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00:00Our country is full of incredible makers
00:03dreaming of turning their talent into money-making careers.
00:07It would mean everything to be able to do this full-time.
00:10So, with a team of fantastic professional mentors...
00:14I know your talent, and I know what you're capable of doing.
00:16I run a one-of-a-kind boot camp, showing them how to do just that.
00:21Perfect.
00:21My proudest moment, I'll go share that.
00:23Yes!
00:24Now I'm on my way to catch up with those who have made their dreams come true.
00:28Hello!
00:28There he is! Hello, mate!
00:31I'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.
01:03One of the best things about my job is watching our incredible mentors transform people's lives
01:09through their support and expertise.
01:12And today, we're going to check in on two talented makers who are enjoying life-changing success.
01:19Later, we'll be catching up with stone carver Richard from Northumberland.
01:23I would have never thought that I'd be in the situation that I am now.
01:27Having my own workshop, hundreds of orders already through the door, hundreds waiting.
01:32It's changed everything.
01:34But first, I'll be visiting Hayley in Hampshire to find out how her upholstery business has taken off.
01:42She came to my boot camp in the summer of 2023, looking for help that would change her family's lives.
01:50My husband is a plumber and he's got a bad back, which is getting worse.
01:54I need this to take off so that I can support the family.
01:57We can work together on a new journey and adventure and I can just do the thing that I love.
02:02To help Hayley build the business she was hoping for, I set her three challenges.
02:08First up was making a volume piece, something she could make quickly and price affordably.
02:14She chose to make an orange velvet bar stool with both a back and seat pad,
02:19complete with white piping, priced at £125.
02:23The base and the seat back have already been cut out by my husband.
02:27He's put in the air holes for the fabric to breathe and also the threads that my bolts will go
02:31through.
02:32So that I can attach it to the base.
02:35Once she'd marked out the shapes of the baseboards for the back and seat pads,
02:39Hayley used an electric carving knife to cut the foam that would sit on top of them.
02:44It's really satisfying to do that. It just goes through it like butter.
02:48And it's also really good if you have curves to use one of these because you can get the shape
02:53that you want.
02:54As Hayley tried to build the business she was hoping would make life easier for her family,
02:59she was supported by mentor Michaela Sharp.
03:04As a well-known upholsterer and interior designer with a passion for pattern and colour,
03:10Michaela combines carpentry and sewing skills in her own upholstery business.
03:15And she soon spotted a way she could help Hayley.
03:18Can I give you one tip for how I cut my foam?
03:21And there's always loads of different ways of doing things.
03:23Yeah.
03:23I always stick mine onto the wood and then cut around that.
03:27That way you don't get any wiggly edges and when you come to stick the foam down you know it's
03:31exact.
03:31Perfect.
03:32Yeah.
03:32That's such a good tip.
03:33What I would also love to see from you is offering bespoke options.
03:37I think being able to offer people their own combination of colours is what's going to set your stools apart.
03:42Amazing.
03:43Yeah, because I guess you could customise the shapes there.
03:46Yeah.
03:46Think about if you can add in some curved lines or some wiggles just to make sure that they are
03:50really different
03:51from the general stools that people are seeing in the shops.
03:55Okay.
03:57After that great advice from Michaela, I wanted to get her thoughts on Hayley's second challenge.
04:02Before she arrived at my boot camp, I asked Hayley to make a high-end piece.
04:08Something for a bigger budget.
04:09She brought along a bespoke velvet chair with a playing card design and green trim.
04:15It took eight hours to make and was priced at £650.
04:19I think to have made the shape, to have designed it all, it's got some real quality to it.
04:25But I think it can be a bit novel, the fabric choices that she's chosen and the combination of colours
04:31as well with the neons on.
04:32I'd like to see it maybe a little bit more classic.
04:35Okay.
04:35Yeah.
04:36I think somebody's going to have to live with this every day in the house.
04:41Back in the upholstery bar, Hayley had stuck the foam to the seat and seat back of her barstool
04:47and was marking out their outline onto the fabric that would cover them.
04:51I'm just using a chalk pencil to make sure I can get nice and close to my shape.
04:56I need to put in a seam allowance, which is the area that I'm going to sew the fabric together.
05:01For this, I'm actually using 15mm pipe.
05:06My husband is a plumber and it just works really well because it's the perfect seam allowance
05:10and it saves me having to go round with the tape measure and do it slowly.
05:14So it's just a little time-saving thing.
05:18I'm just going to cut this out now on my seam allowance that I've marked out.
05:24With the fabric cut to size, Hayley prepared the piping by sniffing it around the corners
05:29to help it curve nicely.
05:32She then sewed the fabric and piping together.
05:37The trick is to take it slow really because if you go off of your seam allowance,
05:41it affects the whole shape, especially on the corners.
05:44It's, you know, just taking that little bit at a time.
05:50Once Hayley had made the back pad of her bar stool,
05:53she finished off the one for her seat by stuffing the foam base into the fabric cover.
05:58Checking the piping was straight as she went.
06:01I've chosen 7cm for my thickness because my seat back is 3.5cm.
06:07By doubling the seat, it kind of gives that luxurious plump look.
06:11I'm just holding it there.
06:14And I'm going to temporary tack at my north.
06:22We're going to do the same at the south.
06:32So once we've done the north and south, we're going to do corner, corner, corner, corner.
06:37To finish, Hayley trimmed off the excess fabric,
06:40stapled around the edges and made sure the white piping was all nice and straight.
06:45Once I've done that, I'm just going to cut out some black for the base
06:49and then I'm going to get it all screwed together.
06:52Hayley's bar stool took her around four hours to craft.
06:55It was a great piece, simple but with a luxurious finish.
06:59With a make time of four hours, she gave it a price tag of £125.
07:04I think it's priced really affordably, but perhaps a little bit low.
07:09Edging the price up is going to be in line with the quality of the item.
07:14OK, cool. Thank you.
07:15Do you have any advice on how Hayley can sell these?
07:18Yeah, absolutely.
07:19I think while you're building your brand,
07:21looking at other websites online that sell high-end homeware
07:25and drawing on their kind of expertise for marketing and sales
07:29and listing them on sites like that will really help.
07:31That's a great idea. Thank you so much.
07:34Michaela had some great tips for Hayley's first two products.
07:38And for her final challenge, we asked her to create her favourite piece
07:42to see if the item she was most passionate about making
07:45could also be a big hit with potential customers.
07:48She decided to make the first product she ever sold,
07:51her Slim Jim Fold Stool with fold-away legs.
07:54Covered in decorative, recycled polyester and three complementary buttons,
07:59it was priced at £150.
08:04She began by gluing the foam onto her pre-made wooden base,
08:08like Michaela showed her for her bar stool.
08:11Once it was cut, it was covered with polyester and the top fabric
08:15and stapled down, all ready to add the buttons.
08:18I'm going to start in the centre.
08:21Pop a pin in.
08:27To find the middle, I'm going to get my needle
08:32where my hole is
08:35and I'm going to push it through my foam
08:42and then pop my button in.
08:45Give it a pull to the desired depth that I want
08:48and then once I've got the right tension, I'm just going to staple it off.
08:58That's one done and then I've just got two more to go.
09:02After finishing the top, Hayley turned her attention to the base,
09:05screwing in the fold-away legs.
09:08It's always good to hand-screw the screws in first
09:12because if you tighten one up, then sometimes the others don't fit.
09:17And then once I've got all my bolts in,
09:22I'm just going to use this just to tighten those up
09:25and that just goes down into the threads that I pre-drilled in earlier.
09:30I hope Michaela's going to like it.
09:33I think she'll appreciate the design elements
09:37and the fact that it's really unique.
09:41Having helped start her business,
09:43Hayley's Slim Jim Fold Stool was understandably close to her heart.
09:47It had material costs of around £76 and a price tag of £150.
09:54It's such a clever idea.
09:56I think it's so space-saving.
09:57You know, the market for it is huge.
09:59I really believe that getting this out to market
10:02hinges a lot on how you brand it.
10:04And I think some videos to show people how easy it is to get it out
10:08and fold up the legs, to tuck it away, how lightweight it is,
10:11will really help bring it to life for people.
10:14What we need to do is get you into some stockists
10:16so that other brands can be championing
10:18this really fantastic design that you have.
10:21Hayley excelled at each of my three challenges
10:24and we sent her back to Hampshire with an action plan
10:27to help her business thrive
10:29so that husband Martin could take a step back from his plumbing work.
10:34First, we wanted her to create curves or wiggles for her bar stools
10:38and offer bespoke options to allow customers to pick their own colours.
10:43Next, she needed to create video content for her social media,
10:47especially for her fabulous fold-away footstool.
10:51Finally, we wanted her to approach stockists
10:53so other brands could champion her work.
10:56The bigger the brand, the better.
11:00After leaving the boot camp,
11:02we gave Hayley eight weeks to work on our advice
11:05and kick-start her business.
11:06And with Michaela's support and husband Martin's help,
11:10she wasted no time coming up with new designs
11:13and picking new fabrics to make her bar stools more bespoke.
11:18My new thumples have arrived!
11:21She also roped in her local blacksmith
11:23to help customise the bar stools' legs.
11:25I'm thinking about adding some wiggles or curves or something in it
11:29just to make it a little bit more unique.
11:31I mean, we'd have to keep it straight here
11:33just to make sure it doesn't, you know, it's nice and solid,
11:37but all of this could be wiggled.
11:39With help from daughter Ellie,
11:41Hayley also focused on creating new videos
11:44and taking photos for her website and social media.
11:47We're having loads of fun in the workshop today
11:48and I've called in a little helper.
11:50We are trying to get ready for a photo shoot this afternoon,
11:54so I'm making as much as I can
11:56so we can get everything photographed and put on the website.
12:00Hayley did exactly what we asked of her and so much more.
12:04She made big leaps with her business
12:06and had very positive news to share with us
12:09when she came back to my boot camp eight weeks later.
12:13I have made £7,451.
12:16Did you know that?
12:17Yeah, I'm so impressed.
12:19I'm so happy.
12:21Wow.
12:21You've done amazingly well,
12:23but it's a team effort, isn't it, with your husband?
12:24Yeah, we just make a great team
12:26and I think with his back,
12:28we need to just get everything going now
12:30so that he can take a step back on the plumbing
12:33and actually come and do the designing,
12:35which he's clearly very good at.
12:37Clearly, yeah.
12:38Hayley needed to take off her costs
12:40from her superb sales figures,
12:42but she'd made a cracking start
12:44to building a new family business.
12:48Two and a half years later
12:50and having just about picked my jaw off the floor
12:53after finding out about her early success,
12:55I've come to Hampshire
12:57to catch up with her and husband Martin
12:59to hear all about their continued achievements
13:02and how much they're earning now.
13:04Hi, Hayley!
13:06Hello!
13:06Come in, let me show you my sewing room.
13:10Hayley runs her business from home
13:12and has a dedicated space
13:14in what was a spare room upstairs
13:15to do all the clean sewing parts of her work.
13:20Oh, look at this space.
13:21So this is my sewing and finishing workshop.
13:24I feel like I've stepped inside your head.
13:25Yeah, probably a little bit, yeah.
13:28Look at that machine.
13:29Yeah, this is like my industrial sewing machine
13:31where I do everything.
13:32Have you got any other new toys?
13:34I have bought a 3D printer.
13:36Oh, wow.
13:36Yeah, which...
13:38That's exciting.
13:39It's very exciting.
13:40How does that help upholstery, though?
13:42Before now, it's been, you know, pen to paper, old school.
13:44So I thought the best thing would be
13:46to be able to 3D print the models.
13:48And we've got some here.
13:49Is this it?
13:50They're some of the models?
13:51Yes, yeah.
13:52Having that 3D printer is going to be so helpful
13:54for the design process of, you know,
13:55developing new products.
13:56You can actually see it.
13:58Yeah, exactly.
13:58And it's super cute.
14:00Of course.
14:03Hayley's sewing studio is a fabulous space
14:05and it's great to hear
14:07that she's been investing in her business.
14:09But I'm keen to find out
14:11how much progress she and husband Martin have made
14:14towards him taking a step back from his plumbing
14:16to help manage his chronic back condition.
14:20I know that building this business
14:22was a lot more than just making money for you.
14:25This was a lot about Martin's health
14:27and obviously supporting your family.
14:29Definitely.
14:30I mean, the last two years has been amazing.
14:32He is working a lot more now in the business.
14:35I'm able to step away from all the heavy work
14:37that I was doing before
14:39and sit and design new products.
14:41It sounds like the business
14:42is going from strength to strength.
14:44Are there any particular products
14:45that's helped that?
14:46I would say the Foldstool.
14:48That is still our bestseller, really.
14:50But we've added some extra features
14:52like a super slim one
14:53and these bar stools.
14:55So we've actually got...
14:56This is the Kayla and the Dom.
14:59Perfect.
14:59I guess you know who they're named after.
15:01Yes, I can get it.
15:02The Dom is definitely one of our bestsellers now,
15:05which is lovely.
15:06I'm glad to hear it.
15:06And I'm not just saying that,
15:07like, genuinely.
15:10I'm very pleased to hear
15:11that the new Dom's stall is doing well.
15:14Hayley and Martin's bar stools
15:16and fold-away footstool
15:17make up 40% of their business.
15:20They're also designing bigger pieces
15:22and they're going to show me
15:24how they make their new chair
15:25called the Luna,
15:27which they've priced at £875.
15:32To see how they create the frame,
15:34we've headed five minutes down the road
15:36to Blacksmith Alex's workshop.
15:38All right, my old mate.
15:40Hayley and Martin have designed
15:42key common features
15:43across lots of their pieces,
15:45which has enabled Alex
15:46to build special jigs
15:48that make it easier and quicker
15:49to bend the metal into shape
15:51perfectly every time.
15:54He's obviously put a lot of work in
15:56to making sure the jigs are correct
15:57so that we can, you know,
15:58replicate and create things.
16:00Because it's important for you
16:01to make sure that every stall
16:02and piece of furniture is the same.
16:04Exactly.
16:05It's consistent.
16:05Exactly.
16:06And also, when we design something new,
16:08we always think about
16:09is there a wiggle
16:10we could reuse in some way
16:12with things that we already have.
16:14So, yeah, it works really well.
16:15That's clever.
16:16Yeah.
16:17Having already made the arms,
16:19Alex is creating two wiggled bars
16:21for the new Luna chair's sides.
16:23This just shows how much work
16:25by hand goes into making.
16:27Exactly, yeah.
16:28Just one component for the chair.
16:30As a metal worker myself,
16:32it's been great watching Alex work
16:34and see the chair's frame coming together.
16:38You make it look so easy.
16:40Wasn't that brilliant?
16:42Yeah.
16:42Once the frame is fully assembled,
16:44it's taken to be powder-coated
16:46in whatever colour the customer has chosen.
16:50Back at the house,
16:51in their larger downstairs workshop,
16:53Hayley and I are going to make
16:54one of the chair's cushions.
16:57All right, I've got my chalk of choice.
16:59Yep.
16:59I'm ready?
17:00You ready?
17:01We start by marking out the template.
17:04I need my weight.
17:05Sorry.
17:06Thank you, thank you.
17:11I know these last two and a bit years,
17:14it can't have been easy.
17:15You've been so busy by the sounds of it.
17:18But you've come so far.
17:20Definitely.
17:21Like, there's been so many highlights.
17:23I think this year has been my favourite year
17:26just because I had a really big contract
17:28with an interior designer
17:29for about six to eight months of this year,
17:32doing all these different things
17:33I'd never done before.
17:34Out of your comfort zone.
17:35And every time I finished one,
17:36I was like, oh my God, I've just done a sofa.
17:38It's amazing.
17:39Like, oh my God, I've just done this.
17:41And I think that this year
17:43has really made me feel like
17:45I can do this.
17:47I could do anything.
17:48With the fabric that will cover
17:50both the top and bottom of the cushion marked out,
17:52it's time to get the scissors out.
17:54But as it's a luxurious fabric
17:57costing £110 per square metre,
17:59I'm pretty nervous.
18:03Perfect.
18:03This isn't terrifying at all.
18:05Come on, Don, stick to the line.
18:06Stick to the line.
18:07There's a saying in the upholstery world,
18:10which is measure twice, cut once.
18:13Yes, yeah, that carries through to metal work.
18:15It's OK.
18:16Does it?
18:16Oh, amazing.
18:17Yeah.
18:17I could do the helper all the time.
18:19I'd get so much done.
18:21A helpful one, though, not me.
18:23Perfect.
18:25There it is.
18:26Fabulous job.
18:27There it is.
18:28Got me exhausted already.
18:30After cutting out the material for the piping...
18:33Oh, Hayley, this is teamwork.
18:34Look at that.
18:34Let's go, huh?
18:36We head back up to the sewing room
18:37where Hayley sews it to the edges of the cushion
18:43before adding a hidden zip tape down one side.
18:47Do you want to put the zip on?
18:48I'd love to.
18:48We need a white one, the top box.
18:50Oh, can we put a black one in?
18:52We can, but it will ruin everything.
18:56OK, trick with this if we start on a straight festival.
18:58Of course there's a trick.
18:59So you want to put one side in, then the other side.
19:02Hold these bits here, the tails, together in one hand.
19:07Hang on.
19:08Got it?
19:09I'm not sure my sausage fingers are ideal for this.
19:12It's a really small zip as well.
19:13Oh, yeah.
19:14OK, I'm in.
19:15Yeah.
19:15Now grab the tails with one hand and pull the zip.
19:20Yes!
19:21Amazing!
19:22First time!
19:23To finish, Hayley stitches the remaining three sides
19:27of the cushion cover together,
19:29then turns it the right way round...
19:31Look how neat that is.
19:33..so I can fill it with the cushion itself.
19:35Perfect.
19:38That's it.
19:39Now you can do it up.
19:41I know this probably isn't much to you
19:43compared to some of the other things that you make,
19:45but that's quite an achievement for me.
19:47It's perfect.
19:48I've loved seeing how Hayley and Martin's Lunar Chair
19:51is put together.
19:53It has a make time of up to five days
19:55and a price tag of £875.
19:58Like all of their products,
20:00the colours and fabrics can be tailored to each customer,
20:03and it also comes with a matching footstool for £275.
20:08It's great to see they've completely embraced our advice
20:11about creating bespoke pieces,
20:13and I'm keen to find out
20:15what role the other pointers we gave them
20:17have played in the success of their business.
20:20When you last left the boot camp,
20:22we sent you off to try and build your online presence,
20:25you know, creating videos, things like that.
20:27Yeah.
20:27We've invested in some new camera equipment,
20:29which has been amazing.
20:30The new camera can, you know, track my hands,
20:33when I'm working,
20:34so I can kind of just set it up, leave it and go.
20:37And I think the more I'm doing stuff,
20:39there's more stuff that I can just naturally film.
20:41Another point that Michaela was very keen for you to look into
20:43was trying to get your work into more shops and stockists.
20:46It's not easy. Have you managed it?
20:48Yes. So we...
20:50When I left you last at the boot camp,
20:52we had gone online with an online retailer.
20:55OK.
20:55And we have now increased that to a couple more people
20:58who have reached out and asked to stock our products,
21:00which is great,
21:01but also the collaborations that we've done.
21:04We manufacture some products for a London showroom
21:07where we use their fabric
21:08and put it on products for their customers.
21:10So we've definitely, definitely increased
21:12getting our stuff out there, which is great.
21:14Well done.
21:15How does that feel?
21:16Amazing. And it's the best feeling that we're actually getting approached by people
21:20who are saying, we love it.
21:22We want to either do a variation
21:23or, you know, we want to stock what you have now.
21:27Hayley and Martin have used every bit of advice Michaela and I gave them.
21:31And two and a half years after Hayley first arrived at my boot camp,
21:35I can't wait to hear exactly what it all means for their finances.
21:39The whole idea behind this business is really to try and look after Martin's health
21:43and support the family.
21:44This is a business after all.
21:45Is it paying its way?
21:46How are the figures looking?
21:47So the business has made £30,000,
21:50which has meant I've managed to pay myself a great salary
21:52and we've also been able to reinvest for next year for more exciting things.
21:56That's been amazing.
21:58That is incredible.
21:59That's a huge number.
22:00Look at the smiles on both your faces as well.
22:02It is amazing.
22:05Yeah.
22:06You must be pleased.
22:07So pleased.
22:08Yeah, very pleased.
22:08Yeah.
22:09It's just been like an amazing journey that is nowhere near ended.
22:15Yeah, no.
22:16Going from selling next to nothing two and a half years ago
22:19to making £30,000 a year after costs is an incredible achievement.
22:24And there's more good news.
22:27Martin is now spending 70% of his time working alongside Hayley in their business.
22:32And I don't think it will be too long before he's joining her full time.
22:37It's just so nice to be doing this with my husband.
22:41To be able to not only have a life together,
22:43but build a business together that we love doing.
22:46I know it sounds cheesy, but it's a pinch me moment.
22:49It just feels really wonderful.
22:51And I'm very, very proud of us.
22:58The next maker we're catching up with today is Richard from Northumberland,
23:03who came to my boot camp in the summer of 2024.
23:06He had a passion for stone carving,
23:09which he discovered after a not so gentle nudge from his mum.
23:12My mum was having renovations done on her house.
23:15She said, come down, meet the stonemason.
23:18You'll love his yard.
23:19He's got sculptures and things.
23:21As soon as I got out of the car,
23:23my mum was like, this guy's unemployed if you want to give him a job.
23:29Took to it like a duck to water and fell in love with it from there.
23:34To figure out the best way of helping Richard make money from his beautiful work,
23:39I teamed him up with professional stone carver, Louis Francis.
23:43Louis is a classically trained carver who has been honing his skills for 13 years
23:48and runs a successful business from his studio in Norfolk.
23:54Richard is just starting out with his business
23:57and he's got so much skill and huge potential.
24:01You know, he never stops.
24:03He's so creative.
24:05I'm really excited to see, you know, where he's going to go with it.
24:09To help Richard turn his potential into profit,
24:12he also took on my three challenges.
24:15For his volume piece, he decided to make a small geometric fox
24:19using Northumberland sandstone and copper gilding paint,
24:23which he priced at £45.
24:26Having cut the stone to size and polished it up with an abrasive block,
24:30he traced on his design using graphite paper.
24:35Almost done the design.
24:36Grand reveal.
24:38And voila!
24:40Now I'm going to take it over to the table and get it carved out.
24:45I'm going to be using tungsten carbide lettering chisels
24:49and I'm going to use it to cut a V-cut to give it that effect,
24:54to catch the light.
24:57I was never very good at school.
24:59I was the most coasting average student you've seen stone carving.
25:05It's changed my life.
25:07I used to work to fund my passions and now my work is my passion.
25:12Whilst Richard focused on carving his fox,
25:15I caught up with Louis to talk about his second challenge.
25:17Before coming to my boot camp, I asked Richard to bring along his favourite piece
25:23to see if the item he was most proud of could make him big profits.
25:27My favourite piece is the Large Geometric Kingfisher.
25:32It's a foray into using extremely bold colours, which is something that I've been working towards.
25:39I love it because it's one of the designs that I feel has secured my style.
25:46Working once again with Northumberland sandstone,
25:49Richard decided to showcase another beautiful hand-painted animal carving.
25:53With material costs of around £50 and a 20-hour make time,
25:58he gave it a price tag of £200.
26:02It's really, really beautiful.
26:05When I saw it, it wasn't the actual stone, it's not the carving, it's the actual colour.
26:10It's got the colour right, the way it's blended, do you know?
26:15Overall, you know, it's the full package, it's just wow.
26:20Richard has an asking price of £200 for the piece.
26:24I think it needs to go up, I think it needs to go up.
26:27£200, I think it's like undervaluing his artwork, and that really shocked me.
26:33Back on the stone carving station,
26:36Richard was making good progress with his geometric sandstone fox.
26:42The first time I sold my first piece, it almost felt unbelievable.
26:48The idea that I'd done something that I love,
26:52I'd created something from scratch,
26:54carved it, and then sold it was just the icing on the cake.
27:01Once he'd finished carving, Richard turned his attention to painting the fox.
27:06The painting part can be stressful.
27:08You've spent time carving and making sure that everything lines up right,
27:13and then the idea of slathering paint on can be quite daunting.
27:17The majority of the fox is the copper gild.
27:20And then I just have to go in and add the black for the legs,
27:23the eye and the nose.
27:25And then just a little bit of a glaze for the eye to give it some shine.
27:30And then it's done.
27:32I'm feeling pretty good about it.
27:33I think it's a nice carve, it's a nice design.
27:36And I'm looking forward to seeing how Louis reacts to the finished piece.
27:43Richard's Northumberland sandstone fox had material costs of around £9.
27:48It took him four hours to create and had an asking price of £45.
27:55I think that you could probably make two from one block, if I'm honest.
27:59How?
28:01Make the sown thinner.
28:04Cut it in half so you could do two.
28:06And then you could charge twice as much.
28:09And also, the thinner it is.
28:11You know, when you're shipping, it would be lower postage.
28:15It can maximise your profit.
28:17Had you thought about making it slightly thinner?
28:19I'd kept it quite thick for stability.
28:22But I could make it thinner with a diagonal cut and keep it tapered.
28:27Richard, you've priced this at £45.
28:29Yes.
28:31I think you could sell it for a little bit more.
28:34Charge a bit more.
28:35Because you have to think about the cost of the material, your time, the overheads, and also you're paying for
28:43tax.
28:45How are you going to do that with £45?
28:47Charge more.
28:48Have you got any other pointers for Richard?
28:53The carving is great, but maybe you could try working with another stone, like slate, for example.
28:59It takes time to carve.
29:01But, you know, it's really sellable and maybe you could charge a little bit more.
29:05You know, the material is gorgeous.
29:07Something to look into for sure.
29:09That'll be interesting for you then.
29:10Yeah, definitely.
29:11You get an amazing carve on slate, so that would be an exciting material to work with.
29:17Two items in, and Louis thought Richard needed to up his pricing on both.
29:22So, for his final piece, he gave him a challenge designed to improve the profitability of his work.
29:29He asked Richard to create a house number with his own design and keep it under 2 kilograms,
29:35as the cost of posting increased significantly above that weight.
29:39He uses stone that is quite thick, so I want him to look at the depth and to make it
29:44thinner,
29:45so that it's lighter and it's measurable, and it's easy to post,
29:49and it's cheaper and affordable, so he can maximise profit.
29:53Once again, Richard used Northumberland sandstone to create his mentor's challenge piece.
29:59He decorated it with a hummingbird design and in colour with acrylic paint,
30:03and gave it an asking price of £90.
30:07The weight limit to do with postage is a really interesting limitation,
30:14and it's pushed me to think more about the designs that I use and the stone that I end up
30:20with.
30:20Coming up with my own design's been an interesting challenge.
30:23Normally, I find the pictures online and use them as a heavy reference,
30:29whereas with this, there was a lot of work getting it to look right.
30:34With his design in place, Richard's set to work carving.
30:39If I was able to do this to the point of making a very good living,
30:46that would be extremely good.
30:50I've never had a career where you're actually working what you're passionate about.
30:56It was always working to fund my other passions.
31:00So actually working something that I enjoy and I'm passionate about would change my life.
31:09After carving the last details of his piece...
31:15That's me done.
31:17It was time to add the paint.
31:20I find with this paint, it tends to sink in a little,
31:24leaving kind of natural gradient,
31:27which I think looks really lovely.
31:30It was an accidental discovery.
31:33I wasn't very happy about it when it first happened,
31:36and then I realised it looked really nice,
31:38so accidents happen.
31:41Richard's house number with geometric hummingbird design
31:44was another fantastic showcase of his skill and creative talent,
31:49and he priced it at £90.
31:52It's gorgeous.
31:53It's gorgeous.
31:54Not just carving.
31:55It's not just a carving.
31:56The colour.
31:57The colour.
31:58It stands out.
31:59It stands out.
32:01Yeah.
32:03Well done.
32:04I'm not going to hold you in suspense any longer.
32:06Louis set you the challenge to make a house number under two kilos.
32:11Shall we weigh it?
32:13Let's.
32:13Let's find out.
32:18What have we got?
32:20What have we got?
32:20Let it settle.
32:211.976.
32:24Oh, my goodness.
32:27Close.
32:28Oh, it's good.
32:29It's good.
32:30Well done.
32:32Richard rose to every challenge we set him,
32:34and as he made his journey back to Northumberland,
32:37we gave him an action plan
32:39to help turn his talent into a successful, sustainable business.
32:44First, he needed to reduce the weight of his products
32:46so he could post them cost-effectively.
32:50Next, we wanted him to carve on different materials,
32:53like slate, to widen his product range.
32:57Finally, he needed to review his price points
32:59to value his work and charge what his pieces were worth.
33:07For the next eight weeks,
33:10Louis gave Richard all the support he needed
33:12to get his business off the ground.
33:14He began by creating lighter pieces
33:17to send cheaply by post.
33:19Welcome to the greenhouse.
33:21So, following Louis' advice,
33:23I'm now using thinner cuts of the Northumberland sandstone.
33:26Considering the weight,
33:27I've started making standardised blanks,
33:31so I have the bigger one for wider designs,
33:34like the Kingfisher,
33:35or the taller one for, like, the Fox or slimmer design.
33:39He also took on board Louis' advice
33:42about working with new materials, like slate.
33:45It's called Heather Slate,
33:47and it's kind of like maroon-purple-ish,
33:54but it looks amazing when it's wet,
33:56or, in the end, when it's polished.
34:00After a few weeks,
34:02Richard was ready to show off his new work.
34:05I'd like to point out
34:06how sharp the detail is in slate.
34:10Like, look at that.
34:12For two months after the boot camp,
34:14Richard worked hard on his action plan,
34:16and when he came back to report on his progress,
34:19he had brilliant news.
34:20Do you mind if we talk about figures?
34:22How much have you made so far?
34:24I've made 1,160.
34:27In such a short time.
34:28Wow. Yeah.
34:30Well done.
34:31Well done.
34:32That is incredible.
34:33It's really nice to see a four-digit number.
34:35Yeah.
34:36So good.
34:37Richard had to deduct his costs from his sales,
34:40but in just a few short weeks,
34:42he'd proved he had what it took
34:43to sell his work and build a business.
34:4918 months after he first arrived at my boot camp,
34:52I've asked Louis to head to Northumberland
34:54to find out how he's managed to maintain that momentum
34:57and how much money he's making from his carving now.
35:01Hey, how are you doing?
35:04Whoa.
35:05How are you?
35:06I'm good, thank you.
35:07Long time no see.
35:09I know, I know.
35:10Do you want to come see my workshop?
35:12Definitely.
35:12I'm so excited.
35:13Let's go.
35:13Awesome.
35:14Let's go.
35:15When I first met him,
35:16Richard was working in the greenhouse in his back garden.
35:19Now he's built his own nine-metre-squared workshop
35:22with large double doors
35:24to make it easy to make it easy to get the stone he works with in.
35:28Wow.
35:29What a beautiful space.
35:31I moved in about 10 months ago.
35:34So how's it been going in the last 18 months?
35:36It's been crazy, Louis.
35:38I've got hundreds of orders.
35:41I've got a newsletter with like three to four hundred people signed up.
35:45I've been able to send out potentially new designs, engage interest.
35:50I've also got a waiting list on commissions too.
35:55So there's been a lot happening.
35:58Wow.
35:59Fantastic.
36:00So you keep yourself busy.
36:01Yeah, very.
36:03Do you need my help?
36:04If you know an apprentice, that would be good.
36:09I want to ask, which of your carvings has been bestseller?
36:14My Kingfisher and my Fox designs have been really popular.
36:18I've sold over a hundred of each
36:20and I've actually made a different design for the Fox.
36:26Richard has designed his new Fox with fewer sections.
36:30So it's quicker to carve
36:31and it will be finished with a shinier resin eye.
36:34He's priced it at 65 pounds,
36:37which feels a little low to me,
36:38but he's going to show Louis how he makes it.
36:41To begin with,
36:42he traces out his new design onto Northumberland sandstone.
36:46All right.
36:46I'm happy with how that's looking.
36:48I'm going to start by
36:52carving in the tiny little indentation
36:54for the eye
36:56and then I'll just start carving the top of the head.
37:11I'm pleased that Richard's tweaking his designs
37:14to speed up his production,
37:16but Louis wants to find out more
37:17about how he's getting on with managing a growing business.
37:21Can I ask you a question?
37:23Of course.
37:25So, 18 months in boot camp.
37:28What's been your biggest challenge since?
37:30With the work-life balance,
37:31some days I'm working six days a week
37:33and then some months there's not a day off.
37:36So it's something I need to work on,
37:39but the good thing is that I'm working for myself.
37:42So if I really need it,
37:43I can take the day off that I need.
37:48Getting the work-life balance right
37:50is an issue many makers struggle with,
37:52but valuing his time and talent
37:54and fixing his prices
37:56are things that would definitely help Richard
37:58as they'll enable him to work less
38:00without losing money.
38:03The next stage of making the fox
38:05is rubbing down the stone
38:06with an abrasive block
38:07to polish it and remove any marks.
38:11Then it's treated with a weatherproofing solution.
38:14As this needs a day to dry,
38:17Richard's pre-prepared another one to paint.
38:23Why foxes?
38:26When I was a teenager,
38:27I didn't really get as much sleep
38:30as I probably should have.
38:32So I'd spend quite a few evenings
38:35or four o'clock mornings going for walks
38:39and ordinarily there was a fox around.
38:43So I've always been relatively keen on them.
38:49To finish, Richard adds the new resin eye detail,
38:52cures it under a UV light to set,
38:55then adds rubber feet to the bottom.
38:58I like to add the little feet on
38:59just so that it's not going to scratch
39:01any surfaces that it ends up going on,
39:05which isn't a problem
39:07if you have a stone hearth.
39:09But if you have a sort of wooden sideboard
39:12or anything,
39:14it just gives it a very good level of protection.
39:18I'm happy with that.
39:20I think the newer design
39:21gives it a lot more character
39:23and I much prefer the resin eye.
39:25With material costs of just over £11
39:28and a make time of just under four hours,
39:31I love Richard's new £65 geometric fox.
39:35I'm pleased to see he's still using slimmer,
39:38lighter pieces of stone as Louis suggested
39:40and I'm keen to find out
39:42if any of the other advice we gave him at the bootcamp
39:45has been helpful as he's built his business
39:47over the past 18 months.
39:51So when I gave you an action plan,
39:53I asked you to try and carve on different materials.
39:57One of them was slate.
39:58Did you stick with that
39:59or did you go back to stand stone?
40:01I found it very time-consuming
40:04because I got so busy with the stone orders.
40:07It's something I had to put to one side
40:09just so I could get through those initial orders.
40:12I would love to come back to it.
40:14It's a fantastic material.
40:16It just, I'm not at the right skill level yet
40:19to be able to dedicate the time with how busy I am.
40:24So I've asked you to look into the prices of your work
40:29and what they're worth.
40:31Are you charging the right price
40:32or do you feel like you're undercharging
40:34or you need to increase your prices?
40:36I think I'm still undercharging.
40:39Even after bootcamp, I increased them a little
40:41but with the amount of demand that I've had
40:43and the amount of supplies that go into it now
40:47with it being such a big operation,
40:50I think it's time to increase them a little bit more
40:53and see where that takes me.
40:57I think it's time to increase your prices
40:59because of postage, that's gone up.
41:03Stone materials and things like that, that's gone up.
41:06Cost of living, that's increased.
41:08There's loads of elements you need to think about
41:11and you need to increase your prices to reflect that
41:14and be more comfortable.
41:17Louis's absolutely right.
41:19It's great to be so busy
41:21but 18 months after leaving the bootcamp,
41:23it's time for Richard to raise his prices
41:25and start charging what his work is really worth.
41:29Over the past year and a half,
41:31he's worked flat out fulfilling orders from his website
41:34and doing small commissions like this stunning owl for £65.
41:39It's time to find out how much money
41:41all this hard work is making him.
41:44Pretty process.
41:45Have you made a lot of money?
41:47Have you made a living?
41:48I have, I have.
41:50I've earned £20,000 this year.
41:55£20,000.
41:55£20,000, wow.
41:58That is brilliant.
42:00It has, it is.
42:01It's changed my life completely.
42:03Wow.
42:03Yeah.
42:04I've gone from working in the greenhouse,
42:06doing little local markets,
42:08making a few pieces a week,
42:10you know, dragging that around
42:11and then now I'm exclusively in my workshop
42:14fulfilling web orders,
42:16having people chomping at the bit
42:18to see what's coming up next.
42:19It's, it's great.
42:22That is fantastic.
42:23Going from next to nothing
42:25to earning £20,000 a year
42:27after costs in just 18 months
42:29is a remarkable achievement
42:31and with such incredible demand
42:33for his work,
42:34things are only going to get better
42:36for Richard.
42:3718 months ago,
42:38I would have never thought
42:39that I'd be in the situation
42:40that I am now.
42:42Having my own workshop,
42:43hundreds of orders
42:44already through the door,
42:46hundreds waiting,
42:47it's changed everything.
42:51Want some help building a business
42:53that lasts?
42:54Visit the Open University's
42:56interactive guide
42:57for practical help
42:58to sustain and grow your business.
43:00Scan the QR code on screen
43:02or visit connect.open.ac.uk
43:06forward slash I made it at market.
43:39I'll see you next time.
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