An enterprising artist from North Shields has attracted the attention of singing sensation Sam Fender by creating a piece of bespoke artwork which the musician has signed and validated ahead of a charity auction.
Lez Forman (47) set up Lez Forman Mosaics in Spring of this year after being made redundant from his full-time role and working 10 years as a carer. A self-taught artist working with mosaics, Lez believed the time was right to start looking at how to turn his life-long hobby into a business and swiftly got in touch with the team at The North Tyneside Business Factory.
Lez comments, “The last few years have been difficult for everyone but after being made redundant earlier this year, I just knew it was time to turn what has always been a real passion of mine into something that could become a new career.
“I’ve always created mosaics for family and friends and it was something that I actually taught myself to do at school. As a hobby it’s been great – a chance to be creative in my spare time and create artwork that people really respond to and engage with. I wanted to turn that engagement into a business and so got in touch with the team at the Business Factory for advice.”
Lez worked with business advisors from the North Tyneside Business Factory, supported by the European Development Fund, to assist in his business journey. Delivered by TEDCO Business Support in the Borough, the Business Factory and its team of experienced advisors bring one-to-one support in the form of business planning and financial assistance to guide start-ups to a successful launch.
Lez developed a business plan and marketing strategy and immediately set about creating new pathways to market his work both as one-off pieces for purchase and commission based bespoke pieces.
Lez continues, “The help form the Business Factory was invaluable in really helping me understand the ins and outs of running a business. It also helped to challenge my thinking on certain aspects too which was really useful.
“I ended up creating a mosaic portrait of Sam Fender which he has very kindly validated and signed to be auctioned off in the Autumn to raise funds for NEH Homeless. It’s just the kind of work that I’m hoping to do more of and NEH Homeless is an amazing charity to be involved with. I put a great deal of effort into expressing both Sam Fender and his local pride so I really hope the portrait raises a good level of funds for the charity when it is auctioned.”
Jeff Thompson, Business Factory advisor comments:
“Lez has such talent and I’m so pleased that he’s recognised how he can use his artistic skills to create business opportunities. He has always had a strong fan-base amongst those who knew of his hobby but he is now tasked with turning that into customers with a focus on generating commission requests from those who truly appreciate his skill. I’m looking forward to continuing our working relationship as I support his business more in the future.”
You can see Lez’s work on his Facebook page – Lez Foreman Mosaics.
To find out how we can help you with your business idea give us a call on 0191 605 3110.
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