household essentials
about our collective
Household Essentials is a collective of three female self-taught artists and illustrators who specialise in traditionally drawn artwork in varying mediums of ink, watercolour and paint. Their first professional collaboration was creating the artwork for the play ‘The Great Ruckus’ that debuted in the Edinburgh Fringe this year. The artists differ in style but are all greatly influenced by story-telling, classic children’s illustration and cartoonists.
meet the artists
Grace is a self-taught artist who works across a range of different styles often using ink, watercolour and humour. Since her solo exhibition at Peckham Pelican in 2019 she has been the freelance in-house designer for The Card Boys; an independent Greeting Cards Publishing Company, championing young and exciting artists, founded by Adam Newington and Callum McIntyre. She is particularly inspired Children’s illustrators Roger Duvoisin, Eva Eland, Andre Francois and Beatrice Alemagna and is currently working on her debut picture book Ida and the Sandman.
grace chilton
instagram: @_gracechilton
Part of our collective is illustrator Izzy Tennyson, whose raucous collection of menacing anthropomorphic animals and insect portraits are dripping with acerbic wit which she expresses in both a graphic style with pen and ink, as well as a painterly style. Her striking artwork was used for her plays ‘On Hold’ and most recently ‘The Great Ruckus’ that debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival earlier this year. Her style is unique, and mostly inspired by her childhood drawings, though she cites Ralph Steadman as a key influence.
izzy tennyson
instagram: @izzytennyson
Elle Tennyson specialises in ink and bleach to delve into the surreal intricacies of world mythology and combining elements to create her own narrative. Her koi design is a recurring motif, a constant companion as she’s navigated through new practices and developed new ideas, whether they are endlessly swimming their murky ponds, broken apart and sealed together with gold, stitched onto the back of a kimono or carrying warriors in defence of it’s waters.
elle tennyson
instagram: @tennyson.studio
The Great Ruckus, a play written by Izzy Tennyson which debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023, was the first professional collaboration between the three artists. The illustrations of characters, scenes and places were projected onto the backdrop to aid in the actresses' multi-roling, as well as providing the design and graphics for the poster and social media.
Synopsis:
Two sisters have to navigate their way through their mother’s funeral and quickly find the warm embrace of their family turns into a seething snake-pit of selfish and self-absorbed relatives. Grandparents argue over whether the funeral reception will be a celebration of Marks and Spencer catering packs or a piece of Victorian Gothic tragedy. Jo and Ida dutifully march to death’s drumbeat, only to tumble as their delicate relationship cracks under the pressure.
Shots from The Great Ruckus performed at Edinburgh Fringe 2023 by Izzy Tennyson and Grace Chilton along with some of Household Essentials artwork.
We joined The London Illustration Fair 2023 for their 10th year anniversary under our sister company tennyson studio in November. In 2024. We have since joined Urban Makers at Spitalfields Market and Crafty Fox at Kings Cross in London, and various Kent markets Mergate 2024 and Gravesham Pride. We have also exhibited at St George's Arts Centre, The Halpern Gallery, and Halpern Pop. We rejoined The London Illustration Fair for 2024 under Household Essentials.
