Prize Winning

25May12

We are delighted to announce the results of this year’s round of prizes for studio-holders at Cockpit. The prizes, supported by Deutsche bank and Credit Suisse are awarded each year to Cockpit Arts studio-holders to develop their businesses. The panel of judges selected:

The Jill Humphrey Springboard Prize – £1000 for an emerging maker to develop their business

Winner: Eleanor Lakelin wood turner, Eleanor (pictured below receiving the prize from Jill Humphrey) is developing a beautiful range of wooden objects and vessels (pictured below). The panel were extremely impressed by the innovative ways Eleanor works with her material. The prize shall be spent on a specialist lathe so Eleanor can create larger-scale pieces.

 

Commended: Stacey Dee Robertson (pictured below with Nadine Rosnarho) creates bespoke and ready to wear bridal headdresses (pictured below right). Each piece is carefully hand-crafted using materials such as embroidered lace, beading and feathers. The panel were impressed by her well-thought through application and business plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Grier Business Development Prize – £1000 for an established maker to develop their business

Winner: Katharine Morling (pictured below) ceramicist Katharine’s work can be described as 3-dimensional drawings, in the medium of ceramics (pictured below). The panel were impressed by Katharine’s striking work and achievements and her clear vision of how to take her business forward.

 

 

 Commended: Jacqueline Cullen Jacqueline makes jewellery from Whitby jet (pictured below). The panel found Jacqueline’s work stunning and were very impressed by her passion and of her plans to reach new, international customers. 

Over the next year we’ll hear from both of the winners about how they are putting the prize money to good use to develop their businesses.

 

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Q&A with Katie Barton

23May12

Textile artist Katie Barton creates SpotMe badges -reflective accessories  from her studio at Cockpit Arts and writes below about his inspirations, projects and the support he’s had along the way…

Q: What three words best describe your work/style?

Handmade, colourful and playful.  

Q: Who, or what, inspired you to become a designer-maker?

Both my parents have always been self employed, my dad in the building industry and my mum as a fashion illustrator, also my Aunty Jane was a fashion designer. So I grew up in a wobbly world of creativity and uncertainty. The recession in the 80′s has left a big imprint on me, but overall I had a happy time and learnt that the rewards greatly outweighed the hard graft that my parents put in.

They have been my inspiration. 

Q: When are you at your most creative?

When I am relaxed ideas seem to flood in, but I do find it hard to relax. I’ve got an album I listen to that always takes me to a place in my head –  Inch beach in Kerry (Ireland), its somewhere I always feel safe and can breathe. Also I love walking around London and soaking it up.

Q: What can’t you work without?

My filofax and a pencil.

Q: What projects are you currently working on?

I have just finished a commission from Brompton Bicycle to make 600 tweed Union Jack bags to celebrate the Queens Jubilee, using 3 British tweeds including a Dashing Tweeds cloth with retro reflective yarn woven into it. I am currently running workshops for a selection of primary and secondary schools in the city, for the City of London Festival, making costumes and sculptural pieces for the parade at the end of June. I’ve also just started making custom embroidered retro reflective badges for Google.

Q: What’s the best thing about having a studio at Cockpit Arts?

So many things it hard to choose! It’s all been awesome and made a HUGE difference to my business. But if pushed I’d have to say it’s the people, both in the office and the other studio holders. I look forward to going in everyday.

Q: What difference has receiving The Jill Humphrey Springboard Prize made to your business?

The award gave my business a boost it needed and gave me a bit more confidence. I bought some new machinery that meant I could increase my product output and take my making time down, which in turn lead to increased sales and an improved quality product. I also gave my packaging a facelift, which made it look more professional and better for retailers to stock.

Q: What three pieces of advice would you give a maker setting up business for the first time?

Be open and talk to anyone and everyone about your business, be flexible (you never know where a great idea or opportunity might come from) and you have to be passionate about what you do.

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Makers at Cockpit are defying the durnturn!

21May12

By Ellen O’Hara

Every year, makers at Cockpit complete a business review, which is designed to help them reflect on the previous year and plan ahead, both creatively and commercially.  We then pool all of this information together to provide us with a snapshot of what the trends are among makers at Cockpit, what challenges they are facing and what opportunities they are exploiting.  All of the findings are then compiled into a report which we share with the public every two years.  Here are a few of the key findings from last year’s report, which just went public:

On the whole, businesses at Cockpit Arts are defying the downturn, bucking the national trend.  Specifically:

• Two thirds (65%) of Cockpit businesses reported growth in turnover in 2010 and this increased to 70% in 2011. 
• Similarly, half (51%) of Cockpit businesses reported an increase in profits in 2010 and this also increased to two thirds (66%) in 2011. 
• Furthermore, average turnover at Cockpit is 30% higher than the national average at £30,640 compared with £23,485.
• Similarly average profits reported by designer-makers at Cockpit are 70% higher than the national average at £10,714 in 2011 compared with £6,231.  

So how are makers at Cockpit achieving their success?  Our research shows us that different makers are in fact employing different strategies, a combination of:

• Diversifying their income streams to spread risk,
• Reaching new online and overseas markets,
• Streamlining production and outsourcing, so that they spend their time on the areas where they create the most value.

Leading the field in terms of overall financial performance are jewellers, printed textile makers and silversmiths.  In terms of income streams, on average:

• 83% of income is derived from the sale of craft objects, with wholesale orders and sale or return sales comprising the largest proportion at 29%. 
• 23% of income is derived from retail crafts fairs and shows, 13% from commissions, 10% from the Cockpit Open Studios and 8% from online sales.
• 68% of the makers at Cockpit have another source of income in addition to sales of craft products, despite the fact that only 37% work on their craft practice part time. 

 

In terms of reaching new markets:

• Makers selling to the gift, fashion and craft markets tend to have higher turnover and profit compared with those selling to the interiors, fine art and public art markets. 
• The proportion of businesses at Cockpit Arts exporting has been consistently high, rising again in 2011 to 57% compared to just 30% of makers nationally.  Those that export also tend to report higher turnover then those that do not.
• Online selling has increased from  22% to 36% in the last year alone.

In recent years, we’ve been wokring with manufacturing consultants to help makers at Cockpit find ways to streamline production and other studio operations:

• Use of PAYE employees remains rare, having shifted from 2% in 2009, to 7% in 2011.
• But outsourcing is common and is shown to have a positive impact on financial performance.  In 2011, 47% of business outsourced some aspect of production, usually to other skilled makers.
• Use of digital technology in business has also increased and is now used for financial planning, marketing and selling, as well as for designing and making.
• Makers who spend more time on design development tend to generate higher turnover. 

Benefitting from the incubation package that Cockpit provides is also making a difference.  For instance:

• The percentage of businesses at Cockpit with strategic business plans has increased to 70% in 2011 from 63% in 2010, 61% in 2009 and just 13% in 2007.  Having a marketing plan is shown to have the greatest correlation with turnover in the short term (particularly for emerging makers), whereas having a more strategic business plan is shown to correlate with higher profits in the longer term. 
• Open Studios visitors and sales are increasing every year.  Visitor numbers for the Holborn Christmas Open Studios in 2011 reached a high of 3,702 (a 6% increase on the previous year) and a high of 2,749 for the Deptford event (a 33% increase on the previous year).  Average sales per maker were estimated at just under £2,500 over a weekend.

 So all in all we are feeling optimistic about the year ahead!  The full report can be found on our website and we’d be really keen to hear your perspective on how makers defying the downturn!

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Q&A with Alex Bishop

08May12

Alex Bishop  specialises in the construction of  hand-crafted and custom-built gypsy jazz guitars from his studio at Cockpit Arts and writes below about his inspirations, projects and the support he’s had along the way…

Q: What three words best describe your work/style? 

Handmade, musical, innovative.

Q: Who, or what, inspired you to become a designer-maker?

Music is probably the single biggest creative influence in my life – it’s a very simple, primal thing. It’s incredible to think about how influential one person with just a piece of wood and six strings can be. For me, the 1930s/40s jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt is one of these people and his music is definitely responsible for guiding me in the direction I’ve taken.

Q: When are you at your most creative?

Probably towards the end of a build. Each guitar takes quite a long time (around 6-8 weeks) so by the time I start polishing the instrument I’m full of ideas of what to do differently next time. Unlike the violin, the guitar is an instrument that is still evolving and guitar makers are trying to find new improvements. I’m constantly thinking about what would make my guitars more interesting and exciting, but it takes time and patience to take these designs from the drawing board and turn them into the real thing.

Q: What can’t you work without?

Food is absolutely essential! The moment I get hungry I find it harder and harder to keep going and I tend to do long shifts when I’m in the workshop. I normally keep a stash of dark chocolate kit-kats and plenty of biscuits to go with all the tea I drink. Easter has been very good to me with chocolate eggs this year so it’s been a productive few weeks!

Q: What projects are you currently working on?

I’m working on four guitars at the moment. I’m finishing an oval-hole gypsy jazz guitar with a prototype ‘side-soundport’ that acts as a personal monitor for the guitarist. It’s made from the last of my stock of black American walnut that came from a tree in kew gardens. I believe it came down in a storm some years ago and was apparently planted by Queen Victoria! A D-hole version of this is almost complete as well. I’m also building an oval-hole made from cypress wood, which I’ve never tried before and is traditionally used for Flamenco guitars. In terms of design I’m also working on an oval-hole guitar with a mandolin-sized internal resonating chamber. I’m also starting to make another batch of mother-of-pearl inlaid ebony plectrums. Probably the most expensive and elaborate picks you’re every likely to find, but a perfect compliment to a handmade guitar!

Q: What’s the best thing about having a studio at Cockpit Arts?

Almost certainly the other studio-holders. There is a great creative atmosphere and seeing other peoples’ successes only inspires you further. When things are not working out as you planned there’s always a kind ear to vent your frustration towards as well! The studios themselves are also excellent, open to plenty of sunlight with everything you could ever want at hand.

 

Q: What difference has the The Cockpit Arts / NADFAS Award made to your business?

Without the NADFAS award I have no idea how it would have been possible for me to become a guitar maker in the first place. The initial set-up costs are a lot, even if you take out expensive essentials like bandsaws or a workbench. The award presented the best opportunity possible for me to become a guitar maker in my own right. It is most likely I would have become a full-time musician instead, day dreaming about my real passion of guitar making. I’m very grateful to NADFAS and Cockpit Arts.

Q: What three pieces of advice would you give a maker setting up business for the first time?

A: Expect everything to take a lot longer than you plan it to take. Don’t feel intimidated by other makers that have had a lot longer to develop their businesses. Work really hard and don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ a lot!

You can meet Alex and see his work at our upcoming Open Studios  in Deptford: 22-24 June
18-22 Creekside, London, SE8 3DZ. Opening times: Fri 6pm-9pm, Sat – Sun 11am-6pm

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The benefits of peer to peer learning

26Apr12

By Ellen O’Hara

For the last year or so, we’ve been facilitating a series of peer action learning groups as part of our business development programme.  ‘But what is peer action learning?’ I hear you cry!  I posed a few questions to a group of mid-career makers who take part in one of the mid-career groups.  This what they had to say:

 

How would you describe action peer learning to other makers?

• Its regular meetings with the same group of makers to discuss issues, share ideas and exchange thoughts on a range of issues that affect us as mid-career makers.  We then take away from we’ve leant, put it into action, and continue the discussion the next we meet. 
• Our coffee meets combine networking, coaching, and peer support all in one neat package.  
• It works because we all have enough experience that we have something useful to share, and because the group is small enough that it feels more like just a chat with friends than an arduous business meeting.  
• The meetings are facilitated by someone from Cockpit which is great.  They make sure the discussions are productive, but flexible so that discussions can evolve organically.  

Broadly speaking, what are the main benefits of meeting with your peers in this way? 

• It’s a great platform for exchanging ideas and sharing specialist knowledge.  
• I get the chance to regularly reflect on pertinent business issues, and to get the opinions of colleagues whose experience and insight I value.  
• It gives you a space to consider the wider picture of your business. 
• There are always a couple of really on point helpful suggestions for the issues you are facing. 
• It’s good to share positives as well as negatives; you’d be surprised what you can take from this experience. Peers can see things in your business that you may not be able to.
• We meet away from the studio, so it’s a welcome breather from the day-to-day busyness.  Plus, we get to eat cake!

How does peer learning differ from other professional development opportunities that you might get involved with? 

• The fact that it’s a small group of craft specialists on similar career paths means that discussions are focussed and productive.   
• It’s a healthy mix of disciplines, and we have a lot to learn from each other.  
• The format is especially conducive to the sharing of insider knowledge and chance opportunities. 
• It is peer led and peer resolved, which means we set our own agenda and this keeps it relevant.  
• The small group size is manageable and comfortable.  
• The regular nature gives me the incentive to continuously review how my business is running, and to maintain awareness of changing issues. 
• It helps to expand my knowledge of business issues as a whole.  
• You get practical advice experiences rather than theoretical ones.  
• It’s also a chance to catch up with the same people so there is a familiar, social aspect which helps to counteract the sense of isolation that can accompany working as a sole trader.

 Specifically what difference do you think the meetings have made to you and your business?

• The most useful thing that’s come out of it for me is a supplier recommendation which has transformed my business. I’d been having problems with a supplier and one person in the group gave me a lead which turned out to be a big success.
• It has pushed me into employing more people.  
• It has helped me to think more strategically about future planning.  
• Having the space to regularly think about my business is incredibly useful, and the opportunity to think creatively about the issues facing the rest of the group is also very welcome. 
• There are actually so many things!  It’s made me sort out my mailing list, more importantly it’s changed the way I consider some things. 
• I have become more organised and slightly more efficient, maybe because of these meetings, regularity is good!

What would you say to other makers considering joining or forming a peer action learning group? 

• I have found it a very supportive and respectful way to work through business issues. 
• I do make sure that I make the meetings, even if I feel pushed for time because they’re valuable on many levels. 
• Our peers are a fantastic resource and it’s very rewarding to be involved in this sort of reciprocal relationship. 
• I’d highly recommend the idea!

If you’re a studio-holder at Cockpit find out more about peer to peer learning at our event Maker’s do and Mend in Holborn on 31 May and 30 May in Deptford.

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The Design Doctor: How to get started with marketing my crafts on a limited budget?

17Apr12

Great post by Patricia van den Akker of the The Design Trust - for designer-makers who want to market their business on a limited budget with a step-by-step guide Read more.

And if you’d like to know more about sales and marketing for your designer-maker business check out the articles and top tips here.

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Visual Planning – helping you see the big picture

11Apr12

By Lucy Kyle, Business Development Manager at Cockpit Arts

We recently ran Planning for the Year Ahead at Cockpit, a two part workshop on how to make the most of 2012 for designer-maker businesses.

Plans need to be easy to use and a traditional written format doesn’t always appeal to creative right brain thinkers who can prefer something less linear and wordy.  So during the sessions we looked at lots of different tools including mind maps, vision boards, wall planners, one page plans and the Business Model Canvas which has been developed as a very visual way to create innovative new businesses.  Everyone then had a chance to spend time creating one of their own and mind maps seemed particularly popular!

Mind Maps

Mind Maps® are one of my favourite planning tools.  Easy to use and full of colour they enable a number of ideas to be connected quickly in a very visual way.  To create your own just start at the centre of a blank, landscape page, use a picture or just the name of the  topic you want to focus on – so for a plan it would be your business name.  Create a branch for each area of the business; marketing, finance, product, customers, sales channels etc.  You will quickly see ways in which all the areas of the business connect.  It can also be a great way to have a bit of a brain dump so that you can get some perspective on all those ideas that are currently swirling around your head.

 

Mind Maps® are registered trademarks of The Buzan Organisation www.thinkbuzan.com

Vision boards

The process of creating a vision board is very similar to one you might use to create a mood board.  Choosing images that represent how you would like your business to look, it might include your space, products or new markets.   You can either cut them out of magazine s or use an online tool, there are a number of different ones including www.Myideasbook.com and the fast growing Pinterest www.pinterest.com.

One Page Plan

Another quick and easy way to create a plan on just one page.  Just take a large piece of paper – maybe from a flipchart – using it in landscape, mark out the months along the top of the page.  Down the side list all the activities you need to undertake in your business, it might include R&D, production, marketing, shows, admin and finance.  Just start mapping out which activities you need to do each month – your year will soon start taking shape and it will be easy to spot areas where you might have too much or not enough planned.

Wall Planners

Are very similar to the one page plan but using a traditional wall calendar – or creating your own size to allow more space.  It’s a great way to start adding more structure and detail to your planning – the first step is to put the ‘big rocks’ in first – your priorities and things you have already committed to doing, which might include Open Studios.  Using a colour code to indicate different activities e.g. red for marketing, blue for planning, green for making, orange for shows/exhibits makes it much easier to understand how your year looks at a glance.  Put it somewhere you can see it every day and then put the small day to day actions into your diary.

Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas can be used to explore ways you might want to change or develop your business.  On one page it uses 9 building blocks including customers, money and sales channels which can be used in varying combinations to create different businesses.  It helps ask questions such as what would my business look like if I change my customer markets, how would that affect where I sold my products or how I produced them? Post it notes can be stuck onto the different blocks to easily discuss and test the various options.  For more information go to www.businessmodelgeneration.com.

Read more about planning on Making It.

Read more about upcoming workshops.

 

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Tags: planning, Workshops

Q&A with Abigail Brown

12Mar12

Abigail Brown makes hand made textile birds  from her studio at Cockpit Arts and writes below about her inspirations, projects and the support she’s had along the way…

Q: What three words best describe your work/style? 

Nature, texture, colour

Q: Who, or what, inspired you to become a designer-maker?

Initially I was made aware of the craft world and the possibility to be part of it by a friend studying Decorative Artefacts, through her I learned about the work of artists like Lucy Casson and Julie Arkell and I loved the idea of bringing little characters to life in 3D. My grandma was also a big inspiration, a seamstress who looked after me when I was small. Her fabrics, threads and sewing machine were familiar to me from such a young age that they inspired me long before I would come to use them myself.

Q: When are you at your most creative?

I’ve always been at my happiest creating…in whatever form. Exploring ideas, making a mess. I love my bed so getting out of it is tough! I’d say I am at my most creative by mid day and often work into the night. I work well when I am happy, when worries and stresses aren’t getting in the way.

Q: What can’t you work without?

I need the tools of my trade: fabrics, thread and sewing machine…I’m at a loss if I run out of UHU which I use to stick the layers of fabric before sewing. I need a sweet snack close to hand and work better with a bit of music to sing along to.

Q: What projects are you currently working on?

I became involved in a wonderful project last year, ‘Ghosts of Gone Birds’. It’s an art project run in conjunction with BirdLife International, raising awareness of the threats to many of the world’s bird species, in a hope that we can prevent more birds from disappearing into the long list of those already extinct.

I joined the likes of Sir Peter Blake, Ralph Steadman, Rob Ryan and Margaret Atwood in producing works that would form an exhibition and would sell to raise money for BirdLife’s projects, each choosing a bird from the extinct list that we would bring to life in our own medium. The next round focuses on spring hunting season in Malta. Birds have been the focus of my work for so many years now and it’s great I can be part of something so positive that might actually make a difference. Fore more info: www.ghostsofgonebirds.com

Q: What’s the best thing about having a studio at Cockpit Arts?

Having worked initially at home, alone and really struggling with the isolation, I love that I can come into a building full of artists and makers all going through the same trials and tribulations as me who can understand the ups and downs and offer support, advice and a cup of tea and some cake if it’s a particularly hard day!

The Cockpit team are also great supporters and encouragers and Cockpit really wouldn’t be as great a place without them. The wealth of knowledge they share in their different fields is a huge help to makers at any stage in their business, coming up against new difficulties and situations. There’s always someone here who can help you get through it.

Q: What difference has receiving The Grier Business Development Prize made to your business?

I used the prize money towards my stand at Origin last year and it was a great help to be able to pay off a large chunk of the stand costs allowing me to focus on building my stock. As I produce my work entirely myself it can be very difficult to amass any large amount and all the while finding time for the other sides of running a business. It took the pressure off me allowing me to make the most of the opportunity to show my work to the huge audience of Origin, bringing in some exciting new connections and possible commissions for the year ahead.

Q: What three pieces of advice would you give a maker setting up business for the first time?

Make sure you enjoy your work/product enough, as it will probably take over your life!

Remember to give yourself a break, working too hard can take it’s toll.

Never be afraid to ask for help or advice, you don’t have to do it entirely alone.

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Tags: awards, makers, profile, top tip

Striking the balance between cashflow and profits

06Mar12

By Ellen O’Hara

In this morning’s Financial Planning for Designer-Makers we looked and conducting an in-depth sales analysis.  Here are a couple of the key themes we explored around striking the balance between cashflow and profits.

Using our own version of the Boston Matrix we discussed the importance of having a product / service portfolio that supplied the business with both cashflow in the short term and profits in the longer term.  And the associated risks of having too much, or too little activity in each of the four quarters below:

We also discussed the challenges that makers face in balancing wholesale orders and sale or return with more profitable activity suchas direct sales and commissions.  Our research at Cockpit shows that the best performing businesses tend to report a declining proportion of income derived from wholesale sales in favour of private commissions.  Having said that, wholesale orders remain the highest percentage of turnover at reported by makers at Cockpit last year at 29%.

On average, 23% of income is derived from retail shows and craft fairs, 13% from commissions and 10% from the Cockpit Arts Open Studios.  Online sales although comparatively low at 8% are on the increase, a trend that is echoed by recent research by the Crafts Council.

So what does your sales anaysis say about your business?  Are striking the right balance?

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3 Rules for Growing a Creative Business

14Feb12

There’s a great, straight to point post on approaches to growing a creative business from David Parrish on the Creative Choices website; read more here.

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