Francisca Onumah

MEET THE MAKER

My name is Francisca Onumah, I am a silversmith based in Sheffield. I have been practicing as a self-employed silversmith since 2018.

After graduating from The School of Jewellery, Birmingham, in 2015, I went on to work for a start-up jewellery company based in London as a designer maker. Wanting to pursue my own practice I moved to Sheffield in 2017 to take part in the Starter Studio programme at Yorkshire Artspace where I am currently based.

My aim is to be an established full time Silversmith, creating bold, ambitious works showcased on national and international platforms; making stand-out sculptural collections as well as designing and making commercial smaller scale objects which are functional, decorative or wearable.

WHAT ARE YOUR FEEDBACKS?

The last six months on start up business training have really made me more open minded with my business. The programme has made me look at my practice and consider possibilities for it that I wouldn’t have thought of. It has been really helpful to break down the different aspects of running a craft business and be able to work step by step on those aspects.

The programme made me realise how important it is to have a vision and how significant your values are when it comes to making decisions for the directions for your practice to take.

Learning the tools to physically map out visions and objectives were really helpful and practical.

FIVE THINGS YOU’LL BRING WITH YOU FROM THE EXPERIENCE:

• Make your voice heard if there are any questions and thoughts you want to share
• Don’t put too much pressure on always being right
• Don’t second guess what you already know
• Remember others have come before you, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel
• The business plan is a way of you mapping out your next steps, it needs to motivate you enough to take difficult steps and decisions