INSPIRE: The Road Less Travelled...Becky Fairclough

This week we meet Becky Fairclough of Chameleon Designs who left behind the corporate world to become a talented glass artist. 

Give a brief description of your career path up until now.
My early working life was a complete mixture, I temped in lots of different places and really enjoyed the variety, working in air conditioning, the NHS, directory enquiries, and Marks and Spencer's delivery help line on the run up to Christmas to name but a few! I eventually settled in a big multi-national company doing database work which I loved as I'm a bit of a geek.

What prompted you to pursue a creative career?

I really missed doing something "arty", having always done arts or crafts things from a young age, so I signed up for an evening class first off and then a part time art foundation course. It was a tutor on that course who really got me thinking about what if I could go on to university....

What was the most difficult thing about this decision? And what was the easiest?

Initially, I didn't think it would actually be a realistic possibility at all but with fantastic support from my man I did find and was accepted into, a local(ish) university with glass facilities. It meant leaving my job completely as I decided part time was not a viable option and I think one of the hardest things was the totally different environment. I was used to the corporate world and whilst there is still lots of paperwork to be done in uni, everything is much less organised and structured which at times drove me nuts.

How supportive of your decision were your family, friends and (former) colleagues?

Everyone, pretty much without fail, was amazing. I'm sure there must have been a few people who thought I was bonkers, but the closest anyone came to saying that was telling me I was very "brave" to make such a dramatic change. Most people were more intrigued as to why I was so sure I wanted to do glass as it was so different from what I was doing.

How has pursuing a creative career been compared with your previous career? What are the challenges, and what are the highlights?

I found university a real struggle - I loved working with the material but really did not like the paperwork side of things and hated having to go back to writing essays (although I loved the lectures and found them fascinating). Once I left uni, far from the lost and lonely feeling I had been told to expect, I felt relieved - I was free to work in my own way and felt much more able to experiment and make pieces just because they pleased me. It took me a little while and a lot of practice before I got to the point where my skills started to match up to my ideas (at which point my ideas got grander of course and I'm still playing catch up!) and there are days when I get very frustrated that I can't get something to work out how I want it to. However, I love being my own boss, setting my own timetable and having the freedom to work when I want to and if that is silly-o'clock in the morning then so be it.

Have you had any regrets about choosing a creative career?

Hmm, I doubt I will ever come close to making the same amount of money as I used to make as an employee, but honestly, no I don't regret it at all - I feel much happier than I ever have.

What has been the best thing about your decision to pursue a creative career?

It feels right. I love making things and more specifically love working with hot glass, so being able to make a career out of it just feels amazingly fulfilling.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone considering taking up a creative career, what would that be?

Play to your own strengths and weaknesses. Have a long think about your own likes and dislikes and research really thoroughly how they fit in with what you think you would like to do so that you can see the pitfalls and be prepared and plan for them. For instance, if you are really sociable and love to be surrounded by people, factor that into your plans and don't set up somewhere where you only see another person once a month.

What are your plans for the future?

I'm working on different types of work as well as continuing with beads and jewellery. I'd love to work bigger, do more sculptural work and hopefully some more conceptual work.

You can see more of Becky's beautiful glasswork jewellery at Chameleon Designs, and find out more about her sculptural work at www.beckyfairclough.co.uk. You can also visit her Facebook page.