About Me
Hello! I am Jamie Dun, a self taught broom maker based in Bristol UK. I was born in Montana, on the northern plains of the US and thanks to my Welsh husband, have made the UK my home for many years.
There are artists and musicians on both sides of my family and my professional creative background was in fashion and visual merchandising and design.
I started making my own brooms when I couldn't find high quality traditional handmade Shaker brooms here in the UK. I started experimenting with smaller hand brooms in the tiny kitchen of our two bed flat and it has spiraled from there!
Broom making is a slow and solitary craft, but it’s also meditative and grounding. It makes me feel a connection with land and place. My dream is to master this craft and share this knowledge with others.
I have never worked with natural fibres like this, and the feel and smell of the broomcorn reminds me of my childhood - especially spending time with my grandparents on their cattle ranch (they grew wheat and barley and my mom's family farmed as well) so even though I am a city girl, there is something about this craft, and working with this fibre, that makes me feel at home: grounded and connected to the natural world.
I make brooms in the Appalachian, Shaker and European styles with imported broomcorn (sorghum). My natural hazel handles are coppiced sustainably in the Forest of Dean and surrounding area. I am currently experimenting with full sized brooms and cannot wait to share them - some with handles made of driftwood collected from the beaches of Wales and naturally shed antlers from Scotland.
Each broom is made by hand, one at a time, using no machinery or electricity - only traditional heritage methods in my barn studio on a lovely flower farm near Pensford on the southern edge of Bristol.
So here's to all the city kids who still feel the pull and connection of the countryside, no matter where in the world they find themselves. And a massive thanks to my family and friends for the encouragement and support.
And thank YOU for joining me on this journey! Your interest and support means the world.
Jamie Dun, Broomsquire
The Rocky Mountain Front, near my grandparents' home in Augusta, Montana