Tom Galt

MEET THE MAKER

I used to work as an engineer but decided in 2018 to take a break from that and see if I could pursue my passion for making furniture out of wood. It’s something I’ve always loved doing and I wanted to give myself a chance to make more than a hobby out of it. I studied for a year at Waters and Acland Furniture School in the Lake District and finished there in August 2019. I’m currently based in the Greater Manchester area and I’m still in the early stages of figuring out my business.

I’ve designed and made a number of pieces of furniture – some commissions, so speculative. Desks, dining chairs, dining tables etc. It’s the act of designing and making the pieces that I love… going from early sketches to then seeing a finished item of furniture come together after all the hard work.

WHAT ARE YOUR FEEDBACKS?

The programme has been great for looking at all the different aspects of running your own craft business. Over the last 6 months we’ve got to talk with experts on business topics such as marketing, SEO, funding, business finance, presenting, business strategy, product photography. I’d had some experience of these things before, but getting advice from people who deal with these topics every day and can tailor their advice to a craft business, was really useful.

All this input and advice makes you look at your business more thoroughly and be clear with yourself on what you’re trying to achieve and why you’re trying to do it. I have a much clearer idea now of what values are important to me in my business and how I need to change how I’m doing things to align my business to these values.

FIVE THINGS YOU’LL BRING WITH YOU FROM THE EXPERIENCE:

• Take the time to really understand the finances of your business. It probably won’t be fun and the results might not be what you were hoping for, but just putting it off and hoping for the best it not an option!
• Interact with other craft business people whenever you can – get advice, give advice, offer help where you can and collaborate on new projects that take you in directions you wouldn’t have otherwise tried.
• It takes time and energy to get the most out of the process, but put the time aside for it and you’ll get the most back out of it. Lots of the exercises on presenting yourself and talking about your business where time consuming, but doing that practise really made a difference.