Adam's verdict: "As a decade-long Manhattanite the location of 3rd Ward gave me pause but after six stops on the L-train I was surprised to find a converted warehouse bustling with classes of all types — from printmaking to build-your-own-bicycle, the place was packed with creative types pursuing new passions. I arrived to silversmithing class ready with a few designs of a cuff. Since I don't usually wear jewelry I wanted something that felt masculine and low-key. Settling on a lighting bolt design, I made a goal for myself to see how precise I could keep the lines of the piece.

I didn't realize how labor intensive jewelry making is and it got me wondering about the industrialization process of actual production, so I set my second goal to work with speed. I wanted to know how many hours it would take to complete this simple design and how that would factor into the pricing of the piece considering a hypothetical sale. There are a lot of tedious steps, like the filing of the metal with various grades of abrasion, that must be done by hand. My impression is that it's best for designers or artisans that like to work on a small, intimate scale. I was also surprised to find how technical the chemical and heating aspects of the process was.

All of the detailed steps were thoroughly explained by an incredibly knowledgable instructor who made the class fun but focused. The tools and materials were supplied to do anything the class wanted to do with their pieces, and we were even taught some techniques that I considered more advanced than a beginners' class. I'll be exploring some of their other classes this fall and would definitely recommend 3rd Ward to anyone."