Meet Jessica Whiting of Bam Bam Creative, A name very familiar in Auckland Craft circles. Learn a little about what makes this crafter tick!
How long have you been involved in your craft?
my whole life! But in this avenue, about a year
What is your craft?
I make fabric covered wall art, magnets, brooches, cards and special one of a kind fabric works on canvas. My work is definitely vintage inspired and I guess you could say it's a little bit Kitsch — in all the right ways.
Each piece is hand drawn, hand cut then covered in meticulously selected fabrics from a HUGE stash that I have collected over the years from markets and 2nd hand stores — some of them are new however, it depends what catches my eye really.
My designs are based on animal silhouette's with Fawns, Rabbits, Mice and Squirrels. I also make New Zealand native bird shapes of Fantails, Tui's, Kereru and Nga Huia Birds. I try and come up with a new design every couple of months, so there is always something new to look at.
How did you get started creating?
It all came about out of necessity really (as the best ideas often are!) — I was re-decorating my daughters bedroom and wanted something a little different to put on the walls. I found that normal decals were quite destructive and expensive, so I came up with this idea after a bit of mucking around (and plenty of prototypes later...) I posted some of the 'before' and 'after' room make-over photo's on my facebook, had loads of positive comments from my friends — the spark that started the fire!
What inspires you?
the fabric! I love to buy fabric and am often inspired to create a silhouette by the pattern. For example, my first design was the 'Babe in the Wood' fawn, and that was inspired by the 'Birds and Butterflies' print, and has been the most popular so far and has received quite a bit of attention.
What is your favourite book?
The Danish Girl' by David Ebershoff — such a beautiful book, and really inspirational, I always want to paint again after I read it.
What is your favourite food?
Japanese! Kura on Queen St is my absolute favourite restaurant, I could eat there everyday for the rest of my life quite happily.
Favourite inspiration site, blog or online shop?
I have so many it was hard to narrow them down!
How did you come up with your shop / stall name?
ah ha! This is actually a question that I get asked a lot and it can be really hard to answer! The 'Bam Bam' part was a bit of a joke between myself and a friend of mine, so when it came to creating my own business name it was the natural first choice. I chose it because it can mean lots of different things to different people, it's also a name that is hard to forget and makes quite a cute personality — and it gets a bit of a laugh which is always good! I combined it with 'Creative' so that I can use the name for my Graphic Design work, along with my other creative works and not just limit myself to craft.
Apart from the Devonport Craft Market, Where can people buy you work?
Jess is also one of the brains behind Auckland Craft Collective (go Jess!)
See Jess and her Bam Bam Creative wares at the next Devonport Craft Market (1st November 10-3pm, Devonport Community House, Clarence St, Devonport)
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