Jo Ham is artist, illustrator and founder of HAM. HAM follows the contented life of Rabbit and his daily adventures, sporting escapades and social outings. It is inspired by the everyday - food, movies, reading, play time, exercise and everything in between. HAM celebrates lifes simple pleasures and rejoices in shared experiences that we can all relate to but which are often overlooked. They are a nostalgia inducing brand, guaranteed to transport you back in time to precious moments with pets that we shared and stories we were read growing up.
...which could be manipulated to express subtle emotional nuances...
Rabbit is clearly the star of the HAM show these days but he had to bunny hop his way to the top to claim his rightful place - in the bath, on the yoga matt, behind the decks or wherever he seemingly pleases! During HAM’s first range Pig and Horse joined Rabbit as part of an unlikely trio. Jo explained how Rabbits won out mainly because of their anatomy. She needed a character that could do as we do - mow the lawn, parachute, wine taste and play the guitar for example, to create scenarios that although fictional were believable. Another defining factor were the rabbit ears which could be manipulated to express subtle emotional nuances and convey humour which was hugely important to Jo and the brand she hoped to create.
Rabbit is the product of years of thought and care and one of the many peaks of Jo’s personal and creative climb. Jo started drawing on walls at the age of five, much to her parents horror! But it wasn’t long before she was off the emulsion and onto paper and by the age of eight she was well into water colours. A BFA in Fine Arts at Oxford University’s Ruskin School of Drawing followed where she was particularly fascinated by pot plants, shoes, people at bus stops and supermarkets to name but a few - vignettes of life and the everyday very much at the forefront of her own artistic taste.
Her life changed overnight, from being part of a busy creative studio she was now thrust into a repetitive routine of waiting rooms and boredom.
After University she had a role in marketing and advertising where she specialised in branding before working as a strategist and in the process learning about commerce, product and innovation. She loved these jobs but still longed to be an artist. She began to mull over her options when along came a bolt from the blue - she was diagnosed with a rare form of head and neck cancer. Her Life changed overnight, from being part of a busy creative studio she was now thrust into a repetitive routine of waiting rooms and boredom. Encouraged by her consultant and family, she sought refuge in her sketchbook and used this as her escape. This gave Jo an opportunity to revisit old drawings and allowed her to focus on the fun and happiness of our daily routine, which was suddenly more poignant after her normality was threatened. Illustrations started to flow, each an ode to lifes simple pleasures and the main protagonist was a little black rabbit. Out of a difficult time came this light at the end of the tunnel - or floppy ears at the top of the burrow! She eased back into work after treatment but couldn’t switch off from wanting to develop her own idea. One year later she took the plunge and quit her job. HAM was born.
As well as producing everything from cards, prints and wall stickers to mugs, tea towels and pins, HAM have recently collaborated with Little Hotdog Watson (LHW) on a knock out kids winter hat emblazoned with our favourite long eared companion enjoying the ski slopes on this occasion! Retail partnerships are also a speciality, they worked with Colette Paris on their first which remains one of the brands favourite projects. It also proved to Jo that she could manage both parenthood and work, having just become a mother during the install and launch.
It’s not just Jo’s family that have grown, HAM have expanded. There are five in the studio now and have what Jo describes a creatively democratic environment. Everybody is asked for their views on design, packaging, collaborations, events, you name it.
...exciting collaborations in a year of celebration...
2020 has obviously been an indifferent year to say the least, and much of HAM’s work is reflective of the world - bath time rabbit a tribute to lockdown. It’s the simple relatability that has us hooked on HAM, even if we haven’t done certain things that rabbit has, we suddenly want to join in. A big year beckons for HAM, in 2021 they turn ten! Jo has promised there will be exciting collaborations in a year of celebration, more children’s clothing is on the horizon as well as a book. HAM have also teamed up with an animator to make rabbit move. We probably don’t just speak for us when we say we could also do with moving a bit more in 2021!
For more great design content, click HERE!
Comentários