About a year ago, I had the idea to set up a website which featured my own dramas as an audio form - like a radio play. Not having earned anything for 8 years except £7.50 per week (+ 50p expenses) for writing a village column for our local weekly newspaper (a recent front page headline - 'Hunt Continues for Stolen Garden Gnomes'), I wondered whether I could make a moderately profitable venture. When I look back sometimes it feels like I haven't moved much further forward in terms of setting the website up, but that's just being very hard on myself because my knowledge base, contacts and confidence have all increased considerably compared to this time last year. Hopefully this might mean that I've been setting up a solid foundation for the business and not that I've just been pratting about .
I've been on a series of workshops about business in general run by North East Business Link and last December I hobbled out of hospital post-op to attend an interview for the Creative GLEAM scheme (Graduate Learning of Entrepreneurship Accelerated through Mentoring). To be honest, I couldn't have looked or felt less like an entrepreneur. I turned up, fresh from major abdominal surgery, wearing a baggy old skirt with elasticated waist - the only half decent thing I could find to fit comfortably (well even I drew the line at the jogging pants for an interview) and some mock suede fringed boots borrowed from Teen 1. I went to the front and sat down rather gingerly to deliver a power point presentation of my idea which had been cobbled together thanks to teen 2 . They must have liked it because I started the scheme in January and now, 6 months on, the workshops have just come to a close and I'm very sad to be saying goodbye to a group of lovely people, some middle age, some with kids, some with health problems. In fact, people just like me wanting to express themselves in their own creative way and striving to make a living at it. The course leaders Wendy (Conversations with Purpose) and Jane (People into Enterprise) were inspirational working Mums with not a pin-stripped suit or a pair of red braces in sight. They turned what I thought business was about on its head and made me realise that 'creativity' is not just the making of some kind of art form but is actually a way of thinking that can be applied to problems in even the most industrial and commercial of settings to bring about solutions and opportunities.
Taking part in Creative GLEAM I was really privileged to be alongside other creative practitioners such as jewellers, painters, photographers, actors, dancers, digital media and animation artists and furniture designers. In pride of place in my study is textile artist Donna Cheshire's picture of 'Beach Huts' which I won in a draw after completing a market research questionnaire for her company 'love textiles'.
I also spent a great afternoon at Alison's house making glass jewellery with some other 'Gleamers', Cutting, designing, all different texture and colours, fusing them them together in the kiln. I provided the entertainment for the afternoon when a tube of superglue stuck to the end of my thumb (Doesn't that stuff dry quickly!). The jewellery that Alison makes for sale through her venture 'Entropy' looks far more professional but it's also great to wear something that you've made yourself.
