{ruru's laboratory}: Interview: J and B the shop in Columbia Road,East London / 東倫敦哥倫比亞路花卉市集上的溫暖小店

oki, the story goes like this, I was showing Joan around London when she visited me, and that day we went to Columbia Road. We walked into this lovely store and I immediately decided that I'm gonna write about this place, then I approach Buddug, who designs all the enamel pieces. Then we set a time on a weekday to do the interview properly, the day I went , it was Jessie who's taking care of the store, she was upcycling a vintage arm chair with new fabric. Below is what we've talked about, enjoy :-)

A little bit of the Welsh countryside in the city.

J&B The Shop is run by two independent makers originally from Snowdonia, rural North Wales. They create hand made and personalized jewellery, clothes and home ornaments inspired by traditional making methods. J&B is the combination of Jessie Chorley & Buddug Humphreys, starting from a stall in Broadway Market in 2005, they take lots of commision work from local people ever since and the name has been built up gradually by word of mouth. Then the stall is not big enough to showcase all their works, they found a place to rent on Columbia Road.

Can you describe your style briefly?
I would say my style is timeless, not following fashion, and I’m not specifically trying to make things look old, but instead give life back to the old stuff.

And your backgound?
Buddug and I met when we were doing our course at Art Foundation Collage in Bangor North Wales. We both wanted to come to London to study. I studied textile design in Goldsmiths and Buddug was doing jewelry and silversmithing in London Guildhall(now Metropolitan). And I’ve been interested in creating things for the shop, like window decoration and product display.

What inspires you the most?
Clothes. I’m fascinated by the memory and story embeded in the clothes, I’ve got a collection of clothes that I’ve gathered for a long time.(Jessie was decorating an old chair with all kinds of fabric she’s got while doing the interview)

What makes you wanna start your own business?I’ve always wanted to run a shop, and I love the process of decorating the windows, creating the interior of the store and preparing things like exhibition. Buddug and I look after our store in turn on a weekly basis, it works very well, we have our own style and business, but at the shop, we are together. Besides the time in the shop, I also run workshop at different places, teaching people how to make book, I enjoy teaching as it enables me to meet new people and gets refreshing ideas.

Where is your favourite place in London?I would say Hackney, it gives me a sense of green and people do care about eco- friendly things. I like east London a lot, it’s quite different from the west.

How do you relax?
I think it’s still something related to what I’m interested in, and it’s all about the shop and my brand. It’s been always related to decorating something, decorating the shop, promoting the shop and making things. My fingers just can’t stop moving!

Can you tell us about your studio?
Buddug and I have separated studios, I have mine in Hackney Wick and Buddug has her studio in Broadway market with other people doing ceramic. It’s quite nice to share studio with other creative minds, having chances to meet different people and a bit of networking as well. I also like hearing feedback from customers so that I’m not always sitting behind the desk, working on things in my own world.

Where do you get the things in the store?There are many antique items in the store that we’ve been collecting for a long time, it’s a good mixture of everything and it fits the style and material that Buddug and I use, including fabric, paper, enamel,lace, buttons and etc.