Make I t A t Market
In January 2023, I appeared in the first series of the new BBC One show 'Make It At Market'. The premise of the show is for people who want to turn their small businesses in to a full time career. We were all paired up with a master maker in our field, and I had the priviledge of being mentored by the incredible Allister Malcolm.
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How did I get in to the show, you ask? Well, it was something that I never thought about or even looked for as never in my wildest dreams did I think I could get an opportunity like this. Once day in October 2021, I received a message by a member of the production company. In the message, they revealed that they had found my work on the Contemporary Glass Society website, and that she was part of the team making a new show for the BBC and would I be interested in applying. How can you say no to an opportunity like that?! After A LOT of initial nerves, I applied with the thought that just doing the application process for an experience like this was incredible, and if nothing ever happened at least I gave myself the chance.
Fast forward 6 months and I get a phone call one Monday afternoon to say that I had been chosen as one of four glass makers to be mentored in the series! Never would I have thought that during my glass blowing residency at De Montfort University I would be filming a TV show, but what better way to end my time at DMU then to have it encapsulated in a TV show to showcase exactly how far I had come. We filmed in the beautiful Stoneywell National Trust Park in Leiecestershire, and I think having the filming be in the same city where I started my glass journey only 4 years prior just added more emotion to the experience. From start to finish, the filming both at Stoneywell and then at home working on my work took 2 months, which co-insided with the showcase at the end of my time at De Montfort.
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I appeared in episode 2 of 'Make It At Market', and if you have missed the series it is available on both BBC iPlayer and Britbox if you would like to catch up with the series. It is a heart warming show following 30 makers striving towards their goal of being a full time maker, and I can not recommend it enough! It has been the biggest honour of my life being a part of this experience, and I want to thank each and every person who has supported me through this experience. My family, friends and all the technical instructors on the Design Crafts course at DMU have been my biggest cheerleaders, and without each and every one of them I couldn't have gone through this experience how I did. However, I would like to say a special thank you to Allister Malcolm. Allister has been the greatest mentor to me since the very start of this experience. From the start of filming and still to this day, Allister has supported where I am in my journey and helped me push to new levels, and I am so incredibly grateful. Who knows what the future will hold, but I am very excited to see what is to come!
Link to my episode of Make It At Market on iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001gqjs/make-it-at-market-series-1-episode-2
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News articles about my episode:
https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/dmu-glass-artist-star-repair-7983540
https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/celebs-tv/artist-leaves-bbc-make-market-7996485
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BBC sounds interview: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0dt0m6x
Since my episode released early January, the response from everyone who has watched it has been so incredibly kind, and I can not thank each and every person who has reached out to me enough whether it is to wish me good luck, say how much they love my work or to place an order. I have so much work to make, and to be this busy just 2 years after I graduated is such a dream come true. My business boost from the show was to have my graduate collection be placed in the permanent collection at Stourbridge Glass Museum, after a glass collector bought the two pieces and anoymously donated them for the world to see. These 2 pieces hold such a special place in my heart, and to have them be so loved and seen for years to come is such a pinch me moment.