SPOTLIGHT

Where did you study? Where do you work?

I studied illustration and graphic design at De Montfort University, and after a few freelance years I went to work at Atlantis Art in London. The staff discount was handy, and that’s where I got to know Stuart Welch and the archival and conservation business. I also worked for more than a decade for an ethical company specialising in environmentally friendly and recycled papers, before joining Conservation By Design.

Bone or Teflon? Why?

Bone – it’s just great for assembling boxes. I always have one handy in case someone needs help getting the perfect fit.

Apron or white lab coat?

Lab coat. It’s not white for long – red rot gets everywhere when I’m measuring books for bespoke boxes.

The gloves: on or off?

Off.

SOFT FOCUS

We’re just warming up! What are you working on right now?

I’m a box and paper geek, so I’m working on some bespoke folders for a sound archive and on various orders of made-to-measure boxes and sleeves. 

When you tell people what you do for a living, they……….. ?

They think I sell dinosaurs, unless I give a very long explanation about what museum standard supplies consist of.

PATIO LANTERNS

How do you preserve/conserve yourself? What keeps you going?

I eat healthy produce from my allotment – the process of sowing, harvesting and preserving keeps me down to earth. Tai chi helps me bend without cracking; occasional yoga – will I ever cultivate anything close to Zen? I also started running a bit after lockdown – I’ve kept it up, but always disguised in shades!

If not conservation/preservation, what would you be doing right now?

Goat farmer.

If you could invite anyone round for dinner, who would it be? What’s on the menu?

Bowie – he’s my namesake and I could ask him for a singing lesson; Picasso to brush up my French and Spanish – he might sketch me or share a few etchings; Billy Connolly to keep the conversation flowing. The menu depends on the season – perhaps cannellini bean puree and bitter greens from the allotment. Home-baked sourdough bread for dipping – I make it every week.  Scorpion fish, roasted with Greek lemon sauce. For dessert, dark chocolate brownies made with raspberries and hazelnuts.

LIGHTS OUT………..Z  Z  ZZZ

What music rocks you to sleep?

Fat Freddy’s Drop, when they are on tour from New Zealand – I might be dancing in my sleep, though! 

What’s your secret hobby?

Volunteering – in the past for the Campaign to Protect Rural England, the British Association of Friends of Museums, and the POP Bedford community art space, and currently for the Bunyan Library and Museum – a small but important collection relating to John Bunyan.

You get your kicks by……….. ?

Kitchen table printmaking. I was recently invited to create a new lino print in response to any piece from the Bawden archive. It is now displayed next to Fishmonger (Cawte & Skinner) by Edward Bawden at The Higgins Bedford. The exhibition opened in February 2024 and is attracting record visitor numbers – it is open until October, so do visit if you can!

Star-studded new Edward Bawden exhibition opens at the Higgins Bedford – Bedford Independent

Edward Bawden & Me (thehigginsbedford.org.uk)

EDWARD BAWDEN & COI (circusofillustration.com)

What’s your favourite book?

It’s hard to choose just one after decades of serious book club reading. The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov is the one which I often recommend – it has humour, politics, religion and cats. A new movie based on the story was released in January and has already been banned in Russia – as was the book. Otherwise, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, published in 1905 but still so relevant.