As an instructor it gives me no greater pleasure than to see someone become confident in a new found skill. It gives me great dismay when someone just out of the creative gate, puts themselves in unnecessary stress because they are now "a silversmith" and anyone from friends to loved ones have requests. Coming to open studio with a plan is a good idea and can be rewarding and inspiring. Coming with an assignment can be quite different. My suggestion is to wait until you have some experience under your belt before giving yourself this kind of stress.

However, If you truly have to accommodate your new silver fans, then I have a couple of tips that you might consider.

1. 1.Do something that you have done before. This way you are less likely to run into something unpredictable and frustrating.
   

2. 2.Do something in your skill range. Tackling that masterpiece under the pressure of an assignment is a recipe for disaster. A pair of hammered earrings or a set of bangles are elegant and impressive to someone who doesn’t know how they are made. (shhh... its our little secret).
   

3. 3.Don’t give yourself an unrealistic timeline. If the birthday is tomorrow, don’t be cramming in the studio at 5:45. Pros know how to deal with a deadline, beginners? Not so much.
   

4. 4.Have a back-up plan. If the project goes south in the studio, give them something that you have already made. Unless they have seen it before, they won’t know the difference;-)