Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week S/S 2012 Menswear Day Presentation Review: SIBLING


Sibling S/S 2012 by Antonia Parker

I had raced around the Fashion East installations in record time to ensure that I had the opportunity to have enough time to look around the Sibling presentation.


All photography by Matt Bramford

I loved the Sibling A/W 2012 collection so much – a whistle stop tour around East End boozers – that I was a little concerned that they couldn’t top it. Where do take it from there? To the fairground, physician of course! Entering the room they’d been assigned was a bit like a trip to the fairground itself: a dodgem car was positioned in one corner, drugs in which a mannequin had a TV for a head. It was all part of Sibling’s slightly mysterious world. Enormous illuminated letters spelling out S I B were casually leaning against another wall, and rollercoaster graphics adorned the walls.


Sibling S/S 2012 by Rebecca Strickson

As per usual, there wasn’t a single piece in this new offering that I wouldn’t buy instantly. Each piece evoked childhood memories of fairgrounds and all their kitsch connotations: delicious but dirty food, the rides that satisfy thrill-seekers’ pleasures and the boys you shouldn’t really fancy but who spin you on the waltzers so hard that you occasionally revisit that hot dog that you just ate.

Knitwear was on top form as usual, including cardigans with Argyll prints in edible sorbet colours and the show piece: a grey sweater with a wonderful embroidered pattern, cramming in as much fairground action as possible.

S/S brings an exciting t-shirt range, with LOVE and HATE logos, an I HEART HOT DOG motif, and various other fairground-themed designs. It was a little like fantasy shopping. I particularly like the Waltzer print on a pale blue t-shirt, should anybody wish to buy me a gift.

This season sees the trio collaborate with artist Yuko Kondo, who is responsible for the tattoo-like design on aforementioned sweater and the I HEART HOT DOG logo. Pastel-coloured leopard print sweaters are also a real winner. Playful LOVE and HATE t-shirts are sure to be everywhere come next summer, thanks to this wonderful collection. Last, but not least, I think the denim jacket with Kiss Me Quick emblem speaks for itself.


Sister by Sibling S/S 2012 by Matt Bramford

The weekend before saw the launch of womenswear line SISTER. I didn’t get much time to peruse this offering, such is the jam-packed weekend of London Fashion Week, but what I did see (a girl mounting a carousel horse) had the same fashion-as-fun ethos. Kondo’s emblems, sequins, foil prints and the dreamy leopard-print pattern in similar sorbet tones were the mainstay, proving that Sibling’s unique vision translates from menswear to womenswear with ease.

See highlights from the Sister presentation here:

Categories ,Antonia Parker, ,Argyll, ,Cozette McCreery, ,Dodgems, ,Fairgrounds, ,Hate, ,Hot dogs, ,Ice Cream, ,Joe Bates, ,Kiss Me Quick, ,knitwear, ,London Fashion Week, ,Love, ,Matt Bramford, ,menswear, ,Menswear Day, ,Newgen, ,Presentation, ,Rebecca Strickson, ,review, ,Rollercoaster, ,Sibling, ,Sid Bryan, ,Sister by Sibling, ,Somerset House, ,Sorbet, ,T-shirts, ,Waltzer, ,Womenswear, ,Yuko Knodo

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Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week S/S 2012 Menswear Day Presentation Review: SIBLING


Sibling S/S 2012 by Antonia Parker

I had raced around the Fashion East installations in record time to ensure that I had the opportunity to have enough time to look around the Sibling presentation.


All photography by Matt Bramford

I loved the Sibling A/W 2012 collection so much – a whistle stop tour around East End boozers – that I was a little concerned that they couldn’t top it. Where do take it from there? To the fairground, of course! Entering the room they’d been assigned was a bit like a trip to the fairground itself: a dodgem car was positioned in one corner, in which a mannequin had a TV for a head. It was all part of Sibling’s slightly mysterious world. Enormous illuminated letters spelling out S I B were casually leaning against another wall, and rollercoaster graphics adorned the walls.


Sibling S/S 2012 by Rebecca Strickson

As per usual, there wasn’t a single piece in this new offering that I wouldn’t buy instantly. Each piece evoked childhood memories of fairgrounds and all their kitsch connotations: delicious but dirty food, the rides that satisfy thrill-seekers’ pleasures and the boys you shouldn’t really fancy but who spin you on the waltzers so hard that you occasionally revisit that hot dog that you just ate.

Knitwear was on top form as usual, including cardigans with Argyll prints in edible sorbet colours and the show piece: a grey sweater with a wonderful embroidered pattern, cramming in as much fairground action as possible.

S/S brings an exciting t-shirt range, with LOVE and HATE logos, an I HEART HOT DOG motif, and various other fairground-themed designs. It was a little like fantasy shopping. I particularly like the Waltzer print on a pale blue t-shirt, should anybody wish to buy me a gift.

This season sees the trio collaborate with artist Yuko Kondo, who is responsible for the tattoo-like design on aforementioned sweater and the I HEART HOT DOG logo. Pastel-coloured leopard print sweaters are also a real winner. Playful LOVE and HATE t-shirts are sure to be everywhere come next summer, thanks to this wonderful collection. Last, but not least, I think the denim jacket with Kiss Me Quick emblem speaks for itself.


Sister by Sibling S/S 2012 by Matt Bramford

The weekend before saw the launch of womenswear line SISTER. I didn’t get much time to peruse this offering, such is the jam-packed weekend of London Fashion Week, but what I did see (a girl mounting a carousel horse) had the same fashion-as-fun ethos. Kondo’s emblems, sequins, foil prints and the dreamy leopard-print pattern in similar sorbet tones were the mainstay, proving that Sibling’s unique vision translates from menswear to womenswear with ease.

See highlights from the Sister presentation here:

Categories ,Antonia Parker, ,Argyll, ,Cozette McCreery, ,Dodgems, ,Fairgrounds, ,Hate, ,Hot dogs, ,Ice Cream, ,Joe Bates, ,Kiss Me Quick, ,knitwear, ,London Fashion Week, ,Love, ,Matt Bramford, ,menswear, ,Menswear Day, ,Newgen, ,Presentation, ,Rebecca Strickson, ,review, ,Rollercoaster, ,Sibling, ,Sid Bryan, ,Sister by Sibling, ,Somerset House, ,Sorbet, ,T-shirts, ,Waltzer, ,Womenswear, ,Yuko Knodo

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Amelia’s Magazine | The ACOFI Book Tour: visiting The Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011

On Tuesday I hit the second date of my ACOFI Book Tour, buy this time at the rather wonderful Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh. I chat with super friendly bookshop guru Matthew via the wonders of twitter, symptoms so it was a delight to meet him in the flesh.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Narcissus Garden Yayoi Kusama
Narcissus Garden by Yayoi Kusama.

After settling in for a nice piece of fruit tart and a glance at a selection of the newest titles in the incredibly well stocked bookshop I had a brief chance to wander around the current exhibition Narcissus Reflected, information pills which features a painting by Salvador Dali on loan from the Tate and for the very first time shown as it was meant to be, with the poem that accompanies it. Upstairs a mass of light silver balls floods the airy space – Narcissus Garden is an update of a piece by Yayoi Kusama first shown back in the 1960s. A small darkened room strewn with comfy floor cushions has been cordoned off to showcase a beautifully soporific film by Pipilotti Rist.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 biscuitsACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-iced gemsACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 biscuits

The Fruitmarket Gallery cafe was sadly closed for our evening event so I went a bit crazy in the local supermarket: plates of colourful Jammy Dodgers, Iced Party Rings, Jaffa Cakes, Iced Gems and Pink Wafers were soon adorning the cafe tables. Yup! It was a veritable E number fest. If it’s not going to be beautifully homemade why not head off to the other end of the spectrum I say?! These biscuits remind me of many a childhood party…

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Dr.Hauschka
At the front I arranged a tray of yummy Dr.Hauschka goodies for guests to take away and try later.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Juiceology
Matthew’s expert merchandising skills came to the forefront as he arranged a (fashionable) colour block display of Juiceology juices and appealing piles of ACOFI and AAOI atop a round table next to which I sat to give my talk.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
Abi Lewis of We Are Caravan.

I had been a bit nervous about travelling all the way to Edinburgh because it’s so far away from my normal stomping ground and I don’t really know many people up there… but I needn’t have worried because the cafe packed out very quickly with about 50 people, who gathered in friendly groups, chatting and taking the opportunity to sample the colourful Juiceology offerings before I settled down to do my talk, a very good write up of which you can read on the We Are Caravan blog.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
v
Lesley Barnes and her friend Libby.

Luckily my only Scottish-based ACOFI illustrator Lesley Barnes was also in able to make it along to The Fruitmarket Gallery – she brought along some wonderful work to share with us, and talked a little bit about the process of working with me so it was really wonderful to have her there, especially now we’ve been working together for nearly two years since she answered the brief for my first book. I only realised this week that this was in fact pretty much the start of her involvement with briefed illustration, although she was doing lots of her own work beforehand.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Lesley Barnes

I do like to remind people that hers is an exceptional talent – Lesley Barnes has never been formally trained, instead choosing to do a degree in English Literature, and yet she has managed to develop an utterly unique and identifiable style that is finally garnering some acclaim: she featured in a recent issue of the Sunday Times Style magazine and her work is stocked in the Soma Gallery, to which I will be trundling along on Thursday 26th May.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011

After the talk there was more time to speak to everyone and I managed to take snaps of just a few of the delightful creative people that I met: some of whom I persuaded to pose against the excellent neon sculpture in The Fruitmarket Gallery cafe area.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-We Are Caravan
Ian, Julz and Abi run We Are Caravan, with whom I’ve been chatting on twitter in the run up to my Edinburgh visit. You can also find Abi Lewis, who was dressed in the most wonderful patterned vintage dress, at Hateful Snippets. We Are Caravan run a mobile gallery that travels around in yes, you guessed it, a caravan.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Kirsty Jay Anderson and Emily Hall
Kirsty Jay Anderson and Emily Hall had come along to get inspired. Kirsty studied textiles and now runs A Wooden Tree which sells gorgeous upcycled vintage textiles and ephemera, whilst Emily has recently decided that she is going to turn her hand to illustration after doing many other things for years, including stone carving in castles, which sounds fantastic! I look forward to seeing what she produces.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Mabel Forsyth and Siobhan Murchie
Mabel Forsyth, aka Pink Pig came along with her work colleague Siobhan Murchie of Shiv Illustration – who just happens to be the cousin of Amelia’s Magazine contributor Sam Parr. What a small and wondrous world.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Roger la Borde
The Fruitmarket Gallery stocks my new range of Roger la Borde cards alongside my books (above), and so it was great to meet Lucy, who distributes my card designs all over Scotland. What a lovely lady she is! Here with her friend Sara.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Lucy and Sara

A very enjoyable part of the evening was giving a few portfolio crits. Yay! I hope I get to do more of these at the next few places I am visiting.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Casey Otremba
Casey Otremba.

First up I met American lass Casey Otremba, who was formerly a packaging designer in New York before becoming inspired to come to Edinburgh to study illustration a few years ago. The reason? Someone showed her a copy of issue 4 of Amelia’s Magazine. Double yay!

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Casey Otremba
Her fashion illustration portfolio features some really wonderful fine line pencil work with some stylish injections of pure vibrant colour. I particularly loved the meticulous fluidity of the poses she draws and I hope she’s going to start contributing to Amelia’s Magazine soon so you’ll get to see more of her work…

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson
Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-doodle by Lizzie Hudson
A doodle by Lizzie Hudson.

Elizabeth Hudson had travelled all the way from Glasgow, where she studies fine art, along with her friend Culloden Robertson of Iko Art. It was wonderful to see how a trained fine artist adapts to illustration briefs and I was particularly enamoured of the sweeping fantasies of her impulsive narrative work which make imaginative use of colour, line and text.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson, Amelia
Myself with Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson. I’m not sure why I thought it was a good idea to stick my finger in my ear. It was late.

As a special thankyou to everyone who turned up for this event we are extending the special offer that was available on the night at The Fruitmarket Gallery. Just quote Amelia’s Blog offer when you go in, and you’ll be able to purchase both Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration and Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration for £40 together, or for £22 apiece. The offer is valid for one more week, so if you didn’t decide to purchase on the night you can still take advantage of some very reasonable prices indeed. Thankyou Fruitmarket Gallery!

Next week I will be embarking on a triple whammy: Brighton on Tuesday 24th May at Castor & Pollux, where we’ll be fed by cupcakes from the Angel Food Bakery, then on to Comma Shop on Wednesday 25th May, where there will be the chance to sample a specially blended new flavour of ice cream from G & D’s Cafe: raspberry with white and dark chocolate chips. Nom nom nom. Plus rosette button making lessons from Anna Butler at Custom Made UK. Really, what’s not to like?!

Then on Thursday 26th May I’ll be turning up at the Soma Gallery in Bristol: where Hart’s Bakery will be providing home made iced biscuits, custard creams and gingerbread hearts, whilst local girl and Lahloo Tea founder Kate Gover will be on hand to answer all your tea-related questions.

Finally, I will be back at Tatty Devine on Tuesday 7th June the week after, where I will round up the ACOFI Book Tour with a little help from Biscuiteers. Looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible en route! Don’t forget to join the facebook events by clicking on the various shop links above.

Categories ,A Wooden Tree, ,AAOI, ,Abi Lewis, ,ACOFI, ,Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Angel Food Bakery, ,Anna Butler, ,Biscuiteers, ,Biscuits, ,brighton, ,bristol, ,Casey Otremba, ,Castor and Pollux, ,Comma Shop, ,Culloden Robertson, ,cupcakes, ,Custom Made UK, ,Dr.Hauschka, ,edinburgh, ,Elizabeth Hudson, ,Emily Hall, ,G & D’s Cafe, ,Hart’s Bakery, ,Hateful Snippets, ,Ice Cream, ,Iced Gems, ,Iced Party Rings, ,Iko Art, ,Jaffa Cakes, ,Jammy Dodgers, ,Juiceology, ,Kate Gover, ,Kirsty Jay Anderson, ,Lahloo Tea, ,Lesley Barnes, ,Mabel Forsyth, ,Narcissus Garden, ,Narcissus Reflected, ,Oxford, ,Pink Pig Illustration, ,Pink Wafers, ,Pipilotti Rist, ,Roger La Borde, ,Salvador Dali, ,Sam Parr, ,scotland, ,Shiv Illustration, ,Siobhan Murchie, ,Soma Gallery, ,Sunday Times Style, ,Tatty Devine, ,The Fruitmarket Gallery, ,Yayoi Kusama

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Amelia’s Magazine | The ACOFI Book Tour: visiting The Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011

On Tuesday I hit the second date of my ACOFI Book Tour, this time at the rather wonderful Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh. I chat with super friendly bookshop guru Matthew via the wonders of twitter, so it was a delight to meet him in the flesh.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Narcissus Garden Yayoi Kusama
Narcissus Garden by Yayoi Kusama.

After settling in for a nice piece of fruit tart and a glance at a selection of the newest titles in the incredibly well stocked bookshop I had a brief chance to wander around the current exhibition Narcissus Reflected, which features a painting by Salvador Dali on loan from the Tate and for the very first time shown as it was meant to be, with the poem that accompanies it. Upstairs a mass of light silver balls floods the airy space – Narcissus Garden is an update of a piece by Yayoi Kusama first shown back in the 1960s. A small darkened room strewn with comfy floor cushions has been cordoned off to showcase a beautifully soporific film by Pipilotti Rist.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 biscuitsACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-iced gemsACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 biscuits

The Fruitmarket Gallery cafe was sadly closed for our evening event so I went a bit crazy in the local supermarket: plates of colourful Jammy Dodgers, Iced Party Rings, Jaffa Cakes, Iced Gems and Pink Wafers were soon adorning the cafe tables. Yup! It was a veritable E number fest. If it’s not going to be beautifully homemade why not head off to the other end of the spectrum I say?! These biscuits remind me of many a childhood party…

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Dr.Hauschka
At the front I arranged a tray of yummy Dr.Hauschka goodies for guests to take away and try later.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Juiceology
Matthew’s expert merchandising skills came to the forefront as he arranged a (fashionable) colour block display of Juiceology juices and appealing piles of ACOFI and AAOI atop a round table next to which I sat to give my talk.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
Abi Lewis of We Are Caravan.

I had been a bit nervous about travelling all the way to Edinburgh because it’s so far away from my normal stomping ground and I don’t really know many people up there… but I needn’t have worried because the cafe packed out very quickly with about 50 people, who gathered in friendly groups, chatting and taking the opportunity to sample the colourful Juiceology offerings before I settled down to do my talk, a very good write up of which you can read on the We Are Caravan blog.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
v
Lesley Barnes and her friend Libby.

Luckily my only Scottish-based ACOFI illustrator Lesley Barnes was also in able to make it along to The Fruitmarket Gallery – she brought along some wonderful work to share with us, and talked a little bit about the process of working with me so it was really wonderful to have her there, especially now we’ve been working together for nearly two years since she answered the brief for my first book. I only realised this week that this was in fact pretty much the start of her involvement with briefed illustration, although she was doing lots of her own work beforehand.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Lesley Barnes

I do like to remind people that hers is an exceptional talent – Lesley Barnes has never been formally trained, instead choosing to do a degree in English Literature, and yet she has managed to develop an utterly unique and identifiable style that is finally garnering some acclaim: she featured in a recent issue of the Sunday Times Style magazine and her work is stocked in the Soma Gallery, to which I will be trundling along on Thursday 26th May.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011

After the talk there was more time to speak to everyone and I managed to take snaps of just a few of the delightful creative people that I met: some of whom I persuaded to pose against the excellent neon sculpture in The Fruitmarket Gallery cafe area.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-We Are Caravan
Ian, Julz and Abi run We Are Caravan, with whom I’ve been chatting on twitter in the run up to my Edinburgh visit. You can also find Abi Lewis, who was dressed in the most wonderful patterned vintage dress, at Hateful Snippets. We Are Caravan run a mobile gallery that travels around in yes, you guessed it, a caravan.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Kirsty Jay Anderson and Emily Hall
Kirsty Jay Anderson and Emily Hall had come along to get inspired. Kirsty studied textiles and now runs A Wooden Tree which sells gorgeous upcycled vintage textiles and ephemera, whilst Emily has recently decided that she is going to turn her hand to illustration after doing many other things for years, including stone carving in castles, which sounds fantastic! I look forward to seeing what she produces.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Mabel Forsyth and Siobhan Murchie
Mabel Forsyth, aka Pink Pig came along with her work colleague Siobhan Murchie of Shiv Illustration – who just happens to be the cousin of Amelia’s Magazine contributor Sam Parr. What a small and wondrous world.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Roger la Borde
The Fruitmarket Gallery stocks my new range of Roger la Borde cards alongside my books (above), and so it was great to meet Lucy, who distributes my card designs all over Scotland. What a lovely lady she is! Here with her friend Sara.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Lucy and Sara

A very enjoyable part of the evening was giving a few portfolio crits. Yay! I hope I get to do more of these at the next few places I am visiting.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Casey Otremba
Casey Otremba.

First up I met American lass Casey Otremba, who was formerly a packaging designer in New York before becoming inspired to come to Edinburgh to study illustration a few years ago. The reason? Someone showed her a copy of issue 4 of Amelia’s Magazine. Double yay!

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Casey Otremba
Her fashion illustration portfolio features some really wonderful fine line pencil work with some stylish injections of pure vibrant colour. I particularly loved the meticulous fluidity of the poses she draws and I hope she’s going to start contributing to Amelia’s Magazine soon so you’ll get to see more of her work…

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson
Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-doodle by Lizzie Hudson
A doodle by Lizzie Hudson.

Elizabeth Hudson had travelled all the way from Glasgow, where she studies fine art, along with her friend Culloden Robertson of Iko Art. It was wonderful to see how a trained fine artist adapts to illustration briefs and I was particularly enamoured of the sweeping fantasies of her impulsive narrative work which make imaginative use of colour, line and text.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson, Amelia
Myself with Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson. I’m not sure why I thought it was a good idea to stick my finger in my ear. It was late.

As a special thankyou to everyone who turned up for this event we are extending the special offer that was available on the night at The Fruitmarket Gallery. Just quote Amelia’s Blog offer when you go in, and you’ll be able to purchase both Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration and Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration for £40 together, or for £22 apiece. The offer is valid for one more week, so if you didn’t decide to purchase on the night you can still take advantage of some very reasonable prices indeed. Thankyou Fruitmarket Gallery!

Next week I will be embarking on a triple whammy: Brighton on Tuesday 24th May at Castor & Pollux, where we’ll be fed by cupcakes from the Angel Food Bakery, then on to Comma Shop on Wednesday 25th May, where there will be the chance to sample a specially blended new flavour of ice cream from G & D’s Cafe: raspberry with white and dark chocolate chips. Nom nom nom. Plus rosette button making lessons from Anna Butler at Custom Made UK. Really, what’s not to like?!

Then on Thursday 26th May I’ll be turning up at the Soma Gallery in Bristol: where Hart’s Bakery will be providing home made iced biscuits, custard creams and gingerbread hearts, whilst local girl and Lahloo Tea founder Kate Gover will be on hand to answer all your tea-related questions.

Finally, I will be back at Tatty Devine on Tuesday 7th June the week after, where I will round up the ACOFI Book Tour with a little help from Biscuiteers. Looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible en route! Don’t forget to join the facebook events by clicking on the various shop links above.

Categories ,A Wooden Tree, ,AAOI, ,Abi Lewis, ,ACOFI, ,Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Angel Food Bakery, ,Anna Butler, ,Biscuiteers, ,Biscuits, ,brighton, ,bristol, ,Casey Otremba, ,Castor and Pollux, ,Comma Shop, ,Culloden Robertson, ,cupcakes, ,Custom Made UK, ,Dr.Hauschka, ,edinburgh, ,Elizabeth Hudson, ,Emily Hall, ,G & D’s Cafe, ,Hart’s Bakery, ,Hateful Snippets, ,Ice Cream, ,Iced Gems, ,Iced Party Rings, ,Iko Art, ,Jaffa Cakes, ,Jammy Dodgers, ,Juiceology, ,Kate Gover, ,Kirsty Jay Anderson, ,Lahloo Tea, ,Lesley Barnes, ,Mabel Forsyth, ,Narcissus Garden, ,Narcissus Reflected, ,Oxford, ,Pink Pig Illustration, ,Pink Wafers, ,Pipilotti Rist, ,Roger La Borde, ,Salvador Dali, ,Sam Parr, ,scotland, ,Shiv Illustration, ,Siobhan Murchie, ,Soma Gallery, ,Sunday Times Style, ,Tatty Devine, ,The Fruitmarket Gallery, ,Yayoi Kusama

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Amelia’s Magazine | The ACOFI Book Tour visits Castor and Pollux in Brighton

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 -000

Art and design shop Castor and Pollux is situated in three airy arches on Brighton seafront, ampoule a location that was formerly public loos and then a yoga studio.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011
The view outside the shop. How gorgeous is this?

The arches now house a beautifully curated collection of well designed goodies: there’s a kids’ section, for sale a book section, a gallery space and lots of cards, note books, homewares and hand made jewellery. It’s all highly desirable, so I’m super happy that my Roger La Borde cards now have a home in Castor and Pollux alongside Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration. You really must visit the shop if you are in Brighton!

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011
ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011
ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011

Unfortunately I arrived last night for my ACOFI Book Tour with very little time to spare. (Thankyou traffic, in the four years since my beloved Cinquecento departed for the great car graveyard in the sky London streets have started to resemble the chaos of cities like Delhi, what with all the large trucks a-honkin’ and a-hootin’ at each other). Luckily April was on hand to help me shift piles of books down onto the seafront – aided by Suki and Alice Pattullo, who studied illustration at Brighton.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 postcards
ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 ALICE Pattullo and April
Alice Pattullo and April of Castor and Pollux.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Suki, Alice with a guest
Suki and Alice with a guest.

I should have known that if I went to Brighton I was bound to bump into some people who studied on the same course as me at University of Brighton (Ba Hons Fashion Textiles with Business Studies since you ask). Turns out the fabulous illustrator Sarah Arnett, who I first discovered at Pick Me Up (and who has since started contributing to Amelia’s Magazine) was in fact a few years ahead of me.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Sarah Arnett
Lovely Sarah Arnett.

Sarah has taken an interesting route to illustration – she specialised in weave at college (we had a choice of print, knit or weave) and then went into the textiles swatch trade, before setting up a small studio making clothes that ended up becoming a shop. She only discovered the joy of illustration when a friend bartered some Illustrator lessons in exchange for a dress. Now, not only does she produce gorgeous illustrations, but she has also recently launched the most BEAUTIFUL collection of clothes featuring her inimitable flower designs. The label is called Modern Love and you can find it in Liberty.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Lou Taylor, Jo Vintage Brighton, Kate Jenkins, April
Lou Taylor, Jo of Vintage Brighton, Kate Jenkins and April.

When Kate Jenkins turned up I recognised her instantly, and not because we have run multiple blogs featuring her unique knitted artworks. She looked familiar because she too was the year above me at Brighton. How wonderful to discover that Brighton fashion textiles graduates are doing such diverse and interesting things that have fed into the world of Amelia’s Magazine.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Juiceology
ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Angel Food Bakery
ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Angel Food Bakery.

Before my talk started guests had a chance to once again try out the lovely Juiceology juices, which I have decided are a bit like a juice equivalent of Refreshers sweeties – they have such a wonderful tang to them, quite unlike any other juice I’ve tasted. April had also managed to source some outstanding cupcakes from the Angel Food Bakery – who, quite without my knowledge, had baked the most beautiful buttery creations featuring a transfer design of the Amelia’s Magazine logo.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Lahloo tea

This time round I also had a moment to drink a few cups of Lahloo Tea, and can confirm that both the Peppermint and Darjeeling were absolutely delicious, served very prettily in tea cosy covered china teapots. There were also of course samples of Dr.Hauschka aplenty to take away, much appreciated by those in attendance.

There were plenty of other interesting people at Castor and Pollux, and here’s a selection of those that I managed to talk to:

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Paul from Chichester
Paul had come all the way from Chichester on behalf of his girlfriend… and he’d sneaked out a copy of her issue 2 for me to sign for her birthday (hope she’s not reading this) which I thought was incredibly sweet. Fortunately he didn’t seem at all daunted by the heavy female quotient: sadly one boy ran away before my talk began. Boys, please come and meet me, my talk is just as much for you! I’d also really like to encourage as many people as possible to come and talk to me at the remaining talks… I want to hear what you are up to so that I can give your creative projects as much exposure as possible.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Sarah Meredith and Matilda
ACOFI book tour rock cakes pumpkin ring
Sarah Meredith of Rock Cakes could only stay for a little while because her little girl Matilda needed to get home for bed, but she too had brought along some back copies for me to sign. She was sporting some fantastic rings from her dainty jewellery collection – I particularly love the enamelled pumpkin and the cute birds which sit together as if talking. You can find more of her designs on the Rock Cakes website and on Etsy.

ACOFI book tour angel food bakery cupcakes
ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Angel Food Bakery
Me chomping on a cupcake from the Angel Food Bakery.

Also present was Lou Taylor, who has also recently started contributing to Amelia’s Magazine. She has been using paper art to create the most amazing props for many years, but illustration is a new thing. I think her paper cut techniques work marvellously well as illustration – see her CocknBullKid illustration for example – and am glad she has found a place to showcase this new work.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Jessie Ford
I also met illustrator Jessie Ford, whose website you can check out here.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Racheal Brooks, Racheal Stott, Verity Brown, Judith Wilding
Racheal Brooks, Racheal Stott, Verity Brown, Judith Wilding

Judith Wilding of Delicious Industries is a graphic designer, who keeps a great blog about old school design.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Verity Brown
Verity Brown shows me her portfolio.

A few recent graduates of my course turned up just as I was finishing my talk and one had been savvy enough to bring her portfolio of lovely fashion illustrations to show me. They missed most of the part where I talk about how you absolutely have to be online and engaged with social media to promote yourself as an up and coming creative, but I hope they will listen to my advice as, unbelievably, none of them had any web presence at all! I wish my old course would ask me back to teach the students a bit more about self promotion and marketing for creatives…

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Verity BrownACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Verity Brown
Illustrations by Verity Brown.

Jo of Vintage Brighton has very speedily blogged about my talk last night, so you can find out more about it by hopping over here. Thankyou Jo!

As I upload this blog I am sitting in the Pegasus Theatre cafe in Oxford and in a few minutes I have to get along to the next date on my #ACOFI Book Tour. Tonight I will be talking at Comma Shop at about 7.30pm tonight: please do join me from 6pm to network, eat Good Biscuits, taste a new G&D ice-cream flavour and learn how to make button rosettes with Custon Made UK. Then tomorrow I will be rolling on up to Bristol to speak at the Soma Gallery. It’s all very exciting because I love meeting so many different creative communities, so do come and join me at one of these venues soon and tell me what you’re up to. I am back at Tatty Devine in Brick Lane on Tuesday 7th June. Over and out.

Categories ,ACOFI, ,Alice Pattullo, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Angel Food Bakery, ,brighton, ,Castor and Pollux, ,Cinquecento, ,CocknBullKid, ,Comma Shop, ,cupcakes, ,Custon Made UK, ,Delicious Industries, ,Dr.Hauschka, ,G&D Cafe, ,G&D ice-cream, ,Good Biscuits, ,Ice Cream, ,Jessie Ford, ,Judith Wilding, ,Juiceology, ,Kate Jenkins, ,Lahloo Tea, ,liberty, ,Lou Taylor, ,Modern Love, ,Oxford, ,Pegasus Theatre, ,Racheal Brooks, ,Racheal Stott, ,Rock Cakes, ,Roger La Borde, ,Sarah Arnett, ,Sarah Meredith, ,Soma Gallery, ,Tatty Devine, ,University of Brighton, ,Verity Brown, ,Vintage Brighton

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Amelia’s Magazine | The ACOFI Book Tour visits Comma Shop in Oxford

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011

Last Wednesday was my second night on the ACOFI book tour last week – and my first time visiting the lovely new Comma Shop on Iffley Road in Oxford. Comma Shop has only been open since last October and it’s a truly wonderful little store that stocks all kind of goodies. I arrived in brilliant sunshine so it was easy to spot – gleaming like a brightly coloured gem in this mainly residential area, abortion intermingled with car dealerships and hippy cafes. This part of east Oxford is enjoying something of a renaissance thanks in part to the newly refurbished Pegasus Theatre in a nearby side street.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Gemma CorrellACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Gemma Correll
Details from Gemma Correll’s mural for Comma Shop.

Gemma Correll has done a truly wonderful mural on the wall as you enter Comma Shop and everywhere hand made and unusual items have been stacked in expert manner. Dave quit his job in IT to start an innovative designer tea towel business with his partner Sally who was formerly in marketing. To Dry For showcases the work of up and coming designers and the window of Comma Shop is used to showcase the tea towel artwork.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Dave Emery
Dave Emery of Comma Shop.
ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 To Dry For tea towels
To Dry For tea towels in the window.

ACOFI book tour Comma ShopACOFI book tour Comma Shop postcardsACOFI book tour Comma Shop

It comes as no surprise to find that Dave grew up in shops: his parents always ran small shops, ampoule and despite the fact that he saw what long hours they had to work he has clearly caught the bug too. He also previously worked as a merchandiser, sickness which would explain his knack for putting stuff together. Who else would have thought of interspersing my Roger La Borde cards with designs from everyone else? Yup, he’s got an eye, this one.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Roger la BordeACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Dave and Sally
Dave and Sally. Sally has had to take some time out of the business due to the unexpected early arrival of their first child – but I was glad to meet her a bit later in the evening.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badges

From 6pm attendees began to dribble into the store and we set to making some fab little fabric rosettes with Anna Butler from Custom Made UK, who was on hand to show everyone (including the children and the men) just how easy it is to make these fun little badges.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badges Anna Butler
Custom Made UK button badges from Anna Butler.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badges Anna ButlerACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badges Anna Butler
Just some of the lovely button badges that were produced in a jiffy.

Anna also runs classes at Darn It and Stitch – the brains behind this new Oxford based haberdashery shop and teaching centre is Jo, who turned up with her partner Luke and friend Sally. Her store is part of a growing trend for a return to hands on creativity – it seems we just can’t get enough of it these days, and I for one heartily approve.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Jo Darn It and Stitch
Jo of Darn It and Stitch.

Many of the goods stocked in Comma Shop are one offs. Amongst those that really stood out were the gorgeous intricate papercut framed artworks of Helen Musselwhite – if you’re an owl fan you can’t go wrong! And I loved the Charity Shop Orphans – reappropriated with a lick of bright paint by Emma Harding. She also produces a zine if you prefer your collectable items in print.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Helen MusselwhiteACOFI book tour Comma Shop Emma Harding Charity shop orphans

Other stuff I love: the fact that Jack Teagle has committed one of my favourite art pieces to print in the form of a greetings card from Toasted. Comma Shop also stocks cards produced by Rachel Wilson, who was on hand with boyfriend Ben to help serve the Juiceology juices and G & D ice cream.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Toasted Jack Teagle
Toasted card by Jack Teagle.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop JuiceologyACOFI book tour Comma Shop G & D ice creamACOFI book tour Comma Shop Rachel Wilson and Dave Emery enjoy ice cream
Rachel Wilson and Dave Emery enjoy some raspberry and chocolate ice cream.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Dr.Hauschka
Love the Dr.Hauschka samples displayed in a pottery log and some vintage jelly moulds!

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford London Walks Baudade
One of the first to turn up was Joanne, known as Baudade. She’s just published a new comic book, London Walks! with the Tate.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Will Mccallum
Will Mccallum, aka Art of Activism, also popped in to buy a book. Although he sadly wasn’t able to stay for the talk his purchase was much appreciated! And it was nice to see a friendly face from someone who is doing good stuff in the world.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Good Biscuits
It made me very happy that Caroline of Good Biscuits (whom I met at Wood Festival) not only came along in person to drop off her delicious creations – vanilla melts, vegan chocolate buttons and chewy pistachio cookies, nomnom – but she also stayed to listen to me talk. What a lovely lady, who was inspired to start a healthy sustainable biscuit brand after her job in local authority led her to work with local food producers. Make sure you try some Good Biscuits if you’re in the Oxford area.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Drew and Jo
Drew and Jo. Also present was Drew, who is the press officer for Wood Festival. I wasn’t sure why he looked familiar and then it suddenly twigged that I had met him at Wood, but only when it was late and very dark. Fortunately his unmistakable bush of hair gave him away!

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Laura and Helen
Later on we were joined by another member of the Truck clan, younger Bennett brother Chris, with girlfriend Beehive, who was teaching clay model making at Wood Festival. It really was an Oxfordshire love fest for me last week!

The Oxfam Fashion crew
The Oxfam Fashion crew. Apparently the biggest employers in Oxford are the university, publishing (of all sorts) and Oxfam… which has it’s global office there. So it was nice to see quite a few Oxfam types in attendance.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Sarah PlantACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 custom made uk
Sadly Sarah Plant of Ferment Zine did not stay for my talk but it was nice to meet someone that I have chatted with on twitter. And we also had a very small visitor in the form of Aisha, who enjoyed making a fabric button.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Laura and Helen
Laura and Helen. Laura Hill Lines works at Bridget Wheatley and is hoping to launch her own jewellery brand soon, featuring big uncut gems. I can’t wait to see what she produces!

Malaika Aleba
Malaika Aleba is a Canadian staying in Oxford over the summer and a writer for the Sierra Club.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 postcardsACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Anastasia DuckACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Anastasia Duck

Last but very not least it was really lovely to see Michael aka Anastasia Duck – who is a fashion blogger who came along to my launch party at 123 Bethnal Green Road back in January. Not only was it great to see a friendly face but I am very thankful because he did a very speedy and good write up of the event, which you can read here. I like his description of me as being ‘haphazard’….heehee

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Jo and Michael

Don’t forget that my final ACOFI Book Tour date is at Tatty Devine Brick Lane with Biscuiteers on Tuesday 7th June. Akeela Bhattay has just posted a very lovely blog about the last event in Covent Garden. See you there x
Here’s who I gave my talk to:

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011

Categories ,ACOFI, ,Akeela Bhattay, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Anastasia Duck, ,Anna Butler, ,Art of Activism, ,Baudade, ,Biscuits, ,Bridget Wheatley, ,Caroline, ,charity, ,Charity Shop Orphans, ,Chris Bennett, ,Comma Shop, ,Custom Made UK, ,Custon Made UK, ,Darn It and Stitch, ,Dave and Sally, ,Dr.Hauschka, ,Emma Harding, ,Ferment Zine, ,G&D Cafe, ,G&D ice-cream, ,Gemma Correll, ,Good Biscuits, ,Helen Musselwhite, ,Ice Cream, ,Iffley Road, ,Jack Teagle, ,Juiceology, ,Laura Hill Lines, ,Malaika Aleba, ,oxfam, ,Papercut, ,Pegasus Theatre, ,Rachel Wilson, ,Roger La Borde, ,Sarah Plant, ,Sierra Club, ,Tate, ,Tatty Devine, ,Tea Towels, ,To Dry For, ,Truck Festival, ,Will Mccallum, ,Wood Festival

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Amelia’s Magazine | The ACOFI Book Tour visits Comma Shop in Oxford

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011

Last Wednesday was my second night on the ACOFI book tour last week – and my first time visiting the lovely new Comma Shop on Iffley Road in Oxford. Comma Shop has only been open since last October and it’s a truly wonderful little store that stocks all kind of goodies. I arrived in brilliant sunshine so it was easy to spot – gleaming like a brightly coloured gem in this mainly residential area, abortion intermingled with car dealerships and hippy cafes. This part of east Oxford is enjoying something of a renaissance thanks in part to the newly refurbished Pegasus Theatre in a nearby side street.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Gemma CorrellACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Gemma Correll
Details from Gemma Correll’s mural for Comma Shop.

Gemma Correll has done a truly wonderful mural on the wall as you enter Comma Shop and everywhere hand made and unusual items have been stacked in expert manner. Dave quit his job in IT to start an innovative designer tea towel business with his partner Sally who was formerly in marketing. To Dry For showcases the work of up and coming designers and the window of Comma Shop is used to showcase the tea towel artwork.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Dave Emery
Dave Emery of Comma Shop.
ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 To Dry For tea towels
To Dry For tea towels in the window.

ACOFI book tour Comma ShopACOFI book tour Comma Shop postcardsACOFI book tour Comma Shop

It comes as no surprise to find that Dave grew up in shops: his parents always ran small shops, ampoule and despite the fact that he saw what long hours they had to work he has clearly caught the bug too. He also previously worked as a merchandiser, sickness which would explain his knack for putting stuff together. Who else would have thought of interspersing my Roger La Borde cards with designs from everyone else? Yup, he’s got an eye, this one.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Roger la BordeACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Dave and Sally
Dave and Sally. Sally has had to take some time out of the business due to the unexpected early arrival of their first child – but I was glad to meet her a bit later in the evening.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badges

From 6pm attendees began to dribble into the store and we set to making some fab little fabric rosettes with Anna Butler from Custom Made UK, who was on hand to show everyone (including the children and the men) just how easy it is to make these fun little badges.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badges Anna Butler
Custom Made UK button badges from Anna Butler.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badges Anna ButlerACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badgesACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Custom Made UK button badges Anna Butler
Just some of the lovely button badges that were produced in a jiffy.

Anna also runs classes at Darn It and Stitch – the brains behind this new Oxford based haberdashery shop and teaching centre is Jo, who turned up with her partner Luke and friend Sally. Her store is part of a growing trend for a return to hands on creativity – it seems we just can’t get enough of it these days, and I for one heartily approve.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Jo Darn It and Stitch
Jo of Darn It and Stitch.

Many of the goods stocked in Comma Shop are one offs. Amongst those that really stood out were the gorgeous intricate papercut framed artworks of Helen Musselwhite – if you’re an owl fan you can’t go wrong! And I loved the Charity Shop Orphans – reappropriated with a lick of bright paint by Emma Harding. She also produces a zine if you prefer your collectable items in print.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Helen MusselwhiteACOFI book tour Comma Shop Emma Harding Charity shop orphans

Other stuff I love: the fact that Jack Teagle has committed one of my favourite art pieces to print in the form of a greetings card from Toasted. Comma Shop also stocks cards produced by Rachel Wilson, who was on hand with boyfriend Ben to help serve the Juiceology juices and G & D ice cream.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Toasted Jack Teagle
Toasted card by Jack Teagle.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop JuiceologyACOFI book tour Comma Shop G & D ice creamACOFI book tour Comma Shop Rachel Wilson and Dave Emery enjoy ice cream
Rachel Wilson and Dave Emery enjoy some raspberry and chocolate ice cream.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Dr.Hauschka
Love the Dr.Hauschka samples displayed in a pottery log and some vintage jelly moulds!

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford London Walks Baudade
One of the first to turn up was Joanne, known as Baudade. She’s just published a new comic book, London Walks! with the Tate.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Will Mccallum
Will Mccallum, aka Art of Activism, also popped in to buy a book. Although he sadly wasn’t able to stay for the talk his purchase was much appreciated! And it was nice to see a friendly face from someone who is doing good stuff in the world.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Oxford Good Biscuits
It made me very happy that Caroline of Good Biscuits (whom I met at Wood Festival) not only came along in person to drop off her delicious creations – vanilla melts, vegan chocolate buttons and chewy pistachio cookies, nomnom – but she also stayed to listen to me talk. What a lovely lady, who was inspired to start a healthy sustainable biscuit brand after her job in local authority led her to work with local food producers. Make sure you try some Good Biscuits if you’re in the Oxford area.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop Drew and Jo
Drew and Jo. Also present was Drew, who is the press officer for Wood Festival. I wasn’t sure why he looked familiar and then it suddenly twigged that I had met him at Wood, but only when it was late and very dark. Fortunately his unmistakable bush of hair gave him away!

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Laura and Helen
Later on we were joined by another member of the Truck clan, younger Bennett brother Chris, with girlfriend Beehive, who was teaching clay model making at Wood Festival. It really was an Oxfordshire love fest for me last week!

The Oxfam Fashion crew
The Oxfam Fashion crew. Apparently the biggest employers in Oxford are the university, publishing (of all sorts) and Oxfam… which has it’s global office there. So it was nice to see quite a few Oxfam types in attendance.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Sarah PlantACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 custom made uk
Sadly Sarah Plant of Ferment Zine did not stay for my talk but it was nice to meet someone that I have chatted with on twitter. And we also had a very small visitor in the form of Aisha, who enjoyed making a fabric button.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Laura and Helen
Laura and Helen. Laura Hill Lines works at Bridget Wheatley and is hoping to launch her own jewellery brand soon, featuring big uncut gems. I can’t wait to see what she produces!

Malaika Aleba
Malaika Aleba is a Canadian staying in Oxford over the summer and a writer for the Sierra Club.

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 postcardsACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Anastasia DuckACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Anastasia Duck

Last but very not least it was really lovely to see Michael aka Anastasia Duck – who is a fashion blogger who came along to my launch party at 123 Bethnal Green Road back in January. Not only was it great to see a friendly face but I am very thankful because he did a very speedy and good write up of the event, which you can read here. I like his description of me as being ‘haphazard’….heehee

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011 Jo and Michael

Don’t forget that my final ACOFI Book Tour date is at Tatty Devine Brick Lane with Biscuiteers on Tuesday 7th June. Akeela Bhattay has just posted a very lovely blog about the last event in Covent Garden. See you there x
Here’s who I gave my talk to:

ACOFI book tour Comma Shop OxfordACOFI book tour Comma Shop 2011

Categories ,ACOFI, ,Akeela Bhattay, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Anastasia Duck, ,Anna Butler, ,Art of Activism, ,Baudade, ,Biscuits, ,Bridget Wheatley, ,Caroline, ,charity, ,Charity Shop Orphans, ,Chris Bennett, ,Comma Shop, ,Custom Made UK, ,Custon Made UK, ,Darn It and Stitch, ,Dave and Sally, ,Dr.Hauschka, ,Emma Harding, ,Ferment Zine, ,G&D Cafe, ,G&D ice-cream, ,Gemma Correll, ,Good Biscuits, ,Helen Musselwhite, ,Ice Cream, ,Iffley Road, ,Jack Teagle, ,Juiceology, ,Laura Hill Lines, ,Malaika Aleba, ,oxfam, ,Papercut, ,Pegasus Theatre, ,Rachel Wilson, ,Roger La Borde, ,Sarah Plant, ,Sierra Club, ,Tate, ,Tatty Devine, ,Tea Towels, ,To Dry For, ,Truck Festival, ,Will Mccallum, ,Wood Festival

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Amelia’s Magazine | A Summer Punch Up at Sutton House: Kotki Dwa Staycations Album Launch Party Review

Kotki Dwa Staycations CD bundle by Sam Glynn
Kotki Dwa Staycations CD bundle by Sam Glynn

Staycations. A word us Brits are getting more and more used to: when the sun shines, there is honestly just no place like home. Great Britain has been the centre of attention this summer. After all, if it’s good enough for world record holders and a Queen, it’s good enough for us. The beautiful rolling green hills, still blues lakes and near-empty endless beaches. We’re spoilt for these spots, everywhere. So why not celebrate them? Forget the rain and embrace our terrain right? Right. Amelia’s Magazine music favourites, Kotki Dwa, well and truly do. So much so, Staycations is the title of their follow-up album. But wait… Here comes a very interesting tale.

While fans sat patiently waiting for second record news, the boys Alex, Tom and Tristan, were hatching quite the plan. An idea long in the making, came true this summer on 2nd July, the release date of the album. And this plan? To ask the National Trust to be their record label. They gave a firm yes!

Kotki Dwa Cakes by Abi Renshaw
Kotki Dwa rice paper printed jam cupcakes by Abi Renshaw

So we’ve all been to a National Trust property right? Yes? Well there are over two hundred historic houses open to the public. Your folks probably took you to an endless amount as a kid. Visiting these properties seemed like a staple part of growing up. Now I’ve hopefully got you reminiscing, it’s filled you with fond memories hasn’t it. The pristine gardens (with a maze if you were lucky), the delicious dairy ice cream from the café, the views from high above. Kotki Dwa thought the same. Dreamt up by the boys, which must feel like an awfully long time ago now, was this rather genius idea. Once they secured the all-important ‘yes’, the possibilities became endless. They knew exactly that this would open all kinds of (historic and stately) doors – to be inspired by, write about and record in.

A Summer Punch Up on Saturday 14th July was their big night. The album was out there, glowing reviews were flowing from Pitchfork, the Guardian and the BBC. This launch party was set to go off. Plus, the venue was quite special in it’s own right. Many ran through the doors bang on 7pm into Sutton House, Hackney’s oldest house and a National Trust gem. So much so, Alex spilled they wrote a track based on its ghost. Buried deep in Homerton, 80 lucky people got to party in this property, built in 1535 by a prominent courtier of Henry VIII. WOW. The Summer (it was raining) Punch Up started with the twilight punch picnic.

Cucumber triangle sandwiches, scotch eggs, jam filled cupcakes with their Polish name on rice paper (lovely touch and too pretty to eat) and flower cakes fashioned in plant pots with Oreo ‘soil’. Delicious.

Kotki Dwa Summer Punch by Edie OP
The Summer Punch Up cocktails menu by Edie OP

They even had themed cocktails after three of their songs. Outside in the bunting-filled courtyard was an ice cream cart. Pay a donation for a scrummy pot of Taywell and cover it in their home-made Pimms syrup. Yeah!

Supporting Kotki Dwa were two fantastic bands, Glaciers and Niteflights. Each surrounded by Kotki Dwa’s British holiday themed set of picnic hampers, hay bales and a snorkel. Once the twilight picnic had gone down and the dancing to both bands over, it was to be their finest hour. The first quarter of the hall filled with the 80 strong crowd. I’m pretty small in height so was pleased with my wing position right by the grand piano, oohhh. The room was beautiful, with its red walls and high beams. Sticking to songs solely from Staycations, you could just see it in their faces, how happy they were they’d got to here. The idea had become an album, and it was rattling that ghost upstairs no doubt. I very much enjoyed the heavily loud instrumental ending of The Wolf, and the single Poison required some serious dancing. The absolute highlight for me was during the song Staycations. A girl dressed in a crab costume was throwing beach balls into the crowd to lyrics such as ‘you la la like it when we go away’ and ‘didn’t I read that sunshine repairs your sanity’. A fantastic night ending with a disco hosted by DJs Midnight A-Go-Go and NZCA/LINES.

Kotki Dwa King Crab by Dan Morison
King Crab by Dan Morison

Oh to re-live that night all over again, yes please! I did the next best thing, I quizzed singer Alex about how they bagged the National Trust as their label and where you can see them play live this summer: read my interview with Alex Ostrowski here.

Categories ,A Summer Punch Up, ,Abi Renshaw, ,Alex Ostrowski, ,Bandcamp, ,BBC, ,Beach balls, ,Box Hill, ,bunting, ,Crab costume, ,Dan Morison, ,Edie OP, ,Geoffrey Taylor, ,Ghost, ,Glaciers, ,Great Britain, ,hackney, ,Halloween video, ,Harpsichord, ,Hattie Newman, ,Homerton, ,Ice Cream, ,Kotki Dwa, ,Lake District, ,Limited edition CDs, ,Lunch EP, ,National Trust, ,Niteflights, ,Picnic hampers, ,Pimm’s, ,Pitchfork, ,Polish, ,Queen, ,Recording, ,Robin’s Clogs, ,Sam Glynn, ,Sam Parr, ,Scotch eggs, ,Staycations, ,Sun shine, ,Sutton House, ,Taywell, ,The Guardian, ,Triangle sandwiches, ,Twilight picnic punch, ,World record holder, ,YCN, ,Yorkshire, ,Yorkshire Dales

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Amelia’s Magazine | Kotki Dwa Staycations Album Launch Interview with Alex Ostrowski

Kotki Dwa at Sutton House by Sam Parr
The band at their Sutton House album launch by Sam Parr

Your 5 track EP ‘Lunch‘ came out in November 2011. Before that, It had been a wee while since you put any music out other than your Halloween video and exclusive Amelia’s Mag song for the USB Issue. Did this help you prepare for writing and recording Staycations, plus getting you back into performing live no doubt?

Yes we tend to leave quite big gaps in between our major projects. This time around it gave us the chance to develop our sound in the ways we’d been wanting to. The Lunch EP was kind of a ‘study’ to try out some new ways of doing things, moving forwards from our first album. We’d been working out how to be more economical with our part writing, so that things slotted together more deftly. Hopefully that comes through on the new album.

Great videos have always featured pretty heavily with your singles. I was locked in when I watched Robin’s Clogs! You all look like you have a lot of fun making them. As the three of you are all a creative bunch, this must be a pretty great extension of making music right?

We do love making videos and tend to have a lot of fun making them, perhaps too much sometimes! It’s good having a different outlet for ideas.

Kotki Dwa tied to their cardboard keyboard
Kotki Dwa tied to their cardboard keyboard

Love the new video directed by Hattie Newman for the song Staycations. Plus she just played flute for a track at your gig. Where did you film this?

It was actually directed by Geoffrey Taylor but art directed by Hattie Newman (she worked with Geoffrey on all the styling and made some cool props). We’re pretty good friends the lot of us, so we all mucked in. To make the video we went on a jaunt around Great Britain, trying to take in the jaw dropping sights of the National Trust’s properties around the country, whilst also changing battery packs, avoiding parking tickets and generally trying to make a music video on the fly with only a few warm scotch eggs to fuel us.

Everyone loves a scotch egg. I’m sure many bands are kicking themselves that they didn’t come up with approaching the National Trust. Are they doing exactly as any other record label would?

We approached the National Trust a long time ago with our ideas. They’ve been great sports and have supported us with many of the resources that a record label might sort out — space to record in, help promoting the album etc. Fundamentally the setup has enabled us to operate very independently and do everything exactly how we’ve wanted to, which is good fun and never disappointing.

All the teapots inside Sutton House
All the teapots inside Sutton House

So, as you started to formulate a plan to approach the National Trust, how did you do it? I imagine no one had ever asked them to be their record label before. Did they sit and think on it or jump at the chance to be involved? You must have been dying to tell everyone…

It was tempting to tell people about it in the early stages but we kept schtum. We approached the National Trust very carefully and very directly as a band. We knew exactly what we wanted to ask, and we knew exactly what the reasons were for them to say yes, so we explained everything with as much clarity as possible so that they would understand what we were on about. They got it pretty quickly and it took a couple of months to put the plan in place, but we got there!

How did this lightning bolt idea arise? I’d love to think you were just in a castle and thought, hey, imagine recording a track in here!

We wanted to partner with somebody other than a label for the release, because we thought it would throw up some interesting challenges. We’d already decided upon the title of our new album – Staycations – which we chose for its bittersweet connotations. And so, the National Trust sprang to mind because they look after so much of the British outdoors and so many weird & wonderful places for us to record in.

Alex from Kotki Dwa at the making of the video for Staycations
Alex from Kotki Dwa at the making of the video for Staycations

How many places did you visit up and down Great Britain in all? Do you have a favourite one? Did you write the album before or after these visits?

I think we’ve lost count. We’ve been to the Yorkshire Dales, Borrowdale and Upper Wharfedale in the Lake District, Heysham Head on the West Coast, Arnside Knott, Box Hill in Surrey, Pulpit Woods, Pitstone Windmill, plenty of the London properties including Fenton House, 2 Willow Road and Sutton House – the oldest house in Hackney! We really enjoyed visiting Malham Tarn in Yorkshire, where we had a relaxing boat ride.

Any plans to do anything further with them? I guess they’re helping you by stocking it in their NT shops now right? How many did you press?

We’ve just done a launch show at Sutton House, which the National Trust look after. We also put on a special exhibition at YCN on Rivington Street which showed some National Trust bits including some amazing old postcards which show some of the places they still look after today. We have stocked the album in a handful of their shops too which is nice, only fifty special physicals in existence.

Yes I have one. It’s hand bound in cloth with a lyric-postcard set and 4-colour risograph poster. Staycations has had good things written about it by the Guardian and Pitchfork. It couldn’t have gone much better!

It’s very flattering and we’re truly delighted by the response. We’ve been working on this for so long so it’s great to hear that people are enjoying the results. Hopefully if people enjoy the album they’ll buy it via our website!

During the making of Staycations video
During the making of Staycations video

Yes, it’s great you are selling it through Bandcamp. You all must be super chuffed with how well it’s all going. Especially as your loyal fans got to snap up just 50 limited edition CDs. Your original artwork or unusual features have been a pretty strong USP for Kotki Dwa. For instance, with the yellow Robin’s Clogs vinyl, I got the CD single, a flower pressed badge and fold out poster with lyrics. You really do think about the whole package, where many bands just don’t. Do you enjoy providing all these touches on the side of your music or is it just as important?

Yeah we enjoy making the whole thing as perfect as we can. We’re a fairly small operation so when we do something we do it wholeheartedly. I work as a designer at YCN so that comes in handy on the packaging front.

For me it makes it more treasured. Plus you obviously want your fans at your gigs to know the lyrics. For instance, with the Staycations MP3 version, I’m shown the lyrics on my iPhone! Don’t think I’ve ever seen this before!

Really? Cool, didn’t know that!

The sold out limited edition Staycations bundle
The sold out limited edition Staycations bundle

Well what a nice surprise! The album launch for Staycations: A Summer Punch Up, how did it go?

We had a really great time! We recorded some of the album at Sutton House so it was nice to revisit for a party. We had some great other bands playing too — Glaciers, fronted by brilliant illustrator Nic Burrows, and Niteflights who are an impressive new 4 piece well worth a listen.

Have you had to abide by a load of restrictions, like no noise after 10pm and you have to wear white cotton gloves?

National Trust visiting hours tend to be from 11 until 5 we’ve found, although we’ve bent a few rules like that over the past year! I did have to audition in order to be allowed to borrow one of the Trust’s oldest harpsichords though. Luckily I passed the audition and got to record with it — it’s on the album!

Inside the limited edition Staycations
Inside the limited edition Staycations

Oh great! Have you pencilled in a UK tour for this year? Any other events planned like your Polish paper-cutting workshop?

Well we’re playing Midnight A-Go-Go in London on 25th August, which will be fun. Let’s see what else comes up…

You can catch Kotki Dwa playing at Midnight A-Go-Go on Saturday 25th August at The Waiting Room (underneath The Three Crowns) on Stoke Newington High Street. 9pm – 4am and tickets are just £5. Read my review of the Staycations launch at Sutton House here.

Categories ,A Summer Punch Up, ,Abi Renshaw, ,Alex Ostrowski, ,Bandcamp, ,BBC, ,Beach balls, ,Box Hill, ,bunting, ,Crab costume, ,Dan Morison, ,Edie OP, ,Geoffrey Taylor, ,Ghost, ,Glaciers, ,Great Britain, ,hackney, ,Halloween video, ,Harpsichord, ,Hattie Newman, ,Homerton, ,Ice Cream, ,Kotki Dwa, ,Lake District, ,Limited edition CDs, ,Lunch EP, ,National Trust, ,Niteflights, ,Picnic hampers, ,Pimm’s, ,Pitchfork, ,Polish, ,Queen, ,Recording, ,Robin’s Clogs, ,Sam Glynn, ,Sam Parr, ,Scotch eggs, ,Staycations, ,Sun shine, ,Sutton House, ,Taywell, ,The Guardian, ,Triangle sandwiches, ,Twilight picnic punch, ,World record holder, ,YCN, ,Yorkshire, ,Yorkshire Dales

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Amelia’s Magazine | New Young Pony Club – Live Review

The latest in a series of events from Bad Idea Magazine, illness ‘Future Human’ explores a new topic each month and hosts an evening of discussion and debate at The Book Club in Shoreditch.

This month’s topic ‘Fashion’s Microchic Shake-Up’ pondered on the impact of the internet on the global fashion market we see today. Prior to the invention of the internet, cheapest origins of fashion trends could be pinpointed to say, dosage a specific youth culture, a political movement, or a new music trend. Times have changed; the way we see fashion has changed. The serge of information made accessible to us via the internet has created a new breed of consumer, a fashionista in his or her own right. Hello Microchic. 

The term Microchic is used to describe fashion today – fashion derived from a variety of new, and inspirational sources. A style influenced by social networking sites, trend blogs and small cult labels adopted by highstreet clothing lines. A Microchic consumer knows about fashion and demands individuality, quality, innovation and fashion-forward appeal. 
Ben Beaumont-Thomas began the evening with ‘The Great Microchic Shake-Up: A Primer’, in which he defined microchic as a ‘hyper-personal multi-faceted look’. The internet allows us to cherry pick fashions, it’s no longer about subcultures showcasing specific looks but about a consumer being able to choose a look for that day without the commitment. London’s fashion-forward hubs like Shoreditch accommodate many a microchic fashionista and, it seems what used to be ironic now just ‘is’. In order to track cult fashion movements on the streets of London, Paris, Milan, New York and Tokyo big brands subscribe to online global think tanks and trend forecasting services such as WGSN. These think tanks track fashion movements all over the world. Data is collected to give information on a global scale. Sales figures, market research, on-the-street trend spotters, and research into new manufacturing techniques all form a hub of information essential to any brand that wants to survive. It seems clear; the Internet has played a huge part in turning the way we think about fashion around.

So began the evenings debate; “Can the British High Street compete with Microchic?” The audience were able to upload thoughts in real-time via a live twitter feed which was displayed on stage for debate interaction. Guests Iris Ben David, CEO of Styleshake, Helen Brown, founder of Catwalk Genius and Ruth Marshall-Johnson, senior editor of WGSN Think Tank also shared their thoughts, prompting further debate. A particularly interesting point made by @cushefootwear via twitter was “Internet is to clothes what microwaves are to food”, prompting us to question the importance of ‘experience’ and ‘sensation’ when buying fashion. 
Alterations in consumer shopping patterns have led to many interesting technological developments. Innovative systems are being designed to meet new sets of consumer demands. 


www.styleshake.com

Styleshake allows a user to build a look within an online interface. The idea is, the user can create the garment they have in their head (you know, that absolutely perfect dress you wonder if you’ll ever find) through the selection of various characteristics, such as fabrics, necklines, and detailing. After you’ve designed the garment you can have it made at very reasonable prices.

Catwalk Genius is an innovative creative platform in which unestablished and up-and-coming fashion designers can sell their ranges. It’s a great resource for those looking for something ‘not on the High Street’. Users can also invest in emerging talent by buying shares in a designer’s next collection.

Perhaps a more extreme example of innovation is Augmented-Reality Shopping in which tools such as 3D scanners are used to replicate the body shape and look of a user, allowing him or her to see what they would look like in any chosen garment. 
Emerging trends are all about the involvement of the consumer. The consumer is part of the process. Innovative systems like these are designed to combat consumer frustrations such as differentiation in sizing between brands or inability to find a specific item or size, while offering an alternative consumer experience. Many consumers would be happy to do away with the days of long queues, sweaty changing rooms, rude salespeople and traipsing round shops all afternoon. By adopting an online shopping sphere, however, we lose out on the interactivity, the social nature and the tactility of shopping the High Street. Retail brands will need to facilitate technical developments such as 3D scanners (eliminating the need for changing rooms) to compete. 


H&M Garden Collection

The competitive nature of the High Street has resulted in a cycle of mass production of fast-fashion garments and large amounts of waste. In contributing to our throw-away society the highstreet fails to represent the ethical edge that can be found in Microchic. However the High Street favourites H&M’s Garden Collection made up of organic cotton and recycled polyester represents a change in attitudes from big brands.

So what does the future hold for the British High Street? Join the Debate!

We Have Band could be the most interesting group I have ever interviewed for the sole reason that every question results in the three members talking over each other, rx telling jokes and generally launching into their own internal debate. This is hardly surprising when you consider that two of the members of the band are married to each other and the third member has unwittingly become part of that relationship. Regardless, the London-based three piece are always hilarious and charming in equal measure.

The group has already been tipped by numerous music critics as the band to watch in 2010 and have their songs have been remixed by Bloc Party, Carl Craig and DJ Mujava. It seems inevitable that We Have Band’s debut album, WHB, will thrust them into the limelight with the same feverish hysteria that surrounded Hot Chip’s The Warning, as their dance floor friendly electro pop is already getting some heavy rotation by some of the world’s biggest DJs.

Amelia’s sat down with Darren, Thomas and Dede to find out more about their debut album and the unlikely way the band came together.

Howdy, guys. How was the band formed?
Dede: Thomas was making music and he wasn’t feeling very inspired so I offered to make music with him. I came up with a concept name for the band and mentioned it to Darren. He liked the name and asked if he could join. He came round for dinner and then we formed the band.
Darren: Thomas and Dede are married so I am like the third member of the marriage. It’s quite weird because we don’t really know each other but we just experimented. On the first night we wrote WHB and that’s why we called the album WHB.

How long have you been together?
Dede: Just over two years. That first dinner was in late 2007 and then we spent about 6 or 7 months writing songs. Then everything just went crazy.

Why did you choose to work with producer Gareth Jones (Grizzly Bear, Interpol) on this album?
Thomas: He actually just did additional production and mixing. We had done most of the production ourselves so we just needed someone to help us take it to that next level. We didn’t want to stray too far from what we had originally done but we wanted to give it that shine. He understood that. We wanted someone who would tailor themselves to the band rather than try to change things. We basically tried to capture the energy of the live shows.

You seem very polite and welcoming on stage. How true is this in real life?
Darren: It’s all a huge lie!
Thomas: Dede gets excited.
Dede: If everyone is enjoying themselves then you start enjoying yourself and you start getting excited by the atmosphere. We are quite relaxed.
Thomas: We all have our quirks but we are quite happy in each other’s company. As Darren mentioned, Dede and I are married so there is always something bigger than the band.
Dede: We all just go and have a cup of tea and a bag of crisps after a show.

-Painting by John Lee Bird-

What are you noticing about each other as you tour together and immerse yourselves in each other’s company?
Thomas: Darren has a laptop addiction.
Dede: He is also addicted to eggs

That can’t be very pleasant on a tour bus!
Darren: No, it isn’t! I tend to avoid Thomas and Dede until they have had a coffee in the morning.
Thomas: We can all be a bit short with each other but that’s fine. For the first hour of each day we just don’t speak and then after that we are fine!

You have been referred to as “part Hot Chip, part Talking Heads”. What do you think about this?
Thomas: Dede is banned from reading reviews but we’re fine with that.
Dede: That’s fine. It’s just not what we are.
Thomas: Yeah, it’s not what we are. Talking Heads were obviously an amazing band and we have only released a couple of singles so far but we will let them just say that and take it.

Piano is a very misleading first song on the album as it is nothing like the rest of the record. Did you have a theme or is the album just a bunch of songs that you were happy with?
Thomas: We were aware that they were quite stylistically diverse but they are all us. They are all produced in the same way with the same equipment. Plus, lots of bands have one, maybe two songwriters but all three of us contribute equally to the songs. We didn’t want to hide Piano at the end of the album just because it was a little different.

2010 salutes the return of the 60s, discount but forget the bubblegum pop of The Shangri-Las & co – I’m talking about the deeper and more sophisticated psychedelic sounds of Cream and The 13th Floor Elevators. If the noughties have been characterised by a great come back of punk, sildenafil post-punk and no wave sounds, then my personal forecasts for the new decade see a return to more psychedelic and drone-y atmospheres. The ‘nu-psychedelia’ I saw at SXSW, however, is intertwined with lots of different influences, from the rawness of garage rock and surf music, to the fuzziness of shoegaze-y guitars and 80’s synths, and the complexity of noise.

Turn on, tune in, drop out! Hopefully this will be a new Summer of Love.

Bet on these as real gold for 2010 and beyond:

These Are Powers – finally over the “ghost punk” definition they’ve dubbed themselves with, their hypercharged electro tunes, brightened up with sirens, samples and the best bassline I’ve heard in a while. They will make us dance all the summer.

Small Black – the East Coast is living the cosmic age. Small Black and fellow musicians Washed Out, Neon Indian, Memory Cassette among others take electropop to another dimension with fuzzy dreamy synth-y melodies and textured vocals. This band, in particular, is just great. And it’s making its way to the heart of the hipsters all over the world.

Pearl Harbor – the West Coast, on the contrary, is living the Summer of Love. And Pearl Harbor, together with extraordinaire Best Coast, are major exponents of the trend. Peace and love.

Male Bonding – despite coming from Dalston, Male Bonding don’t even sound British. They explosive mix of noise, shoegaze and rock and roll sounds closer to the Los Angeles bands gathered around The Smell than the anorexic depressed goths that meet at Catch. There’s some hope for British music. God save Male Bonding.

Best Coast – Bethany Cosentino & co are one of the most blogged about bands of the past few months and their broken-hearted twee gaze-y tunes will be pop anthems of the new decade. Someone compared them to the Ramones’ 45s played at 33 revolutions per minute. Listen to them and you’ll see why.

A Sunny Day In Glasgow – this 6-piece band from Philly has been one of the most underrated bands of the past few years. Hopefully this SXSW will help them to rise to the well-deserved heights of glory. Their haunting, dreamy, almost pastoral music reminds of Beach House and Grizzly Bear in a way, but they’re as unique as the former are.

Harlem – brilliant post-surf (if you can call it that way) with a Bowie-esque touch.

Tanlines – here’s another example of the new Brooklyn sound. Tanlines mix urban rhythms with tropical beats and space-y vocals. The mix of these elements seems weird but it’s actually a winner.

Once again, it seems like the American music scene is beating the UK for new, interesting production. People seem to want to dance, to dream, to trip into outer spaces – and US musicians, with their home productions and collective efforts, seem to give the best answer to these new needs. The thought process seems to be: The times have never been so shit. So what? Let’s drop acid and dance in the woods!

It’s a shame UK and European bands can’t keep up with the change, considering the great music tradition we’ve got here. The industry is stuck, 90% of British musicians are either on the dole or working 7 shifts a week in shitty pubs in order not to starve (or doing too much mephedrone so they don’t feel the hunger) and what suffers is the music.

Hopefully this wave of positivism will reach the Old World soon and we’ll see brilliant more UK bands at SXSW next year.
Photographs by Dan Smyth

The first night of the New Young Pony Club tour kicked off in Portsmouth last week, case in front of a half empty crowd at the Wedgewood Rooms. Support came from Is Tropical, approved a band who a few people have gushed about how great they are, visit web including Rhys Jones from Good Shoes who asked them to join their tour. There’s a fair amount of hype around Is Tropical, and I was keen to see them for myself.

They sound alarmingly similar Casiokids, but then any band with a heavy use of keyboards is bound to attract those comparisons. Is Tropical are an interesting band. Playing with scarves pulled over their mouths, they made me wonder if they were focusing on style over substance a little too much. Judging by the amount they were sweating, they weren’t wearing them for comfort.

After a couple of songs into their set my scepticism was swept to one side and I was won over. They are, hands down, the best support band I’ve seen since November. I only wish there were more people there to witness it.

The venue was still pretty empty by the time NYPC came on. Singer Tahita greeted the crowd with a pretty prickly disposition, which got things off to an awkward start.

As NYPC rattled through a host of new songs, Tahita asked who had bought the album. No one responded, and she threw a couple more snarls at the crowd. In defence of the audience, the price of the tickets was well above what you’d expect to pay for a CD. Perhaps she should have been warmer towards the few people who actually spent good money to come and watch them, considering the size of the crowd.

Putting aside her tenacity, NYPC played a good set. Their new stuff sounds just as you’d expect. You can hear the band have outgrown their nu-rave roots, not that they had any choice considering the fact that the scene died on its arse a few years ago.

It’s always refreshing to see female musicians who can hold their own on stage, though the girls on drums and keyboar certainly do too. Tahita is an incredible performer, but her insistence on looking deeply into the eyes of crowd left me a little unsettled. It was appreciated by my male friend no end though.

Despite Tahita’s hostile attitude towards the crowd, it was an enjoyable gig. “Your prayers have been answered,” she said, “we haven’t got more shit” – and she was right. There’s a lot more to the band these days, and whilst the new songs lack a hit like ‘Ice Cream’, that’s probably their saving grace. Maybe soon they’ll be known for their other songs, too.

Categories ,Hype, ,Ice Cream, ,Is Tropical, ,live, ,new wave, ,New Young Pony Club, ,NME, ,Nu-rave, ,NYPC, ,Post Punk, ,Rude, ,Sophomore, ,Tetchy, ,Wedgewood Rooms

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