Northern Ireland artist Danielle Morgan is turning her love of pottery into a career after receiving support to grow her business.
Based in Crumlin, Danielle is in her final year studying Ceramic Product Design at Belfast Met but is already well on her way to realising her dream of making a business from her passion having taken part in several exhibitions and completing numerous private commissions.
Alongside her studies and fledgling business, Danielle also works as a support worker for adults with mental health issues and learning disabilities, showcasing her commitment to both her craft and community.
“Art is my passion but it can be difficult thinking about how to get from an idea to making a business and producing something that someone would want to buy. Now, after working with Go Succeed, I have a clear plan and a proven avenue to market,” she said.
Based in Crumlin, Danielle is in her final year studying Ceramic Product Design at Belfast Met but is already well on her way to realising her dream of making a business from her passion having taken part in several exhibitions and completing numerous private commissions.
Alongside her studies and fledgling business, Danielle also works as a support worker for adults with mental health issues and learning disabilities, showcasing her commitment to both her craft and community.
“Art is my passion but it can be difficult thinking about how to get from an idea to making a business and producing something that someone would want to buy. Now, after working with Go Succeed, I have a clear plan and a proven avenue to market,” she said.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 (gentle music)
00:02 - My name's Danielle Morgan, and I am a ceramicist.
00:12 I make quirky, one-of-a-kind, one-off pieces.
00:17 And most recently, I started creating
00:20 large bespoke wall art pieces.
00:24 I've never really consciously sat down
00:27 and thought about starting my own business in the past,
00:29 but I kinda always had a feeling
00:33 that there was something more,
00:34 something more that I wanted to do.
00:35 I wasn't cut out for this nine-to-five job role as such.
00:39 I never really planned about how I was gonna go about it.
00:42 I think the moment of reality kinda came
00:46 when I got the commission
00:48 for the Cowboy restaurant in Galgorem.
00:52 That was a big spur-on for me to think
00:54 that I could make this into a profitable business.
00:58 I initially reached out to Go Succeed
01:00 because I felt I needed some sort of guidance
01:03 on how to push this idea ahead forward.
01:06 And I'd seen the ads on social media,
01:09 so I thought I'd reach out and ask them for some support.
01:11 I knew where my clients were,
01:14 but I didn't know how to go about reaching them.
01:16 I needed a structured business plan,
01:18 how to price my work, and target markets and stuff.
01:22 I would definitely recommend Go Succeed
01:25 to anyone wanting to start up or grow their business.
01:29 Their mentorship program
01:31 and their networking opportunities are invaluable.
01:33 Basically, I didn't know kinda where to turn
01:35 or how to approach clients as such,
01:39 and they were able to show me,
01:41 by building a good portfolio,
01:42 by getting professional photos,
01:45 finding me my target market,
01:46 putting in a business strategy, a plan to move forward,
01:51 I'm now able to go and put that into action.
01:53 My ambitions going forward and goals
01:56 are to get a lot more of my work out in public
02:01 so that it can be seen.
02:02 I was absolutely buzzing to get my work
02:04 in the Cowboy restaurant in Galgoram.
02:07 You know, and the fact that, you know,
02:08 it's not just sitting in the shed anymore.
02:10 People are actually viewing it and seeing it.
02:12 You know, that's kinda where I wanna go.
02:14 That's where I see, you know,
02:16 I want to start approaching different businesses,
02:19 hotels, restaurants, corporate,
02:22 and saying, "Here's what I can do."
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02:30 [BLANK_AUDIO]