Beyond the bloom

Emily Smale describes how a BBC tv programme transformed her from a stained-glass flower maker into a businesswoman with a significant project.

Back in 2023, I, a Midlands-based stained-glass artist, applied to appear on the BBC tv programme ‘Make It at Market’, a series that pairs craftspeople with mentors to guide them to set up a business and charts their journey.

I had one idea: to create everlasting stained-glass flowers that could be delivered through the letterbox. Having no idea where to begin, I applied in the hope that, with guidance from an experienced mentor, I might be able to turn my idea into a viable business.

Little did I know that, after the episode aired, my newly named business, Beetles and Bloom, would be catapulted to success. I sold more than 2,000 flowers and was asked to make a wide range of different commissions.

Later I was invited to return to the BBC for the first episode of ‘I Made It at Market’, a follow-up series revisiting craftspeople from the original programme to discover how they started – and where they are now.

Since my first BBC appearance, I have come an incredibly long way. Alongside running my full-time business – creating everlasting stained-glass flowers and sending them to customers across the UK and beyond – I have been working on my most ambitious commission yet: a pair of five-foot long stained-glass window panels. The commission came from a viewer who discovered my work on the first series. He purchased ‘Lady Moon’, a statement piece filmed during the episode. He later commissioned a second artwork, ‘Lady Auburn’, before commissioning the two large window panels.

I was given creative freedom over the design of these two large windows, so I embraced the opportunity to push my work, skills and imagination to an entirely new scale and began with a mermaid-themed panel.

Throughout the process, I have often been hard on myself. Having never worked with glass on such a large scale, enlarging my original design pushed me far out of my comfort zone. Creating the mermaid’s flowing hair and tail – making them appear full, natural and suspended beneath the water – was an intricate and time-consuming process. I painted the detailed patterned parts by hand.

The project tested my skills, patience and confidence, but the finished window became something far greater than I had imagined. The result is beyond anything I ever expected I could create.

The second window will be a companion to the mermaid panel, but this time the lady will stand on land surrounded by flowers – a fitting nod to my beginnings in stained glass. What started as an idea for everlasting letterbox flowers has grown into a full-time career and opportunities I never imagined possible.

Watch Emily on BBC iPlayer – I Made it at Market – Episode 1

Main feature image: The mermaid window design put Emily’s skills to the test. All photos courtesy of the artist.