Charlotte White's Handpicked Pieces From Rumble in the Jumble!

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Beijing’s an urban jungle, and in any jungle we need tools to survive and thrive. As urban jungle dwellers, we’ve managed to blend practicality with style, resulting in the modern bag. Here, form meets function, and what looks stylish and fashionable on the outside contains all our essential survival tools on the inside. Inspired by this, we ask expats each week, “What’s in your bag?” and get insights into which essentials they keep on hand when out and about in the capital city.

I’m Charlotte (some know me as Mistress of Rumble). I’m originally from the US, and now I live with my husband and three cats in the bustling hutongs near Gulou. I’m an artist, voice actor, writer, and organizer of epic thematic pop-up bazaars that happen all over Beijing.

I got this beautiful, vintage bag second-hand at Rumble in the Jumble the first year that I was doing the bazaar. It caught my eye immediately because of the awesome vintage style and the Japanese crane design, which always reminds me of my favorite album, The Crane Wife, by The Decemberists. I also have two crane tattoos, so it’s totally my style. The bag is a small, light purse, and that’s ideal for Beijing life, where all anybody really needs to carry is a phone. Of course, since it’s pretty old, it has gotten kind of dirty and worn out over the years …

But I’ve maintained it with sashiko (a Japanese style of embroidery that’s used for fixing, maintaining, and decorating clothing). This has given the bag an extra artistic element, adding a bit of my own personality to it. It also shows how I value sustainability. I plan to keep this bag forever.

– Handmade perfume by Vedic Life, and handmade cuticle oil by VSP. These brands are both regulars at Rumble bazaars. I strongly support handmade products and their makers, and if I have the choice, that’s all I’ll ever buy.

– The sunglasses … Again, I bought them at Rumble in the Jumble, from an independent designer called Mantra. I tend to go for the brightest, flashiest styles when it comes to accessories

– The little crocheted bear. At our Ruff n Rumble Adoption day & Bazaar, Rumble collected donations for animal rescue. In thanks for the donation, I was gifted this weird little guy. Now he lives on my purse chain.

– “Weight” zine. This is a gorgeously illustrated zine that was created by my friend Jen Rao, one of the founders of nugget. Jen is a fantastic artist, and this zine tells a beautiful story… Plus, nugget is my favorite local spot because everything they do is driven by creativity.

– Metal chopsticks. Sustainability is important, so, yeah. I carry my own reusable chopsticks with me everywhere. Plus, they make great hair sticks in a pinch!

Want to share your Beijing survival tools with us? Shoot us an email at [e-mail], message our official jingkids WeChat account (ID: beijing-kids), or leave a comment below!

Images: Courtesy of Charlotte White

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