When artist Tabby Booth relocated to Cornwall with her young family four years ago, she found the shift from living on a houseboat to a traditional, land-bound residence to be nothing short of ‘luxurious’. No longer having to keep track of how much water and electricity they were using or carefully negotiate limited space, they eagerly expanded into the old 1970s coastal bungalow, transforming it as they did so.
They moved in early January 2021, around the time of various snap lockdowns, with people once again confined to their homes. This proved a blessing in disguise as they had the opportunity to completely overhaul the place before visitors were allowed to descend. Textured wallpaper, spackle ceilings and ‘horrible carpet’ were all ripped out and replaced, and they were able to navigate their 70s home into the 21st century in record time – ‘just as well’, Tabby says, as when the travel ban was finally lifted, ‘it was back-to-back visitors for the rest of the year’.
For a while, Tabby and her husband, James Heslip, would grasp the moments their children were in bed to commandeer the kitchen table as a makeshift workspace. Eventually, despite ten years’ experience of living together in tight quarters aboard their houseboat, enough was enough and they decided to renovate the garage into two distinct studio spaces in August 2024. James, whose practice of traditional woodblock prints involves a more hands-on approach, took over the back half while Tabby took up residence at the front. There she enjoys the rolling coastal views while painting and practising sgraffito. ‘It’s really changed everything actually,’ she remarks, crediting the photos of her new studio space for her recent social-media success. A few viral interior shots saw her following rocket from 5,000 to 45,000 in October alone.
This wasn’t the only major shift they experienced that month. After a decade of running Cygnets, a UK-wide art-school franchise for children that the couple founded after they graduated, Tabby and James sold it in October. ‘Although it was brilliant and still related to art,’ Tabby explains, ‘we both felt we were really missing doing our own art and just never had the time to do it’. This is unsurprising since between family and work, Tabby and James also run Sailors Jail, an art gallery in Falmouth housed in – you guessed it – a one-time lock-up for mariners that dates back to 1666.
Many of the artists they exhibited can also be seen throughout Tabby’s home. ‘If I go in and sit there for a day, I just always end up coming home with something,’ she says. ‘It’s really difficult to resist.’ One such example hangs above her bed: a large painting of a whale by Steve Camps, a retired Cornish builder whom Tabby discovered on Ebay. She initially started selling his images at Sailors Jail for £20 a pop, but they soon gathered a cult following. ‘We thought, hmm, this might be something a bit special,’ says Tabby, so she called Steve and presented him with a single question: ‘How far do you want to take this?’ Now she is Steve’s agent and is selling thousands of pounds’ worth of his artwork around the world every month.
The couple collect objects too; antique printing trays are quite a theme, each heavily freighted with trinkets and curios. ‘We’re very big collectors,’ says Tabby, who used to run a stall at Spitalfields antique market with James. She points out items in her bedroom display that boasts polaroids, pebbles and even a perfect little bird’s nest, remarking on the joy of creating ‘still lives in your home’. Some prized miniatures include a selection of lead dogs (‘I’ve got that from my mum’). Animals are ever present throughout the house, more often than not represented in Tabby’s own art, whose silhouette work is heavily inspired by folklore and outsider art. Her striking monochromatic style often feels at odds with her colourful home. ‘Colour brings me a lot of joy, but I also really love contrast. I really love hanging them against different colours and how that changes them.’
Swans are also a recurring theme, with Tabby recalling the flocks that would paddle by their houseboat in Kingston upon Thames. ‘We also had a boat that was shaped like a giant swan – you could fit like 12 people in it!’ she laughs. This love for animals spills out of the house and into the garden, where chickens, turkeys and pigs roam. Inside, a snake called Candy and Raisin the rescue Pigeon reign.
While Tabby and James may have bought their family ashore, their creative lives have really moved out of the doldrums. With the wind in their sails, they have embarked on a voyage of discovery, taking a host of new and undiscovered artists with them.
For more information about @tabby.booth.artist and James Heslip’s work, visit sailorsjail.com
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