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Had a nice thread of conversation on Orchid. What is Orchid? It’s a jewelers network of questions and answers for all kinds of things from repairs to business…. It’s a group that is worldwide and very helpful if you need a question answered.

I just thought the response I am going to copy and paste here was wonderful. It’s from a jeweler named Mark. We were all discussing quality and how we work, etc…. Here is his reply. Thanks Mark. Enough said.

   I think that for a lot of jewelry makers it’s the making that is at
the root of their personal happiness. Not the money or the
recognition, although money is a necessity and at least some
acknowledgement of your personal value may be as well. But there is
something about the making in itself, the way it can sooth a
troubled mind and push away all of one’s problems that always
strikes me as remarkable.

It’s the kind of feeling that other people seek out in a variety of
ways, from spiritual journeys to recreational drug use. I think that
the reason it can provide such a high level of satisfaction, to the
point of creating a near addiction for many, is two things. One is
that when at your bench or in your shop or studio, you are in an
envelope where you totally control everything in a way that normally
does not exist in life. The other is the semi-regular rush of
overwhelming satisfaction when a piece evolves into something that
far exceeds the expectations you had when you began.

Don’t get me wrong, I have always had a profit motive when it comes
to jewelry making and still do. But there is something about being
at the bench, making something from nothing, that lifts me like
nothing else.