Jewelry Instructors at Silver Peak Studio & Gallery in Lafayette, CO

We're thrilled to provide you with a great team of experienced jewelry metalsmithing instructors, who are safety-conscious, professional, patient, and fun! Read the bios below to learn more about each instructor who teaches on a regular basis at our studio. Guest instructor bios are listed with their class description.

Questions about a class or a private lesson with one of us? Contact Jen anytime, she'll respond within one business day.

Jen Lesea-Ames, Owner and Instructor

With over 20 years of experience teaching and coaching in her former career as a self-employed exercise physiologist, Jen is no stranger to what it takes to be a good instructor and business owner. After retiring from her fitness career in 2014, Jen transitioned her side-hustle jewelry business into a full-time success story as a nationally known jewelry designer and most recently, as an instructor in the jewelry arts.

Jen studied metalsmithing at the Denver School of Metal Arts from 2012-2016 and Gemological Institute of America (GIA) from 2014-2017, where she became obtained her diploma as an Applied Jewelry Professional.

Jen started her jewelry business in 2009, where she sold beaded gemstone jewelry, which then evolved to sterling silver and mixed metal jewelry, and most recently offers fine custom jewelry design and bespoke concierge services. Her jewelry is sold in over 40 stores, including Fallingwater Museum Store, the Vladem Museum of Contemporary Art in Santa Fe, NM and the national catalogs Uncommon Goods and Artful Home. Her experience and work has landed her local and national press.

She opened Silver Peak Studio in 2020, where she started teaching jewelry fabrication classes in a small group setting. As demand increased, she expanded the class schedule and hired instructors. In April 2024, she expanded and moved Silver Peak Studio to Old Town Lafayette and opened the Gallery store next door to the school, where locals and visitors can shop the instructors' and students' jewelry as well as locally-made art and gifts.

As the owner of Silver Peak Studio and Gallery, Jen's "why" is to provide a safe, professional, and fun environment where students can expand their skillset in the jewelry arts and help support independent artists.

Alec Schweiger, Head Instructor

Alec has an MFA with an emphasis in Metals and Jewelry from Colorado State University-Fort Collins, and has been teaching metalsmithing at the collegiate level (CSU) since 2019, and recently accepted a position as the Visiting Assistant Professor in Metalsmithing at the University of Wyoming-Laramie.

While in graduate school, he received a work-study scholarship to the Penland School of Craft to study under Kim Cridler, as well as learning from Navajo Silversmithing masters Allison and Trent Lee.

His "why" is described as being an extremely curious person who has always been driven to figure out how things work or how they are made. Alec has a passion for teaching and is thrilled by the opportunity to share his experiences and skills.

Samantha Chang

Samantha is from Buffalo, NY and recently moved to Louisville, CO after spending ten years in Brooklyn. She holds a BA in Art History and Management from SUNY Purchase and is a multidisciplinary artist and jeweler who has studied various jewelry processes including beading, wire wrapping, pearl knotting, fabrication, wax carving, and most recently, welding! She taught her first jewelry making class when she was 16 and fell in love with sharing knowledge and techniques in the jewelry arts.

Samantha learned jewelry-making through classes at local bead stores, lots of trial and error, and has taken metal fabrication classes at the Jewelry Arts Institute in Manhattan. She then was an apprentice for an independent jeweler in Brooklyn. Most recently, she was a bench jeweler at Catbird NYC before moving out to Colorado with her husband. Samantha now has a jewelry line, Saintly, that she sells on Etsy and at art festivals. And, she can be found in our new gallery space offering permanent jewelry services.

Cheyenne Hughes

Cheyenne is a Denver native who's been making jewelry since 2009. During that time he's been fortunate enough to have apprenticed under the accomplished jeweler/blacksmith, Ira Sherman.

That six year apprenticeship (2009-2015) landed him a job as a bench jeweler working for platinum and gold expert, John Sholl of J.F. Sholl Fine Jewelry, in Littleton, CO.

Cheyenne is currently running his own jewelry studio, Beast of Burden Jewelry, in Denver where he offers casting and other jewelry production services to the general public as well as other jewelers.

John Sullivan

John Sullivan is an artist, metalsmith, jeweler, and educator, whose work focuses on psychology, neuropsychology, and interpersonal relationships. Working as a contemporary artist and metalsmith, John explores the themes and issues surrounding dysfunctional relationships, psychological disorders, and the transformative process of healing. John was most recently an Affiliate Instructor of Metalsmithing and Jewelry and a Studio Technician at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado.

He attended graduate school at the State University of New York, New Paltz; the number one Metalsmithing program at a public university in the country. Prior to graduate school, John was the Sponsor Coordinator and a board member of the Colorado Metalsmithing Association.

John earned his Bachelor of Fine Art at the Colorado State University, Fort Collins and was an apprentice to artist Ira Sherman and an assistant to artist Nilda Getty. John has been a guest speaker and given demonstrations at events hosted by the Colorado Metalsmithing Association. As an educator, John has taught as a substitute art teacher at the private institute Kent, Denver, and as a Teaching Assistant at SUNY New Paltz, teaching Basic Metal in both a traditional setting, online, and hybrid classroom. After receiving his Masters, John taught Metalsmithing and Jewelry for the Highschool Summer Sessions at Snowfarm, The New England Craft Program.

John has exhibited work at several national and international venues, as well as having been published in numerous domestic and foreign publications.

Michele Throne

Michele’s first dip into metalsmithing started with a high school class. She then picked it back up after getting her BFA at Florida State University. She’s been a full-time jeweler and owner of Sidhe Designs since 2010. Her teaching experience spans over 25 years, ranging from teaching art at a Montessori school to teaching adult metalsmithing classes since 2012.

Michele is a master in sawing, sweat soldering, texturing metal, and Keum-boo, and this is apparent in her jewelry line that she sells online and at select art shows in Colorado and Florida.

Her deep love and appreciation for everything outdoors and love for people inspire her to create jewelry focused on nature and the human experience.

Our Team of Instructors