling vintage finds to achieve inspiring adornments.

Over the weekend, you will also be treated to Sophie’s exceptional creative drive and benefit from her depth of experience in growing a sole-trader designer-maker business into a recognised brand.

Day 1: Beading

Learn and practice the skills to create foundation shapes and forms in wire beading.

This enables exploration and creative design, that develops with the use of a variety of mediums and materials, e.g. standard glass beads, pearls, wooden beads, semi precious stones or chips, seed beads etc. The options are endless once the initial pattern is mastered.

Day 2: Assemblage

The day will kick off with a talk, in which Sophie will give a behind-the-scenes look at her fashion jewellery career and her creative business approach – spanning establishing an international brand, maintaining a studio and collaborating with fashion designers for catwalk shows.

Armed with this inspiration, you will use your previous day's work or select new elements to arrange with other mediums or base structures to create new pieces. The options are limitless and can include recycled vintage finds to repurpose new and old in symphony.

Skill level:

No special skills required, but some dexterity using small hand tools will be useful and an enthusiasm to grasp new design and construction skills. An excellent sense of humour is always desirable.

Please note: the intention of the workshop is to learn and practice a number of skills, and have access to Sophie's design talent, so you gain confidence to experiment and make your own work, not necessarily to leave the workshop with finished pieces.

What to bring:

• 2 x fine nose pliers, one without teeth
• 1 x small pliers with a cutting edge
• Any materials you may have that could be suitable for assemblage, such as beads, badges, vintage jewellery that you would like to rework, varied textiles such as lace, ribbons, fabric flowers or anything you can imagine using.

Your ticket price includes:

• A materials pack including beads, wire and other materials for assemblage.
• Hand-outs to take home
• Morning and afternoon tea. (Please bring your own lunch.)

Classes are limited to 10 people per class.

Scroll down for more info and FAQ.

FAQs

Tickets:

$295 +GST per 2-day workshop. Please note: Eventbrite ticketing fees are additional.

Where:

The Reception Room at Camelot Arts, Ground floor, 16 Lochee Street, Mosman Park, Western Australia.

When:

Saturday 14 + Sunday 15 November 2020

Arrive at 9:30am for registration and morning tea. (Please don't arrive before this time.) Classes start promptly at 10am. Lunch break is 12.30–1.15pm. The day concludes at 4pm.

What are my transport/parking options for getting to and from the event?

• Free public car parking is available in the surrounding streets of Solomon and Lochee. (https://goo.gl/maps/Zct9EtUTs712).
• A 15 minute walk from Mosman Park train station.
• And a short walk from the 107 bus route.

Is the venue Accessible?

There is wheelchair access. Contact us or the venue if you have any queries.

Photography

Yes, you can take phone photos during the workshops, but if you publish or post to social media you must credit Sophie Kyron and Maker & Smith.

By enrolling in a class you automatically give permission to be photographed. Photos may be used by Maker & Smith for promotional purposes. If you’d prefer not to permit, please advise Maker & Smith at the event.

What are the COVID-19 precautions?

We will operate according to the Western Australian guidelines at the time. The workshop takes place in a large, ventilated room to provide plenty of space for physical distancing; hand sanitiser will be on hand and please bring your own mask, if you feel the need to wear one. We ask that you do not attend if you are ill and, if this is the case, we will negotiate fair and reasonable terms.

If COVID-19 impacts the presentation of a workshop, we will notify you of the postponed dates, and will negotiate fair and reasonable terms . If Maker & Smith has to cancel a workshop a full refund will be made and reasonable advance notice will be given.

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What's the refund policy?

If you cancel 7 days or longer before the event we will issue a full refund.

If you cancel 6 days or less prior to the event we cannot refund.

Unfortunately we are unable to make exchanges to other workshops/products. If you are unable to attend you are more than welcome to send a friend along in your place. Please contact us (maryellen@makerandsmith.com.au) if you intend to do this.

Maker & Smith reserves the right to postpone or cancel or make changes to the location of any course or class. If Maker & Smith cancels a workshop a full refund will be made and reasonable advance notice will be given.

Who are Maker & Smith?

Maker&Smith is an independent partnership of Mary Ellen Cliff and Carola Akindele-Obe. We present films, workshops and talks about contemporary crafts and makers.

© All images courtesy Sophie Kyron and Maker&Smith.