ABOUT
INSTRUCTORS · REVIEWS · VIDEOS
Where makers and ideas come together
Founded in 2009 by director Steven Brownlee, Jewelry Creations Workshop has helped thousands of makers learn the art of jewelry making. From basic skills to advanced learning, people of all ages and backgrounds have attended classes at JCW, and you don’t need experience to attend. Check out our DIY Wedding Ring Workshop where we help couples, in an intimate private class, make their own wedding rings or engagement rings for that special day.
Our staff is professionally trained and working professionals, and we share all the tips and tricks used in the jewelry trade, limiting the time it usually takes to learn these skills on your own. No matter what your background or interest, we will provide instruction to move your skills to the next level!
Located in Miami, we teach from 2 locations. Moonlighter FabLab on Miami Beach is where we offer group classes and private classes, additional private classes are offered in the Miami Shores area.
Currently we cannot offer drop in visits so please reach out to schedule an appointment to visit the workshop.
How It All Started
The concept of Jewelry Creations Workshop began in 2003 when owner Steven Brownlee was asked to teach a class for someone he met at an art show while he was selling his work. At first, Steven declined the offer but kept the prospective student in mind. When the summer rolled around and the art shows slowed to a halt, Steven finally decided to give teaching a chance.
A slow summer, and one student later, Steven found a love for sharing the knowledge of the craft he was so passionate about and realized he wanted to become a teacher. And so he went off to learn more from the best and enrolled at the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Francisco.
From Student to Studio Founder
After completing the intensive program at the academy, Steven took classes in all areas of the jewelry trade, and at the end of 2005 gained employment with Alix and Company, an established and sensational jewelry store in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is also certified with the Jeweler of America as a bench jewelry technician.
After successful professional training and experience in San Francisco, Steven was driven to teach once again and open his very own Jewelry Creations Workshop in his hometown Miami, Florida. In 2008, Jewelry Creations Workshop opened its doors and Steven set off to create a place where students can learn the fascinating art of jewelry making.
Steven’s passion for jewelry making and his ambition to keep learning, sharing, and inspiring others to create resonate through the workshop on a daily basis. He loves to teach classes and is always happy to see a new face in the studio.
LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR Instructors
Steven Brownlee
-
Jewelry Creations Workshop, North Miami, FL - 2008 to Present
Owner, Operator and Head Instructor! Teaching and running operations, specializing in fabrication, beading and wire working, stone setting, chasing and repousse, wax carving, business and marketing, fold forming, forging, chain making and much more.Alix & Company, Mill Valley, Ca. - Oct. 2005-March 2007
Goldsmith - Fabrication (gold, silver, platinum and palladium soldering), stone setting, casting cleanup, polishing/finishing, repairs, sizing, chain repair, organization of studio and tools, keeping track of inventory, receiving and sales.Steven Lewis Brownlee, JT, Miami, FL. - June 2001-present
Owner/Artist - Responsible for daily operations of retail business including sales (retail and wholesale), design, manufacture, jewelry repair, customer service, display, bookkeeping, and inventory control.Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts, San Francisco, CA - Oct.-Dec. 2004, April 2005
Studio Monitor – issued keys to the school and was responsible for supervision of students and equipment after hours and on weekends, opening the studio as well as organization and shutting down the equipment, and locking up before leaving.ArtCenter/South Florida, Miami Beach, FL - 1998-2000
Studio Monitor - supervised and assisted students during studio hours, responsible for closing studio, organizing and turning off all equipment.
-
Arrowmont, Gatlinburg, TN - July 2016
Fearless Soldering for Pillboxes and Small Containers with Christopher HentzWildacres Retreat, Widacres, NC - Oct 2015
Animated Adornment: Kinetic Jewelry Design with Kirk LangThe Armory Art Center, West Palm Beach, FL - Early 2014
Torch Fire Enameling with Anne HavelWildacres Retreat, Wildacres, NC - Oct 2013
Small scale steel forging with Natasha Seedorf
Creative Stone setting - Jan 2009Florida Society of Goldsmiths New Smyrna, FL - Jan 2012
Imaginative Captures (Zengineering) with Andy CoopermanJewelry Creations Workshop, Miami, FL - 2009
Chasing and Repoussé with Fabrizio AqcuafrescaFlorida Society of Goldsmiths, Ft Lauderdale, FL
Catches and Clasps with John Cogswell
Chasing and Repoussé with Fabrizio Aqcuafresca - 2006Wildacers Retreat with the Revere Academy, Wildacers, Nc. - Oct.-Nov. 2005
Silver Granulation with Ronda Coryell - silver granulation on a small kiln and charcoal block, basic repousse and forging.
Threaded Mechanisms with Douglas Zaruba - theory and practice of threaded mechanisms including setting a stone with threaded parts. Ultimately finishing a piece completely assembled with screws.The Antoinette Matlins Practical Gem and Jewelry Course, Woodstock, VT- May 2005
An intensive course on how to identify imitations and synthetic in Diamonds, Colored Gemstones, and Pearls, as well as treatments, quality and how these affect value.The Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts Masters Symposiums, San Francisco, CA - April 2005
Bench Tricks with Charles Lewton-Brain -
Connections with Douglas Zaruba - hinges, clasps, and other moving parts.
Fold Forming with Charles Lewton-Brain -
Surface Treatments with Douglas Zaruba -Jewelers of America, Bench Jewelry Technician Certificate - 2004
Skills Testedinclude soldering(gold and silver), ring sizing, retipping, chain repair, prong and bezel setting, safety and clasp repair, polishing and buffing, piercing and riveting.The Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts, San Francisco, CA. - Oct.-Dec. 2004
Jewelry Technician DiplomaThe Antique & Period Jewelry and Gemstone Conference, Long Island, NY- May 2004
Lectures, seminars & Demonstrations including Colored Gemstones in Period Jewelry, the Evolution of Jewelry Repair, and overviews of many jewelry periods.ArtCenter/South Florida, Miami, FL - 1998 - 2000
Advanced Jewelry making skills in stone setting( bezel and prong), forging, design, surface treatments and the use of more advanced tools used by professional jewelers.
Beginning Jewelry, basic techniques, piercing, soldering, forming and chains.
-
Technical Excellence, Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts, San Francisco, CA. - Dec. 2004
Awarded best jewelry maker in Miami by the Miami New Times - 2013
4.5+ Star rating in Google, Yelp and Facebook
Award of Merit - Art show, don't remember where or which one, but I did - 2003
-
Arts and Culture day at North Beach Elementary School - Feb. 2017
Art teacher volunteer
We were invited to North Beach Elementary School to be a part of their arts and culture day where many artists and performers shared there talents with the children there. We saw 3 classes of 20-25 students from 9-11 years old. We had them working with wire to create a free form pendent with a hammer texture (optional), and attached a couple beads to give the piece some color (optional). They were introduced to some basic jewelry making tools such as pliers, cutters, hammers and jewelers saw. It was very rewarding to see the children pick up the skills quickly and leave with a finished piece they created on their own.Lotus House Womens Shelter - 2015-2016
Steven Brownlee of Jewelry Creations Workshop and Lia Terni visited the Lotus House providing the activity of jewelry making for the women at the shelter every few months. The class is designed to give the women there and an opportunity to express themselves creatively and to make something with their hands. We hope this class will open up new doors for the participants to see new possibilities for their life and to show them what they are capable of doing. The classes have been a great success and the women that participate always leave with something they made with their own hands.
DON LYON
I started my journey in jewelry making in the early 1970s, making wax models when freeform jewelry was popular. I started out as a hobby, using soft sheet wax and wax wire to design models of rings and pendants. After that, I integrated using the hard carving wax to make more classic designs. I was taking the models to a caster to cast in gold and silver. At that time gold was only $35.00 an oz. I would take my castings to a jeweler to do the finishing and setting for me. Over time I wasn't satisfied with the results I was getting so I started buying tools and equipment and began doing some of the work myself. After a while, I learned to do fabrication with gold and silver and setting stones.
People were commenting on the pieces I was wearing and when I told them that I made them. Some would ask me to make them something. That's when my hobby became a sideline.
Six years later I opened a shop in the Seybold Bldg. in downtown Miami, the jewelry center of Miami.
I was serving my clients and taking on trade work from other jewelers.
In 2019, I started renting Studio space at Jewelry Creations Workshop where I was happy and grateful to be around artists who are practicing and expanding their jewelry skills. The creative environment is contagious, and inspiration is everywhere. At JCW, I was offered the chance to share what I know with students and I have found that I enjoy sharing the skills I have and I can't imagine not being able to express my creativity.
