The 2012 Rio In Motion® event is now over, but please check back in the coming months for information on the next show.

2012 Instructors at Rio In Motion

Our instructors are professional jewelers, goldsmiths and gemologists with a passion for sharing their knowledge and experience. Their passion for this art form is manifest in every class they teach—from the beginner level to the advanced level. They understand that individual students have individual learning styles and individual goals.

Bill Fretz—Fretz Design, LLC features the jewelry and sculpture of William, Marian and Jordan Fretz. Bill's work has won many awards and has been exhibited at shows and galleries. His passion for making tools culminated in his own line of miniature stakes and hammers. Jordan crafts the Fretz Hammers in his jewelry workshop. Bill and his wife Marian, run their business in Bucksport, Maine. www.fretzdesign.com

Charles Lewton-Brain has been a well-known authority in jewelry and jewelry-making research for over 15 years. A distinguished Fellow of the Society of North American Goldsmiths, he has authored seven books, including the seminal Foldforming and The Jeweler’s Bench Book. In 1995 he co-founded The Ganoksin Project, an online jeweler's resource that has grown into the definitive internet community for jewelers around the world.

G. Phil Poirier—Phil has spent 38 years as a goldsmith and 27 years designing and engineering tools for the jewelry industry, specifically for hydraulic presses. He is the current owner/operator of Bonny Doon Engineering in Taos, New Mexico. The company develops and manufactures hydraulic presses and tooling systems for the jewelry industry. www.bonnydoonengineering.com and www.gphilpoirier.com

Joshua St. John—Joshua has spent nearly ten years in the jewelry industry, doing everything from dealing gems to 3D model making. An expert in 3Design CAD work, he has taught dozens of jewelers of all ages and backgrounds how to create beautiful jewelry using CAD/CAM and has created over five hours of in-depth video training on the platform.

Kate Wolf—Kate has been carving wax and making jewelry for 33 years. She has been teaching for 22 years and has a school in Portland, Maine. Kate won MJSA's Innovation Award for her Wolf™ Tools and Wolf Wax™ by Ferris. Kate is a former Director of Production and master modelmaker for the Franklin Mint and holds a BFA in Metalsmithing and Jewelry from Tyler School of Art. www.katewolfdesigns.com and www.wolftools.com (photo credit: Samuel Wisenheimer Alfano)

Lauren Tobey—Lauren Tobey graduated from the University of New Mexico and has worked as a bench jeweler for 12 years. In 2006 she opened Meltdown Studio (Albuquerque, NM), a jewelry/small metals school and open studio workspace where she teaches classes ranging from construction to casting. Her work can be seen in galleries throughout New Mexico.

Mark Nelson—Mark belongs to Rio's Technical Support Team, has an MFA from Texas Tech University, and has more than 20 years of jewelry-making experience including nine years of retail bench experience and five years of laser welding experience. He has taught a variety of classes at Rio Grande and at trade shows. Mark Nelson is also Rio's television personality presenting more than 30 jewelry making segments for the Beads Baubles & Jewels program televised across the country.

Phillip Scott—Phillip is a graduate gemologist and a member of Rio's Technical Support team. He has more than 30 years of experience as a bench jeweler and has cast silver, gold and platinum; his specialty is custom, one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces.

Ronda Coryell—A designer and master goldsmith, Ronda has taught in six different countries and is a Jewelers of America Certified Master Bench Jeweler. She is an enthusiastic and accomplished teacher and her work has won recognition in competitions and exhibitions, including the Saul Bell Design Award. Ronda is the co-owner of Jewelry Studies International, in Austin, TX.

Scott Patrick—A Rio Grande findings designer and expert in manufacturing R & D, Scott has more than 30 years of jewelry-making experience, including design, custom work, jewelry masters, model making and training.

Tim Sheriff—Tim is the plant manager at Swanstrom Tools USA, Inc. and has been making jewelry for more than 25 years. He joined Swanstrom Tools in 1988 as a maintenance electrician. Over the years, Tim has worked in all areas of tool production. When a relationship between Swanstrom Tools and Rio Grande was established in the late 1980s, Tim was given the opportunity to work with Rio to develop tools for making jewelry. Tim is the designer/inventor of Swanstrom wire-looping pliers, Swanstrom ear wire forming pliers, the Swanstrom disc cutter, Swanstrom spiral forming pliers and Swanstrom link-forming pliers.