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Summer Camp Spectacular!

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Summer Camp Spectacular!!

There are still five more weeks of amazing, inspiring Dragonfly Designs’ summer camp left this year! Don’t miss out on one of the most memorable (and creative!) weeks of your life! There is still availability in both our San Francisco and South San Francisco camps, including our FRENCH Immersion camp, Design Your Line camp as well as our Creative Explorers camp.

So far this summer we’ve brought in some old favorites as well as had students inventing their own creative creations! Highlights from this summer thus far, include:

*Make one! Make 100! Making color string friendship bracelets will never get old.

*Why buy beads when you can make your own? Our campers have been getting their hands dirty with polymer clay to create their own beads, charms, trinkets and pendants for jewelry.

*There’s something riveting about making a ho-hum piece of wire come alive as a dragonfly, butterfly, or colorful tree. Our kids—just like our adult students!—have been all wrapped up in wire wrapping this summer creating fun and creative creatures and jewelry pieces.

*John Muir Elementary’s Design Your Line class has been making jewelry for over a month and half now to contribue to a jewelry sale that will take place next week! The students voted, and their proceeds will be donate to an animal shelter as well as an organization that supports children in foster care!! We are so excited to see our amazing students giving back to their community!

To join in on the fun, visit our camp page here. We can’t wait to see you at camp! .

Fundraise in Style with Dragonfly Designs

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Fundraise in Style with Dragonfly Designs

As we unveil our new Fundraising and Homeshows page and promotions

Dragonfly Designs has rolled out the red carpet to bring on the sparkles for your next fundraising event. We are proud to announce our new and improved Fundraisers and Homeshows!

Why have a bake sale when you could fundraise in style? If you’ve got a school group or organization that needs to raise money, book a jewelry making class with us! Colorful, high-end beads. Expert instruction. Gorgeous take-home pieces. And you keep 20% of the class cost. Sound too good to be true? Check out the details and book your class here under our Adult Jewelry Parties tab. Have fun while fundraising and your group goes home with all of their own, homemade jewelry.

If you don’t feel like beading yourself, book a home show and we’ll bring the pre-made baubles to you. Freshwater pearls, Czech-glass beads and high-quality findings make up our unique collection of earrings, necklaces, bracelets and more. As a bonus, hosts help themselves to a percentage of all profits. This is a great excuse to get friends together and bling-out with some gorgeous handcrafted jewelry!

Brandeis-Hillel Students Help Save the Redwoods!

Thu, 7 Jun 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Brandeis-Hillel Students Help Save the Redwoods!

A successful jewelry sale at school raises money for an important cause

This past Monday, June 4^th, the students of Brandeis-Hillel Day School's Design Your Line jewelry making class held a hugely successful sale of their handmade jewelry and raised $175 for Save the Redwoods! Led by expert instructor Marissa Nasca with help from Colleen Choi, the girls sold all of the pieces they designed, created, priced and advertised over the course of the semester.

The students, ranging from first to third grade, sold bookmarks, eyeglass holders, earrings, necklaces and bracelets. According to Colleen, the girls were very good at getting the word out as they walked around showing off their pieces and advertising the sale. They were excited about bringing parents and teachers to the sale. One student brought in a mirror to add to the display and another brought in an extra necklace she made on her own to the sale.

"My favorite part of the sale was selling everything and raising money for the redwoods,” said one student.

The added benefits (in addition to having fun!) of Dragonfly Design’s Design Your Line jewelry making class include:

· develop business acumen

· learn about merchandising, marketing + display

· discuss philanthropy and charitable giving

· find inspiration for designs (nature, fashion magazines, imagination)

· learn how to calculate cost of materials, labor and mark-up for wholesale/ create business plans, focusing on capital, profit and budgets

· explore sales opportunities such as Etsy, craft sales and homeshows where children can sell their own jewelry after class ends

· experience the art of jewelry making & create jewelry

· organize an on-campus sale where profits will be donated to a non-profit of the children's choice

· build self esteem, self confidence and creativity

For more information on the Design Your Line curriculum, visit our page here.

Dragonfly Designs Partners with Art of Yoga Project

Tue, 5 Jun 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Dragonfly Designs Partners with Art of Yoga Project

Dragonfly Designs partners with Art of Yoga Project to help teach GEMM (Girls Empowered through Money Mindfulness)!!! Here is a little bit about this exciting new development! The following information was taken from the Art of Yoga Project Grant proposal:

GEMM (the project we are participating in) is going to have two stages. The first, is in the classroom where the girls will learn Finance 101. Stage two is where Dragonfly Designs comes in and teaches the girls how to apply some of the skills they are learning to design and create their own jewelry using parts of our Design Your Line Curriculum. We are very excited to be a part of this!

"The AYP Financial Literacy Curriculum, or GEMM (Girls Empowered through Money

Mindfulness), is intended to mitigate the lack of financial education available for youth

today, particularly for young girls in at-risk communities.

The goal is to empower teen girls to:"

become aware of their attitudes about money,
familiarize themselves with financial language,
dispel financial myths,
earn money in ethical ways,
learn the “laws of money,”
save more than they spend,
invest wisely,
to consciously and practically plan for their futures and;
vision and actualize stable, purposeful, and meaningful lives

Want to give back to a non-profit? Visit our Give page!

One Hundred, Fun Hundred Girl Scouts Get Pinned

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:00:00 GMT

One Hundred, Fun Hundred

Girl Scouts Get Pinned

This month, Dragonfly Designs headed off to the Alameda Fairgrounds in Pleasanton for the huge One Hundred Fun Hundred Girl Scout’s event. With about 20,000 attendees hailing from different states and countries, the event offered themed buildings, including Girls Go Tech, Green by Nature, Business Smarts & Growing Strong (our location) as well as archery, a wild kingdom, the great mosaic project, the heritage museum, orienteering, sports, zip line, disability awareness, rock climbing and more!

At the Dragonfly Designs table, we taught girls how to make a small dragonfly charm to pin on their vest or give away as a SWAP. We were also selling Badge in a Bag kits that included the tools, findings and directions needed for 10 girls to make chandelier earrings, a waxed Irish linen bracelet, beaded bracelet and paper bead bracelet each. The kit was popular not only because girls could earn their badge, but it’s great for service unit events, for older girls running badge workshops for younger girls and just for having a fun night of jewelry making! The kits are also available on our Web site here.

According to our talented instructors, Georgia, Lynn and Kristina, the girls loved the dragonfly pin project and the adults were very excited about our parties, workshops and DIY Badge kits (especially those troops who were from out of our service area). They agreed the Badge in a Bag was a great “excuse” to invite a sister troop to join them or as an activity for a school-wide event.

“I loved the way the girls got so into the spirit of the event! Many had group t-shirts they had designed or decorated themselves, goofy 100 antennae headbands. Some girls even sported mustaches!” said Lynn.

“It was a very high energy and motivating experience, and I recommend that every Dragonfly member do it at least once,” added Georgia.

To get your own Badge in a Bag DIY kit, visit our site here!

EARTH DAY SPECIAL!

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:00:00 GMT

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!

Teaching Tidbits: Update from Instructor Extraordinaire, Kat

Tue, 3 Apr 2012 12:00:00 GMT

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 Unveils the New Design Your Line Class and Curriculum

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:00:00 GMT

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!

Getting a Visual: Teaching Tips From an Experienced Jewelry Instructor

Tue, 3 Apr 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Dragonfly Designs' instructor Kat David came up against a roadblock after teaching the same group of dedicated jewelry students for over a year and a half. Her students knew all of the basic projects in and out, but they weren’t really progressing their knowledge of more challenging techniques with her talking them through the lessons.

Kat, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), thought back to her years as an art student to remember how instructors talked her through learning difficult techniques. And there Kat realized her problem. There wasn’t a whole lot of talking during art instruction at all—most of the learning was visual.

Kat knew from experience that talking at children often resulted in her students shutting down and tuning out, so she began to teach with a new approach. Instructing her students to simply “watch,” she would visually demonstrate a new skill, going over it a few times, forcing students to pay attention with their eyes or else they would miss the instruction.

“I made a new rule in my class that we are all allowed and encouraged to watch and copy everybody,” said Kat. Often students come up with helpful learning tricks and tips on their own, and Kat wanted to encourage a shared learning experience where students are able to learn more from one another. Friends in a class naturally look around to one another for support when needed, so why not encourage this practice?

After visually demonstrating a new technique in her class, such as wire wrapping, Kat would turn to the students to ask the basic questions: did they get that? Did they notice which tools were used? After watching, they are encouraged to copy and then practice the skill themselves. Once a student really picks up a skill, they help their peers.

“Talking is not a good medium when making art,” said Kat. “The watching has been key. It’s not as tiring for me to be talking all class, but there’s still a lot of interaction. I want their eyes glued on me. “

This teaching technique puts more of the learning process on the student. Kat has seen good results with this experimental method for students as young as first grade. She has also worked to put a lot more of the responsibility of the class on the students. She has students that know how to crimp help their younger classmates and allows her kids to scoop their own beads, knowing the consequence of messing up the tidy bead kit will result in cleaning and sorting duties the following week.

“I want my students to be more responsible with their learning,” said Kat. And so far, the added responsibility seems to be working in both the students and the teacher’s favor.

Try it out in your class or with your kids and tell us how it goes! More responsibilities can often result in greater rewards for all parties involved.

Digging up the Dirt on Hayes Valley Farm!

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Digging up the Dirt on Hayes Valley Farm!

Our CAIS camp visits during February break to explore local ecology in their communities

Dragonfly Designs is so excited to be working with the Hayes Valley Farm during our spring and summer camps in San Francisco at the Chinese American International School (CAIS). During our jewelry making camps we love to be able to provide students with the opportunity to learn about local ecology and the environment of the communities they live in. Just this February for winter camp, our eager campers met up with Lindsey Goldberg, co-director of the youth education program at Hayes Valley Farm.

Lindsey started off our campers that sunny day in February with a welcome to the farm and an introduction to the urban farm project. She explained the interesting cultural history of how the farm came to be when the Central Freeway collapsed in the earthquake of 1989 and after that, the land sat dormant for 12 years. The community and mayor’s office then got together in support of a revitalization project to take root on that landscape in Hayes Valley.

All types of people from the community--landscapers, artists, parents, designers--decided it was a farm they wanted to create. According to Lindsey, it is largely thanks to volunteers that the project was created. More than 10,000 volunteers have helped develop the farm since its inception.

Art and creativity has played a big role in the landscape of the farm. Beautiful maps were created by local artists to help describe the whole project from a bird’s eye view. Artists also created beautiful signage and murals, which helps mark the land and tell the story about the work of the farm. The farm is a community space and we want to create a place where people feel safe and comfortable and inspired, says Lindsey.

Our jewelry making campers were able to get the grand insider’s tour from Lindsey! She walked the kids through the food that was growing at the farm, followed by a hike through the food forest. They got creative with their taste buds by tasting fennel, mint and arugula. They tasted their way down the hill that used to be an old off ramp. They took turns smelling lavender and trying kale.

The farm also has its own apiary with its collection of honeybee hives. The kids were particularly excited about the bees, as well as seeing the flowers and tasting strawberries! Next, Lindsey brought them to see the greenhouse and explained why they start seeds there. They visited and explored the seed library and walked through more garden beds. After exploring the food and nut orchard--100 flowering trees in pots of apricots, plums and almonds—they finished the tour by winding their way through a maze-like labyrinth filled with food.

The campers enjoyed their picnic lunch and then went home with sunflower seeds and seed balls, which are made of clay, soil and wildflower seeds to be planted throughout the cityscape. As an educator, Lindsey is most excited to share with students how passion and people power transformed this old freeway into a working farm and educational center. She believes when children have the opportunity to experience the farm it helps to make their classroom learning come alive. A lot of what is taught at the farm is interdisciplinary; it combines art, history and science in a way that ignites kid’s imagination and curiosity. Lindsey works to teach them why it’s important and how farming in a city connects urban dwellers with the basic process of what it means to grow your own food. Kids in the city see their food in the supermarket or restaurant, but rarely do they see the whole process. It makes it more meaningful for them, says Lindsey.

For children or families interested in exploring the farm themselves, visitors can drop by from 1-3 p.m. during volunteer workdays to explore and get their hands dirty. Every Monday, Lindsey shows visiting students around the farm, and the first and third Sunday Funday of the month offers experiential opportunities for families and youth.

Sign up your child for Dragonfly Design’s spring or summer camp this year at CAIS to let them experience the world of creativity in nature.

Happy 100th Anniversary to the Girl Scouts of America!

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Happy 100th Anniversary to the Girl Scouts of America!

The Spring brings with it sweet, tasty dreams of Thin Mints, Samosas, and Tagalongs (don’t deny it--you know you’ve considered eating an entire box by yourself before) all thanks to Juliette Gordon Low who began the Girl Scouts of the USA 100 years ago yesterday, on March 12 in Savanna, Georgia. Her original goal of Girl Scouts was to: "to train girls to take their rightful places in life, first as good women, then as good citizens, wives, and mothers." Today with over 3.2 million girl scouts, the mission has evolved to "builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place."

Dragonfly Designs has worked with Girl Scouts for the past few years to offer Jewelery Badge and five Jeweler Badge Skills. If you are interested in learning more about our work with Girl Scouts or how to earn Jeweler Badges, visit our Girl Scouts page:

WE TEACH THESE 5

JEWELER BADGE SKILLS:

#1 GET TO KNOW THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE
      Learn about our expert's materials & tools
#2 MAKE JEWELRY WITH METAL
      Make a chain-loop metal necklace or bracelet OR
      Make a pendant with a photo or "caged" stone OR
      Make earrings by twisting wire into shape
#3 TURN EVERYDAY OBJECTS INTO JEWELRY
      Make jewelry from recycled man-made materials OR
      Make jewelry from natural objects
#4 CREATE JEWELRY INSPIRED BY ANOTHER CULTURE
      Friendship ring from Ireland with waxed linen
      American Indian animal jewelry with feathers/wood
      Name pendant from Egypt
#5 MAKE A SPARKLING GIFT
      Make jewelry for a friend
      Make jewelry for a group of people
      Make jewelry for a relative

Kipp turns Canceled Showcase Into Creative Success!

Fri, 9 Mar 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Kipp Turns Canceled Showcase into a Creative Success

Two of our uber-talented instructors, Colleen Choi and Lindsey Ferrante, turned their class' canceled showcase at Kipp Academy into an opportunity for their students to unleash their creative abilities.

When the San Francisco middle school’s planned showcase—where students would have the opportunity to make and display some of their own jewelry—was canceled, they gave students the option of having a Pick Your Own Project Day for their last class. With the creative freedom, students chose to create an elaborate new Beaded Crown headpiece project with leather cord, wrapped wire and beads!

Colleen and Lindsey have only been co-teaching the large Kipp class for a month now, but they love working with the older students, because they can take on more advanced projects and are extremely creative when choosing their designs. Colleen and Lindsey work collaboratively and appreciate one another’s presence in an otherwise busy class. The two boys in the class were most excited about this project. They learned how to braid and they both exhibited self-confidence and pride in what they had created.

The Beaded Crowns were each very unique and beautiful upon completion. The students of Kipp, proud of their accomplishments, hoped to display and celebrate a bit of their work and unique jewelry places here through our blog.

If you like what you see, here’s how to made the beaded crown at home:

1. Braided together three strands of leather cord

2. Use thin copper wire to wrap the braided leather with different designs and patterns

3. Add your favorite beads to the wire to decorate your headpiece!

Spring into a Week Full of Jewelry Wonder!

Tue, 6 Mar 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Spring into a Week Full of Jewelry Wonder

Join Dragonfly Designs' Spring Camp at CAIS in San Franicsco!

Light up your child’s week with the colors of spring from our stunning bead collection with Dragonfly Designs Jewelry Making Spring Camp at the Chinese American International School in San Franicsco! Our experienced instructors lead campers in this unmatched San Francisco day camp to complete elaborate take-home jewelry pieces any designer would be proud of.

Busy bodies bust a move with an opening hour of yoga and games, designed to increase focus and flexibility. Our yoga classes are taught by trained and certified instructors. Campers then delve into the big project of the day, whether it be enameling, wool-felted beads, polymer clay, handmade paper beads, glass fusing and more! Finished jewelry creations will be taken home at the end of each day. A variety of accessories from necklaces to earrings (we have clip-ons too!) and even feather hair extensions are all part of Dragonfly Designs’ featured techniques.

As the vibrant colors of spring emerge from our Bay Area backyards, students will get the chance to head outdoors to the Hayes Valley Farm to check out the signs of the new season with a local naturalist as they their knowledge of our community’s ecology. We encourage the colors of nature to inspire the campers jewelry designs with each project they make with Dragonfly Designs.

Our highly-trained instructors are college educated and many are jewelry designers in San Francisco. Through their expert instruction and experience with children they are able to help students tap into their creativity to express it in a colorful, wearable form.

Boys & Girls ages 6 and up, all levels welcome!

Dragonfly Designs' Spring Camp will be held at the following dates and locations. We hope to see you there!

Mar 26-
Mar 30 So. SF Studio

Apr 2-
Apr 6 So. SF Studio

Apr 9-
Apr 13 So. SF Studio

April 9-
13 150 Oak St-SF

Apr 16-
Apr 20 So. SF Studio

Join Dragonfly Designs at SOCAP: Soul on March 3rd!

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Join Dragonfly Designs at SOCAP: Soul on March 3rd!

Join Dragonfly Designs at SOCAP: Soul on Saturday, March 3rd at Hub SoMa in San Francisco, CA. SOCAP: Soul is a one-day event that was created to help answer the question: What if your job, your finances, and your community were all aligned with what you value?

Dragonfly Designs and 15+ other speakers (see list of SOCAP: Soul speakers here) will share experiences, collaborate and connect with an audience interested in making simple changes in their daily life that can help change the world.

Tickets for the one-day event are $95 and include access to the SOCAP: Soul online networking community, a full day of content (see schedule here), meals, a showcase featuring social organizations that attendees can immediately engage, and a rocking evening party. You can learn more about the event at soul.socialcapitalmarkets.net.

Space is limited. Register Today!

Meet the Instructor: Jessica Moffett!

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Meet the Instructor: Jessica Moffett!

Jessica Moffett is Dragonfly Design's Studio Manager (if you stop by our SSF studio you'll probably see her there!) and an amazing teacher. What else makes her tick? Find out here!

Q: What do you love about teaching?

A: I love the process of watching the kids go from the beginning to the end of a project. They start wary about even being able to begin, but then with guidance from me and help from kids in the classroom they are able to finish it and are so proud and can’t wait to show their parents.

Q: How do you think jewelry making affects the students that take our classes?

A: I think it sparks a side of creativity some kids may not even have know they had, and provides an outlet for kids to express emotion and feelings to put into artwork. It strengthens their fine-motor skills and supports the daily things they may be doing in their own classrooms like counting and making color combinations.

Q: How are you creative?

A: I started jewelry making when I was 16. I worked in a bead store, which sparked a sense of creativity for me I didn’t know I had. I also started dancing at eight, so that was how I've always expressed myself creatively. Now, I make jewelry on side when I get a chance.

Q: What aspects of Dragonfly Designs excites you most?

A: The good the company does for the community, not only in public and private school setting, but with non profits. We branch out within the community to teach students from age 5 all the way up to adults, through all ages and economic statuses. And working with a group of great women is a big plus.

Q: What do you do when you’re not jewelry-making or teaching?

A: I am finishing my undergraduate degree in Human Development. I also enjoy yoga, hiking, cooking and making jewelry on my own.

Q: What is your guilty pleasure?

A: Ice cream. It has to be cookie dough though.

To meet the rest of the Flygirls, visit our staff page!