Re: Hello
Posted: 23 May 2012, 14:00
I've already been posting a little to get my questions out of the way, now to introduce myself.
I'm Dave, from gorgeous North Wales but currently settled in Bristol via France, Germany, Reading, and Holland. I studied art and design with a view to becoming a famous painter but ended up working at any job I could get.
I ended up running a print shop in a university for 7 years back in the 90s but it was around then that my health started to cause some concern. Turned out I had ME/CFS. Struggled on with a variety of jobs until I stared working with AutoCAD for the Highways Agency in Bristol in 2006. But by then my ME had got so bad that I had to pack it in and become one of the Daily Mail's most hated breed - the benefits claimant.
After a while of being utterly bored and frustrated, I went back to my roots and started being creative again, mainly painting and making celtic plaques in plaster. Soon realised that the only way to make any money was to find a way of reproducing what I was making. So I investigated silicone mould making and resin casting and in early 2010 Gelert Design was born.
I sell my tat through online craft venues like Etsy and Folksy. Only being able to work a few hours a week and not having the energy or the money for all the promotion necessary to make my business a winner, I trotted by quite happily with the DWP's blessing.
Up until the government started testing claimants using a company called ATOS with a view to declaring everyone fit for work and cutting down the benefits bill. I was declared fit for work, despite what a whole raft of GPs, expert clinicians and psychologists has to say about it.
So there I was, unable to get a job, unable to claim benefits, and unable to work hard enough on Gelert Design to get my work into the sort of shops it needed to be in (such as the gift shops you find at historical sites like medieval castles).
I took the DWP to a tribunal and I've been waiting 7 months for my case to be heard. In the meantime, it occured to me that if I won, I'd be due some backdated benefits and so I looked at how I could invest it in Gelert Design. I've always considered putting my paintings on mugs etc, but knowing I wouldn't be selling them by the truckload, short runs were just too expensive to make any money back on when using commercial companies.
And so I looked at the feasibility of doing it myself. Having done some silkscreening in my college days I stared researching how much things had changed in 20 years. I was amazed at how things have moved on. Just sublimation alone has so many exciting applications before I even begin to think about vinyl, transfer and silk screening.
Then I had my tribunal hearing and won. Yay! So a little lump sum of cash has arrived. Just enough to invest in some sublimation equipment to get me up and running. btw - I no longer get any benefits at all from the govt because I've been ill too long (!)
As I already have Gelert Design, this will just enable me increase my range and enable every design I make to work harder for me. Moreover, I have a vast network of other crafters who like me had looked into getting some mugs made up and balked at the cost. So there's a market immediately and a fair few have already shown an interest. Also, I've been making resin fridge magnets and pewter bet buckles as band merchandise for New Model Army and a bit for The Levellers too. Once I get my sublimation stuff going, I may get more work from them.
So yeah, as long as I can keep the ME/CFS at bay, and as long as the missus is willing to put up with me, the future's looking fairly bright for Gelert Design just now.
I've just invested in an A4 Ricoh and one of those cheap 5 in 1 presses from China which I'm hoping will last just long enough until I can afford to replace it with some quality kit. I'm almost ready to go but am more than a little worried by the whole printer profile thing and even if my current laptop setup will be ok since I don't have photoshop or corel draw or illustrator.
Anyway, that's long winded enough. I reckon you know as much about me as my mother does by now:)
I'm Dave, from gorgeous North Wales but currently settled in Bristol via France, Germany, Reading, and Holland. I studied art and design with a view to becoming a famous painter but ended up working at any job I could get.
I ended up running a print shop in a university for 7 years back in the 90s but it was around then that my health started to cause some concern. Turned out I had ME/CFS. Struggled on with a variety of jobs until I stared working with AutoCAD for the Highways Agency in Bristol in 2006. But by then my ME had got so bad that I had to pack it in and become one of the Daily Mail's most hated breed - the benefits claimant.
After a while of being utterly bored and frustrated, I went back to my roots and started being creative again, mainly painting and making celtic plaques in plaster. Soon realised that the only way to make any money was to find a way of reproducing what I was making. So I investigated silicone mould making and resin casting and in early 2010 Gelert Design was born.
I sell my tat through online craft venues like Etsy and Folksy. Only being able to work a few hours a week and not having the energy or the money for all the promotion necessary to make my business a winner, I trotted by quite happily with the DWP's blessing.
Up until the government started testing claimants using a company called ATOS with a view to declaring everyone fit for work and cutting down the benefits bill. I was declared fit for work, despite what a whole raft of GPs, expert clinicians and psychologists has to say about it.
So there I was, unable to get a job, unable to claim benefits, and unable to work hard enough on Gelert Design to get my work into the sort of shops it needed to be in (such as the gift shops you find at historical sites like medieval castles).
I took the DWP to a tribunal and I've been waiting 7 months for my case to be heard. In the meantime, it occured to me that if I won, I'd be due some backdated benefits and so I looked at how I could invest it in Gelert Design. I've always considered putting my paintings on mugs etc, but knowing I wouldn't be selling them by the truckload, short runs were just too expensive to make any money back on when using commercial companies.
And so I looked at the feasibility of doing it myself. Having done some silkscreening in my college days I stared researching how much things had changed in 20 years. I was amazed at how things have moved on. Just sublimation alone has so many exciting applications before I even begin to think about vinyl, transfer and silk screening.
Then I had my tribunal hearing and won. Yay! So a little lump sum of cash has arrived. Just enough to invest in some sublimation equipment to get me up and running. btw - I no longer get any benefits at all from the govt because I've been ill too long (!)
As I already have Gelert Design, this will just enable me increase my range and enable every design I make to work harder for me. Moreover, I have a vast network of other crafters who like me had looked into getting some mugs made up and balked at the cost. So there's a market immediately and a fair few have already shown an interest. Also, I've been making resin fridge magnets and pewter bet buckles as band merchandise for New Model Army and a bit for The Levellers too. Once I get my sublimation stuff going, I may get more work from them.
So yeah, as long as I can keep the ME/CFS at bay, and as long as the missus is willing to put up with me, the future's looking fairly bright for Gelert Design just now.
I've just invested in an A4 Ricoh and one of those cheap 5 in 1 presses from China which I'm hoping will last just long enough until I can afford to replace it with some quality kit. I'm almost ready to go but am more than a little worried by the whole printer profile thing and even if my current laptop setup will be ok since I don't have photoshop or corel draw or illustrator.
Anyway, that's long winded enough. I reckon you know as much about me as my mother does by now:)
