How have indie creatives coped during lockdown?
Following our initial blog post where we found out that a change - or in this case, a pandemic - can inspire creativity, we have also learnt how courageous and adaptable indie makers and businesses have been during lockdown.
Overwhelmed by the heartfelt responses from some of my favourite indie makers and designers, we shall continue the Indies in Lockdown blog series profiling each creative with a full interview whilst showcasing some of the pieces that they have been working on during this time.
Dakota Rae Dust
The first indie designer profile features the fabulous, colourful statement jewellery maker Bec Denton, founder of Dakota Rae Dust. During lockdown Bec has had to put her new collections on hold and adapt to a new way of working from her home studio, here in Bristol. Bec is also missing selling at markets and the beloved festival season.
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| NEW Turquoise fringe, bib necklace £42 by Dakota Rae Dust |
How are you & what has your situation been during lockdown?
I'm well thanks, feeling much better after my first trip to a friend's garden last week! My partner received a letter advising him to shield due to an existing health condition so we have both been working from home in our one bed attic flat during lockdown!
I already work from home, so no big upheaval for me but my partner set up office in the bedroom and during the first few weeks of lockdown he was also running two 3D printers in there, printing PPE visors!
We don't have a garden, which we were cursing during the sunny weather but the flexibility that our work has offered us and the support from friends and family, with food shopping, has left us feeling very lucky.
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| Indie maker Bec Denton with a pair of Dakota Rae Dust statement tassel earrings |
How has lockdown affected your business and the way you work?
Since starting my business I have relied heavily on markets, festivals and in person selling to spread awareness of my work. When the reality of a summer without any events first dawned on me, I have to admit, I felt pretty panic stricken, but lots of amazing event organisers and fellow makers sprung into action with virtual alternatives which have been a real help.
I have traded with Bristol Markets and Makers Bazaar Fair (on instagram) they have definitely proven to be an effective way to reach potential new customers from my sofa - which is a win - but I am really missing all the amazing market food and contact with fellow makers and customers.
Access to equipment has been a bit of a problem. I usually take a bus across town to use a friend's heat press and occasionally the laser cutter at KWMC The Factory but shielding meant this was much trickier.
I have delayed launching any new designs for now, focusing instead on new colourways of existing styles that I can produce at home. Excitingly, this should be changing imminently.
Has this time helped your productivity? If yes, how?
Ermmm! Not exactly, I've definitely found it tricky to stay motivated without the regular deadlines that trading at markets provides and the usual contact with friends and fellow makers.....I realised early on that I'm not a big fan of Zoom!!
Since postponing working on anything new, having to rely on existing designs has allowed me some extra time to streamline my production and make products in small batches which I am usually too disorganised to enforce. This has definitely been a positive outcome of the last few months. I still haven't managed to tidy my desk though Haha!
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| A selection of oversize jazzy plectrum earrings, available with OR without tassels |
Have you become more/less inspired in this time?
BOTH. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster!
At times I've focused solely on the very practical side of the business only, getting orders out and keeping accounts up to date, with no motivation for designing, or coming up with creative ways to tackle the coming months.
Once I made the decision about delaying the launch of any new designs and freed up some time to play around with colours and fabrics I started to feel much more inspired. I'm very keen to get prototyping now. Autumn, maybe even the end of the Summer, should be bringing lots of exciting new things!
All my textile jewellery is inspired by and includes some vintage, recycled or secondhand fabrics. Many of my pieces feature components cut from textile off-cuts and waste materials donated by fellow makers as well as smaller scraps left over from my own larger projects.
The Fluorescent green statement tassel earrings £34 (top image)
features three vintage fabrics in florals and plains. The vintage floral fabric used in the large teardrop earring components was once a bedspread! Worn and well loved, it has been repurposed in these playful earrings(below).
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| Oversize jazzy plectrum earrings in peacock colours |
What's next for Dakota Rae Dust?
I'm interested to see how plans for markets opening up again will progress in the coming months. I really hope to be loading my pegboards with statement tassels and catching up with customers again soon.
I committed to a website upgrade earlier this year (before I had any idea about what was about to happen with Covid) and after initial fears over whether it was the right time to be spending money, I'm now feeling confident that, especially in the current climate, this was a good call.
A slick online presence and shopping experience feels more important than ever while I am relying so much on virtual trading and marketing via social media. I'm still getting to grips with the new site and uploading products but keen to get everything up and running asap!
For some sneak previews and news on when the new Dakota Rae Dust website launch sign up to the newsletter
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