BENCHspace Silver School
…Because making matters
BENCHspace is a silversmithing and jewellery workshop that offers you the opportunity to come and make your very own silver jewellery in your own unique style.

Taster Sessions
BENCHspace offers a range of taster sessions and courses to build up your skill set with step-by-step expert tuition, enabling you to spend some creative ‘you’ time in our fully equipped workshop.
Taster sessions are a perfect gift for those extra special celebrations – including birthdays, anniversaries, hen parties, bridal parties, (to make bridesmaid, best man, bride and groom gifts) Corporate away days, Team Building and more.
Great for friends and family
Bring your friends and family to share your special occasion, creating amazing jewellery to wear home with pride and great memories to share.
Your Expert Instructor
Karen Cooke
I’m Karen, a silversmith with over 25 years of experience in designing, making & teaching.

In the last 12 months


Why Choose Us
Here are a few reasons
- Enjoy learning in our fully equipped jewellery workshop.
- Each person has their own jewellers’ bench with full set of tools.
- Make your own amazing jewellery to fit perfectly in your own unique style!
Testimonials
What people are saying
2 spaces available to treat you and your mum!
Spend a creative morning making beautiful gem set rings to wear everyday.
Visit bench-space.com to browse or book.
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2 spaces available to treat you and your mum!
Spend a creative morning making beautiful gem set rings to wear everyday.
Visit bench-space.com to browse or book.
...
One of the key skills in jewellery making is using the right amount of solder (usually less than you think). Therefore cutting solder the correct size is a must-have skill and one that all new students struggle with.
Here’s how I do it- cut the pallion size you need (as above) as you need it and keep it in the strip form… sometimes you may need to stick solder (another technique) and you can’t do that with solder glitter (pre-cut pallions).
Top tip: make sure you use sharp snips- not side cutters.
Happy soldering practice folks!
Remember your first 100 joins are all practice only 🧯
#silversoldering #silversolderingworkshop #benchspacejewelleryclasses
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Making earrings on week 4 of our beginners course…
New tools introduced, new techniques learnt and new jewellery being worn!
Well done everyone! Excellent progress being made.
#handmadejewellery #benchspacejewelleryclasses
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2 spaces just now available on our Mothers Day special workshop.
Come and make a gem set ring with us , treat her and yourself to some amazing new jewellery made by your own clever hands 🙌🏼!
Visit bench-space.com to browse or book.
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New stock!
No more gemstones
No, more gemstones
🤔 so confusing … 😂
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#Repost @rosieplum_jewellery with @use.repost
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It’s always lovely to get your feedback!
Many thanks @rosieplum_jewellery for sharing x
Some portfolio pieces! 💖
I made this on a one day workshop @benchspacesilverschool with @marlieswhite last year.
This is a collet set stone using sterling silver tube and then tapering the tube with a collet forming block.
At the moment, I’m having to save up to make more of these, as a collect forming block is around £200! 😅
The stone is a 5mm mystic coated Topaz which is sooooo difficult to photograph!
Every surface gives a kaleidoscopic rainbow of colours when you move the stone and it’s sooo pretty!
This is my own ring and regularly worn so a little bashed about 😆
Until a collet forming block appears on my bench, I can practice my tube settings- which I will show you soon 😉
#handmadejewellery #silversmith #sterlingsilver #jewellerymaker #jewellerymaking #sterlingsilverjewellery
#smallbusinessuk #essexsmallbusiness #colletsetting #mystictopaz
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A lovely Jasper stone set bangle finished in yesterday’s class by Liz.
This was a fiddly job to get the wires soldered in exactly the right place but this will be a firm favourite to wear everyday.
#jewelleryclasses #handmadejewelleryuk #handmadejewellery #benchspacejewelleryclasses
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A few snaps from this morning’s class …. Our Tuesday BENCHspacers on their own projects.
#benchspacesilverschool #
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Brilliant rings made today!
Well done everyone who visited BENCHspace today and went home with one of these beauties each ⚒️
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Work hardening and annealing…
If only we could de-stress ourselves so easily!
To make anything in metal it helps to understand the working properties of the material.
What is work hardening and why does it happen? What is annealing and why do we need it?
How do you know when to anneal and what does that do?
My students often ask many questions about this issue.
Can you anneal something and then leave it for a while and it’s still annealed? How many times can you anneal it? Is there a limit?
Is quite simple really. … when you work metal (bend it, hit it, twist it, move it) it becomes progressively harder and less malleable. The more you work it, the harder it gets and it less it will move. Annealing it will realign the crystal structure and make it malleable (bendy) again. If you don’t the metal will crack or split. You do this by heating it up to annealing temp. Each metal has its own annealing temperature. Silver anneals at about 600’C when the metal is dull red colour. To anneal metal you need a fluffy flame with yellow in your tail and heat the metal evenly to a dull red colour-it’s annealed when it’s at that magical temp. Getting it too hot may result in cracking.
A good hack for beginners is to put sharpie pen on their silver - it burns off at annealing temperature so when the marks have gone you’ve reached correct temperature. Then you need to quench the metal in cold water and pickle it. This is part of the annealing process for sterling silver. (Argentium silver is different and quenching makes it brittle.)
This annealing process is the key to working and reworking metal to create amazing forms.
You can anneal metal over and over. Once it’s annealed it stays annealed until you’ve work hardened it again. You can feel when it needs annealing, as it has become stressed and less bendy.
Sometimes you need to leave the metal hardened (earring wires, bangles, brooch pins) so that it is springy and not too soft. If you’ve soldered it then you will also have annealed it (as soldering temp is higher than annealing temp) and you may need to harden it again.
#jewellerymakinghacks #metalsmithsociety #benchspacesilverschool #benchspacejewelleryclasses
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Our jewellery taster sessions give you an amazing opportunity to come and make personalised jewellery to cherish everyday. Stamp names, dates, initials, symbols, patterns, words of bliss or words to remind you of your loved ones.
It’s your story to tell and wear close to you as a reminder of how flippin’ amazing you are, or make one to remind someone else how much they are loved.
Bangles, pendants, charms, bracelets, silver rings ….
Visit BENCHspace and be amazed at what you can achieve.
#benchspacesilverschool #benchspacejewelleryclasses #narrativejewellery #jewelleryclasses
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We are all storytellers at heart…
Jewellery is extremely personal and narrates the stories of our lives, families and friendships. We like to wear the initials, symbols and signifiers of our loved ones as reminders of events and relationships that shape and define our lives.
Custom make your own Sterling silver charms to add to necklace chains, bangles or bracelets to personalise your own jewellery collection. Add names, dates and symbols to wear and cherish everyday. Or to gift to the special people in your life to remind them of you…
Visit bench-space.com to browse or book any of our jewellery taster sessions (for all abilities).
You’ll be amazed at what you can achieve!
#benchspacejewelleryclasses #narrativejewellery #jewelleryclasses #jewelleryworkshop #friendshipgoals
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We love hearing your feedback and seeing you all wearing your amazing jewellery! Most of you come back many times to add to your own jewellery collections.
It may start with a spinner ring workshop (bought as a gift from a friend) but matching bangles may come next, then a stacking ring set and a bracelet or two and before you know it you’re covered in beautiful jewellery made by your own clever hands 🙌🏼.
It is so satisfying for us as tutors to help you realise your ideas and learn new skills. We love seeing your reviews and many thanks if you take the time and trouble to leave us one, it really does make our day!!!
(You can read all our reviews on our website home page)
#benchspacejewelleryclasses #benchspacesilverschool
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2 spaces left ! Saturday 22nd February (10am-4pm)
Have a fun day playing in your own special sand box and melting silver… in our introduction to sand casting.
You’re welcome to bring your own small items to replicate in silver or choose some of ours from our casting box.
Visit bench-space.com to book your space.
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Did you know that you can make round rings oval shaped (ideal for bracelets) using reverse action pliers (also used to open body piercings).
This works best for wire under 2mm in diameter, otherwise use an oval mandrel to form oval links….
This tool is a really simple, quick and effective method of making oval rings without an oval mandrel. You just have to make sure you’ve soldered every link really well as it will test your solder seams!
We have 4 sizes available to buy from our studio shop, so grab a pair when you next visit us…
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Today we were mastering the very tricky art of making bezels for fancy shaped gemstones… it may have been blowing a gale and pouring with rain but we didn’t really notice as we were all concentrating on teeny tiny things!
Many thanks to the very wonderful @marlieswhite (our favourite goldsmith) for teaching us these processes and techniques.
Well done everyone - you all did amazingly!
Many thanks for coming today xx
#benchspacejewelleryclasses #jewellerymakersofinstagram #bezelsettings #handmadejewellery #jewelleryclasses
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What will you make?
Visit us and make your own amazing jewellery to wear everyday…
#benchspacesilverschool #benchspacejewelleryclasses #handmadejewellery #jewelleryworkshop
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Bench tips… #benchspacesilverschool #handmadejewellery #benchspacejewelleryclasses ...
Make your own amazing jewellery to wear everyday!
This is a great way to spend a creative day in our jewellery studio learning traditional skills, making high quality silver jewellery for yourself or as a special gift.
10am-4pm
Sunday 16th March 2025
Sunday 20th July 2025
You’ll be amazed at what you can achieve.
Visit bench-space for more info…
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