/// OPERATION ELEVATE UPDATE ///

I thought I had posted my “operation elevate” journal either earlier this year, or late last year. It was actually last June, which shows how fast time flies, and how much I have lost track of time.

My post was about how I had achieved my first set of goals after graduating from my BA and MA, then covid/lockdown hit and I had become a little lost, a little stagnant. And how I felt a renewed spark and wanted to get my creative practice, Suzanne Seed Silversmith, back on track. Priorities were refining, streamlining, and elevating. You can read it HERE

I’ll start with a bit of streamlining; previously when people booked a workshop with me they would need to email for available dates. This would invariably end up with emails going back and forth, which I appreciated was a bit of a ballache for all involved. I now have a programme which shows my availability and it's been working really well. Strictly speaking its a booking system, but I don’t use it as such. I use it to easily show people when I’m free, they can choose a date and its as simple as that! As with everything it’s not a free system to use, it’s a monthly fee but I think its worth it when its making booking a date for a workshop so much easier for all involved.

I’ve also “retired” some of my jewellery. Choosing to have a smaller selection available, focusing on quality rather than quantity.

I created a new jewellery collection inspired by the forms and textures of Henry Moore. This was a big push for me as I wanted to create pieces with an organic form, a step away from my usual rigid and repetitive shapes. I find comfort in straight lines, angles and curves, and symmetry in shapes so although I love organic shapes I have never been able to create them myself. They make me feel very uncomfortable when I try and I naturally try to straighten them/make them all the same.

Fighting against all urges to make the shapes uniform, I’m really pleased with the collection I created. I broke through the barrier of wanting to “correct” the shapes and I’m happy to say the Moore earrings are my best sellers of all time. A lovely reminder that stepping outside of your comfort zone is often very rewarding. And yes, I wear my pair most days because I’ve fallen in love with the irregularity of them, and the lovely texture on areas alongside the smooth areas. While not my usual style, they of course have my usual combination of texture and smooth!

Refining - I’ve also made some changes on here, my website. Just small, but hopefully making it a better experience and easier to navigate. I still have a lot more changes I want to make but those are further down the to do list, but just know its a work in progress and once I get the time I’ll be improving it even more.

Elevating - this is the biggest change. I received a Develop Your Creative Practice grant from Arts Council England which really has helped me to achieve this area of my Operation Elevate.

My grant funded me to spend time developing my larger scale soldering skills, learning about alloys (I can now make my own gold to specific colours and carats), and I am recently back from a week in Ireland creating my largest silver piece to date, a carafe, under the tuition of Cara Murphy.

The grant has also paid for some mentoring, and research other business opportunities. It has been a jam-packed six months and I am incredibly grateful for the funding which has made such a difference. It has been a little too intense/busy for me to implement some of the things I have learnt, so I am looking forward to the second half of 2024 where I can breathe. Have the time to digest everything I have learnt, create a grand plan, and start to get cracking. It’s been so bloody good.

As with last year, this year I had a stand at Craft in Focus over the May day bank holiday, at RHS Wisley. My stand was in the Festival of Silver, my usual spot. I feel like my hard work of elevating my practice paid off - my stand was exactly how I wanted it to look (I spent a lot of time reflecting on stands/galleries I have seen and what I felt really worked to show pieces off, and what didn’t) and it was definitely a case of less is more, for me.

I allowed the pieces the space they needed so people's eyes could easily wander over them and absorb what they were seeing without too many distractions. I know some like to show a larger collection of their work but for me I prefer to show less, otherwise I find it looks too “noisy” and just a bit much. And this year was my most successful show to date, sales wise, so I am really proud of that and another reminder that hard work in all areas pays off.

It has been a challenging year so far with my regular income of teaching silversmithing and jewellery adult education classes at Wensum Lodge in Norwich coming to an end. A decision by Norfolk County Council which no one agrees with - makes no sense to remove the creative classes across the board which so many people found solace in for so many years. I’m very grateful to have had the funded opportunities to see me through the first half of the year. But now reality is hitting - I am looking for new opportunities to sit alongside my creative practice which offer a regular income. Because much as I love my own work, it doesn’t have a regular income so isn’t very helpful with the regular bills! Please do keep me in mind if you see anything you think would be suitable.

But all in all, my plan of Operation Elevate has gone very well these past 12 months, and I hope you’ll agree!