You are my hero! and my husband is now pokin' at me for throwing my hands up in the air and hollering "Oh yesssssss!!" I've been hunting around for about 2 weeks for something that would work. I'd checked out Fire Mountain Gems and Rio Grande a few times, and was wondering about the wholesale part. Thanks for the info on that as well. I'm pretty sure my customer would be happy with a plated common metal one, but I will definitely check out the other options you listed so that she has different options.
I've been actually playing with the thought of trying the PMC you mention. I come from a fine arts background and have kind of had my hands in a little bit of everything, so the thought of hand sculpting my own stuff intrigues me. But the OCD part of me knows I'd probably drive myself, and hubby insane getting everything "just right." I like the art student advice though, and will definitely check out some of the colleges around here. Surely one of them has a metal class....come to think of it, a local bead store has a guy who gives occasional silver working classes....maybe he'd know something as well.
Thanks so much for your help!