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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. My 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.
00:29There he is.
00:29Hello, mate.
00:31I'll be hearing about their amazing achievements.
00:34I'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 kind of say I am living the dream.
00:53I think that's fair to say.
01:03Creative makers from all across the UK come to my boot camp,
01:07hoping to turn their fantastic talents into life-changing businesses.
01:12And today, we're meeting two who have done just that.
01:16Later, we'll head to Wiltshire to hear all about Woodturner Lucinda's incredible international success.
01:23I have people collecting my work all over the world, and people recognise me as the brush lady, and, you
01:29know, it's quite something.
01:30But first, I'll be checking in with blacksmith Alex in Northumberland, who's had success beyond his wildest dreams.
01:37I never thought I would have ever seen that sort of money.
01:40With the best will in the world, I do work, like, six days a week and, like, ten hours a
01:44day.
01:44Don't get me wrong, you deserve every penny of it, but that is a lot of money.
01:50I first met Alex in the spring of 2022, when he came to my boot camp with big ambitions, but
01:57a bit of a confidence problem.
01:59I struggle a lot with, like, imposter syndrome.
02:02I get... I look at my work and I think... I just see the mistakes.
02:06I look at something and I've poured hours and hours and hours of work into something,
02:10and I still see little fault lines and things, and I think, oh, I could put another five hours in
02:14and fix this, fix that.
02:16And I'd go way over budget, and I undercharge and things, and, I don't know, I feel like I could
02:20use a pep talk.
02:24To help Alex build his confidence and a thriving blacksmithing business,
02:28I teamed him up with Adrian Wood.
02:31Adrian's been running a successful forge in the Tees Valley for over 20 years.
02:37Coincidentally, they had met before at one of his blacksmithing workshops,
02:41where Alex first fell in love with the craft.
02:44I think eight years ago now, he came on one of our blacksmithing courses,
02:47and fantastic to see that he's still got that fire burning bright inside him,
02:52and he's still got the passion to continue doing what he's doing.
02:55To work out how best to boost Alex's sales and profits, I set him three challenges.
03:01First up, I asked him to make a volume piece, something he could make quickly and sell for an affordable
03:08price.
03:08He decided to forge a Chinese dragon's head.
03:12Priced at £100, it featured twisted horns, which could become the decorative part of a door handle or fire dog.
03:20Job one was splitting one end of a piece of steel before pulling it apart to create what would become
03:26the horns.
03:29I'm going to take a partial heat on the very, very bottom of the bar.
03:33And I'm going to take a twist here, twist it that way, twist it this way to get a nice
03:37sort of water quench twist.
03:39I think they look fantastic.
03:40They fit as well very nicely with the ethos of, like, a Chinese dragon, you know?
03:46I mean, every time I look at artwork, they've always got these lovely, long, flowing, cloud-like whiskers and horns
03:52and things.
03:53Twisting the steel was a high-risk part of the production.
03:57Clamping in the vase.
03:58If Alex allowed the metal to become too cold, it could snap.
04:02Cool.
04:12Oh, dear.
04:13That was too cold.
04:14So this is what I was worried about happening.
04:16If you can't quite see the colours of what's going on there, you can't gauge the temperature.
04:20It's just due to the ambient light of being outdoors.
04:22So I've over-twisted that ever so slightly, it's fractured off.
04:25So I'm going to cut this off and start again.
04:28Whilst Alex restarted his volume piece, I sat down with Adrian to talk about his second challenge.
04:35Before he arrived at my boot camp, I asked Alex to make a high-end piece, something carrying a heftier
04:41price tag.
04:43He brought along a replica of a Viking horse's bridle, priced at £850.
04:50It's fantastically made.
04:51He's done a really good job.
04:53The design style's great.
04:54There's a few elements within it that I had a little concern with.
04:58It's only on the inside of the bridle where it touches the horse's face.
05:03He could do with something where it's not a sharp point on the end.
05:06Do you think it's worth £850?
05:08Personally, I think it's worth more.
05:10Really?
05:10I think he said it was about five days' work.
05:13So you're looking at maybe £1,500.
05:15It's a great-looking piece.
05:17Yeah.
05:17You don't want to undersell yourself.
05:20Back at the forge, Alex had created the twisted horns for his dragon's head on a new piece of steel
05:29and put a cut in the steel bar so that he could fold it over to create a face.
05:34I've got my cut in place and I'm now about to do the fold over.
05:39But before I do that, I need to make sure that there's nothing that's going to get trapped inside where
05:43the weld's going to lie.
05:44So I'm going to give it a good scrubbing, then fold it over.
05:51Alex worked quickly, and his next step was to weld the folded pieces together.
05:57I've done this a hundred times before, Alex, so you know what you're doing.
06:02Just breathe.
06:03Take it easy.
06:05You've got it.
06:17Now, whilst the heat's in the top there, I'm going to start by bellying it out down like that.
06:24And now there, I've given him a little bit of an eye socket as well.
06:28So in doing that, just putting those two little sets in and a little bit of drag on the nose,
06:33his nose has came down a bit more, and he's got some nice little areas where I can start working
06:38the eyes into it as well.
06:40Well done, Alex. Nailed it. Nice one.
06:45Once he finished the eyes, Alex made his dragon a beard.
06:51Then focused on the finer details of the eyes and eyebrows.
06:59It was precise work, with little room for error.
07:05I've got his eyebrows in, and I'm more or less happy with them.
07:08They're OK.
07:10So I want them to get a heat right there, so I can just yark his head down a little
07:14bit.
07:14And give him a little bit of character.
07:17With the bar at just the right temperature, Alex bent the neck.
07:27Alex's decorative dragon's head had a make time of around four hours.
07:32He priced it at £100, but that was before he'd fashioned it into a sellable item, like a door handle
07:38or knocker.
07:41The level of fine detail is really quite impressive, and the patience that you've got to do that is incredible.
07:47The concern I have is how much time you've spent doing all that detail.
07:51Does that equate to being able to make a profit?
07:56What do you think of the price point?
07:57For the work involved, I think it's cheaper than it probably should be.
08:00I think it should be as a concept piece, absolutely great.
08:04But you've got to, if you want to make that into something else, you've got to bring that time down.
08:10Alex had to work on both his speed of production and the pricing of his first two items.
08:16For his final task, I asked him to make his favourite piece,
08:20to discover if what he enjoyed making most could also bring in big sales.
08:25He chose to make a Viking-style pattern-welded knife, priced at £480,
08:31which he'd made before for members of re-enactment societies.
08:36He began by creating a billet,
08:38a metal block made from layers of different strength steel alloys welded together.
08:44Having cleaned it, he added flux,
08:47a powder that helped protect the world from being contaminated by oxygen in the air.
08:51Just trying to be extra careful,
08:53keep as much flux on there as I can
08:55and keep as much air out.
08:58Because if air gets in,
08:59then the scale will form in between the layers,
09:02which will cause the laminations in the weld,
09:05which is where it all falls apart.
09:06And that's where I'd just sit there and debate my life choices.
09:12After making sure the block of steel alloys was properly welded together,
09:21Alex hammered it into one long piece,
09:24cut it into four bits,
09:26then twisted two of them to create part of the knife's final pattern,
09:29before finally hammering them flat and welding them all back together again.
09:35Alex, how are we doing?
09:36What stage are we at?
09:37Pretty much ready to go into the oil quench and then temper.
09:40You're very confident with your processes.
09:42How would you feel about going out to a market and selling these things,
09:46and more importantly, selling yourself?
09:48I feel very uncomfortable talking about money, if I'm honest with you.
09:50All you've got to do is just sell the brand.
09:53People go to these markets, Alex, because they want to see beautiful things,
09:56and if you can provide that for them, just be chill with it.
10:00So you're confident you can get this done and dusted?
10:04Oh, it'll be done, it'll be done.
10:05Fantastic. I'll let you get on with it.
10:09I'm cultivating a gentle heat along the blade,
10:12and we're going to quench it in some oil,
10:15and that will harden the blade right up.
10:18OK.
10:20And...
10:26That's gone very well.
10:29With the knife shape created, Alex applied the finishing touches.
10:34It'll be onto the grinder, and getting it all nice and smoothed out,
10:39and then sanding it up, polishing and polishing and polishing and polishing,
10:43and then it gets cleaned once I've got it really, really mirror-shiny with acetone,
10:50just to get any grease and grit off, and then it's into the acid tank to pull the pattern out.
10:56The acid reacted with the twisted metal and different-strength steel alloys in the knife to create the pattern.
11:04With a make time of around 13 hours, Alex gave it a price tag of £480.
11:10Absolutely brilliant. You've done a cracking job. Really, really good job. I'm really pleased.
11:15You've blown me away with the patterning on that.
11:17What do you think of the price point?
11:18It sounds a big figure, but the amount of work that goes into it,
11:21the people that will probably get that are those, probably more like collectors.
11:26It was a real pleasure sharing Alex's passion for his craft,
11:30and as he set off back to Northumberland, we gave him an action plan
11:34to help him build a successful, sustainable business.
11:38First, he needed to speed up the pace at which he produced his work,
11:43particularly his volume pieces.
11:45Next, Adrian wanted him to fix his prices and charge what his work was worth.
11:50Finally, he needed to sell himself and his pieces with confidence.
11:57For the next eight weeks, Alex was guided by Adrian
12:00as he set to work on his action plan,
12:03and he began by focusing on speeding up the production
12:06of some potential new volume pieces.
12:08This one here, that thing I wanted to try out,
12:10it's very, very rough at the minute,
12:12because it was like a 30-minute job,
12:14but I will figure out how to do it faster and neater as well.
12:19Got a little leaf coming on one end,
12:21and there's a little tulip bud coming up on the other.
12:23I'd quite like to make the tulip bud much wider at the tip there.
12:26He also worked hard,
12:28trying to turn his dragon's head into a completed sellable piece.
12:31I have been doing dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons,
12:37trying to get them right, trying to speed the process up,
12:40playing around with a few different patterns.
12:42They've come out quite nicely.
12:44I'm really quite pleased with several of them.
12:46They seem to be looking nice.
12:48My idea is that they would want to be riveted onto a door
12:50instead of screwed in.
12:54I've gotten faster at making them, which is what I wanted.
12:58Alex embraced our suggestions and gave them his all,
13:02and after two months of hard work,
13:04he had some great news to share with us.
13:06Most income over the past month or so has been about 2,800.
13:12It's such a short amount of time.
13:14That'll improve your confidence there.
13:17Fantastic.
13:18Well done.
13:20Alex had to take off his costs from his terrific sales,
13:23but he'd made some big strides forwards with his business.
13:28It's now over three and a half years since I first met him.
13:32Time really does fly,
13:33and I've come to Northumberland to hear about
13:35how he's been building a successful business.
13:40Alex?
13:40Oh, how are you doing?
13:42There you are.
13:42How are you doing?
13:43Good to see you.
13:44Oh, lovely to see you, mate.
13:45Do you want to come on in?
13:46I'd love to.
13:46Come on in, then.
13:48As a metal worker myself,
13:49I know you need a proper workspace
13:51and the right equipment to run a business,
13:54and Alex's setup looks fantastic.
13:57I'm blown away.
13:58What an amazing space.
14:00I mean, the equipment is very impressive.
14:02I'm very jealous of some of the things in here.
14:05But it's not just that.
14:06This just feels like a proper setup now.
14:09Yes.
14:09Even down to the mezzanine,
14:11it looks like a shop up there.
14:12I can see display cases.
14:14I wanted to make a workshop
14:15that when people walked in,
14:16they went,
14:16ah, this is the business.
14:18I'm in the right place.
14:19Yeah.
14:21I'll admit,
14:22I'm pretty envious of Alex's layout and kit,
14:24and it's time to find out
14:26exactly how well things are going.
14:28This is all looking great,
14:29but how's the business working out?
14:31It's going really well.
14:33Is it?
14:33Um, I started teaching a few years ago.
14:36I've been running blacksmithing workshops
14:38and things for people.
14:39Um, I do them in two different ways.
14:41I do public courses.
14:42I do beginners kitchen knife-making ones.
14:45I do axe-making, hammer-making,
14:48forging your own tools like tongs and chisels.
14:51The other aspect is private experiences,
14:53and that could be for a team-building exercise,
14:56for a stag-do or a hen-do,
14:58birthday parties.
14:59They must be really fun days.
15:00Oh, they're brilliant.
15:02Fantastic band, fantastic jokes.
15:04Everybody's having a grand time.
15:06Courses are a great way
15:07of bringing money into a business,
15:09and Alex's prices range
15:11from £165 per person
15:13for a one-day beginner's workshop
15:15to £395 per person
15:18for a two-day Damascus knife one.
15:20The teaching and the courses that you do here
15:22sound brilliant,
15:24but do you still have time
15:25to work on your own projects?
15:27Through the summer period,
15:29teaching tends to slag off.
15:30I do commissions constantly
15:32throughout the year as well.
15:33That sort of helps top up my wage.
15:35Over the past few years,
15:36I've done work for Beamish Museum,
15:39helping them restore iron components
15:42to go onto various buildings,
15:43most recently the 1950s cinema.
15:46I've done a fair bit of work
15:47for Bambera Castle,
15:49restoring bits of iron work
15:50and making new pieces of iron work
15:52to match in with the collection.
15:53Brilliant.
15:53This sounds like win-win.
15:55You're doing something that you love,
15:57that you want it to do,
15:58and I think the courses
16:00and the commissions
16:01sounds like they are
16:02keeping things afloat financially,
16:05paying the rent,
16:05paying the gas bill.
16:07This is a dream come true for you.
16:09I'm so happy for you.
16:11Yeah.
16:12Big commissions and busy courses.
16:14It's a winning combination.
16:16And as they're such an important part
16:18of his business,
16:19I'm going to try out
16:20one of Alex's workshops for myself.
16:22We're going to start off
16:23making our little birds.
16:25You can see I've roughed out
16:26a cut through them.
16:29We're going to make
16:30a decorative bird
16:31and I'm really looking forward
16:32to getting stuck in.
16:34We start by cutting
16:35two vertical slits
16:36into a steel bar.
16:40I'm happy with that.
16:43Next, we heat the bar
16:44so we can open it up
16:45along the two cups.
16:47I'm already emotionally
16:48attached to this.
16:49It's not got a name yet,
16:50but we'll get there.
16:52What's a good name
16:53for a little bird?
16:54You could call it,
16:54I don't know.
16:55It's not a little bird,
16:56it's big,
16:56it's an eagle.
16:56OK, OK then.
16:58It's an eagle, it's big.
17:00Eddie, Eddie the eagle.
17:04With the metal
17:05at the correct temperature,
17:06it's over to the anvil.
17:08Once you start driving it down,
17:10flip him over.
17:10There again, I guess.
17:11Yep.
17:15There you go.
17:16You'll feel it start to bite.
17:17Yeah, got it.
17:18Now I reckon you probably
17:19hit about as far as you can
17:20on that heat.
17:21I chuck him in.
17:22OK.
17:22And then maybe he's
17:23on your next heat.
17:24A little bit of ice.
17:24Get it in the ice.
17:25OK, back in the fire.
17:28Once the metal
17:28has been reheated,
17:30the vice holds the bird,
17:31or should I say eddy,
17:32steady.
17:33Oh, yes.
17:35While I peel back
17:36what will be the wings...
17:37Nice.
17:38That's starting to open out nicely.
17:42Then I heat it again
17:43and start shaping them.
17:45I'll just grab them
17:45by the end of one
17:46of those little tails
17:47and we'll start
17:48giving them a little tap
17:48in the middle.
17:50And you'll see
17:51it starts to flatten out.
17:53And then if you grab them
17:54by the next bit there,
17:57that's the trick.
18:01Remember,
18:01we don't need to get it
18:02super, super flat.
18:04No.
18:04Because a little bit of the...
18:05His wings are flapping already.
18:07Exactly.
18:07Exactly.
18:08Exactly.
18:15That's not bad at all.
18:16I'll take that.
18:17I'm quite pleased, actually.
18:18To make the wings
18:19the right size and shape,
18:21I hammer the metal
18:22at an angle
18:22to give it a curve.
18:25Once I've added some feathers,
18:27it's over to the fly press
18:28to create its neck.
18:30There you go.
18:31And then big slam,
18:32big pull.
18:34There you go.
18:36And then take a little look.
18:37Yeah, you can see
18:38it's biting in.
18:40Another heat
18:40allows me to pull out
18:42the shape of the head.
18:46Then it's time
18:47to add the details
18:47to Eddie's face.
18:49In my head,
18:49he's got a hooked
18:50kind of beak.
18:51Yeah.
18:52How can we get that?
18:53If we just come in,
18:54keep the file moving,
18:55so we can round
18:57this over a fair bit.
18:58Keep it to as few strokes
18:59as you possibly can,
19:01but just gently
19:02rounding that over.
19:04Oh, here we go.
19:05My eagle's taking shape now.
19:09The next step
19:10is putting in the eyes.
19:12Right, there, I'm done.
19:13I'm committing.
19:14Ready?
19:15Nice.
19:18He looks a little bit
19:19like a parrot.
19:20I think that's looking good.
19:22He's looking over that way.
19:24He's seeing somebody
19:25over there.
19:25He's seen something
19:25over there,
19:26so I'm like,
19:26wait, hang on.
19:27To finish,
19:28I shape the ends
19:29of the wings
19:29and polish the whole piece
19:31with a wire brush.
19:32I'm quite chuffed
19:33with that, actually.
19:34Yeah, I would be as well.
19:36I've absolutely loved
19:37making Eddie
19:38and the courses
19:39are a great way
19:40of providing a steady income
19:41for Alex
19:42alongside his commissioned work.
19:44I can see
19:45all around his workshop
19:47that he's created
19:48tools and jigs
19:48to help speed up
19:49production time
19:50on his smaller
19:51and larger pieces,
19:52but I want to know
19:53if any of the other advice
19:55Adrian and I gave him
19:56has played a part
19:57in boosting his business
19:58over the past few years.
20:01Alex, when you were
20:02last at my boot camp,
20:04myself and Adrian
20:05sent you away
20:05with some homework,
20:06a bit of an action plan
20:07to try and help you
20:08to build your business.
20:10One of the pointers
20:11that we wanted you
20:12to work on
20:12was to try and fix
20:13your pricing.
20:14I used to work
20:15for nothing.
20:19I hope things have improved.
20:20I've upped my hourly rate.
20:22I used to work
20:22for £20 an hour,
20:23which I'm sure
20:24you can imagine
20:25the overheads
20:26of running a place
20:26like this was nothing.
20:28Now my hourly rate
20:29is £45 an hour.
20:31Some people don't like that
20:32and they go,
20:33oh, I'll go somewhere cheaper
20:34and that's okay.
20:35I have enough work
20:36to see me happy.
20:38Would you have thought
20:38three and a half years ago
20:40saying,
20:41well, I've got enough work,
20:42I'm very grateful for it,
20:43but I can now pick and choose
20:44and I can pick my clients
20:46and select what I want
20:47to work on?
20:48It's a wonderful position
20:50to be in.
20:50It's absolutely fantastic.
20:51Now, another point
20:52that we wanted you
20:53to look into
20:53was trying to build
20:54some confidence
20:55and a bit of self-belief
20:56to sell your work
20:57and yourself.
20:59And from spending
21:00the day here
21:01with you today,
21:02I'd say you've smashed that.
21:04I've really tried.
21:05But one of the biggest things
21:06that's really helped me
21:07has been helping other people.
21:09You know,
21:09if somebody comes in
21:09and they're really nervous
21:10and they calm into it
21:12and then they're having
21:13a really good time
21:13and they're relaxed,
21:14it's such a rewarding
21:15feeling for me.
21:16That's really helped me
21:19become, I guess,
21:20a more confident person.
21:23I'm so pleased to hear
21:24just how far Alex has come
21:26in the past
21:26three and a half years.
21:28He's really leaned
21:29into all the advice
21:30Adrian and I gave him
21:31and I can't wait to hear
21:33what it's meant
21:34for his bank balance.
21:35Do you mind
21:36if we talk figures?
21:37This is a business after all.
21:39So how much
21:41are you earning these days?
21:42This year
21:43has been
21:44probably my best year.
21:45I'm on track
21:46to pay myself
21:47around about
21:48$40,000 this year,
21:50which is like...
21:51Oh my God.
21:52$40,000?
21:53Yeah.
21:54I never thought
21:56I would have ever
21:57seen that sort of money.
21:59With the best will in the world,
22:00I do work like six days a week
22:01and like 10 hours a day.
22:03Don't get me wrong,
22:04you deserve every penny of it,
22:06but that is a lot of money.
22:08Yeah.
22:08How has that changed things
22:09in your life?
22:10I've been able to put down
22:11a deposit on a house
22:13and move out
22:14of my parents' place.
22:15Congratulations.
22:16Which is incredible.
22:17It just goes to show,
22:18doesn't it?
22:18You've got the hard work,
22:20dedication,
22:20and the love
22:21and the passion
22:21for something,
22:22you can make it happen.
22:24Just a few years ago,
22:26Alex wasn't really making
22:27any money from his craft.
22:29Now,
22:29he's earning
22:30£40,000 a year
22:32after costs
22:32and has managed
22:33to get onto
22:34the property ladder.
22:35It's an outstanding achievement
22:37and I couldn't
22:38be happier for him.
22:39I'm really proud
22:40of what I've been able
22:41to achieve.
22:42I have gotten to work
22:44not only on some
22:45absolutely incredible jobs
22:46but in some fantastic places
22:48and met some incredible people.
22:50I'm able to
22:52not only do a job
22:53that I love
22:53but I'm able to help people
22:56through doing what I love
22:58and that is
23:00something that I genuinely
23:01never thought I would have
23:02been able to achieve before.
23:03It's incredible.
23:10Time now
23:11to catch up
23:11with our second maker,
23:13mum of two,
23:14Lucinda,
23:14from Wiltshire.
23:15When I first met her
23:17just over three and a half
23:18years ago,
23:19she was hoping
23:19to turn her love
23:20of woodturning
23:21into a reliable money spinner.
23:23In the day,
23:24I'm a start-home parent
23:25to two young girls
23:26and so most of my
23:27woodturning work
23:28is done at night time
23:29or sometimes on the weekends.
23:31To help Lucinda
23:33make money
23:33from the pieces she made,
23:35she was guided
23:36by Drew Plump
23:37and Barnaby Ash.
23:39Barnaby turns
23:40beautiful pieces
23:41from locally sourced
23:42British timbers.
23:43Drew is the marketing
23:44mastermind
23:45of their business.
23:47We're really excited
23:48to work with Lucinda.
23:49She seems like
23:49a very talented
23:50maker already.
23:52There's a lot
23:52of elements there
23:53that I think
23:53could be turned
23:54into a successful business
23:55with the right
23:56advice and care.
23:59For her volume piece,
24:00Lucinda made a pair
24:01of makeup brushes
24:02from She-Oak
24:03and Curly Maple,
24:04both filled
24:05with natural goat's hair
24:07and priced at £65 each.
24:10As this wood's
24:11quite a small piece,
24:12I'm just going to
24:12jump straight in
24:13with a spindle gouge
24:14so I don't want
24:15to take too much off.
24:17I'm just making it
24:18circular in shape
24:19and this is what I do
24:20at the beginning
24:20of all my spindle
24:21turnings.
24:22And so just doing
24:23a few cuts
24:24with a spindle gouge
24:25just to
24:26cheer it up.
24:28As Lucinda
24:29turned her two
24:30makeup brushes,
24:31Barnaby and Drew
24:32were keen to find out
24:33more about the idea
24:34behind them.
24:35What gave you the idea
24:36to make this particular
24:37piece?
24:37I've just been wanting
24:38to make my own brushes
24:39and I wanted to make
24:40something that had
24:40that sort of ergonomic
24:42feel to it.
24:43It's a lot of makeup
24:44brushes that have
24:45these long handles
24:45and then they've got
24:46to go into a bag
24:47or they've got to
24:48go somewhere else.
24:48I like how this can
24:51stand up right
24:52and it can look nice
24:53as well,
24:53just wherever you
24:54put it.
24:55As Lucinda was
24:56making good progress
24:57with her makeup brushes,
24:58I grabbed her
24:59and Drew and Barnaby
25:00for a chat in my marquee
25:02to get their thoughts
25:03on her second item,
25:04her high-end piece.
25:07Lucinda brought along
25:09a polished decorative
25:10tray turned from
25:11ziricote,
25:12a dark exotic hardwood
25:14inlaid at the back
25:15with a sterling silver
25:16maker's mark.
25:17It had a price tag
25:18of £260.
25:21It's absolutely
25:21spectacular and I know
25:23how much effort goes
25:24into getting such
25:24a polished finish.
25:25There's a lot more
25:26time and effort
25:26than people may realise
25:27and yeah,
25:28it's very, very well made.
25:30How about the price point?
25:31If I was to make a point
25:33about the silver coin
25:34in the base,
25:35it's a beautiful touch
25:37but if it's going to add
25:38a lot to the price point
25:40and it's hidden...
25:41It doesn't add
25:41like a massive thing to it
25:43but it's the fact
25:44that a lot of other
25:44metals will get a patina
25:46or they don't last as long
25:47and when you put this
25:48on there,
25:48it does make it last.
25:50That price point
25:51for the type of item
25:52that you're making,
25:53you know,
25:53you've got to look at it
25:54from that first perception.
25:57Back at the woodshed,
25:59Lucinda got straight
26:00back to work
26:01on the handles
26:01of her pair
26:02of make-up brushes.
26:04I'm going to drill
26:05into the handle.
26:07I'm going to core out
26:08the middle,
26:09ready for the hair
26:10to go in.
26:11Kind of got to get
26:12to a certain depth
26:14just for the hair
26:14to sort of fit
26:16securely in there.
26:18I've made a little mark
26:20and I sort of know
26:21when I get to that mark
26:22that's when I sort of
26:23pull out.
26:25The next step
26:26was to sand them
26:28and prep the goats hair.
26:29There's definitely ways
26:30I could be doing things
26:31quicker but I do take
26:32a lot of time
26:32on the small details.
26:34I'm a perfectionist.
26:36It's something I'm
26:36actually trying to work on
26:37because I realise now
26:38that a lot of the time
26:39it's what you see
26:41isn't what everyone
26:42else sees
26:42and so sometimes
26:43I need to
26:45take less time
26:46I think on some
26:47aspects of it.
26:48To finish,
26:50Lucinda cut the brush's
26:51hair to the right shape
26:52and glued it into place.
26:54Her two she-oak
26:56and curly maple
26:57make-up brushes
26:58topped with natural
26:59goat's hair
26:59took just over
27:00three hours to make
27:01and with material
27:02costs of £25
27:04per brush
27:05were priced
27:06at £65 each.
27:07I think they're really
27:08really interesting
27:09original unique pieces.
27:11I haven't seen
27:11anything quite like it.
27:13I think there's a lot
27:13of potential there
27:14to find a unique
27:15selling point for you
27:16in the marketplace.
27:17And what about
27:18the price point?
27:18I've seen pieces
27:19kind of up to that
27:20price point that
27:21weren't as original
27:22as yours.
27:23I personally would
27:24double down on the
27:25high-end aspect
27:25and focus on the
27:27range of unique timbers
27:28but I think there's
27:29definitely a potential
27:29to go to kind of
27:30£65 and up
27:31and definitely the top
27:32end is probably
27:33what I would focus on.
27:34Thank you so much.
27:37Lucinda's makeup
27:37brushes were a big
27:39hit with Barnaby
27:39and Drew
27:40and for her third
27:41challenge I asked
27:42her to make her
27:43favourite piece
27:44to find out if
27:45the creations she
27:46loved making the
27:46most could bring
27:47in big bucks.
27:49She decided to
27:50make a dressing
27:51table platter
27:51out of fiddleback
27:53sycamore with a
27:54brass coin inlay
27:55this time on the
27:56front of the piece.
27:57It had an asking
27:58price of £120.
28:03I have to get the
28:04shavings.
28:05It would be a bit
28:06bumpy to start with.
28:12So I'm just
28:13transferring my weight
28:13from my left to my
28:14right foot.
28:15Just doing a few
28:16passes.
28:23So now that's round
28:25I will cut the
28:26back and then I'll
28:27come back to this
28:28later to get the
28:29shape by doing a
28:30little bit of a
28:30taper to cut.
28:32It was clear that
28:33Lucinda was in her
28:34element making her
28:35pieces but Drew
28:37wanted to get her
28:37thinking more about
28:38selling them.
28:39Starting with some
28:40tips about how to
28:41photograph her work.
28:42What we did when we
28:43first began our
28:44business is we knew
28:45that photography was
28:46incredibly important
28:47so we invested in a
28:48really decent camera
28:49and then what would
28:50allow us to do is to
28:52take something simple
28:53like that.
28:55So what do you think
28:56about a shot like that?
28:58Yeah I really love the
28:58composition and how
28:59it's like it is quite
29:00simple but it gets
29:01everything in there.
29:03I need to definitely
29:03get a camera now.
29:06After getting Drew's
29:07photography advice
29:08Lucinda went back to
29:09work and having shaped
29:11and inserted the brass
29:12inlay into her platter
29:13she gave the piece
29:15a polish.
29:16Ready to put on the
29:17final finish which
29:17would be a bit of
29:18wax I'm going to
29:19apply it just keeping
29:20a little bit of
29:21distance from the
29:21brass between the
29:22wood and I'm just
29:23going to slowly buff
29:24it in and then finish
29:25off with a buffing
29:26wheel.
29:28So I'm just sort of
29:29covering the piece
29:31and then I'm going to
29:32remove the excess.
29:34A bit of power.
29:39So I get a clean
29:39piece of cloth and I
29:42adjust and this just
29:44helps remove any
29:45excess.
29:50Lucinda's dressing
29:51table platter made
29:52from fiddleback
29:53sycamore and inlaid
29:54with a polished brass
29:55maker's mark had a
29:56make time of around a
29:58day and was priced at
29:59£120.
30:01What do you think?
30:03I think it's a really
30:03really beautiful piece
30:04and I do like the
30:05fact that the coin's a
30:06bit more visible on
30:07this one as well.
30:08It really adds to the
30:09charm.
30:10The finish is very
30:11very high end.
30:12The quality of the
30:12work is really
30:13really good.
30:14How about the price
30:15point?
30:15It's a really
30:16beautiful form.
30:17The finish is
30:18lovely.
30:18You know it's got
30:19quite a wide appeal
30:20for that type of
30:22design.
30:23Yeah I can really
30:24see this piece and
30:24the brushes playing
30:25really well as a
30:26kind of group shot
30:27stylised together.
30:28Rituals of beauty
30:29and self-care and
30:30that is a market
30:31where people are
30:32willing to spend a
30:33bit more.
30:34We were all
30:35incredibly impressed
30:36with Lucinda's work
30:37and she headed back
30:38to Wiltshire with
30:39an action plan to
30:40help make her dream
30:41of having a
30:42successful woodturning
30:43business come true.
30:45First she needed to
30:46speed up production
30:47to make her pieces
30:48more profitable.
30:50Next we wanted her
30:51to increase the
30:52price of her
30:53fantastic makeup
30:54brushes.
30:55And finally she
30:56needed to improve
30:57her branding and
30:58marketing to help
30:59sell her work.
31:02For the next
31:03eight weeks Lucinda
31:04worked on her plan
31:05supported by
31:06Barnaby and Drew.
31:08She started with
31:09speeding up the
31:09creation of her
31:10brushes which
31:11included a newly
31:12designed one.
31:13This is my
31:14sort of like a
31:15contouring type
31:15brush.
31:16Oh wow.
31:18I'm really
31:19excited about this.
31:20Yeah.
31:22I like the form
31:23as well.
31:23The tapered form.
31:25Yeah and they
31:26stand up as well
31:27so they sort of go
31:27in style with the
31:29other ones.
31:29Sounds like some
31:30amazing progress.
31:31We're really
31:31excited for you
31:32and seeing how
31:33much you've done
31:33and yeah I
31:34really like the
31:34new brushes.
31:36See you later.
31:39Lucinda also took
31:40part in her first
31:41craft fair.
31:43Over four days she
31:44had the chance to
31:45sell her work to
31:46customers looking for
31:47the very best
31:48handmade pieces.
31:49I'm in my tent so
31:50I've just had a
31:51couple of days here
31:52so far and it's
31:52going really well.
31:54What I've sold so
31:54far it's more than
31:55I've sold in like
31:56the time I have been
31:58online for like
31:58social media and
31:59stuff.
32:00The brushes went
32:01down really well so
32:02I've almost sold out
32:02all my brushes so
32:03that was amazing and
32:05I'm just yeah I'm
32:06just really enjoying
32:07myself.
32:08In the two months
32:09after my boot camp
32:10Lucinda did
32:11everything she could
32:12to get her business
32:13up and running and
32:15when she returned to
32:16report back on her
32:16progress she'd
32:18absolutely nailed it.
32:20I've made £2,065
32:23and I'm really
32:24impressed with what
32:25I've done.
32:25You should be.
32:26You should be.
32:27In a short
32:28amount of time.
32:29So I've just been
32:30like wow okay this
32:31could be something.
32:32And you really need
32:33to understand how
32:33much progress you
32:34have made in a
32:34short period of time.
32:37Going from it being
32:38a night time hobby
32:39where she was hardly
32:40selling anything to
32:41making over £2,000
32:42in just a few weeks
32:44was a fantastic
32:45achievement for
32:46Lucinda.
32:47She had to take
32:48off her costs but
32:49it was the beginning
32:50of something big for
32:51her.
32:53It's now been over
32:54three and a half
32:55years since she
32:55arrived at my boot
32:56camp.
32:57And to find out how
32:58much her profits have
32:59grown since then
33:00Drew and Barnaby have
33:01headed to Wiltshire to
33:02catch up with her.
33:06Hiya.
33:07Come on in.
33:07How are you guys doing?
33:08Hi Lucinda.
33:09It's lovely to see you.
33:10Yeah you too.
33:10Hi Lucinda.
33:11Lucinda's recently
33:12moved house and has
33:13built her own brand new
33:15workshop which is
33:16actually a bit smaller
33:17than her last one.
33:19It's interesting you
33:20seem to have
33:20downsized and
33:21specialised a little
33:22bit.
33:22Yeah at boot camp I was
33:24doing you know the
33:24platters, I was doing
33:25all these homewares and
33:26then the brushes and as
33:27you know the business
33:28has developed I've
33:29decided to sort of drop
33:30the platters and focus on
33:31the brushes so that's
33:32what's been the sort of
33:33big seller and by able to
33:35do that I can kind of use
33:37less equipment, be more
33:38efficient with my time.
33:40I've had clients I've
33:41bought over 20 make-up
33:42brushes now and I've
33:43realised that they've got
33:44quite collectibles.
33:45Where do you sell your
33:46work now?
33:47Most of my brushes are
33:48sold via my website, I
33:49also do commissions, I
33:51did use the dabble in
33:52craft fairs but I sort of
33:53focus more on just doing
33:54my collections and drops
33:56as that's worked really
33:57well and I have lots of
33:58people who collect make-up
34:00brushes from America
34:01buying big orders which
34:02has been amazing.
34:03It's really special to see
34:05you doubling down on sort
34:07of the more high-end and
34:08more creative aspects of
34:09what you do and really
34:10zeroing in on the brushes.
34:12You've really made it your
34:12own and developed some
34:14really interesting, really
34:15special techniques that
34:16sort of set you apart as
34:17sort of not competing
34:18with others and more
34:19like they're only doing
34:20this specific thing you're
34:21doing.
34:22Oh thank you, yeah it's
34:23been amazing.
34:24I've started to introduce
34:25butterflies and I've
34:27started to add sapphires
34:28to make-up brushes
34:29because why not?
34:30It's been very exciting.
34:33Specialising in one type
34:34of product has helped
34:36Lucinda to broaden her
34:37materials and incorporate
34:38special objects into her
34:40unique make-up brushes
34:41which are now priced
34:43between £95 and £300.
34:46each.
34:47Her latest creation is made
34:49from pink ivory wood, a
34:51beautiful southern African
34:52hardwood and includes the
34:54wing of a butterfly that
34:55died naturally sourced from a
34:57butterfly farm.
34:58It has material costs of £45
35:00and a make time of half a day.
35:03It's priced at £220 and
35:06Lucinda's going to show
35:07Barnaby and Drew how it's
35:08made.
35:08What we're doing at the moment
35:10is we're just taking those
35:11edges off, those corners, and
35:13making the piece round.
35:28It's a very hard, dense wood, so I'm
35:31sort of taking slow cuts of it.
35:33I've got it near enough to like
35:34where I want it and where I will
35:35start to section the pieces off.
35:38The naturally pink African wood is
35:40very rare, making Lucinda's
35:43makeup brush even more
35:44desirable.
35:45To create the handle's curve,
35:48Lucinda uses a spindle gouge,
35:50checking its height as she goes
35:51to make sure it fits with the
35:53rest of her 60 millimetre tall
35:54brush range.
36:05I'm just going to
36:07take all the side there.
36:16Just like that, and then you've
36:17got yourself a nice smoother cut
36:18now.
36:20When she's happy with the
36:22handle's shape, Lucinda uses a
36:24large drill bit, called a
36:25forstner bit, to create a wide
36:27hole for her brush's bristles.
36:30I'm not going to brush this part
36:32as the tool and the wood can
36:34overheat, and then you can get
36:36cracks and things like that.
36:38So I will take it with a few
36:40passes, then I'll come back out,
36:42and then I'll go back in, just to
36:44make sure that I'm not damaging
36:46the wood.
36:49These woods are just so dense, so
36:51say if I was turning sycamore,
36:53something like that, it would just
36:55go straight through and it would
36:56cut through like butter, but these
36:58ones are just a bit more, just
37:00need to be a bit more careful with
37:01them.
37:02With the hole for the goat's hair
37:04created, Lucinda sands the wood to
37:06get rid of any ridges.
37:09Next, she saws off the end,
37:14creates a shallow hole for a
37:16recycled silver maker's mark, and
37:18finishes it with an oil to give the
37:20wood a bit more colour.
37:22Then it's time to add a laminated
37:24butterfly wing with a strong, fast
37:26setting adhesive.
37:28This is a bit of the fiddly stage.
37:30You have to be really careful.
37:32The wings are very fragile.
37:35This is a blue morpho butterfly.
37:38The bees come from the Amazon.
37:40It was really popular to work with
37:42blue morpho butterflies in the
37:44Victorian era.
37:45What they would do is they'd place
37:46glass over the wing, and they'd turn
37:49into like serving trays and all
37:51sorts.
37:53What do you know?
37:54I'm going to spray it with some
37:55activator.
38:01And that just helps the glue dry a
38:03lot faster.
38:04Once the glue has set, Lucinda sands
38:07the handle down.
38:10What I'm going for is that glass
38:11finish, like it looks like glass when
38:13it's done.
38:13Yeah, so you've got to have real
38:15attention to this detail.
38:16It's looking really, really beautiful,
38:18Lucinda.
38:20It's great to see Lucinda making a
38:22new product, and Barnaby and Drew are
38:24keen to find out what else she's been
38:26up to since we last saw her over
38:28three and a half years ago.
38:29What do you say is your biggest
38:31success that you've had since
38:32boot camp?
38:33I'd say just the overall development
38:35of the brushes itself, but also the
38:37Queen Elizabeth scholarship.
38:38That was amazing.
38:39I got to really develop my designs and
38:41my products and the way they make,
38:42the materials I work with.
38:44I started to turn stone as well in my
38:46scholarship, so I have plans to do
38:48more stone handle brushes, which would
38:50be quite exciting.
38:51Yeah, I've been really impressed to
38:52see actually with some of your
38:53processes, I can see there are certain
38:55ways of doing things you've developed
38:56that are unique to you, and that's
38:58very, very exciting.
39:00The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust
39:02is a charity that funds training and
39:04education for makers across the UK,
39:07and it's helped Lucinda develop her
39:09skills.
39:10To finish her new butterfly handle
39:12makeup brush, she creates a glassy
39:14shine on the wood by using a finishing
39:16polish traditionally used for wooden
39:18musical instruments.
39:19A nice sort of even tone across the
39:22wing.
39:22Yeah.
39:23Wow.
39:24And I would say that's it now.
39:26She then combs high-grade goat
39:28fibres, creates a knot, and glues them
39:32into the handle.
39:36Lucinda's new pink ivory wood makeup
39:38brush with butterfly wing inlay is an
39:41exquisite high-end product and comes with
39:43a price tag of £220.
39:47Focusing on luxury makeup sponges and
39:50brushes like this is a great business
39:52plan, and I'm keen to find out if any of
39:55the advice we gave her back at the boot
39:57camp has also helped drive her business
39:59forward, and how it's paying off
40:01financially.
40:03When you came to boot camp, you really
40:05spoke about getting those prices up a
40:06little bit, especially on your more
40:08luxurious pieces.
40:09How's that gone for you?
40:10That's gone quite well.
40:11I think it's kind of long overdue for me
40:13to maybe do that again with just the
40:15techniques I'm using, the materials
40:16that I'm using, you know, the silver,
40:19the gemstones, the exotic woods,
40:21butterflies.
40:22So I think, you know, it's probably time
40:24for me to consider doing that again, and
40:25maybe I just need to have a bit more
40:26confidence to just go and go for it.
40:28Yeah, there's definitely potential to
40:30sort of continue on, but what you've
40:31done so far is really, really amazing.
40:33Absolutely.
40:34Something else we wanted you to focus on
40:36was your branding and marketing.
40:37Is that something that you've managed to
40:39do?
40:39Yes, I think the branding is a massive
40:41part of what I'm doing, is I'm also
40:43selling kind of like a concept.
40:45It's not just a, you know, a makeup brush.
40:46It's a bit more than that.
40:47And I've really implemented the advice I
40:49got when I last saw you guys, invested in
40:51a really good camera, learning those
40:53photography skills.
40:54And it's really excelled my branding to
40:56the point where I've got featured in the
40:57New York Times, where they use my images.
41:00And I'm like, that was just such a moment for
41:02me to realise how far my skills have come
41:05and just the business itself.
41:06Yeah, having your brand image and brand
41:08recognition is really important.
41:10You've really curated and cultivated something
41:12that's very uniquely yours, especially when
41:15it reflects in the materials and everything
41:17that you've chosen to use.
41:18And getting in something like the New York
41:20Times is a really wonderful, wonderful thing
41:22to achieve.
41:23So that's fantastic, especially with your
41:25imagery.
41:26Lucinda spent the last three and a half years
41:29honing her skills and business.
41:31And I'm looking forward to hearing what that's
41:33meant for her earnings.
41:35How much have you made through your work?
41:37What have you made for the business?
41:38So on average, I make around $24,000 a year.
41:41Wow.
41:42That's incredible.
41:44Congratulations.
41:45Huge improvement.
41:46I think it could be higher.
41:47But at the moment, you know, I'm a single parent
41:49with two kids and it's like what works for me.
41:52And I think we're sort of making higher end,
41:54but less is what's kind of what I'm comfortable with
41:56without feeling like I'm going to burn out.
41:58But, you know, I hope it'll continue to grow.
42:00I'm excited for what's to come.
42:01If I hadn't gone through this experience,
42:02I don't know if I would have a business today.
42:04It may have just remained a hobby.
42:06So I'm really grateful.
42:08Lucinda works around 20 to 25 hours a week
42:11to suit her family lifestyle,
42:14making £24,000 a year after costs.
42:17It's a brilliant achievement.
42:19And I've no doubt that the only way is up for her now.
42:23Three and a half years ago, I was just turning
42:25things in my garage, posting things online.
42:27I never thought anything like this was going to happen.
42:30I didn't think I'd have a business,
42:33you know, have people collecting my work
42:34all over the world and people recognise me
42:36as the brush lady.
42:38And, you know, it's quite something
42:39and I'm quite proud of myself
42:40and I can't wait to see what's to come.
42:45Lucinda and Alex have spent the last few years
42:48working hard on all the advice we gave them.
42:50And they've now got fantastic, sustainable businesses
42:54that I'm sure will continue to grow.
42:57Want some help building a business that lasts?
43:00Visit the Open University's interactive guide
43:03for practical help to sustain and grow your business.
43:07Scan the QR code on screen
43:09or visit connect.open.ac.uk
43:13forward slash I made it at market.
43:27Take care.
43:35Take care.
43:35будут.
43:43Bye.
43:43Bye.
43:43Bye.��ーagora.
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