An Art To It

Coastal memories are important to Jeweller Hannah Louise Lamb - she grew up in Cornwall and now lives and works on the east coast of Scotland, but it's other people's coastlines that are central to her business.

Hannah has been making her hand-pierced coastline jewellery for over twenty years, and she's built her business the long way round: posting envelopes of slides to every gallery listed in the back of Crafts magazine, doing every craft fair going, and recently making the difficult decision to leave Not On The High Street after nearly two decades, because it no longer felt like the place that championed makers.

She is also an avid supporter of the galleries and independent stores that stock her work: When someone messages her because they've fallen for one of her rings in a gallery, her answer is simple: "Well, please go to the gallery and buy it there."

There's no way, she told me, that she'd take that sale for herself. "We're all in it together. It's a collaboration, not a competition."

As a gallery owner, I could have hugged her.

In our lovely chat we discuss:

• Hannah's stumbling into Glasgow School of Art's degree show as a teenager
• Throwing away her sketchbooks halfway through her final year, and finding her voice in the contrast between Glasgow's grid of streets and Cornwall's wiggly coastline
• Artist residencies at Edinburgh College of Art and a boarding school in Rutland, whilst saving up for an MA the Royal College of Art
• Setting up in a shared studio in Leith with a group of entrepreneurial jewellers who said yes to everything
• Writing to every gallery in the back of Crafts magazine with envelopes of slides, and the grant panel that had to tell her to buy a computer
• Leaving Not On The High Street after nearly twenty years, and why visibility on marketplaces has changed
• Why she sends gallery customers back to the gallery, and sees makers and galleries as collaborators
• Why sale or return works for her, and why she doesn't want her work discounted on someone else's shelf
• Living other people's memories through bespoke coastline commissions, and the late-night emails that come with them

You can see Hannah's work at https://hannahlouiselamb.com/ and on instagram @hannahlouiselamb

Hannah also talks about Jack Cunningham, her inspiring tutor at Glasgow School of Art https://www.jackcunningham.co.uk.

Coburg House where she had her first studio https://www.coburghouse.co.uk/ @coburghouse alongside @kazrobertsonjewellery https://www.kazrobertson.co.uk/ and @donnabarryjewels https://www.donnabarry.com/. Her Not on The High Street collaboration with @soremijewellery https://www.soremi-jewellery.co.uk/ and @lindseymannjewellery https://www.lindseymann.co.uk/

A handful of ceramic animals and a walk along a road of Tudor houses are just two of the steps on Amanda Banham's path to becoming the much loved and in demand ceramic artist she is today.

Amanda is best known for her collectable raku-fired ceramic houses, each with its own story, which she makes in her studio in Saffron Walden in the east of England. Her route there took in floristry, teaching horse riding, a farm in Cornwall, four children and an illustration degree, before a single talk at university - by an illustrator who also made the aforementioned ceramic animals - sent her back to clay.

In this very lively and entertaining episode, we talk about:

• Discovering pottery and other crafts at her beloved 1970s village primary school, and then barely touching clay again for years
• Her university course in Illustration coming to The university talk where an illustrator pulled out a handful of tiny ceramic animals, and Amanda went home and announced she was going to be a potter
• Her first terrifying but rewarding fair with Anglian Potters which included putting up the marquee but selling almost everything (probably for less than it cost to make)
• How the houses began: reluctant afternoon dog walks along Castle Street, peering into wonky Tudor windows and inventing the people inside
• The first houses-only sale, which she was sure was ridiculous, and which sold out in about an hour
• Why she sells once a month (the kiln has to be full),
• Her January commission slots, which bring in money up front at the quietest time of year
• The real-home commissions she now turns down, and the American veranda house that took a month and a lot of tears
• Instagram fatigue, and deciding to go back to what she actually enjoys
• Why she feels she's been "on ice skates" ever since primary school, and her advice to any business: get a dog, and protect time for laughter

Find Amanda's work at amandabanham.com and on Instagram @amandabanhamceramics.

Before she was a painter, Tamara Williams spent 25 years running a successful London design agency - it was a career she loved, creating work for a wide range of clients including Marks & Spencer and Burberry. It was only after selling the business that she discovered printmaking, and a happy accident with plaster of Paris that led, eventually, to painting.

Tamara shares her journey and the serendipity of discovering her passion for painting. We also talk about the realities of running a creative business and how, despite building a design practice, there was no cross over with the art world; a world she says that really has no rules!

In this episode, Tamara and I talk about:

• Being inspired to study graphic design by her older sister ten years who introduced her to the work of Saul Bass and Milton Glaser when she was still a child.
• Going freelance almost by accident in 1989, hiring a cupboard-sized studio near Oxford Circus, and growing the agency from two people - and a dog - into a successful 25-year business
• The plaster of Paris experiment that started everything - an attempt to transfer printmaking images without a press, that produced textures and effects she could never have planned
• Taking up the suggestion of her friend and ceramicist Ali Tomlin https://www.alitomlin.com/ to take part in her first trade show at Top Drawer, at London's Olympia; being terrified but coming away with her first order book and her first ever conversations with gallery owners
• Launching RubyKite, the silk scarf brand she co-founded with a friend, and the decision - after six wonderful years - to close it this December
• Learning, the hard way, to say no to galleries: "It's really difficult to maintain creativity if you feel like you're a hamster on a wheel"
• Having her painting Leave No Trace accepted into the 2025 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, and the extraordinary tradition of Varnishing Day
• Why she believes artists need a "visual compass" for their own work.
• The business discipline she brought from design - timesheets, pricing, strategic thinking - and why creativity and commercial thinking aren't opposites

Find Tamara's work at tamarawilliams.co.uk and on Instagram @tamarawilliamsart

When CAN you call yourself a ceramicist? Kate Clark's @K_ceramics beautiful hand carved ceramics are sold across the country, from the Outer Hebrides to Cornwall, and even over to France. Her many fans include three generations of one family who all independently buy her work; and she still doesn't quite think she's earned the word "potter." She still adds that she's "also a Graphic Designer, as that's what my degree is in."

In our lovely chat, Kate talks openly about her journey to being a full time ceramicist:

"I've had loads of lessons, I've been taught by fantastic people," she told me, "but I haven't got the stamp, as it were."

But when you're making - and selling exquisite work - what more of an endorsement do you need? Kate's passion for pottery began while living with her family in New York City, she followed her kids to an after-school pottery class, fell in love watching them make things, asked if adults could join in, and never really left. She says her first bowl was awful but her teacher persuaded her to persevere and then it clicked.

We also talk about:

• Re-inventing yourself in a new city
• The buzz of selling your work to people who fall in love with it
• Learning to throw from two different teachers on opposite sides of Manhattan, then not owning a wheel of her own until lockdown forced her hand
• Why hand-carving makes almost every piece one of a kind - and why that's a nightmare to price, because "it's not just that piece, it's planning the carving, it's the act of doing
• The stockist who spent months patiently waiting for Kate to feel ready, after Kate turned down several early offers because being asked for stock felt overwhelming
• The particular strain of imposter syndrome that seems to follow talented ceramicists specifically - despite years of teaching, a beautifully considered brand, and genuinely excellent work
• The message from a customer that told her three generations of one family buy her work, and why that means so much to her
• Bringing her graphic design background into building a considered, cohesive ceramics brand from the very first pot she ever labelled

Find Kate's work at https://kceramicsstudio.com/ and on Instagram @K_ceramics

Painting shop shop-window mannequins in Chelsea is not a traditional way to learn the art of blending oil paints, but it's just one of the steps on Sally Hirst's journey to becoming both an artist and a hugely popular tutor.

Sally was in Spain in the spring of 2020 when it became clear that the workshops she'd planned for the summer back in Norfolk were unlikely to happen. She got the last flight out of Malaga, announced on social media that she'd find a way to teach online, wrote a blog about it for Jackson's Art Supplies and woke the next morning to around four hundred emails - because Jackson's had listed her online courses, which did not yet exist, among their ten things to do during lockdown.

What followed is one of the more decisive pivots I've heard about. She went from a newbie on YouTube to thousands of followers and the beginning of a thriving business.

Six years on she has twenty-four courses, around a hundred hours of video, two Instagram accounts, and a book out this autumn. She's also refreshingly candid about the parts that haven't worked: the second Instagram account that never took off, the gallery representation that's been "somewhat elusive," and the awkward suspicion that not needing gallery sales might mean she doesn't chase them hard enough.

We also talk about her teaching career which she gave up at time she still had the energy to pursue other things, and how it - and her MA - have helped her develop her teaching style for the artists she works with.

In this episode:

• Why Sally took a whole year off her own practice - and how she avoids resentment when doing two jobs
• The GP who tore up her job application and told her to sort herself out
• ADHD as a superpower, and what a late diagnosis actually changed
• Why a teaching qualification matters more for developing artists than for teaching skills
• "Leave your audience at the door" and why she advises students not to post new explorations
• Selling her work well in Spain yet finding UK galleries elusive
• Writing a book: 50,000 words, hundreds of captions, and no exclamation marks

You can find Sally's work and courses here:

https://sallyhirstcourses.com/

https://www.sallyhirst.co.uk/

@sallyhirst_courses @sallyhirstartist

Her Book, Printmaking for Collage is out this Autumn

https://www.crowood.com/book/printmaking-for-collage/

After 13 years of running a successful jewellery business, Claire Gent knew that something no longer felt right, but she wasn't sure what should come next.

Picking up an art book in a cafe on a family holiday in Penzance she discovered the work of contemporary painter Alasdair Lindsay https://www.alasdairlindsay.co.uk/; she fell in love with it and it sparked a passion for her to pick up her own paintbrushes. What began as a new creative interest rapidly became an obsession.

In 2024, Claire tested a small collection of paintings alongside her jewellery at the annual Contemporary Craft Festival in Bovey Tracey in Devon https://craftfestival.co.uk/. She sold almost every piece, returned home with just two paintings and her partner immediately suggested they build her a studio. And so began this chapter of Claire's creative career.

In our chat Claire talks candidly about losing her love for her jewellery business and the excitement of moving onto painting, how she is carrying the skills from one creative career into another, and learning from the burnout she experienced while supplying multiple galleries.

We also discuss:

• Recognising when a successful business is no longer making you happy

• Testing a new creative direction before committing fully

• Beginning again without beginning from nothing

• Allowing your own artistic voice to emerge from your influences

• Using a part-time job to support the development of your work

• Pacing growth and resisting the pressure to accept every opportunity

• Why Instagram should support the work rather than become the work

• The many hats - and occasional grown-up decisions - involved in running a creative business

You can see Claire's gorgeous semi-abstract field-scapes - with a hint of the sea - inspired by her home in Cornwall on her website https://www.clairegent.com/

Some guests really need more than one episode, and Kellie Miller is one of them. A successful artist in her own right, she is also founder and director of Kellie Miller Arts, a renowned Brighton gallery representing an exciting mix of national, international and local artists. She also teaches, is involved in philanthropy and plays a major role in the creative life of Brighton - she just has to come back for another chat.

But in this very entertaining episode we talk about the realities of life on both sides of the gallery wall: the freedom (and occasional exhaustion) of wearing two hats, why curating is its own act of creativity rather than a lesser cousin to "real" art, and why Kellie believes entrepreneurship is vital in being a successful artist.

Kellie is also refreshingly honest about the business side of running a gallery - how gallery pricing actually works, why undercutting a gallery by selling direct to a client who found you through them is one of the fastest ways to end a relationship, and why she thinks art fairs have had their day. She also talks candidly about a pop-up space she lost at the last minute - and the lesson in handling disappointment that came out of it.

In this episode:

• Why being an artist and a gallery owner gives Kellie authority in supporting the artists she represents

• The invisible labour of curating - and why "you're just a curator" undersells what a gallery actually does

• How she built her stable of 70 artists, and why the window for taking on new ones is smaller than people think

• What she's really looking for in a submission

• Why keeping consistent pricing across the board is essential for artists - and what happens when artists forget that

• The real cost of art fairs

• Handling disappointment with grace - and why it pays off later

• You can find out more about Kellie and her gallery at kelliemillerarts.com @kelliemillerarts

What happens when an artist decides that joy isn't just an emotion - but a creative purpose?

In this episode I chat to ceramic artist Emily Hett, whose colourful, tactile sculptures have captured the imagination of collectors and social media audiences alike. Emily's joyful 'blobs' have become her signature, but behind the playful forms lies years of thoughtful experimentation, resilience and a clear understanding of what it takes to build a sustainable creative business.

We talk about the moment she realised joy was at the heart of her practice, the extraordinary impact of a viral Instagram reel, and why success isn't simply about algorithms or follower numbers. Emily also shares some refreshingly honest advice about marketing, consistency and finding a way of working that feels authentic.

Whether you're just starting out or already running your own creative business, this conversation is full of practical insights and plenty of encouragement.

In our chat we discuss:

- How Emily discovered that joy had become the driving force behind her work.

- Why colour, shape and tactility create such an emotional connection with people.

- The value of experimentation and allowing your creative practice to evolve.

- What really happened when one Instagram reel reached millions of people—and how it changed her business.

- Why artists need to embrace the business side of their practice as well as making great work.

- Building an audience without losing sight of why you create.

- Creating content that feels natural rather than chasing the latest trends.

- Balancing exhibitions, commissions, social media and studio life.

You can see Emily's work at https://emilyhettart.co.uk/

When creating with flowers is not quite fulfilling you, it's time to pack away the secateurs and pick up the paintbrushes. Brigitte Girling shares her story in Episode 56 of An Art to It.

Brigitte is a fine artist based in Suffolk whose vivid, joyful still life paintings celebrate what she calls "the beauty of the everyday." But her route to the easel was anything but straightforward.

In this episode, Brigitte talks about a childhood of creative freedom in Framlingham, being steered away from art at school despite loving it, studying psychology at Exeter, teaching primary school children, and eventually building a thriving floral design business specialising in seasonal, chemical-free flowers.

When COVID brought events to a halt, Brigitte found herself retrieving a box of art materials from the attic — materials that had been sitting there for a decade — and quietly began to paint. Within a couple of years she had exhibited at the Colchester Art Society, done Suffolk Open Studios, and become artist in residence at Wickham Vineyards in support of the charity Art for Cure.

We talk about:

• The creative thread that runs through every stage of a life, even when it isn't obvious
• Why she called herself an artist from day one — and why more of us should
• How her floristry background shaped her composition and colour instincts without her even realising
• Changing her mind about galleries — and why she's glad she did
• Self-limiting beliefs, fear of judgement, and the art of ignoring both
• What it really means to burst out of the chrysalis of other people's expectations

A warm, funny and genuinely inspiring conversation to kick off Series 6.

You can see Brigitte's work at brigittegirling.co.uk and @brigittegirling

Brigitte talked about:

Mandy Leeson of Vanil in Woodbridge @vanil_ltd https://www.vanil.co.uk/

Kay Prestney Kinship Creative @kinship_creativedc

Art For Cure @artforcure https://artforcure.org.uk/

Wyken @wykenvineyards https://www.wykenvineyards.co.uk/

An Art to It: the home of inspiring stories of how women artists and makers turned their creative passion into their business. Hosted by gallery owner and mentor to creatives, Elaine Dye.

Follow An Art to It for artist conversations, creative entrepreneurs, creative women and interviews with women artists and makers.

Having her eyes fixed as firmly on her business goals as on her paint palette, has been the bedrock of Alice Sheridan's creative success. In this episode of An Art to It, artist, mentor and co-host of the long running and much-loved Art Juice podcast, Alice Sheridan, shares her journey.

Alice talks about her move from a career in graphic design into painting, how she began taking her art seriously as a business, and why structure, support and self-awareness have all played such an important part in her creative career.

We discuss the realities of building an art practice alongside family life, the role of ADHD in how Alice works, and why understanding your own energy, habits and decision-making is so important when you're running a creative business.

Alice also shares her thoughts on selling directly, working with galleries, art fairs, social media, membership communities, pricing, and why artists don't all need to follow the same route to success.

This is a wonderfully honest conversation about commitment, creativity, business, tenacity, and learning to build a creative life that works for you.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Alice's experience of co-hosting Art Juice

• Moving from graphic design into painting

• Taking art seriously as a business

• The importance of structure and support

• ADHD, organisation and creative working rhythms

• Open studios, art fairs and direct selling

• Galleries, endorsement and choosing your own route

• Building and evolving an artist membership

• Why creative business is not one-size-fits-all

• Pricing, confidence and standing by your decisions

• The long-term nature of a sustainable creative career

You can find out more about Alice's work and her membership at https://alicesheridan.com/ and on instagram @alicesheridanstudio