The Family Trio Behind Rubble
Max Voss-Lloyd, Gillian Redman-Lloyd and their daughter Jerrie-Joy Redman-Lloyd are the trio behind Rubble – we chat to them about their creative journey.
Photography: Chris Chen & Philip Le Masurier
The Maria lamp with Pistachio shade by Rubble. Photo: Chris Chen
H&F: Hi Max, Gillian and Jerrie-Joy - when and how was the idea for Rubble first realised?
Gillian: Rubble was a twinkle in our eyes two years ago when the family was isolated in different states waiting out covid. Max was keeping busy with his hands in the studio, and sent Jerrie-Joy a little sculpture… it started off the conversation of how we could make something functional and still true to what we all love - good lighting and interesting shapes.
What are your backgrounds?
Rubble: Gillian has worked in the creative industry as an art therapist and teacher as well as a program and event manager of festivals in NSW and SA and manager of historic estates for Sydney Living Museums. Max is a photographer, writer and television producer in Australia and OS, working on shows from ABC kids TV Creature Features to Catalyst. Jerrie-Joy is a food and prop stylist, art director and holistic nutritionist. Together we have created and lived in beautiful, art filled homes full of delicious food!
How did you manage the transition from idea to a business?
Gillian: We were fortunate enough to have had a few well-connected people who believed in our project enough to encourage a growth from tinkering to putting it out there. Fortunately, Jerrie-Joy and her business partner Maggie Scardifeld were these people, along with a host of wonderful believers – Rose at Ghost PR, was a firm believer from the beginning, and having been basically in the family for 25 years, she was a solid soundboard from the get go. We found a supportive platform in Curated Spaces to sell through and we began to grow our product and brand.
What does a ‘normal’ day at the studio look like for you all?
Rubble: There is no normal day at the studio for us. Jerrie-Joy is out and about in Sydney propping or prepping for her day job as a stylist, making many phone calls from her car, arranging our shoots, and communicating with the creatives we work with. Max is in Adelaide in the studio sanding and drawing down ideas to discuss when we’ve all got a moment together. Gillian is looking after grandchildren and making sure everyone is communicating well, ordering supplies, and getting sales off. No small feat!
Has creativity played a big part in your lives?
Rubble: Always. We’re a busy and creative family. Joy Redman who Jerrie-Joy was named after, was a full-time and very dedicated artist who worked with all the grandkids in her studio, we attended exhibitions, galleries, and art lessons from childhood. We have all been lucky enough to work on our creative pursuits through our day jobs. Art hustling is second nature for all of us!
The Dusty lamp with Cherry shade by Rubble. Photo: Chris Chen
‘We have all been lucky enough to work on our creative pursuits through our day jobs. Art hustling is second nature for all of us!’ Photo: Courtesy of Rubble
The Rubbleorah candle holder, inspired by the menorah, which is the centrepiece of the Jewish Hannukah celebration. Photo: Philip Le Masurier
“It’s been so rewarding to connect in a different way and to see a different side of each other – to have a completely new way to communicate.”
‘It took a while to settle on the designs for the six lamps in the series but now that we have narrowed it down we can cut, carve and perfect each one as soon as it is ordered,’ says Max Voss-Lloyd. Photo: Courtesy of Rubble
What’s the creative process to make one of your lamps?
Max: It took a while to settle on the designs for the six lamps in the series but now that we have narrowed it down we can cut, carve and perfect each one as soon as it is ordered.
The hand drawn templates we use are often tweaked, so really, no two are exactly the same. Each one is unique, and hand worked until they are round, sensuous, and smooth. This takes several days, then the wiring is done, and each piece finished with ‘socks’ and a coating to protect the integrity of the material.
Do you think your backgrounds have influenced how you work today?
Rubble: Definitely. Max and Jerrie-Joy are creative perfectionists by nature (Virgo and Taurus). For Gillian, the discipline required when she worked as a creative manager on many production teams has been great training for being in the Rubble Workshop.
Collectively, we’re all pretty good and juggling our day jobs but we demand a great deal from ourselves, but hey, we love it!
What keeps you interested and inspired?
Rubble: The necessity to keep pushing things along until we get to the Milan Art Fair!
We’ve really only just begun and already have got so much great press, publicity and recognition from some of our ultimate publications and writers, it’s been a dream really…now we just need to keep going forwards. We keep going back to our core questions of style – ‘What would Barney Rubble have in his house?’ ‘How can we push that a bit?’ ‘Is this fun enough?’ ‘Is it a joy to look at?’
Rubble has a unique positioning in the world of design. We’re somehow part of a stone-age revival, but also very unique. We’re very much into antiquity, ruins and archeology. We love the notion of recreating souvenirs from the grand tours of the ancient ruins of Europe, but poking fun at the pomp in the same breath!
What characterises your work and makes it distinctive?
Jerrie-Joy: The sense of humour we bring to each piece - it takes on it’s own personality and becomes a character.
Gillian: It’s the material itself that sets it apart. There are a number of factors that must come together before we approve a piece to be in the Rubble family. It’s got to shout out to past aesthetics, reminiscent of an interesting collectors piece of a bygone and romantic era. We like to imagine we’re walking through ancient ruins and stumbled across one of them, but yet - they should also feel a bit silly! Hopefully we are achieving this.
What are the benefits of working with family?
Max: Well, we have an innate need to get along as we are all in the same bubble in this spaceship hurtling through space! So we need to keep going back for each other no matter how uncomfortable it may be sometimes. It’s been so rewarding to connect in a different way and to see a different side of each other. To have a completely new way to communicate, through drawings being sent back and forth or emails about power cables… there’s always something new and different to collaborate on.
What’s the most important piece of advice you would give someone turning their dream project into a full-time job?
Gillian: Be patient and steadfast. Make sure you love what you do and truly believe in what you’re doing because you’ll be advocating for yourself constantly, selling it yourself and (hopefully) making many, many of them. Also, be realistic with how much money you want to and can set aside for starting your business. Websites, photoshoots, ads, etc, all cost money!
What’s coming up for Rubble this year?
Jerrie-Joy: New designs, dinners, colours, pop-up stores, more one-off pieces for sale through the website… maybe an exhibition?! Maybe not Milan this year though…
