Homes & Garden
Gemma Billington talks to Izzy Judd about setting up shop from her Chiswick home and becoming Mrs McFly
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couple of years ago I was fl ickig through a copy of Hello! magazine when I stopped at an article announcing the engagement of McFly drummer Harry Judd to a pretty young musician named Izzy Johnston. It didn’t catch my attention just because I’m an avid McFly fan, but also because of his bride-to-be’s stunning flower shaped engagement ring. And now as I fi nd myself sitting in front of Mrs Judd herself, recounting this story and admiring the sparkling ring for real, I can’t help but think that life is a funny thing. We’re in Upsy Daisy cafe, Harry and Izzy’s favourite brunch spot, talking over a leisurely pot of tea. It turns out that her husband had the ring made especially for her, knowing that she
Izzy's Attic.indd 57
loved the unusual design. It’s not the fi rst time in our conversation that I tell her she’s found a real keeper. So often the significant other of a famous name fi nds themselves overshadowed by their celebrity spouse, but rather than playing down her relationship with Harry, he is never far from Izzy’s mind and she drops him into conversation regularly and without hesitation. Still clearly in the honeymoon period, the couple will be celebrating their fi rst wedding anniversary in December. Indeed, this is a year of many significant fi rsts for Izzy, following the launch of her vintage gift and homewear online store, Izzy’s Attic, back in February. ‘It’s always been a pipe dream to have a gift shop’ Izzy explains, ‘and I thought
“why not make it happen. If I’m not going to do it now when will I get to do it?”’ An established musician in her own right, Izzy started playing the violin aged five and was one of the founding members of electronic string quartet Escala, who reached the fi nal of Britain’s Got Talent in 2008. It was somewhat serendipitous that Izzy would marry a fellow musician; her brothers are all professional musicians and her parents founded a music school in Hertfordshire, where she grew up. ’When you’ve been something for so long, people don’t get it when you do something different,’ she admits on her departure from the industry. ‘But Harry gets it.’ She adds with a smile, ‘as a longterm business it’s something we can focus on. If it does develop it benefits 57
08/10/2013 11:16