Kevin Potter (Day 2)
About the Artist
Kevin Potter was a fine jeweler, designing jewelry, carving wax, casting, and completing pieces for sale. He worked for jewelry stores in Tucson, but primarily as an independent jeweler, and sold through independent stores around the US. With the economic downturn of 2008, he found himself with little work, and decided to make tools he always wanted while in college. This led to him making silversmithing stakes and selling them. He eventually began making various tools for jewelry-making, including a hydraulic press and created a new business of selling tools to jewelers. He began collecting old tools, known as hubs, that were used since the 1800's to stamp jewelry. That became the all-consuming passion of saving these old pieces of artwork and turning them into tools that jewelers can use today. Potter USA has saved designs from 68 different companies from the US, Finland, France and Germany. The largest part of the collection is from Rhode Island, the former center of costume jewelry-making in the US. Kevin continues to make fine jewelry and pieces with the hubs and dies, and sells tools to jewelers around the world.- www.potterusa.com
How to Purchase
Payment can be made using Cash, Paypal or credit card.About this Event
Potter USA manufactures tools for jewelers. Over 1 million antique dies and hubs used to make jewelry and badges, pins and more, have been saved and are lining the hallways and rooms at Potter USA. Attendees will get a tour of the facilities and a chance to see these beautiful hubs and dies, as well as old drop hammers, chain-making machines, and learn about the process of making an original hub. Artwork (hubs and dies) from the 1800’s through 1980’s are in the collection and span the world from Paris, Helsinki, Germany and primarily the US – from Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Kevin, his son Vincent, and several employees Annie Pennington, and Kaitlyn Agelastos make jewelry with these antique hubs and dies and will sell pieces of silver and copper jewelry they have made.
Come enjoy a fun time learning about how jewelry was made and the enthusiasm of Kevin Potter sharing this amazing lost art form.
Other 2024 OST Events from this Artist
About the Studio
About the Art
About the Process
I made fine jewelry for 20 years and this involved designing the piece by drawing it out on an artist's pad. Then I would carve jeweler's wax into the shape I needed. I would then prepare the wax for the lost wax casting procedure. All of the finishing of the item, including sanding and buffing of the piece and stone setting was also done by myself. I still make jewelry this way on occasion. However, now that I have a large collection of hubs and dies, I tend to choose a design I love, which is Art Nouveau ladies with long hair, or rings with beautiful patterns that would include a stone setting. I select the die I want to use, roll sterling or fine silver in a rolling mill and then place the die and silver in an antique drop hammer or a hydraulic jewelry press. Each of these processes takes several steps because after pressing the silver, the metal hardens and needs to be softened (annealed) by heating it with a torch so it can be pressed again to get more detail in the metal from the die. Any excess silver from the edges of the impression will be cut away and the edges of the piece will be filed down to be smooth. If it is a pendant, I solder on a back plate of silver to make the back of the piece flat. I often will set a stone to hang from the bottom of a pendant. Rings made using hubs and dies are typically made in a flat or almost flat piece using a hydraulic press and silver. Then the excess metal is cut away and the ring is annealed and then hammered around a ring sizer to bring two pieces together to be soldered.Explore Nearby Studios
Steven Derks (Day 1)
Alex Zane (Day 1)
Annie Pennington – Radish Fight Jewelry (Day 1)
