Muse Music

I find that music inspires my mood, especially if I am feeling creative. I have been bought up with music blaring from a radio or from a music player of sorts and not always my own choice of music.

My Dad was renowned for his music tastes and collection and many a Sunday morning as a teenager I would find myself woken from my slumber to Cream, The Who, The Band or some other form of Eric Claptonesque music BLARRING from my Dads player VERY loudly! For most teenagers this is a bit of a role reversal. But for the Matthews clan, this was very much the norm. So when I moved in with Mr. Kircher, and his house of silence…well it was all a little too quiet for me.

Soon I had a player in most rooms and a lot of the time, all were on, playing some type of music, all at the same time. Something Mr. Kircher has had to learn to live with!

When Ida was born, I wanted to make sure I played the music I loved to her, normally LOUDLY. I choose to play my music rather then nursery rhymes or children’s clunky clonky music  as most parents choose to play. At only days old I was using loud music and bopping as a form of entertainment for her and sometimes also to soothe her. She has always been a little bit of a rock chic and already bops, shimmy’s, wiggles and sings in the back of the car as the radio blares out. She is like me; she doesn’t enjoy silence unless she chooses to contemplate for a little moment. We play and have fun with music…any music. And I often play a little of Clapton, The Who or Cream very loudly and tell her that this was her Granddaddy Allan’s favourite. Music was such an important part of my Dads interaction with my sisters and me. Without him around I am making sure she hears who he was as his music explains him well. And it is always played LOUDLY!

Me, My Daddy and my sisters Katie and Sarah

At u-ni-k HQ both Sarah and I have very different music tastes. Sarah is a radio 2 fan whereas I am very much an avid follower, listener and supporter of 6radio. Music inspires me, winds me up, calms me down and very much, is me. So while I’ve had my sewing machine out getting ready for the first Christmas craft fayres we are participating in over the next few weeks, I have been choosing carefully my music to listen to. Hoping it will inspire me and my love of aesthetic will come flooding back after being hidden in my back pocket for well over a decade. I was always a cutter, sticker, gluer, painter, drawer, moulder…just ask my Mum. I was the messy one that filled the bin with off cuts of unwanted paper and left the sink with paint splats. Luckily I have learnt to recycle and tidy a little better!

I have also leant to choose my music wisely.

Thinking about music choice made me stumble across this written piece by Edmund de Waal OBE. I met Edmund through working at egg. He showed his work at egg during it's very early years and now flourishes with his prestigious work being shown at the V&A. He is an amazing potter, writer and teacher. His apprentices are renowned for being “his” apprentices. And he too finds muse music very important.

Enjoy reading about his playlist, seeing his minimal, understated beautiful installation of ceramics and most importantly listeaning. I myself am sitting back and spending a moment listening to his muse music while my little ones sleep. 

Click here

 *Our ceramicist, Helen Beard apprenticed with Edmund de Waal. See her whimsical, naughty pots here