Earlier this month, I sat down with Abi from Abilu Creations to talk all about the making of her business!
What first got you into ceramics?
“I first went off to do a B-tech art and design course, but actually I didn’t get along with my ceramic teacher. I loved it, but for some reason we clashed and it made me go down a different road. So I ended up doing fashion, fine art and costume design. After that I actually went into costume design and I was doing lots of castings then, but very different to what I do now. It wasn’t until I started doing my botanical casting that I then saved up enough money to buy a kiln and doing your events really helped with that.Â
I had gone from my business being really high up when I was making jewellery, having stuff stocked worldwide and having things in Selfridges and Debenhams. My stuff was in the Sunday Times one Christmas and then I literally had my son that Christmas, so it was really good fun, but the idea was to always incorporate my own artwork. So I started doing the casting and then saved up for a kiln and that allowed me to start practicing what I really wanted to do. And I’ve always been interested in texture and colour.”
So, you touched on it a little bit there, but how did your business first start? How did you get from doing jewellery to this?
“So after my degree, I was told I was a fully qualified artist, and I was like ‘Great, I’m not sure you actually need a qualification for that.’ They also said that I could go and teach. I was working at Lord’s Cricket Grounds as a waitress, and my friend had just applied to do a PGCE and suggested that I apply too. I was like ‘They’ll never take me, I’m dyslexic. You can’t have a dyslexic teacher.’ But they needed teachers so she encouraged me to apply anyway and I was accepted. So then I found myself teaching, but within two years I was head of department. It was quite full on. Then I started being bullied which was even more full-on. There was one senior person that was making my life very difficult, so I was signed off work for six months. When I went back to teaching, I made a decision to go out with a bang and not let this woman get me down. We did an exhibition at King’s Cross and I had all the students work in the press. Then I told them I was leaving and everyone was like ‘What? Why are you leaving?’, but I’d decided to set up my own business.
In the back of my head, I had my dad’s words always saying to me, ‘Those who can do, do, and those who can’t teach.’ And although I don’t necessarily agree with that, part of me was like, ‘Well, I’ve never given it a go. I’ve never tried to do anything by myself.’ I ended up getting a part-time teaching job whilst I built the business up. So I was at Camden Market for eight years in the cold, but it was amazing. Then I rebranded the business in 2018. After I moved to the countryside, I started doing botanical casting. I was running a class with Ellie from Surrey Art School called Get Plastered. It sold out every single time. It literally flew out. People loved it because it was really messy and loads of people didn’t want to do it in their house, so coming to a studio to do it was perfect. But that rekindled my love of teaching which was really important to me because it was a big part of my life but also it allowed the business to grow in its natural direction.”
So, since you’ve made that change, what’s been your favorite product or collection that you’ve created?
“I actually really love making the moon goddesses. I really love watching their characters come about as each one’s completely different. Sometimes I’m asked to make ones based around the earth or around a certain element. Also, people tell me they like one that has sold out so I tell them that I’ll make another one but it won’t be exactly the same. And that’s part of what I love. I think particularly with the AI world that we’re now in, having something that is one off and totally made by hand really does hold a story.”
What have you found has been the biggest challenge in running your business?
“Wearing all the hats. I think anyone that is a small business knows that it’s not just about the making and the creating. These days you’ve got to be a social media genius. And there’s an element of luck. I was very lucky and I had a few things go viral, but just because I’ve got that amount of followers, it doesn’t necessarily equal sales. It’s all about trying to work out where to put your time. Do you put it into SEO? Do you put it into advertising? I’m neurodiverse myself and I don’t find emailing and techy stuff natural. If I could get someone else to do all of that, oh my god, happy days. But one of the things that I try and do now, which I’ve got better at, is I allocate days for certain things. Thursdays I don’t book any meetings in and I try to have a big long full day in the studio. So that’s a really good creative day. And then I’ll tend to do more meetings on Mondays and Fridays.”
What do you love about running your business?
“It’s got to be going in the studio. I absolutely love it when I go in there. I can put some music on or a podcast and just completely switch off. There are downsides to it, I suppose, with the dust and the fumes and sometimes working up there when it’s really cold, although it’s an absolute oven in there at the moment. There’s something so magical about working with clay. It is amazing. It allows you to completely switch off. And I think that’s why again I quite like making those moon goddesses because I allow myself to let the character take shape as I’m working.”
Have you got anything coming up? Any new products, any releases, any collaborations that you can tell us about?
“Going forward I would like to start making more sculptural bigger pieces. I’d probably only make one or two sort of larger pieces as my kiln’s only so big. I also imagine making possibly smaller pieces and then assembling them together to create a more sculptural piece, but I haven’t quite figured that out yet. There will be a stock drop coming soon as well. I’ve got about three kiln loads worth of things to photograph and list and at least one other kiln load ready to go.”
And my last question then is why do you get involved with Super Seconds?
“Super Seconds just has the most wonderful community and it’s great for sustainability and having a place for all those pieces that didn’t go quite right. Particularly with ceramics, I can’t tell you how many pieces I’ve already got where I’m like, ‘Oh, well, that’s going to Super Seconds.’ A lot of the time I’m trying out new glazes and methods of working to see what is going to be part of my regular collection and it doesn’t always turn out the way I want, but I know it’s got a home to go to. And then those people that you gain through the event hopefully they can become regular customers.”
“It’s just a wonderful journey to go through, but it does take time building a collection and working with clay. And although I’ve worked with ceramics in teaching, it’s very different when you’re teaching a class and then you hand it over to the technician who puts it in the giant kiln and then gives it back to you. Now I’m trying to learn my own kiln and its own traits and what limits clay and glazes work at. It’s a journey. It’s a constant journey where you’re constantly learning, but I suppose that’s what keeps it fresh.”
Thank you Abi for taking the time to chat to us! You can shop Abilu Creations here.