A TALENTED jeweller in St Austell has turned her hobby into a business.

Lucy Thomas, who is based at the Carluddon Technology Park, runs Canny Goose, producing jewellery and hosting workshops.

Lucy, 40, decided to turn her bustling side hustle into more than a hobby after her job as an operations director for a large firm in London suddenly came to an end last year.

She vividly remembers the moment: “That morning I’d taken delivery of a new car (on finance, I might add) and three hours later I’d lost my job.

“As the sole income earner in our family, you can probably imagine the many emotions running through my head and the adrenalin, from panic, running through every part of my body.

“I ended the Zoom call, took a deep breath, swept my daughter into my arms and took her swimming.

“I was absolutely resolute that I couldn’t let this knock me. It was out of my control. There was no turning back.

“It meant I had no choice but to turn my bustling side hustle into more than a hobby. I had to somehow replace my income. How would I do it? We didn’t have any savings. Was it even possible!? I pushed all those thoughts aside and I got on with it.

“Day by day, Canny Goose grew. The feedback I received from my jewellery workshops was unbelievably kind. It was incredible! And people started to take notice. My workshops were selling out and I was meeting incredible folk from all walks of life.

“Since then, I've met over 1,000 people who have joined me in my studio, to spend a few hours learning to make jewellery and it is, quite simply, the most amazing job I could ever have imagined.

Lucy Thomas produces jewellery and hosts workshops in St Austell.
Lucy Thomas produces jewellery and hosts workshops in St Austell. ( )

“I’ve met hundreds of artists and creatives and have been wowed by the amount of sheer talent there is in Cornwall.

“I love making jewellery. I love teaching. And I love meeting wonderful people! I want to say thank you to every single one of them. They have quite literally changed my life for the better and have helped to build an incredible community which I’m extremely proud of!”

Lucy, whose website is www.cannygoose.shop, runs workshops and sells jewellery at Unit 3 at the ESAM (Enterprise Space for Advance Manufacturing).

Lucy, whose nickname is Goose, and husband Rhys have a six-year-old daughter called Camille.

Lucy said: “Our first daughter Isabelle was stillborn in 2014 and I almost didn’t make it myself after discovering I have a rare blood clotting disorder and had multiple pulmonary emboli. Ever since then I’ve been extremely determined to ‘do’ something with my life although I didn’t know what that would mean. And now here we are!”