- 13 hours ago
I Made It at Market S01E09 Textile Weaving and Personal Portraits
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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.
00:17I 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!
00:29There 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.
00:36This 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.
01:01For so many makers, starting a business can feel completely overwhelming.
01:06And that's exactly why I set up my boot camp,
01:09to help point them in the right direction.
01:12Today, we'll be catching up with two whose incredible talents are changing their lives.
01:17Later, mentor Sharon will be finding out about artist Jill's amazing achievements in Berkshire.
01:23I've gone from doing one to two commissions a month to three to four a week sometimes.
01:29Wow.
01:29I think I've done about 200 commissions in the last three years.
01:31Before that, I'll be checking in with textile weaver
01:34and part-time woven textiles technical instructor Shiv in Brighton.
01:41I first met her in the summer of 2024 when she came to my business boot camp
01:46looking for help to turn a lifelong love of creativity into a long-term career.
01:52I've always been really creative.
01:54Since a young age, I used to love painting with my granddad in his little workshop.
01:59And in school, I didn't really get on with academic subjects.
02:03I struggled quite a bit because I was dyslexic.
02:05But as soon as I got in front of a loom, I just loved it so much.
02:09Just all the yarn and everything.
02:11Weaving ticked all the boxes for me.
02:14To figure out the best way of helping Shiv turn her weaving passion into a full-time job,
02:19I gave her three challenges.
02:22First up was making a volume piece,
02:24something she could produce quickly and sell for an affordable price.
02:30She decided to create a beginner's weaving kit,
02:33which included an instruction manual,
02:36mini wooden loom,
02:37weaving tools and recycled yarn.
02:39Priced at £28.
02:41You get 14 balls of yarn
02:44and you can choose which yarns you want.
02:47Normally I ask customers if they want a spring or an autumn
02:51and I make them from dead stock from a yarn factory or a dye factory or from a mill.
02:59So then I just take them over here on my little hand winder.
03:04I went to mills and factories during my university degree
03:08and I just realised how much waste there was in the industry
03:11and it really upset me.
03:14So all the yarn that I use in my kit is upcycled from British mills and factories.
03:21Then I add the selvage off industrial looms.
03:25So this would normally go straight into the bin
03:27and it's great for fringing or adding a bit of texture.
03:32So mills send this to me from the bins
03:35and I just wrap it up nice and neatly.
03:40To help Shiv develop sellable products
03:43and market them to get the sales she needed,
03:45she was mentored by creative entrepreneur Piyush Suri.
03:50Piyush's signature designs have been used on ceramics, tiles and fabrics,
03:55gaining him international recognition and success.
03:58What are your challenges?
04:00Is it as a weaver you're facing any challenge in the business
04:02or is it with selling the kits?
04:04I would say it's probably more of the business side.
04:07I just don't know how to get this to the right audience.
04:10Having looked at your kit,
04:12I think there are certain ideas I think we can work on
04:14so that it goes to the right market.
04:16Brilliant.
04:17While Shiv continued working on her volume piece,
04:20I wanted to check out her second item.
04:23Before she arrived at my boot camp,
04:24I asked her to bring along her favourite piece.
04:27To see if what she loved creating most had money-making potential.
04:31And she brought along a woven lobster cushion.
04:35It's my favourite piece because it's in memory of my granddad
04:39who loved lobs of fishing in Ireland.
04:42He passed away and I wanted to make something in memory of him.
04:47With material costs of around £20,
04:50along with studio costs and a three-hour production time,
04:53Shiv gave her beautifully woven cushion an asking price of £95.
05:00I think it's a really good cushion.
05:02I really like it.
05:03But somehow I feel that there's not enough contrast
05:06to see the details of that lobster.
05:09Also, I feel that she should have done back and front as the same as well.
05:14With wool and polyester velvet, I don't think they go well together.
05:17Shiv is asking £95 for that cushion.
05:19How do you feel about that?
05:20It's an expensive cushion,
05:22but I can appreciate the time that's gone into making it.
05:24I think the price is OK.
05:26A handmade cushion can sell anything between £90, £260.
05:30If she had the front and the back as the same,
05:32she could easily charge £120 as well.
05:34Can you give us one key point now
05:37that can help Shiv on her journey at the moment?
05:39What I feel that she struggles in
05:41is creating a cohesive collection.
05:43Every piece is beautiful.
05:44But then you can't put two pieces together
05:46and say, oh, it's a collection.
05:48She's not thinking in terms of interiors.
05:50She's not thinking in terms of how people buy.
05:52OK.
05:53Back on the textile station,
05:55Shiv had wound all the yarns for her beginner's weaving kit
05:58and was testing it out.
06:00I'm going to load the shuttle
06:01by just holding the yarn and then wrapping it round.
06:06You need to make sure that you haven't got loads and loads of yarn on it.
06:12And then you're going to pass the shuttle,
06:15running it across the stick that's now turned on its side.
06:17Just like that.
06:19It's really easy.
06:20Leave a little tail because you're going to weave that in your next line.
06:23Run that shuttle back.
06:25Then you've done your first two lines of weaving.
06:30With her pattern started, Shiv made quick progress.
06:34There's lots of things that you can make with the weaving kit.
06:37Here, this is a little wall hanging that I'm making,
06:40but you can also make bookmarks and coasters on this kit as well.
06:44Once I've woven up to about here,
06:49I'll take it off the loom
06:51and then I will hang it like this
06:55and you can hang it on your wall.
06:56By using recycled yarns,
06:59Shiv kept her material costs low
07:01and gave the kit an asking price of £28.
07:05I think it's a great product.
07:06It's very sellable,
07:08but however, it needs a little bit of adjustment.
07:11Your number of colours, I think far too many.
07:13I think it can be intimidating for people
07:15who are just about to learn some new technique.
07:17If I opened that and there was all of that in there,
07:19I'd be like, whoa.
07:19I will put it back again.
07:21Where do I start with this?
07:22Maybe, yeah.
07:23Yes.
07:24So priced at £28.
07:25Yeah.
07:26What do you think?
07:26I think price is very fair.
07:28I would even go for,
07:28if the packaging is right,
07:29I would even go for £32 or £35 as well.
07:31I think if you can just package it in a very nice, neat box,
07:35sustainable packaging, of course,
07:36and do a QR code instead of sending a booklet
07:38so people can download your video and then weave.
07:42That is the expensive part of the kit,
07:43actually, is the printing of the booklet.
07:45So, yeah, that's a really good point.
07:47For her first two pieces,
07:49Shiv needed to think slightly more
07:51about her potential customers.
07:52And as the ever-changeable British weather
07:55brought a shower to the boot camp,
07:57she and Piyush headed into a barn
07:59so he could give her a special mentor's challenge,
08:02designed to make her do exactly that.
08:06Before you arrived here,
08:07I asked you to create a cohesive interior collection
08:09from one of your existing throws.
08:11Like this one.
08:12It's such a beautiful piece.
08:13You have beautiful individual pieces,
08:15but you're lacking a collection
08:16which complements with each other.
08:19To create her new collection,
08:22Shiv designed a cushion
08:23that could be made in different shapes and sizes
08:25to go with the throw Piyush picked out.
08:28Finished with a recycled zip,
08:30it was made from recycled yarn,
08:32lamb's wool, cashmere,
08:34and a recycled velvet backing.
08:36She began by weaving a woolen pattern
08:39for the front of the cushion on her loom.
08:41So what I'm doing here,
08:43if I'm picking up the shafts,
08:45which are picking up the creamed lamb's wool,
08:48and then I've got my shuttle,
08:50which is loaded with the mustard thread,
08:52I'm passing it through.
08:54Then I'm just pulling it nice and neatly.
08:57Don't want to pull it too tight,
08:58otherwise your sample will go into a big triangle.
09:01So I'm making it all nice.
09:03Then you bring down the reed,
09:05which acts like a big comb,
09:07moving it back,
09:08and then I'm going to put the next line of the pattern in.
09:13Bringing the reed back down
09:15so it's nice and combed down,
09:18and then passing the shuttle back through
09:21to do the next line of the pattern.
09:23After finishing the woven woolen pattern
09:26for the front of her cushion,
09:27Shiv took it off the loom
09:28and prepared to add a recycled zip.
09:31I'm just pinning the zip on,
09:35and I'm just going to sew the zip on first,
09:38and then I will sew the backing fabric
09:41to the front of the cushion.
09:46The last job was adding the inside of the cushion.
09:49I think it matches my blanket
09:51with the fact that I've used the same yarn.
09:54I think the backing fabric looks really nice,
09:56and I'm really happy with the design
09:58and how it's all come together.
10:00Shiv was clearly a very skilled maker,
10:03and her talent,
10:04the more expensive lamb's wool
10:06and a three-hour make time
10:07meant her cushions weren't cheap.
10:10She paired her square cushion
10:12with a rectangular one,
10:13but before we found out
10:14what she was asking for them,
10:16I wanted to know if Piyush thought
10:18they worked as a saleable collection
10:19with the throw he picked out.
10:22I have absolutely no doubt
10:24that you're such a good designer
10:25and your understanding of colour,
10:27but I feel that you just need
10:28to tone it down a little bit.
10:29You could have just given me
10:30two different colours,
10:31colour-block cushions.
10:32Yeah.
10:33But you chose the same pattern.
10:35The idea is to upsell
10:36when somebody is buying a throw,
10:38so they should see exactly something
10:41that complements with that.
10:42Oh, he's hard to please.
10:43I know.
10:44No, no, but, okay.
10:45You'll have a look at that, you know?
10:47I think these cushions
10:48are taking away the attention
10:49from your throw, okay?
10:50It's a bit too busy for you.
10:51Yes.
10:52Yeah.
10:52If I had to push you
10:54to put a price on these pieces,
10:56what would you say?
10:57The cushions are between 85
10:59to about 125,
11:00depending on the size.
11:02I think the prices are fine for me
11:04because it's wool and it's handmade.
11:06I think throws are perfectly good prices.
11:08Shiv had bags of talent,
11:10and to help her turn that
11:12into a profitable business,
11:13we gave her an action plan
11:15to take back to Brighton.
11:17First, she needed to create
11:19a new collection of products
11:20with fewer colors and patterns
11:22that would appeal
11:23to the broadest possible market.
11:26Next, we wanted her to lose the velvet
11:28and use a matching fabric
11:30on the front and backs of her cushions.
11:33Finally, she needed to overhaul
11:35her weaving kits
11:35by including fewer colored yarns,
11:38improving the packaging,
11:39and replacing the printed instructions
11:41with a digital QR code
11:43to make them more saleable
11:44and profitable.
11:49For the next two months,
11:51Shiv had Piyush's continued support
11:53as she worked to boost her business,
11:55but just days after leaving the boot camp,
11:57she got married.
12:00After a short break,
12:01she got back to her studio
12:02and created a new,
12:04simpler beginner's weaving kit
12:06and also started to produce
12:07new patterned cushions
12:09without velvet
12:10as part of a new collection.
12:12This will be the front
12:13and then the back
12:15will be like this,
12:16so it kind of gives my customers
12:17the opportunity
12:18to have two different cushions
12:19in one.
12:21Shiv was firing on all cylinders,
12:23but with her new patterned cushions
12:25in production on the loom,
12:26there was a problem.
12:27We've got an air leak
12:28in one of the pipes,
12:31so I can't actually finish
12:33what I was weaving.
12:34Obviously, running a small business,
12:36you have a lot of ups and downs.
12:39It might set me back a little bit,
12:40but we're here for the journey.
12:43The loom breakdown
12:44meant Shiv wasn't able
12:46to get started
12:46on her simpler designs,
12:48but she did have some good news
12:49about her new,
12:50simplified beginner's weaving kit.
12:52I've got my first wholesale order.
12:55Despite her loom breaking,
12:57Shiv took some big strides
12:59forwards with her business,
13:00and when she reported back
13:01to us at the boot camp,
13:02she had marvellous news.
13:05How's sales looking so far?
13:06I have made £3,165.
13:12Over £3,000?
13:13Yeah.
13:14And your loom broke?
13:15Yeah.
13:16So that's amazing.
13:17You must be over the moon.
13:18Yeah, I'm really, really happy, yeah.
13:20Shiv had to take off her costs,
13:22but she had proven
13:23she had what it took
13:24to build a successful business.
13:2918 months later,
13:30I've come to her studio
13:31in Brighton
13:32to see how she's got on since
13:34and how much money
13:35she's making now.
13:41Hiya, come in.
13:42Hello, are you OK?
13:43Yeah, good, thank you.
13:44How are you doing?
13:44Yeah, I'm very good, thank you.
13:46Look at this place.
13:48Shiv's studio looks fantastic
13:49with her beautiful loom
13:51taking centre stage,
13:53but I've come to find out
13:54about the success
13:55she's having with her business,
13:56and I want to get straight down
13:58to brass tacks.
14:00I cannot believe
14:01it's been over 18 months
14:02since you were last
14:03at the boot camp.
14:04How have you been in that time?
14:05What's new?
14:06Big news is that I'm pregnant.
14:09Congratulations.
14:11And bought a renovation,
14:13which we are deep
14:14in the middle of,
14:14as well as trying to run
14:16a small business.
14:17So lots of going on,
14:19lots of things are going on.
14:19Baby on the way.
14:20Yeah.
14:20New house,
14:21which is a renovation project.
14:23Yes.
14:23And a thriving business.
14:25How is the business going?
14:26The weaving kits
14:26are selling really, really well.
14:27They just fly off the shelves now.
14:29Wow.
14:30I do recognise
14:30some things up here,
14:32these cushions in particular.
14:33Yeah, they've been selling
14:34really well.
14:35Blankets,
14:35haven't got any of those
14:36to show you
14:36because I actually sold
14:37two last week.
14:38And I've been able
14:40to get my designs
14:40into magazines,
14:42which is really good.
14:43and I've also been voted
14:45the top artisan,
14:47top 40 artisans
14:48from Country Living.
14:50Really?
14:51Yeah, top eight,
14:52which means I get
14:53a mentorship
14:54with Emma Bridgewater.
14:57Oh, my goodness.
14:58So, yeah,
14:58there's a lot going on
14:59and a lot of exciting
15:00things going on.
15:01That's amazing.
15:03Features in magazines,
15:05a mentorship
15:05with a renowned
15:06British creative entrepreneur
15:08and products
15:09flying off the shelves.
15:10Shiv is smashing it.
15:13Her cushions are now priced
15:14between £68 and £125
15:17but her bestseller
15:18is her weaving kit.
15:20Since the boot camp,
15:22Shiv's sold 750 of them
15:24and has raised the price
15:25from £28 to £29.50.
15:29She's also currently developing
15:31a more advanced one
15:32with a range of patterns
15:33for £36
15:34and I'm going to try it out.
15:36I've got a beginner's kit.
15:38I wanted to make a new kit
15:40so this is kind of me,
15:41I am testing this kit out
15:43on you.
15:43I'm the guinea pig.
15:44You are the guinea pig.
15:45Bring it on.
15:45So, I've got like
15:47a sea-themed pattern
15:48that I've been working on.
15:50Really fun.
15:50We're going to do
15:51the lobster,
15:51Larry the lobster.
15:52Larry.
15:53Using a mini frame loom,
15:55job one is to create
15:56the blue background
15:57of the piece
15:58by wrapping it
15:59around the teeth
16:00on either side
16:00of the loom
16:01then tying it off.
16:03Under and around,
16:04I'm going to tie
16:05a knot around it.
16:06Through there.
16:06Yep.
16:09With the background
16:10in place,
16:11I start weaving
16:12the pattern
16:12beginning with
16:13the blue C.
16:15You're going to go
16:16back on yourself
16:17over two,
16:19under two.
16:19And then the same
16:20all the way.
16:20All the way to the
16:21other end,
16:21yep.
16:22It's very repetitive.
16:23You can see how much
16:24you have to concentrate
16:25and kind of switch off
16:26from the world
16:27around you.
16:28I'm curious to know,
16:30something that
16:31Peage wanted you
16:31to look into
16:32was using QR codes.
16:35Yep.
16:35I did think
16:36really,
16:36really hard
16:37about that.
16:38Yeah,
16:38I can't see any.
16:39No,
16:39no.
16:40And I decided
16:41that the whole
16:42point of the kit
16:43is meant to
16:43kind of make you
16:44switch off
16:45from the world
16:45around you,
16:46put your phone
16:47down and get
16:47absorbed completely
16:48into the craft.
16:49So having a QR code.
16:51Which you'd have to
16:52get your phone
16:52out to scan.
16:53Exactly.
16:54It's a great idea
16:55for saving money,
16:56but at the moment
16:56I'm able to order
17:00more booklets
17:02because I'm selling
17:02more kits.
17:03So that cost
17:04has gone down
17:04quite a lot
17:05because now
17:06I'm ordering more.
17:06So you can order
17:07in bulk.
17:07I love that you've
17:08sold it in a
17:08completely different
17:09way by being
17:11so successful.
17:12Yeah.
17:13You're now selling
17:13enough that you can
17:14just order them
17:15in bulk.
17:15With the first part
17:17of the sea woven,
17:18it's time to move
17:18on to creating
17:19Larry.
17:20I'm just going
17:21to...
17:24and then
17:25over there.
17:26And that's your
17:27first line of
17:28Larry the Lobster.
17:29Larry's tail
17:30has started.
17:31This is good!
17:32So if you turn
17:33the needle on its
17:34side like that
17:34it's a little bit
17:35easier.
17:35OK.
17:36I mean it's been
17:37a year and a half
17:38now since you're
17:39at the bootcamp
17:40and you've done
17:40so well.
17:42So you can see
17:43the direction
17:43you're going in
17:44is just brilliant.
17:45Yeah it is
17:46and the fact that
17:47I can kind of
17:48just do the craft
17:49that I love
17:50and make it into
17:51a full time job
17:52is...
17:52yeah.
17:53It's the dream
17:54that's coming true.
17:54It's coming true.
17:55Yeah.
17:55So yeah it's great.
17:56Things are looking
17:57good.
17:57Yeah it's great.
17:58They really are.
17:59Oh no I was
18:00talking about my
18:00lobster.
18:04Bad jokes aside
18:05Shiv is making
18:06fantastic progress
18:07with her business
18:08and she's been
18:09working with a
18:10big international
18:11brand too.
18:12In the summer
18:13I did a little
18:14collaboration with
18:15IKEA.
18:15They've just
18:16opened up a...
18:17Oh just a little
18:17collaboration.
18:18They opened up a
18:19new store in the
18:21local shopping centre
18:22and they got in
18:23contact with local
18:24artisans and
18:25craftspeople and
18:26we all got to
18:27design a little
18:27room that was
18:28inspired by what
18:29we love and then
18:31they came and made
18:31a video about my
18:32studio and yeah
18:34so it's a bit of
18:35like self-promotion.
18:36With Larry the
18:37lobster progressing
18:38well it's time to
18:40bring in our third
18:41colour for his
18:41eyes.
18:42Here is black.
18:46Okay third colour
18:47so then it's what
18:49it just over just
18:50looping over.
18:52He's got googly
18:53eyes.
18:53He's got his eyes
18:54he just needs a
18:55couple of hands and
18:56he's finished.
18:57It's a very good
18:58attempt with your
18:59first lobster.
19:01I've really enjoyed
19:03weaving Larry.
19:04He takes around
19:05three hours to
19:06complete and is one
19:07of five patterns in
19:09Shiv's new advanced
19:10seaside themed
19:11kit which she's
19:12priced at £36.
19:15It will help her to
19:16build on the
19:17success of her
19:18beginner's kit which
19:19she's simplified as
19:20we suggested by
19:21reducing the number
19:22of yarns from 14
19:23to 10 and I'm keen
19:25to know if any of
19:26the other advice we
19:27gave her has helped
19:28to drive her
19:29success.
19:3118 months has
19:32absolutely flown by
19:33since you were last
19:34at my boot camp
19:36and we did send you
19:37away with an action
19:38plan.
19:38One of the key
19:39pointers that we
19:40wanted you to look
19:40into was
19:41the velvet on the
19:42back of your
19:43cushions but I
19:44can still see a
19:45lot of it here.
19:46Yeah.
19:46I did trial it on
19:48the website that I
19:48used to give people
19:49the option for about
19:50last year.
19:51To have woven on
19:52both sides.
19:53Or they could
19:54choose the velvet
19:55contrasting colours
19:56so it kind of makes
19:57my fabrics pop a
19:58little bit I think.
19:59You prefer it.
20:00Yeah.
20:01It's fine.
20:01Yeah.
20:02Something else that
20:02Puge wanted you to
20:03try and work on a
20:04more cohesive
20:05collection which was
20:06more simple.
20:06nice and sort of
20:07stripped back and
20:08not quite as many
20:09bright and vivid
20:10colours.
20:10I'm assuming this is
20:12it.
20:12Yeah so these are a
20:13little bit more tame
20:14and kind of...
20:15They look great.
20:16So some of these
20:17aren't online yet but
20:19some of them are and
20:20they have been selling
20:21really well.
20:22These have been
20:22selling really really
20:23well just kind of like
20:24plain kind of twills and
20:27stuff and then they
20:28kind of go matching
20:28with the blankets.
20:29It sounds like that
20:30was sound advice.
20:31Yes.
20:33It's great to hear
20:34that Shiv has tried
20:35out every part of her
20:36action plan and that
20:37most of it has been
20:38helpful in building her
20:39business but it's time
20:41to ask the all
20:42important question.
20:43Do you mind if we
20:44talk figures?
20:45I know it's all good.
20:47I know it's all good
20:48but I want this to
20:49work for you and it
20:50sounds like it really
20:51is.
20:51Yeah.
20:52I mean what's the
20:53business making at the
20:54moment?
20:55About £23,000 a year.
20:59A year?
20:59A year.
21:00How does that feel?
21:01It feels great.
21:01It feels great.
21:02It's really opened up
21:04lots of doors.
21:06It's a big number.
21:07It's a lot of money.
21:08Yeah.
21:08And it's a living that
21:09I can actually live off
21:10compared to what it was
21:11before where I was just
21:13kind of just getting by.
21:15This all sounds very
21:17very positive and I
21:19can't wait to see what
21:20you do next.
21:21Yeah.
21:22I'm really excited to
21:22see what's going to
21:23happen in the next like
21:24two years, five years,
21:25ten years.
21:26I can't wait.
21:27Making £23,000 a year
21:29so soon after leaving my
21:31boot camp is an
21:32incredible achievement.
21:33Even more so as Shiv is
21:35still working three days a
21:37week as a woven textiles
21:38technical instructor.
21:40Her future looks very
21:42exciting indeed.
21:43I've really surprised myself
21:45in the last 18 months
21:47with like how much I've
21:48achieved.
21:49I think the probably the
21:50biggest achievement is
21:52actually being able to say
21:55that I'm making enough
21:57money that I was being able
21:59to put a deposit down on a
22:01house and my business has
22:02kind of helped me do that
22:04and that's a really big
22:06achievement.
22:12The second talented maker we'll
22:14be catching up with today is
22:16artist Jill from Berkshire who
22:18came to my business building
22:19boot camp having taken the very
22:21big decision to leave her
22:23nursing job to try and build a
22:24new creative career.
22:27When I was growing up we didn't
22:29have any money.
22:30Art for me was a massive thing
22:32and I was told to get a proper
22:33job I don't regret my life
22:35because I wouldn't have my
22:36kids I wouldn't have my wife I
22:37wouldn't have done nursing but
22:40I stopped hoping it would
22:42happen and now here I am.
22:45This is a dream come true.
22:48Like Shiv I gave Jill three
22:50challenges starting with making
22:52a volume piece.
22:54She decided to paint a portrait
22:56of her pet chicken Ruby using
22:58acrylic paints and pens on a 40
23:00centimetre pre-painted canvas
23:02priced at £100.
23:06She started by sketching out
23:08Ruby with a pastel pencil using
23:09a photograph for reference.
23:11I'm just making very light
23:13marks.
23:13I don't want to commit myself to
23:16anything just yet.
23:17Trying to get the angle of the
23:20eyes as well.
23:21You wouldn't want to have them
23:22straight on because they
23:23wouldn't be right because her
23:24head is tilted.
23:25Once I've got the angle of the
23:26eyes in I then know how much to
23:28tilt her head as well.
23:30As Jill tried to fulfill her
23:32dream of earning a living from
23:34her art she was guided by
23:36professional artist Sharon
23:37Walters.
23:39Known internationally for her
23:41incredible hand-assembled
23:42collages Sharon has also worked
23:45with Sotheby's Institute of Art,
23:47the Tate and the National
23:48Portrait Gallery.
23:50Now chickens aren't everyone's
23:52cup of tea so Sharon wanted to
23:54talk to Jill about who she was
23:55going to sell her picture to.
23:57I'm not really clear on this
23:59market.
23:59Who buys your work?
24:01Chicken people.
24:03I do the work because I'm a
24:05crazy chicken person and then
24:07people who love chickens buy it.
24:09I live in the country so there is
24:11a market for it there.
24:12There may have been customers for
24:14Jill's chickens in the
24:15countryside but she wasn't keen
24:17about travelling to markets and
24:18fairs to find them.
24:20I struggle going anywhere really
24:22with my work.
24:23Sometimes I'll do something and
24:24I sort of like hand it over to
24:25people and I'm just kind of like
24:26oh don't have it but don't look at
24:27it please don't you know it's
24:29yours but just don't look at it
24:31closely.
24:32But I think that's a confidence
24:33thing.
24:34I want to have that level of
24:35confidence that I could just
24:36yeah I'll just go to that market.
24:38I'll just bring my gravy.
24:39But I think that takes time you
24:40know that takes time and try not to
24:42be too hard on yourself.
24:43But I think going to market markets
24:45with your work would definitely
24:47help you with that.
24:48Whilst Jill cracked on with her
24:50volume piece I wanted to take a
24:52look at the item she created for
24:54her second challenge.
24:55Before she arrived at the boot
24:57camp I asked her to bring along a
24:59high-end piece something she could
25:01charge more for and she decided to
25:03showcase a commissioned family
25:05portrait triptych.
25:07In addition to taking hundreds of
25:09photographs and sketching and
25:11painting each piece it included
25:13around 12 hours of consultation
25:15time and took several weeks to
25:17create.
25:18It was priced at £1,500 but would
25:21Sharon think it was something she
25:22could build a business on?
25:25I really like it.
25:26I loved how they were sectioned off
25:28into different pieces which I think
25:29is a really nice way of presenting
25:31a portrait.
25:32It's quite creative.
25:32Yeah it is.
25:33It's really creative.
25:34Are there any sort of pointers you
25:35think that actually that area could
25:37be improved?
25:37I think she could try to work on her
25:39technique a little bit more,
25:41experiment more.
25:42She needs something unique about
25:43the work.
25:44More personal to her.
25:45More personal, yes.
25:46Jill's asking price is £1,500
25:48for that painting.
25:49It's a lot of money but it's still
25:50a fair price for what she's doing.
25:52My only concern is that with her
25:54consultation time of going back and
25:57forth and taking photographs,
25:58time is money.
25:59She has to remember that this is a
26:01business so she can do that but in
26:02far less time.
26:05Back in the artist's studio, Jill had
26:07finished sketching out her pet
26:09portrait of her chicken ruby and was
26:11preparing to paint.
26:12I'm going to start off with this
26:14lovely red because I think I'm going
26:15to have to layer that up quite a bit
26:17in order to get it to really show.
26:21I instinctively mix my colours but
26:24that doesn't mean I get it right
26:27every time.
26:28The joy of working in acrylics is
26:30that you can go over it again.
26:32The more accurate I get, the happier I
26:34am to sell it, I've got such guilt for
26:36like charging people for my work.
26:40It's something I need to get over.
26:43Do you know what, actually, no, don't
26:44pay me anything.
26:46It's like I have to stop myself from
26:48like saying that to people.
26:49With the main design done, Jill moved
26:52on to the finer details of the portrait.
26:54I'm trying to pick out some places to
26:56highlight, thinking about where the light
26:58is coming from.
26:59I'm not trying to do it perfectly.
27:00I really like the freedom and the
27:02movement that you get with just sort
27:05of quite loose and fluid brushstrokes.
27:08Once the brushwork was finished, she
27:11used acrylic paint pens to work on the
27:13finer details.
27:14I like the mark making.
27:15I like the lines.
27:16It picks out little bits of highlights
27:18and hair or feathers.
27:19Also, I really like the movement it
27:21creates.
27:22Animals are not static, so I don't ever
27:25want to give the impression that
27:27they're not moving around.
27:30Jill's pet portrait of Ruby the
27:31chicken took her just over three hours
27:33to create and had material costs of
27:36£10.
27:37It was full of detail and real
27:39character and came with a price tag
27:41of £100.
27:44I think it's great.
27:45I think the scale is brilliant, the
27:47artwork itself, and you can see the
27:48enjoyment through the brushstrokes.
27:51What are your thoughts on the £100
27:52price tag?
27:53I think the price tag is good.
27:54I mean, you can review your prices as
27:57you continue.
27:57Are there any pointers you can give
27:59Jill?
27:59Go to exhibitions.
28:01Other artists that are creating in
28:03similar ways, but with a completely
28:04different style.
28:05I'm not telling you to copy those
28:07artists at all.
28:09But what I am telling you to do is just
28:11look at the techniques that they use.
28:13That will really help to push your
28:15work forward.
28:16Jill's first two pieces wowed Sharon and
28:19I.
28:19And for her third challenge, we asked her
28:21to produce her favourite piece to see if
28:24what she loved working on the most could
28:26help her to build her business.
28:27She chose to paint a character portrait
28:30of me because portraits are something she
28:32wanted to make a bigger part of her
28:34business.
28:35Using a photo taken at a friend's wedding,
28:38she worked with acrylic paints and pens on a
28:4055 by 55 centimetre handmade canvas.
28:44I've come to really love portraiture.
28:47It's about capturing the character of that
28:49person, trying to get that little twinkle in
28:52their eye.
28:53Dom is really funny, really warm, and he's
28:57exactly the type of person you could probably
28:58imagine yourself sitting in at the pub, having a
29:00pint.
29:01The first thing I need to do is block off my areas of
29:04dark and light.
29:07Definitely light.
29:08I need to block those areas off because they take
29:10maybe three or four layers to actually cover the
29:13canvas.
29:14Blocking out the light and shade, bringing in the
29:17base colours and working out the dimensions of my
29:20features took Jill around an hour before she could
29:22start on the top layers and details.
29:25But I could resist no more.
29:28Jill, can I have a look?
29:30Yeah, you can go and have a look.
29:31You sure?
29:31Yeah, it always looks terrible, by the way, at the
29:33beginning.
29:34Oh, my.
29:36It's looking slightly terrifying at the moment, I'm
29:38not going to lie.
29:39Yeah, a little bit creepy.
29:40It's all a bit rough and ragged at the minute, but
29:41then I'll tighten everything up sort of towards the end.
29:43It's going to come together.
29:44You're so clever.
29:45I love it.
29:45Well, I think three doms is too much for anybody, so
29:48I'll leave you to it.
29:51After adding a second layer of paint to her
29:53character portrait.
29:55What I need to focus on now is getting those
29:57details in the right place, the eyes, teeth, making
30:00sure they're correct.
30:03Mentor Sharon wanted to find out more about how Jill
30:05was promoting herself and her art.
30:09I've had a look through your social media.
30:12How do you feel about what you post and how you
30:15share your work?
30:16I don't want to annoy people.
30:17I'm sort of like, I always feel a bit like, oh,
30:19right, OK, I'll post and then I'll wait a couple of
30:21days and then I might post again.
30:22And then I forget to post completely and I don't do
30:24anything for about a month.
30:25I think it's important to be consistent, but also
30:27intentional about what you're posting.
30:30But we can work on that together.
30:34After adding the final finishing touches to her piece,
30:37Jill mounted the canvas in a handmade frame.
30:40The portrait took her around eight and a half hours to create
30:44and came with a sales price of £350.
30:48Jill, why on earth have you chosen to paint this for your
30:53favourite piece?
30:53I really, really enjoyed doing it.
30:55Did you?
30:55Yeah, I did.
30:56I feel sorry for you, having to stare at a picture of me.
30:59What do you think, Sharon?
31:00I think it's a brilliant piece of work.
31:01She's really captured your joy and your personality.
31:04What do you think about the £350 price tag?
31:06Obviously nowhere near enough.
31:08I genuinely don't think it is that.
31:09Oh, really?
31:09It's years and years of practice and it's your skills that
31:13people are paying for.
31:14Okay.
31:14You could probably add another £100 to that.
31:16Giving up nursing to follow her dream of becoming an artist
31:20was a risk.
31:21But Jill impressed us in all of the challenges we gave her.
31:24And as she headed back to Berkshire, we gave her an action
31:27plan to help turn her talent into a thriving art practice.
31:32First, she needed to go to galleries and exhibitions to
31:35study other artists' work, to help her find her own
31:39distinctive style.
31:40Next, we wanted Jill to reduce the time she spent on
31:44consultations for commissions, to free up time to produce
31:47other pieces.
31:49Finally, she needed to work on promoting and selling her
31:52pieces online and in person at the right craft fairs and
31:56markets.
32:00For the next two months, Sharon supported Jill as she worked
32:03her socks off to get her business off the ground, starting
32:07with trying to reduce the time she spent on consultations for
32:10her commissions.
32:12I thought maybe we could use the kitchen table and have us
32:16represented by our favourite glasses with our favourite
32:19drink.
32:19So what I'll do is I will get you to take some photographs.
32:24Today would probably be a good day because it's so sunny.
32:27She also began building up her catalogue of work to promote on
32:30her social media.
32:32I started painting this lady.
32:34She's a musician.
32:35She's enjoying the moment.
32:37We were also keen for Jill to get out and start selling her work
32:41and she found a country fair with the right target market for her
32:45animal art.
32:46I've had loads of engagement with people.
32:48Have you got a real variety of subject matter?
32:51Yeah, yeah.
32:52Potential commissions coming through.
32:53I've nearly run out of business cards.
32:55This is exactly what I want to be doing and exactly where I want to be.
33:00In the eight weeks after my bootcamp,
33:03Jill followed every word of our advice.
33:05And when she reported back, she had made phenomenal progress.
33:09How much have you made?
33:11In the last eight weeks, I've made £4,120.
33:16Really?
33:17I can't believe it.
33:18Like, genuinely.
33:19It's been great.
33:20You've worked really hard.
33:22You've been really open and willing to learn.
33:24That's why the last eight weeks have been a success and why you will continue to be a success.
33:29I hope so.
33:31There was no need to hope.
33:33Jill had to take off her costs from her fantastic sales figure.
33:36But she'd proven she could make her gamble to give up her nursing career pay off.
33:44Two and a half years later, I've asked Sharon to pop along to Berkshire to visit her and find out
33:49how she's built on that early success.
33:52And how much money her art is bringing in now.
33:55Hi, Jill.
33:56Hi.
33:57Good morning.
33:58So good to see you.
34:00You too.
34:01How are you?
34:01I'm good.
34:02Jill creates her pieces from this fabulous purpose-built studio in her garden.
34:07It's a brilliant place to work.
34:10And I'm keen to know more about the success she's had here, surrounded by nature and her chickens.
34:16So how have things been going since bootcamp?
34:18Amazing.
34:20Really?
34:20Yeah, since I took your advice, I've gone from doing one to two commissions a month to three to four
34:26a week sometimes.
34:28I think I've done about 200 commissions in the last three years.
34:31I've been doing workshops, lots of community engagement.
34:35Great news.
34:36Are you managing to sell any of your own work?
34:38I think this has been the biggest surprise to me, actually.
34:41I've sold quite a lot.
34:42I've been really busy.
34:43I've had a few exhibitions, solo shows that I've done, not really expecting to get very much.
34:48But selling quite a lot from that and then generating income from the website as well.
34:54What are your bestsellers?
34:56Commissions are my bestsellers.
34:57I do a lot of seascapes and figurative people in seascapes and things like that.
35:03So they can go from anything between 350 to one and a half grand.
35:07It just really depends on the size.
35:08Yeah.
35:09I still do a lot of animals, which is great, because those are my fun days.
35:13So I can go in and I can just spend some time painting dogs and looking at pictures of animals,
35:17which I do absolutely love.
35:19It sounds as though things are going really well.
35:21It is.
35:22I never thought I'd get to this point.
35:24I have allowed my nursing registration to lapse.
35:27I actually could have kept it going, but I decided that, no, now was the time.
35:31If I didn't do it now, I wasn't going to do it.
35:32So I'm no longer nursing.
35:34Letting her nursing registration lapse is a massive move for Jill.
35:39It means she can't now go back to the career she loved, but it's a great sign of how well
35:44things are going.
35:46To show Sharon one of the key pieces that's driving her business forwards,
35:50she's going to create one of her bestselling seascapes, priced at £375.
35:56She starts by preparing the canvas with a pop of pink paint around the edge,
36:01leaves it to dry, then adds masking tape to protect the colour
36:06and creates a line across the middle where the sky will meet the horizon.
36:10So I'll start off in acrylic and then I can finish up in oils.
36:15Start from the top and work my way down.
36:17And I love how it all just starts to come together.
36:21I love this bit.
36:23I love it so much.
36:23Sometimes I do two at once.
36:25Yeah.
36:26If I had a third hand, I'd do more.
36:28Yeah.
36:28But it's so therapeutic.
36:31As the paint for the sky needs to dry, Jill's pre-prepared a second canvas.
36:37And after taking off the tape, she moves it to an easel with the sky at the top
36:42and adds more tape to create a new horizontal line,
36:46below which she's going to paint the sea and beach.
36:49I'm just going to start with my initial colours for the sea and what I think I can see.
37:00I'm just going to work out roughly where the shoreline is now.
37:04I've got some waves.
37:06I would just start building up some of the darker colours here.
37:09Speed is key here.
37:10You just want to go as fast as possible and not really think about it.
37:14I think my favourite paintings are certainly the ones that I've done
37:16are the ones that are the most expressive without being overworked and overthought about.
37:22I love adding in colours into the beach.
37:27The sand, you think of yellow or white or brown or whatever,
37:32but for me it's purple and orange and peach and silver and all these things.
37:39It's just lovely to be able to put some of that in.
37:44With the seascape blocked out, the paint needs to dry,
37:47so Jill moves on to sketching out the figures on the beach
37:50on another pre-prepared canvas and begins filling them in.
37:55I'm just going to start with the darker areas of the coat.
37:59I tend to go from dark to light.
38:03This is looking good.
38:05So this is a commission, isn't it?
38:06Yeah, yeah, so this is a really simple seascape.
38:10I've done quite a few of these.
38:13It's quite nice.
38:14A lot of people might want a portrait of themselves,
38:16but they don't want one, you know, face-on or anything.
38:23It's just constantly mixing.
38:27Lovely seeing your work come together.
38:30With the acrylic painting finished,
38:33Jill gathers a palette of oil paints
38:35to highlight key parts of the piece.
38:38What's the biggest lesson you've learnt since boot camp?
38:41It's to do with balancing time
38:44and working out how to manage finances
38:48in a way that doesn't leave me destitute,
38:52you know, when I go through periods of time
38:53when I'm not earning money.
38:55It's being able to plan ahead,
38:57and that's been a really big challenge
38:58because I've got really excited
39:01when I've sold a big painting
39:02and not really thought about
39:04the next few months
39:06where I might not be earning quite so much money.
39:08I'm just about finished now.
39:10All I need to do is add the final highlights.
39:14And this is just a really nice,
39:18simple piece of work.
39:21I want to keep it simple,
39:24not overcomplicate.
39:29Jill's 40 by 40 centimetre seascape
39:31takes her up to five hours to produce,
39:34has material costs of £20
39:36and a price tag of £375.
39:40It's been a treat watching her work again.
39:43And having seen her promote her work online
39:45and at fairs,
39:46I want to know what role
39:48the rest of the advice we gave her
39:50two and a half years ago
39:51has played in her success
39:52and how much she's earning from her art now.
39:56When you're at boot camp,
39:58I remember we gave you an action plan
40:00and there were some tips and tricks.
40:03One of the things we asked you to do
40:04was to actually go and visit some galleries
40:07and some exhibitions
40:08to help you find your own voice,
40:10your own distinctive style.
40:11How has that gone for you?
40:12It's actually become
40:13just such a massive part of my life now.
40:16It's not just something that I do as a hobby.
40:18I'm really involved in it.
40:19I'm really involved in the art community
40:21and I absolutely love going out to galleries
40:23and seeing new work.
40:24So if there's anything on,
40:25I'll be there and pop along.
40:27It's just so interesting to see other people
40:30and make friends as well.
40:31So it's a really big part of what I do now.
40:33One of the things we also wanted you to do
40:35was to reduce your consultation time
40:38so that you had more time to create new work.
40:41How are you getting on with that?
40:43Yeah, much better.
40:45I think that's something that comes with experience.
40:47I think knowing exactly what you want from a painting.
40:50It's maybe not necessarily something
40:52you learn straight away.
40:53So for me, I can go to a client
40:55and I can find out what it is that they want
40:57and I know how to achieve that
40:58so I know what to ask for
40:59and I know what kind of photographs
41:01or settings that I want to produce.
41:03So it works really well.
41:05It's fantastic seeing the huge progress
41:08Jill has made since we first met her
41:10two and a half years ago.
41:12And it's time to find out
41:13how the books are looking now.
41:16When you came to boot camp,
41:17one of the things that we were working on
41:20was to try and get you to the point
41:21where you'd be making a living
41:23from your art practice.
41:24Has that happened for you?
41:26Oh, yes.
41:27Absolutely making a living from it.
41:30I think quite quickly
41:31I was earning as much
41:33as I had been previously
41:34with my paid job working as a nurse.
41:37Last year, I look back
41:39and I'd earned £32,000.
41:42Fantastic.
41:43So, yeah.
41:44Much more than I expected
41:45but that's just from working, working, working.
41:49Yeah.
41:50Yeah, keep going.
41:51The quality of life now,
41:53being able to be there
41:55and support my family
41:56and get my kids to school
41:58and still work
41:59and still be a professional
42:01and still feel valid
42:02every single day
42:03is life-changing.
42:05I get to be here.
42:06It's wonderful.
42:07It's such a privilege.
42:09Moving on from her nursing career
42:11was a huge step for Jill.
42:13But with an income
42:15of £32,000 after costs,
42:17it's one that's put her
42:19on the path to a new, successful, creative life.
42:22The last two and a half years
42:24has been just the most epic adventure
42:27and quite a whirlwind.
42:29I've learned so much.
42:31I've grown so much.
42:32I never expected to be changing careers
42:36at nearly 40.
42:37But also now,
42:38I feel like I'm a professional
42:39and I know what I'm doing
42:40a little bit more than what I did before.
42:42So I'm really proud of what I've achieved.
42:47Inspired by I Made It At Market,
42:49Go behind the scenes
42:50with The Open University
42:51to discover bonus interviews
42:53exploring new insights
42:55into how makers have sustained
42:57and grown their businesses.
42:58Scan the QR code on screen
43:00or go to connect.open.ac.uk
43:04forward slash I Made It At Market.
43:19Thank you very much.
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