We moved to a new studio! It's bigger, full of light and we love it!

We've moved the Silvera Jewelry School into a new, bigger, spacious, gorgeous space for our jewelry school! We've expanded from 500 square feet to over 900. We're now on the corner of Virginia Street and San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley.

What does that mean for students and classes? Well, check this out: more room to walk around. We've increased the space around the benches to make it easier to get around your work space. There are more separate work areas for polishing, casting, photography, etc. There's a lounge area away from the benches where you can sit on a couch, sit and eat at tables, and help yourself to coffee, fruit, snacks, etc. We have a bigger area for supplies: metalsmithing tools, books, dvds, jewelry.

The space has high ceilings and sky lights, so that 900 square feet feels like 1500. And it was so nice to see the students at our first retreat in the new space (Art of Soldering, sold out!) sitting and mingling in the "lounge" before class. What a beautiful sight to behold.

We're so much closer to amenities like hotels (the Golden Bear Inn is right across the street), Enterprise Rental car is also across the street, cafes (Cafe Fanny, Acme Bread, Cafe Leila and more, all in walking distance. And we're a 10 minute walk from the North Berkeley BART station.

The school is unpacked and back in business, but we're still settling in to the new space. Here are some pics of the space as it's coming along, including photos of our students from the Art of Soldering workshop. More at Flickr.