No.2 - Wow … has it really been a year?

Gosh where does the time go?

Grab a cup of tea, reach for the Bourbon Creams and I’ll tell you all about the last 12 months. It hasn’t stopped! I have done so much it seems like my feet rarely touch the ground. More TV, a new workshop, and plenty more …

Two years ago saw me slap bang in the middle of ‘taking part in a reality TV program’

I remember well the stress of learning, doing and adapting so much in such a short space a time … but oh how much it taught me. Truly a transformative process and the lessons I learned are as relevant as ever.

More on this later … I really like traditional sign writing, it gives off those ‘Fred Dibnah’ vibes ... what a legend he was!

It’s hard to know where to begin this latest post. I’ve had to re-read the last one and truly take a moment to step back from it all and get some perspective.

The ‘learning process’ of turning a hobby in to a functional and successful business continues. Many mental notes have been made to ‘change this or that for next time’ … a constant evolution of everything in a quest for ‘better, more efficient’.

I am assuming here, by the way, that the overwhelming majority of those reading this are here as a result of seeing me on television. Also, that because you have taken the trouble to ‘find me’ and additionally to click on this blogpost, that you are as interested in my ‘journey’ as you are in what I make.

With that in mind I’ll go in to more detail about my current ‘business model’. Specifically how I have operated since the program aired, it’s influence on me and how I hope it willcontinue to evolve.

Perhaps some of you have ambitions of your own, who might have, in some way, been inspired by the journeys of those who took part in Make It At Market.

So … Turning my hobby in to a business … successfully! What has it involved?

My ‘business’, aside from the creative and practical elements of what I am doing with my hands every day, is fundamentally quite simple, and it’s very much based on the doctrine of the MIAM process.

The bulk of my working days are very much the practical side. Ideally a nice balance between volume pieces and the more complex sculptures. More on that in a moment …

Additionally there is ‘Admin’. This is everything that a hobby does not need but that a business does!

Social Media, Emails, a website, an online store, a direction or ideas on marketing. Making sure I don’t run out of consumables, cutlery, also boxing and shipping, accounts!

Importantly I think, I try to ‘up my game’ across the board wherever I can and at the very least, maintain my levels.

Upping the game! … mmm … nice new presentation boxes!

The volume piece sales are where I am trying to make a little financial buffer for myself. It’s regular and fairly consistent income. I know what I can make and what I can sell it for, equally that the demand is clearly there.

My ‘problem’ if it even is one, is that I have not found the bravery to leave that path and indulge myself a little with more complex and sizeable pieces.

I really need to work more on my ‘portfolio’, many more larger scale pieces. I’m happy that not doing so in the last year has allowed me to build a buffer, but the creative wings need flexing!

Bad News First?

Truth be told, it’s rather fortuitous that it has been that way and I’m sad to say that I have actually been struggling a bit recently and somewhat behind.

It’s a physical injury and it’s been quite problematic over the last few months. Called ‘Frozen Shoulder’ or ‘Adhesive Capsulitis’ ... I’m not going to lie … it’s been absolutely brutal!

I’m told the worst of it is now over, thankfully, but there was a period of severe nerve pain, two months of it, and even now very restricted movement of my right arm.

I am happy to say that medication has finally made that manageable and a corticosteroid injection I hope will see it all calm down further still. I have an extended period of physiotherapy ahead of me and I hope that will help regain my full mobility.

Quite honestly, right now I am just happy to be writing this at all. Things seemed quite dark for a bit. The misery of random knee buckling pain, not being able to get comfortable … anywhere, anytime! Can’t sleep, lift a tool, or anything else, not even a cuppa! … it was horrible, and worse still it meant 6 weeks off. Quite a big hit!

It’s all been ‘a bit of a shit’ to be frank, but really … what do I have to complain about? Not much! Overall I am in a great place and blessed to be there.

Good News

What it does mean though, is that if you are waiting for announcements on new birds then you will have to be patient just a little while longer. I can’t possibly ‘catch up’ the lost time right now but I have been happily back in the workshop for the last 6 weeks.

I’m ‘basically functional’ in what I need to do … a little hampered, but its ‘business as usual’ as far as I’m concerned. I have some outstanding orders to complete but I will be making limited number bird sets for my online store in due course and announcements will be made to all on the mailing list in this regard.

I hope to able to announce these in a couple of months. In the meantime, I’m very grateful for your patience on this, I know you are all keen to buy one.

____

So … 12 months … what else have I been up to?

I’ll try and do this chronologically but truth be told it’s all still ‘a bit of a blur’. Many decisions made, brilliant new opportunities arising and fantastic new changes in my personal life. Really … where do I start?

A new work van!

Perhaps not that interesting but a fun little project that occupied a few of my weekends last summer. Again, something that allows me to get hands on and practical. Not making anything this time, but fixing something, making it good and personalizing it to my requirements.

To any one that follows my social media you might have seen a few posts on this. I try not to post too much that isn’t my metal work but occasionally I’ll share something that means something special to me or an insight in to some of my other hobbies. On this one I was able to combine the two to some extent.

Guilty secret time … I love working on motor vehicles! ... and other mechanical things. An old lawnmower, a remote controlled glider, a motorbike … a Land Rover! … yes now we’re talking!

I did a Sports Bike restoration a few years ago, an old Honda CBR600F. You can find videos on my YouTube channel. I loved it! It had been ten years or more since i’d owned, ridden or worked on a bike and this little project was a lot of fun for me. But now (12 months ago) I had another little project in mind!

The final part! There’s another 90 mins of detailed footage for those interested, look for parts 1-3!

I’d had the idea in my head for some time that a little work van would be a good idea, naturally on a tight budget! But I’m reasonably handy with a spanner so I figured I’d look for a bargain, a ‘fixer upper’ with good fundamentals!

I’d been driving an old Land Rover Freelander for a while (another previous project) and much maligned though they were, I absolutely loved it! Such a comfortable easy thing to drive and really quite capable.

However, it was very much still a car inside and bearing battle scars of scrap metal and dirty tools! I’d spent some good time saving it and I hated to abuse it in that way. Ultimately she went to a new home and I found myself a replacement … another Land Rover Freelander!!!

But this one was different ... I never even knew Land Rover had made them … it’s called the ‘Freelander Commercial’ and its a car in the front and a van in the back! I get to drive my beloved Freelander and I get the benefit of a pretty good (and tall) boot space … winning!

So decision made, I scouted the online ads and would you believe it I found one just five miles away! It needed fixing and whilst it drove like it was about to explode, I took a £500 punt on what I thought was a half decent car. Here’s a link to an Instagram reel (part 1 of 2) that shows it ‘as it was’ … a bit of a mess!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNlECgEM9tY/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Now you can’t ‘buff out’ a busted CV joint or a leaking inlet manifold ... but you can spanner the hell out of it! … which is what I did, and to be fair to it, it didn’t need much. It turned out to be what I suspected, a slightly unloved and neglected vehicle just needing a bit of TLC.

So, water leak fixed, ‘knocking noise of imminent explosion’ solved, kilograms of interior mud removed, nicer wheels, rock sliders (just for posing it doesn’t go off road!) roof bars and … rather nicely … some traditional sign writing!!

Now this sign writing was a lovely touch, I got to meet up with my partner in crime from Make It At Market … Lisa Mac … The fire fighting, sign writing legend that I am blessed to know and call a friend. What a lovely job she did! Here’s another Instagram link to her painting it!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNlLUUfM5xv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

And here’s the finished work van … parked outside a famous local landmark, one of two windmills at Clayton Hill in West Sussex. Affectionately known as ‘Jack and Jill’ .. this is Jill … a post mill restored and maintained by the good people @ www.JillWindmill.org.uk

Red shadowing on one door, blue on the other. Nice!

Perhaps a little bit of a ‘van’ity project! ... but I tell myself it’s ‘mobile advertising’, a ‘legitimate business expense’ and ‘will likely pay for itself in time’. My ego sleeps all the better for it ;)

It’s a very useable vehicle, my daily driver and, as you can imagine, my girlfriend absolutely loves being seen it it!

Joking aside this leads me on to the next bit of news ... my girlfriend.

Bless her, she’s slightly (and perhaps wisely) shy of social media or being made a public spectacle of! She is a truly lovely human being and without question the best thing that ever happened to me.

Kind, generous, warm, funny … my best friend! Someone who I dearly want to spend the rest of my days with … and with that in mind, not so long ago I took her out to one of our favourite spots and asked her the most important question of my life so far … and she said yes!

I won’t embarrass her too much further … (she will be reading this!) … but for the romantics among you I was able to covertly capture this special moment and (with a very rare and special permission) shared it with the world. You can watch it too, right here …

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPHbr7SDVO5/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Another Unexpected Opportunity

And as if that wasn’t enough … there was more amazing news to come! An unexpected phone call … another opportunity. Am I dreaming all this stuff? Sometimes I really feel like I have to pinch myself.

Ring ring … ring ring … ‘Incoming phone call from Andrew Snowball … Flabbergast TV, MIAM’

‘Oh wow how nice to hear from him’ I thought, the man that saw something in me and put me on television, changing my life path forever!

After the usual banter and ‘how you all doings?’ came a completely unexpected question …

‘would you be interested in doing a follow up to Make It At Market? … just putting the feelers out’.

I didn’t really know what to say. I was in about 7 different minds let alone 2! I could remember the intensity of those 2 months, ‘having to perform’ on cue, to ‘come up with the goods’, the tight deadlines and the pressure of it all.

Against that though, the life changing outcome of it all, the things I’d learned, where I now was and, ultimately, my gratitude to Andrew.

‘yes, ok mate’

I was always going to say yes, I wanted to give something back, it was the least I could do. Though, being additionally honest with you all, perhaps I also wanted everyone to see how I had done … because I am proud of it. Nice too that those who watched the original broadcast get to ‘see what happened next’.

You can still find this on the BBCi Player website for the next 7 months.

This decision also pushed me to make another. I needed a better workshop!

A New Home

To this point everything I had made was created within the confines on a 9 ft x 9 ft workspace. Of which, 3 sides were lined with 2 foot work surfaces, 1 with a large sink.

Within this work space were crammed welders, air compressors, gas cylinders, consumables, other tools and of course … bucket loads of cutlery! Quite literally, thousands of bits!

Additionally there was the low ceiling to contend with … oh … and the ‘not enough space to swing a hamster’ issue .. did I mention that? As if that wasn’t enough I was operating from a residential address.

Now I had no problem with doing that as a hobbyist, even when the show came out and I had a barrage of orders I was happy to remain there and get them done. But ... and especially with this fresh news … it was time to move on. I needed a ‘proper’ place of work and the time was now!

I had been casually looking anyway, in fact I’d been gutted to miss out on a small unit right at the foot of the South Downs near me, a quite stunning location. I’d missed the boat on it by just a few days, but now the search began in earnest.

I considered myself very fortunate (once again) to quickly find the place I am at now. It was the first place I looked at and I was taken by it straight away. The location is rural, the price was right and although it needed some work (to be done by yours truly!) I could see potential.

Once again, if you’ve been following my Instagram page you’ll have seen this already but for those who haven’t, here are some pictures of how it was on day 1.

Some changes needed! But … with the awesome mezzanine and spiral staircase, maybe 8 times the total size of my previous work space.

ooohh … spiral staircase … the height of cool!

This was December last year and I moved in straight away. I had completed all of my outstanding orders and before embarking on any more I took a few weeks out to get the place as I wanted it.

For starters ... electricity! I’m not trained or entirely comfortable with it, time to get the experts in … enter Ben Tingley (Tingley Sparks).

A good days work later and 1 double plug socket became 8, along with LED lighting throughout, an up to date fuse box and the paperwork to keep compliant for years to come. Great job, cheers Ben!

But now it was time to make some proper changes. I wanted to establish a few different areas. Metal work, a general area for woodworking / general tinkering, an area for polishing. Upstairs an area to wrap, box and ship, sit down, eat lunch, make tea etc.

So … ever keen to broaden my skill sets I set about educating myself through the medium of YouTube. Stud Walls, Plastering tutorials, more plastering tutorials … even more plastering tutorials (man I don’t want to muck this up and ruin a whole load of work!)

I had a lot of fun and learned a whole lot of new skills in a short space of time. Putting them in to practise also went well. The stud walls were pretty simple, the plastering went great (for an absolute novice first time effort). In fact the ‘all nighter’ that it took to get them all done in one hit produced remarkable results.

I’m sure a professional would be embarrassed by the occasional swirl in the finish but really I’m over the moon with the end result. I even managed to add a few ‘windows’ into the walls in which I can display birds.

Also a larger display cabinet that houses one of the first things I made. A sculpture that first made me wonder where I could go with cutlery and a MIG welder.

Very few people will ever see it, but I do ... every day … and it reminds me of what might be …

The first of the stud walls! Also removed the old wooden work surfaces in the back and the remains of stud walling upstairs which provided much useful material!

However, I did still need to fully kit the place out. There was the small matter of worktops, chairs, better storage, a kettle, a microwave, a fridge! I also needed to ‘make it mine’, to personalize it a bit.

This was like cutlery hunting at a car boot sale for me. Looking for the jewels in the rough, sniffing out the bargains … online auction sites, online marketplaces, classifieds and of course … actual car boot sales, a lot of fun. I was on a proper bargain hunt … and I found some, often in the most random of places.

Leather chairs from a Dentists waiting room, a fridge from behind a local bar, numerous filing cabinets and, for my worksurfaces … stainless steel kitchen prep tables. Perfect!

They conduct electricity (meaning I can clamp my MIG / TIG earth clamps to them and weld anything that touches their surface) and they are a fraction the price of bespoke welding tables. I have added thick bright steel plate in places for longevity, all of which came out of the old workspace.

It’s turned in to a cool working space and it’s really an absolute pleasure to be in there. If you’ve seen the follow up program ‘I Made It At Market’, that I mention above, you’ll have seen some of it.

It’s changed further still since (i’ve filmed a little tour of the place to show the transformation, which I will include below). It’s still ‘not finished’, will it ever be? but it all works very well for me.

Everyone I have met on site is absolutely sound and there are a lot of highly skilled people around. There is also a beautiful woodland not 15 metres from my door and barn swallows that swoop from the eaves! It’s a lovely place to be.

And yes ok ok …. i’ll admit it … I went ‘full mancave’ on the upstairs in the end! But hey … 50 year old men NEED pool tables, Storm Troopers and Marylin Monroe pictures!

Now if you remember, the final push that made me take this decision, was the knowledge that the TV cameras would be returning once again! So let me get back to that.

‘I Made It At Market’ is a follow up series to ‘Make It At Market’. Dom Chinea once again returns to host the program along with some of the mentors who featured in Series 1 to 3. For me that was the dynamic and vibrant Zoe Pocock!

She was a brilliant mentor to me and without question made a huge difference to my success both on the original program and what followed thereafter. To have her visit and catch up on my progress was an absolute pleasure and, unlike the previous series, involved only a day of my time.

I was able to chat with her about my experience on the program and the end results. Also to welcome her to my new unit, discuss the business in more detail and what my plans are for the future as well as things that I have learned, overcome or improved on.

It’s always a pleasure to talk to Zoe, either with or without cameras, interesting, useful ... and fun! Her energy is so infectious and I love to interact with her brilliantly creative mind.

I also had some other visitors to the workshop recently … two ‘YouTubers’ posting under the handle ‘Phoenix History’ … Dan and Sophie.

You can find a short ‘podcast’ I did on their channel as well as this video where first time welder / metal worker Sophie took control of the MIG.

All in all, it’s been a pretty awesome last 12 months for me and the business. I could never have dreamed of the success I’ve found or even believed that turning my hobby in to a business could ever work for me.

It’s a victory for taking a chance, for hard work, also a healthy dose of either good luck or positively manifested fate !

I can’t explain to myself or anyone else why this opportunity came my way, just that it did and that I try to make the most of it.

____

Finally, just a thank you, as always, for your support and interest in my work. It does mean the world to me and I will never take it for granted. I appreciate all of your emails, messages and comments, they fill my tank with motivation and appreciation. Thank you.

If you would like to further support me then you are welcome to ‘buy me a coffee’ and can do so at the following link:

buymeacoffee.com/johnnorrismetalsculpture

I hope this update finds you all well and enjoying the sunshine!

Kind regards

John