It may seem odd, but it was getting our puppy Theo that was the catalyst for working on the studio. New puppy = new fence = meeting a good builder. This is significant as nobody in our house is capable of changing a light bulb let alone doing DIY!
While talking fencing I dropped the bombshell "...would you mind taking a look at the laundry?" The response to "do you think I could squeeze a bench in" was "why not knock out a wall and have one big room?" My making the decision to go ahead, after seven years, came down to the job being so simple...for a builder! This was in June last year, just before a trip to Europe, hence the fence for the dog.
Building was due to start late August. I put down my ideas on paper, a plan. I discovered Bench ExchangeThe Ganoksin project
I studied AutoCAD for two years but I had to go to the Furniture Department because it wasn't considered part of Jewellery. I never got it. Just too mathematical for me, way over my head. That was in London in 2000. In Melbourne I attended a Digital Workbench workshop (great name) introducing Rhino and I had my first taste of CAD/CAM in 2002. The current prospect of getting my tools out again and fiddling with Sketch Up reignited my interest in CAD.
Do you think anyone teaches it in Victoria? Nope, the best I can find is a unit in an Architecture Course. To learn as a private student is just too costly, let alone the price of the software. I thought it would have been a major part of jewellery design in this Century and as such would be taught as a basic design tool. Maybe it is, just not where I live! Online I've been looking at Matrix, JewelCad, 3 Design, Rhino and MOI. All this led me to the Jewellery Fair in Brisbane to see them in action and talk with some company reps.
With a couple of hefty edits to finish, I have to leave my research for now but MOI looks really promising and I'm looking forward to trying it out.
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