Balancing jewellery with full-time work

**angel85** · 06-07-2009, 03:11 PM

How do people manage to work full-time and run a small business??? It's tough. Commernced ft work some weeks ago and assumed I'd be able and dedicated enough to devote lots of time to it after work!

Silversmithed takes soooooo long! Filing, cutting, sanding, soldering, pickling, filing, sanding, polishing etc etc etc. I had lots of gemstones I wanted to put into my pieces but its just not easy!!! While im not new at all this, im not exactly an expert at it either. I need to find something thats a filler! I was thinking of cutting loads of shapes from the copper and just heat treating them and making them into pendants. Perhaps???

How do you guys cope? Or is it just me having a bad time at the mo?

**agent_44** · 07-07-2009, 08:46 AM

I've recently quit my job to go self employed, finish on the 17th July, can't wait. In my experience, if you have no social life, no family or basically nothing to take up your time outside of work then you can do it, otherwise, as I have learned it's very difficult! I find it hard to work on jewellery in random segments of time that I can grab, especially when a piece demands quite a lot time to complete. I guess if you are wanting to make it work, you'll haver to be ruthless with time management and what you will devote time to outside of your ft job to make it work. Good luck, let us know how you get on!

**AlexandraBuckle** · 07-07-2009, 09:06 AM

To be honest I found it too hard working and focusing on my jewellery.
I quit my job to do full time jewellery in Dec 07. Its been great being my own boss.

Though it can get a bit lonely if you are at home all the time on your own - agent_44 make sure you get out lots! Or find lots of forums! Luckily my fiancee is now working at home too, so I have someone to talk to now - and to make me coffee!

**agent_44** · 07-07-2009, 09:11 AM

Yes - I used to work for myself, and I was a bit of a hermit! And in fact all of my friends did live inside of my computer! Life's very different now however - I went back to ft work to meet people when my (now ex) husband and I broke up, and I have quite a lot of local friends and an active social life so the balance should be much better. I'm also a web developer so I plan on doing contract and freelance work in that area too which shoud get me out a little bit as well. And I am a bit of a forum addict!

I could do with someone to make me coffe though, hmm, I wonder if one of the cats could be trained...

**Milomade** · 07-07-2009, 01:28 PM

I've been a freelance web designer for the past 8 or so years and I work from home, so when I decided to set up Milomade and start selling my work it was quite easy to fit around work as I'm not at the computer for a full 7 hours a day or even every day of the week. If I was working for a company doing the 9-5 I don't think I'd have the time/energy to do Milomade at all as I'd be away from home.

I have my studio/office set up with my web design desk against one wall and my creative desk against another. I've just starting learning silverwmithing/metalwork and so bought a small jewellery bench for that and that sit's in another corner - it's a tiny space but I love it. It does get a bit messy but I have a huge clear up every w/e.

It's a good mix as if I'm working away on a web project and get bored or frustrated with it, or am simply waiting on a client to supply content. I can go sit at my other desk and do some soldering or work on a project there and keep swapping like that to my hearts content.

**Redkite** · 07-07-2009, 07:58 PM

I'm just a "hobbyist", but I also find it hard, with a nearly full time job and toddler to look after. I find it goes in fits and starts. At the moment, I've not managed more than about 1 hour in total over the last three weeks!

It's making me seriously cranky, actually - I just want to shut myself away and make something!!

**HMPjewellery** · 08-07-2009, 10:32 PM

Originally Posted by Milomade

It's a good mix as if I'm working away on a web project and get bored or frustrated with it, or am simply waiting on a client to supply content. I can go sit at my other desk and do some soldering or work on a project there and keep swapping like that to my hearts content.

Sounds perfect, Im slowly getting there, but its the funds that are stumping me! need to find me a millionaire but of stuff on the side hahah!!
have recently become unemployed so looking for the perfect part time job to go along side!!

**Metalicanna** · 24-07-2009, 05:50 PM

Balancing full time work and jewellery making is almost impossible! I've been doing both for a year and a half, making jewellery on Saturdays and Sundays and working in London during the week (I live in Brighton). It was very frustrating. So last month I decided to give up the pen pushing job and work on my jewellery full time. Its been a great month and I've nearly finished my first collection of pieces (only 12 items!) which hopefully will sell well locally and earn me a bit of a living.

**caroleallen** · 28-07-2009, 07:59 PM

I used to work part time and make jewellery part time. I gave up in December '07 to work full time on jewellery. I enjoy every minute although it's really hard work and I don't have much of a social life. Like Muranosilver, a big chunk of my profits goes on equipment.

**Di Sandland** · 28-07-2009, 08:34 PM

Up until 2007 I worked as a clinical midwifery manager at the local hospital. I loved my midwifery but going into management was a mistake and made me quite ill. The stress was appalling. Then I had a stroke of luck (sort of); I was diagnosed with a health problem that precluded midwifery (something called Behcets Disease) and had to retire. Problem was, we still have a mortgage to pay and my OH is ten years older than me and due to retire. He had also given up a very well paid job in IT to enable me to further my midwifery and also to enable us to move to Devon.

Crap hit fan time eh?

Well, I set myself up, quite successfully as it happens, as a freelance writer and that pulled in more than enough to pay the mortgage. I was doing something I loved that was compatible with my health issues. Then came the credit crunch - the first people to get hit are the freelancers - especially if they do something like writing because everybody thinks its a simple matter to write and the function gets brought in house.

So, now I have time to reclaim my jewellery making. If you find a market for your stuff that can pay (although not like writing and certainly not like health service management). At the end of August my OH will be 65 and to my shame (because he gave up a well paid job for me) he will have to continue working in the cardboard box factory down the road.

All of this is dealable with but the thing I find really difficult is the solitariness of working from home. Going out to work is as much a social activity as it is an economic necessity.

So, those of you who are lusting to give up the 9-5 - just remember that it ain't all roses (although, on balance, it is better than facing the politics of the workplace everyday!).

Di x