Amelia’s Magazine | T-post: the world’s first wearable magazine

Quidams at Latitude 2010. Illustration by Sophie Parker and Daniel Sims
After what had been a magical weekend we decided to spend our final night of Latitude simply drifting through the festival. With no agenda we found ourselves sitting atop the large books outside the Literary Stage- donuts in one hand and chocolate dip held precariously in the other. Happily munching away with Vampire Weekend echoing in the background, click it seemed a perfect end to the weekend.

With the masses up at the Obelisk Arena, order the crowds had thinned out to the point where the festival began to resemble its Mean Fiddler days. The dust from the day had finally settled and the sun was just a whisper of warmth in the evening air.

As we got up and turned to head for Cabaret Stage we caught sight of a peculiar glow of light. Bobbing and shimmying, buy it was surrounded by a small gathering of people. As the light dispersed, four towering bubble-like creatures flickered into view, their immense height and width contrasting with their feather-light appearance.

Whilst Latitude is notorious for having all kinds of ephemeral creatures wandering through the festival both day and night, there was definitely something more surreal about these serene giants. Gently they tip-toed on stilts away from the bright lights of the festival into the secret darkness of the trees and, along with a growing crowd of enchanted people of all ages, we followed them Pied Piper-like into the darkness.

Unknown to us at the time it was in fact Quidams- a French street theatre company known for, amongst other things, inflatable self illuminating costumes and characters reminiscent of Tim Burton (before Disney devoured him, obviously). At the time, however, who they were and where they had come from didn’t seem important. It was far more exciting to simply engage with the moment.

Clumsy yet graceful, with only a wordless language of slow gestures and hypnotic light we were lead to the Waterfront stage. They shuffled tentatively onto the unlit platform and there was a simultaneous jaw-dropping as the four figures proceeded to creep silently (and unaided) across the submerged catwalk giving the appearance of walking on water.

What had been a small gathering was now a swarming crowd blocking the bridge and congregating on both sides of the lake. As if out of a Studio Ghibli film, we watched as the four illuminated characters arrived on the other side of the bank and surrounded a covered luminous globe. Performing a kind of magic to the strange and dramatic music, the orb began to rhythmically float and descend, each time getting a little higher. Finally it rose high above our heads shedding it’s gossamer-thin covering and blooming into a huge and glowing full-moon.

As the four characters deflated and drifted off into the night, the moon signaled the perfect end to an unbelievable weekend.

It was definitely not the biggest act, but for the brief time it lasted, the festival site was transformed into a Moomin-esque world caught somewhere between fiction and reality. Quite simply, it was Latitude at its best.

Quidams at Latitude Festival 2010

After what had been a magical weekend we decided to spend our final night of Latitude simply drifting through the festival. With no agenda we found ourselves sitting atop the large books outside the Literary Stage- donuts in one hand and chocolate dip held precariously in the other. Happily munching away with Vampire Weekend echoing in the background, information pills it seemed a perfect end to the weekend.

Quidams at Latitude Festival 2010

With the masses up at the Obelisk Arena, malady the crowds had thinned out to the point where the festival began to resemble its Mean Fiddler days. The dust from the day had finally settled and the sun was just a whisper of warmth in the evening air.

As we got up and turned to head for Cabaret Stage we caught sight of a peculiar glow of light. Bobbing and shimmying, it was surrounded by a small gathering of people. As the light dispersed, four towering bubble-like creatures flickered into view, their immense height and width contrasting with their feather-light appearance.

Quidams at Latitude 2010. Illustration by Sophie Parker and Daniel Sims

Whilst Latitude is notorious for having all kinds of ephemeral creatures wandering through the festival both day and night, there was definitely something more surreal about these serene giants. Gently they tip-toed on stilts away from the bright lights of the festival into the secret darkness of the trees and, along with a growing crowd of enchanted people of all ages, we followed them Pied Piper-like into the darkness.

Unknown to us at the time it was in fact Quidams- a French street theatre company known for, amongst other things, inflatable self illuminating costumes and characters reminiscent of Tim Burton (before Disney devoured him, obviously). At the time, however, who they were and where they had come from didn’t seem important. It was far more exciting to simply engage with the moment.

Quidams at Latitude Festival 2010

Clumsy yet graceful, with only a wordless language of slow gestures and hypnotic light we were lead to the Waterfront stage. They shuffled tentatively onto the unlit platform and there was a simultaneous jaw-dropping as the four figures proceeded to creep silently (and unaided) across the submerged catwalk giving the appearance of walking on water.

What had been a small gathering was now a swarming crowd blocking the bridge and congregating on both sides of the lake. As if out of a Studio Ghibli film, we watched as the four illuminated characters arrived on the other side of the bank and surrounded a covered luminous globe. Performing a kind of magic to the strange and dramatic music, the orb began to rhythmically float and descend, each time getting a little higher. Finally it rose high above our heads shedding it’s gossamer-thin covering and blooming into a huge and glowing full-moon.

Quidams at Latitude Festival 2010

As the four characters deflated and drifted off into the night, the moon signaled the perfect end to an unbelievable weekend.

It was definitely not the biggest act, but for the brief time it lasted, the festival site was transformed into a Moomin-esque world caught somewhere between fiction and reality. Quite simply, it was Latitude at its best.
Quidams at Latitude Festival 2010

After what had been a magical weekend we decided to spend our final night of Latitude simply drifting through the festival. With no agenda we found ourselves sitting atop the large books outside the Literary Stage- donuts in one hand and chocolate dip held precariously in the other. Happily munching away with Vampire Weekend echoing in the background, visit it seemed a perfect end to the weekend.

Quidams at Latitude Festival 2010

With the masses up at the Obelisk Arena, pharmacy the crowds had thinned out to the point where the festival began to resemble its Mean Fiddler days. The dust from the day had finally settled and the sun was just a whisper of warmth in the evening air.

As we got up and turned to head for Cabaret Stage we caught sight of a peculiar glow of light. Bobbing and shimmying, it was surrounded by a small gathering of people. As the light dispersed, four towering bubble-like creatures flickered into view, their immense height and width contrasting with their feather-light appearance.

Quidams at Latitude 2010. Illustration by Sophie Parker and Daniel Sims

Quidams by Sophie Parker and Daniel Sims

Whilst Latitude is notorious for having all kinds of ephemeral creatures wandering through the festival both day and night, there was definitely something more surreal about these serene giants. Gently they tip-toed on stilts away from the bright lights of the festival into the secret darkness of the trees and, along with a growing crowd of enchanted people of all ages, we followed them Pied Piper-like into the darkness.

Unknown to us at the time it was in fact Quidams- a French street theatre company known for, amongst other things, inflatable self illuminating costumes and characters reminiscent of Tim Burton (before Disney devoured him, obviously). At the time, however, who they were and where they had come from didn’t seem important. It was far more exciting to simply engage with the moment.

Quidams at Latitude Festival 2010

Clumsy yet graceful, with only a wordless language of slow gestures and hypnotic light we were lead to the Waterfront stage. They shuffled tentatively onto the unlit platform and there was a simultaneous jaw-dropping as the four figures proceeded to creep silently (and unaided) across the submerged catwalk giving the appearance of walking on water.

What had been a small gathering was now a swarming crowd blocking the bridge and congregating on both sides of the lake. As if out of a Studio Ghibli film, we watched as the four illuminated characters arrived on the other side of the bank and surrounded a covered luminous globe. Performing a kind of magic to the strange and dramatic music, the orb began to rhythmically float and descend, each time getting a little higher. Finally it rose high above our heads shedding it’s gossamer-thin covering and blooming into a huge and glowing full-moon.

Quidams at Latitude Festival 2010

As the four characters deflated and drifted off into the night, the moon signaled the perfect end to an unbelievable weekend.

It was definitely not the biggest act, but for the brief time it lasted, the festival site was transformed into a Moomin-esque world caught somewhere between fiction and reality. Quite simply, it was Latitude at its best.

T-post is the world’s first wearable magazine. Nope, it isn’t a Vogue-September-Issue-style glossy mag that has been fashioned into a Stephen-Jones-style millinery creation, story but a t-shirt that poses as a magazine. It’s the brainchild of Sweden-based Peter Lundgren, pilule and produced using an army of writers and illustrators. The concept is pretty simple – a current or topical news story is printed on the inside, and an artist or illustrator interprets the story on the outside. Previous topics have included immigration, the Nobel prize and Mickey Mouse, amongst many other things, and artists contribute from all over the world. Subscribers receive a new t-shirt every five weeks, with T-post producing its 57th issue very soon!

I had a chat with founder and editor-in-chief Peter Lundgren to find out more about T-post…

What’s the thinking behind T-post?
It all started with the idea of trying to re-wire the structures of news communication. We started concepting ways to engage people in important topics, and our favourite garment, the T-shirt, seemed like an ideal media for doing so. T-shirts inspire conversation, and when you add a story behind them, you get people thinking. By combining a news magazine subscription with a T-shirt we’re able to utilise the attention and commitment accustom to the ‘fashion world’ while communicating interesting news topics. And by putting the written story on the inside of the Tee just for the subscriber to read, the subscriber is really the one communicating the story and getting it to spread outside the T-post circle.

Since the article is not usually available while wearing the T-shirt, it really becomes their personal interpretation of the story, which is even more interesting to hear about, I think!

How did it all begin?
The idea was born back in 2004 in an advertising agency I co-owned at the time. During that year it was just a fun project that we did in between other clients. I always saw great potential in the project, but realised that I needed to focus on it 100% to get it to take off. In the beginning of 2006 I handed over the agency to my partner, so I was able to give T-post the chance it deserved. My goal was to not take on any investors along the way, even though I had lots of offers, which left me with six months to get the number of subscribers from 300 to a 1000 to still have a job.

After about two months we got a centrefold article in one of the biggest news papers in The Netherlands. After that T-post got its own life in newspapers and on the internet.

Describe T-post in 3 words.
I can do it in two: “Conversation piece”.

Where do the ideas for each ‘issue’ come from?
It can be a reflection on several news stories which have a connection or just a single interesting story that we’ve picked up in a newspaper.

How do you source and network with illustrators and contributors?
We’ve been very lucky. We always have a lot of illustrators contacting us wanting to interpret one of our stories, so we keep a constantly growing library of who we think have the most unique and interesting look.

And when it’s time to match a story with an illustrator we chose the one who we think have the most suitable look for our written story.

Can anybody contribute?
Absolutely. Just send us some examples of what you’ve done in the past and we’ll consider you for a upcoming issue.

Is it difficult running a business and maintaining creativity?
This is what I’ve always loved to do so I automatically pick up stuff which I think is interesting and could make a good issue. You have to surround yourself with talented people who can bring the best out of you and the brand. I always bring a bunch of ideas to the table some of them are good but most of them are really shitty. So it’s important to have people around you which you can try your ideas on.

How are the t-shirts produced? Are the actual t-shirts ethical?
We use American Apparel T-shirts so we’re really comfortable with them being produced ethically.

What are your thoughts on advertising?
Nobody likes advertising, yet everyone pays for it in the purchase-price of a product. Not with T-post. T-post began as an underground phenomenon amongst friends and we have grown honestly and organically. We’d like to keep it that way. 

We don’t create advertising. We create dialog. We listen. We don’t believe in corporations telling people what to believe. Instead, we only believe in our family of subscribers. Our fans do the only kind of advertising we like: word-of-mouth.

Your ethos is that T-post only produces the amount of t-shirts necessary to correspond with subscriber figures, to avoid any waste. Are environmental issues important to you, and your magazine?
We just try to do what we can with the recourses we have. Which all companies should. It’s important not to use more than what is absolutely necessary for your business to work.

The first issue of T-post had a run of 5 copies – how many subscribers do you have now? Do subscriber numbers multiply on a monthly basis?
Today we have about 2,500 subscribers in over 50 countries. And it’s about 150 new subscribers signing on each month.

How will T-post develop? What does the future hold?
Right now our only goal is to make as interesting issues as we can. We’re trying to expand what we can deliver in each issue to make our message as clear as possible. One example is our Augmented Reality Issue:

Who would you like to seeing wearing an issue of T-post?
I would love to see Andy Warhol wear one, but since that’s not so likely the next best thing would be to see Jon Stewart wear one on the Daily Show!

To subscribe, visit the T-post website!
To contact Peter and the team about contributing, see the contacts page.

Categories ,American Apparel, ,Andy Warhol, ,illustration, ,interview, ,Jon Stewart, ,magazine, ,Netherlands, ,News, ,Peter Lundgren, ,T-post, ,T-shirts, ,The Daily Show

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Amelia’s Magazine | Welcome to the world of DIY Couture

santa3santa

Not quite feeling in the festive mood yet?! We have put together a bit of a mix CD in blog styleee format just for you to get you feelin Christmasy!

Grace Beaumont, healing Earth Editor
Mariah Carey: “All I Want For Christmas
Me and my friends did it for kareoke a few years ago and it was so fun! I like the video and Mariah just makes me lol in her santa outfit!

Rebecca Milne, information pills Music Editor
Bo Selecta: “Proper Crimbo
This didn’t go down well at all when I played it in the office, but I lovesss it! It takes me back in particualr to last Chritmas when my sister and I were teaching our 8year old neice the lyrics when we were out in the car looking for the houses with the most christmas lights on it.

Luciana Saldanha, Music Contributor
Aconteceu
I am originally from the sub tropical country of Brasil, and down there we do have quite a few Christmas songs to celebrate our rather hot, and sunny Christmas. I walked down Memory Lane – with the help of my laptop of course – and found a few (many) gems from Brasil, and, let me tell you, these songs took me straight back into the sweaty arms of our Brazilian version of Santa Claus. My chosen one would be “Aconteceu”, because it reminds me of me and my childhood friends singing it, its a very very typical song

Valerie Pezeron, Arts Editor
Vanessa Paradis: “Emmenez Moi
French Classic brilliantly covered by Ms Depp. Lyrics: ” Take me away to the end of the world, Take me away in the land of wonders. It seems to me that misery would be less hard in the sun, take me away!” Very fitting but not too obvious.

Briony Warren, Music Contributor
?Neil Young: ‘After the Goldrush’
It was a favourite of my father’s and several Christmas’s ago my he asked for us to sing it for him at a family get together. My three sisters and I practiced it and learnt a few harmonies. My uncle Frank, accompanied us on guitar. Everyone loved it and this song always reminds me of this!It’s a great song with many renditions done over the years by the likes of Thom Yorke, Tori Amos and The Flaming Lips. We also performed it at my Grandmothers funeral, however we changed the lyrics slightly because the song is actually about drug addiction.

Georgie Van Kuyk, Music Contributor
Mariah Carey: All I Want For Christmas
This is the ultimate Christmas song! It reminds me of school discos, wearing horrendous clothes, tinsel, and my beast friend reminded me; you had until the end of this song to find someone to dance the last slow dance with.

Colin McKean, Music Contributor
The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl: ‘Fairytale of New York’
Drunkenness, disillusionment, broken dreams and promises, as well as the threat of domestic violence. What could be more festive?
or… ‘Just Like Christmas’ by Low, which seems to capture both the joy and the introspection of the festive season in pretty much equal measure.

Cari Steel, Music Contributor
Julie London: “Lonely Girl
Christmas songs always sound like they have had 10lbs of tinsel dumped on them; they are gaudy, overblown, and are the musical equivalent of the torpid state that we find ourselves in after consuming our weight in turkey and Christmas Cake. The antidote to all of this excess is listening to Julie London’s “Lonely Girl”. The mellow, delicious, breathy tones of Julie sets the scene to curl up in front of a fire, clad in nothing but big woolly socks and an oversized jumper while sipping a large brandy and letting the festive overload gently ebb away.

Rachael Oku, Fashion Editor

Have a happppppy Christmas!! xx

santa

Not quite feeling in the festive mood yet?! We have put together a bit of a mix CD in blog styleee format just for you to get you feelin Christmasy!

Grace Beaumont, side effects Earth Editor
Mariah Carey: “All I Want For Christmas
Me and my friends did it for kareoke a few years ago and it was so fun! I like the video and Mariah just makes me lol in her santa outfit!

Rebecca Milne, for sale Music Editor
Bo Selecta: “Proper Crimbo
This didn’t go down well at all when I played it in the office, generic but I lovesss it! It takes me back in particualr to last Chritmas when my sister and I were teaching our 8year old neice the lyrics when we were out in the car looking for the houses with the most christmas lights on it.

Luciana Saldanha, Music Contributor
Aconteceu
I am originally from the sub tropical country of Brasil, and down there we do have quite a few Christmas songs to celebrate our rather hot, and sunny Christmas. I walked down Memory Lane – with the help of my laptop of course – and found a few (many) gems from Brasil, and, let me tell you, these songs took me straight back into the sweaty arms of our Brazilian version of Santa Claus. My chosen one would be “Aconteceu”, because it reminds me of me and my childhood friends singing it, its a very very typical song

Valerie Pezeron, Arts Editor
Vanessa Paradis: “Emmenez Moi
French Classic brilliantly covered by Ms Depp. Lyrics: ” Take me away to the end of the world, Take me away in the land of wonders. It seems to me that misery would be less hard in the sun, take me away!” Very fitting but not too obvious.

santa3

Briony Warren, Music Contributor
?Neil Young: ‘After the Goldrush’
It was a favourite of my father’s and several Christmas’s ago my he asked for us to sing it for him at a family get together. My three sisters and I practiced it and learnt a few harmonies. My uncle Frank, accompanied us on guitar. Everyone loved it and this song always reminds me of this!It’s a great song with many renditions done over the years by the likes of Thom Yorke, Tori Amos and The Flaming Lips. We also performed it at my Grandmothers funeral, however we changed the lyrics slightly because the song is actually about drug addiction.

Georgie Van Kuyk, Music Contributor
Mariah Carey: All I Want For Christmas
This is the ultimate Christmas song! It reminds me of school discos, wearing horrendous clothes, tinsel, and my beast friend reminded me; you had until the end of this song to find someone to dance the last slow dance with.

Colin McKean, Music Contributor
The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl: ‘Fairytale of New York’
Drunkenness, disillusionment, broken dreams and promises, as well as the threat of domestic violence. What could be more festive?
or… ‘Just Like Christmas’ by Low, which seems to capture both the joy and the introspection of the festive season in pretty much equal measure.

Cari Steel, Music Contributor
Julie London: “Lonely Girl
Christmas songs always sound like they have had 10lbs of tinsel dumped on them; they are gaudy, overblown, and are the musical equivalent of the torpid state that we find ourselves in after consuming our weight in turkey and Christmas Cake. The antidote to all of this excess is listening to Julie London’s “Lonely Girl”. The mellow, delicious, breathy tones of Julie sets the scene to curl up in front of a fire, clad in nothing but big woolly socks and an oversized jumper while sipping a large brandy and letting the festive overload gently ebb away.

Rachael Oku, Fashion Editor

Have a happppppy Christmas!! xx

santa

Not quite feeling in the festive mood yet?! We have put together a bit of a mix CD in blog styleee format just for you to get you feelin Christmasy!

Grace Beaumont, what is ed Earth Editor
Mariah Carey: “All I Want For Christmas
Me and my friends did it for kareoke a few years ago and it was so fun! I like the video and Mariah just makes me lol in her santa outfit!

Rebecca Milne, Music Editor
Bo Selecta: “Proper Crimbo
This didn’t go down well at all when I played it in the office, but I lovesss it! It takes me back in particualr to last Chritmas when my sister and I were teaching our 8year old neice the lyrics when we were out in the car looking for the houses with the most christmas lights on it.

Luciana Saldanha, Music Contributor
Aconteceu
I am originally from the sub tropical country of Brasil, and down there we do have quite a few Christmas songs to celebrate our rather hot, and sunny Christmas. I walked down Memory Lane – with the help of my laptop of course – and found a few (many) gems from Brasil, and, let me tell you, these songs took me straight back into the sweaty arms of our Brazilian version of Santa Claus. My chosen one would be “Aconteceu”, because it reminds me of me and my childhood friends singing it, its a very very typical song

Valerie Pezeron, Arts Editor
Vanessa Paradis: “Emmenez Moi
French Classic brilliantly covered by Ms Depp. Lyrics: ” Take me away to the end of the world, Take me away in the land of wonders. It seems to me that misery would be less hard in the sun, take me away!” Very fitting but not too obvious.

santa3

Briony Warren, Music Contributor
?Neil Young: ‘After the Goldrush’
It was a favourite of my father’s and several Christmas’s ago my he asked for us to sing it for him at a family get together. My three sisters and I practiced it and learnt a few harmonies. My uncle Frank, accompanied us on guitar. Everyone loved it and this song always reminds me of this!It’s a great song with many renditions done over the years by the likes of Thom Yorke, Tori Amos and The Flaming Lips. We also performed it at my Grandmothers funeral, however we changed the lyrics slightly because the song is actually about drug addiction.

Georgie Van Kuyk, Music Contributor
Mariah Carey: All I Want For Christmas
This is the ultimate Christmas song! It reminds me of school discos, wearing horrendous clothes, tinsel, and my beast friend reminded me; you had until the end of this song to find someone to dance the last slow dance with.

Colin McKean, Music Contributor
The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl: ‘Fairytale of New York’
Drunkenness, disillusionment, broken dreams and promises, as well as the threat of domestic violence. What could be more festive?
or… ‘Just Like Christmas’ by Low, which seems to capture both the joy and the introspection of the festive season in pretty much equal measure.

Cari Steel, Music Contributor
Julie London: “Lonely Girl
Christmas songs always sound like they have had 10lbs of tinsel dumped on them; they are gaudy, overblown, and are the musical equivalent of the torpid state that we find ourselves in after consuming our weight in turkey and Christmas Cake. The antidote to all of this excess is listening to Julie London’s “Lonely Girl”. The mellow, delicious, breathy tones of Julie sets the scene to curl up in front of a fire, clad in nothing but big woolly socks and an oversized jumper while sipping a large brandy and letting the festive overload gently ebb away.

Rachael Oku, Fashion Editor

Have a happppppy Christmas!! xx

santa

Not quite feeling in the festive mood yet?! We have put together a bit of a mix CD in blog styleee format just for you to get you feelin Christmasy!

Grace Beaumont, approved Earth Editor
Mariah Carey: “All I Want For Christmas
Me and my friends did it for kareoke a few years ago and it was so fun! I like the video and Mariah just makes me lol in her santa outfit!

Rebecca Milne, Music Editor
Bo Selecta: “Proper Crimbo
This didn’t go down well at all when I played it in the office, but I lovesss it! It takes me back in particualr to last Chritmas when my sister and I were teaching our 8year old neice the lyrics when we were out in the car looking for the houses with the most christmas lights on it.

Luciana Saldanha, Music Contributor
Aconteceu
I am originally from the sub tropical country of Brasil, and down there we do have quite a few Christmas songs to celebrate our rather hot, and sunny Christmas. I walked down Memory Lane – with the help of my laptop of course – and found a few (many) gems from Brasil, and, let me tell you, these songs took me straight back into the sweaty arms of our Brazilian version of Santa Claus. My chosen one would be “Aconteceu”, because it reminds me of me and my childhood friends singing it, its a very very typical song

Valerie Pezeron, Arts Editor
Vanessa Paradis: “Emmenez Moi
French Classic brilliantly covered by Ms Depp. Lyrics: ” Take me away to the end of the world, Take me away in the land of wonders. It seems to me that misery would be less hard in the sun, take me away!” Very fitting but not too obvious.

santa3

Briony Warren, Music Contributor
?Neil Young: ‘After the Goldrush’
It was a favourite of my father’s and several Christmas’s ago my he asked for us to sing it for him at a family get together. My three sisters and I practiced it and learnt a few harmonies. My uncle Frank, accompanied us on guitar. Everyone loved it and this song always reminds me of this!It’s a great song with many renditions done over the years by the likes of Thom Yorke, Tori Amos and The Flaming Lips. We also performed it at my Grandmothers funeral, however we changed the lyrics slightly because the song is actually about drug addiction.

Georgie Van Kuyk, Music Contributor
Mariah Carey: All I Want For Christmas
This is the ultimate Christmas song! It reminds me of school discos, wearing horrendous clothes, tinsel, and my beast friend reminded me; you had until the end of this song to find someone to dance the last slow dance with.

Colin McKean, Music Contributor
The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl: ‘Fairytale of New York’
Drunkenness, disillusionment, broken dreams and promises, as well as the threat of domestic violence. What could be more festive?
or… ‘Just Like Christmas’ by Low, which seems to capture both the joy and the introspection of the festive season in pretty much equal measure.

Cari Steel, Music Contributor
Julie London: “Lonely Girl
Christmas songs always sound like they have had 10lbs of tinsel dumped on them; they are gaudy, overblown, and are the musical equivalent of the torpid state that we find ourselves in after consuming our weight in turkey and Christmas Cake. The antidote to all of this excess is listening to Julie London’s “Lonely Girl”. The mellow, delicious, breathy tones of Julie sets the scene to curl up in front of a fire, clad in nothing but big woolly socks and an oversized jumper while sipping a large brandy and letting the festive overload gently ebb away.

Rachael Oku, Fashion Editor

Have a happppppy Christmas!! xx

home pageAll imagery throughout courtesy of The Stellar Boutique

Stella McCartney and Kate Moss know a thing or two about good style. Both are fans of Stella McClure, information pills owner of newly opened internet shop, approved The Stellar Boutique. Previously running a vintage-customised stall at Portobello Market, more about McClure packed up shop in 2004 to travel the world in a campervan. Now settled in the Spanish countryside, she has decided to give it another go. This time though from the comfort of her own home via the power of the internet.

80s vintage tiger topThe Stellar Boutique is a great concept. McClure travels the hippy-luxe trail across Europe to Marrakech in order to bring you vintage treasures. Everybody loves a one-off, and that is certainly what The Stellar Boutique provides. Featuring vintage bags, designer garments, customised pieces and exquisitely exotic homeware, there’s something for everyone.

squareingtrq231Unlike many other fashion businesses at the moment, McClure is keen to promote new designers and ethnic artisans. (Instead of ‘Marc Jacobs’ think ‘Marc who?’) McClure insists that real style is best grown from within, instead of stealing magazine looks or following trend advice. The Stellar Boutique offers the freedom to do this.

NWfeathfrBut does it deliver? Standout pieces are endless. Let’s start with the accessories. There are the Moroccan style leather handbags.Then there are the mountains of unique jewellery to choose from. Pieces by Bora Bora, Lei Rose and Norwegian Wood are to die for. I love the porcelain tea-cup necklace and the silver postcard trinket by Lei Rose, as well as the feathered and fringed pieces by Norwegian Wood, and wow, have you seen the skull charm bracelet by Bora Bora? Even more for the Christmas list!

vintage shoes goldnsilverNext up, vintage. There’s second-hand, slightly grubby, vintage fashion, and then there’s nice ‘I’m so glad only I have this’ vintage fashion. The Stellar Boutique falls into the latter category. The vintage section of the site is easily the big winner. With clothing separated into 60s, 70s, 80s, handbags, scarves, boots and boho, it couldn’t be easier to navigate towards your era or item of choice.

v125Boho features peasant tops and kaftans Sienna would covet. The 70s section showcases (unusually beautiful) standout dresses at massively cut-down prices, and 80s can tailor to all your glam rock needs. There are sparkly 80s style heels and some killer red leather stilettos in the shoe department, as well as the standard biker or cowgirl boot. With menswear and more accessories coming soon, you’ve got to keep checking back for more goodies!

boomboxAs if it needed to be said; everything is quality assured, hand-picked and highly loved. Check out the site to update your wardrobe for 2010 with fresh, exotic pieces your friends can drool over. For Christmas, they are spreading the holiday joy with a 20% off discount sale on all vintage and womenswear, as well as homeware! So why not pick up something for your Christmas shindigs or New Year’s bashes now instead of waiting for the mania of the January sales?!
heather in the garden 24Images throughout courtesy of DIY Couture

DIY Couture publishes books which run through the process of making your garment of choice. The books work as guides to pattern cutting and assembling fabrics for your perfect piece. Instead of hours spent poring over tracing paper with a handful of needles, discount these books make DIY creations easy and fun. If you were one of those kids that loved crafts and art at Brownies, physician this is certainly the adult version for you.

The best thing about DIY Couture is that these guides ensure personal tailoring. In this way, you can create clothing specifically made for your body, as a piece of couture – without the price tag. Now you can wear dresses that sculpt your waist and bust, without the need for special underwear or elasticised belts. On the flip side, despite being cheap, the clothes you make will not enforce sweatshop conditions – unless you impose them on yourself!

pleatedskirtcoverThe books are pretty too. As an aesthete myself, this is highly important for any purchase – including books. The guides come illustrated with computer designed images and photographs outlining the exact processes for you in easy to understand diagrams. Basically, they are novice-friendly, user-friendly, sewing-friendly, you name it.

So what if you’re a sewing-phobe like me? Never fear. The DIY Couture website addresses all areas of clothes making. Usefully, everything can be made using the simplest techniques – straight line and zig-zag stitches – your basics from Textiles class in High School. They also outline where you can purchase second hand or new machines cost-effectively, with reviews to help you decide.

heather jumpsThe garments up for creation include bandeau dresses, scoop neck tops, capelets, high-waisted shorts and lace tops, the creations at your fingertips are far from cheap-looking. Inspired by catwalk trends and what people wear on style blogs, DIY Couture provides instantly wearable classics in flattering cuts that are also thoroughly modern in feel. It’s like building up your own American Apparel or Uniqlo basics wardrobe, lovingly made with your own hands.

The site also offers advice on getting started and help when you run into trouble. They even offer tips on fabrics and embroidery, and how to get involved in the sewing world with links to magazines. To reiterate, it really is user-friendly-for-all community. Go from new-to-pro with these books, and create something you want now for half the price and twice the fun! Christmas lists, anyone?

Categories ,American Apparel, ,Becky Cope, ,DIY Couture, ,Uniqlo

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Amelia’s Magazine | Leon Diaper: Photographer Spotlight

wietse22With a passion for the natural world and the understanding that things
are going the wrong way, capsule Wietse started getting involved with activism
in his Dutch homeland at the age of 15. Putting himself in harms way to
defend the defenceless didn’t get him the school grades his parents had
hoped for, ed but it set the tone for the years ahead. After moving to the
UK and studying at the Newark Violin Making School in Nottinghamshire,
his activism focused on direct action, creative activism and community
media. He is a founding member of the community media outlet Notts
Indymedia, the Riseup! Radio project and the art activist collective the
Mischief Makers. In the last two years his focus has moved towards ocean
conservation and he currently lives and works as ship’s carpenter on the
Steve Irwin, the ship operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Wietse’s hobbies include sewing, embroidery and drawing.

www.mischiefmakers.org.uk
www.seashepherd.org
wietse22With a passion for the natural world and the understanding that things
are going the wrong way, erectile Wietse started getting involved with activism
in his Dutch homeland at the age of 15. Putting himself in harms way to
defend the defenceless didn’t get him the school grades his parents had
hoped for, but it set the tone for the years ahead. After moving to the
UK and studying at the Newark Violin Making School in Nottinghamshire,
his activism focused on direct action, creative activism and community
media. He is a founding member of the community media outlet Notts
Indymedia, the Riseup! Radio project and the art activist collective the
Mischief Makers. In the last two years his focus has moved towards ocean
conservation and he currently lives and works as ship’s carpenter on the
Steve Irwin, the ship operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Wietse’s hobbies include sewing, embroidery and drawing.

www.mischiefmakers.org.uk
www.seashepherd.org
wietse22With a passion for the natural world and the understanding that things
are going the wrong way, information pills Wietse started getting involved with activism
in his Dutch homeland at the age of 15. Putting himself in harms way to
defend the defenceless didn’t get him the school grades his parents had
hoped for, but it set the tone for the years ahead. After moving to the
UK and studying at the Newark Violin Making School in Nottinghamshire,
his activism focused on direct action, creative activism and community
media. He is a founding member of the community media outlet Notts
Indymedia, the Riseup! Radio project and the art activist collective the
Mischief Makers. In the last two years his focus has moved towards ocean
conservation and he currently lives and works as ship’s carpenter on the
Steve Irwin, the ship operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Wietse’s hobbies include sewing, embroidery and drawing.

www.mischiefmakers.org.uk
www.seashepherd.org
wietse22With a passion for the natural world and the understanding that things
are going the wrong way, approved Wietse started getting involved with activism
in his Dutch homeland at the age of 15. Putting himself in harms way to
defend the defenceless didn’t get him the school grades his parents had
hoped for, sildenafil but it set the tone for the years ahead. After moving to the
UK and studying at the Newark Violin Making School in Nottinghamshire,
his activism focused on direct action, creative activism and community
media. He is a founding member of the community media outlet Notts
Indymedia, the Riseup! Radio project and the art activist collective the
Mischief Makers. In the last two years his focus has moved towards ocean
conservation and he currently lives and works as ship’s carpenter on the
Steve Irwin, the ship operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Wietse’s hobbies include sewing, embroidery and drawing.

www.mischiefmakers.org.uk
www.seashepherd.org
mattAll photographs courtesy of Leon Diaper

Leon Diaper is a 23-year-old very talented photographer hailing from New Forest. Leon graduated last summer from the art institute of Bournemouth where he had studied a BA in Commercial Photography. He is now trying his luck in the big city of London.

Valerie Pezeron: Hello Leon, malady how are you getting on living in London?

Leon Diaper: I am trying to make my way with everyone else, health doing my own work. I have a day job to earn money in American Apparel at the moment. This is all right. I have a few friends who work there. I needed a job when I came to London and this is better than the bar job I used to have back home, with crazy hours. It does not make you particularly productive.

VP: Why commercial photography?

LD: If you want to make a living, the course I did was more grounded than the other photography BA a few of my friends did. Theirs was a really open-ended and really fine art based course. It wasn’t anything I liked, looked at or ventured towards. With my course, I could do fashion, documentary and you get 6 weeks to do a project in anything you want. I was shown how you could sell your work and get it published.

6

VP: So you did work for Dazed and Confused? How did that come about?

LD: Just band stuff and portraits, which is always nice to do. Normally I would email them, just annoy people and then call. Most of the time, clients you approach are quite nice; I’m going to meet someone from Tank magazine today. They just said, “Come over and show me your work”. It’s often quite informal, and then you just have to prop them again to go “hey, what do you think!’ and things like that. It was a paid gig, which is always really nice.

VP: So far you have been photographing bands but the rest of your portfolio is quite different.

LD: Yes, because music photography is the easiest way to get your work into magazines. I have so far photographed bands like Siren and Siren. My personal work tends to be more documentary stuff. I enjoy doing narratives, meeting groups and individuals.

VP: What king of magazines would you see your work fit in best?

LD: In Dazed, they have the editorial piece. I would love to do stories for such magazines. I love spending a lot of time building a body of work in order to narrow it down into a piece. Bands are always really hard to make that exciting, to be honest. It’s a really good thing to do but… but here are two guys I have never met and I’ve got 50 minutes to get a picture that is good!

VP: I love the work of Anton Corbijn. Who do you like and who influenced you?

LD: I’m quite traditional. William Eggleston and Steven Shaw…all the photographers from back in the 60s and 70s, these are the people I go back to, that I am excited about. That’s why I do a lot of work in America when I go away.

VP: Did you always know you wanted to be a photographer?

LD: I remember doing photography way back at A’ levels and being a little bit unsure where to go. I was doing communications then and did not know what to do with it so I thought maybe I’d give photography a go. I’ve carried on with it since. I don’t come from a family of artists. My step dad played the guitar, that’s about it! My mum is science based and no one took photos around me. I’d say music was always the thing I was into and I am in a band. Film, music and photography all excite me.

bandpic

VP: What do you play in the band?

LD: I play the guitar and sing. I try to sing! It’s quite 90’s grungy pop songs sort of thing. Louder bands like Sonic Youth and singer-songwriters like Elliott Smith are on my play list, Joanna Newsom also. Things like that are good to listen to when you are reading. I love the nostalgic sound of albums one used to listen to a while ago and you listen to now to remember things by.

VP: What kind of camera do you use?

LD: I use a Bronica medium format camera for some stuff. My favourite camera for my documentary work is the Kiev; it’s got a really nice quality to it for things like portraits..

VP: Tell us about your printing methods? Do you use just colour?

LD: I normally take it somewhere because colour is really hard, black and white you can just do at home. Lately I have popped in a few black and white images in there.

VP: You seem to enjoy manipulating light, light effects such as smoke.

LD: I bring in little props such as powder to make an image such as photographs of people dynamic, less stiff. Things become fun; it brings surrealism and freedom to the images. I pay special attention to colours also.

wonder

VP: What is your most precious possession?

LD: Probably my guitar! I’ve been in bands for years and I have had it through the whole time. It’s quite a good electric guitar; I remember saving a lot of money for it. My Kiev and Bronica come next. These two are my main cameras. I have other pinhole cameras that I have used for series with the sort of dreamy sequence.

VP: What do you think of Pentax and Leicas…?

LD: I’d love a Leica camera but they’re so beyond being able to afford them! I’d love to buy lots and lots of cameras, but now that I’ve found ones that I can use I’m sticking with them.

VP: Yes, and these are gorgeous pictures! What would be your dream job?

LD: I’d love to be paid to do the sort of documentaries like this one I did when I went to America for two months, establishing myself as part of those great photographers. It’s that kind of that grand ambition of great adventure, of disappearing and coming back.

man

VP: Have you read “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac?

LD: I have! My pictures of Slab City are a great example; it’s an old military place in the middle of the Colorado Desert. Back in the war, it had been used for bombing then they closed it. The army stayed and lived there for a bit, people started coming there for a bit and in the 60’s, there was a huge commune…

VP: It’s one of the last frontiers, isn’t it?

LD: Yes, and it looks like something out of Mad Max. Have you seen the film “Into the Wild”? They filmed at Slab City this guy; my friends and me helped him paint the mountain at 6 am. Everyone has a dog in Slab City. It’s probably one of the coolest places I have ever been, being there with these people. It’s people on drugs, down and outs and I see the beauty, the freedom. These people are living their own way with their own means, getting by without harming anybody. Some people there have super posh motor homes and on the other end of the spectrum, others live in makeshifts. They live day by day almost for free, gas and food are almost all they worry about. I’d be lying to myself if I claimed I could live like that.

girl

VP: It’s really quite different from Bournemouth, isn’t it?

LD: It’s definitely worlds and worlds away from Bournemouth! I love the contrast of American Pop culture because it’s loud and all quite new, the strange, weird and wonderful.

VP: Literature seems to have played a big part in your development.

LD: Ah yeah, definitely! 50’s and 60’s culture, Beatniks…Faulkner. I’m currently reading Hunter S. Thompson. The backbone of my work is freedom based American culture. Another photo series of mine is in San Francisco, outside of this bookstore where Kerouac and friends used to meet. The first year we drove from New York to LA for two months. We rented a half decent car and did a five a half thousand miles!

VP: There is an overwhelming sense of nostalgia in your work. It’s as if you wish we were still in that place.

LD: Massively! Definitely! I’ve always wanted to go back and we did; we went from Vancouver to San Francisco- the pacific Coast. Why can’t we do this all the time!

VP: Have you watched Planet of the Apes and Soylent Green?

LD: I have but never looked at it artistically.

VP: There is something there about civilisation having been there a long time ago, but then you look back on it. Things have really moved on but there are places, like in the movie where Charlton Heston discovers the Statue of Liberty in the sand…

LD: Forgotten times, yes. I like kind of weird stuff like Harmony Korine and Gummo. The mix of playfulness and the serious: I did some work on wrestling, obviously it’s bigger in the US. I always see images in films and that informs my work. I try to find weird and wonderful people.

mask

VP: What are your plans for this year?

LD: I’d like to go away again somewhere. I’d like to go to Alaska.

VP: Oh, wow! Maybe you could put Palin back in her habitat, which might be good.

LD: (Laughter) Exactly! There is a British Journalism Photography competition I entered last year and got short-listed for. I got some work in their magazine, which was nice- I am not quite sure when I hear from them if I win. You get 5 000 pounds if you win to do a project you propose to them, that’s why I want to go to Alaska o follow the Transatlantic oil line that goes from north to south. It would be reportage on the freedom of meeting different kind of people along the way. I like taking detail shots and landscapes.

VP: Any other plans?

LD: A Masters Degree one day but not any time soon. I’m doing a group photography exhibition called “Clinique Presents” from the 11th of February at the Amersham Arms. There will be some prints for sale and the theme is loosely based on magic.

painting-the-canyon

Categories ,Abisham Arms, ,alaska in winter, ,American Apparel, ,American photography, ,Anton Corbijn, ,art, ,bournemouth, ,British Journalism Photography competition, ,Charlton Heston, ,Clinique Presents, ,Dazed and Confused, ,elliott smith, ,Harmony Korine and Gummo, ,Hunter S. Thompson, ,interview, ,Into the Wild, ,Jack Kerouac, ,Kiev, ,Leica, ,Leica camera, ,Leon Diaper, ,music, ,musician, ,Pacific Coast, ,photography, ,Planet of the Apes, ,San Francisco, ,Sonic Youth, ,Soylent Green, ,Steve Shaw, ,William Eggleston

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