You can’t help but smile when you sift through the array of colourful, new and innovative products that Think Thornbury has amassed in their store and online. On our first review, we saw a felt unicorn, a jar of chocolate sauce, a cookbook, extravagant planters and plenty of hidden gems. We caught up with founders Joshua and Maggie May, who are artists themselves, to talk about how to pick the perfect gift and how they make time for their art while running a busy store.
How is it possible to stay on top of trends in your industry?
Maggie May: We stock things in Think Thornbury that make the best presents. I try to think less about trends and more about what I love and what gets me excited when I see it. Excellent cookbooks, delicious food, adorable baby clothes and everything in between. We focus on curating a range that our community will love, we don’t follow, we lead.
Where does community fit into what you are doing?
Community is everything. Without community small business doesn’t exist. We lived in Thornbury for years before we started our shop and we felt that the particular part of our shopping strip would really benefit from a locally focused gift shop. It sounds like a cliche but our customers are our friends, they’re our neighbours and we want them to feel happy when they visit us.
What kind of art do you make? Tell us about your latest work?
Maggie May: I make soft woven sculptural pieces. They’ve evolved out of a macrame practice, but to call them macrame isn’t quite what they are. I’m working on an exhibition of woven pieces at the moment that Joshua and I are collaborating on together.
I also love to create products for Think Thornbury and collaborating with makers and offering them guidance is a big part of my creative life. I’m also writing a book, but tbh that is a process I am doing very slowly.
Joshua: I am a saxophone player, composer and producer, and I run my own band, JK GROUP and play in 30/70. I make music that draws on my wide palette of taste that ranges from like traditional jazz swing to footwork, and everything in between. I think that most people describe my music as future-jazz or nu-jazz. I write music that has plenty of space for improvisation and band interaction, but also considers form, production, and groove elements in a way that I think is pretty unique. I’ve released one album (The Young Ones 2020) and one EP, (What’s Real? 2021) and am about to release my next EP, Rising, at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival.
How do you make time for your art practice?
Maggie May: I think the wonderful thing about running Think Thornbury is that there is so much flexibility. The scales have been balanced a bit more in TT’s direction for me the past few years. The pandemic, our health challenges, parenting and small business is a full-on combination but I am able to carve out time to slowly work on things because of the flexibility of being my own boss.
Joshua: I’ve learnt to become super diligent with my time management. I love time blocking and enforcing strong healthy boundaries between work tasks, practice, composition, family time, and rest. Like Maggie, I also find that sometimes the scales tip in one direction or another periodically, but I feel like I’m getting better at it all the time.
What made you want to support the local arts community and join ArtsPay?
We’re artists and a community-focused gift shop so it was really a no-brainer!
What makes the perfect gift?
Something thoughtful. I feel that the perfect gift is just finding the right way to say “I love you and I know you”. Sometimes it’s a grand gesture and other times it’s a love letter.
I have been told on more than one occasion that I have a particular skill at picking the perfect present and that when people see Think Thornbury wrapping paper they know that no matter what is inside they will be happy. I take a lot of pride in being a good listener and curator of a shop that is beloved and trusted by so many.
What is the best arts activity to do in your area?
We are so lucky to have so many beautiful artists, musicians and creatives living in Melbourne. I think it can be overwhelming to say what the best things are to do when the depth and breadth of what is available is so vast. Just pick something, and go, make sure that art, music, theatre and all the creative things out there is a part of your world. Book tickets to a show or walk into an art gallery. Being involved as a participant in art and creativity is just as important as being a creator.