29 YO Jeweler Q&A: School or Self-taught? How To Find Your Style?

I hope you guys enjoyed this Q&A, these were all GREAT questions that I hope will help you and others in their jewelry making journey. THANK YOU so much for helping me get to 30K and for always being so incredibly supportive of my journey on KZbin, in my business and in my life in general. Please leave any additional questions that you may have in the comments and I will do my best to answer them! Have the BEST week!
Please subscribe if you enjoy these videos and follow me on socials below for more behind the scenes content:
Instagram: ....
TikTok: www.tiktok.com....
WEBSITE miteramade.com
JEWELRY TOOLS :
TouchAmatic Wax Pen - pepetools.com/...
Amazon Storefront: www.amazon.com...
Amazon Storefront for Silicone Making and Wax Injecting:
www.amazon.com...
Amazon Storefront for Casting Equipment: www.amazon.com...
Amazon Tools that are worth the splurge: www.amazon.com...
Kaya Cast: pepetools.com/...
Amazon Storefront for Wax Carving Tools: www.amazon.com...
Silicon Mold From Rio Grande:
www.riogrande....
Mold Frames from Rio Grande:
www.riogrande....
Start a Shopify Website - shopify.pxf.io/DKxPXn

[@me-xp4rb]

Hi! Insurance agent here. Make sure your insurance properly covers all of this equipment and that your agent has you insured properly where the business is essentially in your basement. I ADORE your jewelry and can't wait to see what else you design :)

[@DonariaRegia]

This channel and sharing your experience as a small business owner is one of the reasons youtube is the best platform. The very first piece I created was cast, a cabochon pendant, made with rudimentary equipment. Everything since then had been forged and soldered, but I eventually want to cast efficiently for items like repeatable elements for bracelets with identical settings. Answering the question about the cost of your casting gear was enlightening. Thanks for doing this Q & A video! And thank you for giving back to the jewelry community. I just want to conclude by mentioning Estona and Lucy Walker, two channels that taught me a lot, and Andrew Barry (in your list) has been a great resource over the years.

[@dessin.]

Congrats on 31k! You should consider setting up a PO box for subscribers to send you random goodies, especially over the holidays. All the best and good luck with the channel!

[@MiteraMade]

That’s so sweet to suggest, I never thought about it! 🥹 I literally set up a PO Box yesterday since I may start casting for others soon so your comment was perfectly timed lol 💜☺️

[@pauramos7312]

I love to watch your videos while I´m doing homework or making jewelry! thank you so much

[@MiteraMade]

Whaaaat thank you!! I’m happy you choose to hang out with me 🥹🙌🏼💜

[@alyona.143]

Today I took my first wax models to the caster , and I feel so happy about it ! Thank you for keeping me motivated ! 😁😘

[@MiteraMade]

That’s so exciting!! 🥹🙌🏼🎉 happy to help in any way 🙏🏻

[@msnyder1642]

Congratulations!! Very well deserved success!

[@MiteraMade]

Thank you 🥹

[@sherriworkman1234]

I was thinking, you could do season jewelry. Such as winter, spring, summer, and fall

[@charity2727]

Another great video! Thanks.

[@MiteraMade]

Thank you so much! 🥹

[@AlchemyWithSoul]

Congrats on the 30K girl!!!!

[@MiteraMade]

Thank you so much!! 🥹💜

[@aropals672]

The one you were thinking about is Andrew Berry of "At the Bench" and yes he's a great teacher. He's been at it for 30 years. Love sharing your journey because I recently retired early to pursue and self teach making jewelry with my Australian opal I've been cutting for several years now.

[@MiteraMade]

Yess! I put his name at the bottom and in the list, I’m glad I could remember half of his name 💀🙈😂. And that’s so exciting, congratulations on taking that leap, I wish you TONS of success!!! 🥹💜

[@kerrischwarz7124]

I love my Paragon kiln. I have been using mine since 2014 and have not had any issues. This company has been in business for many years. They have multiple sizes available and I think the prices are reasonable.

[@MiteraMade]

That’s so good to hear, thank you for sharing! 🙌🏼🎉 I’ll start looking into them ☺️💜

[@boni-suelaninfa3574]

I also have a paragon kiln. Very versatile.

[@user-qq4ud9up7t]

Thank you so much for answering my question 🥹 it was so incredibly helpful and motivating!! + Congratulations on 31k!! ❤️

[@MiteraMade]

Thank you for participating and for being here!! 🙌🏼🥹💜

[@user-qq4ud9up7t]

@@MiteraMade of course!! So happy to 🥰💕

[@sherriworkman1234]

Hi. This information was great. It really helped. I would like to share my story of how I got started. It started when I was 9 years of age and a family member gave me a box of craft stuff. Now I am a huge craft person. I know how to do almost any craft and inventing some. My mama said that I am very creative. So in the box she gave me a little bit of beads and earring hooks. At the time I didn't know what jewelry making really was. So I stard Messing around and making stuff. And before I knew it I had made a pair of earrings. I started from there and kept making earrings. About 4 months later I decided to make other things and I went to a craft store and bought some stuff. At the time I don't know a lot and I didn't know about KZbin. So I decided to start teaching myself and 2 years later I was making a lot of stuff. And I found my style of jewelry. I started with a tiny container selling some around the stores. I started moving up with different size containers. I sometimes get orders for them with family members but I still sell them around the store but have a big container now and I'm doing pretty well. Sometimes I get sales and sometimes I don't. I self-taught myself to make jewelry and I am doing really well and making a bunch of stuff.

[@MiteraMade]

I’m so glad you’ve been so encouraged!! Sometimes all you need is that one person on your side to push you along, it sounds like you have a great mama! 💜 your jewelry is beautiful, keep learning and growing! 🙌🏼💜🥹

[@sherriworkman1234]

@@MiteraMade Thank you I appreciate it! I hope to learn a lot more. You have helped me learn and grow in my business. Thank you for that

[@adapoon-chin6537]

Hello frm NY, Good to see your Live again!

[@jamessalisbury3320]

Northern kilns from uk are really good. Shipping would probably cast a lot but I’m sure there has to be a company of similar in USA. I’d recommend a brick kiln rather than a muffle kiln. I look forward to your videos every week. It’s always nice to see others doing similar and seeing other fella casters

[@MiteraMade]

I didn’t know about brick vs muffle? I’ll have to do some research on the difference, THANK YOU 🙏🏻🥹 And thank you so much for being here and watching my videos 🥹

[@jamessalisbury3320]

@@MiteraMade a brick holds the temperature better, any broken elements or coils can be easily fixed, more accurate reading. Muffle, quicker at reaching the temperature but in my experience not so good for accuracy and holding the temperature at accuracy. If the elements or coils are damaged you have to change the whole muffle. Also go for a kiln that uses an external controller. If your controller on the kiln gives up, you can’t use it. With a controller connected to it, you can still use the kiln. Many pros and cons with both but the brick is by far the best for me. Bigger selection too.😊

[@cncrichard1]

Very nice video.

[@MiteraMade]

Thank you 🙏🏻🥹

[@silverbushman]

I made a burnout kilm and a pid cord hook up firebrick and a fram to hold it togeather add a temp type K thermostat

[@MiteraMade]

I don’t know if I’m brave enough to DIY this one 👀 especially since it goes in my house 🫢

[@samng8074]

Thanks for sharing.😊

[@MiteraMade]

Thank you for watching! ☺️🎉

[@morenovanbuynder4947]

I have some practical questions about the burn out process, how long does your burnout process take and how is it programmed, also do you leave your kiln open or closed when you let it cool down, thankyou !

[@MiteraMade]

My burnout is 8 hours, it’s programmed (thank goodness) and I leave my door closed while it cools (someone please let me know if I don’t NEEED to do that) 🙈💜

[@morenovanbuynder4947]

@@MiteraMade oh okay, thankyou

[@doggiesarus]

I just started with a Kaya Cast (Pepe Tools). it was expensive but was also on sale. I think a lot of my other tools will be cheaper.

[@MiteraMade]

Yesss the Kaya Cast is an expensive one but WELL worth it, I use mine multiple times a week for about a year now and she’s never let me down 🥹🙌🏼

[@sum1835]

what is the suction chamber in the vacum machine for

[@tonyawykle4966]

Hello there sweet friend, beautiful jewelry. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@MiteraMade]

Thank you 🥹💕

[@tonyawykle4966]

@@MiteraMade your welcome.

[@_withlove_jewelry]

What an amazing accomplishment 🎉🤍😍 you can definitely get to 50k by the end of the year!! 🤩 This was really fun to watch and hear all your answers to!🥰🥰

[@MiteraMade]

Thank you, I hope I can get to it! 🎉🤞🏼🥹

[@helengu1102]

What camera do you use for filming? 💝

[@MiteraMade]

I use a canon 90D 💜

[@trixyriver14]

How long did it take take make your first sale outside of family or friends.

[@MiteraMade]

I wish I remembered this more clearly but I think it was a few months? Maybe 3ish?

[@jamessalisbury3320]

I’ve lost count of how much I’ve spent. I’ve just spent another $2,700 on a new burnout kiln. 😊

[@MiteraMade]

Ooff🥴 that’s about what I’ll be looking at for a new one too. Its a necessary thing but never doesn’t make you a little sick to your stomach 😂

[@jojosolo521]

Vcella kiln! The newer Paragon Kilns SUCK! I work with the older Paragon Orion controllers and they are fabulous but their new touch screen controllers through Bartlett instruments are AWFUL! Please heed my warning I’ve been back and forth with them for MONTHS trying to fix temperature recovery time issues. We are getting a Vcella kiln to replace the new Paragon… It’s been a waste of time, energy, and money for us.

[@MiteraMade]

Oh nooo I hate to hear that 😭 that’s what makes it so hard to choose, there seems to be so many mixed reviews on nearly every kiln out there 💀🙈 lol I’ve never heard of a Vcella, I’ll start googling! Thank you 🙏🏻☺️

[@jojosolo521]

@@MiteraMade if you can get your hands on an older Paragon with the Orion controller go for it. I had always dreamed of having a Paragon myself but after this experience, I and the other artists in our studio, lost our faith in the quality. Best of luck finding a kiln! 🔥 Ps you can always buy a dial kiln and add on a digital programmable controller, these kiln companies make it pretty easy. There is also a Neycraft Vulcan kiln that looks pretty fancy but I’ve never personally used one.