- 9 hours ago
I Made It at Market S01E10
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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, how to show that.
00:23Yes.
00:24Now I'm on my way to catch up with those who have made their dreams come true.
00:28Hello.
00:29There he is.
00:29Hello, mate.
00:31I'll be hearing about their amazing achievements.
00:34I've been able to put down a deposit on a house.
00:35This is my full-time job.
00:37And finding out how much money they're making.
00:40A little bit under £40,000.
00:42Around £50,000.
00:43£50,000?
00:44Yeah.
00:44So, join me and meet the fabulous makers
00:47who have transformed their lives and made it at market.
00:50You can kind of say I am living the dream.
00:53I think that's fair to say.
01:02Lots of makers come to my boot camp looking for help,
01:06swapping the nine-to-five for a full-time career doing the thing they love.
01:10And today, we'll be catching up with two makers who have succeeded in doing that.
01:15Later, mentor Derek will be dropping in on Charlotte, who gave up a job in a vets to build a
01:21stained-glass art business.
01:22I'm working a lot more, for starters, but I'm definitely enjoying it a lot more.
01:30Before that, I'll be catching up with stone carver Louise in Oxfordshire.
01:38I first met her in the summer of 2023, when she was a novice but passionate carver.
01:44There is a sense of permanence with stone that you know that whatever you're carving is going to survive for
01:54thousands of years.
01:55It's brilliant.
01:57Louise had ditched her day job and gone to college to learn how to carve stone.
02:02And was hoping we could help her build a business from it.
02:06I have put my life on hold and retrained the last two years.
02:12And, you know, I don't want to be a failure at the end of it.
02:15I want to come out of this and be successful.
02:19To help Louise start making money from her passion, I set her three tasks to figure out how best to
02:26bring in sales.
02:27First up was making a volume piece, something quick to make and affordably priced.
02:34She decided to craft a decorative swallow carved into a 10cm square limestone block, which she hoped to sell for
02:42£100.
02:44I'm just putting in a really shallow V-cut around the shape of the swallow.
02:51The V-cut is just, I'm just protecting the bits of stone that I don't want to chip off, really.
02:58If I hit it too hard and I take off a bit that I don't want to, then I just
03:08basically have to rethink the design.
03:13This is Ancaster stone.
03:15The lovely thing about Ancaster is that it's quite pure, so you don't have that many fossils in.
03:22Fossils can be a real pain, because if you come across a fossil, you've either got to go round it
03:28or chip the whole thing out.
03:29I'm just doing the tail now.
03:32So I've nearly got the rough shape of the swallow in the V-carving.
03:41To help Louise build her business, I teamed her up with professional stone carver, Louie Francis.
03:48Louie is a classically trained carver who's been running his own successful business for 13 years.
03:56Hello, you all right?
03:58How are you?
03:59How do you find carving with that frame?
04:03I'm kind of used to it. It's what I use for the really small carving.
04:07I suggest, like a washing up bowl?
04:11With sand filled to the top, and then you place the stone inside the sand, and because it's quite small,
04:18it's much easier to carve inside that framework, because it won't move around.
04:22The frame seems a little bit clumsy, so you might struggle to get the full dexterity.
04:27Oh, that's a really good idea. Thank you.
04:31Whilst Louise cracked on with her volume piece, I caught up with Louie to discuss her second challenge.
04:37Before she left home, I asked her to bring along a high-end item, something with a more expensive price
04:43tag.
04:44Louise chose to bring Cyril the owl.
04:47Packed full of character, he stood 70 centimetres tall and was made from beautiful York stone.
04:54When I saw the owl sculpture, I just was blown away, because it's so beautiful. I love animals myself. I
05:00love them. So it's a really modern touch. It's a really nice piece.
05:04Would you say it's worth the £700 asking price?
05:08I would say maybe £500 to £700 in that area, but I think £700 is okay price-wise.
05:16Back in the stone carving yard, having marked out her swallow for her volume piece, Louise started to carve away
05:22the limestone around it to reveal the bird's outline.
05:26Give it a good whack. There we are.
05:31After chiselling away the bulk of the stone, she began to form the shape of the swallow. Unfortunately...
05:37I chopped the wing off.
05:41I am just basically looking at the shape again and seeing how I can work around it.
05:47You can rectify these things just a case of slowing down, looking at it and thinking, right, how can I
05:59get round that problem?
06:01Louise's attitude was spot on. Handmade items often have minor imperfections in them, but it's all part of their charm.
06:10Once the swallow was reshaped, she used a gouge and a simple battery-powered nail file to add the finer
06:16details of the wings.
06:19I'm just basically making sure I'm happy to do the feathers, really, and it just gives a little bit more
06:25detail.
06:27And it's such a fine end. There's hardly any resistance on it at all. It's, yeah, it's brilliant.
06:39Despite the setback with the wing, Louise's limestone swallow was charming. It took her around four hours to make and
06:47was priced at £100.
06:50I think it looks good. It's a great size. Carving in quite a small area as well. I think people
06:56can buy it and then just put it on a shelf in their home. It will look great.
07:00What do you think of the price point, Louis?
07:03The £100 price point is good. One tip, maybe add, like, a gold leaf, an embellishment, just something on the
07:12beak, maybe something quite small, or maybe a few extra gold leaf details on the wings, and that's it. Quite
07:18simple.
07:19Two challenges in, and Louise had a well-deserved thumbs-up for her first two pieces.
07:27For her final task, I asked her to produce her favourite item to see if the piece she most enjoyed
07:33making could bring in big sales.
07:36She chose to create her take on a traditional Lewis chessman.
07:40Standing 20 centimetres high, her bishop was carved from Ancaster limestone.
07:48I'm just going across, which is basically the shoulder of the bishop.
07:56There we are. Don't go too far, though, because if I carry on, I'm going to risk losing bits that
08:03I don't want to lose.
08:04So I'm going to turn it round and just go the other way.
08:10As work was progressing well, Louis was keen to talk to Louise about how she promoted and marketed herself and
08:16her work online.
08:19I've seen your Instagram page, been looking through it, and I haven't seen, like, a video or...
08:28Is that something you'd think about creating?
08:30I've watched those videos, and they are so cool, but I don't actually understand how to do them.
08:37It's really, really simple. Set up a tripod, film yourself doing it, and then share it online.
08:44That's pretty much it.
08:45And then you're drawing more people rather than through photos,
08:49because a lot of people see photos and then they kind of scroll past it,
08:53whereas a video, you can see someone's process, and it's much more engaging to watch.
08:57I just find it just so daunting.
09:00I think it's a really important aspect of the business
09:03to just have that social media platform and a website as well.
09:11Louise's Louis Chessman had a make time of around 20 hours to complete.
09:16So in order to show me and Louis a finished piece,
09:19she brought one closer to completion to carve out the details of her bishop.
09:24He's starting to look like a human, and his face is starting to take shape as well.
09:30And we've got two hands here, and then the crook going down.
09:39As Louise continued to carve in the character of her bishop...
09:43There we go.
09:45..she made an important decision.
09:48I think he's chosen his own name, and he's Cuthbert,
09:52and Cuthbert was the bishop of Lindisfarne in 600-and-something.
09:59So, yeah, he's called Cuthbert.
10:01And there he is.
10:04Cuthbert took Louise 20 hours to carve and was packed full of personality.
10:10With material costs of around £35,
10:13she gave him an asking price of £300.
10:18I think it's a really lovely carving piece.
10:21You've got good size there as well.
10:22The detail is amazing.
10:25For your first sale, if you put £300,
10:28if people go, ooh, it's a bit steep, it's a bit expensive,
10:31and are a bit more hesitant towards it,
10:33you might be able to drop it just slightly for your first sale.
10:37It was a joy to share Louise's love of stone carving,
10:41and as she headed home,
10:43Louis gave her an action plan
10:44to turn her passion into a sustainable business.
10:48First, he wanted her to think about adding gold and silver details
10:52to her designs,
10:53to add value and boost her profits.
10:56Next, he wanted her to focus much more on her marketing
11:00and promote herself and her work
11:02by posting regular videos on social media.
11:05Finally, Louise needed to finish her website
11:08so that people could find her and buy her pieces.
11:14With Louise's continued guidance,
11:17we gave Louise two months to work on her action plan
11:20and get the sales coming in.
11:22She started by adding colour to her characterful chessmen.
11:25I bought some proper stonemasonry gold paint,
11:30sort of thing that they use for lettering and things,
11:33so it lasts an awful long time
11:35and it weathers very, very well.
11:38The case with this is just put a little bit on at a time
11:41because it tends to blob and it goes everywhere.
11:46She also began to build her online presence
11:49and had some good news about selling her work.
11:52I'm now in a gallery in Tetbury,
11:54which is brilliant.
11:57The gallery in Chippen-Candon
11:58has asked if they could have my stone,
12:02so that's signing up in October,
12:04which is brilliant.
12:06With Louise's support,
12:08Louise knuckled down to building her business
12:11and after eight weeks of hard graft,
12:13she reported back to us at the boot camp.
12:16Let's talk about money.
12:17How much have you made?
12:19I've taken about £600,
12:23so not great, but I'm...
12:26Not great, that's OK.
12:27And starting from scratch again,
12:29building your business,
12:30building your profile,
12:31setting up a website,
12:32doing your social media.
12:34I mean, you've been doing so much stuff,
12:35all of the steps are there
12:36and later you'll start to reap the benefits
12:38of all that hard work.
12:40Louise was bang on.
12:42Louise did have to deduct her costs
12:44from her £600 worth of sales,
12:46but she'd spent time laying solid foundations
12:49and put herself in the perfect position
12:52to start earning money from her work.
12:56Two and a half years later,
12:58I've come to Oxfordshire
12:59to see how she's getting on
13:01and how much money she's making now.
13:03And by the looks of this new workshop,
13:05she's not doing badly.
13:07Hello?
13:08Hello.
13:09Louise, hello.
13:10How are you doing?
13:12I'm very good.
13:12How are you, importantly?
13:13I'm fine, thank you.
13:15Here, come in.
13:18This huge space is the perfect set-up
13:20for a messy craft.
13:22And as a maker myself,
13:23it's making me rather jealous.
13:25Wow.
13:26It's great, isn't it?
13:27What a brilliant space.
13:28Yeah.
13:29It's absolutely cracking.
13:30Last time you were at boot camp,
13:32you were just finishing your training.
13:34Clearly, a lot has changed
13:35in the last two years.
13:36Yeah, I was still at college,
13:38so I was working on pieces at college.
13:40I set up a workbench in my garden,
13:42which wasn't ideal.
13:45No.
13:45I was using a stable quite close to where I live.
13:48Again, that wasn't ideal.
13:51But then I got a very large commission.
13:54Oh, did you?
13:55Yes, yes.
13:56It was a swan for a stately home.
13:59What an amazing project.
14:00800 kilos of Portland,
14:02so it was a huge block over a metre high.
14:04Wow.
14:05So all you need is somewhere big enough.
14:07Yeah, you're never going to get
14:08an 800 kilo stone into your back garden.
14:11No.
14:12Exactly, exactly.
14:12So what do you do?
14:13Just found this place.
14:14Yeah.
14:14That's the sort of thing I would do.
14:16Confirm the order for something
14:17that you have no space for
14:19and no idea where you're going to do it.
14:21Louise's swan commission
14:23was worth a fantastic 6,000 pounds.
14:26But it's not her only big sale.
14:29She's also sold Cyril the Owl
14:31for an incredible 1,800 pounds,
14:33more than double what she was hoping to get for it
14:36when she brought it to my boot camp
14:37as her high-end piece.
14:39Come on then, Louise.
14:40Let's get down to business.
14:41How has it been going for the last two years?
14:44It's been going great.
14:46Has it?
14:46Yeah, I mean, I'm full-time.
14:49Is that not incredible?
14:50It is, actually.
14:51It's really good.
14:52Yeah.
14:53I sell in galleries.
14:55I do a few summer events
14:57and, obviously, Christmassy ones and all sorts.
15:00OK.
15:00My chessmen, I think I've got up to 27 commissions on those now.
15:0627?
15:07Yeah.
15:07Yeah.
15:08The Lewis chessmen that Louise made for her volume piece
15:11have material costs of around £35.
15:15And with the added silver and gold detail on some,
15:18as Louise suggested,
15:19they now sell for between £425 and £475 each.
15:25Louise is doing brilliantly,
15:28but selling her stone carvings
15:29isn't the only string to her bow.
15:32I do courses as well,
15:33and the courses are going great.
15:36I'm in four locations
15:37in about five different counties,
15:40and I've now got to a point
15:41where I'm offering advanced courses
15:44for the people who've already been on my courses,
15:46and they sell out.
15:47Congratulations.
15:48Is that not the biggest compliment,
15:50that somebody's been on a course
15:51and wants to come back and learn more from you?
15:53It's so rewarding.
15:55It really is.
15:55I've got to ask,
15:56it's not all stone in here, is it?
15:58No.
15:59I didn't know that you even painted.
16:01I've done eight commissions this year so far,
16:04which is astounding.
16:06That's really good.
16:07Yeah.
16:07Yeah, ranging from about £350 for a small piece
16:11up to £750.
16:13That's serious money.
16:15Yeah, it's great.
16:16And obviously I sold prints as well.
16:18My income is basically split in thirds.
16:21So it's a third stone commission,
16:23a third paintings,
16:24and a third courses.
16:25What a perfect mix.
16:27Yeah, it is.
16:29Louise charges £195 for a two-day course,
16:32and as they now form such a big part of her business,
16:36I'm going to take a taster class.
16:38We're going to carve a raised, curled-up fox,
16:41and after tracing the design onto offcuts
16:44from Louise's larger sculptures,
16:46we use a scribe to mark out a clear line to chisel to.
16:51This puts a fire break in.
16:54So it's telling the stone
16:55you don't want to chisel past these lines.
16:59It's because the stone listens to you.
17:01It's, yeah, it's, you know...
17:03I can tell it all I want.
17:06How hard am I pushing?
17:08Very hard, actually.
17:10With the outline of the design marked up,
17:13our next job is to scribe a one-centimetre line
17:16around the edge of the stone
17:18so we can see how deep to take the background.
17:21Right, time for the PPE.
17:23It's getting serious now, is it?
17:24Mm-hmm.
17:25Now we'll chisel a channel
17:26around the outside edge of the design
17:29to create a weakness in the stone.
17:31Go off in the chisel.
17:3645 degrees.
17:3745 degrees, that's all.
17:38On the line or outside the line?
17:39Just a little bit outside.
17:42How's that?
17:43Mm-hmm.
17:43It's OK?
17:45That's it.
17:48Just a little bit more
17:49so the console line does disappear.
17:51OK.
17:52You've got a nice flower cage then.
18:01It is in front of this sock stone.
18:03It's straight, huh?
18:05No, it's not.
18:05You hardly have to touch it.
18:06I don't.
18:09The next stage is to chisel inwards
18:11from our one-centimetre depth line
18:13and the weakness created by the channel
18:16causes the stone around the outside
18:18of the design to break away,
18:20creating a dropped background
18:21and a raised fox.
18:24We might want to stand up for this, actually.
18:26Oh, gee.
18:31OK.
18:32I'll put the chisel up to that line,
18:34the side line, OK?
18:35And give it a tap.
18:37Oh, my word.
18:39Oh, yeah.
18:40So we'll do this side.
18:43Oh!
18:43Oh!
18:44It's all right.
18:45Don't worry.
18:46I will just chisel
18:48this one out here.
18:50Just a little bit.
18:52That's it.
18:53My chisel-happy hands
18:54might have let me down,
18:55but with a little help from Louise,
18:57my fox is rescued.
18:59As she's condensing
19:00a two-day course
19:02into a few hours for me, though,
19:03she's prepared one
19:04a little further along
19:06so that I can chisel
19:07on the details
19:07to the fox's face
19:09and body.
19:10This is where he's going to come to life.
19:11Yeah.
19:12Find me, look.
19:13Start in the corner of the eye.
19:14Yeah.
19:15And chiseling in.
19:16So this has...
19:17This ought to be
19:18very, very, very shallow.
19:20Deeper there.
19:20A little bit deeper.
19:22And it's only a very shallow chisel.
19:24You know what?
19:25You're a very good teacher.
19:26You're very calm.
19:28You've given me a lot of confidence.
19:33Under Louise's watchful eye,
19:36we carve the details
19:38into our foxes.
19:45How's that?
19:46Oh, brilliant.
19:47Yeah.
19:48Right, guys,
19:49I think that's about it for today.
19:51Oh.
19:51So we've got on really well.
19:53Some really lovely stuff going on here.
19:55That's been really good fun.
19:57It's really good.
19:59I'm quite chuffed, actually.
20:00It's really good.
20:01It's lovely.
20:02I'm thrilled with my fox.
20:04And after a little sanding,
20:06it will take pride of place
20:07in my workshop.
20:10Louise promotes
20:11these fantastic courses
20:12on social media
20:13using reels
20:14like we asked her to do
20:15at the boot camp.
20:17And I'm keen to find out
20:18if any of the other advice
20:19we gave her
20:20has been useful
20:21in building her business.
20:24When you left
20:25my boot camp,
20:26we did send you off
20:27with an action plan.
20:28Some key pointers
20:29to try and help you
20:30build this into a business.
20:31One of the pointers
20:32was to introduce
20:33more gold to your work.
20:34How have you found that?
20:35Just adding a little bit
20:36is great.
20:38I mean, lettering,
20:38for example.
20:39It's perfect.
20:40Yeah, exactly.
20:41Something else
20:41that we were really keen
20:43for you to work on
20:43was your website,
20:44which I know
20:45is not easy.
20:46It's up and running.
20:47It's been up and running
20:48for over two years now.
20:49And I add to it as well.
20:51So if I've got
20:52like a new project
20:53or I think I've got
20:54to promote something,
20:55I will then add
20:56another page to it.
20:58So it's sort of
20:58ever-growing.
20:59I see, I can't even
21:01manage that.
21:02So you're doing
21:02better than me.
21:04Louise has really
21:05taken all of our advice
21:07and run with it.
21:08She's diversified
21:09her business
21:10and two and a half years
21:11after I first met her,
21:13I can't wait to hear
21:14just how well she's doing
21:15in her new career.
21:17I know you're having
21:18great fun carving
21:19and sculpting,
21:20but how much money
21:21are you making?
21:22Last financial year,
21:24my income was $21,000.
21:26From this?
21:27From the courses,
21:28commissions,
21:29and the art?
21:30Yeah.
21:31And I'm on track
21:32to do about the same
21:34this year,
21:35if not a bit more.
21:35What an achievement.
21:36You can kind of say
21:37I'm living the dream.
21:38I think that's fair to say.
21:40Sort of.
21:41I think that's fair to say.
21:43Yeah.
21:43Importantly,
21:44you're living your dream.
21:45This is now
21:46your reality.
21:47Giving up
21:48her full-time income
21:49was a brave decision,
21:51but as Louise
21:52is now taking home
21:53£21,000 a year
21:55after costs,
21:56it was definitely
21:57the right one.
21:59You shouldn't be driven
22:00by money,
22:00but when,
22:01what,
22:02your own hands
22:04create,
22:05make sure that
22:06the bills are paid,
22:07it's actually
22:08quite an important thing.
22:10I'm making an income
22:12out of something
22:13that I am absolutely
22:14passionate about.
22:14So,
22:16yeah,
22:16win-win.
22:22The second maker
22:23we're going to catch up
22:24with today
22:25is wild swimmer
22:26and stained glass artist
22:27Charlotte from Bristol,
22:29who also came to my boot camp
22:31two and a half years ago.
22:32I swim in anything,
22:36as long as the water's clean.
22:37I swim in the sea,
22:39I swim in rivers,
22:40I swim throughout the winter,
22:42colder the better actually,
22:44any band of water,
22:45I'm there.
22:47Like Louise,
22:48Charlotte had also
22:49left her job
22:50and was trying
22:50to make a living
22:51from her swimming-inspired
22:53stained glass art.
22:54I was working
22:55part-time in the vets
22:56and making pieces
22:58and then they built up
22:59and I thought,
23:00I'm going to actually
23:01have to get rid of some now.
23:02So I started selling them
23:04to my swimming friends
23:05and then I had to
23:07take the plunge
23:08of going full-time.
23:10Take the plunge,
23:10I like it.
23:11Yes, yes.
23:13Financially,
23:14it has to work
23:15because I have to pay
23:16my way in the house.
23:17You've got your kiln,
23:18you've given up the job.
23:19Yeah.
23:19We'll do everything we can.
23:20I'm very excited.
23:23To work out
23:24the best way
23:25of getting some
23:25much-needed sales rolling in,
23:27Charlotte faced
23:28my three making challenges.
23:30For her volume piece,
23:32she decided to make
23:33a stained glass
23:3410-inch Lido lady,
23:36which she hoped to sell
23:37for £55,
23:38complete with
23:39a three-piece bathing suit
23:40and a hook for hanging.
23:43She started by tracing out
23:45her lady's limbs.
23:47Her fingertip
23:48doesn't quite fit on
23:49but who cares?
23:50Some people
23:51have small arms.
23:58One of the things
23:59about glass
24:00is that I've just
24:00made a very simple
24:01score line
24:02and then you'd
24:03literally just do it
24:05like that
24:06and that's
24:07very, very satisfying.
24:12I'm just following
24:13the marking
24:14that I've done
24:16and then it just snaps.
24:17This is my first cut
24:19and then later on
24:20I'll just go
24:21to the grinder
24:22and I'll decide
24:23what sort of shape
24:23I want the leg to be.
24:25Once the limbs were cut,
24:27Charlotte chose
24:28the coloured glass
24:29for the swimsuit
24:30and traced it out
24:31before cutting.
24:32Any sort of curve
24:34in glass
24:35is trickier
24:35than a straight line
24:36obviously.
24:37I have to cut
24:38into here
24:39as close as I can
24:40and then you just
24:42nibble it away
24:43with the pliers
24:47like that.
24:48This bit will be
24:49finished off
24:49on the grinder
24:50and then I'll have
24:51a nice clean armpit.
24:54You can do this
24:55quite roughly
24:57and then sort of
24:57nibble
25:01nibble little bits
25:02away.
25:02I can already
25:04see that the face
25:05that I've cut out
25:06here isn't going
25:07to fit that hat.
25:08When I come
25:09to grind it
25:09that's when I can
25:10really get in tight
25:12and make them
25:12fit snugly together.
25:15Having been brave
25:16enough to quit
25:17her job working
25:17in a vets
25:18and invest time
25:19and money
25:20into her stained
25:20glass business,
25:21Charlotte needed
25:22it to grow
25:23to support her
25:24and her family.
25:27To help it
25:28do just that
25:28I teamed her up
25:29with Derek Hunt.
25:32Derek's been
25:33successfully designing
25:34and making
25:34glass artworks
25:35for public spaces,
25:37private homes
25:37and churches
25:38for over 40 years.
25:41Some clever
25:42cutting going on
25:42here.
25:43Where do you
25:43sell this kind
25:44of work?
25:44Mainly online,
25:46social media
25:47and then I also
25:48sell occasionally
25:49at the markets
25:50so I've got
25:51quite a big
25:52travelling trunk
25:53that I take
25:54and I open it
25:55up and it's like
25:56here are my ladies.
25:57Here are my ladies.
25:58Wonderful.
25:59You are a swimmer
26:01also, yes?
26:01I'm also a swimmer.
26:02I also do
26:03synchronised swimming.
26:04This is great.
26:05I mean, I think
26:05that we can develop
26:06this theme
26:07into a collection.
26:09Whilst Charlotte
26:10pressed on
26:11with her Lido lady,
26:12I caught up
26:13with Derek
26:13to discuss
26:14her second challenge.
26:16For her high-end piece,
26:18Charlotte took
26:19inspiration from
26:20her love
26:20of synchronised swimming
26:21to create
26:22a stunning piece
26:23of circular glass
26:25art.
26:26Designed to be hung
26:27from a window,
26:28she painted the glass
26:29with her Lido ladies
26:30forming a symmetrical
26:31pattern.
26:32With a make time
26:33of 40 hours,
26:35she gave it a price tag
26:36of £450.
26:39There's a lot of detail
26:40in there,
26:41a lot of very delicate
26:42painted work
26:42called scaffito,
26:43which is basically
26:44scratching out the paint.
26:46It was really,
26:46really nice to see.
26:47It's very unusual
26:49because it's a sort of
26:50freestanding piece
26:51that's hung in a window
26:52and she can develop
26:53it further
26:54with lots of
26:54different costumes
26:55and lots of
26:56different colours.
26:57Charlotte's hoping
26:57to get £450 for that.
26:59Do you think
27:00it's worth it?
27:00There's quite a lot
27:01of work in it
27:01and I think
27:02that's a fair price.
27:03Yeah.
27:03And what's really
27:04exciting as well
27:04is that she's just
27:05recently invested
27:06in a kiln,
27:07so now that she
27:08can do painting
27:09on glass,
27:09that's something
27:10that I really think
27:11I can help her with.
27:13Back at the glass station,
27:15Charlotte ground
27:16the individual parts
27:17of her Lido Lady
27:18to smooth and add
27:19muscle tone.
27:21Checking they fit
27:21together as she went.
27:24Now the joints
27:25are all nice and flush,
27:26they're sitting nicely
27:27together,
27:27so I'm happy with that.
27:29I'm going to go round
27:30each individual piece
27:31and I use copper foil,
27:33which is a sticky back tape,
27:34and centre the foil
27:36so that there's
27:37an overlap each side.
27:38It just needs to overlap
27:40a little bit
27:41so that all the joints
27:43can fit together nicely
27:44and you get a nice
27:45clean line
27:45around the border.
27:48Charlotte's next job
27:49was soldering
27:50the pieces together,
27:51taping the joints
27:52on one side
27:53whilst she worked
27:54on the other.
27:55I'm going to
27:56tack solder it
27:57on each of the joints,
27:59flip it over,
28:00take the masking tape off,
28:01and then I can
28:02solder the whole piece
28:03and make nice
28:04fluid solder lines
28:05to keep it all in place.
28:13Once she finished
28:15soldering...
28:15OK, so she's done,
28:17I'm happy with her.
28:18Charlotte cleaned
28:19and polished up
28:20her figure
28:20before adding
28:21the finishing touches.
28:23I'm applying
28:24the black patina,
28:25which is a dye
28:26that will dye
28:27the solder.
28:28Once she's done,
28:29I can attach a hook
28:30and then she'll be finished.
28:36With material costs
28:37of around £12
28:38and a make time
28:39of just under an hour,
28:41Charlotte's fabulous
28:42Lido Lady
28:43carried a price tag
28:44of £55.
28:46Charlotte,
28:47I feel like we're
28:47taking a trip back
28:48to the 1920s.
28:49You're Lido Lady.
28:50It's brilliant.
28:52Thanks very much.
28:53Derek, what are your thoughts?
28:54What is exciting
28:54about this
28:55is how we can develop it.
28:56I know you do
28:57synchronised swimming
28:57and you can actually
28:58perhaps include that.
29:00You can also do
29:01multiple figures together.
29:03Brilliant.
29:03You can have a series
29:04of collectible swimmers,
29:06themed Victorian swimmers,
29:07contemporary swimmers,
29:09different costumes.
29:10Men.
29:11Yeah, exactly.
29:12Yeah, that's true.
29:13A bit more tricky
29:14with a man
29:14because there's not
29:15so many curves
29:16and it's not quite
29:17as attractive.
29:19It's a bit more lumpy.
29:19Yeah.
29:21Derek thought Charlotte's
29:23first two pieces
29:24had lots of potential
29:25for development.
29:26For her third task,
29:28we wanted to see
29:29if her favourite piece
29:30the item she cherished
29:31making most
29:32could also be
29:33a big hit with customers.
29:36She chose to make
29:36a memory window.
29:38Framed in an arch,
29:39it brought together
29:40her Lido Lady style
29:42with a twist
29:43of personalised
29:44pressed foliage
29:45bespoke to each client.
29:48This photo here
29:49is a friend of mine
29:51and this moment
29:52is her walking down
29:54into the water
29:54and just pausing
29:55and she almost
29:57parted the willow tree
29:58to get into the water
29:59and then she was off.
30:01After tracing out
30:02the template
30:02for each of the glass pieces
30:04for her memory window,
30:06Charlotte moved on
30:06to choosing the foliage.
30:08Today I'll be using
30:09some heather
30:10and there's some
30:11grasses here.
30:12I really want to
30:13create the drapery
30:14of the willow tree.
30:17By personalising
30:18the piece
30:18to an individual
30:19customer,
30:20Charlotte created
30:21something special
30:22and unique.
30:23But Derek wanted
30:25to talk to her
30:25about its price.
30:27How do we price it?
30:29I really struggle
30:30with pricing.
30:31Pricing is that
30:32kind of dark art
30:35and you've got
30:35to get it right.
30:36You have to go through
30:37how long it's taken
30:38to make
30:39and the material costs.
30:40Everything above that
30:41is the perceived
30:42value of it
30:43and you have to decide
30:45what that value is
30:46over and above
30:47the costs.
30:50To finish her memory window,
30:52Charlotte positioned
30:53foliage between
30:54two pieces of glass.
30:58I think I'm happy
30:59with that fitting.
31:01Smoothed off
31:02the rough edges
31:02with her grinder.
31:06Gave it a quick polish
31:08and added copper foil
31:09around the edges
31:10to secure everything
31:11in place.
31:12I'm going to put
31:13the foil tape
31:14all the way
31:15around the outside
31:16and then I can
31:17go ahead
31:18and solder it.
31:22Charlotte's memory window
31:23was a remarkable
31:24piece of work.
31:26It had a make time
31:27of two days
31:28plus pressing
31:29and prep time
31:30along with a price tag
31:31of £250
31:32and got another
31:34thumbs up
31:35from Derek.
31:35That's fantastic.
31:36I love it
31:37because it's a combination
31:38of Delido ladies
31:39and also this memory panel
31:41so there's two ideas
31:42in one.
31:43It's a great piece.
31:44What do you think?
31:45The price is £250?
31:47Yeah, I think that's
31:48about right.
31:49I think keeping it
31:49under £300 is great.
31:51I think you're pitching
31:51it just about right.
31:53Okay, great.
31:55After being brave enough
31:56to quit her job,
31:58Charlotte needed
31:58to make her business work
32:00and as she headed
32:01home to Bristol,
32:02we gave her an action plan
32:03to help her do just that.
32:06First, she needed
32:07to develop her Lido ladies
32:08into a collection
32:09with different swimmers,
32:11themes, groups
32:12and men.
32:14Next, Derek wanted Charlotte
32:16to improve her glass
32:17painting skills.
32:18Finally, she needed
32:19to know her worth
32:20and up her pricing,
32:22calculating her actual costs
32:24and adding perceived value.
32:28With two more months
32:30of Derek's guidance,
32:31Charlotte set to work
32:32on her business building advice.
32:34Starting with exploring
32:36painting on glass
32:37at his studio
32:38in Leicestershire.
32:40We've been playing
32:40with different coloured paints.
32:42This is a green
32:43and this is a sort of
32:44orangey-brown colour.
32:47Usually, I've just been
32:48playing with the black
32:49so it's really nice
32:50to get the different tones.
32:52This colour combination
32:53is lovely.
32:54Yeah, yeah, it is.
32:55You're right, yeah.
32:56They also worked
32:57on her Lido Lady collection.
32:59I've almost refined
33:01the collection
33:01which is one of the most
33:03important things for me
33:04to do
33:06and also getting
33:07confidence in my painting
33:10which I feel like
33:11that's coming along as well.
33:12So I feel like everything's
33:13going in the right direction.
33:15For two months,
33:17Charlotte worked hard
33:18to move her business forward
33:19and when she came back
33:21to my boot camp
33:21to update us on her progress,
33:23she had brilliant news.
33:25I've made 2,730 pounds.
33:31Whoa, amazing.
33:32Yeah.
33:322,700 pounds.
33:34I feel really proud of myself.
33:35Yeah, it's wonderful.
33:36I think you should be proud.
33:37You really should
33:38because you've achieved so much
33:38and your work is beautiful.
33:41Charlotte had to take off
33:43her costs from her fabulous
33:44sales figure
33:45but she'd made a brilliant start
33:47to building a successful business.
33:52Two and a half years
33:54after she came
33:55to my boot camp,
33:56Derek has travelled
33:57to Bristol
33:57to find out
33:58how she's grown her business
33:59since then
34:00and how much money
34:01she's making now.
34:05Hi, Derek.
34:07How are you?
34:08It's lovely to see you.
34:09Great to see you too.
34:10Come in.
34:11Fantastic.
34:13Charlotte runs her business
34:14from what used to be
34:15the dining room
34:16in her house.
34:17It's a brilliant workspace
34:19Derek has seen
34:20on a previous visit
34:21but a lot has happened
34:23since then.
34:24OK, here we are again.
34:26Wow, fantastic.
34:28It's great to see you again.
34:28Yes, thank you.
34:30Yeah, I think it's very similar
34:32to when you did visit.
34:34Possibly a bit tidier.
34:35Had a bit of a sort out.
34:37Yeah.
34:38Yeah, so it's very organised now.
34:40I know where everything is.
34:41Yeah, looking great.
34:42How's business?
34:43How's things going for you?
34:44It's great.
34:45Really good.
34:46Yeah, yeah.
34:46I'm releasing the Lido collection
34:48three or four times a year
34:50and then I do
34:51a couple of commissions
34:52a month
34:53and I get website orders
34:55as well
34:56of the plain Lido
34:58pieces.
34:59I've also started
35:00experimenting
35:02with a process
35:03called fossil vitre.
35:04I was initially
35:06encasing
35:07pressed foliage
35:09that I'd collected
35:10or people had sent me
35:11in between
35:12two sheets of glass.
35:13The problem there
35:14was that
35:15it could potentially
35:16disintegrate over time.
35:18What I've discovered
35:19and researched
35:21is that
35:22I can
35:23essentially
35:24make a fossil
35:25of the foliage
35:27so people
35:29will send me
35:30foliage
35:31from where they swim.
35:32I'll press them.
35:33I cover them
35:34in like powdered glass
35:36and then I put glass
35:37on the top
35:38and then
35:39fuse them
35:40in the kiln
35:41and that essentially
35:42creates a fossil
35:43of the piece
35:44which is there forever.
35:46It's fantastic.
35:47They're kind of like
35:48almost like heirlooms,
35:49family heirlooms
35:49that could be passed down
35:50because they've got
35:51a legacy to them.
35:52Which pieces have been
35:53your best sellers?
35:55The Lido collection
35:56is definitely
35:57the best sellers
35:58and then
36:00from the figures
36:02from the Lido collection
36:03I then
36:04have made
36:05some of them
36:06into
36:06what I call
36:07Lido loops.
36:09They're essentially
36:10glass drawings.
36:12There's quite a lot
36:13of negative space
36:14in them
36:14to keep them
36:15affordable for people
36:16and affordable for me.
36:19Charlotte sold
36:20around 400
36:21Lido ladies
36:22since the boot camp
36:23which then
36:24were £55
36:25and are now
36:26priced between
36:26£75 and £95.
36:29It's great
36:30she's also
36:31incorporating them
36:32into her new pieces
36:33like her Lido loops.
36:35These are priced
36:36at £175
36:37and she's going
36:38to show Derek
36:39how they're made.
36:40I've got my design
36:42here
36:42and I'm going
36:43to lay it down
36:44on the light box
36:45so that I can
36:46see the image
36:48through the
36:48selection of glass
36:50that I've chosen
36:51and I trace over
36:53and try
36:54and make it
36:56as compact
36:58as I can
36:59on the glass
36:59so that I don't
37:00waste any.
37:02After Charlotte's
37:03traced around
37:04her bathing bell
37:05design
37:06she cuts
37:07the pieces out
37:09then grinds
37:10the edges
37:11to shape
37:11and smooth them.
37:13I like the
37:14grinding bit
37:14because it's
37:15the bit that
37:15actually makes
37:16them all fit together
37:17so it's quite
37:18satisfying
37:19and I like
37:20doing the profiles
37:21I like them
37:22to have a nice
37:23clean
37:24serene profile
37:25I think
37:26this one needs
37:27a little bit
37:28more taking off
37:29here
37:29because I think
37:30it looks like
37:31she's got a
37:32double chin
37:32but don't we all?
37:36To add
37:37personality
37:37and colour
37:38to the piece
37:39Charlotte is going
37:40to paint the face
37:41hat
37:41and strap
37:42I'm going to
37:43mix my paint up
37:44so this is
37:45a ground
37:46glass
37:48basically
37:48so you've got
37:49to be really
37:49careful not to
37:50ingest it
37:52and then I add
37:53a tiny little bit
37:54of gum arabic
37:55to that
37:55which will
37:57help the
37:58paint stick
37:59to the
38:01glass itself
38:02Looking good
38:04Has your painting
38:05technique changed
38:07over the last
38:08couple of years?
38:08Yeah it's definitely
38:09got a lot more
38:11sort of experimental
38:12And are you
38:13experimenting with
38:14different types of
38:15paints as well?
38:16Enamels
38:17transparent enamels
38:19and opaque
38:19and different
38:22stains
38:22and I'm also
38:24I started making
38:25my own
38:26paints as well
38:27like I use a red
38:29powdered oxide
38:30and I mix it
38:31with ground
38:32fritz
38:33like ground
38:34glass
38:35This is fantastic
38:36Yeah
38:36There are not many
38:38glass artists
38:38actually making
38:39their own paint
38:40It's pretty cool
38:41Now we just need
38:42to let this dry
38:43for a few minutes
38:46until it forms
38:47a nice layer
38:49Once dry
38:50Charlotte adds
38:51the final details
38:52and pops the pieces
38:54into the kiln
38:55As they need
38:56an hour and a half
38:57in there for the
38:58paint to stick
38:58to the glass
38:59she's prepped
39:00a second set
39:01to be able to
39:01show Derek
39:02a finished Lido
39:03loop
39:03next stage
39:05is to foil
39:06each piece
39:07so this is a
39:08copper foil
39:09tape
39:10and the foil
39:12overlaps
39:13each side
39:14and gives a little
39:16border around each piece
39:17Flux is painted
39:19onto the joints
39:20to help the solder
39:21stick to the foil
39:22then Charlotte
39:23solders everything
39:24together
39:24Okay she's done
39:26and then the last bit
39:27is just to put on
39:28the lead cane
39:30which is the border
39:31that will go
39:31around the edge
39:32and it makes it
39:33look a bit cleaner
39:36The £175
39:37bathing bell
39:38Lido loop
39:39takes around
39:40two hours
39:40to make
39:41It's brilliant
39:42I love that
39:42It's great to see
39:44how Charlotte
39:45has expanded
39:46her portfolio
39:47of pieces
39:47I'm also delighted
39:49that she's refined
39:50her glass painting
39:51skills
39:51but have any
39:53of the other
39:53pointers we gave
39:54her at the boot camp
39:55helped to boost
39:56her business
39:56over the past
39:57two and a half years
39:58Charlotte
39:59when you were
40:00at the boot camp
40:01we gave you
40:02a business plan
40:03to develop
40:04your themes
40:05with the Lido men
40:06and Lido ladies
40:07have you developed
40:08that further?
40:09Yes so I developed
40:10the collection
40:11at boot camp
40:12and that was
40:13five ladies
40:14and the two men
40:15and then since then
40:17I have added
40:18another couple
40:19of figures
40:20as my skills
40:21have developed
40:22they're becoming
40:23a lot more
40:24of a sort of
40:25luxury item
40:26and a lot more
40:27intricate I think
40:28Something we also
40:29wanted to get you
40:30to work on
40:30was knowing
40:31your own value
40:32and getting your
40:33prices
40:33worked out
40:34have those
40:34prices evolved
40:35over time?
40:36Yeah I definitely
40:37think that I know
40:38my worth now
40:39and I fixed my
40:41prices so they
40:42went up
40:42I also feel
40:44maybe they
40:45might need
40:47another tweak
40:48again
40:50and I think
40:51that's only natural
40:52because everybody
40:53in other professions
40:54have pay increases
40:56and I think
40:57it's important
40:58for me to do
40:59that as well
40:59as my skills
41:00develop
41:01look I should
41:02get a pay rise
41:04Charlotte's
41:04absolutely right
41:05as well as
41:06increasing the
41:07price of her
41:08Lido ladies
41:08she also
41:10upped the price
41:10of the synchronized
41:11swimmers piece
41:12she made for her
41:13high-end challenge
41:14she originally
41:15wanted 450 pounds
41:17for it
41:18but then
41:18sold it at an
41:19international art
41:20exhibition
41:21for a staggering
41:221800 pounds
41:23with figures like
41:24that
41:25I'm looking forward
41:26to hearing what
41:27it's meant for
41:27her finances
41:29Charlotte you
41:30came to the
41:30boot camp to
41:31really kind of
41:32develop your
41:33business and to
41:33get it off the
41:34ground and the
41:35important part
41:36obviously is is
41:37it working as a
41:38business
41:38so working a lot
41:40more
41:41for starters
41:43but I'm definitely
41:44enjoying it a lot
41:46more
41:46I'm making more
41:48money roughly
41:49sort of 24
41:5025 grand
41:52it's been amazing
41:53and really inspiring
41:54for my kids to see
41:55as well that it's
41:56possible to make
42:00a living from
42:01doing what you
42:02love like that
42:03everyone wants that
42:04don't they
42:04yeah absolutely
42:05absolutely
42:06I love it
42:06I wouldn't change
42:07it for the world
42:09after taking off
42:10her costs
42:11Charlotte has made
42:11a profit of
42:1218,000 pounds
42:13over the past
42:1412 months
42:15having only left
42:16my boot camp
42:17two and a half
42:18years ago
42:18it's a fantastic
42:20effort in such
42:21a short space
42:22of time
42:22years and years
42:23ago when I said
42:24I wanted to be
42:25an artist
42:25this is now
42:27I feel like I'm
42:28sort of living
42:28that dream
42:31and now I've
42:32got the next
42:33dream to kind
42:34of think about
42:40and that's
42:41really exciting
42:49inspired by
42:50I made it at market
42:51go behind the
42:52scenes with the
42:53open university
42:53to discover
42:54bonus interviews
42:55exploring new
42:56insights into
42:57how makers have
42:58sustained and
42:59grown their
43:00businesses
43:00scan the QR code
43:02on screen
43:02or go to
43:03connect.open.ac.uk
43:06forward slash
43:07I made it at
43:08market
43:09I made it at
43:10I made it
43:36Transcription by CastingWords
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