Introducing... Marbles & Ware Collective

Living in an East End warehouse with 15 other people may not be everyone's cup of tea, but Natasha Havelock - one half of London-based experiential art collective, Marbles & Ware - proves it can be the ideal breeding ground for creativity.

Inspired by the characters that occupied the living space, Havelock together with her best friend-come-business partner, Holly Webley Naylor, created the collective in 2014 to showcase their friend's work, create excitingly immersive experiences and sprinkle a little bit of that magic into the real world.

With a host of eclectic events under their belt - from adventurous art auctions, interactive installations and daring costume and set designs - the pair prove that no project is too great or too challenging for them to handle. Here, Havelock talks to shots about what makes them tick, making the unbelievable possible and falling down the rabbit hole.

What does your role at Marbles & Ware involve?

I help run the collective with my partner-in-crime and best friend, Holly. My role changes every day; I might be up a ladder in an old converted warehouse curating artwork one day and then in hair and make-up getting ready to perform in a tutu with a tower of flowers in my hair the next. Of course, there are mundane days when I’m sat in front of a spreadsheet figuring out budgets, but that’s what’s so exciting about running a small business - you really do get to see every aspect of the production process.

How did you get to where you are now?

I've always had a love of the arts and theatre. Even from an early age, I was putting on plays in my living room… I even made tickets and created a box office from cardboard boxes to charge 20p entry! Skip forward a few years to me leaving university and gettig a graduate job in advertising which I thought would satisfy me creatively but in reality, involved a lot of sitting at a desk pulling my hair out and crying over complicated excel spreadsheets. I always dreamed of running away with the circus and with Marbles, we've been able to create our own mini Neverland.

What’s your favourite thing about your job?

I feel very privileged to say there are so many aspects of my job that I love. I love the idea's stage, when we have a blank page and a brief to work on. At Marbles & Ware, every project we work on is unique. We are both storytellers at heart and love old fables and fairytales, so it’s a real pleasure to be able to write our own stories and create new chapters full of adventure and challenges to overcome.

We've figured out how to be swans on the surface while our feet paddle super fast beneath the water.

What’s a typical working day like for you?

It really depends what kind of day it is. If we have a project or event on, the day starts early. We live and work together, so the prep begins at home with some morning motivation in the form of song, yoga or dance, before moving on to the day’s plan and checking up on everyone. I'll usually jump in my lovely red van, Gloria (below), to collect final props and costumes, while Holly will head straight to the venue to sort out hair, make-up and costume – she's a genius in this department.

If we're dressing the venue and taking care of the performance, I can be found running around with the art department tweaking last minute bits. Once everything is set, we’ll do a pep talk to get everyone into the right mood. During events, our roles interchange a lot – but we've figured out how to be swans on the surface while our feet paddle super fast beneath the water. After packing up, we collapse at home by the fire and dissect what went well and what could be improved, over a cup of tea.

What made you get into this industry?

A love for creating and a desire to unite artistic communities as well as the belief that we could do it ourselves.

Why did you decide to create Marbles & Ware?

Marbles & Ware has been a really organic journey. Back in 2014, we both felt disillusioned by our day jobs, working for big companies where our voices weren't fully heard. We had an opportunity to move into a warehouse space in East London, where there was always 15 people living at any one time. It was a breeding ground of creative minds – we knew it was a perfect opportunity to group everyone together and create something special. It all started with our first project, Bidders Bizarre (below), which was an eccentric circus-style auction held in our very own living room. The 'ware' in our company actually comes from our warehouse start.

Tell me something about your job that few people know.

Over the course of the two years that we've run Marbles, I've performed as Tweedle Dum, a Victorian wench, mermaid, flower fairy, voodoo god and an auctioneer. It’s been very varied.

What’s one thing that you strive to do in your career?

I would love to one day run our own arts festival - maybe in a far-flung location, bringing communities together and learning from one another.

What are the biggest challenges that you’re seeing in your industry and how do you plan on overcoming them?

I think that genuine creative communities are slowly being pushed out of London due to the high rent prices. I've seen it first-hand with the warehouse I lived in for three years, which has since been redeveloped. And special venues that cater to the creative communities are also under threat as developers fight to transform them into unaffordable housing and office space.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far in your career?

Follow your heart and believe in your capabilities. And don’t forget to keep learning, it's never going to be perfect the first time round.

What do you do to stay inspired?

I get inspiration from so many different sources. Friends and family play a huge role. But I also love going to the theatre – the more obscure, the better. I also regularly trawl through pinterest, I love a good mood board. Above all, the desire to grow opportunities for the collective keeps me going – to be able to provide exciting jobs for those around us is such a satisfying part of what we do.