Hey, it’s Jenessa.

In today’s issue:

• Deep Dive: The Hard Lesson I Learned in a Toxic Jewelry Studio

• Jewelry-Making Tip: Tackle Tricky Details with Two Genius Polishing Hacks You’ve Never Tried

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•DEEP DIVE

Studio Drama, and the Lesson That Changed Everything

Twenty years ago, while studying industrial design on the West Coast, I had a professor named Vlad who was pretty tough to impress.

He was all business—stern, with an intense stare and an endless amount of design and engineering knowledge he could go on about for hours.

But I thrived under that kind of teacher. The kind where you have to work twice as hard to get the slightest nod of approval.

Every so often, he'd repeat a phrase from the poet John Donne:

"No man is an island."

The lesson?

No one succeeds alone.

I learned this the hard way during my apprenticeship at a high-end custom jewelry studio.

Awkwardly, the two senior jewelers I worked with had just gone through a messy breakup—and they weren't speaking...

Like...at all…

The shop was silent, and the tension was repellent.

No one shared ideas, no one helped one another, and I was left struggling alone.

I was stuck making the same mistakes and couldn’t find a way to grow.

And honestly? I was terrified I'd lose my job.

Then everything changed.

One of the jewelers left, and their replacement was the most generous, open, and knowledgeable jeweler I'd ever met.

He shared everything he knew.

That's the support system I want to build with my work.

I've mentioned that I'm creating a jewelry-making course for busy professional jewelers who want flexible support and are ready to add powerful new skills to their tool belts.

This isn't a hobbyist course.

You'll need to be comfortable using gravers and have access to professional jewelry-making tools.

Not there yet? No worries—you can get there! Just click the above links to learn more and build your skills.

If you are at that level and want to learn one of the most profitable and in-demand bridal engraving styles—the half and full wheat pattern—this course is a must for any custom design studio selling quality high-end jewelry.

You'll get a step-by-step video guide to mastering the bench work and finishing this marquise engagement ring like a pro.

And the best part?

The course also includes design rights and a downloadable STL CAD file for the marquise engagement ring I designed and sketched above.

That means you can reproduce and sell the ring as many times as you want, making a return on your course investment.

By the way, marquise engagement rings are seriously trending right now, thanks to the ring Benny Blanco gave Selena Gomez (I wrote about it here).

It's a win-win: sharpen your skills and grow your business.

(Not convinced marquises are trending? Maybe Vogue will change your mind.)

Stay tuned—I'll have more details next Sunday.

If you have any questions on the course, hit reply, and let's chat!

•PRODUCTION TIP

Polish Every Intersection: 2 Hidden Polishing Tricks for Tiny Nooks & Crannies

Not to brag—but I'm really good at polishing.

It's one of those underrated skills that people only notice when you do it exceptionally well.

I knew I was onto something when designers started requesting me specifically for their most challenging, time-consuming polishing jobs.

Here are two go-to polishing tips I use on nearly every ring that will seriously level up your finish work:

1. Cut Every Intersection You Can with a Graver.

2. Smooth Away Casting Skin, Sand, and Sculpt with Sandpaper.

(Need more polishing tips? Read about how to be a “Polisher Paul” here... I promise you’ll get the joke once you read it.)

Have a great Sunday, I appreciate you being here,