An interview with maker Bex & Bolt as part of our 'Get to Know...' series.
Tell us a little about yourself and your business…
I'm a Mum, teacher, freelancer & maker. In 2022, approaching my 40th birthday, I challenged myself to start a sustainable business that would tap into my neglected creative side and allow flexible working to fit in with family life. Starting with a bag of scrap leather from another maker and a pair of old sewing scissors, I made my first pair of earrings in the shape of lightning bolts and Bex & Bolt was born!
Where are you based?
Ivybridge, Devon
Tell us a secret about you?
I have a fear of regular repeated circle patterns. You'll only find irregular splodges in my work!
How do you make your work?
I source scraps of leather & leatherette from bag, shoe & chair makers. I have slowly built up specialist tools including leather scissors, punches, paints, wire cutters & various pliers. Most of my earring designs involve small circles of leather which I hand cut as I'm yet to find a tool that achieves the precise size I need. My process is broken down into prepping the leather with hand painting & printing which I do in batches. I love choosing new colour combos or for bespoke orders guiding customers in their design choices. It takes several hours for the paint to fix so next I'll cut a batch from previously prepped leathers. I now have drawers and drawers of scraps to choose from!
I use a punch to press the circle shape into the leather then hand cut an extra width around it (I really must source some punches in the precise measurements I need but they are expensive to have made up in custom sizes). Depending on the leather thickness I then might need to create mounts before fixing into the findings. I use a variety of stainless steel and eco silver for my findings. With my eco silver festival earrings for example, I make the hooks & jump rings myself from recycled silver wire.
Describe your studio…
My 'studio' is a small room in our house that used to be our office but is now full to the brim with scraps of leather & my tools. It's an absolute tip 95% of the time! I can't wait to find some time to get it properly organised and make it a more efficient space.
Tell us about your materials - where do you source them from and are they important to you?
Other makers scraps. I don't ever buy new hides. I only need such small pieces to work with and it's important to me to save material from land fill. I use stainless steel as it's one of the most sustainable metal choices as well as being one of the most wearable metals for people with sensitive skin. More recently I started using eco silver instead of standard sterling silver. It's still pretty hard to source findings on this so I make most of my own.
Why is it important to you that your work is made as responsibly and sustainably as possible?
I believe all makers have a responsibility to use sustainable materials and raise customer awareness too so that they can make more informed decisions when shopping. We need to look after the world we live in. It is not ours.
How and why did you start your small business?
I was looking to build some flexibility into my working life and reignite my creative spark which I'd neglected since my art foundation. Originally I asked a local maker if I could be their apprentice, but they weren't sure on their direction or capacity, so I just located a bag of scraps and started to get to know the leather. It sounds cheesy, but I still remember the very first cut and learning from it! My business is constantly developing in an organic fashion. I have learnt so much from the crafting community including market stall holders, my stockists and networking online.
Any fun facts about your business, or achievements you want to shout about?
I've signed up to the Green Maker initiative with Make Southwest pledging to further reduce my environmental impact where possible from 2023-24.
What do you love most about your small business and do you have a favourite piece of work?
I love creating bespoke orders and giving customers a personalised service, choosing their scraps, paints and findings to create a unique piece just for them. My favourite piece of work is the very first pair of earrings I made for my Mum in stainless steel. She'd only worn gold or silver for 65 years and discovered a whole new world of jewellery when she realised she could wear this!
What do you think are the benefits of people supporting independent business?
It allows them to rediscover the beauty of shopping in 'real life'... picking up products, feeling textures, seeing colours, shapes & size not distorted by screens. It also enables them to support the livelihoods of individual people & families rather than faceless profiteers.
Tell us about your favourite purchase from a fellow maker. What is it and who made it?
It's a tiny little terrazzo rainbow ornament in my daughter's bedroom made by Rocket & Rhino.
What are your favourite things about PRIOR - both as a customer and a supplier?
I love the curation of PRIOR, every product fits perfectly, not only visually but ethically too. Beck and her team are laser focused on their values, so every customer can be confident that in buying from PRIOR they are supporting independent makers using sustainable materials. As a supplier I benefit from super organised stock management & expertise from the team. I am proud to stock at PRIOR and see it as one of my greatest business achievements so far!
Do you have a goal for where you’d love your business to be in the future?
I'd love to feature in a national press release!
View Bex and Bolt's handmade collection at Prior Shop here.
