Jewellery Work Station for under £50

My business is pretty new so while I'm building it, I'm work from home. This would be great for saving money if I had a spare room, but the reality is that I'm fitting it in around my living space. It's gone from a corner, to taking over the place.

My newest venture is metal jewellery. I've gone back to college to learn how to both design and make metal jewellery - everything from casting metal to stone setting. What I didn't fully appreciate was just how much equipment I would need. A fact that I love as my favourite things are tools and gadgets, and one which has meant that I've lost most of my kitchen counter space.

As I'm now officially a student as well as self-employed, forking out thousands of pounds on fancy storage units and workspaces is not an option. So instead, I did what I do best: I improvised. I bought:

• Kitchen island from Ikea for £35,
• Kitchen rail and a shelf for around £5,
• Screws and hooks from pound land for £2
• 2 x 10cm bolts for £4 to secure my rolling mill

A flat pack, a drill and £11 on extras, and I've got myself a fantastic new place to work. And I love it! It's sturdy, there's plenty of storage underneath and most importantly it's mobile so is easily tucked into a corner when not in use. And I finally have my kitchen space back (well most of it anyway!) :-)

Colours galore!

I was in one of the most dangerous shops for me recently: Abakhan on Oldham Street in Manchester. A shop which should carry the warning label: "Enter at your own risk! There is no such thing as 'just browsing' - you will leave weighed down by beautiful fabric and an empty purse".

I went in determined to buy the two things I needed: blue fabric and white fabric for a pantomime dame's costume I'd been commissioned to make. Needless to say, this went out of the window the moment I walked past the basket labelled “African Wax Fabric”. The magpie instinct kicked in and my brain was hijacked by the 'Ooh pretty' reaction that then found me sitting on the floor for the next half an hour making piles of fabric around me: the 'definite', the 'maybe' and the 'no' categories.

It's been a while since I used my sewing machine, and these fabrics are the perfect excuse to cover my floors with scraps of thread and fabric (it's a messy business!) So, I'm thinking of the best way to show off these gorgeous fabrics is by making some boxy cosmetics bags, ipad cases and baby changing mats.   

I've spent this week making patterns, cutting fabrics and pinning them together.  My first attempt at the boxy cosmetic bag was not quite what I expected.  All seemed to be going well until I wrestled with the corner sections and it came out a tad lopsided!!  As I said, it's been a while since I used the sewing machine, but the general principle of the bag is good.  I just need to unpick it and tidy it up and keep trying until I get my skills back! :-)

Blog!

So, this is my first blog and I've got to admit, it feels a little strange writing this!  So a bit about me....

Well, my name is Sam.  I used to work in local government as a project manager which was exciting for the first couple of years, but I never really felt completely satisfied in the working world.  I always felt like there was something missing.  And I now realise that that was a creative outlet. 

I wouldn't label myself as an artist; more a 'maker'.  I can turn my hand to pretty much anything: DIY, furniture making, sewing, painting, paper craft, making jewellery.  I guess that once you've mastered one technique, it's easier than you'd think to use those skills on a new medium.

Last summer I took voluntary redundancy and realised that I had an opportunity to try making a living doing the thing I love - playing with power tools, creating and 'making stuff'.  I love it, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit to being slightly terrified!  The days of a regular and steady income are behind me.  The thing I love about self employment is also the scariest - it's all in my hands.  Making money, paying the mortgage and bills - all of it is down to me.  There's a satisfying sense of freedom about it, but there are days when the reality hits that not enough money is coming in to cover my costs.

So how to handle that reality?  Keep learning and evolving.  I've always been a bit of a geek in terms of falling back on piles of books for information and that's where I'm at right now.  I'm throwing myself into the world of social media, marketing and all things 'small business'.  I'm determined to make this work and I now know that my initial impression of spending my days making beautiful things was missing a huge and vital part of the picture - it's still a business.  I'm hitting the steep bit of the learning curve and swotting up on information and learning as much as I can about the world of social media and getting my stuff 'out there'.

And so, this blog is my first step to getting into the business mind-set, embracing the world of social media and creating a bit of structure around the fun bits.