ABOUT US

Welcome to the Deception Bay Gem and Allied Crafts Club!

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The Club has been in existence since 1963 and was originally called, Flintstones. In the early days, members practised their skills in a number of locations in local sheds, garages and under houses. The original workshop in Old Bay Road was built by voluntary labour and opened in 1986. Over the years there have been quite a few changes to the building and facilities and equipment has been purchased as needed as funds became available. In the early days, lapidary was mainly grinding and polishing cabochons but has now extended into other activities like faceting, gem trees, copper and silver-smithing and in September 2004, silver and gold casting was introduced.

 

On joining the Club, new members are given instruction by an experienced member in the art of cutting, slabbing & facing three cabochons. Once this has been safely achieved with a level of proficiency, members are free to choose their own level of involvement in the activities of the Club. When a new member specifies a singular craft interest, their individual case shall be evaluated on merit.

 

While the Clubs main focus is to assist and stimulate members to develop their lapidary skills by providing good equipment and training, the social and friendship aspect is also considered very important. Members are encouraged to get involved in and take ownership of the Club and take an active part in the running of the Club. This helps to spread the workload and not leave everything to a few. Fortunately, Club members generally have a range of skills gained from their employment that comes in very handy when it comes to managing a Club. These skills could include administration, equipment and facility maintenance, project and event management, fund raising, cleaning and supervision, just to name a few. This helps to keep the Club operational and, on a sound, financial footing.  The hard work has been done. All we need to do now is keep the ball rolling.