Top 8 Reasons NOT to Subscribe to Online Beading and Jewelry Workshops

Don’t say we didn’t warn you about subscribing to online jewelry workshops!

by Tamara Kula

By now, you have no doubt heard all about Interweave’s new subscription service that gives you unfettered access to top instructors in our online beading and jewelry workshops. You’ve probably already even been bombarded with reason after reason why you simply must subscribe.

On one hand, it’s true that there are some amazing topics in these online workshops. There are metal clay projects galore—including overlays, molds, enamels, metal clay quilling, and using resin on metal clay. Plus there’s seed bead embroidery, beading on a loom, 3D bezels, beaded ropes and fabric bead—the list goes on. Kiln- and torch-fired enameling. Expert jewelry business advice on developing your jewelry line and selling your work. And that’s just the beginning! New courses are being added all the time.

BUT WAIT. Take a breath. Don’t be lured into the madness. Once you go down the path of all-inclusive, unlimited access to jewelry workshops, you’ll be in so deep there’s no escape. I’m going to give you a few reasons NOT to subscribe to these unlimited jewelry workshops. That’s right—get ahold of yourself now before it’s too late.

8 Reasons You Shouldn’t Subscribe to Jewelry Workshops

1. A One-Track Mind

If your friends think you’re preoccupied with all things jewelry making now, just imagine what they’ll say after you’re a subscriber! When taking a walk with your favorite neighbor, you’ll interrupt her confidential confessional to gush over a pine cone that you simply must mold for your next metal clay project. When helping your child think of a science fair project, you’ll commandeer the whole thing and design a full-fledged experiment in oxidation. Can’t you see where this is heading?

2. Space

You know that one little corner of your kitchen table that you and your family huddle around to eat—because the rest of the table is buried in tubes of jewelry-making supplies, pliers, various findings, patterns, some wire, and maybe even a torch? (And yes, that is in spite of the makeshift studio you have in the basement.) It’s a no-brainer that once you subscribe to jewelry workshops, that last free bastion of the table will disappear entirely under the encroaching mass, leaving your poor family members no choice but to gulp their meals crouched over the kitchen counters.

3. Responsibility

You haven’t even thought of your houseplants, have you? They’ll most likely all die because you’re having too much fun watching jewelry workshops, learning, and making jewelry. Not to mention your pets. If you’re not careful, poor Fido will watch sadly as a subscription service becomes the new love of your life.

4. Performance Anxiety

Online beading and jewelry workshops have quizzes. That’s right, quizzes. These Interweave workshops are serious about helping you learn. Each one has a considerable amount of content, followed by pop quizzes, comprehension checks—sometimes even tests! Is all the stress really worth it?

5. Social Skills

Do you really want to be known as that geeky did-you-know person at every social engagement you go to? I can almost hear it now. Admiring a host’s stained glass window, you’ll burst out with, “That’s so beautiful. The effect is so much like plique-à-jour enameling, just like the medieval Mérode Cup.” Or while sampling fancy coconut truffles, you’ll declare eagerly, “Did you know that firing copper metal clay in coconut carbon prevents fire scale?” Awkward, right? You’ll be so immersed in your world of jewelry that your obsession will take over your social life, too. It will creep up on you without you even realizing it.

6. Sleep Deprivation

You know the excitement that grips your mind when you have a great idea, but it’s late at night and you’re supposed to be sleeping? Well, if you hit ‘subscribe,’ be warned that you’ll be in for some sleepless nights. You’ll have so many techniques, variations, and combinations of these rolling around in your head that there’s no way you’ll be able to snooze. And everyone knows what happens after just a few days without sleep. Be careful!

7. Getting Spoiled

Let’s not forget another disadvantage of the Interweave jewelry workshops. They come fully loaded, with discussion boards, galleries, interactive activities, note-taking abilities, and downloadable lists, patterns, tips and guides. You say this sounds like a good thing? Not so fast. If you ever take other online jewelry workshops in the future, just think of the disappointment you’ll be asking for. You see? I’m glad you’re starting to take this threat seriously.

8. Moral Dilemmas

And last but not least, there’s that pesky moral dilemma running around in the back of your head. All those jewelry workshops at your beck and call, and all for only $9.99 a month? If you’re the type whose conscience won’t let up that you’re getting too good of a deal, you’ll have to really think about this one.

When you take the time to think through the bigger picture, beading and jewelry workshops just might not be all they’re cracked up to be. So before you jump in with both feet, don’t say that you haven’t been warned.

About Online Jewelry Workshops (Just in Case)

Now that you’ve read that disclaimer, let me just give you a brief overview of what you could expect to find when you subscribe to Interweave beading and jewelry workshops. I’m by no means encouraging this behavior or enabling anyone. I’m just giving a bit of a description about jewelry workshops, okay?

In the jewelry workshops, we have jewelry instructor giants like Darlene Armstrong, Susan Lenart Kazmer, Jackie Truty, and jewelry business expert Carolyn Edlund—plus Christi Friesen starting this summer! We’ve got you covered with a variety of skills, from enameling to art business secrets to metal clay, from kilns to torches! You’ll be amazed at the possibilities for combining various techniques into true masterpieces.

On the beading side, we have rock star teachers, too, including Tammy Honaman, Kinga Nichols, Carol Cypher, Kristal Wick, and Melinda Barta. These instructors bring you a smorgasbord of goodies, from beginner bead stitches like peyote and chenille all the way to elegant techniques such as layering, bead embroidering, and making swirling beaded ropes—even tutorials on how to make your own beads from fabric and fiber.

And the best part–scratch that, I mean the worst part—is that new content and new jewelry workshops are added all the time. On the horizon are workshops in polymer clay, wire wrapping, and seed-beading your way to stunning gardens.

Now isn’t that a depressing thought? There is literally no end in sight when you subscribe to beading and jewelry workshops—and they’re unlimited for $9.99 a month! If you can’t resist subscribing, do so at your own risk.

—Tammy Kula
Instructional Designer, Interweave Beading & Jewelry Workshops