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Thread: Balancing jewellery with full-time work

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
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    45

    Default Balancing jewellery with full-time work

    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?

  2. #2
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    Jul 2009
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    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!

  3. #3
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    Jul 2009
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    Buckingham
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    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!

  4. #4
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    Bristol
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    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...

  5. #5
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    Jul 2009
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    Scotland, UK
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    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.
    Find Milomade online - follow the links below....
    Website | Instagram

  6. #6
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    Jul 2009
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    Henley-on-Thames
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    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!!

  7. #7
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    Milomade - you sound like you have exactly what I want to acheive - although I am more of a developer than a designer!

  8. #8
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    Jul 2009
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    It works for me. Think things will go tits up if I ever get pregnant and have kids though.
    Find Milomade online - follow the links below....
    Website | Instagram

  9. #9
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    Jul 2009
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    I work full time in a library and study too, so jewellery making is a very part time business for me. I just shut the door on my workshop so that I am not tempted to get lost in there when I should be doing other things.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Milomade View Post
    It works for me. Think things will go tits up if I ever get pregnant and have kids though.
    Although, I imagine it would be more managable and flexible than having a full time office job!

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