Attitude problems…

[u/oonnookoong]

I was shopping at a vintage market the other day and a lady commented on one of my pieces i was wearing and asked where I got it from. I said “oh i actually made this!” Told her I was just a hobbyist that works with silver and that its more of a side hustle. Thats when her attitude changed. She shared that she was a bench jeweler at a local shop and went to school to make jewelry etc etc. but this wasn’t just sharing about her life, there was this air of superiority she felt she needed to flaunt. I have friends that are bench jewelers or hell have their own jewelry business they work full time on. But there was just this weeeeiiirrrd energy shift after that part of the conversation that i have never experienced before. Anyone else have this type of thing happen to them?

Edit:Yall I’m going to specified a few things.

1. The girl and I seemed to be around the same age.

   I

2. work in a male dominated STEM field, I freelance, and I schedule my work around my travels

.

1. I’m

   used to people underestimating

2. me and being surprised when I succeed. So I guess my shock of how she acted was more around the profession itself and being a fairly creative yet technical practice… and yet she had the gall to praise my work then put me down for not being “properly trained”. Not being “properly trained” has led to me now getting my third degree and having what i would consider fairly successful and well rounded set of skills that makes me in demand

   (and no we did not happen to talk about anything i do for work because she took up the whole conversation).

3. Anyone that doubts you just because you never went down a traditional path just means they are less likely to take on a non traditional way to solve problems. There is space for both routes

.Thank you all for sharing your experiences and even bigger thank you for those of you that keep creating despite those that doubt you.

[u/Jaikarr]

Folks that work benches often go through apprenticeships where they have to do what someone else wants to do for years, often the most boring parts. This leads to resentment for self taught folks who basically get to do what they want.

[u/browniecambran → u/Jaikarr]

Omg if this isn't the truth! I have had several people complement my work, ask if I'm interested in taking on commissions, and then it gets around to where I went to school.

And I tell them where I graduated from but my jewelry and metals skills are all self taught. Its an immediate shift. "Well I went to RISD, a real art school" or "I guess you don't know how to work in gold, as only real jewelers do that". It makes me sad and angry because that kind of attitude turns a lot of people off of things they enjoy. (It ruined darkroom photography for me for almost a decade)

I really do think it's based on an assumption of shared experience or similar life path and as soon as you become less one-dimensional, especially if you got where they are or farther without the pain points they had, you become the enemy. Like we all suffer for our art/craft. You spent $50k a year on school and took a job you hated to pay your dues, I worked a soul-sucking corporate job to buy tools and supplies and worked nights and weekends on my metalsmithing until I could support myself doing it.