Metalwerx: Innovation in Jewelry Making and Learning with Lindsay Minihan, Executive Director at Metalwerx

Episode 35

Lindsay Minihan is the Executive Director of Metalwerx, an innovative school and community studio for jewelry making and metal arts located in Waltham, Massachusetts. In the past 13 years, she has doubled the organization’s financial capacity, expanded the annual curriculum to include over 130 annual courses, created 29 workspaces for jewelers, and initiated many new programs to better serve the jewelry and design community. Members of the Metalwerx community work as teachers’ assistants and school ambassadors, ensuring that every experience is productive and memorable.

Lindsay is trained as a metalsmith and is still creatively active while also making time to focus on family. Lindsay volunteers and supports other arts organizations, including Society of North American Goldsmiths and Women’s Jewelry Association. She has worked at major trade shows selling tools for Otto Frei and Foredom, juried national student scholarship awards for Women’s Jewelry Association as well as Excellence in Craft Awards for League of NH Craftsmen.

Lindsay loves working with students, educators, and visiting artists, and is passionate about contemporary jewelry – both making and wearing it. She is always looking for ways to strengthen her local community and create opportunities for people to find self-empowerment as well as professional and personal enrichment through metal arts.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

  • An understanding of what goes on behind the scenes at a “studio school” like Metalwerx.
  • What Metalwerx looks for in an instructor and how they create their curriculum.
  • What’s on the horizon for Metalwerx’s future programming.
  • Unique challenges associated with managing a group of artists.
  • Sneak peek of the upcoming Annual Marketplace Showcase in October.

Additional resources:

Episode Transcript

Sharon Berman