The Foundry

The Foundry, located in the heart of downtown Ventura, is a community jewelry workshop dedicated to teaching the ancient craft of lost wax casting and lapidary arts while bringing people together in real life.

Each class combines structured skill-building through guided projects with time to explore and experiment. Not only will you leave with pieces that you actually want to wear, you’ll leave with a sense of empowerment, creativity, community, and a love for wax and stones and the alchemy of transforming them to metal and gems.

Welcome to The Foundry.

Metal casting is the process of pouring molten metal into a mold to create a desired form. As the liquid metal cools and solidifies within the mold, it takes on the exact shape of the cavity. The new metal is then removed, cleaned and polished.

Our studio specializes in the lost wax casting method, a technique where items are carved in wax, covered in a plaster mold and wax is melted away (i.e. lost). What’s left behind is a void that perfectly mirrors your original design. Molten metal is poured into this void, creating an exact metal replica of your original hand-carved wax piece.