Hitting your stride
I have trained many wives, and many sons and daughters of bench jewellers. For instance, take Toronto’s Joe Tarabay and his son, John. Joe is a setter and was training John to be a setter. However, after I spoke with John, it was clear he had his mind made up and wanted to learn CAD. He was even shopping around for a good software program. I had a gut feeling he wasn’t passionate about setting. He took a primary four-day class with me, which is designed to equip students with design basics on current styles. I always encouraged my students to continue their studies with more classes, and I’m glad he kept at it. Today, John has a successful CAD business in Toronto, 3D Tech Designs, and his mom, Rima, helps out, too.
Tom Sutton, of Winnipeg’s Sutton Jewellers, gave me a big bear hug after I taught his son, James, CAD. Tom had tried to help James find his way into the family business, but hadn’t had any luck striking the right chord. That is, until Tom saw the spark in James’ eyes as he discovered CAD. James had never lit up on the bench the way he did with CAD, and Tom was thrilled to see his son find his stride.
An example of someone with no bench experience finding a way to CAD is Gea Phagoo. Gea and Victor Phagoo are the owners of Red Deer Goldsmiths in Red Deer, Alta.
Gea had been bored with bookkeeping and other daily administrative tasks, so she convinced Victor, her husband, to let her learn CAD instead of buying a new car that year. In the last 12 years, Gea, along with her son, Curtis, who has been CAD-trained, too, have managed to build some pretty interesting, complicated models. CAD has allowed them to put their creative minds to work and add to the family business. It’s been a win-win situation for all, and I’m so thankful I returned her phone call!
Yes, one could argue, John and James had bench experience, but Gea and Rima did not. Hours spent at the bench clearly do not always equate to success in CAD. Sometimes, success comes with having the right tools, the drive to learn, and a passion to create.
