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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.
00:16..I run a one-of-a-kind boot camp,
00:19showing 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
00:26who have made their dreams come true.
00:28Hello!
00:29There he is.
00:29Hello, mate!
00:30I'll be hearing about their amazing achievements.
00:33I've been able to put down a deposit on a house.
00:35This is my full-time job.
00:37And finding out how much money they're making.
00:40A little bit under £40,000.
00:42Around £50,000.
00:43£50,000?
00:44Yeah.
00:44So join me and meet the fabulous makers
00:47who have transformed their lives and made it at market.
00:50You can kindly say I am living the dream.
00:53I think it's fair to say.
00:54That's fair to say.
01:02All kinds of makers from all walks of life have been to my boot camp.
01:07And today we'll be catching up with two who have put the lessons they learn into practice
01:11and reaped big rewards.
01:15Later, mentor Sonny will be checking in with Andy from Devon, who wanted to build a career as a keepsake
01:21jewellery artist.
01:23It's absolutely crazy how things have worked out.
01:27It is a full-time, seven-day-a-week business.
01:31First, though, I'm going to drop in on metal artist Lyndon in Essex.
01:35This is not far, actually, from where I grew up.
01:38Grew up in Southend.
01:40Nice to be coming home.
01:41But this time I'm going to see Lyndon.
01:45When I first met Lyndon at my boot camp in the summer of 2023,
01:50he was hoping we could help him give up his job as a welder and fabricator
01:54to create a new business and dream life.
01:57If I can be at home with my family more often, down the workshop,
02:01that's definitely where it is for me and especially my son.
02:04I could possibly employ him in the future.
02:06I think he's going to be a manual worker, very hands-on.
02:09So if I can guide him into something...
02:11He struggles with academic stuff, does he?
02:12Academics, a little bit of ADHD.
02:14And I think if he can put his efforts into something like this, brilliant.
02:20To help Lyndon get the sales he needed to build a successful family business,
02:25I set him three challenges.
02:27First was making a volume piece,
02:30something he could make quickly and sell affordably.
02:33He decided to make a single metal rose mounted on a base.
02:37Priced at 50 pounds, it was crafted from mild steel
02:42and stood 15 centimetres tall with eye-catching bronze highlights,
02:46which added stunning decorative details to the leaves and petals.
02:51He began using pre-cut steel shapes.
02:56The first stage is I prepare the metal for the petals
02:59and take the oxide off.
03:05It makes it look nice and shiny, otherwise it'll look very rusty.
03:11With the petals prepared,
03:13Lyndon applied the bronze details using a TIG welder,
03:17a machine that is especially suited to the intricate cosmetic detail
03:21often required on sculptural pieces.
03:25It's using the heat to melt the bronze, so it just lays on top.
03:29I think the contrast between the bronze and the mild steel,
03:32I think it looks really pretty.
03:35So the bronze has been laid on now to the outside of the petals.
03:38I'm just now to use the wire brush to remove the heat marks.
03:50There's a difference between the before and the after.
03:55You can see we're all nice and shiny,
03:56catches the light when you look at it at different angles.
03:59With the petals taking shape,
04:02Lyndon cut an added texture to the rose's stem.
04:07He then attached a bolt to hold the petals in place.
04:13As Lyndon worked to build his metalworking business,
04:17he was guided by professional blacksmith Adrian Wood,
04:20who runs a successful forge in the Tees Valley,
04:23combining contemporary sculpture
04:25with traditional blacksmithing techniques.
04:28When you're making these,
04:29are you looking at doing these onto social media?
04:33Would you consider making a reel, for instance,
04:36of how you make these things
04:37and putting there's a sort of a process together?
04:40I've never really thought about it at the moment,
04:42but now you've said it, absolutely.
04:44Is the social media side something you find quite daunting at the minute?
04:47Yeah, I'm not really...
04:49Social media, I don't really understand it much at the moment,
04:52and it's hard for me to think
04:55that what I'm doing is good enough to get out there,
04:57and, yeah, that's where my worries are, really.
04:59I'm sure we can sort that out.
05:01While Lyndon cracked on making his volume piece,
05:05I sat down with Adrian to talk about his second challenge.
05:09Before he arrived at my boot camp,
05:11I asked Lyndon to make a high-end piece,
05:14an item that carries a much more expensive price tag.
05:18He brought along a spectacular steel dragon.
05:22Standing 90 centimeters tall,
05:24it took him 100 hours to create
05:26and was priced at £2,200.
05:30Where do we start with Lyndon's high-end piece?
05:33Goodness me, that dragon!
05:36It's unbelievable.
05:37The amount of work that he's put into that head,
05:38he's really got some lovely textures going on in there.
05:42He's finished it beautifully, really has.
05:45The size, the proportions, the horns, everything.
05:47I would say my main criticism of the head and the neck,
05:51there's a real disconnect between the two.
05:53The texture and the...
05:54Yeah, yeah.
05:55And if he'd just brought maybe some of that texture
05:57and some of that technique down into the back of it a little bit,
06:02it would fit.
06:03Lyndon's hoping to get £2,200 for it.
06:06For the amount of work that he's put into it now,
06:08I think it's where it is.
06:11Would somebody buy it?
06:13Maybe not.
06:14You'd need that cohesion between the two pieces
06:16to make it more saleable.
06:20Back in the forge, Lyndon was working away on his volume piece,
06:24hand-shaping the petals on his metal rose.
06:28I'll just go round in a circle,
06:30just giving them a little twist,
06:32just to get them started.
06:35And then I'll do the rest by hand.
06:37But if I get it started,
06:38it makes it a lot easier for my hands to work.
06:41And then I'll give them a little crush.
06:47Starts to bring it into shape.
06:48Now I'll just get the new nose pliers
06:51and just roll these round.
06:53That's the main part of the rose head done.
06:56With the petals shaped,
06:58Lyndon put the finishing touches to his metal rose
07:02by welding three leaves to a metal stem,
07:06cleaning them with a wire brush
07:09and shaping them.
07:12I'll just pop the leaf into there.
07:13It's usually just one hit.
07:17Put it in the corner,
07:18giving it a tap.
07:22There you go.
07:23Just adds that little bit of shape to the leaves.
07:28And then because it's only thin rod,
07:29you can then manipulate them
07:31to whatever shape I want them.
07:33I want them bending down.
07:35That can be done.
07:36And there we go.
07:37They're now ready to be welded to the main stem.
07:42Lyndon's steel rose with bronze detailed petals and leaves
07:45took him just under an hour to make.
07:47And with material costs of around £10,
07:50he gave it a price tag of £50.
07:53I love it.
07:54I love the colour that is put into the top of the leaves.
07:56I think it's a really nice, unique, saleable thing.
07:59It really makes it.
08:00It really does.
08:00What do you think about an asking price of £50?
08:03£50 is around the right price for a rose.
08:06There's a few elements
08:07that I would potentially look at changing,
08:10potentially even look at machinery or tooling
08:12that could make those leaves pop a little bit more.
08:15It's just those little things,
08:16those little attentions to detail
08:18that will elevate the piece of work
08:20to make it definitely worth that £50.
08:23I would love to see at least the petals
08:25or something made of copper.
08:26So you'll be able to sort of braise,
08:28essentially, the copper to the steel.
08:30And mix them together.
08:32I'll give it a go.
08:33Add a new dimension to it.
08:34Oh, there's so much potential.
08:35I know.
08:36This is good.
08:37It's fantastic.
08:38Brilliant.
08:38Thank you very much.
08:39High hopes for you.
08:40We'll find out shortly
08:42how Lyndon's roses are selling now.
08:44But for his final challenge at the boot camp,
08:46I asked him to make his favourite piece
08:49to find out if the thing he loved making the most
08:51could also be a bestseller.
08:54He chose to craft a 55 centimetre tall metal owl
08:59featuring feathers with a delicate bronze detail
09:02standing proudly on a 25 centimetre steel branch.
09:07How are you doing?
09:07Sorry to interrupt you.
09:09No, no, it's fine.
09:09I just wanted to see how you're getting on.
09:10Really well, I think.
09:11I'm just starting to make a batch of feathers.
09:14You say it's a feather, but...
09:15At the moment, yeah.
09:17So hopefully it will look like that.
09:19Okay.
09:19There's lots more detail,
09:20so I put some little slits in there.
09:22Yeah, how are you doing gold stripes?
09:23I use a slitting disc to cut, like, a groove,
09:26and then I use a TIG welder to put bronze inside the groove,
09:29and then you just use a flap disc, flatten it off.
09:32So it's not going all the way through.
09:34Exactly.
09:34You're just scoring the surface
09:35and then filling it with the bronze.
09:36That's a really nice little detail.
09:40I was interested in how Lyndon made his metal owl,
09:43but mentor Adrian wanted to know
09:46how he planned to make money from it.
09:48Where are you looking to sort of sell?
09:50It'd be nice to sell at galleries.
09:52Have you identified any galleries in your local area?
09:54There's a couple in my immediate local area.
09:57I've contacted them.
09:58Yeah.
09:58I haven't received anything back yet.
10:00It might be worth just taking
10:01one or two of the things down with you.
10:03You can kind of sell yourself
10:04and the product while you're there,
10:05and if they can buy into it,
10:07they'll then look at their potential customers
10:10that are going to come along and buy it,
10:12and they can sell you.
10:14Lyndon's metal owl had a make time of 100 hours,
10:18so in order to show Adrian a finished piece,
10:21he brought one along that was closer to completion.
10:25I have some blanks here,
10:27which I use for the face.
10:29I've already cut out the holes
10:31and some bigger holes here,
10:33so I will weld some ball bearings
10:35into these holes to make the eyes,
10:39and also I'll cut with a grinder.
10:42I'll put in some feather detailing,
10:44and I'll do that now before I weld them together,
10:47otherwise you can't separate them.
10:49After completing and attaching the owl's face to the body,
10:55Linden moved on to finalising the piece.
10:59Just a quick look to make sure he's not wonky.
11:02Yeah, that's fantastic.
11:04So I'll just reinforce now,
11:05do a few more attacks to make sure it's nice and secure,
11:08and then the final stage is building around the back of the head,
11:11nice small feathers,
11:13so it looks in keeping with the head,
11:15then it's off to lacquer.
11:20Lyndon's owl was absolutely stunning
11:22and was packed with personality and detail
11:25in its characterful face.
11:27He painted it with a clear coat of lacquer
11:29to protect the metal and add a shine.
11:32It was priced at £1,800,
11:34and Adrian and I were both impressed with its finish.
11:38It's an incredibly busy piece.
11:40There's so much going on within it.
11:42It's lovely little details.
11:44And this has got an asking price of £1,800,
11:46which I kind of get.
11:48Yeah, absolutely.
11:49The level of work that you've put into it,
11:51the detail, the amount of sort of steel,
11:52and the decorations that you've got on there
11:54with the bronze TIG welding,
11:56yeah, I can see it.
11:58I can definitely see that price.
12:01It was fantastic sharing Lyndon's passion for metal work.
12:05As he headed home to Essex,
12:07we drew up an action plan to help turn his pieces
12:10into the business he'd one day hoped to share with his son.
12:14First, we challenged him to promote himself more
12:17on social media, doing reels of his making.
12:21Next, Adrian wanted Lyndon to approach galleries
12:24with his work in person.
12:26Finally, we both wanted him to consider new tooling,
12:29and have a go at new blacksmithing techniques
12:32to help improve his pieces.
12:36With Adrian's support,
12:38Lyndon had two months to put his action plan into practice
12:41and start building his business.
12:43And job one was investing in new equipment.
12:47I've got my fly press delivered.
12:48Adrian advised me to buy one of these
12:50so I can make my leaves quicker and more uniform.
12:54So, yeah, hopefully this will change everything about my roses
12:57and any other future part which I can make quickly
12:59using this big kit.
13:01So, hopefully, let's get it unwrapped.
13:03It didn't take Lyndon long to put the fly press to good use.
13:07And the new tool wasn't the only thing helping out in the workshop.
13:12I've got my little boy, Sam, working with me today.
13:15He's doing a good job.
13:15He's doing a very good job.
13:17Another bit of good news is a commission.
13:20Two commissions have come in for some animals.
13:23They come in via email, which is excellent.
13:26He also knuckled down to getting himself out more on social media.
13:30I'm going to try and make some clips and some pictures,
13:33try and boost my social media presence.
13:35At the moment, I've got a very, very low presence.
13:38I think I need to just go for it
13:40and put some videos out there and see what happens.
13:43As he tried to kick-start his business,
13:46Lyndon did everything we asked of him.
13:48And after two months of hard graft,
13:51he reported back to us with brilliant news.
13:54I've made £2,700 since leaving here.
13:57£2,700?
13:58I'm very happy with that.
13:59I'm ecstatic, so I'm certainly looking forward
14:02to making this into a business.
14:04This is where I want to be.
14:05This is what I want to do.
14:07Lyndon needed to deduct his costs
14:09from his fantastic sales figures,
14:11but he was definitely on the right track
14:14to creating a brilliant business.
14:19Two and a half years later,
14:20I'm on my way to his workshop in Essex
14:22to hear all about how he's done just that
14:25and how much money he's making now.
14:29Hello?
14:31Lyndon?
14:34Hello.
14:34There he is.
14:35Hello, mate.
14:36Oh, it's so good to see you.
14:38It's nice to see you again.
14:39I've got so much to show you.
14:40Lead the way.
14:41Come with me.
14:41Come with me.
14:42Look at this place.
14:43Oh, there we go.
14:47From the outside, I had high hopes for Lyndon's workshop,
14:50and now I'm inside, it doesn't disappoint.
14:55I'm blown away.
14:56I didn't have what to expect.
14:57I knew it was going to be good,
14:58but you've got a good setup here.
15:00So I build pretty much everything on here.
15:02I use the shear over there to cut my rod.
15:05I've got the drill press, my vices.
15:07Yeah.
15:08And I've got the room next door,
15:09which is where all my parts are kept,
15:11and I've got my nice new bead roller there.
15:14Beautiful.
15:15This is a proper running organisation now, isn't it?
15:17Yeah, considering from two years ago there was nothing,
15:22I'm really, really proud.
15:24Yeah.
15:24When I first met Lyndon, he'd only sold one item.
15:28Now he's got a brilliant workshop and an amazing new business.
15:33So this is dispatch?
15:34This is dispatch area.
15:36Yeah?
15:36Yeah, so parts, completed items,
15:40wrapped up on here, out they go.
15:42You're kidding me.
15:43All these tubs behind you, this is all...
15:45Parts.
15:45Your organisation.
15:46You've got this sorted.
15:48It's got to be perfect to make it work.
15:50It's been two and a half years
15:52since you were last at our business boot camp.
15:55Yes.
15:55How has the business developed over that time?
15:58It's kept me very busy.
16:00I'd only sold one rose when I last met you at the boot camp.
16:04Yeah.
16:04And from then it's up into the very, very high hundreds now.
16:08Hundreds?
16:09Just short of a thousand orders now in that time.
16:15Wow.
16:15Blows me away.
16:16What products in particular have helped grow the business?
16:19Well, I must say it's the one that you actually asked me to use it.
16:23You'd like to see the copper rose.
16:25This was your volume piece, wasn't it?
16:27Yes.
16:27This was the one I built at the boot camp last time.
16:31You'd like to see copper rose.
16:32I made copper rose and I must admit, thank you so much because that has been the most popular item.
16:36With material costs of up to £25, Lyndon's new copper rose has a price tag of £60.
16:44Along with the other versions he's developed, he's sold a whopping 500 roses since he was at the boot camp.
16:51As well as other flowers priced at £45 to £130.
16:56But it's not just the volume pieces that are bringing in the money.
17:00How about the high-end pieces?
17:02Are they selling?
17:03Yes.
17:03Yeah.
17:04Yeah.
17:04They sell as well.
17:06Yeah.
17:06Very pleased.
17:07Very pleased.
17:08I love Lyndon's larger, more sculptural pieces.
17:12So it's good to hear they're selling too, with his bonsai trees going for £525 to £800, depending on their
17:20size.
17:21It's the volume pieces that are driving the growth of his business though.
17:25And he's going to show me how he makes his best-selling copper rose.
17:30He starts by cutting a piece of stainless steel to length and shaping it in the vice with a hammer.
17:39Then it's time to make the leaves, and Lyndon's son Sam is lending a hand.
17:44So Sam, how are you going to turn that into a lifelike leaf?
17:48Well, this is the tool that my dad made, and so basically you put it under...
17:54Go on, show us.
17:55See?
17:55Yeah.
17:55You put it under that, you line it up, and you just smack it, and it just makes the detail
18:05on the leaf.
18:06Yeah, but this is the beauty of organic things like plants.
18:09They're all a bit different.
18:10Yeah.
18:10None of them are all the same.
18:12And then you could do the sides.
18:17Or that's how I make a leaf.
18:19With the leaves shaped and the leaf stem cut, Lyndon welds them together...
18:26And cleans them with a wire brush.
18:30Next, he welds a bolt onto a pre-made flower stem that will hold the copper leaves in place.
18:37Then it's time to weld the flower and leaf stems together.
18:41So I made a dummy flower head.
18:43Okay.
18:44And all I do, that will be screwed onto there.
18:47And that is going to give a representation of where that copper will be.
18:52So you can eye up where the leaves go.
18:53Exactly.
18:54Because if I put the copper on there now, the welding might damage the copper which is already on there.
18:59Yeah.
18:59Or if it's a painted flower, it could get damaged.
19:01So I use a dummy rose and then I use this.
19:04And I just eye it up, start to form.
19:06So this is where your creative, artistic eye comes in and you're kind of eyeing, deciding whether the leaves go
19:11on the left or the right.
19:12The shape of it.
19:13The shape.
19:14This is, yeah.
19:14And then I can use that as a guide, hold the leaves together, give it a weld and then move
19:21on.
19:22It's brilliant to watch Lyndon work again.
19:24And after welding the flower and leaf stems of the rose together, he places and secures the petals.
19:30And is letting me have a go at shaping them.
19:34Bending this up.
19:35You can pull that order out to start off with and then you've got lots of space.
19:41It's quite nerve-wracking, isn't it?
19:42Easy, that's it.
19:43Hold it with one hand and then just use.
19:47Oh, you've got a little bend that way.
19:49A little bend.
19:50And that's it.
19:50And back a bit there.
19:51There we go.
19:52All yet.
19:53Do it so how you want to do it.
19:55Make it your own.
19:57No, I want to make it.
19:58I just want you to be happy, Lyndon.
20:00I don't want to.
20:02I'm happy.
20:02I'm not the artist here.
20:04Keep squeezing, keep squeezing.
20:06I'm trying, Lyndon.
20:09Helping Lyndon shape the rose petals has made it even clearer to me what a talented maker he is.
20:16Don't be afraid to get some pressure on that with your left hand.
20:20I'm not sure I'm looking forward to getting his verdict on my efforts.
20:25Lyndon, I think, I know your critical eye has been watching over me.
20:28I've never been so nervous.
20:29But look, for a beginner, come on.
20:32I don't think that's too bad.
20:34And I think that's pretty good.
20:36Lyndon's new copper rose comes with a price tag of £60.
20:41I'm delighted he acted on my suggestion to create it,
20:44along with promoting himself on social media,
20:47where he now has almost 2,000 followers watching his fab how-to videos.
20:53But have the other pointers Adrian and I gave him helped him to build his business
20:57over the past two and a half years?
20:59Lyndon, whilst you were last at the boot camp,
21:01we did send you away with a bit of an action plan,
21:04some key points to work on.
21:05One of those being to try and sell your work in galleries,
21:09trying to approach some galleries to see if they'll take it on.
21:11Yes.
21:11How'd you get on?
21:12Very well.
21:13I was very lucky to put three of my items into a sculpture park,
21:16two of which have sold and have moved on.
21:19Wow.
21:19Yep.
21:20Congratulations.
21:21My owl, which was my favourite from the boot camp,
21:23that's been sold.
21:24And another sculpture park is going to be taking pieces in the future.
21:29Wow.
21:29My volume pieces and larger pieces, so very happy.
21:33Mate, that is absolutely brilliant.
21:35Lyndon sold his owl for the £1,800 price tag he put on it at the boot camp.
21:41It's a fantastic achievement,
21:43and forming good relationships with sculpture parks
21:46is a great way of helping to sell his high-end pieces in the future.
21:51Another thing Adrian wanted you to work on was your tooling
21:54to try and speed up efficiency and make things more efficiently.
21:57Yeah, I've made three sets of tooling specifically for my bonsai trees.
22:01This is so clever.
22:03So it's basically, this is the male and female sort of two-part dyes.
22:07Am I right in thinking then you can get a laser-cut flat blank of the leaves?
22:11Yes.
22:11Put that in the fly, have this tooling in the fly press.
22:14Yes.
22:14Drop that in, crank that, and you'll get all of this texture embossed in.
22:19Every time.
22:20I can completely appreciate the amount of work in designing and thinking
22:26and developing and making these.
22:28It must have taken you a long time.
22:30It really did.
22:31Yeah.
22:31Yeah, each one, there's been a three, four throwaway versions.
22:35Absolutely.
22:35Because they never come out perfect.
22:37These ones are working.
22:39The rest are in a bit.
22:42Linden's taken on board all the advice we gave him,
22:46and two and a half years after coming to my boot camp,
22:48I'm looking forward to finding out what impact that's had
22:52on his job as a fabricator and his finances.
22:56The last time we were together, your job was a fabricator,
22:58and this was a hobby, maybe.
23:01Has that changed now at all?
23:03I'm now doing three days a week fabrication,
23:05and the rest of the week is my time for my business.
23:09Is for whatever work I've done in my life, I've always been away,
23:12and to have the chance to be at home,
23:14not a lot of people get that chance to work with family
23:16in the way that I'd like to do.
23:18Yeah.
23:18Do you mind if we talk about numbers now?
23:20Is it fair to say this craft and this skill that you've now got
23:23is earning an income for you?
23:25Yes, I've been very proud to say it's, on average,
23:28about £25,000 a year.
23:31£25,000 a year?
23:33Which I'm blown away by.
23:34Wow.
23:35It's incredible.
23:36My business plan is to completely reinvest,
23:39improve techniques, improve my tooling.
23:42And you've created such a unique environment here
23:45where your son can come and get stuck in and have fun
23:48and learn amazing skills, learn from you,
23:51and just be in this environment.
23:52And I think it's a beautiful thing.
23:54It's really lovely what you've created,
23:56and I wish you the best of luck.
23:58Thank you very much, sir.
23:58Going from a hobby that earned nothing
24:01to making a profit of £25,000 a year
24:04after taking off his costs
24:06is a truly amazing achievement.
24:09The fact that Lyndon's only working on his business
24:12two to three days a week
24:13makes it even more spectacular
24:15and is a real testament to his talent and determination.
24:20What I've been through for the last couple of years
24:22has showed, really, it is working.
24:23Not many fathers get a chance to spend time
24:26at work with their children,
24:28so I'm very privileged in that respect.
24:30The amount of orders I've taken,
24:32I'm very grateful for,
24:34and I can see it's going to keep going,
24:36it's going to keep growing.
24:37I'm very proud.
24:38It's working.
24:40It's working.
24:46The second maker we're catching up with today
24:49is keepsake jeweller Andy from Devon.
24:52She came to my boot camp in the summer of 2024
24:55after taking the very big decision
24:58to give up her job as a furniture sales assistant
25:00to pursue her passion for keepsake jewellery.
25:04I'm a keepsake artist.
25:06I encapsulate things like cremation ashes,
25:09pet fur, hair.
25:11I just love the idea of sort of capturing a memory
25:14and creating something really precious from it.
25:17Like Lyndon, I set Andy three challenges,
25:21and for her volume piece,
25:23she decided to create a keepsake channel ring,
25:26which she hoped to sell for £114.
25:29Made from a pre-bought tungsten carbide ring,
25:33opals and an inclusion of hair from a loved one
25:35were sandwiched between layers of UV resin
25:38mixed with coloured pigment.
25:41I'm going to fill the channel of the ring with the resin,
25:46just trying to make sure that it's not pouring over the edges,
25:49just because it just gives us a lot more work to do later on
25:53if it goes everywhere.
25:55After filling the channel of the ring
25:57with two layers of coloured resin,
26:00Andy began adding the opals.
26:02Just making sure that the opals don't actually
26:07go any higher than sort of the level setting of the ring,
26:11because if it does,
26:12then once I put the top layer of resin on and cure it,
26:14and I sand it down and polish it,
26:16there are going to be little patches
26:17where the opals are sticking out.
26:19I am just going to cure this under the UV lamp.
26:23I'll just rotate it very slowly as I go.
26:26I'm using a UV-based resin,
26:29which means that with a UV light,
26:32the resin liquid will turn into a solid
26:34after curing under the light for a few seconds.
26:38To help her make money from her work,
26:40Andy was mentored by professional jeweller
26:43Sunny Bailey-Aird,
26:44and whilst she focused on making her channel ring,
26:47I sat down with Sunny to talk about her second challenge.
26:50I asked her to bring her favourite piece to the bootcamp
26:54to see if what she loved making the most
26:56could be a big seller.
26:58She decided to showcase a pendant,
27:01encapsulating fur from her pet cat, Jerry,
27:03who had recently passed away.
27:08Excluding curing time,
27:09it took her around an hour to make,
27:11and with material costs of £35,
27:14she gave it a price tag of £61.50.
27:18What are your thoughts on Andy's favourite piece?
27:21It's crispy clean,
27:22it looks nice and tidy.
27:24The only thing I would like Andy to try and change
27:28is to, instead of buying in components,
27:32I'd love to see Andy dip her toe
27:34into the actual making of the mount.
27:37She needs to do these stories as much justice as possible,
27:40and the stories deserve nothing less than handmade.
27:42How can we help Andy at the moment?
27:44Any key points for her?
27:45Her main market is where she's from,
27:48so we want to try to expand that.
27:50Obviously, the first port of call here is social media.
27:53Sharing the story online is going to do nothing
27:55but draw more eyes to her work,
27:56and that's the most important part.
28:02Back on the jewellery station,
28:04Andy was adding hair to her keepsake channel ring.
28:07I like having the responsibility of working with things
28:10that are so precious to people.
28:11You can really tell how much somebody meant to somebody.
28:15This is a final layer of resin,
28:18making sure that it isn't the channel part,
28:20because anything that does come over the sides accidentally,
28:23it is going to be sanded and polished back.
28:27When she arrived at my boot camp,
28:29Andy had been making keepsake jewellery for three years.
28:32It was something she started following a day out
28:35with a former partner.
28:37Around 2021, I was really fortunate enough
28:40to kind of attend this really nice beach day,
28:43and I thought, you know,
28:44I really wanted to capture this memory,
28:45so I've like to sort of like a handful of shells.
28:48I made some resin jewellery,
28:51and from there it's gone from shells to fur to ashes,
28:55and I just love making it.
29:00After hardening the top layer of resin
29:02in her ring under a UV light,
29:04Andy moved on to applying the finishing touches.
29:07I'm just making sure that the surface of the ring
29:10doesn't have deep scratches.
29:12The next step would just be to polish,
29:14and then we're pretty much done.
29:17With material costs of around £30
29:20and a make time of 90 minutes,
29:22Andy's channel ring was beautifully made.
29:25With kiln and workshop costs to consider as well,
29:29she gave it a price tag of £114.
29:33I think there's so much potential for this design.
29:37The really simple way that we can elevate this
29:39is essentially take a mould of the base ring
29:43without the resin,
29:45get it cast up into silver,
29:47and we can outsource that,
29:48and then that essentially just increases the preciousness
29:51and the customer's perceived value of the piece
29:53is instantly higher.
29:54At the moment, this is priced at £114.
29:57Do you think you'll still be able to make that
29:58for the same price out of silver?
30:00We might have to increase it a touch
30:01because mould making, getting the cast,
30:04and obviously the precious metal itself
30:05is going to come at a slightly higher price,
30:07but it's not going to be earth-shaking.
30:10For both of her first two pieces,
30:12Sonny wanted Andy to raise the level of her work
30:15by using higher quality materials.
30:18And for her third task,
30:20he gave her a special mentor's challenge
30:22that was designed to make her do just that.
30:26I picked this challenge for Andy
30:28because using nicer materials
30:30is going to in turn elevate her designs,
30:32and it's also going to command a higher price point.
30:35We have to make sure that she's doing the stories justice.
30:37To try and create a higher-end piece,
30:41Andy decided to make a domed glass keepsake pendant.
30:45Ground fragments of glass known as frit and ashes
30:48were mixed and fused together inside a glass cap
30:52and set in a pre-bought silver mount.
30:56After cutting the glass caps,
30:58Andy assembled the frit and ashes mix.
31:01These ashes are actually donated to me.
31:04They are horse ashes.
31:06So I've got a tiny, tiny bit of ashes.
31:09I'm just going to very gently tap inside.
31:14I don't want it to get anywhere else.
31:20There. It's OK.
31:22The frit and ashes mix
31:23needed topping off with a glass cap,
31:26which would form a glass stone
31:27after being fired in the kiln.
31:30As she was experimenting with the process,
31:32Andy made a number of them
31:33to make sure she had one
31:35that fit inside a pre-bought silver mount.
31:38I'm just going to make a few more
31:40and then it's going to be ready to go inside the kiln.
31:43Right, Andy.
31:44Oh, hello.
31:45I'm seeing lots of activity on over.
31:47I couldn't contain myself.
31:48What are you working on at the minute?
31:49I'm pretty much just sandwiching
31:51the horse's ashes
31:53between two bits of frit,
31:55just hoping that when it's fusing in the kiln,
31:58it really fuses as sort of one hole.
32:00That's what I'm really hoping for.
32:03The stones took four hours to form
32:05and then needed to be left to cool for several more,
32:08before being ready to be glued in
32:10to pre-bought silver mounts.
32:13With such a long prep time,
32:15Andy brought along a finished pendant
32:17to be able to show Sonny and I a completed piece.
32:21It was priced at £120 to £140.
32:27The thing that jumps out to me
32:28is the contrast of colours you've got in there.
32:30You've got that crispy,
32:32almost crystal ball-like glass
32:33and then you've got that deep greeny blues
32:35and you can see the ashes super clearly
32:37and you've actually smashed the actual making of the glass too.
32:41Memorials mean a lot to you,
32:42but there's another side to encapsulating these memories.
32:45Have you ever thought about celebrations?
32:46You could go into newborn babies,
32:50you can go into honeymoons,
32:52commemorating any journey or part of life, if you will.
32:57Andy's skill and passion for keepsake jewellery was clear to see
33:01and as she headed back to Devon,
33:04Sonny drew up an action plan
33:05to help her start getting the sales she needed.
33:09First, he asked her to make her own mounts and rings by hand
33:13and also use glass instead of resin
33:15to make her pieces more high-end.
33:18Next, Sonny wanted Andy to share what she does online
33:22to reach out to customers beyond her local area.
33:26Finally, she needed to think about developing collections
33:29of keepsake jewellery for celebratory events.
33:34With Sonny's support,
33:36we gave Andy two months to work on our advice
33:39and get the sales coming in.
33:41She started by making her pieces more high-end.
33:44I've ordered powder, glass,
33:46I've ordered fine and medium frits
33:48and I'm going to experiment with sort of getting the colour right
33:51and then I'm going to start incorporating the ashes again into that
33:55and instead of trying to make the stone to fit the setting,
33:58I'm going to make my own settings that are going to fit the stone.
34:01I'll go through the whole process of, you know,
34:03like what a typical jeweller or silversmith would do.
34:08Andy also worked on creating a collection of pieces
34:11to celebrate other life events like babies and birthdays
34:15as well as promoting herself on social media.
34:18Last night, I scheduled a post to be released this morning
34:23and I have seen my face and my work all over social media.
34:29In the eight weeks after my boot camp,
34:31Andy worked around the clock following our advice
34:34and when she came back to fill us in on her latest achievements,
34:38she'd done herself proud.
34:39Do you mind if I ask how much you've made over the last eight weeks?
34:42I've made just shy of £1,800.
34:46Really?
34:47Literally just the action points alone
34:49has allowed me to sort of go down that far.
34:53This is just the start,
34:55so look at this eight weeks as just the beginning.
34:57You can take it wherever you want.
35:00Andy had to take off her costs from her fabulous sales figures,
35:04but Sunny was bang on.
35:06She'd created a business with huge potential.
35:1218 months after she first came to the boot camp,
35:15I've asked him to head down to Devon
35:17to visit her at her new workshop
35:19and find out how she's fulfilled it.
35:25Andy, hello, mate.
35:26Hi, how are you?
35:27Good to see you.
35:27I'm OK, thank you.
35:28Good.
35:29Come on in, come on in.
35:32When she came to the boot camp,
35:34Andy was making her pieces in the spare room in her house.
35:37Now, as well as this brilliant new workshop,
35:40she's also got a consultation room next door
35:43where clients can come in and tell her their stories.
35:47Andy, your space is incredible,
35:49but am I right in saying that the business
35:51is moving alongside that?
35:52Yeah, it's absolutely crazy how things have worked out.
35:58People are searching my name online and finding my pieces.
36:01And also I'm, like, hiring people
36:03and I'm paying people a commission
36:04to help me with my own designs and my own collections.
36:07So, yeah, it really is working out absolutely great.
36:10Like, it is a business.
36:11It's a full-time, seven-day-a-week business.
36:14So which pieces since the boot camp have been your bestsellers?
36:16We wanted to make a higher-end product,
36:19so one of the things that we wanted to work on
36:21was fabricating things from start to finish
36:24and not buying pre-made stuff and working with glass.
36:27So I've kind of put them both together
36:29and started making my own, like, glass rings and pendants,
36:32which has been a bestseller.
36:35Andy's new glass rings are priced from £130
36:37and her pendants from £140.
36:41It's great to see her embracing Sunny's advice
36:44and she's also created a new personalised
36:47ashes and gemstone dust pendant.
36:49It has a price tag of £250
36:52and she's going to show Sunny how she makes it.
36:56This is basically going to be the start of a pendant.
36:59So what we tend to do, or at least the concept of this one,
37:02is to put ashes and sort of crushed-up gemstones inside.
37:06The middle bit is going to be the thing
37:07that resonates with the customer.
37:08So it might be a shape for heart, it might be a paw print,
37:11it might be a smiley face if they really wanted.
37:13But once we file it down,
37:16we'll be able to see, obviously,
37:18the contrast between the gemstones and also the silver.
37:23The customer's shape in the silver square
37:25is created using CAD, or computer-aided design technology,
37:29from which the piece is then cast from a wax model.
37:34After soldering the pendant and ring
37:36that will hold the chain in place together,
37:38Andy moves on to filing and sanding
37:41to remove any scratches and imperfections
37:43from the casting process.
37:45But rather than holding the piece in her hand,
37:48Sunny wants her to brace it against her bench peg
37:50to speed up the process.
37:52If you're loose, you can't apply enough pressure.
37:55Yeah.
37:56Whereas if you brace it,
37:59now you can get stuck in there.
38:04So you brace it against there,
38:07and you come in with four.
38:11Oh, yeah, I can see, yeah.
38:13So much better.
38:15So I've been spending so much time trying to figure it out
38:20because it was just taking me so long.
38:22Yeah, man, get stuck in there.
38:24Don't be shy.
38:26That's a great tip from Sunny.
38:28To fill the spaces around the silver heart in her pendant,
38:32Andy mixes crushed gemstones and ashes.
38:36One spoon of the obsidian.
38:42I'm going to do a scoop of this in there like that.
38:48So I'm going to give it a shake
38:50just to make sure I'm happy with the colour itself.
38:55Yeah, I quite like that.
38:57I think that's nice.
38:58Yeah, it's nice.
39:01After carefully placing the mix around the heart...
39:04I'm going to use a really fine brush
39:06just to push all of the excess into the gaps.
39:10Andy secures it in place
39:12with three layers of an adhesive
39:14which is more durable than resin.
39:17You can see it filling the channel.
39:21I'll wait till it cures
39:22and then we're ready to polish.
39:24After filing, sanding and polishing the pendant,
39:28Andy moves on to creating an inscription on the back
39:31using an engraver she's been able to buy
39:33from the profits of her business.
39:36Just for the purpose of this,
39:37I'm going to put mum.
39:40So start it.
39:50It's going to be a little bit hot.
39:54It's actually come out really, really well.
39:55I personally like really squiggly font
39:57and I think it just looks like really gentle and nice
40:00and the fact that this is on the back of a pendant
40:02that would contain, for example,
40:04potentially someone's mum's ashes
40:06just gives that extra sentimental element to it.
40:09So, yeah, I'm really happy.
40:10With material costs of £130
40:13and a make time of up to five hours,
40:16Andy's new personalised pendants
40:18are priced at £250.
40:20It's great to see her throwing herself
40:23into making new designs and higher-end jewellery.
40:26She's also made some pieces for celebratory events,
40:29but I'm keen to know
40:31if she's been promoting herself on social media
40:33and find out how much money she's now making.
40:37So, Annie, we set you quite a lot to do after boot camp
40:40and one of those challenges
40:41was to essentially try and get your work out there online
40:43and show some of the process to social media followers, etc.
40:47How have you been getting on with that?
40:49So, I think one of the things you said to me before
40:51was to make reels
40:52and to share stories and stuff online a little bit more,
40:55which I have done,
40:57but I'm still in that process of learning,
41:00you know, like learning the actual skill.
41:02And I think when I know a product very, very well
41:05and I can do it from start to finish very quickly,
41:07I'm happily able to sort of record
41:09and make, like, social media content.
41:12And that's been proven really successful.
41:14I'm getting, like, thousands of engagements,
41:16which is great.
41:17And they're translating into orders
41:19and visits to the website,
41:21which I can track through analytics.
41:23Amazing.
41:25It's clear that Andy has been working hard
41:28for the past year and a half.
41:29And I'm looking forward to hearing
41:31exactly what that's meant for her bank balance.
41:34From what I can see, you're absolutely smashing it.
41:36And it seems that you're, well,
41:38you can see you're glowing from sort of the enjoyment
41:40and all the work that you've been putting into it.
41:43But with a business,
41:44there also needs to be a pound note involved as well.
41:47Have you been making some money for yourself?
41:50So, currently at the moment,
41:51I'm making around £35,000.
41:54Proper money, man. It's a business.
41:55Yeah, it's a full business.
41:57I can finally say I've made it.
41:59So, I am happy.
42:01To go from almost nothing
42:03to having an income of £35,000 a year
42:06after costs in just 18 months
42:09is a phenomenal achievement.
42:11And it's proof of Andy's drive and can-do attitude.
42:15Oh, these have been the most stressful,
42:18but intense, but rewarding 18 months of my life.
42:22It's turned what was a hobby into a full business
42:25and it's put me in exactly the position
42:27that I wanted to be in.
42:28I'm really looking forward to every single day that comes
42:32because I get so many opportunities
42:34to do so many amazing things
42:35and I'm forever grateful.
42:38Andy and Lyndon's success is well-deserved.
42:41They've taken the advice from their mentors
42:44and with an enormous amount of hard work,
42:47turned it into businesses they can be very proud of.
42:51Inspired by I Made It At Market?
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