Meet the Maker - Broken Hare

creative

Meet the Maker - Broken Hare

Jon and Katherine Grundon are the creative team behind Broken Hare, a family business handmaking one-of-a-kind faux taxidermy. They sculpt their animals in clay with the help of reference photos and frequent visits to the zoo. Broken Hare also take commissions and special animal requests, with every creation lovingly made from their workshop in Wales.

A number of their sculptures grace the walls of Dick and Angel’s home, frequently appearing in episodes of Escape to the Chateau and various photoshoots.

We Meet the Maker to find out more…

Tell us about the early years…
“Jon was always making things in his early years but instead of university he went to Canada to find work alongside sculptors and painters in the film industry. Katherine went to Brighton University to do a making course, then later worked on stop motion animated films like Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr Fox and Tim Burton's Frankenweenie. Even though we went down two different paths we both ended up working in the props workshop for BBC's Doctor Who where we first met. ”

What inspired you to start Broken Hare? 
“We both loved our jobs making for film and TV but also knew that one day we wanted to have children. In this industry you work very long hours and most of the time you are away from home which wasn't ideal for what we wanted as a family. Jon is a really talented sculptor and loved sculpting animals so I thought that's what we should do! Make life-like animal sculptures using the skills and knowledge we gained working as prop makers. Even though our sculptures look real, no animals are harmed, they are vegetarian friendly!”

Tell us about your creative process
"With the help of reference photos and visits to the zoo, we use clay to sculpt the animal. Depending on size it can take weeks or months to do the initial clay work. It’s then a few more weeks to mould, cast, paint, and do the fur and hair work. ”

Le Chateau Des Animaux – The Broken Hare Chateau Story
Katherine and Angel’s paths first crossed at a hen do in Cardiff catered by Angel and The Vintage Patisserie in 2010 where Katherine was a guest. A photo of the ‘do’, with Dick surrounded by the hens, features in the introduction of The Vintage Tea Party Year . A few years later, Angel got in touch as she was looking for faux taxidermy for the Chateau they had just bought. We liked that she wanted some of our animals in the Chateau before they had other home essentials like a door on the bathroom or lighting in all the rooms. We would agree that our animals are very much a modern day life essential for all homes!

Two Unicorns and a Zebra
Angel was looking for two unicorns and a zebra and invited us to come over to hand deliver the sculptures and stay with them for a few days. At this point in time we didn't know them at all or that Channel 4 was filming, but we took the gamble (as did they inviting two strangers to stay with them) and loaded our tiny car with the unicorns and zebra and travelled down from Cardiff to Portsmouth to take the ferry to France.

We thought why not, let's have an adventure! We are so glad we did as we have loved being part of the Chateau’s story.

When we first arrived at the Chateau it was nearly midnight (we got lost and were about 2 hours later than planned). We drove up the long driveway and couldn't believe the wonderfully grand building in front of us.

As it was so late, Angel and Dick showed us to our room by torchlight (as all of the electric hadn't been fixed). In the room was a lovely vintage cast iron bed which was lush to see and sleep in after a very long day of travelling.

When we woke in the morning we saw how much work needed to be done to the building inside and out. As we got to know Angel and Dick we realised what super trooper hard workers they were and could see their dedication to bringing the Chateau back to life. 

Later that day, we showed them the unicorns and zebra which they loved so much that they then asked if we could make them a large giraffe for their dining room.

The Chateau’s Wolf
Angel also requested a secret commission: a wedding gift from her to Dick of a replica wolf that, according to the Baglioni family (the original owners), used to sit at the top of the grand staircase.

Many years previously there had been a family feud which resulted in the disappearance of the taxidermy wolf. Angel wanted to honour this part of the Chateau’s history and showed us a very old dark photo of the original wolf for us to copy. 

We were kindly invited to Dick and Angel's wedding and brought with us the giraffe and wolf. This time, however, we had to hire a van as the giraffe's head and neck is about 2 and a half metres long!

The Lion and the Giraffe
In December 2022, we were invited to celebrate Dick, Angel, Arthur and Dorothy’s Chateau journey at the Christmas party. We bought Angel and Dick a present of our newest creation - a Lion sculpture - which now lives happily opposite our giraffe in the dining room. It was wonderful to see all the work that has been done to the Chateau since our first visits back in 2015 and to be a part of the history of this special place.

Find out more at www.brokenhare.co.uk