Rating: 
Summary: Great book for beginners!
Review: I bought this book wanting, simply, to learn to make my own earwires. I had never even held plain jewelry wire or wire working tools. I was very skeptical of what one book could teach me.Boy did this book shut me up! Speaking from a beginner's standpoint, this book is fabulous! Mark Lareau covers everything from the very very basics. He suggests tools and supplies like your good friend would suggest things to you. Everything is plainly written and the projects are step-by-step. The illustrations are also great. He just doesn't leave anything to the imagination. I even made use of his resource listing (in the back) and found a great supplier of wire at great prices. Not only do I make my own earwires now (and save TONS of money), I make clasps, bead cages, fun shaped headpins, and several other things. This book will never sit on the shelf. It's great!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for techniques
Review: I purchased this book not knowing a thing about jewelry making and yet was able to create a lovely necklace in just a couple of hours. The instructions are very clearly written and the accompanying diagrams are quite useful. If you are at all interested in creating your own wire jewelry then this book is a must!
Rating:
Summary: The things you need to know
Review: I was deciding between this book and one other, and chose this one. Reading it, I was happy to see that I had made the right choice. This is a great book, well illustrated, written with insight. The basic how-to is very helpful, I learned exactly what I wanted. For anyone who would like to learn how to work with wire, and what tools you need, plus how to use them--buy this book
Rating: 
Summary: Good for the Basics, but...
Review: I'd have to say this is an excellent book that teaches you the BASICS of wiring for jewelry. The first two chapters start you off great, telling you all the tools needed for wire wrapping as well as how to hold pliers and basic looping techniques. Then the next few chapters go on to teach you clear, step by step instructions (with drawn illustrations) on making wire findings, clasps, cool looking headpins, ear wires, how to wire wrap a cab, how to wire wrap marbles, how to wire wrap beads and so on. What this book is lacking is that, at the very end they have many pictures of very beautiful wire necklaces and bracelets with no instructions on how to make them. These pieces clearly require a LOT more work than the book teaches you. So if you are ONLY interested in learning the basics and incorporating wire into your jewelry this is the book to own.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book For Beginners
Review: If you are a beginner, this book is great. The instructions are very clear and easy to follow. I must say that personally, I was a bit disappointed in this book, simply because I am already familiar with many of the basic wire techniques, so I didn't get much from the book. I did, however, learn a wire technique for wrapping a cabochon, which I have never tried. I was a little disappointed that instructions for creating the jewelry piece on the cover, were not included in the book, since I thought it was a beautiful necklace. If you are familiar with making basic items such as ear wires, hook and eye clasps, spirals, etc. then you may not get much out of this book. If you are a beginner and want to learn about the proper tools to use, and looking for basic techniques, then I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for begining wire work
Review: Loaded with clear illustration and instructions, this book is great for the beginning wire worker. If beadwork is more your thing than still check this book out. You can learn to make findings, including great clasps, to go with your beadwork. The tools required for the projects are not hard or expensive to secure. Also no soldiering required for the projects either, which makes them easy to do with just a little working space.
Rating:
Summary: lovely photographs
Review: This book has lovely photographs of work by contemporary wire artists. Easy to follow directions in the front section of the book are for the true beginner with little or no experience working with wire, and cover only the basics. The photos of the work in the back of the book are truly inspiring, creative pieces- too advanced for the beginner to tackle, but a great resource for ideas for the experienced wire artist. It would have been great to have more advanced technical advice for those of us already working in wire.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous book
Review: This book is great because of it's precise instructions. The techniques from how to hold your tools to the degrees of angles to bend your wire are right on. The hook and eye clasp takes some practice but it is really great. The findings you learn to make in this book are so superior to machine made ones you buy in the store. I found the gallery section in the back of the book inspiring. The gallery pieces lack instructions, but I didn't really expect them to. It's like a photographic museum of wirework.
Rating:
Summary: A great book for beginners
Review: This book is wonderful for going over everything you need to know to begin making wirework jewelry- from which tools to buy, to the type of wire you'll need, to techniques to make perfect eye pins and s-clasps. Each step of the instructions is simple and well illustrated.
Rating:
Summary: The Only Book You'll Ever Need!
Review: This is by far the best instructional book on any topic I've ever seen. With clear diagrams and beautiful color illustrations, Lareau teaches with humor. His text instructions are easy to understand. He has rekindled my interest in jewelry making, and I searched for supplemental books. I've perused about a dozen similar books in the bookstore and came to the conclusion that in "All Wired Up," I already have all I'll ever need. Lareau teaches the basics in such a way that after practicing and mastering his basic techniques, I know that I have enough knowledge and skill to create my own designs. I find that I can simply look at a picture of a wired piece and easily figure out how it is made. The book is of benefit to the beginner and experienced wireworker alike, since Lareau also teaches how to improve upon one's current technique - and frequently proves that his way is better. The list price is a bit high, but well worth it.
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