We thought you might like to meet some of our sellers! A bit like stopping for a chat if you come across them selling their designs at a craft fair!
This week we are going to introduce you to Jon at Surrey Woodsmiths
We asked Jon a few questions!
Is this your full-time occupation or do you have a “day” job too!
This is a very pertinent question for me as I have just recently gone full time with SurreyWoodsmiths! It has taken about 4 years to build the side business whilst working full time as a senior mechanical design engineer and at times it has been very stressful. It’s tricky squeezing in time when you are burning the candle at both ends, especially during the Christmas rush, but it’s been an excellent journey and on the whole, I have enjoyed it immensely.
What has been your proudest crafting moment to date?
My proudest moments to date are the first-ever sale and the first time a gallery contacted me wanting to stock my work.
What inspires you?
Nature is my biggest inspiration. Pretty much every conceivable shape and texture exists in the natural world, from the fractal patterns of a nautilus shell to the hexagonal honeycomb of a bees nest.
What is the dream for your artisan business?
So far the dream has been to turn my passion into a business and to create a better work-life balance so I can enjoy my other hobbies whenever the weather permits. I get a huge amount of satisfaction from sending items I have created to customers both in the UK and across the world but the real long term dream is to use the success of my business to fund reforestation projects both in the UK and abroad.
What do you do to relax or as a hobby?
I enjoy a large range of very weather dependent hobbies such as paragliding, climbing, racing motorcycles, snowboarding and pretty much anything that puts a solid smile on my face. This was one of the driving factors that pushed me towards creating my own business so I could spend far more time enjoying life and far less time looking longingly out of the office window.