Bibelot » Lucky Dip Club

Take some handmade crafts, add a selection of colourful curiosities and a sprinkling of handpicked personalised presents, package it all up with pretty papers and ribbons, and what do you get? A sell-out membership that goes by the name of Lucky Dip Club. Thrifter-extraordinaire Leona Baker, aka Leona Thrift-ola, is the mastermind behind the subscription service where you receive a wondrous box of surprises on your doormat each month. Makes a change from bills and junk mail eh? We caught up with Leona and discovered how a thirst for thrifting and a hunger for all things handmade have served as inspiration.

1. What sort of objects are you drawn to?

I love thrifting objects that have a novelty, fun and colourful character. I’m drawn to them because they look like they have a story to tell and I fill my studio with all sorts of things to inspire me when I’m creating products for Lucky Dip Club.

2. Why do you think people are so drawn to kitsch? Are we all ‘big kids’ these days?

Haha! I think we are! I’m drawn to nostalgia when it comes to patterns, colours and materials that existed in my childhood as the feel of modern products can be so different these days and I often find high street stuff quite low quality and it makes me feel sad. I work really hard to find suppliers and manufacturers who can make my designs in quality materials and who care about the littlest of details. I made a seahorse brooch for my July box and I obsessed over finding the exact shade of lilac acrylic and adding super fun details such as a googly eye! I guess that’s pretty kitsch – I can’t help myself!

3. Everything featured in the Lucky Dip boxes are designed and made by you, with each one including a personalised product. Tell us about the process from idea to box.

I start by creating a theme and then I write a story for the box and this sparks the ideas for the types of products which would work well. I like to mix up the type of goodies inside as it’s important to me that my long term recurring subscribers have a good variety of items from month to month. I also like to challenge myself to try and produce new types of products to ensure Lucky Dip Club stays really unique such as the personalised dinosaur cactus creepers I made for the Dinosaur Disco box. Letting my imagination run wild is the most fun part of my job, and the feedback is always amazing from my subscribers for these designs.

4. Which Lucky Dip box conjures up the happiest memories?

That’s a really difficult question as each box has its challenges, and each box has its sparkly rainbow fuelled moments. I changed up Lucky Dip Club at the beginning of this year, adding in a zine I publish myself, working with a guest collaborator each month on one of the products, and I started a Charm of the Month project so subscribers could build up a charm bracelet over the year. So I would say working on January’s boxes took the club to whole new level and it felt really exciting and the feedback was ace! It was shortly after we broke 1,000 monthly subscribers. I’m actually working on how we are going to switch stuff up for 2016 at the moment and I have some really exciting ideas.

5. What’s the best thing you’ve received in the post?

Back in November when I was running Lucky Dip Club from the corner of my living room, I was packing 700 boxes single handedly and felt really quite overwhelmed by the task, when a beautifully wrapped box popped through the letter box – one of my subscribers had knitted me a pair of fingerless mittens! I put them on straight away and continued packing whilst wearing them and it made me so happy. It was that very moment I really understood the power a happy parcel of surprises has to bring good vibes into someone’s life, because I felt it myself and it was amazing.

6. Tell us something about yourself that might surprise people.

My first ever job when I moved to London was in pop music as an assistant stylist and clients included the Spice Girls, Steps, S Club 7 and the Honeyz. So 90’s!!

7. Who/what is inspiring you right now?

I’m massively inspired by the work of artist Camille Walala, I love how she’s magicking boring buildings around London into bold and bright graphic masterpieces. I adore the colourful upbeat attitude of a whole host of indie businesses coming out of LA at the moment like Shop Bando, Sara M Lyons and Pygmy Hippo Shop. I’m continually amazed by all the awesome food producers in London popping up on a weekly basis from Vicky’s Donuts to Nugget & Mallow’s Marshmallow Club.

8. If you had a time machine that could take you anywhere, where would you go and what would you do?

I’d be the lead singer in a 60’s girl group.

9. Do you have time for personal craft projects, if so, what are you making right now?

I’m really big on making time for myself and have claimed back my evenings recently, and always like to switch off my emails and social media most weekends. We use the time to go exploring, cooking, reading but not crafting. I’m lucky enough to spend the majority of my time in the studio crafting away and although it’s for work it doesn’t really feel like that, it’s all personal to me!

10. What’s your motto?

Measure twice, cut once.

Lucky Dip Club

www.luckydipclub.com

@luckydipclub

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