Charlotte White on Five Years of Rumble in the Jumble
Five years is a long time in a city that moves as fast as Beijing. That makes Rumble in the Jumble, which turns five this month, surely one of the city's more venerable organizers. With their themed monthly bazaars featuring a truly diverse array of vendors — everything from home-brewed soft drinks to upcycled jewellery to on-site tattoo artists — Rumble in the Jumble has become a fixture on our events calendar and, more than that, a true community.
Ahead of Rumble in the Jumble's fifth birthday bazaar this Sunday, Aug 29 at Aotu Space, the Beijinger spoke to organizer Charlotte White about the journey that's brought them to where they are today.
Where did you get the idea to start Rumble in the Jumble?
It was actually my friend Helen who first started Rumble, but I was so excited about the concept that she brought me on board. We were both living in the hutongs close to Lama Temple, and we had a mutual love of arts, foods and drinks, fashion, and creative activities. Rumble was basically what happened when the two of us decided that we needed someplace in the neighborhood where we could drink, shop, sell second-hand clothes, share our arts or handmade jams, and hang out with other creative people. It didn't take long before it took on a life of its own. That's what happens when you bring a whole bunch of creative people together.
How has the market changed over the years?
Rumble started out as a bit more of a second-hand thing, and it was very neighborhood-y. For the first year, we were holding it in Hot Cat Club, which was awesome... But it was also a bit grungy. Grungy is great, and we loved that, but as a more diverse group of people got involved, we started looking for someplace a bit bigger and a bit cleaner.
After one year, we moved to Modernista. We started really establishing our community during that time, when we were having the bazaar monthly. Unfortunately, Helen was getting really busy with her work, and she also met her now-husband then, so she was becoming less involved, and then eventually moved away. But during our two years at Modernista, the community had grown strong enough that I wouldn't have been able to stop the bazaars even if I wanted to.
About two years ago, the Modernista era ended, and we started popping up in different locations each time. It became a much more dynamic thing because each location seemed to open up different opportunities, themes, and vendors so that each Rumble is now a totally unique event. We've now had the bazaar in 15 different locations (16 if you include online).
One of the biggest changes was during 2020 when live events simply were not happening. We still had this huge community of people who were all stuck at home, and a lot of them were spending that time at home exploring new arts and hobbies. This resulted in one of the unexpected bright sides of the pandemic, which was that all of the best loaves of bread were being baked, and all of the most interesting stories were being written, and all of the most beautiful pieces of pottery were being created... But the downside was that there was nowhere to share these things. So we decided to take the markets online. The virtual bazaars really helped Rumble build an online community that we hadn't had before.
Have the kind of vendors you get changed much?
Yes, definitely... But also no. We still have many of the same kinds of vendors that we had at the beginning. People cleaning out their closets, home baked cookies, beaded jewelry, second hand books, that kind of thing. But we've also grown beyond that. There are quite a few more small businesses, professional makers & artists joining these days. We welcome almost any kind of vendors, especially if they fit the changing themes.
What kind of challenges have you faced along the way?
There have been venues that weren't all that supportive or helpful, which can be really stressful, but also there have been venues where they wanted to be involved in every tiny detail... which is probably even more stressful. One of the biggest issues is finding a venue that has that perfect balance, and which will also allow us to have all the super-diverse kinds of vendors and activities that we like to have at our events.
When we stopped holding the bazaar at Modernista, that was my biggest fear: finding new locations. Ultimately, I didn't have any problem whatsoever finding places, but each place has its own unique rules and limitations.
What have been some of your most memorable moments from the markets over the years?
I have so many amazing memories, it's hard to choose. One is the first Halloween bazaar that we did, back in 2016... I think it was Rumble #4, "The Bazaar of the Dead." Everybody was in costume. Hot Cat had special Halloween drinks, of which Team Rumble enjoyed a few. Helen and I were doing Day of the Dead face painting, and everybody looked amazing. There was a band playing that night after the bazaar, and everybody stayed late. It was awesome.
Another one was the first bazaar that we held at Aotu Space in fall of 2020. It was a perfect Beijing autumn day. The theme was Celebration of Color, so all the vendors brought out their most colourful products and displays. It was such a perfect day to just hang out on the Aotu rooftop, that it seemed like that's what everybody in Beijing decided to do that day. Aotu was just full of people enjoying themselves, vendors hanging out and getting to know each other. The sense of community felt really strong that day. It was lovely.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to start up a similar project?
Well, if we're looking at Rumble in the Jumble as a success story (I do!) then my advice would be to start small. Don't start out by trying to organize the biggest and most epic pop-up event ever. Try it out on a small scale first. Most people don't realize the huge amount of work that goes into organizing an event like this, and it can be daunting.
Another super valuable tip is don't try to do it all by yourself (of course, I need to learn to take my own advice here, but that's not the point). There are tons of people who are interested in doing a project like this. Work together, collaborate, and make a community. Pretty much every person who wants to get involved in this kind of project has their own kind of creativity to bring to the table, so making it collaborative makes it stronger, and that benefits everybody.
Speaking of people who want to do projects like this... Team Rumble is here for you! If you want to organize your own bazaar but don't know how to start, come and talk to us Rumble, and we'll give you some more tips of the trade.
Catch Rumble in the Jumble's 5th Birthday Bazaar at Aotu Space this Sunday, Aug 29. Featruing 40 of Beijing's most unique makers, crafters, and doers, the market runs from 1-7pm, and then the party continues from 7-10pm with DJs and live art in the Aotu gallery space.
Images: courtesy of Rumble in the Jumble
