Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with the creators of Jessie and Buddug, the Shop

JASPER GARVIDA lfw s/s 2011 Rachel Clare Price
A selection of Jessie’s corsarges

Walking around Broadway Market, approved one cold wintery Saturday, feeling hungry and looking at all the delicious food I could ill afford, (oh the joys of being a student!). I came across a treasure trove of a stall run by the delightful Jessie and Buddug and instantly fell in love with their charming designs. Since this initial visit, I have returned time and time again to buy unique necklaces as birthday (incredibly successful!) gifts.

So you can imagine my delight coming across their Columbia Road shop, originally located in the upstairs of one the picturesque houses adorning the street. Jessie and Buddug have recently expanded ‘downstairs’, and in celebration of their success, I had the pleasure of interviewing the talented textile artists for Amelia’s Magazine.

I first noticed your designs at Broadway Market on Saturday, was this your first venture?

Buddug: We started broadway market after we graduated 5 years ago and got the shop 2 years ago.

What was your experience of the market? Do you still have a stall there?

Buddug: We still have a stall at Broadway Market, we feel it has grown so much since we started. It’s been cold and wet at times but it’s been great learning what people buy. Its been great socially too, speaking with our friends and customers.

As friends from home, what has it been like to work together?

Buddug: We met when we were on art foundation and always said we we would like to collaborate together in the future. We find it easier that we both do our own work and then display together because we both have different working hours.

You previously occupied an upstairs room in Columbia Road, how did the opportunity to expand into a downstairs space arise?

Buddug: We got offered a place at ground level by Bev who had the shop before us, she made handmade clothes and toys etc, she offered it to us before anyone else which was an honour and we jumped at the chance.

What was your experience of the Goldsmiths Textiles course (which sadly no longer exists?)

Jessie: I was at Goldsmiths, at a very tricky time, the course was going through a real denial period, as they were finding the debate about what to do with textiles and fine art really hard. Which made it hard for us as students and as someone who is passionate about cloth and textiles and most of all making, I found the course incredibly frustrating!

But I had very supportive parents; Primmy Chorley and I am close friends with Audrey Walker and Eirian and Denys Short. So I always had a huge back up behind me in the textile world. I did feel incredibly pulled between the two worlds though and I was lucky enough to come out fighting, determined to set up my own business and to carry on my making process.

Overall I am pleased I went through the Goldsmiths experience, as the academic and written side of it, (for me) has helped me today to think the way I do and pushed me in other ways.

What course did you study Buddug and what was your experiences?

I studied at London Guildhall (now London Metropolitan University)in Jewellery, silversmithing and other crafts. I enjoyed the experimenting with different materials. It was very much a hands on course.

Buddug’s designs for Urban Outfitters.

Buddug, what was it like to work for Urban Outfitters?

It was quite difficult working for URBAN OUTFITTERS, due to the ammount i had to make! and I waited a long time for payment!

Jessie, what role does recycling play in your practice? Why is it important to you and how did you first become interested in using recycled materials?

Recycled materials has and I believe will always be a huge part of my work, I like it that it creates a timeless feeling, I guess it started from the scrap books I made with my Mum when I was young and colleting and using found and recycled items for me creates a story, old clothes and books hold some kind of story and depth to them.

A detail from Jessie’s seating plan for her Wedding Collection.

And how did the wedding collection develop?

I was asked to create a whole wedding theme for a lady who used to buy my cards at Broadway Market, I handmade her invites, table names and a seating plan and really from here I got other customers and then early this year I designed some invites which were slightly quicker to make and I did a huge wedding show in London and its kind of gone from here I have made for several weddings this summer and I am already making for 2011-2012 weddings.

An enamel plate by Buddug.

Buddug, how did you start designing the Home Ornaments collection?

I’ve always been interested in developing the enamel process since university and always liked/inspired by objects mother and grandmother had in the kitchen, I invested in a bigger kiln, which was a challenge to make bigger things!

What materials do you like working with and why?

Jessie: Fabrics, worn clothing, paper they all hold such a good quality and are embedded with an excisting narrative

Designs by Jessie Chorley

Buddug: I’ve always tried to use things that are around me and be inventive with the materials i already have/been thrown away and in old/secound hand things, there’s such a quality in materials and making process and a added charm in old things and it’s actually nicer to use…

Broach by Buddug

I like to combine different materials metal and fabric. fabric and paper or wood…but i mostly enjoy metal and enamel. I really like the solidness of metal and the duribility of it as a raw material.

What was it like to make the stage set for: the launch of Laura Dockrill’s book Ugly Shy Girl and how did you became involved in this?

Buddug: I can’t remember were we met Laura Dockrill, but she asked if we were interested in doing the stage for her. It was quite a challenge because we didn’t know the size of the stage but the best thing was Jessie’s bunting it was really big and yellow!

Have you made or participated in Set Design before? Is this something you will continue to participate in?

Jessie: Yes for me it is a real passion, I love to create things and watch others create a story with the objects I make. A lot of quite random masks and house like boxes which I display in the shop are often borrowed for shoots, and I always like the outcome. For me styling our shop is like creating a stage set I love making it all different each week and then watching the customers come in and their response to it!

My degree show was also about staging and the response of the audience and the creator, for this I made a huge seven foot book which you could walk inside.

Buddug: I haven’t done much set design before, but wold love to, it’s been quite good having practice doing the shop window.

What are the inspirations for your collections?

Jessie: Story telling, people places and preserving memories creating beautiful things from lost or found objects.

Buddug My inspiration for my work is a collection of things I find and come across, I usually collect and draw in sketch books. Nature, a sense of home comforts and memories/naustalgic sences. It’a quite a mish mash of ideas and influencs.

Design by Buddug

We have a few pieces in the shop were we bring things together such as the fabric bows with enamel buttons, but we find it easier to make our own work and display together.

Do you both run and participate in the organisation of the workshops?

Jessie: No I run the workshops I have done for quite a few years now. For me I love to go out and meet other people and hopefully change the way they see the world through making, I have worked with a lot of charities, which is both frustrating and very rewarding at the same time, I am always touched by certain characters which can feed directly in to my work.

The whole workshop trend has gone huge now though and people expect so much more, and have so much more since places like hobby craft became so big and shows like The Knit and Stitch.

I am currently organising my Christmas workshops which will be in November in North London. I will have some day workshops creating simple gift wrap and gifts.

Jess Chorley

Buddug Jess does a lot of workshops, I’m yet to start, but it might be something I would be interested in doing when I’m a bit older.

What’s next for Jess Chorley and Buddug?

Buddug: At the moment we are preparing for christmas, thinking of making stocking filler ideas and promoting our little shop. Nothing too big, taking up projects as they come along…

To find out more please visit: www.jessiechorley.com, www.buddug.com and www.jandbtheshop.com

Categories ,Broadway Market, ,Columbia Road, ,goldsmiths, ,Home Ornaments, ,Laura Dockrill, ,London Metropolitan University, ,textiles, ,wales, ,Weddings

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Amelia’s Magazine | London International Mime Festival Review: Plucked… a true fairy tale by Invisible Thread

Invisible Thread by Janneke de Jong
Invisible Thread by Janneke de Jong.

The London International Mime Festival has quickly become one of my January highlights – c’mon, what else is there to get excited about during this miserable (taxing) month? – and my first performance of the season was a puppetry show at the London Roundhouse. The puppetry shows are always appealing because they invariably showcase some stunning leftfield creativity of the type that would never find its way onto a bigger theatre stage. And the Mime Festival picks out the cream of the crop so you are almost certainly assured of an interesting performance.

Invisible Thread review
Invisible Thread review
Plucked… a true fairy tale was created by new company Invisible Thread, directed by Liz Walker, who is a former director of the Faulty Optic theatre of animation. She brings her expertise in creating ‘cronky mechanical sets‘ and odd animated figures to her new project, which features a couple of bird people, a baby train, a little person with a hammer in its head and a wolf with a detachable penis that looks like a hallucinogenic mushroom.

Plucked invisible thread by katie chappell
Plucked, invisible thread by Katie Chappell.

The story (such as there is one) sprawls across two scenes, with near life size figures manipulated by Liz and cohorts. Despite the fact that the puppeteers are very much part of the stage you soon loose sight of them and concentrate on the oddball puppet characters instead, who take us on a meandering story that is explained by poetry and a beautiful lightbox paint brush animation.

Invisible Thread review
The allegorical story told by Plucked is by turns touching, amusing (puppet shagging is a first for me, as is puppet birth) and thought provoking. Suffice to say that our love affair with television has a lot to answer for! Keep an eye on Invisible Thread to follow their next projects. This show ends on Sunday 22nd January, but there are plenty of other shows to see at the Mime Festival.

Categories ,animation, ,Chalk Farm, ,Faulty Optic, ,Invisible Thread, ,Janneke de Jong, ,Katie Chappell, ,Liz Walker, ,London International Mime Festival, ,Plucked… a true fairy tale, ,Puppetry, ,review, ,Roundhouse

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Amelia’s Magazine | Review of album Dig Down Deep and interview with Vandaveer

Vandaveer by Gemma Sheldrake
Vandaveer by Gemma Sheldrake.

Dig Down Deep opens the latest album from Vandaveer of the same name. It’s a rousing ditty that traces the journey of a merry band of vagabonds as they traverse a snowy landscape. Well that’s what happens in the brilliant video at any rate, this site on which Mark Charles Heidinger is joined by the delightful harmonies of Rose Guerin. Vandaveer is steeped in old world folk and southern roots, web but there’s a driving beat that keeps this album moving forward no matter how keenly it looks to the past… pounding cello or sparse piano keys accompanying the duelling voices of Mark and Rose as they narrate stories of war and loss, love and life. I’d be hard pushed to pick out a favourite tune from this wonderful and emotionally rich album. Just buy it, okay? But first, here’s a Q&A with the man behind it all: Mark Charles Heidinger.

Vandaveer Dig Down Deep cover

Dig Down Deep is your third album. How has your sound and approach changed since your first album?
Vandaveer essentially started out as a fling with my first record, then turned into something more serious for me a short time later, so I suppose I’m a bit more conscious that it’s a career of some sort these days. I can’t really say precisely how that has affected my sound or approach to writing and recording, but I’d like to think that with age comes better filtering. I’d like to think I’ve become a bit more discerning, but I’d be foolish to declare such a thing to be wholly true, for that would be anything but discerning.

vandaveer by daria
Vandaveer by Daria Hlazatova.

What is the title single Dig Down Deep about? It’s a very cold looking video… was that painful to film?! I imagine there were a lot of cold fingers.
I suppose it’s about the great getting on with things. Life is incredibly beautiful and profound, but it’s also full of heavy sadness and tumult. It can be quite a struggle to remain buoyant and focused. But it’s important and more than a bit comforting to know that this is a common experience. As for the video, yes, it was very, very cold. 8 degrees Fahrenheit cold. Took two days to shoot in Long Island, NY this past January. I’ve never known such cold. But we did it, and that’s the point I think. It all made sense. A cold, painful sense of accomplishment.

Who are the rag taggle band of followers in Dig Down Deep?
True believers, esteemed colleagues and luminaries, each and every one, deserving of accolades galore for bearing with us that very long weekend. Musicians, painters, photographers, singers, comic artists, lovers, tenders, fixers, and great conquerors of cold. But most importantly, they are our friends.

Vandaveer by Fawn Carr
Vandaveer by Fawn Carr.

There is a very old world feel to your music and to your imagery – why do you think this is?
I can’t really say why that might be the case, but as the world is in fact a very old place I think it makes sense that music seems to reflect that. What we do as Vandaveer is contemporary by default, but themes and ideas can be quite old at their core, and I’ve always considered myself a thief and a pilferer, musically speaking. But I think that’s the way this game is played in general, really…

vandaveer by neonflower
Vandaveer by Neonflower.

How have your Kentucky roots come to the fore in recent times?
From a purely logistical viewpoint, Kentucky is all over and inside each Vandaveer record. My longtime producer/studio collaborator, Duane Lundy, has a wonderful studio in Lexington, KY, so we find ourselves working there quite a bit. In addition, we end up with a lot of our friends from Kentucky playing on the records… Amazing folks like Ben Sollee, Cheyenne Marie Mize, Justin Craig and Robby Cosenza (they of These United States infamy)… Kentucky is in my bones. From the songs to the studio to the folks who we make music with. Then there’s the bourbon…

Vandaveer by Katie Chappell
Vandaveer by Katie Chappell.

Have you ever had any really dodgy jobs to support your music career, and if so what was the one you hated the most, and loved?
I think every job is dodgy in some respect, playing music amongst the dodgiest, honestly. The fact that I call singing songs a career is quite dodgy. The best job I ever had happened to fall in my lap straight out of college. I was actually paid a handsome monthly sum to write music trivia questions for a dot com before the bubble burst. Doesn’t get dodgier than that.

Vandaveer by Vanessa Lovegrove
Vandaveer by Vanessa Lovegrove.

Why do you think you often don’t like your own songs once you’ve recorded them and is there any remedy for this?
Did I say that? Firstly, I can’t be trusted. Secondly, recordings are more like polaroid snapshots of songs, really. They shouldn’t be treated as definitive versions in my book. That being said, they do end up serving some sort of archival role, so you want them to sound satisfactory. I find recording to be an entirely arbitrary process. Who’s to say that a song should only have 8 tracks or 64 tracks on it? When is too much too much or too little too little? The fact that you have to call a song finished at some point in the process is what I find frustrating. I like to think of songs as living things. They change over time. But recordings stay the same.

Vandaveer by Rhiannon Ladd
Vandaveer by Rhiannon Ladd.

How did your relationship with singer Rose Guerin come about?
Rosie and I met during the heyday of a little folk collective we had in DC called The Federal Reserve. Was a ramshackle bunch to be sure, but it produced golden memories for me. Meeting Rose and casually stumbling into a musical relationship was one such moment. She is truly special. 

YouTube Preview ImageWoolgathering.

What are you most looking forward to next time you come to the UK?
I am most looking forward to the next time we tour the UK. Everything else will be dessert.

Vandaveer by Nicola Ellen
Vandaveer by Nicola Ellen.

Dig Down Deep by Vandaveer is out now.

The Nature of Our Kind

Categories ,Ben Sollee, ,Cheyenne Marie Mize, ,Daria Hlazatova, ,Dig Down Deep, ,Duane Lundy, ,Fawn Carr, ,folk, ,Gemma Sheldrake, ,Harmonies, ,Justin Craig, ,Katie Chappell, ,Kentucky, ,KY, ,Lexington, ,Long Island, ,Mark Charles Heidinger, ,neonflower, ,Nicola Ellen, ,ny, ,Rhiannon Ladd, ,Robby Cosenza, ,Rose Guerin, ,The Federal Reserve, ,The Nature of Our Kind, ,These United States, ,Vandaveer, ,Vanessa Lovegrove, ,Washington, ,Woolgathering

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