Found & Forged: a Tucson Gem Show Experience
with Kate Richbourg and Jen Cushman
January 29 - February 4th, 2027 (6 nights, 7 days)
“Bring your curiosity, your collected treasures, and your willingness to experiment. We’ll hammer, solder, saw, set stones, make a few messes, and create something you could only have made in Tucson”
Gather your treasures and let’s make something unforgettable!
Join Kate Richbourg and Jen Cushman for an immersive, small-group jewelry-making experience during the legendary Tucson Gem and Mineral Shows.
Kate and Jen bring decades of experience as artists, instructors, designers, collectors, and jewelry-industry insiders. They are also longtime friends who share a love of beautiful things, creative adventures, and the thrill of discovering that one treasure you didn’t even know you were looking for.
For seven days, Tucson becomes our classroom.
Together, we’ll shop some of Kate and Jen’s favorite shows, hunt for stones and components, meet vendors, gather inspiration, and then bring those discoveries back to the studio to create.
You’ll explore metalsmithing with Kate, jewelry making and wirework with Jen, and enjoy plenty of room to experiment, develop your own ideas, and create pieces that reflect your personal style.
This isn’t simply a workshop, and it isn’t simply a shopping trip.
Found & Forged is a curated Tucson experience built around making, collecting, learning, friendship, inspiration, and the joy of seeing what happens when the treasures you discover at the shows make their way back to your workbench.
Kate and Jen also have a few FUN surprises up their sleeves. Expect plenty of laughter, unexpected treats, and special experiences throughout the week.
This intimate retreat has just 12 onsite lodging spaces at Solana Guest Ranch, available on a first-come, first-served basis. A limited number of day passes are also available for guests who arrange their own nearby lodging.
We expect this retreat to fill quickly, so reserve your space early.
The Greatest Treasure Hunt on Earth!
Tucson is all about the hunt: the stones, the metal, the unexpected treasures, and those pieces you simply cannot leave behind.
One of the things that makes Found & Forged different is what happens after we shop.
We aren’t just bringing home bags filled with treasures. We’re bringing those finds back to the studio, where Kate and Jen will help you turn inspiration into something uniquely your own.
Personally Guided Gem Show Shopping
You’re not coming all the way to Tucson to wander around wondering where to go.
Kate and Jen will personally guide our group through four favorite Tucson shows, sharing the knowledge they have gained through years of buying, collecting, designing, and working within the jewelry-making industry.
We’ll help you navigate the shows, discover vendors, look at stones and components with a designer’s eye, and think about how the treasures you’re considering might translate into finished jewelry.
Our week begins with an Opening Night Insider Talk with Kate and Jen, where we’ll share how we approach Tucson, how we shop, what we look for, and a few tips for making the most of the shows before we head out together.
Then the hunt begins!
Metalsmithing with Kate Richbourg
During our Tucson workshop experience, we’ll take inspiration from the shows back to the workbench and turn it into jewelry that tells the story of your Tucson experience.
We’ll spend our studio time exploring foundational metalsmithing techniques while creating pieces with plenty of room for your own point of view. You’ll work with a provided basic materials kit along with stones and components you select during our days shopping the shows.
We’ll begin with a metal pendant built around a stamped component, learning and refining techniques including sawing, soldering, bail construction and attachment, stamping, hammering, shaping, texturing, and finishing.
From there, we’ll move into basic bezel construction and stone setting, using a stone you’ve selected during our Tucson shopping adventures. You’ll learn how to build a setting specifically for your stone and transform that special find into a finished piece of jewelry.
Throughout our studio sessions, you can expect to complete approximately two to three components, depending on your pace, experience, and the complexity of your designs.
My goal is not for everyone to make exactly the same thing.
I want to give you strong, approachable metalsmithing skills and then help you use those skills in your own way. This is your opportunity to combine technique, inspiration, and the treasures you’ve collected to create something that feels completely personal.
This workshop is designed for all skill levels. Beginners will feel supported as they build confidence with foundational techniques, while more experienced metalsmiths will have plenty of room to stretch their skills, explore design choices, and take their work further.
Some tools and equipment will be provided for use during class, including soldering setups and select specialty tools. Students will receive a required tool list before the retreat so you’ll know exactly what you need to bring.
After many years, I am so excited to return to Tucson to teach metalsmithing. I cannot wait to share the bench, the shows, the treasures, and the entire creative experience with you.
Jewelry Making with Jen Cushman
Jen will bring her own creative perspective to our studio experience with jewelry-making and wirework projects designed to complement the treasures and inspiration we gather during our Tucson shopping days.
You’ll have the opportunity to explore Jen’s approachable, expressive style of jewelry making while developing pieces that leave plenty of room for personalization and creative play.
Jen will also lead a special hat-bar project, adding another fun, wearable element to our week together.
Like Kate’s metalsmithing sessions, Jen’s classes are designed to encourage experimentation rather than having everyone leave with exactly the same finished piece.
The goal is to give you techniques, ideas, and inspiration that you can continue using long after Tucson.
Our Home in Tucson - Solana Guest Ranch and Villas
Our retreat home is Solana Guest Ranch and Villas, an 11-acre private desert sanctuary where Spanish-inspired architecture meets the beautiful Sonoran landscape.
Begin your mornings beneath towering eucalyptus trees, wander through the quiet mesquite bosque, or relax beside the pond surrounded by desert foliage.
There is plenty of outdoor space to gather, relax, and enjoy the Tucson scenery, including a pond and campfire area, along with plenty of workshop space for our creative sessions.
It’s the perfect home base for a week of shopping, making, relaxing, laughing, and connecting with fellow jewelry lovers.
There is plenty of room to relax outside by the pond and campfire ring to enjoy the beautiful desert scenery of Tucson. Plenty of workshop space!
Glamping Wagons
There are 2 Casitas and 1 Villa
The rooms are decorated in sonoran southwest decor.
They have a private bathroom and A/C and heat.
Provides comfort and privacy
Casita 8
A private bedroom with one queen bed, private bathroom, air conditioning, and heat.
Single Occupancy: $3,095
If you are attending with a close friend or partner and would like to share the queen bed:
Shared Occupancy: $2,850 per person
Casita 9
A private bedroom with one king bed, private bathroom, private courtyard, air conditioning, and heat.
Single Occupancy: $3,095
If you are attending with a close friend or partner and would like to share the king bed:
Shared Occupancy: $2,850 per person
Villa 10
Villa 10 offers shared accommodations with one queen bed in the bedroom and one twin bed located in the common living area.
The villa includes a private bathroom, air conditioning, and heat.
Shared Occupancy: $2,850 per person
Villa 10 may accommodate up to three students, with two guests sharing the queen bed and one guest using the twin bed in the living area.
There are three brand-new glamping wagons available for shared occupancy.
Each wagon has two queen beds, a private bathroom, air conditioning, and heat.
The wagons are roomy, comfortable, and a fun way to experience our desert retreat setting.
Shared Glamping Wagon: $2,695 per person. Two guests per wagon.
Please note: There are several steps required to enter and exit the wagons. Guests choosing this lodging option must be comfortable climbing stairs.
Day Passes
10 Day Passes Available
$1,795 per person
Want to join us for the entire retreat experience but already have lodging in Tucson?
A limited number of day passes are available.
Day-pass guests are part of the retreat group and participate in the scheduled workshop instruction, guided gem-show shopping, special activities, onsite retreat dinners, final celebration, and our fun surprises throughout the week.
Lodging and breakfast at Solana Guest Ranch are not included with the day pass.
Day-pass participants are responsible for arranging their own accommodations and transportation.
What’s Included:
Opening-night insider lecture with Kate Richbourg and Jen Cushman
Metalsmithing instruction with Kate Richbourg
Jewelry-making and wirework instruction with Jen Cushman
Special hat-bar project with Jen
Curated group shopping at four popular Tucson gem shows with Kate and Jen
Lodging at Solana Guest Ranch for onsite retreat guests
Six breakfasts for onsite retreat guests
Two onsite dinners
Final-night celebration
Special surprises and retreat experiences throughout the week
What’s not Included:
Airfare
Travel Insurance
All lunches
Four dinners at local restaurants
Personal purchases made at the gem shows
Transportation
Participants are responsible for their own transportation throughout the retreat, including transportation to and from Tucson, Solana Guest Ranch, restaurants, gem shows, and other scheduled locations.
Reserve Your Space
A $500 non-refundable deposit reserves your place.
You may pay your retreat balance in full or divide the remaining balance into three payments during October, November, and December 2026.
All retreat balances must be paid in full by December 31, 2026.
Zelle and Venmo are preferred.
Credit-card payments are accepted through PayPal with a 4% processing fee.
Email us to reserve your space
Have questions before you commit?
Come Find Your Tucson Treasure!
There is something magical about Tucson.
You arrive looking for stones, beads, metal, inspiration, and maybe a few things you didn’t know you needed.
You leave with treasures, new skills, new ideas, new friendships, and stories attached to the things you’ve made.
That’s what Found & Forged is all about.
Shop the shows. Gather your treasures. Make something unforgettable.
We cannot wait to experience Tucson with you.
Kate & Jen
Cancellation and Refund Policy
Our onsite lodging is intentionally limited to create an intimate and supportive retreat experience, and day-pass availability is also limited Please make sure you are ready to commit to attending before reserving your space.
Retreat payments are non-refundable once a commitment is made, except under the circumstances described below.We understand that unexpected emergencies can happen.Once the retreat fills, we may maintain a waitlist. If you are unable to attend and we are able to fill your place with another participant who registers and pays in full, you will receive a refund of the payments you have made, less the $500 non-refundable deposit.
Please understand that finding a replacement participant is not guaranteed.For this reason, we strongly encourage guests to consider comprehensive travel insurance that provides coverage appropriate for their individual circumstances.If you are considering a policy with a Cancel For Any Reason option, be sure to carefully review the policy requirements, exclusions, coverage amounts, and time-sensitive purchase deadlines. Travel insurance policies vary significantly, so please choose coverage that is appropriate for you.
You may wish to research policies through the AARDY.com travel insurance marketplace or through another travel-insurance provider of your choice.All participants will be required to sign a liability waiver acknowledging and agreeing to the retreat terms, conditions, and policies before participating.