From now until Sunday, April 22nd, Dragonfly Designs has created a special offer in honor of Earth Day! Sign up for a group Jewelry Making Class and we'll donate 20% of the cost back to your school or organization! We offer classes is beginners jewelry making, Design Your Line, jewelry making in Spanish, French, Mandarin and more!  This is a great opportunity for your school or group to fundraise in style, learn a new skill and have fun.

 

For more information, or to book your class with Dragonfly Designs, contact Owner Stacee Gillelen at 800-914-3903 x4 or email her at stacee@jewelrybydfly.com. 

 

It's time to get beading!

 

Something really exciting happened to me at the Girl Scout Design Your Line class. There were two foreign exchange students from Japan staying with the family. They were to participate in the class but the host Mom warned me that they did not know any English and there was no one in the house who knew Japanese. I wasn't about to leave these girls out of the loop so I communicated with adapted sign language and it worked so well I was floored. They did not know sign language but the signs for necklace, bracelet and earrings are all very intuitive. I would sign "bracelet," then "earrings," and then a sign that indicated "which?" or "choose?" They got it right away. The sign for "cut" is also intuitive.

They made more jewelry pieces than the English-speaking girls and even learned to use some of the tools. By the end of the class, they were completely comfortable with the equipment, the tools, asking for help and so on.

This further bolsters my ideas about non-verbal art teaching, but also just makes me so excited about the possibilities for communicating with anyone, regardless of their language background. These signs have been helping me work with the little ones too, who may not have the best language skills yet. I am not suggesting that everyone use sign, but this experience proved to me that we must reach deep in our tool boxes a to use ALL of our communication skills, speaking, writing, gesture, facial expression and even mime. There are so many ways to make yourself understood, and being understood and crossing language barriers is a hugely gratifying and rewarding experience.

I was so proud of the whole group, but especially the way the two Japanese girls seemed to blossom when they saw that I was going to communicate with them directly and not through Google translate or by speaking English at them loudly and slowly. They became so excited when the language barriers came crashing down. Dynamic communication is key.

Dragonfly Design’s Budding Entrepreneur’s class recently underwent a facelift and has been reconfigured into the newly-named Design Your Line class.  This exciting class provides the opportunity for students to learn how to create their own jewelry line from start to finish while learning business basics and charitable giving. Dragonfly Designs founder Stacee Gillelen believes that charitable giving is something that everyone should be doing and it can be done together. 

 

Jewelry Instructor and Non-Profit Manger Marissa Nasca teamed up with fellow Instructor and Studio Manager Jessica Moffett to create the new curriculum for the class.  With the surge in popularity of shows like Project Runway, the idea of creating ones own line has become more popular for creative types of all ages.  Marissa and Jessica worked to create a curriculum adaptable to different age groups and their associated developmental states. 

 

Young students—as early as second grade—are able to understand the basic business concepts introduced in the class. They like to earn and be rewarded for jobs well done, said Marissa.  It’s a nice concept for them to learn from a young age that they can perform a skill, earn money and give back to someone else.  “I taught a class where the girls were like only people who are greedy don’t give to charity.  People need help.  We all need help,” said Marissa.  “The young kids may not get accounting, but they are all charitable cuties if we push them in the right direction.”

 

Older students taking Design Your Line learn more advanced skills and exciting jewelry making techniques.  They are able to apply the math they already know so they can start to see how much things cost and understand the value of what they see in the stores. The class covers how students can use color, find inspiration, create with their customers in mind and market their jewelry. Stacee’s goal is to have kids understand they can have these skills and start their own business even if they are very young. 

 

A lot of the time we short change kids because they’re young, says Marissa. This class will provide the skills and jewelry savvy to enable them to start their own business—in their terms.

Learn more or sign up for a Design Your Line class here!