Consequently, I still have the interviews I did with some of Folksy's finest male sellers! It seems a shame not to use them somehow so I'll be posting one every Sunday on my blog until they run out!
So without further ado I give you, Bumpo!
Name: Robert Jones (known to some as Bumpo)
Age: 29
From: Just outside North London
How did you learn your craft?
I just started doin it! I've always been creative but never had much natural talent (my GCSE art exam 'Man Eating Burger' lives on in infamy) I bought Banksy's book 'Wall & Piece' and in it he tells a story about how he nearly got caught by the police because his friends were a lot faster spraying their graffiti designs than he was, so he started using stencils because they were quicker. It sounds fairly apocryphal but it's literally what inspired me to start, it gave me an avenue to be creative and i've spread out into all sorts of other areas since. It's not a term I use often but Banksy really is a hero of mine.
Your eureka moment - tell us about your favourite thing you have ever made?
Probably the first tshirt I ever printed, it was a Tottenham Hotspur tshirt, it said Park Lane (the stand I sit in) with the Spurs Cockeral between the words, it came out better than I ever expected and i was off.
Your "D'oh!" moment - tell us about you biggest crafting disaster.
Oh there's been loads! i'm a nightmare for experimenting with bleach but it's probably anything I ever made for my ex girlfriend, I always messed those up! i'm afraid the more I like you the less likely you are to get something nice!
Is crafting what you do full time or do you have a Clark Kent style alter-ego?
I've actually just been made redundant, thanks for bringing that up! I was a warehouse manger, before that i've done allsorts, demolition crew, electricians mate, warehouses, warehouses, warehouses, nothing even remotely creative, to do it for a living? that'd be a dream.
Where do you do your crafting?
all over the place but i will invariably end up working on the floor at some point.
Tell us a bit about your crafting philosophy
Keep challenging yourself. Some people think i'm too tough on myself or I lack confidence but it's that that makes me better, the things I do now are way better that what I was doing last year and I wanna say that next year too. Don't ask yourself 'is that good enough?' ask 'Can it be better?'.
Tell us why you think there are far more female than male crafters?
I think it comes down through grandmothers and mothers for a lot of women, it's just something they grow up with. It's largely seen as a womens preserve and as a man you can feel unwelcome sometimes. From the male point of view I think there's a lack of understanding, people know I craft and they don't try and make fun of it but they don't talk about it either, it's like they can't process it, they just don't know what to do with the information.
Tell us something suprising about yourself (non craft related)?
I had to sign the Official Secrets Act but I can't tell you why...
What's the manliest thing you make?
An elephant plushie with hearts on her stomach and ears! I dunno really, I make robots outta soda cans...you could cut your finger...hmmm, stuggling here, i'm gunna go with leather cord wristbands.
What's the least manly thing you make?
I've handsewn a Hello Kitty bag for my niece's birthday...
What would you say to encourage more men to craft?
hmmm, just try it i spose, through crafting i've met some amazing people, people who've inspired me and changed my life, i've ended up with work being displayed in galleries, there are people on the other side of the world wearing tshirts i've designed! how cool is that?! just the fact that people are wearing tshirts i've made makes me smile. And there's still so much to learn, crafting encompasses so much, that really, you're just missing out.
From: Just outside North London
Favourite band: *long low whistle* this is impossible to answer, i got hold of an advance copy of the new Stornoway album the other day and the first song 'Zorbing' really stands out,the Band Of Skulls album just got better & better with every listen, love Blood Red Shoes,the Drums EP was great, been listening to alot of Otis Redding recently - Legend, The XX album was amazing, The Joy Formidable are a great little band or Bromheads Jacket! great band, or Manchester Orchestras second album is amazing, early Fleetwood Mac will always be very important to me, The Black Keys! absolutely brilliant...what was the question?
Favourite movie: Escape To Victory - Best.Film.Ever.
Favourite book: *long low whistle* here we go again, pretty much anything by Terry Pratchett, Tolstoys War & Peace is amazing but that shouldn't really be a surprise, Crime & Punishment and The Idiot, Dostoyevsky's brilliant, Louis de Bernieres books are great, specially that trilogy, Senor Vivo And The Coca Lords? they were stunning, The Illiad is amazing but you have to get the right translation, Mike Mignolas a genius, H.P.Lovecraft - what a storyteller, i don't think Stephen King gets the credit he deserves for being a genuinely good writer, I loved Don Quixote till the end, Book Of Lost Things, that was interesting, Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk, Jonathen Strange & Mr.Norrell, that was a great debut book, Catcher In The Rye!...Pick One? *sigh* Catch 22, it's genius. There's loads more though!How did you learn your craft?
I just started doin it! I've always been creative but never had much natural talent (my GCSE art exam 'Man Eating Burger' lives on in infamy) I bought Banksy's book 'Wall & Piece' and in it he tells a story about how he nearly got caught by the police because his friends were a lot faster spraying their graffiti designs than he was, so he started using stencils because they were quicker. It sounds fairly apocryphal but it's literally what inspired me to start, it gave me an avenue to be creative and i've spread out into all sorts of other areas since. It's not a term I use often but Banksy really is a hero of mine.
Your eureka moment - tell us about your favourite thing you have ever made?
Probably the first tshirt I ever printed, it was a Tottenham Hotspur tshirt, it said Park Lane (the stand I sit in) with the Spurs Cockeral between the words, it came out better than I ever expected and i was off.
Your "D'oh!" moment - tell us about you biggest crafting disaster.
Oh there's been loads! i'm a nightmare for experimenting with bleach but it's probably anything I ever made for my ex girlfriend, I always messed those up! i'm afraid the more I like you the less likely you are to get something nice!
Is crafting what you do full time or do you have a Clark Kent style alter-ego?
I've actually just been made redundant, thanks for bringing that up! I was a warehouse manger, before that i've done allsorts, demolition crew, electricians mate, warehouses, warehouses, warehouses, nothing even remotely creative, to do it for a living? that'd be a dream.
Where do you do your crafting?
all over the place but i will invariably end up working on the floor at some point.
Tell us a bit about your crafting philosophy
Keep challenging yourself. Some people think i'm too tough on myself or I lack confidence but it's that that makes me better, the things I do now are way better that what I was doing last year and I wanna say that next year too. Don't ask yourself 'is that good enough?' ask 'Can it be better?'.
Tell us why you think there are far more female than male crafters?
I think it comes down through grandmothers and mothers for a lot of women, it's just something they grow up with. It's largely seen as a womens preserve and as a man you can feel unwelcome sometimes. From the male point of view I think there's a lack of understanding, people know I craft and they don't try and make fun of it but they don't talk about it either, it's like they can't process it, they just don't know what to do with the information.
Tell us something suprising about yourself (non craft related)?
I had to sign the Official Secrets Act but I can't tell you why...
What's the manliest thing you make?
An elephant plushie with hearts on her stomach and ears! I dunno really, I make robots outta soda cans...you could cut your finger...hmmm, stuggling here, i'm gunna go with leather cord wristbands.
What's the least manly thing you make?
I've handsewn a Hello Kitty bag for my niece's birthday...
What would you say to encourage more men to craft?
hmmm, just try it i spose, through crafting i've met some amazing people, people who've inspired me and changed my life, i've ended up with work being displayed in galleries, there are people on the other side of the world wearing tshirts i've designed! how cool is that?! just the fact that people are wearing tshirts i've made makes me smile. And there's still so much to learn, crafting encompasses so much, that really, you're just missing out.
That's a very mixed and interesting reading list - makes me want to check out some of Bumpos band recs! Great article x
ReplyDeleteGreat read and great idea for features Konnie! Love the bit about what inspired you to start
ReplyDeletexxx
cheers konnie :)
ReplyDelete