1 00:00:00,650 --> 00:00:05,930 Our country is full of incredible makers dreaming of turning their talent into 2 00:00:05,930 --> 00:00:07,050 money -making careers. 3 00:00:07,330 --> 00:00:10,350 It would mean everything to be able to do this full -time. 4 00:00:10,810 --> 00:00:15,250 So, with a team of fantastic professional mentors... I know your 5 00:00:15,250 --> 00:00:16,490 know what you're capable of doing. 6 00:00:16,710 --> 00:00:20,790 I run a one -of -a -kind bootcamp, showing them how to do just that. 7 00:00:21,010 --> 00:00:25,530 Perfect. My proudest moment, I'll just share that. Yes. Now I'm on my way to 8 00:00:25,530 --> 00:00:29,510 catch up with those who have made their dreams come true. Hello. There he is. 9 00:00:29,510 --> 00:00:30,510 Hello, mate. 10 00:00:30,850 --> 00:00:34,890 I'll be hearing about their amazing achievements. I've been able to put down 11 00:00:34,890 --> 00:00:35,769 deposit on a house. 12 00:00:35,770 --> 00:00:37,070 This is my full -time job. 13 00:00:37,390 --> 00:00:39,690 And finding out how much money they're making. 14 00:00:40,150 --> 00:00:41,590 A little bit under £40 ,000. 15 00:00:41,970 --> 00:00:47,490 Around £50 ,000. £50 ,000? Yeah. So join me and meet the fabulous makers who 16 00:00:47,490 --> 00:00:50,230 have transformed their lives and made it at market. 17 00:00:50,670 --> 00:00:54,590 You can kind of say I'm living the dream. I think that's fair to say. 18 00:01:00,830 --> 00:01:06,570 No matter how brilliant they might be at making their pieces... 19 00:01:06,860 --> 00:01:10,820 The one thing that everyone who comes to my bootcamp struggles with is being 20 00:01:10,820 --> 00:01:15,040 able to market and sell enough of their work to build a successful business. 21 00:01:15,740 --> 00:01:19,140 Today, we'll be meeting two who have overcome that hurdle. 22 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:25,580 Later, we'll be checking in with former teacher and jeweller Sarah in Glasgow, 23 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:30,520 whose success has meant she's had to take drastic action after being 24 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:31,520 with orders. 25 00:01:31,610 --> 00:01:36,110 I actually put out on social media that I was closed for commissions and that 26 00:01:36,110 --> 00:01:38,290 still didn't stop the quest. 27 00:01:39,230 --> 00:01:43,270 But first, I'll be catching up with Copper Smith Roy in Wiltshire. 28 00:01:45,950 --> 00:01:51,470 He came to my boot camp in the summer of 2023, hoping we could help him turn his 29 00:01:51,470 --> 00:01:56,330 love of metal sculpture into a full -time career after recently quitting his 30 00:01:56,330 --> 00:01:57,330 in IT. 31 00:01:58,050 --> 00:02:03,220 I felt that at 61 years old, Now was the time. It was now or never. And I've 32 00:02:03,220 --> 00:02:05,100 been threatening to do it for five years. 33 00:02:05,340 --> 00:02:07,200 I just really haven't had the courage. 34 00:02:08,979 --> 00:02:13,480 To figure out the best way of helping Roy get the sales he needed to kickstart 35 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:15,920 his business, I gave him three tasks. 36 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:20,660 The first of which was to make a volume piece, something he could make quickly 37 00:02:20,660 --> 00:02:21,940 and sell affordably. 38 00:02:23,300 --> 00:02:28,000 He chose to make a decorative copper lily, finished with an inner spike and 39 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:32,640 stem, then covered with lacquer, to prevent discoloration and aging. 40 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:43,300 Once he'd cut his template, Roy used a process called annealing, which involved 41 00:02:43,300 --> 00:02:47,600 heating the metal, then cooling it to make it pliable and easy to shape. 42 00:02:48,660 --> 00:02:50,700 I'm just going to heat this up to a cherry red. 43 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:56,440 The flame itself is just over 3 ,000 degrees of heat. 44 00:02:57,300 --> 00:02:58,720 It's amazingly hot. 45 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:00,200 Very, very quick. 46 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:02,860 So I'll come up to the end like that. 47 00:03:04,620 --> 00:03:11,180 Turn that off. And then I can either leave it to cool in the air or I can 48 00:03:11,180 --> 00:03:13,520 it. That is as soft as you like, ready for shaping. 49 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:19,540 To help Roy make a success of his lifelong passion, he was guided by 50 00:03:19,540 --> 00:03:25,260 Gill. Ian is an outstanding metalworking sculptor whose fantastic creations are 51 00:03:25,260 --> 00:03:26,920 displayed in well -known locations. 52 00:03:27,630 --> 00:03:32,490 like raymond blanc's le manoir hotel in oxfordshire and the chelsea flower show 53 00:03:32,490 --> 00:03:37,490 how are you getting on i've just annealed this piece right um and i'm 54 00:03:37,490 --> 00:03:42,790 shake my lily such a soft material it's not very difficult to do at all really 55 00:03:42,790 --> 00:03:49,710 and all i do now from here is i take my little curved pliers and then i'll just 56 00:03:49,710 --> 00:03:54,310 put my crease all the way around if you was to potentially 57 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:59,820 cut a sheet out of all of these and have them all done, it would speed your 58 00:03:59,820 --> 00:04:03,800 process up so much more and therefore it would make it more cost -effective for 59 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:04,739 you as well. 60 00:04:04,740 --> 00:04:05,940 Super. Great tip. 61 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:11,860 While Roy focused on his volume piece, I wanted to work out with Ian how else he 62 00:04:11,860 --> 00:04:13,140 could make money from his skills. 63 00:04:14,020 --> 00:04:18,519 To do that, I'd asked him to bring a second, higher -end piece to my boot 64 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:20,820 something with a heftier price tag. 65 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:25,660 Roy decided to showcase a magnificent maple leaf sphere. 66 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:31,120 A one -metre diameter frame was covered with around 200 handmade leaves. 67 00:04:31,700 --> 00:04:37,120 It took him around 13 days to complete and had an asking price of £3 ,000. 68 00:04:38,340 --> 00:04:42,780 He could pretty much sell that anywhere. All the top garden shows, garden 69 00:04:42,780 --> 00:04:43,780 sculpture exhibitions. 70 00:04:44,180 --> 00:04:45,760 It's quite high -end, isn't it? Absolutely. 71 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:48,900 Roy's put an asking price of £3 ,000 on that piece. 72 00:04:49,340 --> 00:04:51,520 Which, the amount of work involved, seems quite fair. 73 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,180 Very fair. Yeah. In the right places, I think he could actually get more money 74 00:04:55,180 --> 00:04:57,300 than that. He could make bigger ones, possibly. 75 00:04:57,560 --> 00:04:58,840 Yeah, imagine that. Yeah. 76 00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:00,280 Yeah. 77 00:05:00,740 --> 00:05:05,100 Back in the forge, Roy was concentrating on his volume piece. 78 00:05:05,500 --> 00:05:09,960 And having shaped the outer part of his copper lily, he was about to attach the 79 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:10,960 inner spike. 80 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:15,100 There's my little jig that I've made for the process. 81 00:05:15,340 --> 00:05:17,200 So all that happens is that sits underneath. 82 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:19,480 Like that. 83 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:24,800 And then when I weld it down here, it's at the right position within the flower. 84 00:05:25,500 --> 00:05:30,500 I'm going to weld it with a Foss copper welding rod, which melts at a very low 85 00:05:30,500 --> 00:05:32,120 melting point compared to the copper. 86 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:34,580 There you can see it going. 87 00:05:37,900 --> 00:05:38,900 Get rid of that. 88 00:05:40,340 --> 00:05:42,800 Flip it over and finish the weld. 89 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:46,700 With the inner spike and flower welded together, 90 00:05:47,420 --> 00:05:51,920 Roy removed the discolouration caused by welding using a special acidic solution 91 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,840 before polishing the lily and adding a coat of lacquer. 92 00:05:57,260 --> 00:06:02,280 It's a UV resistant lacquer so that when this goes out in the garden it'll 93 00:06:02,280 --> 00:06:05,340 maintain its shine and not be dulled by the sun. 94 00:06:06,340 --> 00:06:10,400 It's done a long job. It's quite pleasing and rewarding actually as well 95 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:15,220 sure that you've covered every square millimetre of this. 96 00:06:16,650 --> 00:06:21,730 To finish, Roy filed away any roughness on the stick that formed the stem and 97 00:06:21,730 --> 00:06:22,950 slid it onto his flower. 98 00:06:23,870 --> 00:06:29,770 The lily took 75 minutes to create, and with copper and steel costs of £10, he 99 00:06:29,770 --> 00:06:34,010 gave it an asking price of £30 to £35, depending on size. 100 00:06:34,830 --> 00:06:39,470 I will say, if it's OK, I just feel like there's areas like the finish that you 101 00:06:39,470 --> 00:06:40,399 could improve. 102 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,420 I don't know if you've talked about that. We have. We've looked at making a 103 00:06:43,420 --> 00:06:44,780 to make the shape. 104 00:06:45,140 --> 00:06:48,500 Brilliant. That would just transform them. Yeah. The small ones are £30. 105 00:06:48,940 --> 00:06:52,820 Yep. Large ones are £35. They are. Ian, what do you think? Are these saleable? 106 00:06:53,570 --> 00:06:56,510 Definitely. At the moment, how are you selling them? Are you selling them 107 00:06:56,510 --> 00:06:57,510 individually? Just individually. 108 00:06:57,570 --> 00:07:00,910 If you could sell three in one here, a set, I don't think it would cost you any 109 00:07:00,910 --> 00:07:06,130 more with regards to postage. Ask yourself, and perhaps when you're 110 00:07:06,130 --> 00:07:09,310 them, put three in a pot. People get to just see that three. 111 00:07:09,530 --> 00:07:10,530 That's a great advice. 112 00:07:11,470 --> 00:07:14,530 We'll find out shortly how Roy's lilies are selling now. 113 00:07:14,890 --> 00:07:18,810 But for his final challenge at the boot camp, I asked him to produce his 114 00:07:18,810 --> 00:07:22,390 favourite piece to see if what he enjoyed making the most... 115 00:07:22,670 --> 00:07:24,270 could also be a money spinner. 116 00:07:25,350 --> 00:07:32,290 He chose to create a flame -painted Nautilus. Standing 50cm tall, its 46 117 00:07:32,290 --> 00:07:35,610 represented stripes on the spiral -shaped sea creature. 118 00:07:37,470 --> 00:07:41,750 He started by marking out his template, then cut around the outline. 119 00:07:48,610 --> 00:07:51,190 That's a bit easier than cutting it by hand. 120 00:07:51,740 --> 00:07:56,920 Now I'm going to plasma cut out my negative spaces. There are 46 of them to 121 00:07:57,060 --> 00:08:01,960 and this is the jeopardy bit. I really must take my time and make sure I don't 122 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:02,960 make mistakes. 123 00:08:05,740 --> 00:08:10,400 There's a small compressor in my little plasma cutter that creates an electric 124 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:15,360 arc which melts the copper on the top, and then the compressed air blows the 125 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:16,360 copper away. 126 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:20,820 Whilst Roy was working on his Nautilus... 127 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,700 Ian had been thinking about how to help him generate money quickly for his 128 00:08:24,700 --> 00:08:27,280 business. So you run courses? 129 00:08:27,660 --> 00:08:32,020 I have run courses on small bowls and I've often thought that I should do some 130 00:08:32,020 --> 00:08:35,380 more. Maybe you need to push your courses because that could be quite a 131 00:08:35,380 --> 00:08:38,960 revenue for you. You could have people put their name down on the list and when 132 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:42,080 you get to the amount of candidates you need, you run another course. 133 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:45,480 And then if people really enjoy it, you can maybe do something a little bit more 134 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:48,020 intricate and then you can get people coming back. 135 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:49,480 Repeat offenders. 136 00:08:49,500 --> 00:08:50,500 Absolutely. 137 00:08:52,970 --> 00:08:58,810 Once all 46 cutouts had been created, Roy smoothed the rough edges, then 138 00:08:58,810 --> 00:09:02,370 the copper to soften it, before adding a crease to form the shape. 139 00:09:03,410 --> 00:09:08,990 I'll follow this line all the way around, and you'll see it's pushing the 140 00:09:08,990 --> 00:09:14,210 in. After making a dent all around the middle of the nautilus, Roy shaped the 141 00:09:14,210 --> 00:09:16,850 rest of it with the help of a sandbag and mallet. 142 00:09:19,630 --> 00:09:21,730 Then he started flame painting. 143 00:09:22,140 --> 00:09:25,080 using an oxyacetylene blowtorch and an air compressor. 144 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:28,320 I'm literally painting with the flame. 145 00:09:29,380 --> 00:09:32,660 As I'm going, you'll see the blues and the purples. 146 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:36,640 I'm going to try and freeze it into the pinks. 147 00:09:37,620 --> 00:09:40,280 So there's a bit of purple there. I can come in and develop that. 148 00:09:40,620 --> 00:09:43,160 And you'll see the blue will go to a gold, will go to a pink. 149 00:09:43,420 --> 00:09:45,220 So I'll come back into there. 150 00:09:45,660 --> 00:09:47,700 The blue to a gold. 151 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:50,120 And if you wait beyond, it will go a turquoise. 152 00:09:50,790 --> 00:09:55,030 When I finish the whole thing, I will lacquer it, and that will be it 153 00:09:56,230 --> 00:10:01,690 With copper costs of £30, plus workshop and welding costs on top, along with a 154 00:10:01,690 --> 00:10:06,690 make time of around six hours, Roy gave his flame -painted Nautilus a price tag 155 00:10:06,690 --> 00:10:08,330 of £295. 156 00:10:10,430 --> 00:10:11,870 It looks really good, Roy. 157 00:10:12,310 --> 00:10:16,850 Using the scrap pieces that you've got, that you've cut out, you could connect 158 00:10:16,850 --> 00:10:20,090 another one on the back, making it a three -dimensional piece. 159 00:10:20,780 --> 00:10:25,020 and then you could connect a rod underneath and put it onto a plinth so 160 00:10:25,020 --> 00:10:25,879 be a standalone. 161 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:29,280 So you get the light shining through, you get great shadows. That would enable 162 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:34,600 you to possibly up the cost. That turns it into a proper big three -dimensional 163 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:36,300 sculpture. Yeah. Make it epic. 164 00:10:36,500 --> 00:10:37,500 Yeah. 165 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:42,320 Roy's decision to launch a coppersmithing business may have been a 166 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:47,080 dream. But as he headed home to Wiltshire, we came up with an action 167 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:48,220 turn it into a reality. 168 00:10:49,580 --> 00:10:54,520 First, he needed to develop his designs by making his nautilus an impressive 3D 169 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:55,520 sculpture. 170 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:01,000 Next, we wanted Roy to make his lilies more profitable by refining and speeding 171 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,140 up their production, as well as selling them in sets of three. 172 00:11:05,940 --> 00:11:09,940 Finally, he needed to push his courses and offer options for returning 173 00:11:09,940 --> 00:11:10,940 customers. 174 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:18,440 For the next two months, Ian continued to support Roy as he worked on his 175 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:23,030 plan. starting with ordering a batch of copper lily templates to speed up their 176 00:11:23,030 --> 00:11:28,330 production. They're looking rather fabulous, and that would save me an 177 00:11:28,330 --> 00:11:29,850 of cutting by hand. 178 00:11:30,170 --> 00:11:34,950 A new tool helped him save even more time, as well as giving the lilies the 179 00:11:34,950 --> 00:11:36,670 polished finish I was looking for. 180 00:11:37,170 --> 00:11:42,050 This new jig should make it much quicker to form them. 181 00:11:42,370 --> 00:11:47,550 Because they're annealed, it's really soft, and as you can now see, 182 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:50,200 There's a small one. 183 00:11:50,700 --> 00:11:51,700 Beautifully done. 184 00:11:52,540 --> 00:11:57,520 Roy worked hard on his social media too, promoting his workshops with positive 185 00:11:57,520 --> 00:11:58,520 results. 186 00:11:59,220 --> 00:12:03,560 Pressure on there like that. And literally, just tap. You'll feel how 187 00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:04,560 need to tap there. 188 00:12:06,620 --> 00:12:08,740 And now it's down to three. 189 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:10,260 It's that key. 190 00:12:12,680 --> 00:12:16,660 Roy spent eight weeks carrying out Ian's advice to the letter. 191 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:21,100 And when he reported back to us at the boot camp, he had more than reaped the 192 00:12:21,100 --> 00:12:24,020 rewards. I've made just over £4 ,100. 193 00:12:24,740 --> 00:12:25,740 £4 ,000? 194 00:12:25,940 --> 00:12:30,440 Yeah. Brilliant. Really? Yeah. Fantastic, Roy. From sales and the 195 00:12:30,780 --> 00:12:31,780 That's amazing. 196 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:33,380 Isn't it, Geoff? How does that feel? 197 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:36,920 I'm very happy with it. The bank account will be all the better for it. 198 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,260 Roy needed to deduct his costs from his fantastic sales. 199 00:12:41,630 --> 00:12:46,510 that in just two months he proved that he could make brilliant pieces and sell 200 00:12:46,510 --> 00:12:48,770 enough of them to build a sustainable business. 201 00:12:51,730 --> 00:12:56,290 Two and a half years later, I've come to Wiltshire to hear all about his success 202 00:12:56,290 --> 00:12:58,970 and find out how much money he's making now. 203 00:13:00,570 --> 00:13:02,010 Come in. Hello. 204 00:13:03,550 --> 00:13:08,750 This fantastic workshop converted from a garage is right next to Roy's house and 205 00:13:08,750 --> 00:13:09,970 it's a maker's dream. 206 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:12,120 This place is amazing. 207 00:13:12,730 --> 00:13:15,910 It's my favourite place in the world. I can tell. I really can tell. 208 00:13:16,130 --> 00:13:18,010 How long have you been working in this space then? 209 00:13:18,210 --> 00:13:23,630 Oh, about five, six years. But since boot camp, I've had to completely 210 00:13:23,630 --> 00:13:26,570 it and try and tidy it up for visitors for my workshops. 211 00:13:26,870 --> 00:13:29,150 They're becoming a big part of the business now, the workshops, are they? 212 00:13:29,150 --> 00:13:32,470 are. I can't say how many I've run this year. That's amazing. 213 00:13:32,710 --> 00:13:35,490 It's not just workshops that you're running here, though. You're clearly 214 00:13:35,490 --> 00:13:36,490 your own pieces still. 215 00:13:36,690 --> 00:13:40,230 Absolutely. This is my home from home. I'm out here every single day of the 216 00:13:40,230 --> 00:13:41,129 week. 217 00:13:41,130 --> 00:13:44,830 I can see why. It's a fantastic space to be creative. 218 00:13:45,730 --> 00:13:48,170 But I want to know more about Roy's achievements. 219 00:13:48,850 --> 00:13:52,610 I'm so excited to hear how the business has been going. Since boot camp, I 220 00:13:52,610 --> 00:13:53,670 really haven't looked back. 221 00:13:53,870 --> 00:13:57,230 I've been able to learn things all over the world. Sounds like you haven't 222 00:13:57,230 --> 00:14:01,690 stopped. I haven't stopped, and I've got work scheduled right the way through 223 00:14:01,690 --> 00:14:05,490 till next year, and I'm having to think really hard about how I fulfil 224 00:14:05,490 --> 00:14:08,810 everything. Where are you finding most of your sales come from? Is it social 225 00:14:08,810 --> 00:14:09,810 media, website? 226 00:14:09,950 --> 00:14:10,970 Or in person sales? 227 00:14:11,350 --> 00:14:17,550 It's mainly once a year in July, I do an open studios. And in those three 228 00:14:17,550 --> 00:14:22,030 weekends, I can generate enough work to see me through the rest of the year into 229 00:14:22,030 --> 00:14:25,610 the new year. This year has been particularly busy, taking me through to 230 00:14:25,730 --> 00:14:27,070 April. Seriously? 231 00:14:27,330 --> 00:14:30,310 Seriously. Just in three weekends and just literally opening the door? 232 00:14:30,510 --> 00:14:32,810 Opening the door, let people come in and see what's here. 233 00:14:33,370 --> 00:14:38,450 They'll either buy what's there or they'll say, I'll be back in touch. And 234 00:14:38,450 --> 00:14:40,060 just... Very fortunate. 235 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:41,360 Wow. 236 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:46,520 Roy is just one of thousands of makers across the country who open their 237 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:47,560 on set days. 238 00:14:48,180 --> 00:14:53,480 Last year, he booked in over £20 ,000 worth of sales and commissions on his 239 00:14:53,480 --> 00:15:00,140 days, including an amazing £4 ,500 pangolin sculpture made up of 240 00:15:00,140 --> 00:15:01,280 handmade scales. 241 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:05,240 But that's not the only way he gets his orders. 242 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,060 I do sell things because they've gone out on social media. 243 00:15:09,260 --> 00:15:12,740 A few of your videos quite often pop up on my feed, one in particular. 244 00:15:13,140 --> 00:15:14,260 I know which one. 245 00:15:15,220 --> 00:15:20,040 That has done extremely well, hasn't it? That particular video, I was flame 246 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:25,760 painting a feather, about 25 seconds long, and it's had 24 .5 million views. 247 00:15:27,260 --> 00:15:29,040 24 million views? 248 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:30,280 And I don't know why. 249 00:15:30,860 --> 00:15:33,740 The joys of social media, who knows? 250 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:35,700 What do you think is your biggest seller? 251 00:15:35,940 --> 00:15:41,440 I've sold hundreds and hundreds of sets of lilies, and the maple leaf spheres 252 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:45,640 continue to be the big seller. In fact, my next five commissions are all maple 253 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:46,640 leaf spheres. 254 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:53,720 Roy's now sold 19 maple leaf spheres since the boot camp, and an incredible 255 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:58,460 of his lilies, priced between £90 and £105 for a set of three. 256 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:02,340 He's also expanded his range of volume pieces. 257 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:09,700 He now makes hummingbirds for £35, butterflies for £15, and these £35 258 00:16:09,700 --> 00:16:14,100 dragonflies, which he's going to show me how to make using pre -cut copper 259 00:16:14,100 --> 00:16:15,100 shapes. 260 00:16:15,300 --> 00:16:19,740 We're going to mark on this side where we want our lines to go in to our 261 00:16:19,740 --> 00:16:22,360 dragonfly. All the veins on the... All the veins, absolutely. 262 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:24,980 Like that. So I've got somewhere to follow. 263 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:29,460 You have been so busy since being at the boot camp. There must have been... I 264 00:16:29,460 --> 00:16:31,980 mean, that must come with its own challenges. 265 00:16:32,460 --> 00:16:38,300 The most difficult part really is scheduling my time and then 266 00:16:38,300 --> 00:16:43,980 trying to say no if somebody comes and asks me to make something when I know 267 00:16:43,980 --> 00:16:47,620 a fact that I've got five months' worth of work scheduled. 268 00:16:47,980 --> 00:16:51,040 Did you learn that the hard way by potentially upsetting people somewhere? 269 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:57,380 I did learn the hard way in that I fell foul of my wife who's... 270 00:16:57,710 --> 00:17:01,630 planning it all for me and then she's telling me that i'm going to let 271 00:17:01,630 --> 00:17:04,270 down you can't have your wife inside working out the schedule helping with 272 00:17:04,270 --> 00:17:08,410 planning and then you're here on the phone agreeing to more job yeah i'll do 273 00:17:08,410 --> 00:17:13,730 by tuesday no worries exactly exactly time management is a lesson every maker 274 00:17:13,730 --> 00:17:19,290 including me has had to learn with the guidelines on the dragonfly drawn we use 275 00:17:19,290 --> 00:17:22,550 roy's bead roller to make ridges in the wings along the lines 276 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:26,420 It's an innocuous little job that can be made to look really easy. 277 00:17:27,020 --> 00:17:29,220 Or you can make a dog's dinner of it, as you're about to see. 278 00:17:31,020 --> 00:17:37,800 It comes a bit like muscle memory, these 279 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:39,660 jobs, don't they, once you've done them a few times. 280 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:42,500 All right, last one, Roy. 281 00:17:45,140 --> 00:17:46,140 Here we go. Beautiful. 282 00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:48,500 OK? Yeah, lovely. Yeah? 283 00:17:48,940 --> 00:17:53,760 The next step for the dragonfly is brazing or joining the head to its body 284 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:59,900 a 3 ,150 degree flame and a specialised filler material called Phos Copper. 285 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:02,700 Introduce the rod and let it run round. 286 00:18:03,140 --> 00:18:04,540 There you go, you can see it going. 287 00:18:05,060 --> 00:18:06,880 Now let's turn that over. Nice. 288 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:08,440 A bit more rod this time. 289 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:10,680 Beautiful. 290 00:18:11,580 --> 00:18:14,600 After welding on the first set of wings, you have control. 291 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:15,940 Thank you, I've got it. 292 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:17,940 Well, I don't have control, but I've got it. 293 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:24,080 We add a wire, top it off with the second set of wings. 294 00:18:24,300 --> 00:18:27,540 There it goes. And wind the wire around the body to give it definition. 295 00:18:27,940 --> 00:18:30,680 The idea now is to follow that all the way down. 296 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,020 You want that gap to be consistent, though, don't you? Yeah. 297 00:18:34,060 --> 00:18:35,060 Yes, 298 00:18:35,460 --> 00:18:36,259 I do, Don. 299 00:18:36,260 --> 00:18:37,260 Over to you. 300 00:18:37,340 --> 00:18:39,060 Great. No pressure. No pressure. 301 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:41,160 All right. 302 00:18:44,590 --> 00:18:48,550 Hey, every dragonfly is different. There isn't a right or wrong. And running 303 00:18:48,550 --> 00:18:52,750 workshops for people, the worst thing you could do is say it has to be this, 304 00:18:52,890 --> 00:18:53,890 this, this, this and this. 305 00:18:54,090 --> 00:18:57,070 Would you say your workshops are one of your biggest successes? 306 00:18:57,570 --> 00:19:01,490 Yeah, I would say they are. I've got a waiting list now of people that want to 307 00:19:01,490 --> 00:19:03,190 do it. I've got return visitors. 308 00:19:03,690 --> 00:19:05,430 So it's a big part of the business financially. 309 00:19:05,770 --> 00:19:07,810 Yeah. You're teaching people this amazing craft. 310 00:19:08,130 --> 00:19:10,830 You clearly enjoy teaching. I love doing it. I love doing it. 311 00:19:11,230 --> 00:19:12,850 And I should continue to do so. 312 00:19:13,290 --> 00:19:14,330 That's really good. Yeah. 313 00:19:15,110 --> 00:19:19,450 I've had a brilliant day here. This has been so much fun. I'm pleased. 314 00:19:19,870 --> 00:19:24,070 To finish off the dragonfly, we're using the flame painting technique Roy used 315 00:19:24,070 --> 00:19:25,130 on his Nautilus. 316 00:19:25,970 --> 00:19:30,010 It's something I've been keen to try since I saw him do it two and a half 317 00:19:30,010 --> 00:19:32,510 ago. Try not to overheat it. 318 00:19:33,650 --> 00:19:34,649 Oh, there we go. 319 00:19:34,650 --> 00:19:36,210 You can see colours coming already. 320 00:19:36,930 --> 00:19:38,310 And just dab it on and pull away. 321 00:19:42,990 --> 00:19:43,990 That's nice. 322 00:19:45,950 --> 00:19:46,950 Beautiful. 323 00:19:47,250 --> 00:19:49,130 You've got lots of lovely colour coming now. 324 00:19:50,630 --> 00:19:51,630 That's it. 325 00:19:54,850 --> 00:19:56,270 Beautiful. Lovely. 326 00:19:57,770 --> 00:20:01,670 That looks good to me. Right, stop there. I'm going to quit while I'm 327 00:20:01,670 --> 00:20:03,390 would. Yeah, he looks good. Great, great. 328 00:20:03,710 --> 00:20:04,710 Good, perfect. 329 00:20:04,990 --> 00:20:08,210 That was mesmerising. I loved it. 330 00:20:09,010 --> 00:20:10,490 What an absolute joy. 331 00:20:11,050 --> 00:20:15,630 Although Roy makes it look far easier than it is, including a coat of lacquer 332 00:20:15,630 --> 00:20:20,090 protect it from the elements, the dragonfly usually takes around an hour 333 00:20:20,090 --> 00:20:25,210 and costs £35 to buy, or £150 to make one yourself in a workshop. 334 00:20:26,170 --> 00:20:27,109 Love it. 335 00:20:27,110 --> 00:20:28,430 Good in your car. Love it. 336 00:20:29,450 --> 00:20:34,450 The courses were something Roy's mentor Ian and I asked him to push more, and 337 00:20:34,450 --> 00:20:38,570 with up to 30 of them planned for the next 12 months, it's clear they're 338 00:20:38,570 --> 00:20:39,570 for him. 339 00:20:39,790 --> 00:20:44,390 Time now to find out if the other advice we gave him has had just as much of an 340 00:20:44,390 --> 00:20:47,570 impact on his business and how much money he's now making. 341 00:20:48,010 --> 00:20:52,130 I cannot believe that two and a half years has flown by since you were at the 342 00:20:52,130 --> 00:20:55,810 boot camp. But we did send you away with a bit of an action plan to try and help 343 00:20:55,810 --> 00:20:56,709 you build the business. 344 00:20:56,710 --> 00:21:00,610 You did. One of those pointers was to try and work on your lilies to make them 345 00:21:00,610 --> 00:21:03,030 more profitable by improving the tooling, improving efficiency. 346 00:21:03,770 --> 00:21:06,930 Yeah. They are looking so precise now. They're looking beautifully finished. 347 00:21:06,930 --> 00:21:08,450 They're sharper, aren't they? Yeah. Yeah, definitely. 348 00:21:08,690 --> 00:21:11,030 So different tooling. And they're selling well still. 349 00:21:11,490 --> 00:21:12,490 They're selling very well. 350 00:21:12,610 --> 00:21:16,610 Something else we wanted you to work on was your Nautilus and making it 3D, 351 00:21:16,730 --> 00:21:17,569 double -sided. 352 00:21:17,570 --> 00:21:18,770 Yeah. How's that? 353 00:21:19,270 --> 00:21:22,570 It's gone really, really well. Okay. It worked? They look stunning. 354 00:21:23,010 --> 00:21:25,190 And I just got rid of one last week. 355 00:21:25,970 --> 00:21:29,910 Roy has acted on all of the advice both Ian and I gave him. 356 00:21:30,170 --> 00:21:34,170 With his talent and determination, he's built himself a thriving business. 357 00:21:34,490 --> 00:21:37,830 And I'm looking forward to hearing what that's meant for his bottom line. 358 00:21:38,370 --> 00:21:39,810 Do you mind if we talk about numbers? 359 00:21:40,090 --> 00:21:42,190 No, please do. How's it looking so far? 360 00:21:42,410 --> 00:21:45,230 They're looking good. An income of 29 to 30k. 361 00:21:45,450 --> 00:21:47,970 Wow. For a year. That is huge. 362 00:21:48,370 --> 00:21:49,810 That is huge. It's a big number. 363 00:21:50,030 --> 00:21:52,470 And is it looking positive for next year as well? 364 00:21:52,690 --> 00:21:53,990 It's looking really positive. 365 00:21:54,370 --> 00:21:58,430 And it's like they say, if you find a job you love, you'll never work a day in 366 00:21:58,430 --> 00:21:59,149 your life. 367 00:21:59,150 --> 00:22:01,830 And that's how I feel. You are proof of that. 368 00:22:02,210 --> 00:22:07,210 Giving up an established job and secure income was a big decision for Roy. 369 00:22:07,430 --> 00:22:13,470 But to be earning £30 ,000 after costs so soon after leaving the boot camp is 370 00:22:13,470 --> 00:22:16,710 proof that it was very definitely the right one. 371 00:22:17,010 --> 00:22:22,530 The future for me now is really, really rosy. I love coming out here every 372 00:22:22,530 --> 00:22:26,230 single day of the week. The business has gone from strength to strength. 373 00:22:26,530 --> 00:22:27,530 I'm delighted. 374 00:22:35,340 --> 00:22:39,380 The second maker we're going to check in with today is jeweller Sarah, who 375 00:22:39,380 --> 00:22:41,100 travelled to my boot camp from Glasgow. 376 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:46,900 Just like Roy, she was looking for help to make a career change after a ruptured 377 00:22:46,900 --> 00:22:48,960 eardrum forced her to give up her job. 378 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:55,100 I was originally a teacher, but because my hearing was kind of reducing down, it 379 00:22:55,100 --> 00:22:59,100 became harder and harder to be able to hear the children, so I didn't think it 380 00:22:59,100 --> 00:23:00,100 was fair to stay. 381 00:23:00,810 --> 00:23:03,970 I started trying to look at other options and I know that I'm always going 382 00:23:03,970 --> 00:23:07,430 making jewellery. I just need to earn a living from it and believe in myself a 383 00:23:07,430 --> 00:23:08,430 little bit. 384 00:23:11,590 --> 00:23:15,910 As Sarah took the plunge and tried to turn her jewellery making into a full 385 00:23:15,910 --> 00:23:20,890 -time job, she was supported by self -taught goldsmith Sunny Bailey -Aird. 386 00:23:21,510 --> 00:23:26,770 Influenced by bygone eras, each of Sunny's pieces are unique and combine 387 00:23:26,770 --> 00:23:29,090 traditional techniques with a modern twist. 388 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:33,740 The biggest thing I would say to someone trying to transition from a hobby and 389 00:23:33,740 --> 00:23:36,820 turning it into their business is continue to make what you enjoy. 390 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:41,980 Customers will smell from a mile off if you're not true to what you're trying to 391 00:23:41,980 --> 00:23:45,200 do. If you're making what you love and you're making what you enjoy, customers 392 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:47,540 will see that and they'll want to buy into the story. 393 00:23:49,020 --> 00:23:52,780 For her volume piece, Sarah chose to make a pair of stud earrings. 394 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:57,360 Inspired by her love of the sea, which she developed whilst sailing with her 395 00:23:57,360 --> 00:23:58,480 father when she was young. 396 00:23:59,820 --> 00:24:04,600 Priced at £55, the circular silver studs were cast using a mould. 397 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:09,760 They were then hand -painted with blue enamel paint after being soldered to a 398 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:10,760 pair of earring posts. 399 00:24:11,980 --> 00:24:13,040 This is the flux. 400 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:17,600 It becomes sticky and allows your solders to stay in place. I'm just going 401 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:23,260 put a tiny bit on the back of each of those and then I'm going to make a tiny 402 00:24:23,260 --> 00:24:26,260 little puddle on the deck. 403 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:28,380 I'm just going to keep this. 404 00:24:29,150 --> 00:24:35,750 I'm using the flux as a guide, and I can see that that has 405 00:24:35,750 --> 00:24:37,730 soldered on, so I'm quite happy with that. 406 00:24:38,690 --> 00:24:42,850 The impact of losing your hearing in isolation, it's been tough. 407 00:24:43,850 --> 00:24:50,610 It's a struggle to meet with friends and talk to them because it's kind of hard 408 00:24:50,610 --> 00:24:52,630 to hear them, so I feel left out. 409 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:59,080 When I'm in the jewellery studio, it's just me, it's the silver, it's my tools. 410 00:24:59,360 --> 00:25:01,420 I don't have to worry about hearing people. 411 00:25:02,380 --> 00:25:05,620 I think with anything, no matter what you're facing, finding a way through it, 412 00:25:05,660 --> 00:25:08,700 it's really important and having the right people around you to do that. 413 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:11,560 And having something you love really helps as well. 414 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:18,560 With Sarah making good progress with her earrings, I sat down with Sunny to 415 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:20,040 discuss her second challenge. 416 00:25:20,750 --> 00:25:25,410 For her favourite piece, she brought along a stunning pendant necklace, once 417 00:25:25,410 --> 00:25:27,510 again inspired by her love of the sea. 418 00:25:29,090 --> 00:25:35,370 It took her around 10 hours to make, had material costs of £225 and an asking 419 00:25:35,370 --> 00:25:37,030 price of £650. 420 00:25:38,070 --> 00:25:42,290 I like the statement, I like the scale of it. Once you look into detail on it, 421 00:25:42,350 --> 00:25:45,890 you can see some bits that just require a little bit of time, just a little bit 422 00:25:45,890 --> 00:25:46,429 of care. 423 00:25:46,430 --> 00:25:50,130 Sarah's asking £650 for her pendant. It's at the higher end. 424 00:25:50,510 --> 00:25:54,090 for silver, but there's lots of techniques in there. You've got 425 00:25:54,230 --> 00:25:55,230 you've got stone setting. 426 00:25:55,410 --> 00:26:00,210 For such a labour -intensive piece, you might want to incorporate some higher 427 00:26:00,210 --> 00:26:01,109 -end materials. 428 00:26:01,110 --> 00:26:04,350 A little bit of gold in there, it's not going to add too much from a cost 429 00:26:04,350 --> 00:26:08,110 perspective to her, but the perceived value from the customer jumps up 430 00:26:08,110 --> 00:26:09,810 massively. That's a really good tip. 431 00:26:11,370 --> 00:26:16,230 Back at the jewellery station, Sarah had cleaned her silver sea -inspired stud 432 00:26:16,230 --> 00:26:20,110 earrings. and was hand -painting the enamel decoration onto them. 433 00:26:20,810 --> 00:26:24,050 I've experimented with different shades of blues and greens. 434 00:26:24,810 --> 00:26:29,650 This is the best combo that works for me in terms of trying to create seascapes. 435 00:26:30,350 --> 00:26:34,790 She applied three coats of enamel to each earring, firing them in the kiln 436 00:26:34,790 --> 00:26:35,790 between each layer. 437 00:26:36,670 --> 00:26:39,790 You want to open the drawer as quickly as you can so you don't lose the heat. 438 00:26:40,650 --> 00:26:44,450 and you need to melt the enamel to become smooth and get that lovely 439 00:26:44,450 --> 00:26:48,490 colour. The little studs should be in there for maybe one or two minutes. 440 00:26:48,890 --> 00:26:51,370 I'm just going to have a wee look and see how they're doing. 441 00:26:53,630 --> 00:26:58,190 I can see that they have gone quite nicely. 442 00:26:58,770 --> 00:27:03,050 I'm just putting them on here to cool down. So I can put layer two and layer 443 00:27:03,050 --> 00:27:04,050 three on. 444 00:27:05,230 --> 00:27:10,020 Once the final layer of enamel had set, Sarah made sure the earrings were nice 445 00:27:10,020 --> 00:27:14,140 and smooth before popping them back in the kiln to make them shiny again. 446 00:27:14,740 --> 00:27:17,240 They're looking great. I'm just going to let them cool down. 447 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:21,520 Then I'm going to remove the greenness of the silver and they'll look nice and 448 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:23,140 white when they're ready to go. 449 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:29,700 With material costs of £18 and a two -hour make time, Sarah's earrings were 450 00:27:29,700 --> 00:27:30,900 priced at £55. 451 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:35,580 There's lots of potential where you can take this. And I actually think that 452 00:27:35,580 --> 00:27:40,460 this alone in different scales can become a first signature collection. 453 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:43,320 It's an entry level for customers. 454 00:27:43,620 --> 00:27:47,160 It's relatively straightforward for you with your skill level to manufacture. 455 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:52,060 And I think we can take this into earrings, pendants, and even rings. 456 00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:58,560 So you've got a ready -made collection with not much work to do, really. 457 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:01,240 You've priced these at £55. 458 00:28:02,030 --> 00:28:04,010 Seems like a fair price to me for the work involved. 459 00:28:04,230 --> 00:28:06,170 What do you think? I think it's a fair price too. 460 00:28:06,810 --> 00:28:10,730 I think it's affordable. You're still making some money too, which is 461 00:28:11,090 --> 00:28:14,930 But also, the more you develop these skills, the easier that's going to 462 00:28:15,090 --> 00:28:16,570 which increases your margins. 463 00:28:16,970 --> 00:28:18,410 So, win -win. 464 00:28:19,030 --> 00:28:20,250 Thank you. Thank you. 465 00:28:21,750 --> 00:28:26,530 Sonny thought both of Sarah's first two pieces had bags of potential, and he was 466 00:28:26,530 --> 00:28:29,050 keen to do all he could to help her achieve that. 467 00:28:29,610 --> 00:28:33,930 So, for her third task, he set her a special mentor's challenge. 468 00:28:34,510 --> 00:28:38,990 Sarah generally makes earrings, pendants and necklaces, and we really wanted to 469 00:28:38,990 --> 00:28:44,470 incorporate some rings into her collection. So, my mentor's challenge 470 00:28:44,470 --> 00:28:47,570 is to create an affordable, entry -level ring. 471 00:28:48,410 --> 00:28:53,930 Sarah chose to make a C -ring, priced at £100, to tie in with the earrings she 472 00:28:53,930 --> 00:28:55,090 made for her volume piece. 473 00:28:55,600 --> 00:29:00,440 The silver band had a symmetrical design with three silver granulation balls on 474 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:03,320 each side of a domed bowl enamel centrepiece. 475 00:29:07,740 --> 00:29:10,800 Here we go. So we've got a little domed bowl. 476 00:29:11,060 --> 00:29:17,560 I am going to just file a little flat in the back because I want this to sit 477 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:18,580 nicely on the ring. 478 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:23,100 Once she'd cleaned the domed bowl and band, Sarah soldered them together. 479 00:29:25,420 --> 00:29:29,440 And moved on to making the granulation balls using scrap bits of wire. 480 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:31,180 I really like making balls. 481 00:29:31,460 --> 00:29:35,280 I make small ones, big ones. You can see this guy because it's two wee bits of 482 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:36,280 wire joined together. 483 00:29:38,620 --> 00:29:43,600 After soldering the finished granulation balls onto the band, she added enamel 484 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:45,000 to the domed bowl centre. 485 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:50,320 Being able to do that is something I love, so it's bringing me joy. 486 00:29:50,660 --> 00:29:54,560 The kids and my partner have commented how much more happy I am. 487 00:29:54,910 --> 00:29:56,630 It'd be really nice to get paid for it. 488 00:29:59,390 --> 00:30:04,150 Sarah's sea ring took her around an hour and a half to make and she priced it at 489 00:30:04,150 --> 00:30:09,810 £100. Sitting alongside her sea stud earrings, it helped to build a very 490 00:30:09,810 --> 00:30:10,810 saleable collection. 491 00:30:11,190 --> 00:30:15,370 And thanks to Sunny's encouragement, she had some good news about the earrings 492 00:30:15,370 --> 00:30:17,110 before she even left the garden. 493 00:30:18,350 --> 00:30:23,270 I was chatting with Sonny and he was saying, come on, you need to think about 494 00:30:23,270 --> 00:30:24,270 this, think about that. 495 00:30:24,410 --> 00:30:27,530 And I was like, right, I'm going to try. I'm going to try and approach maybe a 496 00:30:27,530 --> 00:30:28,530 gallery or shop. 497 00:30:28,570 --> 00:30:33,790 And it's through a message. And remarkably, the women responded saying, 498 00:30:33,850 --> 00:30:35,630 absolutely, send me a pricing. 499 00:30:36,170 --> 00:30:39,750 She's full at the moment, but is looking to take orders. That's absolutely 500 00:30:39,750 --> 00:30:40,850 amazing. Massive. 501 00:30:41,100 --> 00:30:45,380 in no time at all the first message you send yeah and it's good news testament 502 00:30:45,380 --> 00:30:49,320 to the quality of work that someone's going to respond within five minutes 503 00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:56,180 yeah i think literally to keep up the momentum we 504 00:30:56,180 --> 00:31:01,880 gave sarah an action plan to continue building her business first she needed 505 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:06,980 develop an affordable signature collection of earrings a pendant 506 00:31:06,980 --> 00:31:12,440 ring in a range of different colors Next, we wanted her to refine her pieces 507 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:13,540 make them more saleable. 508 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:18,840 Finally, she needed to introduce other materials like gold into her work. 509 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:26,720 For the next two months, Sunny supported Sarah as she worked to kickstart her 510 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:30,900 business. And she started by working on creating an affordable signature 511 00:31:30,900 --> 00:31:34,660 collection, made up of earrings, a ring, and a pendant necklace. 512 00:31:35,980 --> 00:31:41,160 So I've got more of these guys to tidy up. And then we'll have a little D -link 513 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:47,700 in the back so that they can go on a chain. And these guys here all have a 514 00:31:47,700 --> 00:31:48,720 little piston. 515 00:31:49,060 --> 00:31:54,180 All I need to do tomorrow is start putting all the cool colours into them. 516 00:31:55,100 --> 00:31:58,840 After just a few days, her collections started coming together. 517 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:01,120 This is the ring. 518 00:32:01,380 --> 00:32:05,240 And then a necklace with a little D -link in the back. 519 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:10,600 As Sarah shared a kiln in her studio, she got in touch with Creative Scotland, 520 00:32:10,980 --> 00:32:13,820 an organisation that supports culture and creativity. 521 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:20,760 I have applied for funding for a kiln of my own and to be able to get some 522 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:21,860 tuition and engraving. 523 00:32:22,060 --> 00:32:24,120 And this is one of my classes. 524 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:29,640 A few weeks later, she was awarded the grant she applied for and wasted no time 525 00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:30,640 spending it. 526 00:32:30,900 --> 00:32:33,420 I have my kiln. 527 00:32:33,740 --> 00:32:35,080 It's going to be life -changing. 528 00:32:46,399 --> 00:32:50,800 With support from Sunny, Sarah spent eight weeks following the boot camp, 529 00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:54,940 working 24 -7 to give her business every chance of success. 530 00:32:55,980 --> 00:33:00,160 And when she came back to tell us how she'd got on, the results had made it 531 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:01,160 worthwhile. 532 00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:03,920 Sarah, I'm quite excited to ask you now. 533 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:06,260 How much you've earned over the last eight weeks? 534 00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:11,200 I have earned just almost 5 ,000 pounds. 535 00:33:11,900 --> 00:33:13,120 5 ,000 pounds? 536 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:16,220 Yes. I honestly cannot believe that. 537 00:33:16,740 --> 00:33:23,540 Even after taking off her costs, Sarah had absolutely 538 00:33:23,540 --> 00:33:28,220 nailed it and proved that she had what it took to build a brilliant jewellery 539 00:33:28,220 --> 00:33:29,220 business. 540 00:33:31,540 --> 00:33:33,040 18 months later... 541 00:33:33,290 --> 00:33:37,670 She's done just that, and I've asked Sunny to pop up to Glasgow to find out 542 00:33:37,670 --> 00:33:42,410 about her fabulous success and how much she's earning now. 543 00:33:43,910 --> 00:33:46,190 Hi! Good to see you. 544 00:33:46,530 --> 00:33:52,510 Hello. In the camp? When Sarah came to the boot camp, she was already working 545 00:33:52,510 --> 00:33:56,450 a professional jewellery -making studio, and she's still making all her pieces 546 00:33:56,450 --> 00:33:58,130 in this fantastic workshop. 547 00:33:59,439 --> 00:34:00,780 Sarah, what an amazing space. 548 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:02,920 What a joy it must be to work here every day. 549 00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:06,820 It is, and it feels like home. I've got the use of all the tools. 550 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:10,679 I've got an amazing kind of knowledge bank of all the other jewellers that 551 00:34:10,679 --> 00:34:12,800 here, their support, their help. 552 00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:15,120 And, yeah, no, it's absolutely brilliant. 553 00:34:15,380 --> 00:34:16,880 How's business been as of late? 554 00:34:18,130 --> 00:34:22,030 I've been really busy this month. I've got four or five commissions on. 555 00:34:22,489 --> 00:34:26,230 Just kind of checking out some of the finer details on some of them. I've got 556 00:34:26,230 --> 00:34:30,350 some engagement rings and the wedding rings that are due to be sent off for a 557 00:34:30,350 --> 00:34:31,350 wedding in April. 558 00:34:31,550 --> 00:34:34,250 It's so good to hear about your bespoke commissions and keeping you so busy. 559 00:34:35,010 --> 00:34:39,889 Yeah, I think it was last year that I actually put out on social media that I 560 00:34:39,889 --> 00:34:42,570 was closed for commissions and that still didn't stop. 561 00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:50,260 requests and people asking and I have a wait list and I'm still this month got 562 00:34:50,260 --> 00:34:53,880 four or five in that I'm working on plus the online orders. 563 00:34:54,300 --> 00:34:57,020 Where do you find that you've been getting a lot of your leads and sales 564 00:34:58,100 --> 00:35:03,940 Some of it's returning customers some of it is word of mouth and I get friends 565 00:35:03,940 --> 00:35:06,900 who like customers that I've worked with before. 566 00:35:07,380 --> 00:35:10,380 I've got three stockists that take my work. 567 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:14,100 Sometimes it's markets. Are you making any new pieces or collections? 568 00:35:14,780 --> 00:35:19,300 I am. I took on board what you said about using more high -end materials and 569 00:35:19,300 --> 00:35:25,920 have made a little silver heart range which has a 18 karat gold bezel and is 570 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:26,920 with a ruby. 571 00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:32,320 It's brilliant to hear how busy Sarah is. It's also good to know that she's 572 00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:34,160 the advice we gave her at the bootcamp. 573 00:35:34,430 --> 00:35:39,010 to work with more expensive materials like gold to lift the quality of her 574 00:35:39,170 --> 00:35:43,290 And she's going to show Sunny how she makes the heart pendant from her new 575 00:35:43,290 --> 00:35:47,350 golden ruby collection, which is priced at £395. 576 00:35:48,690 --> 00:35:51,930 She starts by creating a heart -shaped wax model. 577 00:35:52,370 --> 00:35:57,390 I've drawn round and I have my little heart good to go. I'm just going to 578 00:35:57,390 --> 00:36:00,470 my line round with my saw and cut it out. 579 00:36:06,380 --> 00:36:08,360 It needs a little bit of TLC. 580 00:36:08,660 --> 00:36:11,600 These are my special wax files I only use for wax. 581 00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:13,800 Let's get a wee bit smoother. 582 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:16,120 I'm happy with how it looks. 583 00:36:16,700 --> 00:36:18,620 And then I'll start to shape it in. 584 00:36:18,860 --> 00:36:21,000 This is going to be the base of my pendant. 585 00:36:21,580 --> 00:36:25,200 Having created the wax model, it's time to make the silver version. 586 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:27,880 And Sarah is going to cast it using sand. 587 00:36:28,580 --> 00:36:30,060 I'm just going to chop up the sand. 588 00:36:33,240 --> 00:36:34,240 A bit like cooking. 589 00:36:34,990 --> 00:36:35,990 Feel like I'm making pastry. 590 00:36:36,970 --> 00:36:38,110 Jeweler turned baker. 591 00:36:40,170 --> 00:36:41,450 Multitasking hat, as always. 592 00:36:42,570 --> 00:36:44,650 You do wear many hats as a business owner. 593 00:36:46,270 --> 00:36:47,810 Some better than others. 594 00:36:50,050 --> 00:36:54,810 Sarah fills a silver ring with sand, which she's going to place her wax heart 595 00:36:54,810 --> 00:36:55,810 model into. 596 00:36:56,010 --> 00:36:57,910 I'm just going to scrape off the excess. 597 00:37:00,070 --> 00:37:01,730 And place the heart in the middle. 598 00:37:02,700 --> 00:37:07,320 and then I am going to push it in so it's halfway in. 599 00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:12,720 With the wax model placed in the sand, Sarah puts another ring on top and fills 600 00:37:12,720 --> 00:37:13,820 that with sand too. 601 00:37:17,240 --> 00:37:22,180 After the rings are separated and the wax removed, two half -heart moulds are 602 00:37:22,180 --> 00:37:27,140 left, and Sarah then makes air holes in the sand in the top ring to allow steam 603 00:37:27,140 --> 00:37:30,060 from the molten silver she'll be pouring in to escape. 604 00:37:31,210 --> 00:37:35,710 It's amazing how something so simple and relatively primitive is used even 605 00:37:35,710 --> 00:37:38,730 today. I mean, this is a technique that's been used for thousands of years, 606 00:37:38,790 --> 00:37:42,650 literally thousands of years, and we're still using it today. It's amazing. 607 00:37:43,030 --> 00:37:47,250 It is amazing. I can almost imagine the caveman or somebody in their own age 608 00:37:47,250 --> 00:37:48,250 doing this. 609 00:37:48,730 --> 00:37:52,850 Sarah creates a channel through which the silver will be poured into the 610 00:37:53,010 --> 00:37:57,830 then joins her two rings back together and melts down some recycled, scrapped 611 00:37:57,830 --> 00:37:58,830 silver. 612 00:38:03,500 --> 00:38:10,260 The hot metal is poured into the mould, and once it's set, 613 00:38:10,380 --> 00:38:12,060 she tidies up the silver heart, 614 00:38:12,240 --> 00:38:19,000 and solders on an 615 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:23,320 18 carat gold circular ring, or bezel, for the ruby to sit in. 616 00:38:25,020 --> 00:38:30,340 After cleaning it up in a special acidic solution, she solders on a silver ring 617 00:38:30,340 --> 00:38:32,200 that will attach the pendant to a chain. 618 00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:37,920 And after cleaning that, moves on to creating a recess or hole for her ruby 619 00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:38,920 the gold bezel. 620 00:38:45,860 --> 00:38:51,740 I'm just going to check how deep we are so that I know how far down I need to 621 00:38:51,740 --> 00:38:53,240 go. So I'm just going to find my stone. 622 00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:55,900 Nice, gorgeous ruby. 623 00:38:56,160 --> 00:38:57,580 I'm going to check how we're doing. 624 00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:00,480 Probably just a squidge more. 625 00:39:01,130 --> 00:39:04,570 I'm just going to switch over to this and this creates a little wedge for the 626 00:39:04,570 --> 00:39:05,570 stone to sit on. 627 00:39:15,190 --> 00:39:16,830 Okay, it's looking pretty good. 628 00:39:17,070 --> 00:39:20,570 I'm pretty happy with how that's sitting. 629 00:39:21,050 --> 00:39:25,670 To finish, Sarah pushes in the sides of the gold bezel to hold the ruby in 630 00:39:25,670 --> 00:39:26,670 place. 631 00:39:27,190 --> 00:39:29,050 Then gives the pendant a polish. 632 00:39:29,930 --> 00:39:34,350 It's looking nice and shiny now, so I'm going to pop it through the chain and 633 00:39:34,350 --> 00:39:35,350 it's good to go. 634 00:39:39,690 --> 00:39:44,890 Sarah's new silver heart pendant with a gold set ruby has material costs of £200 635 00:39:44,890 --> 00:39:49,070 and with a make time of five hours is priced at £395. 636 00:39:49,830 --> 00:39:54,350 It comes with matching earrings that she charges £785 for. 637 00:39:55,670 --> 00:40:00,290 It's great to see Sarah working with new materials, and she's also turned her 638 00:40:00,290 --> 00:40:03,310 beautiful sea pendant into an affordable signature collection. 639 00:40:04,450 --> 00:40:08,690 But I'm keen to know about how she's been refining her pieces, and how much 640 00:40:08,690 --> 00:40:10,630 money her business is now making her. 641 00:40:11,350 --> 00:40:14,310 Sarah, it's been great to see how you've been tackling most of your action plan, 642 00:40:14,470 --> 00:40:17,390 but one of the things we asked you to try and work on was some refinement. 643 00:40:17,610 --> 00:40:19,250 How have you been trying to bring that to the fore? 644 00:40:20,030 --> 00:40:24,790 I've been trying to refine my practice depending on what my client wants, 645 00:40:24,930 --> 00:40:30,350 whether it's adding different settings, different metals, whether it's platinum, 646 00:40:30,590 --> 00:40:32,410 18 karat gold, different stones. 647 00:40:32,630 --> 00:40:38,170 I have an engagement ring that I've It's set with pink sapphires, diamonds, and 648 00:40:38,170 --> 00:40:40,630 it's in platinum. It's a matching platinum wedding band. 649 00:40:40,930 --> 00:40:44,690 Platinum is so interesting because it has to get so hot, pretty much double 650 00:40:44,690 --> 00:40:47,330 amount of heat that is required to work with gold. 651 00:40:47,530 --> 00:40:49,450 So that alone is a massive hurdle. 652 00:40:49,690 --> 00:40:50,870 You have to have eye protection. 653 00:40:51,170 --> 00:40:55,310 You have to have specific tooling so that they don't just literally melt. And 654 00:40:55,310 --> 00:40:59,910 you can contaminate platinum, which is another hurdle that you have to get 655 00:40:59,990 --> 00:41:04,070 So it takes a lot of planning and, like we've been mentioning, refinement. 656 00:41:05,640 --> 00:41:06,800 I've been working on it. 657 00:41:07,740 --> 00:41:13,360 It's clear that Sarah has worked with dedication and real determination on 658 00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:14,840 aspect of her action plan. 659 00:41:15,140 --> 00:41:19,440 And I'm excited to find out what effect that's had on the income she makes from 660 00:41:19,440 --> 00:41:20,440 her jewellery making. 661 00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:24,340 In order to have a business, we need to have some money involved as well. 662 00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:25,800 Talk to me. 663 00:41:27,620 --> 00:41:28,538 We do. 664 00:41:28,540 --> 00:41:33,180 And I am doing so much better than I'd like ever have. 665 00:41:33,400 --> 00:41:38,440 I'm now making around 30 ,000 a year. Hey, that is so good. So good. 666 00:41:39,300 --> 00:41:40,300 Proper business. 667 00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:41,520 It's a proper business. 668 00:41:42,300 --> 00:41:44,620 Yeah, I actually can say I have a proper business. 669 00:41:44,980 --> 00:41:45,980 You must be so proud. 670 00:41:46,600 --> 00:41:51,640 I am. Yes, I am. I still have moments of disbelief. And it's happening. 671 00:41:52,080 --> 00:41:54,200 And yes, it is happening. 672 00:41:54,420 --> 00:41:56,800 And I hope it continues to happen. 673 00:41:57,020 --> 00:41:59,820 Well, if you continue to put in the work that you have been putting in, I can't 674 00:41:59,820 --> 00:42:03,700 see why it can't stay the same and grow even more. I think the one thing that 675 00:42:03,700 --> 00:42:07,000 you should be aware of is that you've done all this work yourself. Of course, 676 00:42:07,020 --> 00:42:10,260 you've had community and friends around you and they help lift you up. But you 677 00:42:10,260 --> 00:42:12,320 put in the work and you put in the dedication. 678 00:42:13,260 --> 00:42:14,400 to take this further. 679 00:42:14,660 --> 00:42:17,820 And it wouldn't go anywhere without the work that you've been putting in, not 680 00:42:17,820 --> 00:42:20,940 only your technical and design skills, but your effort and dedication to the 681 00:42:20,940 --> 00:42:23,800 craft. And I think that's something you should be super proud of. 682 00:42:24,300 --> 00:42:25,960 Thank you. Thank you very much. 683 00:42:26,380 --> 00:42:27,880 I agree with Sonny. 684 00:42:28,100 --> 00:42:33,460 Making £30 ,000 a year off the costs just 18 months after leaving my boot 685 00:42:33,460 --> 00:42:35,100 is an outstanding achievement. 686 00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:41,400 Sarah's now got a long -term sustainable business and having worked so hard to 687 00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:44,320 build it, she deserves every bit of her success. 688 00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:52,020 I think having a career that is guaranteed and to have the leap of faith 689 00:42:52,020 --> 00:42:57,300 leave that and to be able to go and do something that is self -employed, that 690 00:42:57,300 --> 00:43:02,000 isn't guaranteed, is hard. But I'm getting to do what I love, which is 691 00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:03,000 important. 692 00:43:06,540 --> 00:43:08,780 Want some help building a business that lasts? 693 00:43:09,100 --> 00:43:14,200 Visit the Open University's interactive guide for practical help to sustain and 694 00:43:14,200 --> 00:43:15,200 grow your business. 695 00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:22,540 Scan the QR code on screen or visit connect .open .ac .uk forward 696 00:43:22,540 --> 00:43:24,240 slash I made it at market.