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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. There he is.
00:29Hello, mate.
00:31I'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 kind of say I am living the dream.
00:53I think that's fair to say.
00:54That'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.
01:17Later, we'll head to Wiltshire to hear all about Woodturner Lucinda's incredible international success.
01:23I'd have people collecting my work all over the world,
01:25and people recognised me as the brush lady, and, you know, it was quite something.
01:30But first, I'll be checking in with blacksmith Alex in Northumberland,
01:34who'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,
01:56but a 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...
02:05I 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,
02:12oh, I could put another five hours in and fix this, fix that.
02:15And I'd go way over budget, and I undercharge and things,
02:19and, I don't know, I feel like I could use a pep talk.
02:23To 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.
02:56To work out how best to boost Alex's sales and profits,
02:59I set him three challenges.
03:02First up, I asked him to make a volume piece,
03:05something he could make quickly and sell for an affordable price.
03:08He decided to forge a Chinese dragon's head.
03:12Priced at £100, it featured twisted horns,
03:15which could become the decorative part of a door handle or fire dog.
03:20Job one was splitting one end of a piece of steel
03:23before pulling it apart to create what would become the horns.
03:29I'm wanting 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,
03:36twist it this way to get a nice sort 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,
03:48they've always got these lovely, long, flowing, cloud-like whiskers and horns and 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,
04:19you can't gauge the temperature.
04:20It's just due to the ambient light of being outdoors.
04:23So I've over-twisted that ever so slightly.
04:24It's fractured off.
04:25So I'm going to cut this off and start again.
04:28Whilst Alex restarted his volume piece,
04:31I sat down with Adrian to talk about his second challenge.
04:35Before he arrived at my boot camp,
04:37I asked Alex to make a high-end piece,
04:40something carrying a heftier price tag.
04:42He 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,
05:22Alex had created the twisted horns for his dragon's head
05:25on a new piece of steel
05:29and put a cut in the steel bar
05:31so that he could fold it over to create a face.
05:34I've got my cut in place
05:36and I'm now about to do the fold over.
05:39But before I do that,
05:40I need to make sure that there's nothing that's going to get trapped
05:42inside where the weld's going to lie.
05:44So I'm going to give it a good scrubbing,
05:46then fold it over.
05:51Alex worked quickly
05:52and his next step was to weld the folded pieces together.
05:57I've done this a hundred times before, Alex.
05:59So you know what you're doing.
06:02Just breathe.
06:03Take it easy.
06:05You've got it.
06:17Now whilst the heat's on the top there,
06:19I'm going to start by bellying it out down like that
06:23and now there,
06:26I've given him a little bit of an eye socket as well.
06:29So in doing that,
06:30just putting those two little sets in
06:32and a little bit of drag on the nose,
06:33his nose has came down a bit more
06:35and he's got some nice little areas
06:37where I can start working the eyes into it as well.
06:40Well done, Alex.
06:40Nailed it.
06:41Nice one.
06:45Once he finished the eyes,
06:47Alex 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
07:06and I'm more or less happy with them.
07:08They're OK.
07:09So I want them to get a heat right there
07:11so I can just yark his head down a little bit
07:14and give him a little bit of character.
07:17With the bar at just the right temperature,
07:20Alex bent the neck.
07:27Alex's decorative dragon's head
07:29had a make time of around four hours.
07:31He priced it at £100,
07:34but that was before he'd fashioned it into a sellable item,
07:37like a door handle or knocker.
07:41The level of fine detail is really quite impressive
07:43and the patience that you've got to do that is incredible.
07:47The concern I have is how much time you've spent
07:50doing all that detail.
07:51Does that equate to being able to make a profit?
07:55What do you think of the price point?
07:57For the work involved,
07:58I think it's cheaper than it probably should be.
08:00I think it should be as a concept piece,
08:03absolutely great,
08:04but if you want to make that into something else,
08:07you've got to bring that time down.
08:10Alex had to work on both his speed of production
08:13and the pricing of his first two items.
08:16For his final task,
08:18I asked him to make his favourite piece
08:20to discover if what he enjoyed making most
08:22could also bring in big sales.
08:25He chose to make a Viking-style pattern-welded knife
08:29priced at £480,
08:31which he'd made before
08:32for members of re-enactment societies.
08:36He began by creating a billet,
08:38a metal block made from layers
08:40of different-strength steel alloys welded together.
08:44Having cleaned it,
08:45he added Flux,
08:47a powder that helped protect the world
08:49from 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
09:09and debate my life choices.
09:12After making sure the block of steel alloys
09:14was properly welded together...
09:21Alex hammered it into one long piece,
09:24cut it into four bits,
09:26then twisted two of them
09:27to create part of the knife's final pattern
09:29before finally hammering them flat
09:31and welding them all back together again.
09:35Alex, how we doing?
09:36What stage are we at?
09:37Pretty much ready to go into the oil quench
09:38and then temper.
09:40You're very confident with your processes.
09:42How would you feel about going out to a market
09:45and selling these things,
09:46and more importantly, selling yourself?
09:48I feel very uncomfortable talking about money,
09:50if I'm honest with you.
09:51All you've got to do is just sell the brand.
09:53People go to these markets, Alex,
09:55because they want to see beautiful things,
09:56and if you can provide that for them,
09:59just 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.
10:06I'll let you get on with it.
10:08I'm cultivating a gentle heat along the blade
10:12and we're going to quench it in some oil
10:14and that will harden the blade right up.
10:17Okay.
10:21And...
10:24And...
10:26That's gone very well.
10:29With the knife's shape created,
10:31Alex applied the finishing touches.
10:34It'll be onto the grinder
10:36and getting it all nice and smoothed out
10:39and then sanding it up,
10:41polishing and polishing and polishing and polishing and polishing,
10:43and then it gets cleaned
10:44once I've got it really, really mirror shiny
10:49with acetone just to get any grease and grit off,
10:52and then it's into the acid tank
10:53to get the...
10:54to pull the pattern out.
10:56The acid reacted with the twisted metal
10:59and different strength steel alloys in the knife
11:01to create the pattern.
11:04With a make time of around 13 hours,
11:07Alex gave it a price tag of £480.
11:10Absolutely brilliant.
11:11You've done a cracking job.
11:13Really, really good job.
11:14I'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,
11:20but the amount of work that goes into it,
11:21the people that will probably get that
11:23are 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,
11:33we gave him an action plan
11:34to help him build a successful, sustainable business.
11:38First, he needed to speed up the pace
11:41at which he produced his work,
11:43particularly his volume pieces.
11:45Next, Adrian wanted him to fix his prices
11:48and charge what his work was worth.
11:50Finally, he needed to sell himself
11:53and his pieces with confidence.
11:57For the next eight weeks,
11:59Alex was guided by Adrian
12:00as he set to work on his action plan,
12:02and he began by focusing on speeding up the production
12:06of some potential new volume pieces.
12:08This one here,
12:09that 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
12:17and 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
12:25much wider at the tip there.
12:26He also worked hard
12:28trying to turn his dragon's head
12:29into a completed sellable piece.
12:31I have been doing dragons and dragons
12:34and dragons and dragons
12:37trying to get them right,
12:38trying to speed the process up,
12:40playing around with a few different patterns.
12:42They've come out quite nicely.
12:43I'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,
12:55which is what I wanted.
12:58Alex embraced our suggestions
13:00and gave them his all,
13:01and 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
13:09has been about 2,800.
13:12It's such a short amount of time.
13:14That'll improve your confidence.
13:16Yeah.
13:17Fantastic.
13:18Well done.
13:20Alex had to take off his costs
13:22from his terrific sales,
13:23but he'd made some big strides forwards
13:26with his business.
13:28It's now over three and a half years
13:30since I first met him.
13:32Time really does fly.
13:33And I've come to Northumberland
13:35to hear about how he's been building
13:36a successful business.
13:40Alex.
13:40Oh, how are you doing?
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,
13:50I 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.
14:03I'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,
14:11the little shoe.
14:11It looks like a shop up there.
14:12I can see display cases.
14:13I wanted to make a workshop
14:15that when people walked in,
14:16they went, ah, 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,
14:30but how's the business working out?
14:31It's going really well.
14:33Is it?
14:33I started teaching a few years ago.
14:36I've been running blacksmithing workshops
14:38and things for people.
14:39I do them in two different ways.
14:41I do public courses.
14:42I do beginners kitchen knife-making ones.
14:46I do axe-making, hammer-making,
14:48forging your own tools like tongs and chisels.
14:51The other aspect is private experiences.
14:54And 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 banter, fantastic jokes.
15:04Everybody's having a grand time.
15:06Courses are a great way
15:07of bringing money into a business.
15:10And 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
15:22that you do here
15:22sounds brilliant.
15:24Hmm.
15:24But do you still have time
15:25to work on your own projects?
15:27Through the summer period,
15:29teaching tends to slack off.
15:30I do commissions constantly
15:32throughout the year as well.
15:32That 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
15:41to go onto various buildings,
15:43most recently the 1950s cinema.
15:46I've done a fair bit of work
15:47for Bamber Castle,
15:49restoring bits of iron work
15:50and making new pieces of iron work
15:51to 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
16:03keeping 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
16:17an important part of 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.
16:33We start by cutting
16:35two vertical slits
16:36into a steel bar.
16:40I'm happy with that.
16:42Next, we heat the bar
16:44so we can open it up
16:45along the two cuts.
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,
16:55but it's big.
16:56It's an eagle.
16:57Okay, okay then.
16:59Eddie?
17:00Eddie the eagle.
17:04With the metal
17:05at the correct temperature,
17:06it's over to the anvil.
17:08Once you start
17:09driving 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
17:18you probably hit about
17:19as far as you can
17:20on that heat.
17:21I'd chuck him in
17:21and then maybe
17:23he's on your next heat.
17:24A little bit of ice?
17:24Get it in the ice.
17:25Okay, back in the fire.
17:28Once the metal
17:28has been reheated,
17:30the vice holds the bird,
17:31or should I say
17:32Eddie,
17:32steady.
17:33Oh, yes.
17:35While I peel back
17:36what will be the wings.
17:37Nice.
17:38That's starting
17:38to open out nicely.
17:42Then I heat it again
17:43and start shaping them.
17:45I'll just grab them
17:45by the end
17:46of one of 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
17:54them by the next bit there,
17:57that's the trick.
18:01Remember,
18:01we don't need to get
18:02a super, super flat.
18:04No.
18:04Because a little bit of the...
18:05His wings are flapping
18:06already.
18:06Exactly.
18:07Exactly.
18:14That'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
18:26some 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.
18:33There 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 to add
18:47the details to 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?
18:52If we just come in,
18:54keep the file moving,
18:56and 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
19:25and he'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
19:40a steady income
19:41for Alex,
19:42alongside his
19:43commissioned work.
19:45I 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
19:54advice Adrian
19:55and I gave him
19:56has played a part
19:57in boosting his business
19:58over the past few years.
20:01Alex,
20:02when you were last
20:02at my boot camp,
20:04myself and Adrian
20:05sent you away
20:05with some homework,
20:07a 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.
20:18I 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
20:26was nothing.
20:28Now my hourly rate
20:29is £45 an hour.
20:31Some people
20:31don't like that
20:32and they go,
20:33oh, I'll go somewhere cheaper.
20:34That'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
20:49to 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 with 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 relaxing,
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 three
21:27and 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 if 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
21:49which is like...
21:51Oh my God.
21:52$40,000?
21:53Yeah.
21:54Wow.
21:55I never thought
21:56I would have ever seen
21:57that sort of money.
21:58With the best will in the world,
22:00I do work like
22:00six days a week
22:01and like...
22:02Oh,
22:0210 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
22:11to put down a deposit
22:12on 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?
22:18If you've got
22:19the hard work,
22:20the dedication
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
22:26making any money
22:27from his craft.
22:29Now,
22:30he'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
22:44some absolutely
22:45incredible jobs
22:46but in some
22:47fantastic places
22:48and met some
22:49incredible people.
22:50I'm able to
22:52not only do a job
22:53that I love
22:53but I'm able to help
22:54people
22:56through doing
22:57what I love
22:57and that is
23:00something that
23:00I genuinely
23:01never thought
23:02I would have
23:02been able
23:02to achieve
23:03before.
23:03It's incredible.
23:10Time now
23:11to catch up
23:11with our second
23:12maker,
23:13mum of two
23:13Lucinda
23:14from Wiltshire.
23:15When I first
23:16met her
23:17just over
23:17three and a half
23:18years ago,
23:19she was hoping
23:19to turn her
23:20love of wood
23:20turning
23:21into a reliable
23:22money spinner.
23:23In the day,
23:24I'm a start-home
23:24parent to two
23:25young girls
23:26and so most
23:27of my wood
23:28turning work
23:28is done at
23:29night time
23:29or sometimes
23:30on the weekends.
23:31To help
23:32Lucinda make
23:33money from
23:33the pieces
23:34she made,
23:35she was guided
23:36by Drew Plum
23:36and Barnaby
23:37Ash.
23:39Barnaby turns
23:40beautiful pieces
23:41from locally
23:41sourced British
23:42timbers.
23:43Drew is the
23:44marketing mastermind
23:45of their business.
23:47We're really
23:47excited to work
23:48with 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
23:55business with
23:56the right advice
23:57and care.
23:59For her volume
24:00piece,
24:00Lucinda made
24:01a pair of
24:02makeup brushes
24:02from she oak
24:03and curly maple,
24:05both filled
24:05with natural goat's
24:06hair and priced
24:07at £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
24:16off.
24:17I'm just making
24:17it circular in shape
24:19and this is what I
24:19do at 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
24:30two makeup brushes,
24:31Barnaby and Drew
24:32were keen to find
24:33out more about
24:33the idea behind them.
24:35What gave you the
24:35idea to make
24:36this particular piece?
24:37I've just been
24:38wanting to make
24:38my own brushes
24:39and I wanted to
24:39make something
24:40that had that
24:41sort of ergonomic
24:42feel to it.
24:43It's a lot of
24:43makeup brushes
24:44have these
24:45long handles
24:45and then they've
24:46got to go into
24:47a bag or
24:47they've got to
24:47go somewhere else.
24:48I like how this
24:49can stand up
24:51right and
24:52it can look
24:52nice as well
24:53just wherever
24:54you put it.
24:55As Lucinda
24:56was making
24:56good progress
24:57with her
24:57makeup brushes
24:58I grabbed
24:59her and Drew
25:00and Barnaby
25:00for a chat
25:01in my marquee
25:02to get their
25:02thoughts on
25:03her second
25:04item,
25:04her high-end
25:05piece.
25:07Lucinda
25:08brought along
25:09a polished
25:09decorative tray
25:10turned from
25:11Ziricote,
25:12a dark
25:12exotic hardwood
25:14inlaid at the
25:14back with a
25:15sterling silver
25:16maker's mark.
25:17It had a
25:17price tag of
25:18£260.
25:21It's absolutely
25:21spectacular and
25:22I know how much
25:23effort goes into
25:24getting such a
25:24polished finish.
25:25There's a lot more
25:25time and effort
25:26than people may
25:27realise and
25:28yeah, it's very
25:28very well made.
25:30How about the
25:30price point?
25:31If I was to
25:32make a point about
25:33the silver coin in
25:34the base, it's a
25:36beautiful touch but
25:37if it's going to
25:38add a lot to the
25:39price point and
25:40it's hidden...
25:41It doesn't add
25:41like a massive
25:42thing to it but
25:43it's the fact that
25:44a lot of other
25:44metals will get a
25:45patina or they
25:46don't last as long
25:47and when you put
25:48this on there,
25:48it does make it
25:49last.
25:50That price point
25:51for the type of
25:52item that you're
25:52making, you know,
25:53you've got to look
25:54at it from that
25:55first perception.
25:58Back at the
25:58woodshed, Lucinda
25:59got straight back
26:00to work on the
26:01handles of her
26:02pair of make-up
26:03brushes.
26:04I'm going to
26:05drill into the
26:07handle.
26:07I'm going to
26:08core out the
26:09middle, ready for
26:10the hair to go
26:10in.
26:11Kind of got to
26:12get to a certain
26:13depth just for the
26:14hair to sort of
26:15fit securely in
26:18there.
26:18I've made a
26:19little mark and
26:21I sort of know
26:21when I get to that
26:22mark, that's when
26:23I sort of pull out.
26:25The next step was
26:27to sand them and
26:28prep the goat's hair.
26:29There's definitely
26:30ways I could be doing
26:31things quicker but I
26:31do take a lot of
26:32time on the small
26:33details.
26:34I'm a perfectionist.
26:36It's something I'm
26:36actually trying to
26:37work on because I
26:38realise now that a
26:39lot of the time it's
26:41what you see isn't
26:42what everyone else
26:42sees and so sometimes
26:43I need to take less
26:45time I think on some
26:47aspects of it.
26:48To finish, Lucinda
26:50cut the brush's hair
26:51to the right shape
26:52and glued it into
26:53place.
26:55Her two she-oak and
26:56curly maple makeup
26:57brushes topped with
26:58natural goat's hair
26:59took just over three
27:01hours to make and with
27:02material costs of £25
27:04per brush were priced
27:06at £65 each.
27:07I think they're
27:08really, really
27:09interesting, original,
27:10unique pieces.
27:11I haven't seen
27:11anything quite like it.
27:12I think there's a lot
27:13of potential there to
27:14find a unique selling
27:16point for you in a
27:16marketplace.
27:17What about the price
27:18point?
27:18I've seen pieces kind
27:19of up to that price
27:20point that weren't as
27:21original as yours.
27:23I personally would
27:24double down on the
27:25high-end aspect and
27:26focus on the range of
27:27unique timbers but I
27:29think there's definitely
27:29a potential to go to
27:30kind of £65 and up
27:31and definitely the top
27:32end is probably what I
27:33would focus on.
27:34Thank you so much.
27:37Lucinda's makeup
27:37brushes were a big hit
27:39with Barnaby and
27:40Drew and for her
27:41third challenge I
27:42asked her to make
27:43her favourite piece
27:44to find out if the
27:45creations she loved
27:46making the most
27:47could bring in big
27:48bucks.
27:49She decided to make
27:50a dressing table
27:51platter out of
27:52fiddleback sycamore
27:53with a brass coin
27:54inlay, this time on
27:56the front of the
27:56piece.
27:57It had an asking
27:58price of £120.
28:03You have to get
28:04the shavings.
28:05It's a bit bumpy
28:06to start with.
28:12So I'm just
28:12transferring my weight
28:13from my left to my
28:14right foot, just
28:16doing a few passes.
28:23So now that's round,
28:24I will cut the back
28:26and then I'll come
28:27back to this later to
28:29get the shape by doing
28:30a little bit of a
28:30tapered cut.
28:32It was clear that
28:33Lucinda was in her
28:34element making her
28:35pieces, but Drew
28:36wanted to get her
28:37thinking more about
28:38selling them, starting
28:40with some tips about
28:40how to photograph her
28:42work.
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
28:58the composition and how
28:59it's quite simple, but
29:01it gets everything in
29:02there.
29:02I 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,
29:14she gave the piece a
29:15polish.
29:15Ready to put on the
29:16final finish, which
29:17would be a bit of wax.
29:19I'm going to apply it,
29:20just keeping a little
29:21bit of distance from the
29:21brass between the wood,
29:23and I'm just going to
29:23slowly buff it in and
29:25then finish off with a
29:26buffing wheel.
29:28So I'm just sort of
29:29covering the piece, and
29:31then I'm going to
29:32remove the excess.
29:34Bit of power.
29:38So I get a clean piece
29:40of cloth, and I just
29:42flip, and this just
29:44helps remove any excess.
29:50Lucinda's dressing table
29:51platter, made from
29:52fiddleback sycamore and
29:53inlaid with a polished
29:55brass maker's mark, had a
29:56make time of around a
29:58day, and was priced at
29:59£120.
30:02What do you think?
30:03I think it's a really,
30:03really beautiful piece,
30:04and I do like the fact
30:06that the coin's a bit more
30:06visible on this one as
30:08well.
30:08It really adds to the
30:09charm.
30:10The finish is very, very
30:11high-end.
30:12The quality of the work
30:12is really, really good.
30:14How about the price
30:15point?
30:15It's a really beautiful
30:16form.
30:17The finish is lovely.
30:18You know, it's got quite a
30:20wide appeal for that type
30:21of design.
30:23Yeah, I can really see this
30:24piece and the brush is
30:25playing really well as a
30:26kind of group shot,
30:27stylised together.
30:28Rituals of beauty and
30:29self-care, and that is a
30:31market where people are
30:32willing to spend a bit
30:33more.
30:34We were all incredibly
30:35impressed with Lucinda's
30:37work, and she headed back
30:38to Wiltshire with an action
30:39plan to help make her dream
30:41of having a successful
30:42woodturning business come
30:44true.
30:45First, she needed to speed up
30:47production to make her
30:48pieces more profitable.
30:50Next, we wanted her to
30:52increase the price of her
30:53fantastic make-up brushes.
30:55And finally, she needed to
30:57improve her branding and
30:58marketing to help sell her
30:59work.
31:02For the next eight weeks,
31:03Lucinda worked on her plan,
31:05supported by Barnaby and
31:06Drew.
31:07She started with speeding up
31:09the creation of her brushes,
31:11which included a newly
31:12designed one.
31:13This is my sort of like a
31:15contouring type brush.
31:16Oh, wow.
31:18I'm really excited about
31:19this.
31:20Yeah.
31:22I like the form as well,
31:23rather tapered form.
31:25Yeah, and they stand up as
31:27well, so they sort of go in
31:28style with the other ones.
31:29Sounds like some amazing
31:30progress.
31:31We're really excited for you
31:32and seeing how much you've
31:33done.
31:34Yeah, I really like the new
31:35brushes.
31:36See you later.
31:39Lucinda also took part in
31:41her first craft fair.
31:43Over four days, she had the
31:44chance to sell her work to
31:46customers looking for the
31:47very best handmade pieces.
31:49I'm in my turn, so I've just
31:51had a couple of days here so
31:52far and it's going really
31:53well.
31:53What I've sold so far, it's
31:54more than I've sold in like
31:56the time I have been online
31:58for like social media and
31:59stuff.
32:00The brushes went down really
32:01well, so I've almost sold out
32:02all my brushes.
32:03So that was amazing.
32:05And I'm just, yeah, I'm just
32:06really enjoying myself.
32:08In the two months after my
32:10boot camp, Lucinda did
32:11everything she could to get her
32:13business up and running.
32:14And when she returned to
32:16report back on her progress,
32:18she'd absolutely nailed it.
32:19I've made £2,065 and I'm
32:24really impressed with what
32:25I've done.
32:25You should be.
32:26You should be.
32:27In this short amount of time.
32:29Yeah.
32:29So I've just been like, wow,
32:30okay, this could be something.
32:32And you really need to
32:33understand how much progress
32:34you have made in a short
32:35period of time.
32:37Going from it being a
32:38nighttime hobby where she was
32:39hardly selling anything to
32:41making over £2,000 in just a
32:43few weeks was a fantastic
32:45achievement for Lucinda.
32:47She had to take off her
32:48costs, but it was the
32:49beginning of something big
32:51for her.
32:53It's now been over three and
32:54a half years since she
32:55arrived at my boot camp.
32:57And to find out how much
32:58her profits have grown since
32:59then, Drew and Barnaby have
33:01headed to Wiltshire to catch
33:03up with her.
33:06Hiya, come 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 moved
33:12house and has built her own
33:14brand new workshop, which is
33:16actually a bit smaller than
33:17her last one.
33:19It's interesting.
33:20You seem to have
33:20downsized and specialised a
33:22little bit.
33:22Yeah, at boot camp I was
33:24doing, you know, the
33:24platters, I was doing all
33:25these homewares and then
33:26the brushes.
33:27And as, you know, the
33:28business has developed, I
33:29decided to sort of drop the
33:30platters and focus on the
33:31brushes.
33:32That's what's been the sort
33:33of big seller.
33:34And by able to do that, I
33:35can kind of use less
33:37equipment, be more
33:38efficient with my time.
33:40I've had clients that have
33:41bought over 20 makeup
33:42brushes now and I've realised
33:43that they've got quite
33:44collectibles.
33:44Where do you sell your
33:46work now?
33:47Most of my brushes are
33:48sold via my website.
33:49I also do commissions.
33:50I did use to 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.
33:58And I have lots of people
33:58who collect makeup brushes
34:00from America buying big
34:02orders, which has been
34:03amazing.
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.
34:11You'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 with
34:19others and more like the
34:19only doing the specific
34:21thing you're doing.
34:22Oh, thank you.
34:23Yeah, it's been amazing.
34:24I've started to introduce
34:25butterflies and I've started
34:27to add sapphires to makeup
34:29brushes because why not?
34:30It's been very exciting.
34:33Specialising in one type of
34:35product has helped Lucinda to
34:36broaden her materials and
34:38incorporate special objects
34:39into her unique makeup
34:41brushes, which are now
34:42priced between £95 and
34:44£300 each.
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
34:57a butterfly farm.
34:58It has material costs of
35:00£45 and a make time of
35:02half 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
35:10moment is we're just taking
35:11those edges off, those
35:12corners, and making the
35:14piece round.
35:28It's a very hard, dense
35:29wood, so I'm sort of taking
35:31slow cuts of it.
35:33I've got it near enough to
35:34like where I want it and
35:35where I will start to
35:36section the pieces off.
35:38The naturally pink African
35:40wood is very rare, making
35:42Lucinda's makeup brush even
35:44more desirable.
35:45To create the handle's curve,
35:48Lucinda uses a spindle
35:49gouge, checking its height as
35:51she goes to make sure it
35:52fits with the rest of her 60
35:54millimetre-tall brush range.
36:04And I'm just going to tickle the
36:08side there.
36:16Just like that, and then you've
36:17got yourself a nice smoother cut now.
36:20When she's happy with the handle's shape,
36:23Lucinda uses a large drill bit, called a
36:25forstner bit, to create a wide hole for her brush's bristles.
36:30I'm not going to brush this part as the tool and the wood can overheat, and then you can
36:36get cracks and things like that.
36:38So, I will take it with a few passes, then I'll come back out, and then I'll go back in,
36:43just to make sure that I'm not damaging the wood.
36:49Because these woods are just so dense.
36:50So, say if I was turning sycamore, something like that, it would just go straight through
36:56and it would cut through like butter, but these ones are just a bit more, just need to be a
37:00bit more careful with them.
37:02With the hole for the goat's hair created, Lucinda sands the wood to get rid of any ridges.
37:09Next, she saws off the end,
37:14creates a shallow hole for a recycled silver maker's mark, and finishes it with an oil to give the wood
37:20a bit more colour.
37:22Then, it's time to add a laminated butterfly wing with a strong, fast-setting adhesive.
37:28This is a bit of a biddly stage.
37:31You 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 blue morpho butterflies in the Victorian era.
37:45What they would do is they'd place glass over the wing,
37:48and they'd turn into like serving trays and all sorts.
37:53What do you now?
37:54I'm going to spray it with some activator.
38:01And that just helps the glue dry a lot faster.
38:04Once the glue has set, Lucinda sands the handle down.
38:10What I'm going for is that glass finish.
38:12Like, it looks like glass when it's done.
38:13Yeah, yeah.
38:14So you've got to have real attention to detail.
38:16It's looking really, really beautiful, Lucinda.
38:20It's great to see Lucinda making a new product, and Barnaby and Drew are keen to find out what else
38:25she's been up to since we last saw her over three and a half years ago.
38:29What would you say is your biggest success that you've had since boot camp?
38:32I'd say just the overall development of the brushes itself, but also the Queen Elizabeth scholarship.
38:38That was amazing.
38:39I got to really develop my designs and my products and the way they're made and the materials I work
38:43with.
38:44I started to turn stone as well in my scholarship, so I have plans to do more stone handle brushes,
38:50which would be quite exciting.
38:51Yeah, I've been really impressed to see actually with some of your processes, I can see there are certain ways
38:55of doing things you've developed that are unique to you.
38:57Yeah.
38:57And that's very, very exciting.
39:00The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust is a charity that funds training and education for makers across the UK, and it's
39:07helped Lucinda develop her skills.
39:10To finish her new butterfly handle makeup brush, she creates a glassy shine on the wood by using a finishing
39:16polish traditionally used for wooden musical instruments.
39:19A nice sort of even tone across the wing.
39:22Yeah.
39:23Wow.
39:24And I would say that's it now.
39:26She then combs high-grade goat fibres, creates a knot, and glues them into the handle.
39:36Lucinda's new pink ivory wood makeup brush with butterfly wing inlay is an exquisite high-end product and comes with
39:43a price tag of £220.
39:47Focusing on luxury makeup sponges and brushes like this is a great business plan, and I'm keen to find out
39:54if any of the advice we gave her back at the bootcamp has also helped drive her business forward, and
40:00how it's paying off financially.
40:03When you came to bootcamp, you really spoke about getting those prices up a little bit, especially on your more
40:08luxurious pieces.
40:09Yeah.
40:09How's that gone for you?
40:10That's gone quite well.
40:11I think it's kind of long overdue for me to maybe do that again with just the techniques I'm using,
40:16the materials I'm using, you know, the silver, the gemstones, the exotic woods, butterflies.
40:21So I think, you know, it's probably time for me to consider doing that again, and maybe I just need
40:26to have a bit more confidence to just go and go for it.
40:28Yeah, there's definitely potential to sort of continue on, but what you've done so far is really, really amazing.
40:33Absolutely.
40:34Something else we wanted you to focus on was your branding and marketing.
40:37Is that something that you've managed to do?
40:39Yes, I think the branding is a massive part of what I'm doing is I'm also selling kind of like
40:43a concept.
40:44It'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 got.
40:50When I last saw you guys, I invested in a really good camera.
40:52I'm learning those photography skills, and it's really excelled my branding to the 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 me to realize how far my skills have come and
41:05just the business itself.
41:07Yeah, having your brand image and brand recognition is really important.
41:10You've really curated and cultivated something that's very uniquely yours, especially when it reflects in the materials and everything that
41:17you've chosen to use.
41:18And getting in something like the New York Times is a really wonderful, wonderful thing to achieve.
41:23So that's fantastic, especially with your imagery.
41:27Lucinda's spent the last three and a half years honing her skills and business, and I'm looking forward to hearing
41:32what that's meant for her earnings.
41:34How much have you made through your work? What have you made for the business?
41:38So on average, I make around 24,000 a year.
41:41Wow. That's incredible. Congratulations.
41:44Huge improvement.
41:45I think it could be higher.
41:47But at the moment, you know, I'm a single parent with two kids and it's like what works for me.
41:52And I think we're sort of making higher end, but less is what's kind of what I'm comfortable with without
41:57feeling like I'm going to burn out.
41:58But, you know, I hope it will continue to grow. I'm excited for what's come.
42:01If I hadn't gone through this experience, I don't know if I would have a business today.
42:05It may have just remained a hobby.
42:06So I'm really grateful.
42:08Lucinda works around 20 to 25 hours a week to suit her family lifestyle, making 24,000 pounds a year
42:16after 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 things 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, you know, have people collecting my work all over the world and people
42:36recognize me as the brush lady.
42:37And, you know, it's quite something.
42:39And I'm quite proud of myself.
42:41And I can't wait to see what's to come.
42:45Lucinda and Alex have spent the last few years working hard on all the advice we gave them.
42:50And they've now got fantastic, sustainable businesses that I'm sure will continue to grow.
42:57Want some help building a business that lasts?
43:00Visit the Open University's interactive guide for practical help to sustain and grow your business.
43:07Scan the QR code on screen or visit connect.open.ac.uk forward slash I made it at market.
43:26Good night.
43:44I'll see you again soon.
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