Grillz Summer School 2024: 4-Day Course with Melvin Faria and David Ogunleye
19 – 21 July & 3 Aug 2024
Day 1: Friday 19 July, 10-4pm
Day 2: Saturday 20 July, 10-5pm
Day 3: Sunday 21 July, 10-5pm
Day 4: Saturday 3 August, 10-5pm
Our Grillz Summer School provides an excellent opportunity to learn the essential skills needed to create your own grillz. This course welcomes participants with no prior jewellery experience. To accommodate beginners, we have added an extra day dedicated to learning how to use jewellery tools while crafting your own jewellery piece.
Grillz, also known as ‘fronts,’ are decorative teeth coverings crafted primarily from gold, silver and platinum. They come in various shapes and sizes, accommodating the uniqueness of individual teeth. These fashionable dental accessories can be easily attached and detached, either onto a single tooth or multiple teeth.
DAY 1 – taught by one of our workshop teachers
Before we teach you how to make grillz, you’ll spend a day learning essential jewellery making skills and how to handle tools such as a piercing saw, pendant motor, and files. During this session, you’ll create a simple jewellery piece of your own design using copper or brass. If you prefer to work with precious metals (silver) you can bring your own metal or purchase it from our academy (the cost of precious metals is not included in the course fee).
If you’re not a complete beginner, you can choose to work on a more complex piece with guidance from the tutor. While participation in this introductory day is mandatory for beginners, students with prior jewellery experience may choose to skip it; however, the cost of Day 1 is included in the full course fee, so there will be no reimbursement.
After this initial day of learning and practising tool use, you’ll apply these skills to grillz making in the following days.
Day 1 of our Grillz Summer School is an introduction into the fascinating world of hand made jewellery!
DAY 2 & 3 – taught by Melvin Faria and David Ogunleye
First we will guide you through the process of taking dental impressions. These impressions will then be transformed into plaster teeth casts, onto which you will apply the wax or resin to create the desired grillz design. During the course you will learn two grillz-making techniques:
- The plastic resin technique
- The wax technique
To learn the fundamentals of grillz making, on this course you will make a single tooth cap using the wax technique and single cap in resin. If time allows, the tutor may offer some tips on making other grillz designs, such as double-caps, ‘windows’ and ‘bars’, but bear in mind that because of time limitations, you may only be able to complete 2 single caps in total.
After Day 3, you will be required to take the pieces you made on Day 2 & Day 3 to a casting company to have them cast in silver and bring them back for Day 4 of the course. There is a two-week gap between Day 1-3 and Day 4 to allow sufficient time for you to have the pieces cast. We will provide guidance on where to get your pieces cast if you have never used casting services. The cost of casting is not included in the course fee. Depending on your choice of casting company, the casting cost in silver is £18+ per tooth.
DAY 4 – taught by Melvin Faria
On the last day of the course, we will focus on the final stages of creating your grillz- finishing the cast pieces and ensuring a proper fit onto the teeth.
Throughout the course you will have an opportunity to ask the tutor for tips on establishing your own grillz practice.
What should I bring to the course?
There is no need to bring anything to the course. All tools and materials used during the course will be provided (except for precious metals and casting costs). If you happen to own an electric wax carving pen, you are welcome to bring it with you (optional).
Health and Safety notice: Please wear closed shoes in the workshop (no open-toes) and clothes that are suitable for a workshop space which you don’t mind getting dirty. We have aprons available. Students with long hair will be required to tie it up while using some tools such as pendant motors.
Who is this course for?
This course is suitable for beginners with no jewellery experience who plan to start a Grillz business, or simply want to make a set of grillz for themselves.
It is also suitable for jewellery makers who have a passion for custom, creative, and urban jewellery and are interested in adding grillz-making to their jewellery practice. If you’ve attempted making grillz before but found it challenging, joining this course will help you enhance your skills, address issues like poor fit, and gain valuable tips from a professional grillz maker.
No prior skills and experience is required to attend this course.
About the tutor:
Melvin Faria is a London native with a diverse African-Portuguese background. With relentless dedication and pursuit of perfection, he established his own successful grillz brand called Mpire Gold in 2021. David Ogunleye, Melvin’ collaborator, will join the course to teach the wax technique. David embarked on his own grillz-making journey during a similar period, and together they have witnessed the remarkable growth of their respective businesses in recent years. They are both excited to pass on the wisdom they have acquired along the way, aiming to inspire and educate students on creating top-quality, perfectly-fitted grillz.
