A Lot on My Plate with Jessie Webb.
As part of my monthly newsletter, I will be sharing short interviews with friends and creatives who have a lot on their plate. Everyone has been through a lot in recent times, and I wanted to check in and see how they're going, if these trying times have changed them or their relationship with their work, what good things they're enjoying and doing and most importantly, what they're eating.
A Lot on My Plate #8 is with my good friend Jessie Webb. Jessie is a legend. She has the warmest and most welcoming energy and is super special to me. She's also really bloody great at what she does, she knows SO MUCH about fashion and about retail and marketing and buying and trends and she always has good advice for everyone, but she also takes photos for lots of small businesses, and also just in her life in general. It doesn't matter where she's going, her little point and shoot comes along and she will record it! I love how Jessie documents special and regular moments in her life and the life of her friends.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into Fashion and Photography?
I'm Jessie. I love a sleep in, a well-executed small bag, really good smells, fizzy water, a morning flat white at Burnside, labradors, listening to music, collecting things, eating with friends, taking photos & the drive to San Remo.
Right now, I work for a Melbourne fashion label part-time and my other days are spent at a sheet company.
I moved to Melbourne in late 2017 from Queensland and was lucky to already have friends and family here. I studied Fine Art at University after starting a Theatre degree - I remember seeing the art studios on campus and desperately wanting to make things with my hands, so I changed my major. I have worn many hats over the years. I’ve worked in hospitality, in a record store, a bookstore, a screen printing studio, I've worked in the back end of fashion e-commerce, in boutiques and have some experience in buying. I feel with each opportunity, each stint in these different fields, it's helped develop my eye. Fashion & dressing has always been my great love. My mum still has 10 years worth of fashion magazines sitting in boxes in her garage that I can’t seem to part with. I would cut out fashion spreads and outfits from these magazines and tape them to my bedroom wall, I always wanted to work for these magazines and taking photos was essentially an outlet for this love.
I made a special friend, Emily, in University who had similar interests. We would put outfits together from our wardrobes and I would take photos of her. I loved having someone who was willing to try new things with me & it gradually developed into a project, Velvet Milk. We were getting a response online from creatives we admired, were featured in a few publications and curated an exhibition together. This was such a special time of growth for me, especially after feeling such isolation and disconnection from my interests being from the country, being different from my family and feeling different in school. I think a lot of people go through that, but for me, the plunge from being a rural kid who wanted to be an actor to then being one of 600+ at an all-girls school was seriously challenging. I felt like I only started to feel comfortable being myself in those early years after school.
I look back on this time and I’m so thankful for these challenges, it wasn’t easy being in my body and it took a long time to take that experience and use it to my advantage. Today, I love working in fashion but it can be limiting for someone who doesn’t fit into most of the clothes on the market. I’m essentially working in a field that isn’t made for me. I know a lot has changed and is continuing to change but it still can be hard. I'm inspired by the people I meet, the outfits I see people wearing out and about. The way I dress will always be a reflection of my personality.
How have last years events impacted your outlook/practice/focus?
Ahh that’s a tough one because I feel like the last 3/4 years has been such a period of growth for me, there have been so many up and down periods that last year was a forced break, and one I really needed.
I would always seem to make the excuse of being busy to avoid risk and change or letting myself just sit still. It took me a long time to realise the pressure I felt day to day was from myself. I still have a long way to go, but I am much more aware of the things holding me back. Taking photos again has been the most enjoyable part of the last 12 months, I have worked on a few really rewarding projects and it has positively forced me to push through those personal obstacles and hesitancy that I place on myself. I have started dating again, I’m living with two of my oldest friends and I’m reminded time and time again of how lucky I am. I have a better idea of what I want in the future, I just know it's going to take a bit longer, realistically. I can feel them bubbling away, I just need to bring them to fruition.
The old adage goes, some eat to live, others live to eat. Where would you place yourself?
My relationship with food has always been tumultuous. I think for someone who grows up in a bigger body and is told what to put into that body for a long period of time, similar to dressing, it takes a great deal of time and strength to feel comfortable & confident in my choices. Being in my body and being who I am, I love eating food, I love cooking food. I live to eat! I've learnt so much about food from my friends, travelling & from growing up on a Cattle farm. I spent my childhood watching Two Fat Ladies, Escape to River Cottage, Nigella and Jamie Oliver with my mum. I hated the food at boarding school & I can remember from a young age coming home for holidays and craving fresh food. I needed nutrients, I wanted fruit, vegetables and I wanted to learn how to cook for myself. Our family wasn’t always in the same place and my parents worked long days but we always ate dinner at the table together. It was my job to make a salad or side each night and this is my first memory of feeling creative with food & enjoying what I was making.
Cooking is also a part of my love language & I really enjoy making food for others. In saying this, I am my own worst critic, I always make things and then am disappointed at the outcome. I would be a really unsuccessful Masterchef contestant. It doesn’t matter how much prep I do, I am as far from cool, calm and collected as it gets when cooking for more than 3 people. I panic, I sweat. It always ends up being yummy but I would really like to work on being a better host.
How do your cooking habits change when you are busy/stressed/tired?
When I’m busy I tend to forget to eat, or I don’t prioritise eating throughout the day and I drink a lot of coffee :( Having a plan of what I want to eat for the week has always helped me actually eat a proper lunch. When I worked in the city I was constantly buying treats out and that wasn’t exactly a sustainable approach. I definitely treat myself more when I’m not feeling great, which I try to follow up with making meals at home and making sure I’m eating what’s in the fridge. I always fall back on comfort food & things my mum would make me when I feel stretched or uninspired. She would make a vegetable minestrone to clean out the fridge from time to time, both my grandmother and aunts did the same. That’s my ‘you need to eat some vegetables’ meal. My ultimate go-to meals are crispy, crunchy salads, rice with many, many toppings and anything using lots of ginger. I got a Donabe for Christmas so this has been used a lot recently.
In saying all of this, I have amazing friends who all cook for each other. There are always jars of kimchi being exchanged, baked goods and bottles of wine dropped off at the door. My friends know when I’m in a slump, I’ll get a call or text from Tisha & Justin saying “We’ve made too much food, come over!” They do this often and it’s a perk that they are incredible cooks. I eat with my friends a lot, this breaks up the week and is always something to look forward to. Eating with them reminds me of those times I would come home from school and eat a steak for the first time in 4 months - I feel alive!
What are your favourite ways to enjoy food with people in Melbourne?
This is possibly my most favourite part of living in Melbourne. I love going out to eat, I love stopping in at my favourite spots and grabbing things to bring home. I’m not fussy, I’ll eat in the car, I love chomping away in the park, going to a friend's house, eating on the sidewalk - eating with friends is such an important part of my life.
I have some special eating with friends rituals :
‘Sushi Thursdays’ is with my bestie Claire. We get a coffee & cookie from Falco Bakery and then walk across the road to Hinoki and share some sushi. We get the Tuna Nose Maki
A group of friends has family dinners every Sunday night. Before lockdown, each week someone hosts and makes the main and then your guests bring vino / dessert / a side. I really miss these dinners and it was the nicest way to ease into the week.
Clem’s ‘Flavour Sensations’ (for those reading at home, I go to Clem’s, sit on her couch and rifle through her things as she brings me little treats that she puts together from the fridge)
When my friend Lizzie had her first baby I would drive over a few times a month and eat breakfast with them before going to work. Sharing the meal with them and seeing Remy grow so quickly is one of my favourite memories living here.
Some of my Melbourne tried and true are a negroni at Bar Liberty, the salmon onigiri and chicken nanban don from Tochi Deli, the turkish bread from Ovens St Bakery, fried chicken at Kantan, tonkotsu ramen from Hakata Gensuke, samosas from Pista House, the chicken sanga at Burnside & the ham & comte croissant from Falco.
Could you share with us some of the music that’s been getting you through the past few months?
Music is such a big part of my day to day, I know you are the same. I am my happiest with music. I listen to a lot of radio shows throughout the week & enjoy making playlists for people. My favourite song at the moment is Washed in You
I made a playlist Alone At Home last year where I would add 10 songs each Sunday, I still add music from time to time and it's full of tracks that are in my high rotation.
My favourite NTS show’s are by Budgie & Charlie Bones
Each Sunday I listen to Gilles Peterson on BBC Radio.
Sampology has a great ongoing playlist which I love - this is great to cook to.
I follow Suniye which shares music from all around the world, they made a playlist from their posts.
Children of Zeus has a monthly NTS show which always hypes me up.
Music to unwind Vibration N°1. Space & Time
Gorgeous image taken by Jessie.