"It's All About Community" Say Rumble in the Jumble Founders Ahead of This Afternoon's Market (May 26)

The Beijingers | May 26, 2018 11:30 am | Add a comment | 1399 reads

The heat of the summer is beginning to settle over the capital, which can only mean one thing: market season is here! Be it pursuing of earrings and other crafts at outdoor stalls, sipping on cool drinks and sampling seasonal jams on homemade bread, and everything in between, the Rumble in the Jumble series of markets has it all. After getting our tote bags ready for stuffing of some local goodies for today's Rumble in the Jumble market at Modernista, we met up with the bubbly frontierswomen of these markets, Helen Bentley and Charlotte White to talk about all things pretty, delicious, and communal.

TBJ: I am pretty sure a lot of people have at least heard of Rumble in The Jumble even if they haven't been there.
Helen: Well I hope, I've spammed so many WeChat groups (laughs).

It's one of the first markets that I've started hearing about in Beijing. How did you notice there was a niché or a need for an event of this sort?
H: Our second birthday will be on July 27, but we are moving the festivities to August this year. It was initially my idea, but Charlotte was just fantastic at making food and I got her involved selling her goodies and organizing as well. So it was born out of our collaboration.

Actually, the reason I started it was a break-up. My boyfriend at the time was going to leave and we were going to break up. So I started panicking, like, "What am I gonna do? I need a hobby!" I was already making lots of jams so I just decided that I would put a market on every month and that will be my thing and keep me occupied. Boyfriends come and go, but markets grow bigger and better!

Charlotte: After joining Rumble, I started getting involved in more and more markets and realized that the scene started expanding massively. I do feel we are at the forefront though because there are many vendors who got their start at Rumble in the Jumble.

H: We are also very cheap compared to other markets. It's one of those where you go "Oh, it's only RMB 50, I'll just get it!"

C: Yes, and another thing is that we are always looking for vendors who sell the products that they make themselves. We are always on a lookout for that.

H: We only make Rumble in the Jumble out of pure love. We have day jobs. We want to create an exciting and fun space. That's where the monthly themes come in. This month is Guilty Pleasures. I think my background in the circus helps with those creative immersive experiences. At the end of the day, it is all about building a community for us. A lot of people who come by the market are past vendors. We like to say that Rumble in the Jumble is where British jumble sales, American thrift stores, and Chinese markets collide.

What are the most memorable moments from Rumble in the Jumble for you so far?
H: Back when we were still at Hot Cat, we were doing a garden party one day and it was raining very heavily. Water was coming through the ceiling, the floor was flooding, everything was leaking. We turned up and tried to move things around, mop the floor. Such a hassle.

But our vendors were very helpful and involved in making it work that day. It was a quiet market but it was one of the nicest and warmest ones. Very communal.

C: My warmest Rumble memory is when Helen was stuck at the airport in Kuala Lumpur and was completely heartbroken about missing our first-anniversary market. We planned it forever and Helen not being there made it complete madness. Around the middle of the market, one of our past vendors, who was leaving Beijing, showed up and brought me a cake. Everyone was singing happy birthday to Rumble and I just cried.

Check out all the goodies at Rumble in the Jumble at Modernista today (Saturday, May 26) from 12-6pm. Their next market will be in June. Follow Rumble in the Jumble on WeChat by searching RumbleBJ, and on Instagram at rumble.jumble.bj