Location : Margate, UK
Profession / passion : Textile Artist
Website : www.jorobynelbourne.com
Instagram : @j.elbourne

One Day is an ongoing project sparked by the Covid-19. In the days of isolation we would like to focus on what we do best; bringing people together. Read more about the project here.
We will be posting one new day of someones life every day until we run out of contributors. See our instagram stories to experience these peoples One Day in action.

A text, song or film that everyone should experience.
William Stafford - A Ritual to Read to Each Other

What is the story behind your profession?
I turned my focus seriously to what I do now around 2014/15. Working with textiles isn’t a new pursuit but I’d had a long break from doing anything creative in a hands-on way.

Music, art and clothes were all-consuming growing up and I did an art foundation course once I’d left school, followed by a fashion and textiles degree. After that I worked for over a decade as a menswear designer, but ultimately the role became computer-based with little or no connection to physically making clothes.

Then, over the space of a couple of years, I experienced what felt like a relentless run of traumatic events, the cumulative effects of which left me in an altered and fragile state and, for a while, unable to work. I needed something simple, accessible and tangible to occupy some time. The therapeutic benefits of making things with your hands is well-documented and was gently transformative for me. Intuitively, I tried knitting, something I’d learnt as a kid, just using what I could find in charity shops, and over time I sought out other materials and ideas until I ended up on this path.

There wasn’t a specific plan to turn it into a business, but eventually I did make a conscious decision to start sharing my work online to see what might happen. It’s a massive privilege and semi-unbelievable that I’ve been able to continue and now call it a profession.

How do you want people to react to your work?
That people want to engage with it at all is really nice! If it brings stillness and a bit of focus, that’s good.

How has the current situation affected how you work?
Ordinarily I’m at the studio I share with designer Kim Thomé, but I've been working at home instead and feeling grateful to have the space and ability to continue. It’s tricky to find focus and stay away from the news, but my work is insular and solitary anyway so in that respect it’s not wildly different.

What is the most inspiring text you read recently?
I don’t seem to have the attention span to read anything much longer than a tweet right now! This is an observation I saw on Twitter from the singer Mara Carlyle - not inspiring exactly, but hopefully thought-provoking as I’ve heard/read the phrase she mentions a lot ...

“Would love to discourage people from using the phrase ‘we’re all in the same boat!’ at the moment, because I really don’t think we are. We’re all on/in the same treacherous sea, for sure, but in boats of wildly differing sizes, conditions and capabilities. And some people don’t have a boat”.

Function or form?
For me they intersect. Not something I’d want to choose between!

Analog or digital?
Analog girl in a digital world.

What traits do you treasure in other people?
Clarity, empathy, an open mind, being hilarious.

Your most treasured possession?
A one-of-a-kind necklace which belonged to my dad.

What was the most defining moment in your life?
Moving away from my home and friends in London.

Have you actively chosen to live in the city/town you live in?
Yes, although my initial move to the Kent coast came about through circumstance rather than choice. I’d like to think that ultimately I would always have ended up somewhere by the water, one way or another...

If you were forced to sit still for one month straight without pursuing your current profession, how would you spend your time?
Singing.

Do you have any regrets in life?
I have beautiful memories of gigs and clubs, but I also have tinnitus, so I really really wish I’d worn earplugs.

Lastly, how do you wish to see this current situation have a positive impact on our lives?
In the UK especially, it feels very early to be considering the positives.

I hope that community-minded behaviour doesn’t fade away when the pandemic subsides and that it filters into everyday life, through activism, volunteering, supporting local enterprises or regularly donating to the charities which are already doing great work.

I hope there’s a shift in mindset around consumption and convenience and the speed of things, and that those with the luxury of having a disposable income are increasingly thoughtful about the individuals and businesses they choose to give their money to in the future.

One Day : Jo Elbourne - Textile artist