Hollow Forms

Learn how to make beautiful hollow form beads and pendants

Hollow beads and pendants are a great way to create tactile, large but light pieces of jewellery! They are lovely on their own, and can also be combined with stones and beads to create more complex pieces of jewellery.

There are three main types of hollow forms that can be covered:

• round lentil beads (plus a variation using other shapes)
• closed boxes
• hydraulic pressed forms made using my own range of silhouette dies

You can choose to cover just one or two methods and make them into finished pieces, or, if your focus is techniques rather than finished jewellery then we can cover as much as possible during the day, with the finishing to be done by you later. Either way, I will teach you my methods for finishing the hollow forms and turning them into pendants, earrings and more.

Other silversmithing techniques such as texturing using a rolling mill, sawing and piercing and of course soldering will also be covered whilst making the hollow forms. A wide range of my rolling mill texture sheets will be available for you to use.

Is this topic a half day or full day's tuition?

A full day is needed for this topic. Depending on your interests we can either cover as many topics as possible, or choose one or two types of hollow beads and make those into finished pieces of jewellery.

Is any previous experience needed?

This topic is best for those who already have experience of soldering and sawing.

What are the material costs?

The material costs will vary depending on the type, size and number of beads you would like to make. However, hollow forms need fairly thin silver sheet and this helps to keep the costs down, and you are welcome to bring your own materials to the class. To give you some indication, the silver cost of the pendant shown in the main images at July 2025 is approximately £18.

See full details of Private Tuition and currently available dates here