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Thread: Tell us about yourself

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Cornwall
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    3,172

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    Blimey, what exciting lives some people have had!

    Mine's been very boring. Worked for Lloyds Bank until children (of which there are 2). Then worked for local authority in Social Work Dept. Did cake decorating for about 20 years as a paid hobby before learning to make jewellery at Adult Ed classes. I now employ 4 lovely jewellery graduates (plus OH who is post boy and chief cook and bottle washer) who help me keep up with orders from my own website and Notonthehighstreet. Life is pretty good!

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Shropshire
    Posts
    56

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    This is a great thread

    Ok - here's me in a nutshell. I'm 33, mum to 5 yr old twin boys and 3 yr old boy who is autistic. Despite always wanting to study art I somehow wound up getting a law degree from LSE and worked for a while for a private equity firm in London, all very boring, and not remotely what I had planned on doing. My jewellery making began after being squeezed out of my job whilst on mat leave - upsetting at the time but now very glad it happened. With jobs being scarce I decided to try and set up on my own making clay imprints and fingerprint jewellery - soon dropped the ceramic stuff when I realised I enjoyed the jewellery stuff much more. Although I work a lot with pmc have spent much of the last 3 years slowly teaching myself traditional jewellery skills plus a bit of leather-work, and then all that website building, seo stuff. Both me and hubby are kept very busy these days with orders from our website, plus notonthehighstreet. Have a head full of ideas and want to try my hand at everything... but need deeper pockets and much more time!

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Birmingham, UK
    Posts
    866

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    Ooooh! This is me!

    Left school at 16 to start an engineering apprenticeship( back in the days when they meant something!) Finished that and joined my dad working with him making nuts and bolts. It was a bit more complicated than that but 'nuts and bolts' is a good description :-)

    Tootled on for years then married the wrong woman - got divorced and met a jeweller in the quarter who asked me to start making a few rings for him. I spotted the potential and decided to take the company in a whole new direction, dropped the mainstream engineering and dedicated to making rings - haven't looked back since!

    Also, as a sideshoot, I branched into laser engraving and welding, also sales of the machinery, and helped set up an organisation to promote jewellery designers and the UK jewellery industry, The Guild of Jewellery Designers.

    My latest baby is 'Odissa', which is an online designer jewellery marketplace specialising in handmade jewellery.

    Apart from all that stuff, I'm a kung fu black belt with 30 years experience who can't really do it any more because I broke my leg training 18 months ago and it still hurts haha! Life sucks sometimes! :-)

    0n the plus side, I did meet the most fantastic woman because of breaking my leg that I probably wouldn't have met otherwise, so it was worth it! :-)
    Last edited by geti-titanium; 01-11-2015 at 11:55 PM.

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    London
    Posts
    884

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    I'm Lauren, just turned 38 (eek, how did that happen?!)

    Started making jewellery aged 16 during a sixth form elective. Loved it so much that I refused to change electives each term like we were supposed to and just kept doing the jewellery one. I also spent most of the time I should have been in my A-Level classes in the woodwork shop making shiny things. Resulting A level grades - dreadful!

    But, this led me to going to college to do a degree in jewellery and silversmithing, which would never have even occurred to me to do otherwise.

    Worked in the jewellery trade for a couple of years after college (I even worked on the counter at Cooksons/Exchange Findings for a while!) but it was all abysmally paid, so I became a legal secretary instead.

    Kept up with jewellery making just as a hobby, but really got back into it when I played roller derby for a while and had loads of fellow skaters asking me to make them skate jewellery! I then cut down my hours at work to four days a week and started to build up a little jewellery business. I had to give up roller derby as I didn't have time to work, skate, organise league stuff and run a business.

    Did my first craft fair this summer and have had a few orders and repeat customers off the back of it and doing another local one at the beginning of December.

    Currently wondering how to take jewellery to the next level whilst keeping what is left of my sanity...

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Birmingham, UK
    Posts
    866

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    Quote Originally Posted by ShinyLauren View Post

    Currently wondering how to take jewellery to the next level whilst keeping what is left of my sanity...
    I'm impressed that you've managed to hold on to a bit of sanity Lauren! :-)

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Brisbane, Australia
    Posts
    67

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    Hi
    I am Matthew and I just turned 40.
    I was born and bred in New Zealand, and first started making jewellery in high school- bone carving pendants in the traditional Maori fashion. I then went on to do a degree in chemistry and pharmacology, followed by relocation to Canberra, Australia for a PhD in chemistry at the ANU, where I meet my lovely wife. I then moved over to the UK for a post doc at Cambridge Uni, followed by my first proper job at age 29 as a research scientist in a large company near Reading, where I have been for the 10 years since. I had always wanted to try my hand at silver smithing since I was young but resource limits and having fun got in the way, but in 2008 my wife and I did a evening course for a few weeks which taught the basic. I very much enjoyed the experience and decided to continue with the silver work. I have been self-taught since and mainly just make pieces for family and friends, usually with gem stones in silver and occasionally gold. Perhaps one day I'll try going more professional but I enjoy the science a bit to much at the moment......I am starting to eye up a few more in depth courses tho; maybe engraving and chasing to add a few dimensions to my pieces. I have also collected a couple of children along the way (6 and 2.5) which has impacted on making time!!
    Cheers Matt

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    London
    Posts
    884

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    Quote Originally Posted by geti-titanium View Post
    I'm impressed that you've managed to hold on to a bit of sanity Lauren! :-)
    It's fast disappearing as I'm trying to prep for Christmas!

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Dorset
    Posts
    135

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    Hi. Really interesting thread!
    I'm Sam, just turned 40 (how did that happen?) Born near Manchester but grew up outside, on the edge of the Peak District. Spent majority of my time out with horses, worked as a carer and was supposed to do a Foundation Art course but left home instead and drove to London, was a Nanny amongst other things around the South East. I then worked as a Nursing Assisstant in Forensic Mental Health before doing my Nurse Training, worked in London in Acute Admissions. O then I had 4 children and seemed to have come round full circle to that missed Foundation Course and a need to be creative. As soon as my youngest started school I began looking for my 'thing', I enjoy lots of creative arts, Ceramics, textile, beading...but LOVE silver and, well if this isn't the thing then I'll give it a good go! Bar a workshop in Silver Clay I am self taught and thanks to this forum built up the confidence to open my Etsy shop this last Mayday. Love learning new techniques and get a buzz from working with metal, whether its red hot or just polishing out a scratch..

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Reading, Berkshire
    Posts
    261

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    I live in Reading too Matt! *waves!*

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Reading, Berkshire
    Posts
    261

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    Quote Originally Posted by ShinyLauren View Post

    Currently wondering how to take jewellery to the next level whilst keeping what is left of my sanity...
    I'm the same Lauren, trying to juggle a business while working full time is so difficult!

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