Whether you have a hobby that you want to make into your day job or you just want to take your artistic skills to the next level, knowing what the career paths are and the tools you need can help you hone your craft.
Jewellery making
If you want to make real money with your jewellery making, you might want to consider becoming a trained silversmith. While apprenticeships are hard to come by, there’s nothing stopping you from setting up a workshop at home with all the tools you need, including soldering irons and blow torches, collet blocks and punches , and metal files and hammers.
While in the past, self-employed silversmiths would often be commissioned to create one-off pieces, thanks to social media platforms like Instagram, more and more self-employed jewellery makers are able to reach a wider audience and sell their pieces direct to their customers.
Pottery
Thanks to tv shows like ‘The Great Pottery Throw Down’, ceramics are back – and they’re cool, contemporary, and eco-friendly. But like a lot of artistic professions, making a living as a potter is not an easy road to take, and if you want to succeed in the pottery business – and make money – you need to make a plan.
Despite the undeniable artistic talent, in order to make it as a successful potter, having a head for business is important, as well as self-promotion.
Upholstery
As we look for more eco-friendly ways to update our home, upcycling old furniture has seen a massive resurgence, and re-upholstering tired and dated soft furnishings is the way we can do this. If you’ve found you have a passion and talent for upholstery, it might be time to take it mainstream.
Whether you make, repair, or replace upholstery for household furniture or even vehicles, if you want to make a career out of upholstery then think about your niche and specialise in one area and build up a reputation. This can include chalk painting the furniture in bright colours and using clashing prints or doing historical re-upholstery.
Illustrations
Becoming a full time illustrator takes time and perseverance. It’s important you take the time to build up a portfolio of work, as well as reputation. Work on your craft and decide on your style – and pick commissions that fit your style.
Don’t be too rigid with your ambitions, and be a little bit more malleable, both with your time and pricing. It can be tempting when you first start out, especially if you do your drawings digitally, to go out and buy the best and most expensive equipment, but it’s important that you buy the best that your current budget can afford. And then when you have a regular stream of income, you can then update your equipment.
