A Jewel of
a new career
On taking up retirement some 9 years ago I was not looking for a new career , but being a motivated and creative person an opportunity presented itself that I just couldn ’ t resist : Admiring the beautiful jewellery in the window of an individual metalsmith , I went in and jokingly asked if he took apprentices . I was delighted to find that he did indeed give small group lessons but I had to wait for a place to become available . Before too long I was delighted to receive a phone call to tell me that a place had come up in one of the classes that took place during the evening . As I was still teaching part-time this suited me perfectly and I jumped at the chance .
Having been a teacher in Design and Technology in resistance materials for some 25 years , using tools and machinery was nothing new to me , but there is quite a difference between working with mild steel and working in silver or gold , so new skills needed to be learnt , and existing ones developed and honed . While a number of the tools were the same or very similar , there were a lot more to become accustomed to . As someone who has always loved crafts from a very early age , I was soon totally hooked and there would be no going back .
I have always been interested in , and enjoyed using tools , and it wasn ’ t long before I started investing in my own small ‘ starter-kit ’. After then retiring completely from education , my husband ( who is also very practical ) helped me set-up a small area just inside our garage where I could construct a jeweler ’ s bench and store my precious tools . I was happy with this for the first 2 years , but cold damp winter conditions were not conducive to creativity , especially when I was wrapped in several somewhat restrictive layers .
After a while my husband and I discussed the possibility of converting a room , or building a small extension to house a warmer environment which would become my workshop . We live in a beautiful old cottage which is listed , so we didn ’ t really want to convert any of the rooms , and were told by the planning office , that any extension would be ‘ out of the question ’. I was very disappointed , but determined , so we negotiated the possibility of a small separate building which would be ‘ in-keeping ’ with our 16th century cottage . Eventually permission was granted for a brick based construction with a pitched roof and we soon arranged for some quotes . Unfortunately , these were way beyond our budget , but we weren ’ t prepared to compromise on the small building and how we wanted it to look , both inside and out .
Friends and neighbors eventually convinced us , that both being practical , we should be able to build the workshop ourselves . Although we had built a few smallish items in our garden , like patios and a folly , we were somewhat daunted by the prospect of digging footings and laying foundations , not to mention brick-laying , plumbing , pitching a roof , plastering etc .
36