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Case studies: Asten Wood Crafts
Asten Wood Crafts
Alice Anderson
Tel: 01337 828224
Fax: 01337 827377
Email: alice@astenwoodcrafts.co.uk
Background
It took Alice Anderson till the age of 50, after what seemed a lifetime of jobs that never gave her any satisfaction, to go for her dream; to work with wood.
Seven months previously, Alice had already uprooted herself by selling her home, putting all her belongings into store and setting off round the world in search of inspiration. It was a fellow traveller who asked "What have you always wanted to do?" and Alice replied "Work with wood". At that point she knew she had to give it a go.
Qualifications
Alice says, “As soon as I returned to Aberdeen I went to the Job Centre and used one of their computers to find a course that appealed to me. I ended up in Kirkcaldy attending Fife College and graduated from there in 2001 with an HND in Furniture Construction and Design.”
During these three years she met Joe, who she now lives with in the little village of Dunshalt near Auchtermuchty. “He has built me a 96 square meter workshop, installed all the electrics and dust extraction and when he had the time in between doing this and earning a living, we went to auctions together at which I bought tools and machinery. No need to say I had all his support.” says Alice.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for Alice, however, as she recalls; “Patience is not one of my best attributes and in the one-and-a-half years it has taken for all this to come to fruition, I lost my nerve partly because I had reverted to the ‘housewife’ role and partly because I felt an enormous pressure to make this venture succeed especially after everything that Joe had done for me. Confident I may seem but inside of myself I was like jelly, quivering at the prospect of making something someone would like to buy.”
Help from Microcredit
Attending meetings with Winning Ways for Women, Microcredit, Business Gateway and her mentor from the New Deal 25+ scheme under which she is now ‘Test Trading’ is helping Alice to see that she is not alone out there.
“There is so much support, helpful information and above all friendship from fellow new business people and advisors.
Childhood dream
“Now I have made my first childrens’ playhouse – again a childhood dream which was never fulfilled but which fills me with excitement at the thought of bringing delight to the child who may one day have one of my ‘houses’. One child who will certainly have one is my brand new granddaughter which means I have a couple of years to come up with something spectacular!”
Alice is looking to the future and is ptimistic about her venture and brimming with ideas, “In addition to playhouses, I intend to make playhouse furniture and accessories such as window boxes, picket fences etc. I have just built a dog kennel and am about to build a couple of rabbit hutches. No harm in trying anything! I also have an ultimate vision which seems as far away as the moon but if I can whip up the energy and drive, it could be my dream come true.”
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