Welcome my Advanced Members!
Most of you have been with me here for a very long time, and I am proud of the community of metalsmith friends we all have created. This is a group that has happened beyond my wildest dreams. I knew I would meet great folks along the way, but I didn’t know I would create a group of addicts such as yourselves :-)! I think we might have to have a support group if this were to end, as we share something that most others will never understand.
Most of you have gone through my first trial year with this Advanced membership and we have made tweaks along the way—one of which is this private website created just for you. In this space, we will begin to post tips and ideas, some short video clips, links to other sites that I think would benefit our learning, and more things of interest as this community evolves.
If you are reading this blog, you are likely already on the journey with me, or you are contemplating whether or not you want to continue in the program. We are slightly changing the way topics will be presented. This year, we will concentrate more on the design and the elevation of techniques as “tools in the toolbox” for what you can do to raise your work to a new level. There will be some demonstrations of pieces made using the techniques presented, and we will focus on engineering our pieces so that the function does not get in the way of your design. You will focus on learning and expanding your voice in metalsmithing—and I think it is VERY exciting.
We have automated and streamlined the membership process, so that we will be spending less time with the email reminders, lost messages etc, and have all of our content here, in one place.
Here is what we will be doing for your first login: (You only have to do this once, then all you have to do is log in every time you want to view the content. You will not have to enter payment after the first time because it will be an automatic renewal).
The first thing is that you will need to create an account to be let in to the website. In your case, I am letting you in to the website now, in order to be able to create that account. This new account will be your login. You will likely need a new password if you already have an account (it made me do that).
Second, you will need to enter your credit card payment into the secure encrypted payment portal. You will be automatically charged one month in advance for each of the 10 months of the membership. Therefore, the August payment will be for September etc. There is no way you will be charged for the extra months, because the system is set up to take the 10 payments and then finish. If you need to cancel the membership, you must give 30 day advanced notice. But be careful, as your spot will be offered to the next person on the waiting list, and I DO have a waiting list. The payments will stop the month following the notice given.
Once you are a member, you will then scroll to the topics and RSVP for the topics you choose. You can RSVP for any or all of the topics up to one week before the topic is offered. This will insure I have enough of the proper materials needed for your topic . On the registration page, there will be a list of materials needed for that topic. The lists are not all complete for all of the topics yet, but will be soon. No money is charged in the RSVP as the price is set to $0.00 for members.
This Blog will be your up to date information, so please check in regularly for updates. We will be creating a private Facebook group for those of you who want to have discussions, or ask questions about the topics, and I will also answer questions in that forum. In some cases, I might even record a short video demonstrating that answer. This website allows for me to shoot up to 50 hours of video! So as I am a newbie at this, bear with me while I learn as well.
I hope you enjoy the new and exciting updates, and the changes I am implementing to improve the program for all of us! I hope you will plan to continue with me on our exciting journey and I hope you are all having a great summer!