JEWELLER Becky Walker said a SWEF Enterprise Fund grant from Dorset Community Foundation has not only helped her buy tools to improve her business, it has made her more confident about it.
The 29-year-old, from Harman’s Cross, near Swanage, was awarded £1,000 from the fund, which helps young people aged 18 to 30 overcome financial challenges and other disadvantages to develop their business. It offers grants of up to £2,000 for businesses that have been established for under two years and up to £500 for start-ups.
Becky discovered a love of making her own jewellery during lockdown when she experimented with sea glass. Over the next four years that interest gradually became a business after she taught herself silversmithing, took jewellery design courses and branched out into hand-forging her own jewellery collections.
The trained photographer’s inspiration came from her love of nature and folklore, using leaves, toadstools and plant motifs to create necklaces, earrings and bracelets that she sold at markets and art galleries.
She applied for the grant because she needed more equipment to help the business expand. “I was making a lot of jewellery and selling a lot at markets so I had lots of silver scraps,” she said. “I really needed a rolling mill which can turn scraps into sheet metal and create my own wire because it’s super expensive to constantly buy new metal.
“But a long-lasting rolling mill is around £800 and I just didn’t see myself being able to save for it with all the outgoings that come with starting a business like paying for materials and market pitch fees.”
She heard about the grants from other artists and applied. “The actual application process, filling out the form, was good because it forced me to take a step back and look at the business and where it’s going,” she said.
Knowing that they saw that the business is worth investing in made me feel confident
After an online interview, where she was quizzed informally about her plans, she was told she’d been awarded the grant. “I was really, really happy, it was a relief because it came at a time where I’d had so many outgoings. It felt like a good start to the financial year and it meant that I could breathe a bit,” she said.
“Knowing that they saw that the business is worth investing in made me feel confident.”
She is also using part of the grant to take courses in engraving and stone setting to broaden her range. “The grant has opened up like doors to things I probably wouldn’t have been able to set money aside for,” she said. “Engraving is quite a niche skill that I couldn’t really teach myself and learning stone setting techniques will mean I can add colour to my designs.”
She said her first year in business has been one of learning to see which designs will sell well and where the best places to sell them are. She had a successful stint with Purbeck Art Weeks and is continuing to expand the makers’ markets and art galleries she sells at. She also wants to continue selling at festivals. “It’s lovely meeting customers face to face and seeing what people like and it’s also a great chance to discuss my processes,” she said.
“I The stories behind plants and their folklore fascinate me, and I love the idea that jewellery can be worn to deepen our connection to nature and the land we live on.”
She is also exploring the idea of running jewellery-making workshops. “It’s been a massive year of learning for me,” she said. “I was looking at stuff I did a year ago and I’ve developed a lot so I think in another year’s time, I’ll have kept evolving my skills and my designs and continue to branch out – and the grant has really helped with that.”
See Becky’s work at beckywalkerjewellery.co.uk and find out more about SWEF Enterprise Fund grants here.
