THE creative use of some cutlery to earn some “extra beer money” has served up a thriving business for a Staindrop artist.
It was about a decade ago that Ben Johnson decided to bend some spoons into coat hangers to sell on for a bit of spare cash.
Today he creates a range of products including rings, bangles, pendants, herb markers, book markers and decorative spoons with quirky sayings, all from silver cutlery.
He said: “All my pals were down the snooker club and I was here on minimum wage as a carer.
“It just came to me – the first thing I ever made was a coat hook. I remember at my first stall at Tynemouth Market I made £60 – I was thrilled.”
He soon became known as Ben The Spoon Man at the market, and adopted the name for his business.
From his small studio he magically turns silver forks into bangles using a hammer and anvil, and knife blades are transformed into rings. Just recently he acquired a set of fish knives which are destined to become bracelets.
The quirky sayings on his decorative spoons are hot sellers at the markets with such corkers as “spooning leads to forking, use condiments” being among the favourites. Other spoons describe their uses including “Nutella shovel” and “cereal killer” .
He said: “My favourite spoons to work with are Georgian, I get a buzz working with something that is over 200 years old and full of history. I always have more than 250 spoon rings to choose from and lots of bangles and pendants made from old silver.”
Originally, he would shop for cutlery in antiques shops in Barnard Castle.
He said: “I would go to Mission Hall antiques or to Addison’s Auction House – I was devastated when that went because that was cracking. Now I am supplied by an antiques dealer in Southampton.”
He is helped in the business by his wife Gill who does the online promotions of the items and sells the products on weekends at Durham Market, while Mr Johnson attends Tynemouth.
Mr Johnson said: “I am a technophobe – I hit the hammer in here and light the fire, that is my part, she does the Facebook.”
It was through social media that the business received a huge boost, when Mrs Johnson asked for help from her friend TV personality Vicky Pattison to endorse the items.
The I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here winner and former Geordie Shore star obliged by posting the products on Instagram.
Mr Johnson said: “From that we went from zero to a 1,500 following on Facebook which is great.”
People can find out more by searching for Ben The Spoon Man on Facebook.
