From Retired Lawyer to Jewelry Maker: How Dan Found a Better Answer to "So, What Do You Do?"

What started as a way to kill three hours at a fiber festival turned into a whole new creative obsession. Meet Metalsmith Academy member Dan Cline, who's proof that you never know where a little curiosity might lead.

Have you ever signed up for something just to pass the time... and walked out with a brand new obsession?

That's exactly what happened to Metalsmith Academy member Dan Cline.

In May 2023, Dan went along with his wife to a fiber festival in southwestern Michigan. She was there to learn weaving, so Dan signed up for a three-hour workshop making a woven silver wire bracelet. In his words, he took the class "to give myself something to do."

Nothing too serious. Just a little something to pass the time.

Except Dan absolutely LOVED it.

"I loved the crafting aspect. Once I finished it, I was hooked and wanted to learn more."

Three years later, this retired lawyer is making intricate box clasps, adding gold to silver, and happily spending whole days at his bench.

And apparently, it's made him much more interesting at parties, too.

"When I meet someone new, and they ask what I do, I love telling them that I make jewelry. It's far more engaging than telling them that I'm a retired lawyer."

HA! Sorry to any lawyers reading this, but I think Dan might have a point. 😂

He also reckons it's doing him good:

"I also think that learning new physical skills is keeping me mentally sharp."

Meet Dan: Lawyer, Sailor... and Now Jewelry Maker

Dan lives in Traverse City, Michigan, with his wife of 45 years. Before he retired, he was a lawyer at a small firm, working mostly with nonprofit organizations.

His life outside jewelry would wear most of us out just reading about it. He's served on local, state and national land trust boards, and he's a Past Commodore of the Great Lakes Cruising Club. He and his wife have sailed their boat extensively on Lake Michigan, he loves international travel, and he's learning Korean.

So when does he find time to make jewelry?

"Summers are precious here, so I primarily make jewelry in the November to May time frame."

Which sounds like a very sensible arrangement to me. Sailing when it's sunny, soldering when it's snowing.

And once he's at the bench, he's in his element.

"I find that when I'm on the bench I get into a zone and the time flies by. It's fun!"

(You can follow along with Dan's work on Instagram at @dancline1885.)

You Don't Need a Jewelry School Down the Road

After that first bracelet, Dan taught himself wire wrapping from books. Then, in January 2024, he took a four-day metal fabrication class.

He loved it, but there was one fairly inconvenient problem. 

The studio was about 150 miles from home.

Now, I'm all for making an effort to learn something you love, but a 300-mile round trip every time you fancy improving your soldering is a bit much!

His local art center ran occasional jewelry classes, but in Dan's words, "they didn't offer the structure and regularity I wanted."

So in February 2024, he joined the Metalsmith Academy. And when I asked what difference that decision has made, his answer was pretty bloody lovely.

"I never would have gone anywhere with jewelry making if it weren't for the Metalsmith Academy. It is providing me with a detailed, structured course of instruction that is simply unavailable where I live."

He's found the feedback especially helpful.

"Lucy's feedback on my work has really helped my progress. It's great that she takes the time to assist her students directly. There is no doubt that my jewelry making skills have improved dramatically over the past 2 years thanks to the Metalsmith Academy."

Comments like this make me smile like a Cheshire cat. 

I think that's worth remembering if you've been cobbling together your jewelry education from the occasional workshop and whatever YouTube happens to throw at you. There's absolutely nothing wrong with learning that way, but having a clear path to follow, and someone to ask when things go wrong, can make an enormous difference.

Especially when the nearest jewelry school requires packing snacks for a road trip.

The Spinner Ring That Went Very Wrong

Of course, it hasn't all been smooth sailing (sorry, Dan, I couldn't resist).

When I asked about his biggest bench disaster, he knew exactly which one to pick.

"Ah, yes, my marriage of metals spinner ring... The instructions called for using strips of sterling silver and bronze, but I used brass instead of bronze."

You can probably guess where this is going.

"After spending countless hours fabricating the strips, soldering them together, and sanding them down, I formed them into a ring shape and tried to solder the ends together. Disaster!"

Oof. Hours of work, and then THAT moment. We've all been there.

So Dan did exactly the right thing and asked for help.

"I posted a picture of my sad ring, and thanks to Lucy I learned that the zinc in brass can cause a reaction when overheated next to silver."

That’s exactly what the member forum is for. I’m in there every day, so when something goes wrong, you’re not left scratching your head on your own.

Brass really is the troublemaker of the mixed metals world. As I teach in my Getting Started Soldering class, "I'm not a metallurgist, but I do know that the zinc in brass can cause huge issues when soldering." It's why I suggest giving brass a miss when you're starting out and sticking to copper or bronze with your silver.

And the best part? Dan managed to rescue his ring.

"I finished the ring using a medium texture wheel, which did a great job of hiding any remaining flaws. In hindsight, it was a great learning experience."

That's the spirit!

If soldering is giving you grief too, my free Getting Started Soldering guide is a great place to start.

Sometimes It Takes Three Goes to Get It Right

Now, of all the things Dan has made, I absolutely LOVE which project he chose when I asked what he was most proud of.

A box clasp.

Not the flashiest piece of jewelry in the world, perhaps, but anyone who's made one knows how fiddly they can be.

"My third try at making a box clasp. It was a fairly intricate project to begin with, and the first two attempts revealed flawed attempts at lining up the pieces and filing them to make everything crisp and square. The third time was the charm. I felt obsessive about getting everything right, and I finally did it."

YES, DAN!

I reckon every jewelry maker knows that feeling. You've spent hours wrestling with something, wondering whether you'll ever get the hang of it, and then suddenly there's a piece sitting on your bench that you're really proud of.

And sometimes it's that third (or fourth... or fifth!) attempt that makes all the difference.

Lucy's Pro Tip: Don't be too quick to move on from a technique just because you've managed it once. Sometimes making the same thing again, and doing it a little better, is where the real learning happens.

"I Never Thought of Myself as an Artist"

When I asked Dan what he used to believe about himself before joining the Academy, he said:

"I never thought of myself as an artist. Although I love going to art museums and have acquired a fairly good knowledge of fine arts and artists as an admirer, with the exception of taking a couple of drawing and watercolor classes 25 years ago, I've never produced much art myself."

These days, he's thinking about designs even when he's away from the bench. He's the first to admit it's still a work in progress:

"I can't say I'm a great designer (that's one of my weak points), but that doesn't stop me from trying."

I love that attitude.

He's even started looking at the world a little differently.

"I also enjoy photographing natural scenery, plants, and architectural details, which can be sources of inspiration. If nothing else, it helps train my eye."

And that's what I love about Dan's story. He didn't spend his whole life dreaming of becoming a jewelry maker. He simply tried something new, discovered he enjoyed it, and kept following his curiosity.

Along the way, he's learned some pretty impressive skills, made a few mistakes, and discovered that even the fiddliest little box clasp can be enormously satisfying when you finally nail it.

Lucy's Pro Tip: You don't need to have a head full of original designs before you start making jewelry. Sometimes the ideas come AFTER you've learned a few techniques and discovered what's possible.

The Best Part? There's Always Something Else to Learn

One of my favorite things about Dan is that his curiosity doesn't seem to have an off switch.

Earlier this year, Dan attended a SNAG show in Tucson (where I actually had the pleasure of meeting him in person!), and while he was there, he saw a demonstration of a technique called keum-boo.

And it immediately captured his imagination.

"Keum-boo is an ancient Korean technique for applying gold foil to sterling silver. I've tried it on three pairs of earrings so far, with good success. It's a great way to add zing to a piece of jewelry, and I'm planning to do a lot more of it once summer is over."

And his plans for the future?

"I have two goals: 1) do a lot more with keum-boo; and 2) become better at stone setting by continuing on the Road Map."

(For those that don’t know what the Road Map is… Our A-Z Roadmap takes you through classes step by step, so you always know what to learn next (no more YouTube rabbit holes).

Thinking About Giving It a Go?

When I asked Dan what he'd say to someone sitting on the fence, he had a plan ready. Once a lawyer, eh?

"Take a class... and see if it appeals to you... If that hooks you, take the plunge and join the Metalsmith Academy for a year. Buy some basic tools (Lucy has recommendations), and start down the Road Map."

Hint: My free $200 Toolkit for Beginners is a good place to start.

And then he added this:

"The saw piercing lessons will be frustrating and tedious at first, but remember that you will be building physical skills. Remember, you can't play a musical instrument without practicing your scales!"

BLOODY BRILLIANT.

Because that’s exactly how learning to make jewelry works. Those early exercises might not be the most exciting thing you’ll ever do, but they build the skills everything else depends on.

So if you’ve been thinking about giving jewelry making a go, take a leaf out of Dan’s book and try it. And if you find yourself completely hooked, there’s always more to learn.

Dan summed up what’s inside the Academy beautifully in a review he left for us: ...

“Each class includes detailed, easy to follow videos, written instructions, tool and materials lists, and templates. Lucy takes the time to demonstrate both the hows and also the whys in an engaging, lighthearted manner.”

I’ll take that!

If you’d love a structured path to follow, come and join us for a free trial inside the Metalsmith Academy.

You’ll find a structured Roadmap of classes, personal support from me, and a whole community of jewelry makers who know what it’s like to make three attempts at one tiny clasp.

A huge thank you to Dan for sharing his story. I'm looking forward to seeing what you make next (and hopefully a lot more keum-boo!).

And I have to say, Dan, a retired lawyer who sails Lake Michigan, is learning Korean and makes his own jewelry? That's about as interesting as answers get.

Happy making!

Lucy xx