Complaint Review: Don Norris Academy Of Silversmithing

I am Don Norris, my phone number is 303-517-1068, and my email address in dnorris@frii.com, my website is learnsilver.com. I do not know who "Chuck" is. I have not taught in Denver for nearly 10 years, so if Chuck is a real person, a person that took my class which I doubt, he had to wait 5 or six years to make this report. I know that this must be a false report because I sell my DVDs to my students at the end of the class. If this person was so unhappy with my class, why would he or she purchase my DVDs?

However, I do agree that I have had two or three classes over the years, maybe even four or five classes over the past 10 years run later than the scheduled time. This is out of hundreds of classes. I teach over 50 classes every year, so I am not upset by having a few out of more than 500 classes run late. Most students in those classes not only did not mind running late, but thank me for doing so and teaching more.

I also plead guilty to telling stories during my classes. Chuck, again, I doubt if there is a Chuck, would not understand why, but it is to break up all the information that I teach in a two day class. I have had my two day Beginning Silversmithing Class compared to all four years of jewelry making classes taught at many four schools by my students that graduated from those classes. These stories, most related to Silversmithing to tag what I am teaching into the students mind, are on purpose to break the class up into segments of 45 minutes to one hour. This is about the normal attention span of adults, and then a break is needed to fully comprehend what is being taught. This is why most classes are 45 minutes to an hour throughout the educational process. Then students pass to another class and more information. I do not expect Chuck to understand this.

Chuck, if he took my class, which again, he did not even identify him or herself, should know that I do not teach the "old fashioned way" which most are calling the "traditional way" of using all three grades of solder, hard, medium and easy solder. I teach that in 40 years of making Sterling Silver jewelry I have never needed to use easy and medium solder. I also teach that only hard solder should be used, but do teach students about the traditional way with all three solders does not make good jewelry, is harder and slower to do. So I teach that my way is quicker, easier (these are not the same thing) is the best way to solder, not the only way.

When I first started making my 86 hours of video instruction the came on 86 CDs before DVDs were on the market. When DVDs came on the market I produced them on 15 DVDs. All 86 hours fit on the 15 DVDs. I have to admit that one or two sets out of every 100 that I sold when we produced them with stick on labels had problems. Or I should say that 10 or so out of 1,000 discs did not play. I, of course, replaced these as people contacted me. I have never been asked to refund anyone for the sets, except once when someone tried to tell me there was not enough education on them, and then admitted that they copied them to their computer, and later sold them on E-bay. If anyone thinks that even large duplicating companies will not have a disc or two work out of a 1,000 or more, then they are being a little optimistic.

Now, Chuck may not have realized the set of DVDs and CDs, that I sell to my students at the end of the classes contain 15 DVDs and 2 CDs. The CDs are Classes that read like books with hundreds of photographs. These only work on computers, and have to be read on the computer screen. The first one, the All 7 Classes, contains 7 books including my Beginning Silversmithing Class. I have several that printed it off tell me that it took over 400 pages of 8 x 10 sheets. He, or she, may have tried to play this on a CD or DVD player. I have taken great steps in purchasing equipment to copy and print the DVDs and CDs. In the very short future they will be copied and printed by a professional copying and printing business. I have had few, very few, problems with them after printing on the labels instead of the stick on labels.

My DVDs are not "Hollywood" productions. Made by me, in a style that duplicates my classes. In fact, my best compliments are that as they watch them it is just like being in class. In fact, you forgot to mention that you will occasionally hear the big "S" word now and then on the DVDs and in my classes, and it is not just "Silver". When I make a mistake I got mad, and said it. I did not erase the mistake, or edit it out, I left them in, and then showed how to fix them. Much more important than a slick video with music and fancy titles which may have made Chuck, or Cherry, happier than the learning the information on them.

As far as respect for the businesses that I teach at, mostly bead stores, I will stand by my record that I return to them year after year, and some them more than once a year. I will also brag that over 60% of my Beginning Silversmithing students not only purchase my DVDs, but take an Intermediate Silversmithing Class, or an Advanced Silversmithing Class from me. Chuck, or who ever, is a very small minority. One out of 1,000s of students.

I cannot please everyone, and will not try, but Chuck, if you are real contact me at 303-517-1068, or email me at dnorris@frii.com. Or come on here with your real, full name and contact information. Please do not be a coward, and let us know who you are, and when and where you took a class. You have not contacted me, I have no record of a Chuck, and have not taught in Denver in a very long time. Contact me if you are not a coward, and if you truly were unhappy, and not another teacher or author teaching the old traditional method, that I have disagreed with, then let me know, let us all know who you are. Don't hid behind a first name, false name, or nick name.

As far as my web site be unorganized the only complaints I get about it is from people that want to work on it for a fee. Are you one them? I do build it myself, and it works for most people as my "Thank you!" email will attest to. I invite anyone to visit it and send your comments to me, or post them here with your real name and contact information as I do. Or visit it and check out the Guest Books on most pages, and you will see that an overwhelming number of the posts are positive and love my site, thank me for it, with an occasional idiot that does not like the misspelled words! Please, learn from the content, and excuse the occasion bad link. However, I think it is more organized and better than it was even in 2009, but Chuck had to be talking about it prior to 2000, because I never taught in Denver after 2000.

My final not on this report is that if you are reading it, don't you have to ask why Chuck never said one word about how much he learned in my class, and on the DVDs. His problems were with how I taught it, and how organized the DVDs are, the labels are, or how bad my web site is. I am wondering how Chuck know what my other business feel about my classes. So I invite you to visit my web site, learnsilver.com, go to my schedule, and call or email all the shops that I have scheduled for 2011 and ask them why they have scheduled more classes with me. There is over 20 shops that are having me come to teach and they talked to each other. In Chuck's, or Charles', first statement he, or she, says: "Don Norris travels all around the US teaching silver solder classes" do anyone that is reading this wonder how I can do that and have for years, and back to the same shops if his repost represents my teaching and my DVDs? Chuck, please contact me! Don Norris, 303-517-1068, or email me dnorris@frii.com.

I am one of Don's newest Very Happy students. I signed up for the beginner class last week, having had one prior experience with a torch and melting metal.
The prior teacher helped us make a pretty pendant.
Don taught me how to metalsmith.
He taught me the reasons to do it his way. His techniques are born of long experience and experimenting, Not just rote methods - "because that's how we've always done it."

In the beginning class, 2 projects Were finished. My new ring is beautiful!
I was so enthralled with my new skills that I signed up for the advanced class early this week. Best choice I've Ever made! I have 4 projects and countless more tips and tricks.
No, not all of us in the advanced class "finished our projects" but that's because we were there to learn techinque, and chose to proceed to the next adventure and finish up at home, at our leisure.

Yes, Don likes to talk. He's Very Entertaining and Very Funny! Most of his stories contained lessons and experiences in the art of making and selling jewelry. The only time he made us stop working to listen was while explaining important steps and during a brief "commercial." All the other stories were told as we worked.

If you want to make a pretty ring or pendant, find a local teacher and do it "by the book."
If you want to learn metalsmithing, take Don's class and understand what is happening when that solder flows and why to spray on your flux, and a thousand other tricks. And why a blue plumber's propane torch, for under $15, is a darn good torch and all you need for most projects.

Everyone in the two classes I attended left Very Happy. The store owner spent Much time begging Don to come back soon and often.