Interview with Karen Wall and Jim Helmore

Iona and Peter Opie, Janet and Allan Ahlberg, Colin and Jacqui Hawkins, Laurence and Catherine Anholt – there's a long line of esteemed husband and wife teams who've successfully harnessed their romantic chemistry to produce enduringly classic children's books. The latest couple to join this glittering list are Jim Helmore and Karen Wall, whose Stripy Horse books are fast becoming a favourite with children, critics, judges and even toy manufacturers. When I talked to Karen and Jim, the creative spark between them was evident, as they enthused proudly about their joint achievements.

Unlike many author/illustrator teams, who often work in isolation, Karen and Jim appreciate the benefits of having a constant “sounding board” for their work, which they describe as their “baby”. Their first book, Letterbox Lil (OUP) was a labour of love, born out of long held ambitions to illustrate and write respectively. “We sent it off to lots of publishers, without having much of a clue about how to get published” says Karen “we just kept persevering until someone noticed us”. Although Letterbox Lil did eventually get published, its rhyming nature was a stumbling block to foreign translations, which is partly what led them to doing something different for their next venture.

The idea for book two came from a drawing Karen had done in her capacity as a toy designer, from which Jim came up with the story of Who Are You Stripy Horse? (Egmont). The 'long forgotten shop' in which Stripy Horse wakes up and finds himself was inspired by a real life antiques market with which Jim was fascinated as a child. “There was this cavernous second hand shop called Sid Plummers in Shepton Mallet” he recalls with glee “full of amazing bits and pieces”. When I mention a certain likeness to Bagpuss's shop, they both admit to a love of Oliver Postgate, but deny any direct link between the saggy old cloth cat and Stripy Horse.

According to Jim, the first Stripy Horse story is all about identity: “The main motivation was for Stripy Horse to find out what he was for, so I put him with a bunch of distinctive characters who all have a specific job” he says. Most of these characters are directly based on the various bric a brac objects Jim has collected over the years. Once the elaborate cast of characters had sprung out of Jim's imagination, it was Karen's challenge to visualise them, and a process of conferring between the two began. “We don't always agree” says Karen “but then you'll wake up and realise that the other person has a point”.

Like many illustrators of her generation, Karen cites Quentin Blake as a major influence, and though her own style is quite different, she aspires to inject the same sense of “silliness, warmth and heart” into her drawings. Jim's literary heroes – among whom are Roald Dahl and Spike Milligan – seem to match this humorously anarchic bent perfectly.

Having done two Stripy Horse books (and with a third planned for next year), Karen and Jim are now moving onto something different, with the publication of Oh No, Monster Tomato! (Egmont) this autumn. In the tradition of classic fairy tales such as The Enormous Turnip and Jack and the Beanstalk, Oh No, Monster Tomato! was inspired by Jim's love of growing vegetables, and tomatoes in particular. “I'd heard of this festival in Spain called La Tomatina where everyone throws tomatoes” says Jim “and the idea came to me.” But instead of Valencia, the setting for this food incident is the made up town of Grislygust, where everyone is fiercely and hilariously competitive about their veg growing.

I am charmed to discover that some of the tomatoes in the book are photographed from Jim's own prolific produce, along with other bits and pieces of collage that accompany Karen's vibrant watercolours. Such personal touches reflect the deep intimacy that clearly underpins Karen and Jim's creative partnership and makes their books so warm and likeable. It seems likely that the inhabitants of Grislygust will get another outing at some point, as Karen and Jim talk enthusiastically about ideas for future stories featuring the same characters.

As well as their joint picture books, Jim also has aspirations to write something longer at some point. “I'm working on a novel that I pick up and put down every few months” he says. Meanwhile, the couple are keeping busy working on current projects and are starting to do more events - recently making their first festival appearance at Edinburgh. “I do all the talking while Karen draws” says Jim, making Karen chuckle playfully, but not in the least resentfully. Much like the other finely tuned aspects of their partnership – working or otherwise - it's obviously an arrangement that suits them both. While Jim grows tomatoes, Karen grows flowers and while he thinks up the stories, she brings them to life in pictures. If that's not domestic bliss, I don't know what is.

Originally published in Carousel magazine.