Entry No. 43 — the Pueblo file — filed under: hands-on
Colorado Center for Metal Arts
This is a serious, fully-equipped metalsmithing facility tucked into Pueblo's Union Avenue Historic District, run as a community for jewelers and metal artists at every level. Alongside its own local classes, it brings in nationally and internationally known master smiths to teach hands-on techniques like fabrication, casting, and stone-setting. It is far weirder and more committed than a strip-mall craft chain: a working studio with real torches, benches, and tools where you actually build something in metal.
The story
Pueblo built its identity on steel, so it feels entirely fitting that tucked inside a storefront on South Union Avenue sits a serious sanctuary for fine metalwork. Founded by nationally known jeweler Michael Boyd, the Colorado Center for Metal Arts strips away the soft-focus craft store pretense and drops you directly into a fully-equipped working studio. It is a dedicated hub designed to pass down high-level, physical fabrication techniques in a city with heavy metal in its blood.
You will not find glued craft-pearls or wine-and-paint nights here. Instead, you get real jeweler's benches, gas torches, wax carving tools, anvils, and polishing wheels. Boyd built the facility not just as a local studio, but as a magnet for top-tier talent, regularly flying in master smiths like Jim Dailing and Linda Kindler Priest to teach multi-day intensives on niche skills like wax carving for gemstone bezels, advanced stone-setting, and hollowware fabrication.
Because of that master-level standard, the bench crowd is an odd, charming mix. On any given weekend, you might sit shoulder-to-shoulder with total novices making their first sterling silver band, southern Ute artisans refining traditional techniques, and visiting professional jewelers picking up new tricks. It is raw, focused, and intensely satisfying—a rare pocket of true technical craftsmanship hiding in plain sight.
What it's like
Stepping inside 625 South Union Avenue immediately hits your senses: the smell of hot jeweler's flux, polishing compound, and warm carving wax, punctuated by the steady clink of ball-peen hammers and the hiss-click of gas torches lighting up. You'll be assigned your own bench, eye protection, and a suite of specialized tools to manipulate copper, brass, or silver. The catch is that this isn't an open-door walk-in shop—it operates strictly around scheduled workshops and master-led multi-day courses, so you need to check their calendar and secure a spot long before you show up.
The move: Take a beginner jewelry or metalsmithing workshop together and walk out wearing a ring or pendant you fabricated at the bench.
📍 Before you go Class schedule is workshop-based rather than daily drop-in; check the site or call ahead, as master-led sessions fill and rotate.
- 📍 Pueblo (Union Avenue Historic District)
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 625 S Union Ave, Pueblo, CO 81004
Hours: Added 2026-06-23 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Pueblo Neon Alley — After hours spent staring at micro-details on a jewelry bench, walk two blocks down Union Avenue to stretch your eyes against glowing, salvaged vintage neon.
- Bite Me Cake Company / Flip A Coin Arcade Bar — Head three minutes up the block to grab a cupcake upstairs or head down to the basement arcade bar for cheap drinks and classic pinball.
- The Clink Lounge — Finish off your day of shaping metal by grabbing a cocktail inside a converted 1940s city jail cell standard-fitted with old iron lockout doors.
Good to know
Do I need prior metalsmithing experience to take a class?
No. While the center regularly hosts master-level workshops, they also run beginner-friendly intro courses where you learn fundamental soldering, filing, and ring-making from scratch.
Can I drop in anytime to work or tour?
No. The studio operates primarily on a workshop and event schedule. You should check their website or call ahead (719-696-9271) before visiting.
Who runs the studio?
It was created by Pueblo jeweler Michael Boyd as a specialized training facility and community space for metal artists across Colorado and beyond.
What will I make during an entry-level workshop?
Most beginner workshops are designed so you fabricate a complete piece—typically a custom silver ring or pendant—at the bench to take home.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · jewelryschoolsdirectory.com · Facebook · Wikipedia · chieftain.com · jimdailing.com
last checked: 2026-06-23