Your ability to offer custom design to your clients is based largely on your communication skills. Can you extract the proper information from your customer and convey it simply to your computer-aided design (CAD) operator?
Bench experience is a widely debated topic, especially when it comes to using CAD. Should CAD designers have experience at the bench? If not, does this mean some important fabrication details may be overlooked? While some suggest this is the case, there’s value in CAD training—bench experience or not.
So I traded in my mukluks for a pair of flip flops and moved to California from Toronto. I have to say it was a bit surreal to listen to Christmas songs while the air conditioner hummed in the background. I do miss my native land, but the offer to move to a place with an abundance of sunshine and year-round temperatures in the mid-20s was too tempting.
With consumer demands high, developing effective communication with your CAD operator is critical. To eliminate the do-overs, here are a few tips to help maintain a good working relationship between you and your CAD designer.
Recreating old or damaged jewellery in CAD can be challenging, but it does have its rewards. A job well done when the piece is complete comes to mind, not to mention the joy on the client’s face. I am always ready to take on a project when there is a sentimental story behind it.
I love to draw. There is no greater satisfaction for me than to see a concept come to light. Drawing allows me to be creative and helps with better communication with my students and employees, which is why I’m always prepared to pull out a piece of paper and quickly sketch a design.
Let’s face it—buying jewellery is an emotional endeavour, which means, for the most part, we are in the business of selling romance or, in some cases, at least giving it a nudge in the right direction.
My sister, Sharlane Letwin, is a professional retail jewellery sales associate. Yet, when asked what she does for a living, she answers, “I make small talk all day long.” Sharlane is very charming, her sales numbers are high, and her employer invests in on-going training every year to keep his team sharp.
