What do you dream about?
Traveling to Italy?
Tasting Italian wine sitting in a vineyard overlooking the sea?
Eating real Neapolitan pizza?
Walking through ancient places and imaging life from 2000+ years ago?
Learning new jewelry skills to take yours to the next level?
If you said yes to all of these, now you can do it all on the beautiful Amalfi Coast starting in September 2021*.
*Of course the dates scheduled are if Covid-19 is permitting. We can also entertain your travel partner if they said no to the last question and you still want to bring them along.
Sogni d’Oro – Dreams of Gold
Our story
Accomplished master jeweler and instructor, Jim Dailing, first visited Italy in 2001 and stayed with a group of friends in a Tuscan villa. They explored the region and he fell in love with Italy as many often do. An idea sparked and ever since then he’s dreamed of returning to Italy “one day” and leading a jewelry retreat workshop that could mix in some of the fun experiences he had in a similar way. He never really knew how to make it happen. He planted the seeds of his idea with others in the past, but nothing grew.
Not-so-accomplished jeweler but multi-passionate creative, Stephanie Miles, had dreamed for a long time of living in Italy “one day” even before her first visit in 2006. Then in 2012 she returned and her opportunity came. Within 3 months she completely changed her life moving from Florida to Rome. Since then she has applied her many other passions and talents into making her way living on the Amalfi Coast creating a tour operation with a focus on serving creative and adventure services and opening a small art studio to practice metalsmithing during her free time. She ran into many stumbling blocks along the way, but with uncertainty she pushed forward anyway adopting her motto, “I’ll figure it out when I get there” ever since the start. She isn’t about to let challenges stop her from accomplishing her dreams. She still has many of them to pursue.
Enter the year 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic took over and tourism along with many other industries came to a screeching halt around the world. Italy became the first epicenter after China and the news went worldwide. The Italian Prime Minister initiated a complete lockdown and has practiced some strict quarantine rules to flatten the curve as many other countries followed. So many have lost their dreams. Others have created new ones. New phrases such as “social distancing” and “uncertain times” became everyday language as “essential workers” became modern day heroes. People have learned new smart-working practices and education has been reinvented to be nearly all online. It’s too much for many people and they can’t wait for the pandemic to end.
Always looking at the positive in most situations, Stephanie now had the time to put more attention on her jewelry making passion. This is when she happened to meet Jim online as she was doing some research on new equipment to purchase. She was upgrading necessary jewelry equipment to do a better job in her small studio since many of her tools are still in storage in Florida and not all are functional in Italy where power and gas connections are different. She also wanted to be prepared with the right equipment to practice a new skill after she has the opportunity to take the workshop she was planning to attend for months got cancelled due to Covid-19. Not all skills can be taught online.
An instant friendship formed and they quickly realized that they had one very similar dream and a willingness to put their experience together to form a team to make it work. Stephanie wanted to host a bigger workshop multi-day event bringing together all her passions and local knowledge to work with creatives. Jim wanted to teach a workshop in an Italian destination that would offer fun activities to explore and experience local culture outside the classroom. Jim’s seed took root and their collective “Sogni d’Oro” have forged together.
About the workshop
The Sogni d’Oro workshop is a week long learning retreat mixed with 2.5 days of in-class instruction, private historic tours, delicious Italian food and wine, optional adventure activities, and some memorable surprises you can’t experience anywhere else.
Workshop learning will include 3 projects using Argentium Silver:
- Granulation technique – based on the antique tradition of the Etruscans who inhabited Italy long before the Romans.
- Forging a fibula – in modern jewelry we refer to them as brooches. These traditional pins have been used throughout the ages to fasten clothes and were of course used by the Romans.
- Chain making – you’ll learn some various techniques to create unique pieces based on historical styles.
Participation in the workshop will include: instruction by master jeweler – Jim Dailing, use of workshop tools, historically relevant tours, 2 dinners, 4 lunches, and a surprise. Argentium Silver or other materials needed for your projects are priced separately. Optional activities are also priced separately from the workshop fee. Pricing details are listed below.
Travel partners not participating in the jewelry workshops are welcome. There will be a surcharge for them to attend the touring activities and group meals. We can assist to provide other activities and tours to entertain your travel partner while you are in class.
Airfare and accommodations are not included. We have a recommended travel agent who can assist you with your airfare booking, if desired, as well as with any other continued travel planning before or after the workshop. We’ll provide a listing of available and recommended lodgings in the area with a variety of ratings to satisfy your preferred travel needs. We are currently working with local providers to receive special rates for our event.
September 19-25, 2021
Our preliminary schedule. Details are subject to change. Workshop pricing, accommodation details, etc. are coming soon.
| Day 1 – arrival and check-in, PM tour of Vietri, early welcome dinner | |
| Day 2 – AM private tour (Pompeii or other historical tour), PM workshop begins | |
| Day 3 – AM workshop, PM wine tasting tour & dinner (optional) | |
| Day 4 – full day workshop with break for pizza lunch | |
| Day 5 – Free day or full day VIP Nature hike from Amalfi to Ravello (optional) | |
| Day 6 – AM final workshop, PM farewell dinner with surprise | |
| Day 7 – departure |
September 26 – October 2, 2021
Our preliminary schedule. Details are subject to change. Workshop pricing, accommodation details, etc. are coming soon.
| Day 1 – arrival and check-in, PM tour of Vietri, early welcome dinner Day 2 – AM private tour (Pompeii or other historical tour), PM workshop begins Day 3 – AM workshop, PM wine tasting tour & dinner (optional) Day 4 – full day workshop with break for pizza lunch Day 5 – Free day or full day VIP Nature hike from Amalfi to Ravello (optional) Day 6 – AM final workshop, PM farewell dinner with surprise Day 7 – departure |
Pricing
We are still working out the pricing for our event and are gathering the final details. Join our mailing list to stay updated as soon as it becomes available and then you can make your decision to finalize your booking.
Workshop price – includes instruction by Jim Dailing, use of tools needed, 2 private-guided tours, 4 lunches (during workshop days), 2 dinners
Accommodations – Single or double occupancy B&Bs, private apartments, or luxury hotel. Select as desired for your comfort or budget needs.
Non-participant attendance fee – includes 2 private-guided tours with group, 1 lunch (with 2nd tour day), 2 dinners
Optional scheduled activities (not included in workshop fee) – Wine tour and tasting dinner, Amalfi-Ravello VIP tour and nature hike
Optional activities NOT scheduled can be arranged for travel partners not participating in the workshops or anyone not attending the 2 optional scheduled activities above. Browse the website for ideas of what we can arrange.
| Workshop price | TBA |
| Accommodations | TBA |
| Non-participant fee | TBA |
| Optional Wine tour & tasting dinner | TBA |
| Optional VIP tour and nature hike | TBA |
Inspiration Trips 