Portland Jewelry Academy

Jason at Portland Jewelry Academy repaired a necklace for me right before Christmas. He wasn’t certain he could get the part we needed in time but in the end got it done in one business day. He did a great job, quicker than I could expect and did it for a great price. We will be bringing more items to him for repair.

I was so lucky to be taught by Jason Chandler, the owner and teacher of the Portland Jewelry Academy. My experience with Jason began a year and a half ago, before he opened PJA. He came on board as a teacher at another school when I was 2 months in to a 4 month bench jewelers program.
Jason has a passion and knowledge of jewelry making that is inspirational and necessary to teaching. He is one of those teachers that has such an incredible fund of technical and scientific information in his head. There are many things that set him apart from other jewelry teachers I’ve known. If there is a single best practice for a technique or process, Jason knows it, teaches it, and explains why it’s the best practice. If there are many ways to do a technique or process, Jason explains them all and offers suggestions for what works best and why. This gives a very expansive educational experience. He not only taught me how to do things, he taught all the «other» ways they can be done. Jason pushes his students to think analytically about jewelry making and develop problem solving skills that will benefit them throughout their careers. For example, I have so many tools that he taught me how to make and that have improved my productivity and the quality of my work. He also helped me figure out ways of creating jigs to make pieces easily reproducible and increase efficiency.
His enthusiasm for jewelry making and teaching is contagious, and creates a feeling of community. He also has strong relationships with jewelers, stone and tool merchants and others in the jewelry trade in Portland. He helps his students develop these same relationships. This has been invaluable to me as I develop my career. I have made wonderful connections due to his support and referrals.
I now have the good fortune of renting studio space at Portland Jewelry Academy, so I see and hear my former teacher interacting with his students every day. His curriculum is extensive, and offers lots of room for students to design their own pieces. The facilities are well designed and a pleasure to work in, and the tools are the best. I highly recommend this school for a professional education in jewelry.