During my recent trip to the UK, I was fortunate to visit with several polymer clay guilds and groups. At one of these meetings, I was approached by Lizzi Bucklow-Holt about doing an interview for the British Polymer Clay Guild‘s Facebook page. Lizzi is a committee member of that guild and works diligently to create excellent content for their social media. Since I already knew Lizzi from collaborating online, I was happy to agree to meet with her and looked forward to spending some time getting to know each other better. I figured an interview would be great fun. But then (as these things tend to do), our great idea of a simple conversation morphed to a video interview and next thing you know we were planning to do it LIVE on Facebook!
Oh my. You know how none of us likes having our picture taken? Well, to me, video is the same way. I look ridiculous and sound even worse! (Okay, probably not…but my inner twelve-year-old knows it.) Never mind that. It was time to buck myself up and just do it.
So we arrived at Lizzi’s beautiful home to find that she had created a makeshift recording studio in her dining room and we immediately got to work. We were joined by polymer artist Fiona Abel-Smith, who organized the questions to be asked and coordinated the technical side of things. The clock began ticking closer and closer…we were to go live at noon. Thing is, none of us had ever done this before. We were all three quite nervous and unsure about how it would go. But we did it! The video here is recorded live, in one take, and without any editing. This is the real deal, mistakes and all. I hope you enjoy it!
Live Interview with British Polymer Clay Guild
We talked about so many things. Lizzi did a fantastic job facilitating the questions (I couldn’t believe this was her first time doing this), and Fiona feverishly wrote down questions from viewers on Facebook and relayed those questions to Lizzi. We chatted and answered questions and the time just flew by. Since a 53 minute block of video can be a bit hard to navigate, I have stepped out the questions below so that you can skip ahead to the section where each topic is covered.
Questions Asked in the Interview
- Why are you in the UK? (0:30)
- Where have you been while you’ve been in the UK? (0:51)
- What did you do BC (before clay)? (2:19)
- Was that the point where you got into polymer clay? (2:50)
- Were you a crafter before? (3:34)
- How did you learn polymer clay, who inspired you? (4:30)
- A discussion about polymer clay communities online (5:43)
- Do you think the welcoming nature of polymer communities is because it’s a new medium? (6:20)
- It seems the polymer clay is big in America, more than the UK, do you find this to be true? (6:47)
- Currently, whose work do you admire now? (7:28)
- What are the top 5 myths about polymer clay? (9:50)
- What are your most popular articles? (13:50)
- (Regarding sealers being sticky) Does humidity make a difference? (15:15)
- What’s your favorite of your tutorial techniques? (17:50)
- Do all your tutorials take a long time to write? (19:12)
- How do you decide which things you’re going to test next? (21:15)
- Do you only write articles and tutorials, or do you make to sell as well? (22:05)
- There’s so much on your website, how do people find a particular topic or answer? (23:02)
- How many articles do you have on your website? (24:08)
- Do you love to see what people make with your tutorials? (24:30)
- A bit about artistic voice. (24:58)
- How do you think the age of a person when they discover polymer clay affects their work? (26:03)
- Do you get time to make things for yourself? (27:24)
- Are you a member of a polymer clay guild yourself? (28:22)
- What do you feel are the benefits for you being a member of your local guild? (28:42)
- Most people think you have to be experienced to join a guild, is that the case? (30:10)
- What’s the best advice to give beginners? (31:00)
- Do you have any advice for people who want to make a career in crafts? (32:42)
- Will you get to try the new Lucy Tools Roller? (35:59)
- Do you think that dropping translucent clay into cold water helps the translucency? (37:10)
- Does a higher baking temperature give more translucent results? (38:12)
- How would you go about starting a career with a company to be a spokesperson or demo artist? (39:04)
- Do you have any finishing tips for a high gloss finish? (40:00)
- What advice do you have for people who like to write their own tutorials? (41:05)
- Any guidelines on how to price your things? (43:10)
- Did you review the Poly-Fast machine? (44:58)
- Do you have a favorite tool that you like to use? (46:27)
- Do you have a favorite polymer clay book? (47:37)
- Have you attended conferences and retreats? (49:00)
- What’s next for you? (51:18)
Many Thanks to Lizzi and Fiona
My grateful thanks to Fiona for her bubbly humor that put us at ease and for pitching in to help. Many, many thanks to Lizzi for organizing the interview, learning the technology, promoting and sharing so we had plenty of viewers asking questions, and being a top-notch interviewer. I hope this is just the first of many videos from Lizzi on behalf of the British Polymer Clay Guild. I do believe she’s a natural.
5 thoughts on “Live Interview with British Polymer Clay Guild”
One would never guess this interview was a “first” for any of you! Down-to-earth, relaxed, and not rehearsed… fabulous. The questions addressed an array of topics and interests. I just wish I would have been awake to see it live! Great job, All!
Awww. I think you look beautiful! It’s nice to see an animated version of you – makes you more real. LOL! Love you, love your site, ABSOLUTELY LOVE all the information you provide for us. Just bought your Sanding and Buffing book – can’t wait to get into it! I have been sending a LOT of friends to your website to learn about clay – so keep those articles coming!!!!!
I love your enthusiasm, Lynn. Thank you! Your support is very much appreciated!
It’s nice to actually *hear* your voice, Ginger. Great interview, ladies! 🙂
Thank you Melissa!
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