Jay Blades, Reclaim’s first guest editor

We had often thought about having a guest editor for Reclaim, and when Jay Blades called in February 2022, to chat about something completely unrelated, our lightbulb moment arrived. We quickly realised, he was the perfect person for the job. He’s become a well-loved personality by being approachable and authentic, with a genuine passion for sustainability, crafts, vintage and upcycling – all areas that make up Reclaim’s DNA. Perhaps most importantly he’s all about reaching out and sharing his skills and experience to a diverse audience, the younger generation and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, values that Reclaim shares and are very much needed in the interiors world.

Thus followed several months of planning, with the team having to keep the whole thing under wraps. Jay graciously made plenty of time to work with us despite his gruelling schedule. OK – we had to re-book our cover shoot as he had to meet the then Prince Charles to receive his MBE, not exactly something we could complain about! Whilst working together on his pages, Jay was very creative, open and keen to learn. It may sound something of a cliché, but the presenter you see on The Repair Shop is exactly what he’s like ‘in real life’.

When we asked him to choose the issue theme he came back with: ‘does history have a future.’ Having got to know him better, we understand why he wants to explore nuanced ideas and bigger issues connected to home and interiors – they are very much at the heart of our lives and society after all.