Notice Board
Just another string to the bow
It ’ s fair to say Andy Perrin ’ s ( founder of Brighton & Hove Locksmiths ) journey in the industry began with odd jobs , another string that was added to a bow of skills . However , seven years on – he ’ s made a complete leap from carpentry to locksmithing , created his own training courses and built a community through YouTube …
Picking locks is honestly a hobby
“ I founded Brighton & Hove Locksmiths seven years ago , but prior to that I was a carpenter . I went straight into a carpentry apprenticeship when I left school and thought I ’ d be doing that for most of my career . What I enjoyed most was hanging doors , and fitting doors and locks . Because of this interest in locks , I did a short course and began locksmithing part-time to earn a bit of extra money . It was nothing too fancy , I was doing the usual work of a carpenter , fitting kitchens and the like , and then off to do a few locksmith jobs on the way home . But all that changed when COVID hit .
“ I lost four months of work in one fell swoop with no sign on the horizon that it would return . I ’ m sure this was the case for many of us in the trades . Fortunately , I had my locksmith jobs to fall back having completed the Matrix Locksmith Training course in London seven years earlier . Of course , the state of the world had given me the push , but I have never looked back . Brighton & Hove Locksmiths is now my full-time career .
“ I love a challenge and that ’ s what you get with locksmithing . Picking locks is honestly a hobby . I can sit at our dining room table for an entire evening doing this .”
Process and proficiency
“ I ’ ve benefited from many courses over the years . I did one on mortice lockpicking , it was the best thing I ever did . I could pick locks , but I wasn ’ t as proficient as I could have been , the training taught me that there ’ s a process and highlighted exactly what and why you did certain things . Similarly with the bumping technique , I didn ’ t do much of that when I first started but now , I ’ ve really started to pick this up . The training has been invaluable in learning new techniques and just generally getting better at what is quite a technical skill .”
A garage conversion
“ When I get a bit of quiet time , I often think about ways I can generate more income . One of the ideas I came up with was launching my own training course . Rather than hosting this online , I decided to convert my garage ( those carpentry skills came in handy ) to provide locksmiths with a practical training room for a one-day course that covered burglary repairs for doors and frames , and lock-fitting . This is an intimate class for two people . Soon after , this expanded to two- and three-day courses to allow me to focus more time on each discipline .
“ Just four months ago I started offering a seven-day , one-to-one locksmith course – I ’ ve had people travel to see me from all over ; London , Cornwall , Newcastle , Leeds and Scotland . It ’ s been a great success so far and I ’ m looking forward to seeing it grow further .”
Into the wild
“ Although I have been successful , it wasn ’ t always plain sailing . There were many challenges , particularly at the beginning . After doing a seven-day course you ’ re sent ‘ into the wild ’ and expected to hold your own and solve all the problems . But this time is so valuable as a course can only teach you so much , when you ’ re new to the game you encounter so much variation . This is one of things I talk about in my own course to try and prepare people for some of the weird and wonderful jobs that crop up .
“ Still now , I come across locks that I ’ ve never seen before in my life . Or if you ’ ve been called to solve a lock-out I can think yes , this will be simple , this will definitely open easily . And sometimes it just doesn ’ t , you end up trying this , that , using a decoder , returning to the van to find more tools … and ultimately , learning to never underestimate the task you ’ ve been asked to complete .”
10
AUGUST 2023
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