“Take what comes to you and run with it,” Meet Rye London

It’s no secret that we have a thing for interiors. So when Rye London opened its beautiful doors – or should we say gorgeous, never-ending windows – last year as a daylight photography studio and event space (and place where all of your prop dreams come true), it was clear this place was a whole lot more than what was contained in those four walls.

In just 9 months since opening, they’ve held supper clubs with Izy Hossack and Jackson and Rye, photography workshops with Simon Bajada, and welcomed a whole load more talented collaborators and clients on a day-to-day basis.

So much has happened it’s hard to believe that for a fair few months, it was run by just one person. That, fortunately, has changed and we sat down with the (now) duo behind the brand, Founder Holly Wulff Peterson and best friend and photographer Erika Raxworthy, to find out more about their creative inspirations, self-doubt and most importantly, where they get their props…

So lets start by you telling us a little about yourselves and Rye?

H – “Well the two of us are photographers but Rye is now going in the direction of being a creative agency with a food, lifestyle and travel photography focus. We’re also a daylight photography studio but I think at the moment we are really focusing on creative strategy and working with brands to show what they are by storytelling photography because we have all the resources here. We have the props, we have the space, the photographers, we have the ideas *laughs* so I think that’s probably what we are at the moment. Though we’re evolving into whatever the space is needed for, or that’s the idea, so we’ll see.”

So what was the motivation behind starting Rye? 

H – “The motivation stemmed from having a love for all of these things but never really knowing how to join them together. So loving photography, but also styling and cooking and food and these community events as well. The point was to have a space where all of those things could come together in whatever capacity. A lot of it is also about bringing people together; having somewhere that we could connect with others and develop a community, which has actually happened really naturally and we’ve met some incredible people.”

E – “And through this agency, we’re actually looking at having broader team. So if someone comes to us asking could we do this shoot, we can say we know this stylist, we know this photographer and can bring other people together, so it’s not necessarily just us.”

H “I think this freelance world is hard and you’re always kind of hustling for yourself and I think that creates a little more self-doubt. Whereas if we are able to be that middle point and connect people with the clients who come to us then, I think that’s really exciting actually.”

I think it’s such an interesting thing to address self-doubt when sometimes if you do have doubts, you’re seen as you’re not very good at your job. That ‘fake it till you make it’ attitude. Do you have anything to combat that yourselves? 

E: “I think the main thing is just saying it. As long as you name that beast it’s a lot easier to handle.”

H: “Maybe we’re a bit older and don’t care as much. We’re just very open about it with each other and actually the more you do that, the more people notice and respond. Having people you can talk to, communicating it and making fun of it is also a good way to deal with it. It’s so easy to look on Instagram and social media and feel like other people are doing a much better job and having such good ideas, but you just have to remember other people will always feel that way about you too, even if you don’t see it yourself. Also real life is not faking it till you make it and Instagram. Real life is cleaning about a thousand tea towels because everybody who uses the studio literally uses a thousand tea towels.”

E – “I think real life is not washing those tea towels for two weeks…”

H – “Real life is finding a bag of unwashed tea towels under your chair and opening it and realising you have to throw them away because you forgot they existed…”

Managing all of this just the two of you is a lot. How do you both stay motivated?

E: “I think it’s the people who come in here. Theres’s always someone where you think ‘oh that’s exciting’, let’s work on that for awhile. I think we have the luxury of working on so many different things so that maybe if one thing is not very motivating, we can work on something else for awhile.”

H – “Sometimes just taking a step back and looking at it keeps me motivated. And yeah, the people we meet; there’s so many different people coming through the studio and I think it’s their awesomeness that makes you feel super inspired. Some people come through and you think ‘wow, how do you have that skill, how do you have that perspective?!’ and that’s really motivating.”

So who have been those people?

E – “So Sophie Sellu from Grain and Knot.”

H – “She should just be in here every day making spoons. She just does it like it’s warm butter.  Then Karen Hossack, Izy Hossack’s mum, she hand-made the vase we have in our office, she’s incredible. Issy Crocker also, she’s amazing and works so hard. Also Andrea Roman, I really love Andrea.

“Actually Jackson & Levine, they are my favourites. They have such good relationship and so much respect for each other, they work really well as a team and they have fun. Of course, when you’re working that closely with people it can be quite intense and I think for me, watching them work together was really lovely and inspiring. Also Anna Jones and all of her team too, the food stylists, the photographers, everyone in that whole get up is just amazing. They are on such a big level and it’s amazing to see how kind they are, and how when they shoot in the studio it’s just so relaxing and that’s how it should be done. I remember saying to Anna once ‘it’s so nice when you’re in here’ and she said ‘well we’re shooting food, it can’t be stressful. It’s the best job in the world right, you get to photograph food and play with props?’”

E – “Thats such a good perspective.”

H – “So yeah, ultimately we’re all very fortunate to be working in an environment where we are making things look lovely and sharing that with people…and eating delicious food.”

Obviously you guys were friends before Rye, how has working with a really good friend been? How do you keep the distinction between work-life and friends?

E – “So we saw each other pretty much every day last week.”

H – “Yeah we saw each other last weekend, we went round on Sunday and watched movies all day and had a takeaway. Maybe we had an intense friendship in the beginning anyway?”

E – “I think both of us are just ok with saying what we think. We’re not easily offended people.”

H – “I think we’re just really honest and ultimately we just accept each other’s flaws, and I mean we definitely each have flaws. But the positives are just ginormous and we’re aligned on most things and compliment each other. It’s not personal that we disagree and I definitely really respect Erika’s opinion and thoughts. If she thinks something looks nicer, even if I don’t agree I’ll think lets do it this way and then that way, or I’ll think, she’s probably right.”

How do you come up with your creative process, who are you inspired by?

H – “I think we wing it quite a lot, we’ve done some recipes for the journal that we haven’t put up yet and we just walked around the supermarket and said words out loud and tried to figure out what would stick. Like Earl Grey, oh what would go with Early Grey -“

E – “And then it turned into Tequila.”

H – “Most things start with tequila.” 

E – “Or end with it…”

H – “Then just life in general. When we look on Instagram, when we read recipe books, when we walk down the street or even the ceramics themselves. Sometimes there’s a really good plate and you think what would look nice on that plat? Then when it comes to companies, it’s what their vision is and how you interpret it. We definitely look on Instagram and Pinterest for inspiration and see things that people have done really well. We try really hard to not copy things but it’s really nice to take elements of what other people do and see how you can play that in.”

You’re not even if your first year but what have you learnt and what would you have done differently?

H – “I think that in the beginning I was on my own a lot and I think I would have realised sooner that it’s really horrible to do something on your own, it’s lonely and isolating and you can’t come up with ideas, you need someone to bounce off. So for me, I think I would have got help sooner. Oh and I think the biggest thing is it doesn’t matter what your plan is, it probably won’t work out that way. There will be so many other things that your day will be filled with, things that you didn’t even know existed. So I think accepting that.”

E – “Things are always just better with other people right? Oh, and we would have found The Dusty Knuckle a lot earlier.”

So where do you call home?

H – “So where I live, one side is Islington and one side is Hackney and I’m on the Islington side but my heart is in Hackney, which also I think is cheaper council tax… But I’m moving to house on Columbia Road in a few weeks, I’m so excited, it has a full log burner, wintery, properly beautiful. I’m going to Instagram the hell out of it. *laughs*”

E – “I live in Highbury but I spent most of my time here [East London] but I love going home to North London.”

Best coffee in London?

E – “I think Allpress.”

H – “They’re really good downstairs too in Brunswick for coffee but yeah, Allpress.”

Best outdoor space in London?

E – “I think Hampstead?”

H – “I don’t now I think somewhere in Stoke Newington, Clissold Park, it has the coffee shop, it has the deer, I think it’s really lovely but Hampstead as well. Also, I love Victoria Park.”

E – “Totally agree. The best indoor outdoor space though is The Barbican Conservatory.”

Favourite places to eat out in London?

H – “Oh my god so many, Raw Duck – love. I really, really like Rotarino and I think it’s really great on a Friday. Dandy Cafe around the corner on Newington Green is really nice for a quick breakfast, they do this really amazing Dhaal. Towpath Cafe is lovely when it’s open, really good food, really, really good. Western Laundry is new, it mostly focuses on fish but is so delicious.”

How would you spend your perfect Sunday?

H – “My perfect Sunday would be waking up late and going to get some kind of coffee and croissant from the deli near where I live. Then it would be walking along the canal all the way to Victoria Park, strolling through the Farmers Market in Victoria Park. Then it would be over to Crate Brewery, they do really good pizza. Then having pizza and a bed and then probably hitting up Hackney Picture House and not taking my camera and electronics at home. Erika’s is probably staying in all day watching Ru Paul’s Drag Race…”

E – “Best day ever am I right? That’s my favourite. I quite like walking the opposite directing and hanging out in Camden, I love Camden.”

Where would you be if you weren’t in London?

H – “Everywhere. So I used to live in Manilla and Singapore and I’d love to be back in Asia but I don’t think I’d like to live in a city, I’d like to be somewhere a little closer to nature. So I think Hong Kong would be amazing because there are beaches but actually I’d like to take a year out and live in Bali for a year.”

E – “I think I have a new found appreciation for Australia, obviously it’s where I’ve lived but I would change my lifestyle once there, I’d definitely live near the beach.”

H – “I think we both just need to be by the sea, I actually don’t think it needs to be a specific place as long as it’s by the ocean.”

What do you khollect?

H – “Oooh props.”

E – “Plants.”

What’s the favourite item in your khoollection?

H – “I know my favourite one of yours is. Your avocado plant.”

E – “Oh yeah! That’s because I made it. The whole thing is leaves, it’s huge.”

H – “Well my favourite thing is actually at home. I found a mug and saucer in a charity shop, it’s this little blue pretty one and then about four months later I found another one in another charity shop which was the same. So they’re a team. So we have them at home and that’s what Stefan and I have our coffee in at home.”

Where do you find your props?

H – “Charity shops, we hit those hard, especially on Kingsland Road I think they’re actually really good and they have some really good stuff in them. Then travelling, often visiting little shops and independent places.”

Best place to find a bargain? 

H – “As I’ve gotten older I’m of the belief that I’d rather have one jumper that costs the same as two or three, than two or three jumpers that don’t last long and inevitably just chuck them. I’m having a huge clear out at home and I’m getting rid of lots of stuff at the moment. I don’t know if it’s something I’m going through *laughs*  but it’s actually turning out to be really expensive to start that process.”

E – “Kingsland Road Oxfam.”

What advice would you give to your younger selves?

H – “Give less f*cks. I think yeah, that’s it.”

E – “It’s ok not to have a plan.”

H – “I think I wouldn’t even say that, I think that no-one has a plan and it’s better that way. Take what comes to you and run with it. Also probably something around the fact that as a woman, I don’t have to live by the rules I’ve been told. I don’t have to be sexy or funny or interesting I can just be whatever I want to be.”

E – “Just live your life, do what you want to do!”