Paths to success: five star makers share tips for those starting out

15 June 2022

Expert advice for early career creatives

15 June 2022

Florian Gadsby. Photo: courtesy the artist

‘Clay was a constant during my education at a Steiner school – from making pots at age five to being taught to throw on the wheel as a teenager. For my professional training, I did a short work placement at the Leach Pottery in St Ives, followed by two years on the Design & Crafts Council Ireland’s Ceramics Skills & Design Course in County Kilkenny.

I then embarked on a three-year apprenticeship with potter Lisa Hammond in London and finally spent six intense months as Ken Matsuzaki’s visiting apprentice in Mashiko, Japan. On the DCCI course, I was able to squeeze a four-year degree into an intense two years. It was entirely hands-on and we were expected to be there five days a week. As a result, I felt ready to set up my own studio immediately on graduation.

A selection of ceramic tableware by potter Florian Gadsby. Photo: courtesy the artist
Stoneware teapot by Florian Gadsby. Photo: courtesy the artist

Undergoing apprenticeships gave me a chance to hone my skills and to see the guts of a busy pottery without the financial burden of owning the business myself. It’s one thing to make the pots, but learning how to run a business is equally important. I experienced both a university-type environment and a more personal, master-and-student relationship later on. I believe a combination of experiences leads to new and exciting paths.’

Biome Series I & II by Jahday Ford, digitally modelled blown glass, 2022. Photo: Simon Bruntnell
Glass artist Jahday Ford. Photo: courtesy the artist

Jahday Ford, glass artist

‘My creative education began in Bermuda when I was young, during drawing sessions with my mother, and at high school and college, when I expressed myself through paint, paper and clay. These early discoveries improved my confidence in generating ideas. I really began to push this at Manchester School of Art, where I did an undergraduate degree in 3D Design, focusing on glass, wood, metal and digital fabrication. During my third year I did placement work, which allowed me to see what is required financially to keep a professional practice going.

After graduating I joined glassmaking programmes at London Glassblowing and Market Place Studios, and a postgraduate placement at Stourbridge Glass. I’ve had the most eye-opening experiences through my training, including working in the USA and the Caribbean.

Discovering new ways of making is vital to your visual growth. Once you hop on that creative train you become increasingly confident with your craft and learn to balance everyday life alongside your main practice. As you begin your journey, one of the most vital lessons is to trust what you want to make, without other entities forcing or changing your direction. Using this mindfulness helped me to find focus and not stray, while creating my own artistic style I believed in.’

Junko Mori with Botany/Horsetail, 2017, mixed media. Photo: Sylvain Deleu, courtesy of Adrian Sassoon

Junko Mori, metalworker

‘Craft is a varied career path, and my horizons have been broadened by trying lots of different disciplines. I did my first undergraduate degree in 3D Design at Musashino Art University in Tokyo. After, I worked as a fabricator in a welding workshop, where I learned and developed my skills while on the job, and was taught by the family who owned the business.

I decided that I wanted to travel and to do a master’s degree in sculpture, but they were unaffordable, so I ended up doing a second BA at Camberwell College of Arts in London, this time in silversmithing and metalwork. Each experience has pros and cons, but by doing the two different degrees I had two different experiences: Musashino prioritised technical skill, and your work was judged closely on this, whereas Camberwell pushed you to think about the concept, and encouraged you to spend hours in the library on research.

Take the opportunities that come to you, as they will contribute to your practice somehow, down the line. My work straddled many disciplines after I graduated, so I reached out to lots of different organisations, galleries and fellow artists, and waited to see where it would take me. Find the artists that you like and research their biographies – it might give you an idea of the right route for you.’

Textile artist Alice Kettle. Photo: courtesy Candida Stevens Gallery
Talking Flowers by Alice Kettle, thread on linen, 2021

Alice Kettle, textile artist

‘Studying Fine Art Painting at Reading University helped me to understand composition, colour and drawing, which has underpinned all my subsequent work. After my undergraduate degree, I took evening classes in embroidery, then studied for a City & Guilds qualification in fashion, a postgraduate diploma in Textile Arts at Goldsmiths, University of London, and a PhD at Manchester Metropolitan University.

It is important to link up with local, national and international groups and specialist organisations. See what is happening by visiting shows and talks. Think about your craft in these contexts and work hard – you have to make things happen.

I’ve loved all the different experiences, but they were tempestuous. I had to reach into the depths of myself and, in turn, have discovered ways to express the things I feel and think deeply about through textiles. My process is slow, and I can spend a year or more making one piece. It is an unpredictable career path, but I quite like that.’

Eleanor Lakelin with Column Vessel I/20, 2020, turned and carved horse chestnut burr. Photo: Sylvain Deleu
Pair of Lidded Jars by Eleanor Lakelin. Photo: Michael Harvey

Eleanor Lakelin, wood sculptor

‘I did a BA in Modern Languages and Linguistics at the University of East Anglia, which led to work in Europe and Africa. Later, I completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at the Institute of Education in London, then spent almost 10 years teaching secondary-aged children.

In 1995, I did short courses in plastering and carpentry, which prompted a leap of faith – I retrained as a cabinet-maker, completing a City & Guilds Level 3 at City & Islington College and London Metropolitan University. I worked as a furniture designer-maker for 13 years and in 2008 attended a short course in wooden bowl-turning at West Dean College, which would change the direction of my professional life once again.

When I left school, options were few: the choice was to stay in my rural community or to leave. I never knew that making a living as I do now even existed as a possibility. It would take me another 30 years to find my way to a lathe, some carving tools and a means of self-expression that could also be a career.

There are fairly obvious routes through colleges that provide an amazing education, experience and network, but college is not the only way to have a career in craft. I think my experience shows that there are many roads that a person can take.’

Need some advice about the right path for you? Read the resources in the Crafts Council's Craft Careers section

This article first appeared in Crafts magazine

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Paths to success: five star makers share tips for those starting out

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