Decorative Silver Ring Workshop

Rachael Plassard is running a decorative silver ring workshop at Hotwalls Studios on Sunday 4 October, a half-day session in Studio 5. It's a beginner-friendly one, so you don't need any prior experience to sign up. The whole point is to design and make your own sterling silver ring from scratch, and you'll be using steel punches to get the decorative patterns on there.

There's a bit of a learning curve built in, which is the sensible way to do it: you start by practising the punching technique on copper first, and once you've got the hang of it, you move on to the sterling silver. Along the way, you'll pick up some of the core skills of jewellery making — accurate filing, sawing and soldering — with clear demonstrations and plenty of one-to-one help throughout. By the end of the session, you'll have a finished sterling silver ring to take home.

All the materials you need to make one ring are included in the price, and there's tea, coffee and biscuits on the go throughout the session to keep you going. If you're feeling ambitious and want to make more than one, additional silver is available to buy on the day. It's a half-day session, so you'll be in and out in one go rather than coming back over several days.

It's held at Hotwalls Studios in Old Portsmouth — Studio 5, Broad Street, PO1 2FS — and costs £105.00.