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Making Botanical Art with Metal
The tools you'll need
with JESS WHEELER — Artist and homewares product designer specialising in metal and plasterwork inspired by nature.
Lesson 3 of 20
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Discover the tools you’ll need to start your metalwork. But if you don’t have them, Jess also recommends some alternative tools you might already have around your home.
From the Lesson Workbook
The Tools You'll Need
There are a few key tools you'll need for metalwork. You might have some alternatives already — but if you don't, there are a few that are worth investing in.
Tools
- Embroidery scissors
- Non-corrugated sharp nosed pliers
- Nylon jaw pliers
- Wire snips
- Bookbinding tool, known as an 'awl' or a stabbing tool
- 0.4mm/26 gauge or 0.6mm/24 gauge brass wire — 0.6mm brass wire is the thickness I use the most
- 0.8mm/20 gauge brass wire
- 0.1mm/0.004inch brass sheet
- Cork yoga block
- Dapping set, also called a doming set or a doming tool
- Drill
Tool Alternatives
- Corrugated pliers — If you don't have any smooth non-corrugated pliers, wrap electrical tape around your corrugated pliers to avoid crimping the brass.
- Old book — No cork yoga block? An old book is the perfect alternative.
- Tomato puree packet — Instead of using brass sheets, the inside of a used tomato puree packet will work just as well.
- Knitting needle — An alternative to the dapping set is a wooden or a plastic knitting needle.
Recommended Suppliers
- Cooksongold — an online supplier with a lovely shop in London
- Hatton Garden in London has lots of shops that sell tools and materials
- Your local craft and metal suppliers
- Regular online retailers such as eBay, Amazon, Etsy
- Tiranti
- Tools n Tools
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Absolutely love Create Academy! The instructors are extremely informative, and it is beautifully filmed. Create Academy is great value for money and plan on renewing my subscription yearly because there are ...
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Magic in small spaces
Butter's creativity is stunning! Her ability to incorporate brilliance in small gardens is magical!
Carla
May 30, 2026
Your Instructor
Jess Wheeler
Artist and homewares product designer specialising in metal and plasterwork inspired by nature.
Jess Wheeler is a designer and artist based in North Wales. Once a successful set designer for fashion shoots, Jess’s practice now focuses on her passion for metalwork and homeware design. Her cross disciplinary approach has a unified, nostalgic, nature driven narrative inspired by the landscape around her, with her work exploring the beauty and fragility of our natural world. Jess is fascinated by the ways in which a rigid material can be manipulated into an intricate organic form, exemplified in her much sought after delicately crafted brass sconces and chandeliers.
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