General Rules 1. Have fun! 2. Have more fun! 3. Use only the materials listed each month. 4. This is a construction contest, please no wax casting. 5. Simple casting techniques such as, bean casting, broom, straw, pine needle casting or any similar simple casting techniques can be used. An emphasis must be placed on that only casting techniques using very simple, readily available materials and tools can be used. Steam Casting may be allowed during some monthly contests, because anyone, anywhere can use that method to do lost wax casting. 6. Only Hard Solder can be used for every solder joint. Please visit this site if you think that is silly or impossible. http://silversmithing.homestead.com/SilverClasses1.html You may even take the hard solder chalenge and make $100.00 just for giving three good reasons to every use easy or medium solder! 7. Of course you can use all other necessary supplies such as flux, pickle, and Silver Black or any other oxidizing method. 8. You must summit a color photo or photos via email, disk, or cd to me by the 20th of each month prior to that months contest. (Time remaining before deadline for next contest) E-mail: dnorris@frii.com Mail: Don Norris PO Box 2433 Estes Park, CO 80517 9. Give a short description of how the piece was made and its description. 10. Allow me to put these photos, along with your E-mail address on the web site. Optional 11. You may include photos of yourself, your shop (not your dog or cat) and your web site address if you like. One thing that I would like to see happen on this site and through the contests is that I will help you sell your pieces. First Contest! June, 2002 Deadline for Entries: May 20th, 2002 How much time do you have left before deadline? Hey, that's my birthday, I will be in Vegas, baby with my wife and sons! My youngest, Greg, a good silversmith and jewelry make, will be celebrating his 21st birthday!!!! I will be celebrating my 34th! Not! Have Fun and Go After That $50.00!

Each Month I will sponsor a contest for silversmithing. I will select a list of materials and stones that can be used in making a piece or pieces of jewelry. I will award two $50.00 prizes each month. Overall Award The Overall Awards will be given to the piece or pieces with the 1. Best Design, 2. Best craftsmanship and use of materials and 3. be very easy to sell, 4. for a good profit. Best Use of All the Silver for a Profit Award 1. May not be the Best Design, 2. must have good craftsmanship and use of materials and 3. be very easy to sell, 4. for the most profitable use of materal. Remember please: I am not an artsy, craftsy silversmith or teacher. I want these peices to be able to sell quickly for a good profit. I have taught my beginning students that in order to make a living as a silversmith and artist that it is important to make pieces that will sell for $20.00 and make a profit of at least $15.00. Take one (or two days) day a week to make 50 of these pieces, carry them around and wear them at all times during the week. Show them off to everyone and learn one simple sales technique. When someone asks or remarks about the jewelry that you are wearing, or have setting out all I teach them to say with pride is: "I made it, and it is for sale for only $20.00." Of course, I price some of them for more! I call these pieces: "My easy to make, quick to make, easy to sell, very profitable pieces." This simple buisness plan will make anyone wishing to be silversmith a living, maybe not at the level you wish, but it will pay the bills for most people. And, it only takes one or two days to make the jewelry, and none to sell them. I never go out of my way to sell these pieces, just keep them with me, and show them to the people I meet as I go through life. This gives one the other five days a week to "MAKE MONEY". I always say: "Most artist are so busy trying to make a "living" that they do no have time to MAKE MONEY!" By following the $20.00 plan, it allows you the opportunity to make a living and still have five days a week left to create more expensive pieces that will make you a lot more money. But, you have to make a living first! Anyway, for the most part these monthly contests will emphasis this easy way to make a living silversmithing and having fun doing it. They will stress very little materials at a very low cost, and hopefully make very fast and easy to sell pieces that will make a good profit! I do teach a different example of these kinds of profit making pieces, one each month, on the Silversmithing and Jewelry Making Newsletter. But I am hoping that we can all share in the creativity of the projects that are made for these contests. Each month I will try to make a few examples to try to get things rolling.

Silversmithing has been very good to me over the past 30 years. I have decided to give some of it back and hopefully encourage new and old silversmiths to have fun and use creativity to made a good profit. My Online Classes have afforded me the possibility of semi retiring. I have decided not to teach the four nights a week and almost every weekend that I have been doing for the past five years, and most of the past 30 years. Instead, I am going to only teach week long Sivlersmithing and Casting Seminars in Boulder, Estes Park, Arizona, and the Bahamas.

Silversmithing Chalenge

Monthly Contest Have fun, win some money and make a profit!

Silversmithing has been very good to me over the past 30 years. I have decided to give some of it back and hopefully encourage new and old silversmiths to have fun and use creativity to made a good profit. My Online Classes have afforded me the possibility of semi retiring. I have decided not to teach the four nights a week and almost every weekend that I have been doing for the past five years, and most of the past 30 years. Instead, I am going to only teach week long Sivlersmithing and Casting Seminars in Boulder, Estes Park, Arizona, and the Bahamas.

Each Month I will sponsor a contest for silversmithing. I will select a list of materials and stones that can be used in making a piece or pieces of jewelry. I will award two $50.00 prizes each month. Overall Award The Overall Awards will be given to the piece or pieces with the 1. Best Design, 2. Best craftsmanship and use of materials and 3. be very easy to sell, 4. for a good profit. Best Use of All the Silver for a Profit Award 1. May not be the Best Design, 2. must have good craftsmanship and use of materials and 3. be very easy to sell, 4. for the most profitable use of materal. Remember please: I am not an artsy, craftsy silversmith or teacher. I want these peices to be able to sell quickly for a good profit. I have taught my beginning students that in order to make a living as a silversmith and artist that it is important to make pieces that will sell for $20.00 and make a profit of at least $15.00. Take one (or two days) day a week to make 50 of these pieces, carry them around and wear them at all times during the week. Show them off to everyone and learn one simple sales technique. When someone asks or remarks about the jewelry that you are wearing, or have setting out all I teach them to say with pride is: "I made it, and it is for sale for only $20.00." Of course, I price some of them for more! I call these pieces: "My easy to make, quick to make, easy to sell, very profitable pieces." This simple buisness plan will make anyone wishing to be silversmith a living, maybe not at the level you wish, but it will pay the bills for most people. And, it only takes one or two days to make the jewelry, and none to sell them. I never go out of my way to sell these pieces, just keep them with me, and show them to the people I meet as I go through life. This gives one the other five days a week to "MAKE MONEY". I always say: "Most artist are so busy trying to make a "living" that they do no have time to MAKE MONEY!" By following the $20.00 plan, it allows you the opportunity to make a living and still have five days a week left to create more expensive pieces that will make you a lot more money. But, you have to make a living first! Anyway, for the most part these monthly contests will emphasis this easy way to make a living silversmithing and having fun doing it. They will stress very little materials at a very low cost, and hopefully make very fast and easy to sell pieces that will make a good profit! I do teach a different example of these kinds of profit making pieces, one each month, on the Silversmithing and Jewelry Making Newsletter. But I am hoping that we can all share in the creativity of the projects that are made for these contests. Each month I will try to make a few examples to try to get things rolling.

General Rules 1. Have fun! 2. Have more fun! 3. Use only the materials listed each month. 4. This is a construction contest, please no wax casting. 5. Simple casting techniques such as, bean casting, broom, straw, pine needle casting or any similar simple casting techniques can be used. An emphasis must be placed on that only casting techniques using very simple, readily available materials and tools can be used. Steam Casting may be allowed during some monthly contests, because anyone, anywhere can use that method to do lost wax casting. 6. Only Hard Solder can be used for every solder joint. Please visit this site if you think that is silly or impossible. http://silversmithing.homestead.com/SilverClasses1.html You may even take the hard solder chalenge and make $100.00 just for giving three good reasons to every use easy or medium solder! 7. Of course you can use all other necessary supplies such as flux, pickle, and Silver Black or any other oxidizing method. 8. You must summit a color photo or photos via email, disk, or cd to me by the 20th of each month prior to that months contest. (Time remaining before deadline for next contest) E-mail: dnorris@frii.com Mail: Don Norris PO Box 2433 Estes Park, CO 80517 9. Give a short description of how the piece was made and its description. 10. Allow me to put these photos, along with your E-mail address on the web site. Optional 11. You may include photos of yourself, your shop (not your dog or cat) and your web site address if you like. One thing that I would like to see happen on this site and through the contests is that I will help you sell your pieces. First Contest! June, 2002 Deadline for Entries: May 20th, 2002 How much time do you have left before deadline? Hey, that's my birthday, I will be in Vegas, baby with my wife and sons! My youngest, Greg, a good silversmith and jewelry make, will be celebrating his 21st birthday!!!! I will be celebrating my 34th! Not! Have Fun and Go After That $50.00!