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00:00Our country is full of incredible makers
00:03dreaming of turning their talent into money-making careers.
00:07It would mean everything to be able to do this full-time.
00:10So, with a team of fantastic professional mentors...
00:14I know your talent, and I know what you're capable of doing.
00:16I run a one-of-a-kind boot camp, showing them how to do just that.
00:21Perfect.
00:21My proudest moment, I'll go share that.
00:23Yes!
00:24Now I'm on my way to catch up with those who have made their dreams come true.
00:28Hello!
00:28There he is! Hello, mate!
00:30I'll be hearing about their amazing achievements.
00:33I've been able to put down a deposit on a house.
00:35This is my full-time job.
00:37And finding out how much money they're making.
00:40A little bit under £40,000.
00:42Around £50,000.
00:43£50,000?
00:44Yeah.
00:44So join me and meet the fabulous makers
00:47who have transformed their lives and made it at market.
00:50You can kindly say I am living the dream.
00:53I think that's fair to say.
01:03No matter how brilliant they might be at making their pieces,
01:06the one thing that everyone who comes to my boot camp struggles with
01:10is being able to market and sell enough of their work
01:13to build a successful business.
01:15Today, we'll be meeting two who have overcome that hurdle.
01:20Later, we'll be checking in with former teacher and jeweller Sarah in Glasgow,
01:26whose success has meant she's had to take drastic action
01:29after being inundated with orders.
01:31I actually put out on social media that I was closed for commissions
01:35and that still didn't stop the quest.
01:39But first, I'll be catching up with Coppersmith Roy in Wiltshire.
01:46He came to my boot camp in the summer of 2023,
01:50hoping we could help him turn his love of metal sculpture
01:52into a full-time career,
01:54after recently quitting his job in IT.
01:58I felt that at 61 years old,
02:01now was the time.
02:02It was now or never.
02:03And I've been threatening to do it for five years.
02:05I just really haven't had the courage.
02:09To figure out the best way of helping Roy get the sales he needed
02:12to kick-start his business,
02:14I gave him three tasks.
02:16The first of which was to make a volume piece,
02:19something he could make quickly and sell affordably.
02:23He chose to make a decorative copper lily,
02:26finished with an inner spike and stem,
02:28then covered with lacquer
02:30to prevent discolouration and ageing.
02:38Once he'd cut his template,
02:40Roy used a process called annealing,
02:42which involved heating the metal,
02:44then cooling it,
02:45to make it pliable and easy to shape.
02:48I'm just going to heat this up to a cherry red.
02:53The flame itself is just over 3,000 degrees of heat.
02:57It's amazingly hot.
02:59Very, very quick.
03:01So I'll come back to the end like that.
03:04OK, turn that off.
03:05And then I can either leave it to cool in the air,
03:09or I can quench it.
03:11That is as soft as you like, ready for shaping.
03:13To help Roy make a success of his lifelong passion,
03:17he was guided by mentor Ian Gill.
03:20Ian is an outstanding metalworking sculptor
03:23whose fantastic creations are displayed
03:25in well-known locations,
03:27like Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir Hotel in Oxfordshire
03:30and the Chelsea Flower Show.
03:33How are you getting on?
03:34I've just annealed this piece.
03:36Right.
03:36And I'm about to shape my lily.
03:38Such a soft material,
03:39it's not very difficult to do at all, really.
03:43And all I do now, from here,
03:46is I take my little curved pliers
03:48and then I'll just put my crease all the way around.
03:52If you was to potentially cut a sheet out of all of these
03:57and have them all done,
03:59it would speed your process up so much more
04:01and therefore it would make it more cost-effective for you as well.
04:04Super. What a great tip.
04:07While Roy focused on his volume piece,
04:09I wanted to work out with Ian
04:11how else he could make money from his skills.
04:14To do that,
04:15I'd ask him to bring a second, higher-end piece to my bootcamp,
04:19something with a heftier price tag.
04:21Roy decided to showcase a magnificent maple leaf sphere.
04:26A one-metre diameter frame was covered with around 200 handmade leaves.
04:31It took him around 13 days to complete
04:35and had an asking price of £3,000.
04:38He could pretty much sell that anywhere.
04:40All the top garden shows, garden sculpture exhibitions.
04:44It's quite high-end, isn't it?
04:45Absolutely.
04:46Roy's put an asking price of £3,000 on that piece,
04:49which, for the amount of work involved, seems quite fair.
04:51Very fair.
04:52Yeah.
04:53In the right places, I think he could actually get more money than that.
04:55He could make bigger ones, possibly.
04:57Yeah, imagine that.
04:58Yeah.
05:01Back in the forge, Roy was concentrating on his volume piece,
05:05and having shaped the outer part of his copper lily,
05:08he was about to attach the inner spike.
05:11There's my little jig that I've made for the process.
05:15All that happens is that sits underneath like that,
05:20and then when I weld it down here,
05:22it's at the right position within the flower.
05:25I'm going to weld it with a FOSS copper welding rod,
05:29which melts at a very low melting point compared to the copper.
05:33There you can see it going.
05:37Get rid of that.
05:40Flip it over and finish the weld.
05:44With the inner spike and flower welded together,
05:47Roy removed the discolouration caused by welding
05:50using a special acidic solution
05:53before polishing the lily and adding a coat of lacquer.
05:57It's a UV-resistant lacquer,
05:59so that when this goes out in the garden,
06:02it'll maintain its shine and not be dulled by the sun.
06:06It's not a long job.
06:08It's quite pleasing and rewarding, actually, as well,
06:10to make sure that you've covered every square millimetre of this.
06:16To finish, Roy filed away any roughness on the stick
06:20that formed the stem and slid it onto his flower.
06:24The lily took 75 minutes to create,
06:26and with copper and steel costs of £10,
06:29he gave it an asking price of £30 to £35,
06:33depending on size.
06:34I will say, if it's OK,
06:36I just feel like there's areas like the finish that you could improve.
06:40I don't know if you've talked about that.
06:41We have looked at making a jig to make the shape.
06:45Brilliant.
06:45That would just transform them.
06:47Yeah.
06:47The small ones are £30.
06:49Yeah.
06:49The large ones are £35.
06:50They are.
06:51Ian, what do you think?
06:51Are these saleable?
06:53Definitely.
06:54At the moment, how are you selling them?
06:56Are you selling them individually?
06:56Just individually.
06:57If you could sell three-in-one here as a set,
06:59I don't think it would cost you any more with regards to postage.
07:03It would up your sell.
07:04Mm-hm.
07:05And perhaps when you're displaying them,
07:06put three in a pot,
07:07people get to just see that three.
07:09That's great advice.
07:11We'll find out shortly how Roy's lilies are selling now.
07:15But for his final challenge at the boot camp,
07:17I asked him to produce his favourite piece
07:19to see if what he enjoyed making the most
07:22could also be a money spinner.
07:25He chose to create a flame-painted Nautilus
07:28standing 50 centimetres tall,
07:31its 46 cuts represented stripes
07:33on the spiral-shaped C-creature.
07:37He started by marking out his template,
07:40then cut around the outline.
07:48That's a bit easier than cutting it by hand.
07:52Now I'm going to plasma cut out my negative spaces.
07:55There are 46 of them to do,
07:57and this is the jeopardy bit.
07:58I really must take my time
08:00and make sure I don't make mistakes.
08:05There's a small compressor in my little plasma cutter.
08:09It creates an electric arc
08:11which melts the copper on the top,
08:13and then the compressed air blows the copper away.
08:18Whilst Roy was working on his Nautilus,
08:21Ian had been thinking about
08:22how to help him generate money quickly for his business.
08:26So you run courses?
08:27I have run courses on small bowls,
08:30and I've often thought that I should do some more.
08:32Maybe you need to push your courses,
08:34cos that could be quite a good revenue for you.
08:36Yeah.
08:36But you could have people put their name down on the list,
08:38and when you get to the amount of candidates you need,
08:41you run another course.
08:42And then if people really enjoy it,
08:44you can maybe do something a little bit more intricate,
08:46and then you can get people coming back.
08:48Repeat offenders.
08:49Absolutely.
08:53Once all 46 cutouts had been created,
08:56Roy smoothed the rough edges,
08:58then warmed the copper to soften it
09:00before adding a crease to form the shape.
09:03I'll follow this line all the way around,
09:07and you'll see it's pushing the copper in.
09:10After making a dent all around the middle of the Nautilus,
09:13Roy shaped the rest of it
09:14with the help of a sandbag and mallet.
09:19Then he started flame painting
09:21using an oxy-acetylene blowtorch and an air compressor.
09:25I'm literally painting with the flame.
09:29As I'm going, you'll see the blues and the purples.
09:34I'm going to try and freeze it into the pinks.
09:37So there's a bit of purple there.
09:39I can come in and develop that.
09:40And you'll see the blue will go to a gold,
09:42will go to a pink.
09:43So I'll come back into there,
09:46the blue,
09:47to a gold,
09:47and if you wait beyond,
09:49it'll go a turquoise.
09:51When I finish the whole thing,
09:52I will lacquer it,
09:53and that'll be it, finished.
09:56With copper costs of £30,
09:58plus workshop and welding costs on top,
10:01along with a make time of around six hours,
10:04Roy gave his flame-painted Nautilus
10:06a price tag of £295.
10:10It looks really good, Roy.
10:12Using the scrap pieces that you've got,
10:15that you've cut out,
10:16you could connect another one on the back,
10:18making it a three-dimensional piece,
10:20and then you could connect a rod underneath
10:23and put it onto a plinth,
10:24so it'd be a standalone,
10:26so you get the light shining through it,
10:27you get great shadows,
10:28so that would enable you to possibly up the cost.
10:31That turns it into a proper,
10:33big, three-dimensional sculpture.
10:35Yeah.
10:35Make it epic.
10:36Yeah.
10:38Roy's decision to launch a coppersmithing business
10:40may have been a long-held dream,
10:42but as he headed home to Wiltshire,
10:45we came up with an action plan
10:46to turn it into a reality.
10:49First, he needed to develop his designs
10:52by making his Nautilus an impressive 3D sculpture.
10:56Next, we wanted Roy to make his lilies more profitable
10:59by refining and speeding up their production,
11:02as well as selling them in sets of three.
11:06Finally, he needed to push his courses
11:08and offer options for returning customers.
11:13For the next two months,
11:15Ian continued to support Roy
11:17as he worked on his action plan,
11:19starting with ordering a batch of copper lily templates
11:22to speed up their production.
11:24They're looking rather fabulous,
11:26and that would save me an awful lot
11:28of cutting by hand.
11:30A new tool helped him save even more time,
11:33as well as giving the lilies
11:34the more polished finish I was looking for.
11:37And this new jig should make it much quicker
11:40to form them.
11:42Because they're annealed,
11:44it's really soft,
11:46and as you can now see,
11:49there's a small one,
11:50beautifully done.
11:52Roy worked hard on his social media too,
11:55promoting his workshops with positive results.
11:59Pressure on the lower bar,
12:01and literally,
12:01just tap,
12:02you'll feel how long you need to tap it.
12:06And then it's done too,
12:08I'm afraid.
12:09Just elbow grease.
12:10Elbow, exactly.
12:13Roy spent eight weeks
12:14carrying out Ian's advice to the letter,
12:16and when he reported back to us at the boot camp,
12:19he had more than reaped the rewards.
12:21I've made just over £4,100.
12:25£4,000?
12:26Yeah.
12:26That's brilliant.
12:27Really?
12:27Yeah.
12:28Fantastic, Roy.
12:29From sales and the course.
12:30That's amazing, isn't it just?
12:32How does that feel?
12:33I'm very happy with it.
12:34The bank account will be all the better for it.
12:38Roy needed to deduct his costs
12:40from his fantastic sales,
12:41but in just two months,
12:43he proved that he could make brilliant pieces
12:45and sell enough of them
12:47to build a sustainable business.
12:52Two and a half years later,
12:53I've come to Wiltshire to hear all about his success
12:56and find out how much money he's making now.
13:00Come in.
13:01Hello.
13:03This fantastic workshop converted from a garage
13:06is right next to Roy's house,
13:08and it's a maker's dream.
13:11This place is amazing.
13:12It's my favourite place in the world.
13:14I can tell.
13:15I really can tell.
13:16How long have you been working in this space then?
13:18Oh, about five, six years,
13:19but since boot camp,
13:21I've had to completely remodel it
13:24and try and tidy it up for visitors for my workshops.
13:27They're becoming a big part of the business now,
13:28the workshops, are they?
13:29They are.
13:29I run...
13:30I can't tell you how many I've run this year.
13:32That's amazing.
13:32It's not just workshops that you're running here, though.
13:34You're clearly making your own pieces still.
13:36Absolutely.
13:37This is my home from home.
13:38I'm out here every single day of the week.
13:41I can see why.
13:42It's a fantastic space to be creative.
13:45But I want to know more about Roy's achievements.
13:49I'm so excited to hear how the business has been going.
13:51Since boot camp, I really haven't looked back.
13:54I've been able to send things all over the world.
13:56Sounds like you haven't stopped.
13:57I haven't stopped,
13:58and I've got work scheduled right the way through till next year,
14:02and I'm having to think really hard about how I fulfil everything.
14:06Where are you finding most of your sales come from?
14:08Is it social media, website, or in-person sales?
14:11It's mainly once a year.
14:14In July, I do an open studios.
14:16And in those three weekends,
14:18I can generate enough work to see me through the rest of the year
14:21into the new year.
14:23This year's been particularly busy,
14:24taking me through till March, April.
14:26Seriously?
14:27Seriously.
14:28Just in three weekends,
14:29or just literally opening the door?
14:30Opening the door,
14:31let people come in and see what's here.
14:33They'll either buy what's there,
14:35or they'll say,
14:37I'll be back in touch,
14:38and I'm just very fortunate.
14:40Wow.
14:42Roy is just one of thousands of makers across the country
14:45who open their studios on set days.
14:48Last year,
14:49he booked in over £20,000 worth of sales and commissions
14:52on his open days,
14:54including an amazing £4,500 pangolin sculpture
14:58made up of individually handmade scales.
15:02But that's not the only way he gets his orders.
15:05I do sell things because they've gone out on social media.
15:09A few of your videos quite often pop up on my feed.
15:12One in particular.
15:13I know which one.
15:15That has done extremely well, hasn't it?
15:17That particular video,
15:19I was flame-painting a feather,
15:21about 25 seconds long,
15:22and it's had 24 and a half million views.
15:2724 million views?
15:29And I don't know why.
15:31The joys of social media.
15:33Yeah.
15:33Who knows?
15:34What do you think is your biggest seller?
15:36I've sold hundreds and hundreds of sets of lilies,
15:40and the maple leaf spheres continue to be the big seller.
15:43In fact, my next five commissions are all maple leaf spheres.
15:47Roy's now sold 19 maple leaf spheres since the boot camp
15:51and an incredible 750 of his lilies,
15:55priced between £90 and £105 for a set of three.
15:59He's also expanded his range of volume pieces.
16:03He now makes hummingbirds for £35,
16:06butterflies for £15,
16:07and these £35 dragonflies,
16:10which he's going to show me how to make
16:12using pre-cut copper shapes.
16:15We're going to mark on this side
16:17where we want our lines to go in to our dragonfly.
16:20Sort of the veins on the...
16:21All the veins, absolutely.
16:23Like that.
16:23So I've got somewhere to follow.
16:25You have been so busy since being at the boot camp.
16:28There must have been...
16:29I mean, that must come with its own challenges.
16:32The most difficult part, really,
16:34is scheduling my time
16:37and then trying to say no
16:40if somebody comes and asks me to make something
16:43when I know for a fact
16:44that I've got five months' worth of work scheduled.
16:48Did you learn that the hard way
16:49by potentially upsetting people somewhere?
16:51I did learn the hard way in that
16:54I fell foul of my wife
16:57who's planning it all for me
16:59and then she's telling me
17:00that I'm going to let somebody down.
17:02You can't have your wife inside
17:03working out the schedule,
17:04helping with the planning,
17:04and then you're here on the phone
17:06agreeing to more jobs.
17:07Yeah, yeah, I'll do it by Tuesday.
17:09No worries.
17:09Exactly, exactly.
17:11Time management is a lesson
17:13every maker, including me,
17:15has had to learn.
17:16With the guidelines on the dragonfly drawn,
17:18we use Roy's bead roller
17:20to make ridges in the wings along the lines.
17:23It's an innocuous little job
17:24that can be made to look really easy.
17:27Or you can make a dog's dinner of it,
17:28as you're about to see.
17:36Comes a bit like muscle memory,
17:37these jobs, don't they,
17:38when you've done them a few times.
17:41All right, last one, Roy.
17:45Here we go.
17:46Beautiful.
17:47It's okay?
17:47Yeah, lovely.
17:48Yeah.
17:49The next step for the dragonfly
17:50is brazing or joining the head
17:52to its body
17:53using a 3,150 degree flame
17:56and a specialised filler material
17:58called Foss Copper.
18:01Introduce the rod
18:01and let it run round.
18:03There you go.
18:04You can see it going.
18:05Now let's turn that over.
18:06Nice.
18:07A bit more rod this time.
18:09Beautiful.
18:11After welding on
18:12the first set of wings,
18:14you have control.
18:15I've got it.
18:16Well, I don't have control,
18:17but I've got it.
18:20We add a wire,
18:22top it off
18:22with the second set of wings
18:24and wind the wire
18:26around the body
18:26to give it definition.
18:28The idea now
18:28is to follow that
18:30all the way down.
18:31You want that gap
18:31to be consistent though,
18:32don't you?
18:33Yes, I do, Don.
18:36Over to you.
18:37Great.
18:38No pressure.
18:38No pressure.
18:40All right.
18:44Hey, every dragonfly's different.
18:46There isn't a right or wrong.
18:48And running workshops
18:49for people,
18:49the worst thing you could do
18:51is say it has to be
18:52this, this, this, this and this.
18:54Would you say
18:54your workshops
18:55are one of your
18:56biggest successes?
18:57Yeah, I would say they are.
18:59I've got a waiting list now
19:00of people that want to do it.
19:02Wow.
19:02I've got return visitors.
19:03So it's a big part
19:04of the business financially.
19:06Yeah.
19:06You're teaching people
19:07this amazing craft.
19:08You clearly enjoy teaching.
19:09I love doing it.
19:10I love doing it.
19:11And I should continue to do so.
19:13That's really good.
19:14Yeah.
19:15I've had a brilliant day here.
19:17This has been so much fun.
19:19I'm pleased.
19:20To finish off the dragonfly,
19:21we're using the flame painting technique
19:23Roy used on his Nautilus.
19:26It's something I've been keen to try
19:28since I saw him do it
19:29two and a half years ago.
19:31Try not to overheat it.
19:33Oh, there we go.
19:35You can see colours come in already.
19:37And just dab it on
19:38and pull away.
19:43That's nice.
19:46Beautiful.
19:47Look at the painting
19:47they've got.
19:48Yeah.
19:48You've got lots of lovely colour
19:48coming now.
19:50That's it.
19:55Beautiful.
19:56Lovely.
19:57That looks good to me.
19:59Right.
19:59Stop there.
20:00I'm going to quit
20:01while I'm ahead.
20:01I would.
20:02Yeah.
20:02He looks good.
20:03Yeah, that's great.
20:03It's great.
20:03Good.
20:04Perfect.
20:05That was mesmerising.
20:07I loved it.
20:09What an absolute joy.
20:11Although Roy makes it look
20:12far easier than it is,
20:14including a coat of lacquer
20:15to protect it from the elements,
20:17the dragonfly usually takes
20:19around an hour to make
20:20and costs £35 to buy
20:22or £150 to make one yourself
20:24in a workshop.
20:26Love it.
20:27It's going to look good in your car.
20:28Love it.
20:29The courses were something
20:31Roy's mentor Ian and I
20:32asked him to push more.
20:34And with up to 30 of them
20:35planned for the next 12 months,
20:37it's clear they're working for him.
20:39Time now to find out
20:41if the other advice we gave him
20:43has had just as much
20:44of an impact on his business
20:45and how much money
20:46he's now making.
20:48I cannot believe
20:49that two and a half years
20:50has flown by
20:51since you were at the boot camp.
20:52But we did send you away
20:54with a bit of an action plan
20:55to try and help you
20:56build the business.
20:56We did.
20:57One of those pointers
20:58was to try and work
20:59on your lilies
21:00to make them more profitable
21:01by improving the tooling,
21:02improving efficiency.
21:03They are looking so precise now.
21:06They're looking beautifully finished.
21:07They're sharper, aren't they?
21:07Yeah.
21:08Yeah, definitely.
21:09So different tooling.
21:09And they're selling well still.
21:11Selling very well.
21:12Something else we wanted you
21:14to work on
21:14was your Nautilus
21:15and making it 3D,
21:17double-sided.
21:17Yeah.
21:18How's that?
21:19It's gone really, really well.
21:20Okay.
21:21It worked.
21:21They look stunning.
21:23And I just got rid of one
21:24last week.
21:26Roy has acted on
21:27all of the advice
21:28both Ian and I gave him.
21:30With his talent
21:31and determination
21:32he's built himself
21:33a thriving business
21:34and I'm looking forward
21:35to hearing what that's meant
21:37for his bottom line.
21:38Do you mind
21:39if we talk about numbers?
21:40No, please do.
21:41How's it looking so far?
21:42They're looking good.
21:43An income of 29 to 30k.
21:45Wow.
21:46For a year.
21:47That is huge.
21:48That is huge.
21:49It's a big number.
21:50And is it looking
21:50positive for next year as well?
21:52It's looking really positive
21:54and it's like they say,
21:56if you find a job you love,
21:57you'll never work a day
21:58in your life
21:59and that's how I feel.
22:00You are proof of that.
22:02Giving up an established job
22:04and secure income
22:05was a big decision for Roy.
22:07But to be earning
22:08£30,000 after costs
22:11so soon after leaving
22:12the boot camp
22:13is proof
22:14that it was very definitely
22:15the right one.
22:17The future for me now
22:19is really, really rosy.
22:20I love coming out here
22:22every single day of the week.
22:23The business has gone
22:25from strength to strength.
22:26I'm delighted.
22:35The second maker
22:36we're going to check in
22:37with today
22:37is jeweller Sarah
22:39who travelled to my boot camp
22:40from Glasgow.
22:42Just like Roy,
22:43she was looking for help
22:44to make a career change
22:46after a ruptured eardrum
22:47forced her to give up her job.
22:50I was originally a teacher
22:51but because my hearing
22:53was kind of reducing down
22:54it became harder and harder
22:56to be able to hear the children
22:58so I didn't think
22:59it was fair to stay.
23:00I started trying to look
23:01at other options
23:02and I know that
23:03I'm always going to be
23:04making jewellery.
23:05I just need to learn a living
23:06from it
23:06and believe in myself
23:07a little bit.
23:11As Sarah took the plunge
23:13and tried to turn
23:14her jewellery making
23:15into a full-time job
23:16she was supported
23:18by self-taught goldsmith
23:19Sonny Bailey Aird.
23:21Influenced by bygone eras
23:23each of Sonny's pieces
23:25are unique
23:25and combine traditional techniques
23:28with a modern twist.
23:30The biggest thing
23:31I would say to someone
23:32trying to transition
23:32from a hobby
23:33and turning it into their business
23:35is continue to make
23:36what you enjoy.
23:37Customers will smell
23:39from a mile off
23:40if you're not true
23:41to what you're trying to do.
23:42If you're making
23:43what you love
23:43and you're making
23:44what you enjoy
23:44customers will see that
23:46and now want to buy
23:47into the story.
23:49For her volume piece
23:50Sarah chose to make
23:51a pair of stud earrings
23:53inspired by her love
23:54of the sea
23:55which she developed
23:56whilst sailing
23:57with her father
23:57when she was young.
23:59Priced at £55
24:01the circular silver studs
24:03were cast using a mould.
24:05They were then
24:06hand-painted
24:06with blue enamel paint
24:08after being soldered
24:09to a pair of earring posts.
24:12This is the flux.
24:13It becomes sticky
24:14and allows your solder
24:16to stay in place.
24:17I'm just going to put
24:17a tiny bit
24:18on the back
24:19of each of those
24:21and then I'm going to
24:22make a tiny little puddle
24:24on the desk.
24:26I'm just going to heat this.
24:29I'm using the flux
24:32as a guide
24:33and I can see
24:35that that has soldered on
24:36so I'm quite happy
24:37with that.
24:38The impact of losing
24:40your hearing
24:40in isolation
24:41has been tough.
24:43It's a struggle
24:44to meet with friends
24:45and talk to them
24:46because
24:49it's kind of hard
24:50to hear though
24:51so I feel left out.
24:54when I'm in the
24:55jewellery studio
24:56it's just me
24:57it's the silver
24:58it's my tools
24:59I don't have to worry
25:00about hearing people.
25:02I think with anything
25:03no matter what you're facing
25:04finding a way through it
25:05it's really important
25:06and having the right people
25:07around you
25:08to do that
25:08and having something
25:10you love
25:10really helps as well.
25:13with Sarah
25:15making good progress
25:16with her earrings
25:17I sat down
25:17with Sunny
25:18to discuss
25:19her second challenge.
25:21For her favourite piece
25:22she brought along
25:23a stunning
25:23pendant necklace
25:25once again
25:25inspired by
25:26her love of the sea.
25:29It took her
25:30around 10 hours
25:31to make
25:31had material costs
25:32of £225
25:34and an asking price
25:35of £650.
25:38I like the statement
25:39I like the scale of it
25:40once you look into detail
25:42on it
25:42you can see some bits
25:43that just require
25:44a little bit of time
25:45just a little bit of care.
25:46Sarah's asking £650
25:48for her pendant.
25:49It's at the higher end
25:50for silver
25:51but there's lots
25:52of techniques in there
25:53you've got enameling
25:54you've got stone setting
25:55for such a labour
25:56intensive piece
25:57you might want to
25:59incorporate some
26:00higher end materials
26:01a little bit of gold
26:02in there
26:02it's not going to add
26:03too much
26:03from a cost perspective
26:04to her
26:05but the perceived value
26:06from the customer
26:07jumps up massively.
26:09That's a really good tip.
26:11Back at the jewellery station
26:13Sarah had cleaned
26:14her silver
26:15sea inspired
26:16stud earrings
26:16and was hand painting
26:18the enamel decoration
26:19onto them.
26:21I've experimented
26:21with different shades
26:22of blues
26:23and greens
26:24this is the best combo
26:26that works for me
26:27in terms of
26:27trying to create
26:28seascapes.
26:30She applied
26:31three coats of enamel
26:32to each earring
26:33firing them in the kiln
26:34between each layer
26:36You want to open
26:37the drawer as quickly
26:38as you can
26:38so you don't lose
26:39the heat
26:40and you need to melt
26:41the enamel
26:42to become smooth
26:43and get that lovely
26:44uniform colour
26:45The little studs
26:46should be in there
26:47for maybe one or two minutes
26:48I'm just going to have
26:49a wee look
26:50and see how they're doing
26:53I can see
26:54that they have
26:57gone quite nicely
26:59I'm just putting them
26:59on here
27:00to cool down
27:00so I can put layer two
27:02and layer three
27:03on
27:05Once the final layer
27:06of enamel
27:07had set
27:07Sarah made sure
27:09the earrings
27:09were nice and smooth
27:10before popping them
27:11back in the kiln
27:12to make them shiny
27:14again
27:14They're looking great
27:15I'm just going to let them
27:16cool down
27:17then I'm going to remove
27:19the greenness of the silver
27:20and they'll look nice and white
27:21and they're ready to grow
27:24with material costs
27:25of £18
27:26and a two hour make time
27:28Sarah's earrings
27:29were priced
27:30at £55
27:32There's lots of potential
27:33where you can take this
27:34and I actually think
27:35that this alone
27:36in different scales
27:37can become
27:38a first signature collection
27:41It's an entry level
27:42for customers
27:43It's relatively straightforward
27:45for you
27:45with your skill level
27:46to manufacture
27:47and I think
27:48we can take this
27:49into earrings
27:50pendants
27:51and even rings
27:52so you've got
27:53a ready-made collection
27:55with not much work
27:57to do
27:58really
27:59You've priced these
28:00at £55
28:02Seems like a fair price
28:03to me
28:03for the work involved
28:04What do you think?
28:05I think it's a fair price too
28:07I think it's affordable
28:08you're still making
28:09some money too
28:10which is important
28:11but also
28:11the more you develop
28:12these skills
28:13the easier that's
28:14going to become
28:15which increases your margins
28:16so
28:17win-win
28:18Thank you
28:19Thank you
28:21Sonny thought
28:22both of Sarah's
28:23first two pieces
28:24had bags of potential
28:25and he was keen
28:26to do all he could
28:28to help her achieve that
28:29So
28:30for her third task
28:31he set her
28:32a special
28:33mentor's challenge
28:34Sarah generally
28:35makes earrings
28:36pendants
28:37and necklaces
28:38and we really wanted
28:39to incorporate
28:39some rings
28:40into her collection
28:41so
28:42my mentor's challenge
28:43for Sarah
28:44is to create
28:45an affordable
28:46entry-level
28:47ring
28:48Sarah chose to make
28:49a C-ring
28:50priced at £100
28:52to tie in
28:53with the earrings
28:53she made
28:54for her volume piece
28:55The silver band
28:56had a symmetrical design
28:58with three silver
28:59granulation balls
29:00on each side
29:01of a domed bowl
29:02enamel centrepiece
29:07Here we go
29:08so we got a little
29:09domed bowl
29:11I am going to
29:12just file
29:14a little flat
29:14in the back
29:15because I want
29:16this to sit
29:17nicely
29:18on the ring
29:18Once she'd cleaned
29:20the domed bowl
29:21and band
29:21Sarah soldered
29:22them together
29:25and moved on
29:26to making
29:26the granulation balls
29:28using scrap bits
29:29of wire
29:29I really like
29:30making balls
29:31you can make
29:32small ones
29:33big ones
29:33you can see
29:33this guy
29:34because it's
29:34two wee bits
29:35of wire
29:35doing together
29:38After soldering
29:39the finished
29:40granulation balls
29:41onto the band
29:42she added
29:43enamel
29:43to the domed
29:44bowl centre
29:46Being able
29:47to do this
29:48is something
29:48I love
29:49so it's
29:49bringing me joy
29:50The kids
29:51and my partner
29:52have commented
29:53how much
29:53more happy
29:54I am
29:54It'd be really
29:55nice to get
29:56paid for it
29:59Sarah's C-ring
30:00took her
30:01around an hour
30:02and a half
30:02to make
30:03and she priced
30:03it at £100
30:05Sitting alongside
30:06her C-stud earrings
30:08it helped
30:08to build
30:09a very
30:09saleable collection
30:11and thanks
30:12to Sunny's
30:12encouragement
30:13she had
30:14some good news
30:14about the earrings
30:15before she even
30:16left the gardens
30:18I was chatting
30:19with Sunny
30:20and he was saying
30:21come on
30:22think about this
30:23think about that
30:24and I was like
30:25right I'm going to try
30:25I'm going to try
30:26and approach
30:27maybe a gallery
30:28or shop
30:28and it's
30:29through a message
30:30and remarkably
30:32the women responded
30:33saying absolutely
30:34send me a pricing
30:35she's full at the moment
30:37but is looking
30:38to take orders
30:39That's absolutely amazing
30:40Massive
30:41In no time at all
30:42the first message
30:43you send
30:43Yeah
30:44And it's good news
30:45Testament to the quality
30:46of work
30:46that someone's going to
30:47respond within five minutes
30:49Yeah
30:49Yeah I think
30:50Quite literally
30:54To keep up the momentum
30:55we gave Sarah
30:56an action plan
30:57to continue building
30:58her business
31:00First
31:00she needed to develop
31:02an affordable
31:03signature collection
31:04of earrings
31:05a pendant necklace
31:06and a ring
31:07in a range
31:08of different colours
31:09Next
31:10we wanted her
31:11to refine her pieces
31:12to make them
31:13more saleable
31:13Finally
31:15she needed to introduce
31:16other materials
31:17like gold
31:18into her work
31:22For the next two months
31:23Sunny supported Sarah
31:25as she worked
31:26to kickstart
31:26her business
31:27and she started
31:28by working
31:29on creating
31:29an affordable
31:30signature collection
31:31made up of earrings
31:33a ring
31:33and a pendant necklace
31:35So I've got more
31:36of these guys
31:37to tidy up
31:38and then we'll have
31:40a little
31:40D-link in the back
31:41so that they can
31:43go on a chain
31:44and these guys here
31:46all have
31:47a little person
31:49All I need to do
31:50tomorrow
31:51is start putting
31:52all the cool colours
31:53into them
31:54After just a few days
31:56her collections
31:57started coming together
31:59This is the ring
32:01and then
32:02a necklace
32:03with a little D-link
32:04in the back
32:06As Sarah
32:07shared a kiln
32:08in her studio
32:08she got in touch
32:09with Creative Scotland
32:10an organisation
32:11that supports
32:12culture and creativity
32:14I have applied
32:16for funding
32:17for a kiln
32:18on my own
32:18and to be able
32:20to get some tuition
32:21and engraving
32:22and this is where
32:23I'm wearing classes
32:24A few weeks later
32:26she was awarded
32:27the grant she applied
32:28for and wasted
32:29no time spending it
32:30I have my kiln
32:33I didn't see me
32:34life chafing
32:35Oh my goodness
32:36that's so exciting
32:38we have a silver
32:39on Lake Helm
32:40finally
32:44amazing
32:45amazing
32:45amazing
32:46With support
32:47from Sunny
32:48Sarah spent
32:49eight weeks
32:50following the boot camp
32:51working 24-7
32:52to give her business
32:53every chance
32:54of success
32:56and when she came
32:57back to tell us
32:57how she'd got on
32:58the results
32:59had made it
33:00all worthwhile
33:01Sarah
33:02I'm quite excited
33:03to ask you now
33:04how much you've earned
33:05over the last
33:05eight weeks
33:07I have earned
33:09just almost
33:105,000 pounds
33:115,000 pounds
33:14I honestly
33:15cannot believe that
33:16you and me both
33:20even after
33:21taking off
33:21her costs
33:22Sarah had
33:23absolutely nailed it
33:24and proved
33:25that she had
33:26what it took
33:26to build
33:27a brilliant
33:27jewellery business
33:3118 months later
33:33she's done
33:33just that
33:34and I've asked
33:35Sunny to pop up
33:36to Glasgow
33:36to find out more
33:37about her fabulous
33:38success
33:40and how much
33:41she's earning now
33:49when Sarah
33:50came to the bootcamp
33:51she was already
33:52working in a
33:52professional
33:53jewellery making
33:54studio
33:54and she's still
33:55making all her
33:56pieces in this
33:57fantastic workshop
33:59Sarah
34:00what an amazing
34:00space
34:01what a joy it
34:01must be to work
34:02here every day
34:03it is
34:04and it feels
34:05like home
34:05I've got the use
34:06of all the tools
34:07I've got an amazing
34:08kind of knowledge
34:09bank of all the
34:10other jewellers
34:10that work here
34:11their support
34:12their help
34:12and yeah
34:14it's absolutely
34:14brilliant
34:15how's business
34:16been as of late
34:18I've been really
34:19busy this month
34:20I've got four or five
34:21commissions on
34:22just kind of
34:23tweaking out some
34:24of the finer details
34:25in some of them
34:25I've got some
34:26engagement rings
34:27and the wedding rings
34:28that are due to be
34:29sent off for a wedding
34:30in April
34:31it's so good to hear
34:32about your bespoke
34:33commissions and keeping
34:33you so busy
34:35yeah
34:35I think it was last year
34:37that I actually put out
34:38on social media
34:39that I was closed
34:40for commissions
34:41and that still
34:42didn't stop
34:43requests
34:44and people asking
34:45and I have a wait list
34:47and I'm still
34:48this month
34:50got four or five
34:51in that I'm working on
34:52plus the online orders
34:54where do you find
34:55that you've been getting
34:55a lot of your leads
34:56and sales from
34:58some of it's
34:59returning customers
35:00some of it is
35:02word of mouth
35:03and I get friends
35:04like customers
35:05that I've worked with
35:06before
35:07I've got three stockists
35:09that take my work
35:10sometimes it's markets
35:12are you making
35:13any new pieces
35:13or collections
35:14I am
35:15I took on board
35:16what you said
35:17about using more
35:17high-end materials
35:18and I have
35:20made a little
35:21silver heart range
35:22which has a
35:2418-curric gold bezel
35:25and is set
35:26with a ruby
35:26it's brilliant to hear
35:28how busy Sarah is
35:30it's also good to know
35:31that she's used
35:32the advice we gave her
35:33at the boot camp
35:34to work with more
35:35expensive materials
35:36like gold
35:37to lift the quality
35:38of her work
35:39and she's going to
35:40show Sunny
35:41how she makes
35:41the heart pendant
35:42from her new
35:43golden ruby collection
35:44which is priced
35:46at £395
35:48she starts by creating
35:50a heart-shaped
35:51wax model
35:52I've drawn round
35:53and I have my
35:54little heart
35:55good to go
35:56I'm just going to
35:57follow my line round
35:58with my saw
35:59and cut it out
36:06it needs a little bit
36:07of TLC
36:08these are my special
36:09wax vials
36:10I only use for wax
36:12it's going to be
36:13a bit smoother
36:14I'm happy with how
36:15it looks
36:16and then I'll start
36:17to shape it in
36:18this is going to be
36:20the base of my
36:20pendant
36:21having created
36:22the wax model
36:23it's time to make
36:24the silver version
36:25and Sarah is going
36:26to cast it
36:27using sand
36:28I'm just going to
36:29chop up the sand
36:30a bit like cooking
36:34feel like I'm making
36:35pastry
36:37jeweler turned baker
36:39multi-tasking hat
36:41as always
36:42you do wear many hats
36:44as a business owner
36:46some better than others
36:50Sarah fills a silver
36:51ring with sand
36:52which she's going to
36:53place her wax heart
36:55model into
36:55and it's going to
36:56scrape off the excess
37:00and lace the heart
37:01in the middle
37:02and then I am going
37:04to push it in
37:06so it's halfway in
37:07with the wax model
37:09placed in the sand
37:10Sarah puts another
37:11ring on top
37:12and fills that
37:13with sand too
37:17after the rings
37:18are separated
37:19and the wax removed
37:20two half heart
37:21moulds are left
37:22and Sarah then makes
37:24air holes in the sand
37:25in the top ring
37:26to allow steam
37:27from the molten silver
37:28she'll be pouring in
37:29to escape
37:31it's amazing how
37:32something so simple
37:33and relatively primitive
37:34is used
37:35even today
37:36I mean this is a technique
37:37that's been used
37:37for thousands of years
37:38literally thousands of years
37:40and we're still using it today
37:42it's amazing
37:43it is amazing
37:44and I can almost imagine
37:45the caveman
37:45or somebody in the iron age
37:47doing this
37:48Sarah creates a channel
37:50through which the silver
37:51will be poured
37:52into the mould
37:53then joins her two rings
37:55back together
37:55and melts down
37:56some recycled
37:57scrap silver
38:03the hot metal
38:04is poured into the mould
38:09and once it's set
38:10she tidies up
38:11the silver heart
38:17and solders on
38:18an 18 carat
38:20gold circular ring
38:21or bezel
38:21or bezel
38:22for the ruby
38:22to sit in
38:25after cleaning it up
38:26in a special acidic solution
38:28she solders on
38:29a silver ring
38:30that will attach
38:31the pendant to a chain
38:32and after cleaning that
38:34moves on to creating
38:35a recess
38:36or hole
38:37for her ruby
38:37in the gold bezel
38:46I'm just going to check
38:47how deep we are
38:49so that I know
38:50how far down
38:51I need to go
38:52so I'm just going to find
38:52my stone
38:54nice gorgeous
38:55VB
38:56let's check how we're doing
38:59probably just a squidge more
39:00I'm just going to switch
39:02over to this
39:03and this creates
39:03a little ledge
39:04for this one to set up
39:15okay it's looking pretty good
39:17I'm pretty happy
39:18with how
39:20that's sitting
39:20to finish
39:22Sarah pushes in the sides
39:23of the gold bezel
39:24to hold the ruby in place
39:27then gives the pendant
39:28a polish
39:30it's looking nice
39:31and shiny now
39:31so I'm going to pop it
39:33through the chain
39:34and it's good to go
39:39Sarah's new silver heart pendant
39:41with a gold set ruby
39:43has material costs
39:44of 200 pounds
39:45and with a make time
39:46of five hours
39:47is priced at 395
39:50it comes with matching earrings
39:51that she charges 785 pounds for
39:55it's great to see Sarah
39:57working with new materials
39:58and she's also turned
40:00her beautiful sea pendant
40:01into an affordable
40:02signature collection
40:04but I'm keen to know
40:05about how she's been
40:06refining her pieces
40:07and how much money
40:09her business is now making her
40:10Sarah it's been great to see
40:12how you've been tackling
40:13most of your action plan
40:14but one of the things
40:15we asked you to try
40:16and work on
40:16was some refinement
40:17how have you been
40:18trying to bring that
40:19to the fore?
40:20I've been trying
40:21to refine my practice
40:22depending on what
40:24my client wants
40:25whether it's adding
40:26different settings
40:28different metals
40:29whether it's platinum
40:3018 current gold
40:31different stones
40:32I have an engagement ring
40:34that I've set
40:35with pink sapphires
40:37diamonds
40:37and it's in platinum
40:39if I'm matching
40:39platinum wearing bands
40:41platinum is so interesting
40:42because it has to get so hot
40:43pretty much double
40:44the amount of heat
40:45that is required
40:46to work with gold
40:47so that alone
40:48is a massive hurdle
40:49you have to have
40:50eye protection
40:51you have to have
40:52specific tooling
40:53so that they don't
40:53just literally melt
40:54and you can contaminate
40:56platinum
40:57which is another hurdle
40:59that you have to get over
41:00so it takes a lot
41:01of planning
41:01and like we've been
41:03mentioning refinement
41:05I've been working on it
41:07it's clear that Sarah
41:09has worked with dedication
41:10and real determination
41:12on every aspect
41:14of her action plan
41:15and I'm excited
41:16to find out
41:17what effect that's had
41:18on the income
41:18she makes
41:19from her jewellery making
41:20in order to have a business
41:22we need to have some money
41:23involved as well
41:24talk to me
41:27we do
41:28and I am doing
41:30so much better
41:31than I'd like
41:32ever have
41:33I'm now making
41:34around 30,000 a year
41:35hey
41:36that is so good
41:37so good
41:39proper business
41:40it's a proper business
41:42yeah
41:43I actually can say
41:43I have a proper business
41:44you must be so proud
41:46I am
41:47yes I am
41:48I still have moments
41:49of disbelief
41:50and is this happening
41:52and yes
41:53yes it is happening
41:54and I hope it continues
41:56to happen
41:57well if you continue
41:58to put in the work
41:58that you have been putting in
41:59I can't see why
42:00it can't stay the same
42:01and grow even more
42:02I think the one thing
42:03that you should be aware of
42:04is that you've done
42:05all this work yourself
42:06of course you've had
42:07community and friends
42:08around you
42:08and they help lift you up
42:09but you've put in the work
42:11and you've put in
42:12the dedication
42:12to take this further
42:14and it wouldn't go anywhere
42:16without the work
42:16that you've been putting in
42:17not only your technical
42:18and design skills
42:19but your effort
42:20and dedication to the craft
42:21and I think that's something
42:23you should be super proud of
42:24thank you
42:25thank you very much
42:26I agree with Sunny
42:27making 30,000 pounds a year
42:30after costs
42:31just 18 months
42:32after leaving my boot camp
42:33is an outstanding achievement
42:36Sarah's now got
42:37a long-term
42:38sustainable business
42:39and having worked
42:40so hard to build it
42:41she deserves
42:42every bit of her success
42:45I think
42:46having a career
42:48that is guaranteed
42:49and to have the leap of faith
42:52and leave that
42:52and to be able to go
42:54and do something
42:55that is self-employed
42:57that isn't guaranteed
42:59is hard
43:00but I'll get into
43:01what I love
43:01which is really important
43:06want some help
43:07building a business
43:08that lasts
43:09visit the Open University's
43:11interactive guide
43:12for practical help
43:13to sustain and grow
43:14your business
43:15scan the QR code
43:17on screen
43:17or visit
43:18connect.open.ac.uk
43:21forward slash
43:23I made it at market
43:24I made it at market
43:25I made it at market
43:27I made it at market
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