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When I first started my business I was pretty naive about what i was doing. I had been sculpting for about 2 years as a hobby, whilst working as a taxi driver. I decided I had had enough of driving for a living and really wanted to do something that I enjoyed. Sounds like a familiar story I know...what happened next was a bit silly, I decided to rent a large workshop just around the corner from where I was living. This in its self was no problem, the biggest problem was the fact that I had no customers and no real clear idea of what i was going to do, at this stage I didn't even know too much about mould making.
I have always found it hard to learn anything by being told how...I always resort to doing it the way I think it should be done, making a few (or lots) of mistakes along the way then getting some knowledge about the right way to do it afterwards. This back to front method works for me but I wouldn't recommend it for the sake of it.
I had sculpted a few plaques that I thought looked a little different, I liked them and I was hoping somebody out there would like them too. They were along the lines of what I am doing but not so well thought out, I hadn't really considered the moulding of them. This became evident after spending ages making a few moulds that couldn't really be used. My next attempt was a little more successful as moulds go but I discovered some other problems once I had cast the plaques.
Although the moulds were useable, the casts that came out were not ideal as they were too thin in places and prone to snapping....not an ideal situation when you are trying to sell something to make a living. By this time I was beguinning to realise there was a lot more to this process than met the eye. There was a lot more thought involved before the whole process would work. Far from put off I was determined to master the whole process, but I now had a serious problem, I was fast running out of money and with no sign of being able to make a fortune out of the items I needed to think of a way to bring in some cash.
What happened next was a big break for me in more ways than one...A chance meeting with a garden ornament producer lead me to my next oppurtunity...freelance sculpting. I was asked to produce a model of a garden planter which could be sold exclusively by the producer. I was happy to sell the model with rights because it wasn't the type of thing I liked, so I couldn't really see myself making them to sell and lets face it I needed the money. We agreed a price and I set about making the planter to the producers specifications. The planter was relatively simple and didn't take me much time to complete. When he came to pick up the planter he was so pleased with the result not only did he pay me the agreed amount he also asked me to make a further three planters in different sizes. I agreed to this and was very happy because the amount of money to time ratio was very good, making another three would be even better because the shape would be familiar and therefore even quicker to sculpt.
I could see a lot of potential in freelance sculpting, the money was good even if the items being made weren't exactly my cup of tea. At this point I started to search out manafacturers of all sorts of ornaments and offer my services as a freelance sculptor. This wasn't always easy but whenever I got a new customer it normally mean't some money would follow shortly. Now if you remember, I said earlier that this was a big break in more ways than one, because even more important than the money I was recieving for my work, was the knowledge I was gaining through meeting and working with so many different experienced ornament makers. That's right I had made my mistakes by trying it my way, now I was being shown lots of different ways of making moulds, support cases, painting, sealing, just about anything to do with producing ornaments. Because I had already tried some of the techniques, I was able to retain a lot more knowledge.
I learn't so much in such a short time I decided I would have another go at making my own. As well as gaining a lot of experience in the producing side of the business, I had also learn't a thing or two about the sculpting side. I still had my original plaques that I had started with, but I decided I would start from scratch, making some new models to mould. Because I was still earning a bit from the freelance side it gave me the oppurtunity to spend a little time perfecting my own work.
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