Jewelry-Making Classes with Tom Lorio

I met Mr. Tom way back at the beginning of MIMOSA. We were both set up selling our jewelry at the Baton Rouge Arts Market. He mentioned he taught classes, and since I was soaking up everything I could learn, I signed up.

I had just left my day job to be home with my new baby and my new business. I’d put the baby to bed and head over to Tom’s at night, ready to learn as much as I could. His studio is a maker’s dream, one room filled with 50 years of jewelry-making memories, supplies, and every kind of tool you could possibly need. It felt like my grandparents’ garage, where I grew up allowed and encouraged to use whatever I could find to make whatever I could imagine.

For someone like me at the time with zero formal training in jewelry making and a lot of intimidation for doing it the “wrong way” he was exactly the easy going teacher I needed. There were no long lectures or big talks- we got right to work. Perfect learning for people with impatient fingers itchy to make.

I learned to solder and saw metal, roll and twist wire, mess up and start over, and turn nothing into something. It was a dream.

It’s been more than 10 years since those first classes, and a whole lot of jewelry-making in between. When I saw his email about summer classes, I signed up my daughter and me on a whim.

From the moment he put metal in our hands, we were both in love. With golden oldies on in the background and full permission to play, we had more fun than we’d had in a long time. She soldered and sawed, rolled and twisted and all in a space that feels like a flashback to one that shaped me in my creativity. 

Mr. Tom’s studio is a dream. If you’ve been looking for a place to play, to reconnect with your creativity, to explore and learn and mess up and start over — AND leave with your own handmade jewelry, his classes are it.

To sign up, email or call Tom Lorio at:

• tlorio1622@hotmail.com
• (225) 383-7258