Meet William (aka Why We are Moving to Germany)

If you have visited our Go Fund Me page, this post will seem very familiar!

My husband William is an incredibly talented jeweler. Everyone who went to school with him, was in a class he helped out in, visited his work, or even just looked at my rings knows this. If you haven’t seen his work before, this picture should give you a taste of what he can accomplish:

An Example of Will's JewelryWilliam took his first jewelry class his sophomore year in high school and continued on to complete an AP porfolio (He even had to choose to take AP Jewelry over level 6 of German! Oh, the irony). After graduation, he volunteered at the high school and attended a two month intensive program at The Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Fransisco. Eventually, this led him to an internship at Veberod Gem Gallery, where he worked for 4 years as a lapidarist (stone cutter) and goldsmith (jeweler). As of this writing, he still has a couple more weeks there.

William has a natural talent for design and craftsmanship that everyone he meets can’t help but admire. However, high school classes, a two month program, and on-the-job training have never been enough for him. He has always longed to complete a more thorough program that would help him refine his current skills and learn news ones.

Unfortunately, there are no jewelery programs in Minnesota anymore. In fact, the nearest school is in Texas and would costs thousands of dollars every year for tuition alone. So William decided to expand his search outside of the United States. And that unfortunately turned into a fortunately!

Will Looking Through Gems

Looking through gems in Idar-Oberstein

Always a lover of Germany, he struck gold: There are multiple technical schools in Germany that offer jewelry programs. And the kicker: even to foreigners, the tuition is 100% free. In the summer of 2014, he visited and applied to these schools and was soon accepted into his first choice: Die Staatliche Berufsfachschule für Glas und Schmuck Kaufbeuren-Neugablonz (Translation: The State School for Glass and Jewelry in Kaufbeuren-Neugabloz).

This three year program will allow William to learn a wide range of new skills and refine his current skills, as well as gain fluency in German and study the science and history of jewelry. Living in Germany for three years will grant both of us an amazing opportunity to experience European culture and history. We also look forward to connecting with our roots, as we both have German ancestry.

It is going to be an amazing three years.

Will in the Czech Republic

On the German-Czech Republic Border

 

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  1. Pingback: Meet Chloe (aka What I'll Be Doing) - Flourishing in Deutschland

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