Joff - East London

Joff lives in his studio on the edge of the Regents Canal in East London. He is a self-confessed hoarder and says, “I’ve pared down a lot of my stuff over the past year. I find it hard to get rid of things. I don’t like bare spaces, they’re not comfortable for me.” His place is always busy with his kids, dog and his friends, hanging out and working in his studio next door, reviving some great pieces of old furniture, to sell in his shop Fandango. In fact he was actually kind enough to loan me a set of drawers for the What’s In Your bedroom… Oxfam window, back in November 2010.

I think his bedroom is secondary in his home; it’s more of a bed tucked away in his living space. So when I asked him what he would save if his bedroom were on fire, he said, “Well it's hard, because I’d want to save so much. But presuming the kids and the dog were okay, I’d save the Lego for them. Our guitars that are hung on the wall over there: my daughter, Ruby’s guitar is the one with the smiley face on it; my son, Bert’s the blue one and mine’s the one in the middle. It sounds strange but I’d also take my little Baby Belling cooker, I’ve had it over twenty years and I’ve roast many a chicken in that thing.”