Introducing Closet Swap, a new online fashion community site from Channel 4 Education. As part of a wider debate about sustainable and ethical fashion, Closet Swap allows users to share and customise clothes with their friends via Facebook. What I particularly like is the associated iPhone Closet Swap Fashion Finder app which helps users to locate local vintage and charity shops, perfect for a second hand magpie like myself. It’s no surprise that the girls at Tatty Devine support the idea, given that their new book How to Make Jewellery is based on the concept that ‘one girl’s trash is another girl’s treasure‘. Ethical designer Ada Zanditon has also given it the thumbs up, and so do I. Get involved! Here’s the link to the Closet Swap Facebook page.
Illustrator Janneke de Jong also runs a very inspiring website called Small Scale Samaritan, where she gives away (beautifully illustrated) clothing that she doesn’t want. It was covered recently in the Guardian too and she is looking for more people to get involved so get in touch with her if you fancy it, either to give away your own clothing or help illustrate donations from others.
14 Bacon Street, erectile E1 6LF, page 11th-18th December
The pop-up shop does what it says on the tin, buy appears in a different location for a limited time, so you have to be quick to get in and see what’s inside. But make the effort as you can find a plethora of goodies from new designers and artists, hand picked from exotic locations all around the world. The store also supports the East End charity Kids Company, so you’ll be doing your bit to help as you shop.
Enjoy an evening of late-night shopping on London’s trendiest street, as well as rumageing through all that vintage, there will be refreshments on hand and special Christmas gifts available only on this night.
The Bizarre Bazaar
Sunday 21st December
Monday 8th December Joan as Policewoman, Thekla, capsule Bristol
Ex-Antony and the Johnsons collaborator touring in support of her new album. Expect mesmerising vocals and heart-rending tunes.
Boss Hog, Luminaire, London
Jon Spencer (as in Blues Explosion) and his wife Cristina Martinez front this long-standing blues-rock outfit.
Tuesday 9th December
Kong, Buffalo Bar, London
Art-noise, cool as Manchester band, heavy on the guitars.
The Miserable Rich, Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
Folky, orchestrated Brighton group, with links to Lightspeed Champion.
Sixtoes, Big Chill House, London
Cinematic, spooky blues-folk with a melancholy Eastern European edge.
Wednesday 10th December
Little Death, Club Fandango @ 229, London
Cool, cosmopolitan London band playing psychadelic tinged noise-pop.
Land of Talk, Water Rats, London
Canadian indie-rock.
Thursday 11th December
Good Books, Proud Galleries, London
Danceable indie-electro.
Mike Bones, Old Blue Last, London
One man and his guitar.
Friday 12th December
Rose Elinor Dougall, Barfly, Cardiff
Pretty girl music from this ex-Pipette. Still very pop but less of the sixties girl group rip-offs.
Free Fridays: Brute Chorus, La Shark, Josh Weller, 93 Feet East, London
Bonkers hair (Josh Weller) and outfits (La Shark) will abound at this FREE night featuring up-and-coming bands including Brute Chorus who will presumably play new single ‘She Was Always Cool’.
Saturday 13th December
Herman Dune, The Deaf Institute, Manchester
Perennial Parisian folksters on tour to promote new album ‘Next Year in Zion’.
Glissando, Holy Trinity Church, Leeds
Dreamy and ethereal. Should be lovely in a church.
Stereolab, Black Box, Belfast
Long-standing lounge/electronic post-rock with female French singer.
Getting up at 6am on a cold Saturday morning may be unthinkable to some -but for myself and fellow fashion enthusiasts, information pills the Angels Vintage and Costume clothing sale was more than enough motivation for the long, look early trek over to Wembley….or so we thought. The queue turned out to be VERY long… a 3 to 4 hour wait we were told. Despite our earlier determination, it was too long for us and we gracefully admitted defeat, leaving behind a growing queue of seriously hardcore shoppers.
One of those hardcore shoppers was ameliasmagazine.com’s very own Music Editor, Prudence Ivey, here’s her take on it, “Leaving the house at 6.30am, we were in the queue by about 7.15am and, although in the first 500, we were nowhere near the front. Some people – vintage shop buyers – had been there since Friday afternoon. There was a really friendly atmosphere, you could tell these people were true vintage fiends, as there was not a scruffbag in sight, it was all red lipstick and glamourous outfits despite the ungodly hour.
When we were allowed in, after just over an hour of wating, there was virtual silence and heads down as people rifled through the cardboard boxes packed with clothes on the floor. A cloud of dust filled the room after about 10 minutes, most of the clothes were in a bit of a state and everything I ended up with turned the water black when I put it in to hand-wash, not to mention my black snot… A quick sort through, try on and swapping session with my friend, along with some excellent packing meant that I left with 18 items of pretty decent, some of them really excellent, vintage finds for a measly £20. One of my favourite shopping trips EVER.” (above and below is Prudence modeling her two of her wonderful buys)
So now I wish I had stayed in the queue – but my day was not wasted, I found a far more inviting alternative, which boasted the benefits of being a. inside and b. no queue! It was the first London edition of New York magazine BUST‘s Christmas Craftacular.
Set in the St. Aloysius Social Hall in Euston, a mixed group of cool crafty kids, cute guys and even grannies filled the aptly dated-yet-cozy bar, and the Shellac Sisters played classic retro tunes on their wind-up gramophone, which added to the kitsch atmosphere. Having taken off in New York over the last 4 years, the Craftacular event has now come to British shores and brings together craft sellers, knitting circles, badge making stations and of course, lots of cake!
Tatty Divine turned into doctors for the day and set up their very own ‘craft clinic’ offering advice and tips to craft novices or lovers.
An ArtYarn Guerilla Graffiti Knitting Crew even set up a training camp, where boys sat happily next to their teachers, learning how to knit one, pearl one and Random Monkey Designs offered lessons in cross stitch.
With a packed out venue and buzzing crowd, it’s likely that (and we hope) the Craftacular event will become a regular date in the British calendar.
Monday Dec 8th
It seems most exhibition spaces in this area begin like this, drugs in someone’s flat. Every day this week at 79a Brick Lane, viagra 100mg there will be an exhibition of seven separate artists (one for each day) alongside a selected feature film, including the likes of Saturday Night Fever, North by Northwest, and The Truman Show. It starts at eight and ends when the film does. For a more detailed itinerary, check here. Admission is free.
Tuesday Dec 9th A Family in Disguise, by Yu Jinyoung has been extended at Union on Teesdale Street and is worth a look, if not only for the fact that entering the exhibition is a surreal experience in itself. Not a curator to be seen, and with a camera that links the room to their gallery in Ewer Street, you are alone in a haunting room with this disparate family of forlorn faces. Ring the buzzer and take a look.
Wednesday Dec 10th
Indian Highway is the new exhibition starting today at the Serpentine, describing itself as a snapshot of the vibrant generations artists working across the country today, well-established artists shown besides lesser known practitioners. Using a array of medias they are threaded together with a common engagement with the social and political, examining complex issues in contemporary India such as environmentalism, religious sectarianism, globalisation, gender, sexuality and class. It runs until Feb 22nd.
Thursday Dec 11th
Hermetic Seel is a new exhibition by Shane Bradford opening on Wednesday at the Vegas Gallery. It might just be satisfying to see fourteen historical art encyclopedias subjected to Bradford’s “post-Pollock” dipping technique.
Friday Dec 12th
Here’s what one of our writers said of Omnifuss’ last exhibition: In the heart of Dalston, down the end of a small alley road was a large garage with a little door. Through this door, a group of 24 artists showcased their work. Sculpture, music, performance and photography took place in the old car workshop that was far away from the usual pristine white walls of gallery spaces and created a rustic, and inspiring location for this exhibition. With flame heaters to warm those tootsies, and the symphonious sound of a violinist haunting the open rooms, I found myself immersed in the eclectic furniture and art… Downstairs is their new exhibit, an exploration of domesticity in its rawest states through sound, sculpture, video and installation, and by the sounds of it is worth a visit.
Saturday Dec 13th Awopbopaloobop. Artists listen to music, everyone listens to music. Lyrics are etched into our minds whether we want them there or not, and we can’t help but allow them to inform our everyday. Awopbopaloobop (I just like saying that word) is an exhibition at http://www.transitiongallery.co.uk/index.html, asking a host of artists to produce based on a favourite song lyric. This exhibition is coming to an end, (21st of Dec), so go and see it if you haven’t already. The space itself is worth the trip, and it’s fun to walk around a gallery with a song-sheet in your hands!
Brian Aldiss’ short story, drug “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long”, this to which the exhibition “Super-Toys” makes reference, abortion tells the story of a mother and her android son in the overcrowded world of the future who, however hard they try, cannot find a way to love each other. It makes love seem like a human malfunction, a flaw which can never be imitated. But moreover it captures the feeling of dismay when two people who know that they should love each other realise they can’t – that they fundamentally don’t know how. The android boy, who questions whether or not he is real, seems more humane than his human mother; who sends him to be repaired for the flaw from which she herself suffers. Love cannot be programmed; but is a lover not someone who says all those things that you want to hear, like an automated machine?
So with high expectations of an exhibition dealing with the strange interaction between humans and machine, fantasy and reality, love and compromise; what I found was initially disappointing. The notions the story had alluded to, the emotions and the complexity of them, were not to be found. Machine ducks floating in a pond, a room of human shaped stuffed objects lying mundanely on the floor; flashing machines dancing in a square box; all interesting to look at, but lacking explanation. The most interesting part of the exhibition was the nightmarish, garish and lurid room that followed, full of toys ripped apart: toys with two head, toys mutilated and deformed by visitors, and all in the name of art. With shelves and window ledges packed already, I was invited to create my own monster from a pile of rejected toys. There was something sinister about being instructed to rip the head off a teddy bear; glue Barbie legs where paws should be; and to work at a designated workstation. Despite the visual pleasure and hands on aspect of super-toys, it seemed to be an exhibition full of concept without real content. But maybe that’s what it allows you to do; to explore you own memories of love, childhood, playfulness and ultimately rejection; and realise that everyone else feels the same way too.
Anne Collier Dispersion is a patchy affair. Curated by the director of the Chisenhale gallery Polly Staple, hospital it features seven artists working from different locations, view tied together under the banner of an examination of the ‘circulation of images in contemporary society….in our accelerated image economy’. This seems a fairly sound starting point, although a bit nebulous and too wide in the sense of the number of artists that could be described as grappling with these issues.
Recycling and colliding of images is examined most clearly in Anne Collier’s photographs. Iconic posters, complete with creases, walk the line between multiple realities; but unlike other work in the show, the centre of power lies not in some theoretical hinterland but in the jarring sensation between seeing the photograph of the image and the image itself. Again this is hardly a new idea but it is well executed. The twin set of images a box of photos of the sea provides a further layer of tension between the natural and man-made.
Anne Collier
Seth Price
Most of the the other works are films. Seth Price’s ‘Digital Video Effect:Editions‘ (2006) , juxtaposing high and low cultural references (such as those barriers still exist), feels like an early 90′s MTV insert in its scope and complexity. Mark Leckey, now with the epithet ‘Turner Prize Winner’, is due to give a one off lecture/live performance ‘Mark Leckey in the Long Tail‘ in January tackling the similar ground, hopefully to better effect.
A better example of the film work on display is Hito Steyerl’s fascinating ‘Lovely Andrea’ (2007). This is an engaging documentary-esque look at a Japanese bondage artist, cut with scenes fom Wonder Woman cartoons and ‘backstage’ footage of the creation or recreation of scenes, calling the whole film’s authenticity into question. This could have led to a horribly self reflexive pile of mush but is actually a taut and gripping set of mixed narratives.
Henrik Olesen’s computer printed images mounted on blackboards, ‘some gay-lesbian artists and/or artists relevant to homosocial culture V,VI.VII’(2007), a collection reappropriated around queer history, touched on interesting ideas; a collection of female portraits by female artists from Renaissance onwards, for example. But the sum of its parts felt lazy and, like the rest of the show, he veers into hectoring or frustrating silence instead of fostering conversation between the work and viewer.
This is a problem, but one the ICA can absorb better than other cultural centres. The institution was founded as an ‘adult playground’ and this remit naturally involves risky and challenging work, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. Dispersion is a perfect encapsulation of this.
The disjointed art punk of San Fransisco’s Deerhoof is pretty brilliant on record but I’d heard it was even better live and so couldn’t wait to see them at ULU on their only UK date this year. Their music is disarmingly simple sounding, online loved by music aficionados and 10 year old girls alike – my kid sister loves Panda Panda Panda and Milkman almost as much as any Girls Aloud single. Perhaps I should have sent her along to review the show. It would have been easier for her to convince the people on the door that she was called Prudence Ivey (the name I was under on the list) than a scruffy and definitely male reviewer. They thought I was a street-crazy.
Achieving such wide-ranging popularity is an impressive feat considering that, sick underneath that childlike simplicity, their songs consist of complex structures alongside fragments of dissonant guitar thrash/twang and improvisation. However, seeing Deerhoof is no overblown, intellectual chore. They manage to be simultaneously clever, loud and cartoonishly entertaining and enlivened ULU with a set that encompassed a lot of new album material alongside some stuff to keep the old school fans happy.
The crowd were particularly receptive to old favourite Milkman, along with the Yo La Tengo-in-a-parallel-universe sounds of new album Offend Maggie – a title that always gives me the mental image of an outraged, pre-dementia Margaret Thatcher. There were clipped drums ahoy, along with Deerhoof’s twinkling wire to fuzz guitar textures. Satomi’s vocals, all coy and Japanese, were accentuated by goofy hand gestures – a fitting accompaniment to her surreal and playful subject matter. The whole band were really tight and surprisingly enthusiastic after fourteen years playing together. I can’t wait to see them again.
For anyone wanting to brush up on their climate science, drugs I thoroughly recommend this charming animation by Leo Murray.
The friendly and clear narration takes you steadily through the various chemical processes that are happening on our planet in it’s present climatic state. Without being overly ominous, the film warns how these processes, unchanged for millions of years, are being disturbed by man-made CO2 emissions and may be heading towards a tipping point where we will be plummeted into a place of no return. This definitely ‘isn’t about polar bears anymore!’
I found it really helpful for clarifying some terminology, the science bits- told in a simple way- are up- to- date, and it projects a statement of encouragement, not one of doom. The prospects are scary but we’re lucky to be the generation who could prevent them from happening.
To vote for Wake Up Freak Out then Get a Grip in the Aniboom Awards 2008 click here.
For anyone wanting to brush up on their climate science, buy information pills I thoroughly recommend this snappy animation by Leo Murray.
The friendly and clear narration takes you steadily through the various chemical processes that are happening on our planet in it’s present climatic state. Without being overly ominous, the film warns how these processes, unchanged for millions of years, are being disturbed by man-made CO2 emissions and may be heading towards a tipping point where we will be plummeted into a place of no return.
I found it really helpful for clarifying some terminology, the science bits- told in a simple way- are up- to- date, and it projects a statement of encouragement, not one of doom. The prospects are scary but we’re lucky to be the generation who could prevent them from happening.
To vote for Wake Up Freak Out in Aniboom Awards 2008. No Equal clothing are a company who don’t pander to press agendas and celebrities, sick instead they are refreshingly focused on working with new and exciting design talent and helping charities.
They also know how to throw a party – and it was good cause central. In the first room of The Russian Club Studios was a display of logoed t-shirts and hoodies, website like this made in collaboration with three emerging illustrators– Yann Le Bec, Thibaud Herem and Jean Jullien.
10% of the sales – not just profit – of this No Equal apparel are being donated to three charities, which No Equal Clothing are supporting, Kidsco, Addaction and XLP. To mix up the mediums and give some background to the collaborations, there was also a video installation showing the three artists at work.
In the second room, as part of their desire to champion new designers, No Equal clothing held a silent auction (of which all profits go to Kidsco, Addaction and XLP) for the London College of Fashion. Seven of LCF’s undergraduate students working for the college’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion created collections that were environmentally and ethically conscious and these were being sold.
The auction is also a possible reason for the eclectic mixture of guests. East London kids hung out with men in suits (in separate groups obviously) in the sparse concrete venue created an unusual atmosphere, you could have been in an underground club, art gallery or exclusive couture shop.
The students collections were varied and interesting, Michela Carraro (pictured below) used hemp based fabrics sourced from small family run businesses to create a romantic chiffon-esque collection, while Manon Flener created deconstructed / reconstructed garments made of pieces of fabric pieced together with studs. She says her motivation for the collection was to reduce waste in fashion; each piece can be put together in a different way to make many garments.
Supporting the Fashioning the Future programme at LCF, which encourages designers to think about the environmental imapct of their work, No Equal clothing are actively championing eco-friendly designers of the future and with their own clothing label, bucking the greedy fashion trend by giving a percentage of profits to charity. Good work all round.
Last week the Earth team at Amelia’s Magazine went along to the Friends House in Euston to listen to a report made by the Public Interest Research Centre (PIRC). The issue was climate change and the information it uncovered was alarming.
As a self-confessed newbie to these sorts of events I must admit to harboring uneasiness about feeling out of place in a room full of swampys. But my silly preconceptions were immediately flattened.
Lead by a panel of speakers expert in their field, story the atmosphere at the Friends House was alive with people from all manner of backgrounds but united in the opinion that climate change is a matter of urgency.
Chairing the debate was Christian Hunt who kicked off by asking the audience a few questions. 99% raised their hand when asked whether they would describe themselves as environmentalists. Roughly 70% would say they had some knowledge of climate change while roughly 20% would say they had lots of knowledge on the subject. 99% of us responded yes we did like his t-shirt that read ‘don’t give up.’
The first to speak from the panel was Kevin Anderson from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. He started with a clear message: the question of climate change is a humanitarian one. While the U.K. and E.U’s definition of a dangerous climate change as 2°C per annum may be an adequate threshold for us in the western world, it is not nearly small enough to safeguard the rest of the world.
It is the southern hemisphere, containing the world’s poorest, that is targeted the most by global warming in it’s present state, with people dying on a daily basis. Therefore it is an ethical decision about how much we care about the world’s weakest as to how and when we go about dealing with the climate.
He went on to say that the entire climate change debate needs an urgent rethink when taking into account the latest emissions data. The planet is heating up at an even faster rate than we thought, and our government seems to be denying this is happening by following the miscalculated advice from the Stern Report and not pumping in nearly dosh needed to implement a strategy that will radically cut back our emissions.
But Kevin Anderson pointed out there may be a silver lining to retrieve from the present economical situation. History has shown us that larger emission reductions occur when there is economic turmoil. I guess this has something to with cut backs in industry forced by a plummeting economy. When the Soviet Union collapsed, for example, there was a record drop of 5% per annum.
Tim Helweg-Larson, the director of Public Interest Research Centre bounded onto the platform next. So this is where it gets rather technical but don’t worry, Tim’s clear and straightforward delivery meant that even my mind didn’t drift into thinking about what I might eat for tea.
He showed us a series of images showing the levels of sea ice in the arctic in 1979 and in 2007 and I was taken back to those pretty pictures in my school science lab…Predictably the more recent images contained a much larger surface area of dark gloominess.
These dark regions absorb more heat. This additional heat penetrates 1500km inland across a plain of perma-frost. This stuff is harmless if left untouched but once melted, its carbon content-which is twice the amount of the entire global atmosphere-is released into the air. Yep that means even more bad stuff is added to the high intensity of CO2 that started this whole malarkey.
The knock-on effect going on in the arctic-known as the triple melt- is steadily destroying the climatic state of the entire planet. Soon we will reach the point where we will no longer be within the realm of temperatures that enable things to grow and humanity to survive (known as the middle climate). If this isn’t scary enough this tipping point is likely to peak sooner than we thought; as early as 2011 to 2015.
George Momboit was next to speak. Hello. His exuberance for the cause was exciting…ooh la…did you know he has been shot at, shipwrecked and pronounced clinically dead? Well he was very much alive that evening as I listened – intently- to his practical, if ambitious, advice to the government to stop fannying about and introduce a ‘crash program of total energy replacement.’
He whizzed through a series of steps geared to cut our emissions by 20% by 2012 and more thereafter. But those wild curls, brisk demeanor and air of academic brilliance were just a little distracting. Without getting too carried away I managed to jot down the key points of this radical plan:
1. To train up a green army of builders that is equipped to build more energy efficient homes
2.A mass subsidy program to re insulate homes
3.Replacement of power plants
4.Re engineering of roads to cater better for cycles and coaches
5. To Cap number of landing spots for airports so that by 2030 the maximum number of flights is 5% of current levels.
6.Agriculture should be devoted to the most efficient carbon saving schemes
7.He summed up with the statement that lowering demand for fossil fuels should happen simultaneously with lowering their supply and we need to dramatically cut oil and gas exploitations.
Pretty rousing stuff…
Solar energy pioneer, Jeremy Leggett gave us a more buisnessy slant on what can be done for climate change especially in this current state of economic upheaval and an encroaching energy crunch (the I.E.A. predicts 5 years time). With people becoming increasingly disheartened by the government’s spending priorities, now’s the time to duck in and make a collective effort to re-engineer capitalism. He enforced the notion that money needs to go into building a carbon army of workers that would create 10 thousand new jobs and…cost a measly half a billion squid
Caroline Lucas, MEP for South East England and Leader of the Green Party, disheartened by the inertia of our government, shocked us all by urging ‘a massive campaign of civil disobedience.’ This prompted uproar amongst the audience and I must say it felt pretty inspiring .She went on to talk about Climate Rush, an activist group who take their inspiration from the Suffragette movement. Like the women who were denied the vote, their rush on parliament really is a demand for life itself. They also dress-up in fancy Edwardian petticoats, which sounds fun. But their theatricality is not without sincerity, direction and a passion to change the injustices that climate change is causing on humanity. Caroline Lucas’ speech stirred an energetic drive to ‘do something’ in me. She reminded us of the words of Emily Pankhurst ‘to be a militant is to be a privilege’ and something hit home. We are very lucky to not be totally powerless in this situation, as so many people across the world are, and it is possible to make our government listen to us, albeit with a bit of hard work. To find about the next climate rush action click here.
So I’ve dipped my toe into the murky sludge of our current climate. All the facts and figures might not have filtered through into this article but I hope if, like me, you previously thought this issue was for only for really clever people and maybe just a little put off by dreadlocks, you’ve realized that this is something we should all be aware of whether we want to listen to it or not, including our government.
As I left the Climate Safety talk to cycle home, I felt almost grateful for never bothering to learn to drive as perhaps in a small way it might make up for that stomach-sinking feeling of how terribly selfish I had been for only vaguely paying attention to news of melting popsicles and greenhouses.
The truth is I felt safe in the view that the really scary things won’t happen for a very long time, well after I’m buried in the ground and used for compost. Well I was wrong, it’s not our grandkid’s grandkid that’s going to feel the full force of climate change-it’s us.
We’ve searched online for hours to find these wonderful gift ideas for Christmas this year! Including solar powered fairy lights, advice recycled wrapping paper, rx sew-it-yourself dresses, fairtrade teddies and handmade jewellery.
JEWELLERY
Kate Slater First up on our list, and featured in Issue 10 of Amelia’s Magazine, we have wonderfully talented illustrator Kate Slater. She is one of many artists currently selling her work on etsy in the form of these gorgeous little accessories that she has made. Kate‘s illustrations come alive through the use of collage, mixed papers and wire for relief work. Furtive Pheasant Brooch Kate’s collaged pheasant has been remade into this lovely brooch. The original illustration has been printed onto durable shrink plastic and bejeweled with green diamantes. We love the idea of being able to wear Kate’s illustrations! Buy the Furtive Pheasant Brooch here
Butterfly Dress Kit Gossypium is a great place to buy gifts from! All the clothes on their site are high quality, fairtrade and made from biodegradable materials. They’re one of the great sites working with the idea of a zero-impact on the environment, and we’ve love this Butterfly Dress Kit. It is a sew-it-yourself organic cotton kit that comes with a lovely printed fabric and easy instructions to create one of three garments. You can make a blouse, a dress or a smock with or without pockets, and have the option of long or short sleeves; with nine different styles to choose from you are in total control of how your finished product looks! Buy the Butterfly Dress Kit here.
Solar Helicopter This little toy is perfect as a desk ornament, and is loads of fun for kids and grown ups! Working with as little light as from a desk lamp, the solar cells demonstrate how efficient modern eco technology is. Buy the Solar Helicopter here.
Outdoor Solar Powered Christmas Fairy Lights These all-year-round lights are a great way to bring some green sparkle to your home! They’re waterproof and come with 8 different settings including flashing, continuous light patterns! The lights only come on when it’s dark (so about 3:30pm…) and the solar panel uses high grade Kyocera Solar cells that store enough energy to run for 10 hours, even on winter days! These lights are a bargain too at only £19.99! Buy your Solar Powered Fairy Lights here.
These 100% recycled wrapping papers are by Lisa Jones and come in many different styles! They are modernist and brightly coloured using vegetable inks. Get some Recycled Wrapping Paper here.
Cardboard Cutting Table This 100% Icelandic made brilliant cardboard table can be used as a meeting table, a cutting table (it comes with a laminated white surface top), a dinner table and a baby changing table! It’s portable and folds away to save space! (and comes with a handy 18% discount for design students!). Buy the Cardboard Table here.
KIDS
‘Woodsy The Owl’ Bib This adorable bib is by etsy seller ‘cocoandmilkweed‘, consisting of Evan and Lila Maleah- a husband and wife team intent on creating lovely products for little and big people! Woodsy has been handmade in a dark brown eco-felt that has been made from 100% recycled plastic bottles, and sewn onto a soft cotton woodgrain fabric. the entire bib has been backed with organic cotton flannel and lined with organic cotton and bamboo for extra absorption! All this detail has added to its appeal, and it even has a snap closure to make sure its little wearer isn’t able to yank it off! Buy a ‘Woodsy The Owl’ bib here.
Dala Horse Stocking The Christmas tradition of stocking has been brought into the 21st century by Erin ‘sewsewsuckurtoe‘ by using the folk art inspired Dala Horse. It is constructed out of eco-felt which is made from recycled plastic bottles and lined in cotton to make it strong enought to hold as many things as possible! Buy a Dala Horse Stocking here.
Witness are a group, based in New York, that use video and online technologies to expose human rights violations all over the world. By making videos of victim’s personal stories, they direct attention to injustice and promote public engagement and policy change.
Sam’s first up on the video (below), telling us that the images of a school teacher in East Burma hiding out in a forest with her children is one of the images that shows us we need to go further with our actions to help those whose human rights have been severely violated.
A video producer, trainer and human rights advocate, Sam’s videos have been screened at the US Congress, UK Houses of Parliament, The UN and in film festivals worldwide.
The group are also launching an online channel for these videos called The Hub. This is a new multi-lingual online portal dedicated to human rights media and action. It provides the opportunity for individuals, organizations, networks and groups around the world to bring their human rights stories and campaigns to global attention.
To find out more about Witness (www.witness.org) click here.
The non-existent morality faeries that do not sit either side of my head were in a fluster last Thursday. I took them down to a police auction in Bethnal Green, salve and for the entirety of my pedal there, they could not be resolved: surely there is something fundamentally wrong with capitalising on the lost and stolen goods of hapless victims, or worse still, liquidated assets, urgh! But then again, stolen … and retrieved; lost … and found. Where else would these items, long since departed from owners, go? I have nothing to say about liquidated assets, but apparently that’s next time – this week was reserved to lost and stolen goods only, courtesy of the metropolitan police; thanks.
Once we arrived, debates were dispelled and there was nothing to fluster about – it did not seem in the least bit seedy. This fortnightly event, put on by Frank G. Bowen Ltd Auctioneers and Valuers, two men both of whom are very friendly, one of whom looks like Santa Clause, takes place in an old air raid shelter, making for a strangely intimate and cosy affair. Potential bidders arrive early to browse, an advisable precaution seeing as nothing can be returned once purchased. I felt like the passer-by who steps into a regulars-only pub, my obvious excitement an instant give-away; but I tried my best to look like this was routine, and nestled myself in amongst the clutter on Lot 135, 1 wooden kitchen-table chair. Pensive brow in place, I concentrated on my catalogue sheet, my mind now settling to the bewildering list before me …
An initial glance reveals nothing of a surprise: bicycles, phones, cameras, and mp3 players; but it’s not long before you start to wonder … who steals a kitchen chair? A cupboard? An oak mirror overmantle (Lot 379)? The clothing list is the strangest of all: Lot 4: A pair of Ladies sandals, size 40; Lot 58: (non-specific) Ladies Clothing as bagged. One Lot contained a pair of jeans, a jacket, and a pair of trainers – all stolen from a single owner? How did that happen?
Against all inclinations, we ended up describing the place and the experience as a gem. Don’t go expecting to find vintage treasures, but there are amenities at a good price (surely I need a quad bike). And a few pointers: don’t let the excitement of bidding make you go for things for no other rational reason than the pleasure of raising your hand; careful of the man who will out-bid everyone for bikes; and don’t take a lunch break in the middle, thus missing that one item you’d circled in red that you were willing to spend forty quid on, and ended up going for under twenty, pah.
Don’t miss this excellent event tonight:
Cheshire Street Christmas Shopping
Friday 12th December
This Friday, case pop down to Cheshire Street as the whole street will be open to 10pm, cost so you can get your quirky Christmas gifts till late(ish) into the night and enjoy wine and nibbles while you do it. The shops will be offering exclusive discounts also, including 20% off on the night at I Dream of Wires. Amazing.
Frock Me! Vintage Fashion Fair
Sunday 14th December
Frock Me! vintage fashion should not be confused with the questionable television show of the same name hosted by a certain over-exposed designer and TV presenter. It is in fact a fabulous vintage fashion fair, and this Sunday, in the swanky surroundings of the Chelsea Town Hall you can pop down and pick up a genuine vintage garment.
They even have their own tea-room. What more could you want?
Open: 11am – 5.30pm
Admission: £4 (students £2 with ID)
Nearest Tube: Sloane Square / South Kensington
Christmas singles, diagnosis still the preserve of naff novelty acts, pillpop stars in trendy coats and X Factor winners, or newly fertile ground for acts that are unlikely to even get a sniff at the bottom of the charts? As the Top 40 becomes less and less of a barometer for success and following much-loved Christmas releases from the likes of Low and Sufjan Stevens, this year it seems that more and more indie bands are joining in on the act. But are any of them actually any good? And how to stop them seeming like lame commercial cash-ins in the style of the Christmas tunes of yore?
1. One way to quash accusations of rabid commercialism is to give your single away for free as Slow Club (see above) have done, with ‘Christmas TV’ offered as a free download in a spirit of seasonal goodwill to all mankind. A sweet little folk pop tune about travelling home for Christmas and snuggling in front of the Vicar of Dibley or some such, this is good for anyone feeling the pangs of seasonal separation. The boy/girl vocals chime prettily together in a song that has thematic echoes of ‘Driving Home For Christmas’.
2. Stay true to your signature style. If you’re usually a grumpy old misery guts, Christmas is no time to suddenly become cheerful just for the hell of it so why not whack out a truly miserable Christmas EP a la Glasvegas? A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss) is the one to pull out when your Dad forgot to turn the oven down, your mum’s sobbing into her charred potatoes and your granny’s being cantankerous.
3. Restrict your mentions of the season to atmospherically wintery weather references a la The Leisure Society with their pretty waltz ‘Last of the Melting Snow’. Cinematic strings, romantic lyrics and a slightly more upbeat B-side in the form of ‘A Short Weekend Begins With Longing’. It’s available to download but it would be far more festive to buy one of the limited edition handmade copies in the spirit of wonky gingerbread men and glitter-glued everything.
There’s just one thing we’re a little bit worried about. Where are all the sleighbells???????
Now I know I sound like a purist, medicine but sometimes I wish Photoshop had never been invented. After seeing the ingenuity of the post-war artists featuring in Estorick’s ongoing exhibition, rxCut & Paste: European Photomontage 1920-1945, I longed for the days when you could actually tell something had been done by hand. When skill was quantifiable – based on precision, patience and masterfully cut and mounted shapes; not down to your aptitude with adjustment layers, clipping masks and liquify tools. Of course these arguably require a well-honed set of digital skills within themselves, but Photoshop has cheapened photography to a certain extent. Unimaginably cool things can be done on it by anyone with a shard of creative impulse, so we can’t help but lose the eensiest bit of respect for the end product, no matter how groundbreaking this may be. Don’t you think?
Regardless, this is a little gem of a show. Small – with only around 25 pieces – it looks at the modernist manipulation of photomontage (in which cut-out photographs and fragments of newsprint from illustrated journals were pasted into drawings and paintings) by the Cubists, Futurists and Dadaists. There’s also a healthy dose of angular Russian Constructivism in there, so for such a small exhibition, they have all the seminal art movements of the early 20th Century well and truly covered.
Developed towards the end of the First World War by the Dadaists in Berlin (the word ‘photomontage’ was taken from engineering and film editing practices) it was a way of making art with a new kind of conceptual clarity. And grit. It was powerful and playful – there is one untitled image of Hitler and a devilish-looking Churchill quaintly enjoying a cup of tea together – and mixed mediums in a way which made people stop and look. And they still have that affect today.
All the works are beautifully balanced and composed. Italian Futurist Enrico Prampolini’s Broom (1922) is a punchy little piece with huge red circles and chunky text overlaid on a photo of a massive machine, while Gustav Klucis’ Spartakiada Moscow / All-Union Olympiad (1928) is packed with movement and angles so sharp you could cut your fingers on them.
Curated by Lutz Becker, Cut & Paste showcases work made almost a century ago, but which feels surprisingly fresh and modern. It’ll make you turn off your computer, pick up a pair of scissors and start attacking The Daily Mail like there’s no tomorrow. I think that’s always a good thing.
I’m not a person who wins things; Lady Luck is not my friend. Never has my name been picked from a raffle or hat, discount scratch cards always defeat me, and even when I tried to Derren Brown the ticket man at Walthamstow Dogs, “Look into my eyes, this is the winning ticket”, I still came away empty handed. So when my name was electronically selected for the Time Out Bus Tour, a heavily over-subscribed perk to First Thursdays, I was veritably excited.
I’m not sure what I imagined, a day of musing amalgamated in something entirely inconceivable bearing reference to the Playbus and set firmly beyond the realm of reality. This is the description from which I fabricated: Each month, join leading curators, writers, academics and artists on a guided bus tour visiting a selection of First Thursdays Galleries; and that’s precisely what it was, but I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed when I saw a very ordinary looking bus waiting outside Whitechapel Gallery, a bit health & safety and sanitised, OAP visit to Hastings anyone?
If you were in fact there for a guided bus tour with leading academics, curators, and artists, and not for a bus of dreams, then you’d probably be satisfied. Four selected galleries, a talk from a curator in each, and the wealth of information that only a guided tour can give, adding much more depth to your engagement with the work. My favourite part was a six-strong bowling team that unofficially tagged along, following the bus in a Transit, and innocuously joining the talks wearing matching blue team shirts, names on the breast. I did feel a pang of jealousy at the scores of people casually strolling between galleries on Vyner Street, drinks in hands, hmmms and ahhhs at the ready. I’ll opt for a home made bicycle tour next time, but that doesn’t mean I don’t recommend this.
If you’re planning on going to any of these events, sale or have something you want to write an article about for the Earth Blog, email us: earth@ameliasmagazine.com!
Now here’s a lovely story: One felt-making coffee morning in South London, three suburban mums discover a shared hoarding habit, a joy in rummaging through rubbish and a desire to make pretty things (with or without the use of felt). Out from the discarded chicken-shop boxes and begrudged lotto tickets emerged, not Oscar the Grouch (think Sesame Street) but The Skip Sisters.
These ladies really know how to make-do-and-mend, rescuing shabby bits and bobs found in skips and attics and revamping them into something truly lovely. 100% eco-friendly.
From now until Christmas Eve the Skip Sisters will be selling all sorts of treasures from the debris at 14 Northcross Road in East Dulwich. (Not open Mondays).
Clocks made out of tins…found in a skip!
Jewelry…found in a skip!
Necklaces made with real human hands…found in a skip!
At 3am on the morning of the 7th of December two mini buses, thumb a 1960s fire engine and just over 50 cold, eager and very excited protesters turned up at a gate near the long stay car park of Stansted airport. Calmly and attentively we piled out of the mini buses and began to swarm around the entry point. A security vehicle happened to be passing just as we arrived, which instilled some nervous butterflies in our stomachs, but there was no stopping us. Once through the fence panel with our wire cutters we marched, as if to a temporary ark of safety (which we were to construct), two by two, carrying the tools and materials we were to need. Our objective was to reach the taxiway and setup a Harris fence enclosure around us to which we would lock-on to for as long as possible. After 6am, which was when the first flight was scheduled for take-off, every minute was to count as extremely important – directly stopping the release of ridiculous amounts of CO2 into the earth’s atmosphere.
We were all so pleased to be doing something so direct; the feeling was one of pride in knowing that we were helping to facilitate discussions, raised levels of awareness, and aid to those directly suffering as a result of raised CO2 emissions in developing countries around the world. It really won’t be long before we are seriously suffering from our selfish actions, we need to look and focus on long-term rewards not short term ones. In reading the press coverage after the action I have been surprised to read a few comments by people who were disrupted – one man was quoted to say “Why couldn’t they have waited a few hours?” if we all adopt that approach where will we be left?
I will go on to strongly encourage non-violent direct action to be taken by as many of you reading this as possible, it feels so great to be there, in the heart of potential change, to be able to say “I have tried my hardest”. It is our future generation who will suffer, and personally I don’t want my children to be struggling as much as they will be if no “green” systematic changes occur.
At The Climate Safety Talk delivered at Friends House, Euston, a few weeks ago I became scared – and directly inspired by that very fear to act, with others feeling the same way, as soon as I could, as this seems to have the most impact. I am newly accessing this level of climate science through living with some of the most inspiring women I have had the pleasure to meet and we discuss this issue of climate change daily, and innovatively focus most of our energy in the direction of raising awareness and creating social change methods and access points. Tamsin Omond lives upstairs and is helping to organize another suffragette style Climate Rush at Heathrow on Jan 12th, which I invite everyone to attend. Beth Stratford, Mel Evans, who spoke to the press after the Stansted protests, and Clemmie James from the Drax 29 also inhabit this eco-warrior house.
This action came as an opportunity for myself and others to not just discuss what is happening, but directly and physically respond, and gain immediate results – we stopped 86 flights from leaving the airport and acted as a catalyst for many many discussions.
Stansted has on average at least one flight leaving its runway every minute during working hours generating a shocking 4.2 tonnes of CO2 every single minute! Aviation is the fastest growing source of emissions and already contributes at least 13 per cent of the UK’s total climate impact. In October controversial plans for an expansion of Stansted Airport were given the go-ahead by the Government. Airport owner BAA wants to increase passenger numbers from 25 million to 35 million a year and flights leaving the airport from 241,000 to 264,000 a year. Objectors say an expansion would damage the environment, but some unions said the proposal could bring new jobs. Do we really need new jobs in this sector, should the Government not be pushing for new green jobs to go along with its emissions reduction target? The target that has been broadly accepted by many bodies including our own Government is that a rise in global average temperature of more than 2C above its preindustrial value must not be allowed. If this airport expansion is really given the go-ahead there will be very little chance of us being able to achieve the targets.
Aviation is the fastest growing cause of climate change and a major threat to the earth and everything living on it. But rather than reining the industry in and trying to reduce demand for flying, the government is promoting it through tax breaks and through its plans for massive expansion at our airports: the equivalent of a new Heathrow every five years!
Plane Stupid demands a fundamental rethink of the government’s 2003 Aviation White Paper which predicts that air travel will treble by 2030: an increase in annual plane journeys from 180 million to 501 million.
We, as Plane Stupid want to see airport expansion plans scrapped, and an end to short haul flights and aviation advertising.
Discussions and presentations are important, as the information and science needs to spread as far and wide, and touch as many people as possible, but we need to follow contact with this information with direct action as nothing else seems to be getting the results we need as soon as we need them. The Government has been making empty promises of reductions in the levels of CO2 emissions, and as nothing has happened yet we want to directly affect this ourselves.
www.planestupid.com
It’s Saturday and everything at the Eco-Design Christmas Fair in the Old Truman Brewery, piluleBrick Lane, is daubed in gloominess. Thanks to the amazing British weather, the Christmas spirit is not in the air as greyness bears down through the skylights and umbrellas drip a murky trail behind each visitor. We all gravitate towards a stall selling mulled wine, but the smell – delicious at first – soon mixes with the sickly sweetness of organic soap and incense.
The fair, now in its fifth year, brings together designers whose work is centered on sustainability and kindness to the environment, the products on sale range from clothing, jewellery, toys and furniture to edible shoe polish.
The best find of the day is Finnish designer Minna Hepburn. Hepburn looks and sounds like she is channelling Claudia Schiffer, and is selling her leftover designs from London Fashion Week’s eco-sustainable show ,estethica. Her clothes, all creamy Scottish lace and organic or fair trade silk embellished with found brooches, buttons, outshine neighbouring designs. (pictured below)
Around the relatively small space, recycled jewellery stalls clamour for attention. Rosie Weisencrantz‘s display is by far the most elegant; some of her work is even framed and mounted on the wall. (pictured below) Weisencrantz was a weaver for 25 years before becoming a jewellery designer, and her pieces hang on intricately woven string. She also likes to root around at markets and on ebay for antique brooches, which she transforms into one-off, textured necklaces.
Using an altogether different approach, Kirsty Kirkpatrick buys enormous bags of old jewellery and spends hours sifting through, detangling chains and picking out gems, before reassembling them into new designs. She uses recycled materials too, making geometric necklaces from wine and biscuit boxes. Kirkpatrick has a quick smile and soft Scottish accent, and is obviously proud of her “anti-landfill” label. (pictured below)
After Minna Hepburn, the rest of the clothing at the fair is a bit of a let down. T-shirts are in abundance, most sporting slogans and stencilled graphics like those by design collective Edge. (Their ethos: “We will make eco-fashion cool if it kills us”). (pictured below)
Overall, there was far more here for the eco-jewellery enthusiast than anyone else.
Written by Kirsty McGregor on Monday December 15th, 2008 12:30 pm
Willow Organic Gold Frankincense and Myrrh candle by Daria Hlazatova.
I don’t know what it is about candles that gets me so excited. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I love beautiful smells. My house may be a mess but I quite often spritz my office with a sweetly scented room spray or light a candle to imbue a relaxing mood. I think that this is the nub of what is so brilliant about candles, genericlink especially the really high quality ones that contain high quantities of essential oils – they are the simplest way to create a delightfully relaxing and cosy feeling within a space.
And of course Christmas is all about candles. Since I lived in Sweden as a little girl my family has had a tradition of lighting advent candles during the month of December – and whilst I don’t spend much time at my parent’s home anymore, look I always look forward to candlelit dinners when I return for Christmas. Candles impart a certain cosiness which the Danish call “hygge” – and during these bitterly cold dark winter months is most sorely appreciated.
This year my favourite discovery is the Willow Organic Gold Frankincense and Myrrh candle. It comes beautifully presented in a beribboned fold out box and utilises the naturally healing and calming effects of precious oils that have been synonymous with Christmas since biblical times.
From the wonderful scents to the gold leaf that floats glittering in the top of the wax, information pills it doesn’t get more christmassy than this. The Willow Organic shop in Kings Road, Chelsea is open until the 23rd December, so there’s still time to grab a fabulous Christmas candle before the big day.
Earlier this year I discovered the French Cire Trudon brand, which has been in operation in various guises since 1643. Alongside very high quality candles presented in beautiful glass pots with heraldic shields, they also produce stunning room sprays in statement bottles and a boxed set containing a room spray, candle and illustrated fairy tale – the idea being to encourage children to enjoy evocative scents from a very young age. Not for the hard up these boxed sets don’t come cheap, but I love the idea and the illustrated booklets are a delight.
Recently discovered: the Albam independent menswear clothing store in Spitalfields stocks three yummy varieties of candle, my favourite being the figgy one. When I went in they were also testing out a new scent called Library, which was suitably masculine. Unfortunately I don’t think you can buy these online but it’s definitely worth taking a trip down to this great little store.
Spitalfields Candle Co and Tocca candles by Ellie Sutton.
There is also the Spitalfields Candle Co. which uses sustainably sourced soya wax in all candles. It was hard to choose my favourite from such a yummy range only briefly sniffed in the Inspitalfields gift store, but I think it has to be Lemon Verbena – I just love that clean bright scent.
Tocca are a high end scent company that stock in Liberty – I particularly like the sound of the Bianca candle which contains Green Tea and Lemon. Each year the Parisian brand Diptyque creates a special Christmas range, in beautifully decorated coloured glass jars. The Orange Epicee sounds yummy, as does the Canelle.
Lastly but no means least Jo Malone offers incredibly classy scents, all tastefully presented in cream boxes with crisp branding. The limited edition Pine & Eucalyptus Collection sounds glorious, and how about a giant candle with not one but four wicks to make a major statement?
Right, I’m off to get on with my present wrapping by the scent of my Willow Organic candle. Have a glorious Christmas everyone.
So, pills the book is finally here! You can find it at Tate Modern, about it Magma, Design Museum, Serpentine Gallery, Tatty Devine, Cornerhouse, Arnolfini and many other good independent book stores across the UK and by early 2011 around the world.
Harriet of Tatty Devine takes receipt of her copies of Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration.
On the shelves of Magma.
Or you can buy it online here for a reduced price and receive 12 unique Amelia’s Magazine postcards, plus a selection of bookmarks. This offer is EXCLUSIVE to my website. You can’t get these postcards anywhere else!
The following up and coming fashion illustrators feature in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration:
Abigail Daker, Abby Wright, Amy Martino, Andrea Peterson, Aniela Murphy, Antonia Parker, Bex Glover, Emma Block, Erica Sharp, Faye West, Gemma Milly, Jennifer Costello, Jenny Robins, Jo Cheung, Joana Faria, June Chanpoomidole, Katherine Tromans, Katie Harnett, Kellie Black, Krister Selin, Lesley Barnes, Lisa Stannard, Michelle Urvall Nyren, Naomi Law, Natasha Thompson, Natsuki Otani, Rachel de Ste Croix, Yelena Bryksenkova, Zarina Liew & Gareth A Hopkins.
And…. the book features interviews with the following ethical fashion designers:
123 Bethnal Green Road, Ada Zanditon, Andrea Crews, Anja Hynynen, Beautiful Soul, By Stamo, Camilla Norrback, Christopher Raeburn, Ciel, Dem Collective, Edun, Emesha, Emma Ware, Fifi Bijoux, From Somewhere, Goodone, Gossypium, Henrietta Ludgate, Hetty Rose, Howies, Ivana Basilotta, Izzy Lane, Joanna Cave, Junky Styling, Little Glass Clementine, Lu Flux, Martina Spetlova, Maxjenny, Michelle Lowe-Holder, Minna, Nancy Dee, Nina Dolcetti, Noir, Noki, Oria, Partimi, People Tree, Pia Anjou, Prophetik, Romina Karamanea, Sägen, Satoshi Date, Tara Starlet, Ute Decker & Wilfried Pletzinger
Below are some pages from inside the book – which is the usual riot of colour and pattern for which I have become known. You can also watch a flick video of the book on the website of my international distributor Idea Books here.
From Somewhere illustrated by Rachel de Ste Croix.
By Stamo illustrated by Krister Selin.
Christopher Raeburn illustrated by Gemma Milly.
Edun illustrated by Katherine Tromans.
Dem Collective illustrated by Michelle Urvall Nyren.
Aniela Murphy’s pages in the content proofs.
Antonia Parker’s pages in the content proofs.
Please note that I will not be posting any orders out until the 4th January 2011. Have a very merry Christmas!
Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday December 23rd, 2010 7:26 pm
Willow Organic Gold Frankincense and Myrrh candle by Daria Hlazatova.
I don’t know what it is about candles that gets me so excited. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I love beautiful smells. My house may be a mess but I quite often spritz my office with a sweetly scented room spray or light a candle to imbue a relaxing mood. I think that this is the nub of what is so brilliant about candles, genericlink especially the really high quality ones that contain high quantities of essential oils – they are the simplest way to create a delightfully relaxing and cosy feeling within a space.
And of course Christmas is all about candles. Since I lived in Sweden as a little girl my family has had a tradition of lighting advent candles during the month of December – and whilst I don’t spend much time at my parent’s home anymore, look I always look forward to candlelit dinners when I return for Christmas. Candles impart a certain cosiness which the Danish call “hygge” – and during these bitterly cold dark winter months is most sorely appreciated.
This year my favourite discovery is the Willow Organic Gold Frankincense and Myrrh candle. It comes beautifully presented in a beribboned fold out box and utilises the naturally healing and calming effects of precious oils that have been synonymous with Christmas since biblical times.
From the wonderful scents to the gold leaf that floats glittering in the top of the wax, information pills it doesn’t get more christmassy than this. The Willow Organic shop in Kings Road, Chelsea is open until the 23rd December, so there’s still time to grab a fabulous Christmas candle before the big day.
Earlier this year I discovered the French Cire Trudon brand, which has been in operation in various guises since 1643. Alongside very high quality candles presented in beautiful glass pots with heraldic shields, they also produce stunning room sprays in statement bottles and a boxed set containing a room spray, candle and illustrated fairy tale – the idea being to encourage children to enjoy evocative scents from a very young age. Not for the hard up these boxed sets don’t come cheap, but I love the idea and the illustrated booklets are a delight.
Recently discovered: the Albam independent menswear clothing store in Spitalfields stocks three yummy varieties of candle, my favourite being the figgy one. When I went in they were also testing out a new scent called Library, which was suitably masculine. Unfortunately I don’t think you can buy these online but it’s definitely worth taking a trip down to this great little store.
Spitalfields Candle Co and Tocca candles by Ellie Sutton.
There is also the Spitalfields Candle Co. which uses sustainably sourced soya wax in all candles. It was hard to choose my favourite from such a yummy range only briefly sniffed in the Inspitalfields gift store, but I think it has to be Lemon Verbena – I just love that clean bright scent.
Tocca are a high end scent company that stock in Liberty – I particularly like the sound of the Bianca candle which contains Green Tea and Lemon. Each year the Parisian brand Diptyque creates a special Christmas range, in beautifully decorated coloured glass jars. The Orange Epicee sounds yummy, as does the Canelle.
Lastly but no means least Jo Malone offers incredibly classy scents, all tastefully presented in cream boxes with crisp branding. The limited edition Pine & Eucalyptus Collection sounds glorious, and how about a giant candle with not one but four wicks to make a major statement?
Right, I’m off to get on with my present wrapping by the scent of my Willow Organic candle. Have a glorious Christmas everyone.
So, pills the book is finally here! You can find it at Tate Modern, about it Magma, Design Museum, Serpentine Gallery, Tatty Devine, Cornerhouse, Arnolfini and many other good independent book stores across the UK and by early 2011 around the world.
Harriet of Tatty Devine takes receipt of her copies of Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration.
On the shelves of Magma.
Or you can buy it online here for a reduced price and receive 12 unique Amelia’s Magazine postcards, plus a selection of bookmarks. This offer is EXCLUSIVE to my website. You can’t get these postcards anywhere else!
The following up and coming fashion illustrators feature in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration:
Abigail Daker, Abby Wright, Amy Martino, Andrea Peterson, Aniela Murphy, Antonia Parker, Bex Glover, Emma Block, Erica Sharp, Faye West, Gemma Milly, Jennifer Costello, Jenny Robins, Jo Cheung, Joana Faria, June Chanpoomidole, Katherine Tromans, Katie Harnett, Kellie Black, Krister Selin, Lesley Barnes, Lisa Stannard, Michelle Urvall Nyren, Naomi Law, Natasha Thompson, Natsuki Otani, Rachel de Ste Croix, Yelena Bryksenkova, Zarina Liew & Gareth A Hopkins.
And…. the book features interviews with the following ethical fashion designers:
123 Bethnal Green Road, Ada Zanditon, Andrea Crews, Anja Hynynen, Beautiful Soul, By Stamo, Camilla Norrback, Christopher Raeburn, Ciel, Dem Collective, Edun, Emesha, Emma Ware, Fifi Bijoux, From Somewhere, Goodone, Gossypium, Henrietta Ludgate, Hetty Rose, Howies, Ivana Basilotta, Izzy Lane, Joanna Cave, Junky Styling, Little Glass Clementine, Lu Flux, Martina Spetlova, Maxjenny, Michelle Lowe-Holder, Minna, Nancy Dee, Nina Dolcetti, Noir, Noki, Oria, Partimi, People Tree, Pia Anjou, Prophetik, Romina Karamanea, Sägen, Satoshi Date, Tara Starlet, Ute Decker & Wilfried Pletzinger
Below are some pages from inside the book – which is the usual riot of colour and pattern for which I have become known. You can also watch a flick video of the book on the website of my international distributor Idea Books here.
From Somewhere illustrated by Rachel de Ste Croix.
By Stamo illustrated by Krister Selin.
Christopher Raeburn illustrated by Gemma Milly.
Edun illustrated by Katherine Tromans.
Dem Collective illustrated by Michelle Urvall Nyren.
Aniela Murphy’s pages in the content proofs.
Antonia Parker’s pages in the content proofs.
Please note that I will not be posting any orders out until the 4th January 2011. Have a very merry Christmas!
Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday December 23rd, 2010 7:26 pm
It’s been a while since you cycled around the world – would you do it again? And what would you do differently if you set off on a similarly long cycle ride?
I’ll definitely be cycling a long way again sometime in the future. There are vague plans for riding to Beijing in 2015, and Latin America still has a really strong appeal. The chances are that, if I set out again, there wouldn’t be a world record involved. Once you get into a routine, riding 110 miles a day isn’t quite as daunting as it sounds, the element of a race did add some fun, and I really like the intensity of all those fleeting impressions, but that said, I wouldn’t mind going a bit slower… it’d be nice to stop for longer in the really amazing places, and not having to cut short some of the encounters.
How did you find a publisher for your book, and what would you recommend to other would be travel writers looking for a deal?
I went for the Writers & Artists yearbook, which includes a directory of agents, and submitted the standard first thirty pages to those that sounded suitable. A handful offered to represent me, and I went with my instinct, and the advice that most people in the industry had given: to go with whichever agency I felt most comfortable with. I’ve got a good relationship/friendship with my agent now… he’s really helped me to develop my writing, and gives me a lot of time of day, and feedback, that I don’t think the bigger agencies I turned down would’ve had much interest in helping with.
In retrospect, I potentially could have got a publisher with just a sample chapter and a covering letter of what I’d done, but that isn’t always the case. Although the agent takes a cut, they certainly open up options that quite probably wouldn’t otherwise exist, and allow you to focus on the creative side of the work.
I think the main thing, with any sort of writing, and however cliché, is just to do it for the love of it. It’s a slow and poorly paid world, and unless you simply love the act of writing, it’d soon get a bit dispiriting.
What is the book about and who do you think it will appeal most to?
Human scenery… the politics of the world at 12mph? I’d like to think it would appeal to anyone with an interest in the world or writing, really. There are a lot of cycle touring books that just describe headwinds and hills and mechanical problems… it ends up a bit of a list of everything that happened (with a dash of self-help and motivational stuff thrown in) and that’s really off-putting to me. I try and create places and experiences with the words, and only really mention the bicycle when it’s really necessary. I always loved writing, and storytelling in particular, so it was always my intention to go for something that tried to be a bit literary, creative, experimental. I’m not sure how much that’s been done before, on this subject.
What do you love most about the act of writing?
The absolute freedom of a page, the fact that it’s mine to create anything I want with. The fact that I can put all of my thoughts into words and then, for good or bad, they lose their weightiness and become only a form upon a piece of paper. My writing has become a really good friend to me, it’s helped me through a lot.
You are also making films and I believe that you recently spent time living with the Moken sea gypsies – can you tell us more about this particular adventure?
I’d written a series on the EU financial crisis, for the New Statesman, as I cycled through Europe to Istanbul in 2012. A producer had read the articles, really liked them, and got in touch in search of a writer for a documentary project in Asia and the Pacific. The Moken are an indigenous people of southeast asia, they live on the water, but that life, and the islands they move between, are all being threatened by the usual advances of modernity: land speculation, overfishing, mass tourism, oil exploration, border disputes between Myanmar and Thailand.
The documentary is still in post production, but Aeon Magazine commissioned an article from the trip. I looked a lot at indigenous culture, the way that economically developed countries can fetishise it. The Moken lead a hard life, many of them would perhaps like it to be easier, many young Moken are abandoning their traditional ways of life to move to the mainland, but often experience a lot more difficulties than they do on the water. It’s not to say that anything or anyone is timeless, Moken included, but development and change should be sensitive to culture, and too often it isn’t.
You have also been involved with arts projects – have you got anymore of these in the pipeline and if so what?
I’ve exhibited photography, and am a trustee with a charity that does participatory arts workshops with youngsters who are marginalised by either poverty or social stigma. I don’t know really, I think writing is more my natural calling, and it probably helps to focus on one thing. I’ve got a few ideas for exhibitions, but they’re kept company by lots of other ideas, most of which are unlikely to come to fruition, or will crystallise into something that right now I don’t see coming!
How much do you cycle today and what kind of bike do you ride?
How much I cycle depends a lot on where I am. Sometimes I’m cycling somewhere and working on a piece of travel writing, sometimes commuting on a bicycle in London, sometimes in a city without a bicycle and just walking around a lot. To be honest, I do miss it when I don’t ride at all for a while… cycling really gets me thinking, somehow looking at the world differently, and I think the exercise is good for the brain as much as the body.
I have a steel frame touring bicycle which was given to me as sponsorship, and I generally find too expensive to leave anywhere. I also find it hard to get attached to things that are worth a lot of money. I cycle around London on a shabby old fixed gear that must have done just as many miles, on the streets of the city.. I find that one much more charming.
I hear there is a second book in the wings… can you tell us more about it?
I spent three years working as a cycle courier in London, and if I see the first book as the story of the world on a bicycle, the second is the story of the city, plus a bit of me adjusting to standing around with strangers in lifts, while I could still remember riding through deserts in central Asia.
It’s a bit of an unseen London really; my brother delivered flowers to the MP who was stabbed by a young constituent in Whitechapel, I had the painful experience of delivering flowers to congratulate Cameron and his wife when they formed the government in 2010. I delivered administration notices to Lehman Brothers in 2008. There’s a really strong subculture to the couriers, I wouldn’t say I’m one of them as such, but there’s a really tender sense of kin there, and it’s valuable to work with the sort of people that it’s all too easy not to come into contact with in society… bicycles are good for that in general.
I know a courier who occasionally rode around with a beer can, with pierced holes in the side, where normally you keep a water bottle. He used the can to smoke crack, clear as day, off a fairly busy street in Soho. There are a few riders who’ve done time in jail, a lot of them have perhaps made their lives harder than they needed to be, and a lot of them were probably just born into lives that were always going to be difficult. They’re all incredibly good, tender people, and the job and the culture of London’s roads is hard enough that it can really harden your soul. I don’t know, I think we live inside a system that doesn’t honour human beings as it should, and I want to make some small mark against that, by chronicling a lot of the realities of cities, poverty, class. It’s probably quite ambitious, but you’ve gotta try.

You can buy Life Cycles from Hivehere, and help support independent bookshops. Julian will launch the book at Look Mum No Hands at 49 Old Street, London on Thursday 5th June at 7.30pm and all are welcome, join the facebook event here. He will be on tour in the autumn too, so look out for him then!
Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday June 4th, 2014 9:10 am
What is the No 9 Bus to Utopia about and why should people support the project?
It’s a book that chronicles a year spent visiting seven extraordinary communities in Europe and America after a relationship breakup. It was undertaken partly to learn how to be better at sharing and also just for the sheer adventure. Over the twelve months I visited sexual arcadias, a new city being built in the Arizona Desert, ashrams, anarchist communes and a place in the Italian Alps straight out of the pages of a sci-fi novel. I returned home full of inspiration from the people I’d met and wanting to make a difference in my hometown of Brighton by helping strengthen my local community through an event called Zocalo. Zocalo takes place one day each year when we encourage people to leave their houses and sit on a chair outside as a way of saying: I’m a friendly neighbour, come and have a natter. It’s been steadily growing over the years and is an informal street party all over the city. Better still it’s mercifully free of fund-raising, council approval, red tape or Union Jack bunting. It was dreamt up by a local guy, David Burke, and is a simple way of getting people talking to their neighbours again and re-kindling a sense of community. There’s lots of good will for it in Brighton and I can honestly say I now consider many of the people in my street as friends as a consequence. We hope that Zocalo will spread around the country. I learned from my adventures and experiences in communities that generosity and compromise are at the heart of all good relationships.
What kind of people do you hope will read it?
I love humorous travel writers like Bill Bryson and hope people will find it entertaining, personable and funny. It’s for anyone who’s ever wondered if the way they live could be better and how we can make a difference as individuals in the way our cities function (as well as our relationships). I was offered the chance to do the No9 Bus to Utopia as a TED talk last year which might be a good way for readers to get a taster of what the full story is about.
What was your biggest surprise discovery from visiting all these utopian communities?
A place in Italy called Damanhur which has built the world’s largest underground temple. It’s the most incredible place I’ve ever visited. The temple is about the size of St Paul’s Cathedral and was built in secret at night with little professional knowledge in how to accomplish such a feat. There are chambers where, if you press a certain stone slab in the wall, there’s a great whooshing sound and the wall slides away to reveal more secret rooms. It’s real Indiana Jones material. Visiting it took my breath away. Ok, if I’m really honest it actually moved me to tears!
Would you go back to any of them for any length of time, if so which one?
I’d return to all of them given the chance. The one I have been back to is Damanhur. I went a second time with a friend, Teowa, and we got to take part in some incredible rituals deep inside the temple. I even got the chance to jam with a rubber plant called Hellie, who the Damanhurians claim to have taught to make music. Hellie has even released a seven inch single. And no, I’m not making this stuff up.
What has the process of publishing your book been like and how did you hook up with Unbound?
Unbound was recommended by my friend Tom Hodgkinson from the Idler. They’re a hugely supportive and personable publishing company run on a crowd-funding ethos. We’ve raised a quarter of the money for the book so far in a short space of time, made a promotional video and I’m currently looking for opportunities to do the No9 Bus as a storytelling show/lecture. I’ve already spoken about it on TED, 5×15, Alain de Botton’s School of Life and the Idler Academy and it seems the best way to get people interested in reading the book.
You’re a bit of a Renaissance Man – how do you divide your time up between all of your different activities?
I made a conscious decision to get rid of my telly many years ago and no longer read papers or follow the news. I felt I could do better things with my time and fill my head with more life-affirming information and ideas, rather than that sense of righteous indignation the news headlines seem to instil in us. I admit, I’d struggle to identify Nick Clegg in an identity parade but I do have more time now to dedicate to pursue my passions and causes like Zocalo. I also teach music part time so I’m blessed with lots of paid holidays and free time.
Any news about Zocalo? Is it spreading around the country yet?
This year Zocalo has spread out of our neighbourhood of 3,000 houses to several other areas of Brighton. We’re hoping for our biggest ever turnout (weather permitting!) and have had lots of offers from local people wanting to run Zocalos in their streets. It’s yet to spread around the country but our long-term plan is a national holiday called Zocalo Day where everyone in the UK takes the day off work to sit outside their houses drinking tea and eating cake with their neighbours. OK, it’s an ambitious dream but why not?!
Are there any special festivities planned this Sep 9th?
To keep it simple we encourage people to bring their own entertainment to Zocalo on the day. We’ve had spontaneous table football tournaments, families cooking and sharing dinners out in the streets and sometimes people dragging their entire living room out onto the pavement, complete with stag’s head and Persian rug.
Why have you made Brighton your home? (I studied there and love it)
I grew up in Doncaster and studied in Coventry, so coming to Brighton for the first time was like stumbling upon an oasis. I’ve been here twenty years and still feel like I’m on some extended family holiday. It’s a liberal, bohemian party town where anything goes and to top it all, there’s a beach. Sure it’s also overcrowded and expensive but I only need go back and visit my home town of Doncaster to remind myself what an exceptional city I live in.
Zocalo promo video
How would you describe your band? Oddfellow’s Casino specialise in orchestrated melancholic pop with songs about nature, death and hauntings. The music seems to evoke the bleak English landscape, both pastoral and industrial. It’s something to do with being Northern I’m sure. It’s that same ethereal sonic quality that I find appealing in bands like Joy Division. It probably comes from eating too many pies and walking the Pennines in the drizzle. We’ve been making records for ten years now and have a strong, cultish following all over Europe from Estonia to Norway. 2012 has been a good year for us. We released a new album in May, The Raven’s Empire (on the theme of death) and had terrific radio play and support from Cerys Mathews, Gideon Coe and Lauren Laverne. We just released a new single, We Will Be Here, which is an anthem for the dead and was filmed in the Shell Grotto in Margate. We’ve got a handful of videos on youtube as well as a short film on our website that we made with former Dali model Drako Zarhazar.
We Will Be Here
What has been your favourite festival experience this year?
Taking part in a Friday night spelling test at Port Eliot hosted by The Wire‘s Dominic West had to rank as the most surreal festival experience this year. I also took part in a record-breaking attempt for skinny dipping at Wilderness Festival. Sadly we were 200 people short of breaking the record. When I got out, I couldn’t find my towel and was a lone naked man wandering through crowds of fully-attired, drunk festival-goers.
Winter in a Strange Town
Have you discovered any other great acts that you could recommend to us?
Favourite festival band this year was We Were Evergreen, a Parisian trio who won over the crowds with their energy, humour and exquisite power-pop, led by ukulele. Current favourite artists are Alt J and Other Lives.
The Crows and the Rooks
Finally, what next? And have you found true love again?
I’ve just made a short program for Radio 3 about a man, David King, who provides accurate long-term weather forecasts by reading nature. I’ve got a new talk on the history of pranks and mischief coming up at the Idler Academy in October and I’m hosting TEDx Brighton on my home turf in October. True love, I hope, is waiting in the wings, armed with a box of quality biscuits and good tale to tell.
Time for one final book review before Christmas. Tea and Cake, enjoyed in all their fashionable old style glory have never been more popular – I suppose it’s a retaliation against the generic big bucks corporate American coffee culture that has dominated our lives for the past decade. With the rise of crafting, upcycling and general home made goodness has come a renewed appreciation for a very British cup of tea, with all the accoutrements that brings.
Vintage Tea Party by the fabulously named Angel Adoree could not come at a better time, offering ‘a complete guide to hosting your perfect tea party‘. It’s a beautifully designed and illustrated (by Adele Mildred) volume from the queen bee of The Vintage Patisserie, which offers to turn tea party dreams into reality. It all has a very personal touch, with an opening intro that explains how Angel (original name Angela) got in touch with her inner tea making glamour puss, and plenty of handwritten typefaces.
The book takes the reader through every aspect of creating an event that recalls the bygone leisure of former eras, when the art of tea was an important part of the social fabric. What makes Vintage Tea Party different from other cook books is the abundance of ideas that sit alongside recipes for delicious cakes, scones, sandwiches and extravagant teas. In Vintage Tea Party you will also find lots of crafty suggestions, style tips and retro hairdo ideas to accompany a brunch, afternoon or evening event. All of these are modelled by Angel Adoree and her glamourous friends. The personal touch means that the book feels more like a diary, and the emphasis on real life characters makes this kind of fabulous lifestyle seem attainable. Count me in!
Our Garden Birds by illustrator and bird enthusiast Matt Sewell was published a few months ago with Ebury Press. Collating together his inimitable drawings and quirky writings for cult website Caught by the River, this book is a beautiful paen to our feathered friends. I predict that it will generate many a new twitcher in the back garden and local parks… Matt described to me his love for birds and how he makes his gorgeous artwork.
Why are birds so important?
I focused my work on birds a few years ago after I took some time out and went travelling with my girlfriend. I needed to re-address what I was doing and needed to bring the soul back into my work that had got lost by doing too much commercial work and trying to impress the in-crowd. My work has always had a focus on nature but British birds have been cropping up through-out since day one without me really realising. Being a bit of a spotter since a kid they’ve always had a special place in my heart, I have loads of good memories of family and holidays associated with them. I honestly get such a buzz by seeing a new bird or even something really common, seeing a jay can put me in a good mood all day. Also with poring over bird books for years I couldn’t help but humanify and mystify birds that I have never seen. I channelled all this positivity and love into my work and have been having a great journey ever since.
What is your favourite bird and why?
Like records, colours and ales my favourite changes by the week. At the mo it is all about goldfinches, the young have fledged and are all hanging out and having fun. I’m seeing groups of about 10 all scuttling about and having a laugh, plus they really remind me of my girls so that always nice.
What is your process when you draw?
I’ll have a look through my favourite bird books and maybe have a look at Google Image just to know I’m getting the basic markings in the right place. I think about the bird’s nature and character and decide how he is going to look and get to it. But really when I draw a bird I try to do it as quick as possible so I can capture a character within it.
When do you remember them first becoming important to you?
My earliest memory is hiding in my mam and dad’s bed as a jackdaw flew around the room. It had somehow got down the chimney, shit everywhere and then made it’s way up stairs to scare the living daylights out of me and my sister. When I was about 4 or 5 we moved to an old mill that was really a small farm, and I got kind of obsessed with nature from then really. But my first real recollection of birds becoming a big part in my life was when some swallows nested just above our front door. I clearly remember being blown away by them, the power and just sheer magic of them in flight, their song which I could never forget and the muddy nest that they made. Sometimes my dad would set up a step ladder and we’d have a look at the chicks. Very special memories.
Why did you decide to write your own quirky descriptions to accompany the illustrations?
The book originated from my Bird of the Week contribution to the Caught By The River blog. I originally just wanted to contribute to CBTR because I loved it so much, such a lovely and inspiring site and originally I was just going to paint a bird that I loved or had spotted that week. So when I painted the Bluetit (my first) I thought I had got a lot of character in him but I didn’t think I had got across all my love for him so I wrote a sentence or two. As the contributions continued my writing grew longer and more confident and the book naturally took form from that.
How did you hook up with caught by the river and then with Ebury? Jeff Barrett from Heavenly Records and CBTR got in touch initially through a mutual friend of ours, Paul Tomlinson. He was after a new logo designing for CBTR and he was really into a logo I had done for a site me and Tomo had set up called The Wooden Branch. Which is basically a site for people who love trees to put up pictures and explanations of their favourite ones from around the world, it’s a lovely idea but didn’t take off… nice logo though if I say so myself. Anyway I worked with Jeff on a few things and then continued with the Bird of the Weekcontribution to the blog. After a only a few birds Jeff saw the potential of it turning into a book; they had already had a book out called A Collection of Words on Water and there were a few others in the pipeline. Initial interest was good and it was with a big publishers for a year with them farting about with it before they dropped it. Which is when Ebury Press picked it up and the whole process has been a complete joy ever since.
What have you been teaching your little girl about birds?
One of her first words was ‘owl‘ which was absolutely amazing. She has known pigeons and made their ‘coo‘ since she was about 10 months. She’s two now and points out robins and blackbirds, I’m not certain but today I’m sure she pointed out a goldfinch and off course I’m going to say she did!
What bird would you most like to draw from real life that you have not yet had an opportunity to do so?
I’d love to spot and jot a Lammergeier, they scare the absolute bejesus out of me and have done ever since I saw an illustration of one in a book at school: it was of a Heidi-looking type girl in the Alps getting attacked and carried away by one. They’re one of the most unearthly looking birds out there. When I was in Australia, the one that kept getting away was a Crimson Finch, he looks dope. But really I’d love to spend a bit of time with a Waxwing, those buggers have been avoiding me for years.
Looking for that perfect last minute gift for the fashion illustrator in your life, or someone who aspires to become one? Then look no further than the inspirational new offering from the Illustration Now! series by Taschen, the leading publisher of art books. This is a chunky hard back volume full of beautiful illustrations by 90 contemporary illustrators working in a diverse range of styles. The artists are drawn from across the world, and all of them are working commercially in this genre, but the prominence given to personal work serves to emphasise the importance of experimenting, no matter what stage of your career you are at. The book opens with a must read essay on the history of fashion illustration and plenty of quotes by experts from the world of fashion are scattered throughout. Illustration Now! Fashion will have the aspiring fashion illustrator salivating with an envy that should push them on to produce wonderful artwork of their own. There are too many highlights to mention on a blog but here are some of my favourite finds to whet your appetite:
New York based Katie Rodgers draws whimsical half naked girls in Day of the Dead make up and flower headdresses.
American born Nicole Jarecz lives and works in Paris. This personal work entitled Bubbles just fizzes with energy.
Zé Otavio is a Sao Paolo based artist and counts many top magazines amongst his clients.
LULU* includes birds in this deceptively simple piece that is full of motion.
Bil Donovan is one of the older illustrators included, and his work displays a timeless elegance, as shown in this creation for Dior Beauty, where Bil is artist in residence.
FInally, Lina Boden is one of the many leading Swedish fashion illustrators working today. Like many of my favourite fashion illustrators she presents clothing within the context of detailed imagined worlds.
The falsetto sounds of Active Child were our new discovery for Saturday morning. American Pat Grossi alone on stage with just his mixer and computer, physician another lone electro maestro.
James by Jenny Goldstone.
James were our mid afternoon treat over at the Obelisk Arena – but we didn’t just sit down, click we lay spark out and enjoyed a full tour through their back catalogue of hits from a horizontal position. I was somewhat surprised to note that the lead singer is now bald of bounce and goatee of beard when I am sure he used to have lots of curly locks – oh the perils of ageing.
We were surrounded by lots of families, parents obviously revelling in a favourite from their youth, whilst even the teens next to us could sing along to the band’s most famous tune. And it seems we weren’t the only ones having a relaxing time.
In the woods we encountered a bunch of singing girls in wonderful outfits. Now why don’t all choirs dress like the Gaggle? I couldn’t really hear them, but darn it, who cares when they look this good?!
First Aid Kit, protected by a burly security man, by Faye Skinner.
I love it when a band I’ve loved forever starts to gain widespread success, and First Aid Kit have now reached a stage where they could draw suitably impressive crowds to the wooded environs of the Sunrise Arena. If you haven’t yet seen them live, then why the hell not? You can read a previous review of their gig at the Union Chapel here.
Crystal Castles by Mina Bach.
Over on the other side Crystal Castles arrived to a cascading wall of squelching beats that had the middle aged couple next to me pulling somewhat bemused faces at each other. Goodness knows what they made of Alice’s performance thereafter. Whilst slugging on a bottle of Jim Beam *rock n roll* she declared that gang bangers should “all be castrated” – the first inkling I had that all was not well at Latitude. Thereafter she was hellbent on crowdsurfing through the entire set, which mainly involved flinging herself into the rather excited male audience down front and then punching them if they grabbed her inappropriately, before being dragged back by security. Oh how the burly men in uniform love it when the singer does that. Rather inexplicably one fan insisted on giving Alice a sign featuring the word TOAST and, yup, you got it, a picture of a piece of toast. There’s been much grumbling online about Alice’s performance but I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it did look rather like had to yak at one point.
Sarah Martin of Belle and Sebastain by Kate Blandford.
The pace changed down a gear with the arrival of headliners Belle and Sebastian, playing their first gig in many years. First comment from those next to me? “She looks a bit mumsy.” And so what if Sarah does? Belle and Sebastian are not exactly in the first flush of youth, a fact which frontman Stuart Murdoch picked up repeatedly as he declared “they promised us an old crowd” – as usual the front was of course packed out with teenagers whilst the oldies (that seems to include me these days) hung back for a bit of air. Mind you I’ve never been a massive fan of the mosh pit to be honest. At one point Stuart threatened to take his top off (he was looking rather fit) which caused a fresh round of adolescent screaming “it would be like walking in on your dad in the shower” he laughed. It was a delightful set that featured an impromptu rendition of the Rolling Stones Jumping Jack Flash and finished with a gaggle of very happy teenagers dancing around on stage in front of the wrinkles and their orchestra. “You just made an old man very happy,” laughed Stuart in his lilting Scottish brogue, “now get off.” You show them who’s boss round here!
Active Child. Photography by Amelia Gregory.
The falsetto sounds of Active Child were our new discovery for Saturday morning. American Pat Grossi alone on stage with just his mixer and computer, story another lone electro maestro.
James by Jenny Goldstone.
James were our mid afternoon treat over at the Obelisk Arena – but we didn’t just sit down, we lay spark out and enjoyed a full tour through their back catalogue of hits from a horizontal position. I was somewhat surprised to note that the lead singer is now bald of bounce and goatee of beard when I am sure he used to have lots of curly locks – oh the perils of ageing.
We were surrounded by lots of families, parents obviously revelling in a favourite from their youth, whilst even the teens next to us could sing along to the band’s most famous tune. And it seems we weren’t the only ones having a relaxing time.
In the woods we encountered a bunch of singing girls in wonderful outfits. Now why don’t all choirs dress like the Gaggle? I couldn’t really hear them, but darn it, who cares when they look this good?!
First Aid Kit, protected by a burly security man, by Faye Skinner.
I love it when a band I’ve loved forever starts to gain widespread success, and First Aid Kit have now reached a stage where they could draw suitably impressive crowds to the wooded environs of the Sunrise Arena. If you haven’t yet seen them live, then why the hell not? You can read a previous review of their gig at the Union Chapel here.
Crystal Castles by Mina Bach.
Over on the other side Crystal Castles arrived to a cascading wall of squelching beats that had the middle aged couple next to me pulling somewhat bemused faces at each other. Goodness knows what they made of Alice’s performance thereafter. Whilst slugging on a bottle of Jim Beam *rock n roll* she declared that gang bangers should “all be castrated” – the first inkling I had that all was not well at Latitude. Thereafter she was hellbent on crowdsurfing through the entire set, which mainly involved flinging herself into the rather excited male audience down front and then punching them if they grabbed her inappropriately, before being dragged back by security. Oh how the burly men in uniform love it when the singer does that. Rather inexplicably one fan insisted on giving Alice a sign featuring the word TOAST and, yup, you got it, a picture of a piece of toast. There’s been much grumbling online about Alice’s performance but I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it did look rather like had to yak at one point.
Sarah Martin of Belle and Sebastain by Kate Blandford.
The pace changed down a gear with the arrival of headliners Belle and Sebastian, playing their first gig in many years. First comment from those next to me? “She looks a bit mumsy.” And so what if Sarah does? Belle and Sebastian are not exactly in the first flush of youth, a fact which frontman Stuart Murdoch picked up repeatedly as he declared “they promised us an old crowd” – as usual the front was of course packed out with teenagers whilst the oldies (that seems to include me these days) hung back for a bit of air. Mind you I’ve never been a massive fan of the mosh pit to be honest. At one point Stuart threatened to take his top off (he was looking rather fit) which caused a fresh round of adolescent screaming “it would be like walking in on your dad in the shower” he laughed. It was a delightful set that featured an impromptu rendition of the Rolling Stones Jumping Jack Flash and finished with a gaggle of very happy teenagers dancing around on stage in front of the wrinkles and their orchestra. “You just made an old man very happy,” laughed Stuart in his lilting Scottish brogue, “now get off.” You show them who’s boss round here!
Active Child. Photography by Amelia Gregory.
The falsetto sounds of Active Child were our new discovery for Saturday morning. American Pat Grossi alone on stage with just his mixer and computer, site another lone electro maestro.
James were our mid afternoon treat over at the Obelisk Arena – but we didn’t just sit down, we lay spark out and enjoyed a full tour through their back catalogue of hits from a horizontal position. I was somewhat surprised to note that the lead singer is now bald of bounce and goatee of beard when I am sure he used to have lots of curly locks – oh the perils of ageing.
We were surrounded by lots of families, parents obviously revelling in a favourite from their youth, whilst even the teens next to us could sing along to the band’s most famous tune. And it seems we weren’t the only ones having a relaxing time.
In the woods we encountered a bunch of singing girls in wonderful outfits. Now why don’t all choirs dress like the Gaggle? I couldn’t really hear them, but darn it, who cares when they look this good?!
First Aid Kit, protected by a burly security man, by Faye Skinner.
I love it when a band I’ve loved forever starts to gain widespread success, and First Aid Kit have now reached a stage where they could draw suitably impressive crowds to the wooded environs of the Sunrise Arena. If you haven’t yet seen them live, then why the hell not? You can read a previous review of their gig at the Union Chapel here.
Over on the other side Crystal Castles arrived to a cascading wall of squelching beats that had the middle aged couple next to me pulling somewhat bemused faces at each other. Goodness knows what they made of Alice’s performance thereafter. Whilst slugging on a bottle of Jim Beam *rock n roll* she declared that gang bangers should “all be castrated” – the first inkling I had that all was not well at Latitude. Thereafter she was hellbent on crowdsurfing through the entire set, which mainly involved flinging herself into the rather excited male audience down front and then punching them if they grabbed her inappropriately, before being dragged back by security. Oh how the burly men in uniform love it when the singer does that. Rather inexplicably one fan insisted on giving Alice a sign featuring the word TOAST and, yup, you got it, a picture of a piece of toast. There’s been much grumbling online about Alice’s performance but I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it did look rather like had to yak at one point.
The pace changed down a gear with the arrival of headliners Belle and Sebastian, playing their first gig in many years. First comment from those next to me? “She looks a bit mumsy.” And so what if Sarah does? Belle and Sebastian are not exactly in the first flush of youth, a fact which frontman Stuart Murdoch picked up repeatedly as he declared “they promised us an old crowd” – as usual the front was of course packed out with teenagers whilst the oldies (that seems to include me these days) hung back for a bit of air. Mind you I’ve never been a massive fan of the mosh pit to be honest. At one point Stuart threatened to take his top off (he was looking rather fit) which caused a fresh round of adolescent screaming “it would be like walking in on your dad in the shower” he laughed. It was a delightful set that featured an impromptu rendition of the Rolling Stones Jumping Jack Flash and finished with a gaggle of very happy teenagers dancing around on stage in front of the wrinkles and their orchestra. “You just made an old man very happy,” laughed Stuart in his lilting Scottish brogue, “now get off.” You show them who’s boss round here! Image from Bitten courtesy of Tigz Rice
Tigz Rice is an inspirational and dynamic illustrator, viagra buy using Photography, and costume, drawing and photo-manipulation to create deliciously textured gothic burlesque worlds. Her new picturebook Bitten re-tells the story of Snow White while looking more deeply at the implications of our quest for Beauty and the lengths we may go to achieve or maintain it.
As ever she gets amazing character work out of her beautifully dressed models and produces stunning scenes and backgrounds, leave this book on your coffee table and expect some serious conversation.
I “caught up with her” in the run up to the launch to talk inspirations, processes and paradoxes;
I have a fridge freezer arriving sometime between now and 5pm, just a warning if I suddenly disappear lol.
That’s exciting! Can I put that in the interview?
Haha of course! don’t ask me what make it is though, I have no idea
Congratulations on the book, it looks wonderful.
Aw thanks! It’s been a long journey but it’s so great to see it in its final form!
I think it’s taken about 6 months from idea to completion
that’s epic!
Your obviously very inspired by Fairytales, what was your favourite Fairytale when you were little – and now?
It’s not exactly a fairytale, but Alice in Wonderland has always been my favourite – there’s just so much in the story and you find something different every time you read it. I also had a favourite book called Winifred’s New Bed, which I read every week for years. I’ve been trying to find a copy of it for a while now but it’s out of print
Maybe when you are famous(er) you can use your influence to bring it back
That would be ace – I wonder which artist did the artwork?!
Are there other fairytales would you like to adapt?
Loads! I have a book of the original stories by the Grimm Brothers’ which I think I might end up slowly working through! I’ve got a couple of book ideas and commissions on the cards at the moment too, in particular one about tooth fairies
Would it be fair to say Bitten explores our often destructive relationships with Beauty, both as artists and women? Do you think it’s possible to escape this attitude in our society, and would you really ever want to?
I think it’s true yes, the world is obsessed with beauty and this never ends in a positive fashion. The Mirrorman plays the part of peer pressure, and shows the extent of its power over us. It also shows how some people, who are naturally beautiful, are shunned by society for having these characteristics we are willing to go through life-threatening surgery for. Having worked with the burlesque industry over the last few years, it has been wonderfully refreshing to find a society of people who accept curves, flaws and ‘real beauty’ as the Dove adverts used to say! I think it is possible to escape the current media trends for perfection, but I doubt it would ever happen in mass society.
I also think that as an artist, it is very hard to go against the ideas and conventions of the mass culture, which is why many readers find the content of my books challenging. Wonderland, for example, was based on the true story of a cocaine user. The book received very mixed reviews
do you think that’s the paradox of art? being expected to allways be knew and interesting, yet always conform to established conventions of aesthetics and subject matter?
Lol yes, very much so! All artists are expected to conform to current chosen styles, trends and subject matter, then get knocked down for being ‘too similar to artist X, Y and Z’. Having chosen to go the opposite way with my artwork and find something unique and unknown, it is a constant battle but the rewards are much greater!
So much of your work features amazing fashions and costumes, do you dress flamboyantly in real life?
Depends on the occasion! I attend a lot of burlesque shows and events through my photography work so I like to get dressed up and be part of the crowd, although days like today in the studio you can find me in a denim skirt and tee.
Does most of your work start with a photoshoot? Do you have a clear idea of how the work will look beforehand, or does a lot of it come with the way the photos work out, and things that come to you and the model during the shoot?
Working with photo manipulation, its easier to create a background round a pose than to reshoot a model, so yes I suppose the primary focus is alway the models. Each shoot normally starts with a good amount of storyboarding, especially book work. The costumes, storyline and poses are all pre-arranged, although I always make sure to get a few slightly different poses just in case I change my mind halfway through and find something better (which can happen quite a lot!) About 75% of a book will end up as oringinally planned, but there’s always room for new input, especially from the models who can come up with some fantastic ideas and poses.
There’s a real organicness to your work, contrasting with the super tight elements, do you consciously keep the physical origins of the imagery in mind when working on the computer?
I’m put in mind of Dave McKean‘s early work where he was just using a photocopier to create photo-manipulated effects. Very physical and surreal.
Dave Mckean is possibly my favourite artist and was a great inspiration in my earlier works, yes! The majority of the artwork is all done with photography including all the backgrounds and textures and I’m very conscious of keeping everything as realistic as possible, which often creates a more surreal effect. Its also strange seeing work in print for the first time!
Image from Bitten courtesy of Tigz Rice
You make books and pictures for adults, but work with children so presumably don’t dislike them, do you want to do any children’s book projects in the future?
I actually have a children’s book idea I’m working on at the moment, yes! Its a collaborative project with digital artist David Cousens of Cool Surface and at the moment we’re just finalising the story line. I’ve always wanted to work on a children’s book but my style would involve photographing children, which brings about a whole new string of legal issues of working with minors. Working with David, I’m going to creating the backgrounds and scenery while the lovely David creates the characters digitally. I’m really excited about it!
That sounds awesome!
It should be fantastic, David is a fantastic artist and its an honour to be working with him.
Do you enjoy collaborating?
I love collaborating, I think it stretches you outside your comfort zone and helps you to grow as an artist. At the moment I’m just finishing off a collaborative book I’ve put together called Fragments, which features 20 artists who create dark and visually stunning artwork. its been a challenge, but I can’t wait to see it all come together. The book should be out later this year.
You seem to have so many projects on the go. Do you have to be very organised in your business planning mode? do you think this is the secret of your success? What organisational tips do you have for flighty freelancers?
I’m far too organised for my own good! Every 6 months I sit down and set myself hard but achievable goals, to give myself some direction so I don’t procrastinate between projects and have a set career aim for the near future. Things like learning a new software programme, creating a new book or challenging myself to be featured in three magazines. The goals also include silly things, like book a spur of the moment holiday, try to go to bed before midnight or (currently) give up ice cream. You might not get everything done, but its a very good way to monitor your productivity too
Image from Bitten courtesy of Tigz Rice
Fantastic. let’s do a few quick questions to finish off, I’m sure are readers are dying to know..
Image from Bitten courtesy of Tigz Rice
Image from Bitten courtesy of Tigz Rice