Hi, my name is Jonathan Sayles and I am a part time silversmith. It started by a combination of my first child being born and my wife wanting to make him a bead bangle as seems to be common in Far East Asian countries.
Of course I had to explain that in the UK giving anything with tiny beads on it not only poses a choking hazard but would also be frowned upon by society. So we did the next best thing and started selling these bracelets to friends and neighbours. After a while it became evident that bead jewellery is very limiting and it was at then that I decided to go for a silversmithing course.
The next 16 saturdays opened my eyes to the world of silversmithing at the Textile Workshop in Nottingham, England. It was a great experience and being the only guy in a room of wonderful ladies helped to make the time even more enjoyable! During those lessons I was hammering, soldering and generally having fun. It seems a guy is only truly happy when he is whacking something with his tool... I think I had a natural ability to make pretty much anything I could think of. My final project for the course was a very technically challenging necklace that later sold for £180 along with a set of earrings to match made for the sale.
I completed a second course to further enhance my skills and went on my merry way. I currently sell my work on Etsy or through my own website selling sterling silver jewellery that I created myself.
