Dom Chinea works with a team of business and craft experts to help a group of budding entrepreneurs make a living from their crafting hobby - setting them challenges that will assess the amateur craftspeople and shape their business plan.
Seasons & Episode
Clay jewellery artist Rachel from Birmingham and coppersmith and sculptor Roy from Wiltshire are both hoping that their passions can become profitable businesses. Cleaner Rachel has only been creating jewellery from clay for a couple of years to help with her anxiety. Former army man and IT worker Roy has recently given up his day job to commit to coppersmithing. Both makers are given two months to put their all into building their dream businesses. Can they make enough to prove to themselves that they can earn a living from their crafts?
Stepping into the beautiful gardens in Oxfordshire today are Jaycee from West Sussex and Tristan from Perthshire, both hoping to turn their love for their crafts into successful businesses. Ex-HR worker Jaycee made the brave decision to give up the day job to concentrate full time on her upcycling business and hopes that Dom and his team of mentors can help. For stone carver Tristan, it’s all about finding his confidence, as mentor Louis tries to convince him to get out there and really sell his pieces. Both makers are given eight weeks to put their mentors’ advice into practice. But can they make enough money to follow their dreams and turn their passions and skills into profits?
Looking to change their lives with the help of Dom and his team of mentors are upholsterer Alison from Huddersfield and artistic blacksmith Jack from Edinburgh. Following redundancy, Alison seized the opportunity to return to upholstery, which she had last done at an evening course 23 years ago. Highly skilled blacksmith Jack is making ends meet doing architectural ironing work, but his passion lies in the artistic side of the industry. Each maker is given two months to give their creative careers their all, but will they earn enough cash from their crafts to prove they have profitable businesses?
Today’s aspiring artisans are leather designer Jo from Essex and portrait artist Jill from Newbury. Jo’s dyslexia and dyscalculia have prevented her from finding the right career path, but everything finally clicked when she discovered leather work. Jill had to give up her dreams of being an artist at an early age but, after a 22-year career in nursing, the time is right. Both makers are given eight weeks to turn their new careers into successful businesses, but can they bring in the sales to prove they’ve got what it takes to make it in the creative world?
Metal artist Lindon from Essex and hand embroiderer Hannah from Staffordshire step into Dom’s gardens, hoping to turn their passion and skill into profitable businesses. It’s high stakes for welder and fabricator Lindon, who hopes to turn his skills from his day job into a full-time metal artwork business so he can support his young family. For membership officer Hannah, anxiety and a lack of confidence have often held her back. Finding hand embroidery has changed her life for the better, can mentor Tory help her find her market?
Pointillist artist Will can’t imagine a world without art, but he needs to find a way of making it pay. Mentor Claudia is impressed with his work but thinks he needs to work on creating a more distinctive style so that customers instantly recognise his pieces. Part-time physiotherapist and aspiring jeweller Ange dreams of making her craft pay, but mentor Rachel thinks she needs to improve the finish on some of her creations, as well as work on making more affordable designs.
Potter Emily is on a deadline. After giving up her day job, she needs her fledgling pottery business to pay the bills. Mentor Florian is concerned her work doesn’t have a consistent sense of style and thinks that’s the key to finding her market. Momoka has a passion for hand weaving and textiles, but she really needs to make her work pay to support her young family. Mentor Piyush worries that she’s focusing on the wrong markets and lacks the confidence to sell her pieces.
Textile artist Jennifer from Hampshire and stone carver Louise from Oxfordshire are hoping Dom and his team can help them turn their passions into profits. Jennifer is hoping to swap her job as a pharmacist for a new creative career, but she has a big decision to make about whether to become an artist or a print designer. Former key worker Louise returned to education two years ago in the hope of becoming a full-time stone carver. After honing her craft, she’s hoping it can now pay the bills.
Nineteen-year-old Harrison decided to follow his furniture-making dream after his father passed away two years ago. He has big ambitions, but will Dom and his mentor, Bruce Kenneth, be able to help him achieve them? By day, Rachel works in the world of corporate learning and development. But by night, she makes wearable cake shoes in the hope of doing it full time. She wants to show her daughters that you can achieve anything if you work hard enough, no matter how impossible it may seem.