Amelia’s Magazine | The People’s Supermarket: a new approach to food shopping

the-peoples-supermarket-shop-front
A new era in food shopping could have dawned a few weeks ago as The People’s Supermarket in Holborn opened its doors for the very first time.

It’s ultimate aim? To bring an end to the big supermarket chains one potato at a time of course! At least that’s what team ‘People’s Supermarket’ believe; chef, decease site Arthur Potts Dawson — already known for his Acorn House restaurant in King’s Cross and London’s first eco-restaurant, visit this site the Waterhouse Restaurant in Hackney; retail consultant, Kate Wickes-Bull; and self proclaimed social entrepreneur, David Barrie.

So what’s so special about The People’s Supermarket (TPS)? Well, modeled largely on the Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn, established in 1974, it will work as a totally nonprofit venture. Run fully by teams of volunteers, all profits will be invested back into stocking the shop with great food at minimal prices and TPS hopes to help families and low income groups in the community along the way by providing work experience, training, and low cost shopping. A sign outside listed the number of members as 124 on my trip but I can imagine this will soon start to rise, and anyway Potts Dawson reckons they need at least 300 members for the shop to actually become a sustainable business. Anyone can shop at TPS but the team hopes that as customers visit this unique project and see the quality of produce and with the added incentive of getting great discounts they might become a member — pledging to work at the shop for a few hours every month and paying a £25 annual membership fee. The website promises, in Marxist-like terms, a supermarket that is “run by the people for the people, selling the best food at the lowest possible prices.”

the-peoples-supermarket-fruit

Located on Lambs Conduit Street near Russell Square tube, TPS doesn’t stand out as exactly being a glamorous shop, nor has it in anyway been made to look trendy as I was half-expecting — seeing that this is the natural habitat of posh delis, coffee shops and boutiques. Instead TPS doesn’t appear to look much different to the private local supermarket that went before it, and originally belonged to the enemy — Tesco. Now the place has been spruced up by an army of helpers — all volunteers of course, but the main decoration is the addition of posters to the walls – which, although sadly lacking images of Lord Kitchener, famous for appearing in YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU posters – appeal to customer’s philanthropic side, stating in block capitals, “The people’s supermarket needs you, join today”. All this does go to show, however, that TPS is serious about saving money. Instead of investing in funky counters and arty light fittings, TPS has clearly poured all available funds back into stocking the shop with the best produce.

The fruit and vegetables, which are laid out on old second-hand tables like in a market or old-fashioned green grocers, are sourced from some of the best farmer’s markets around. There are also selections of handmade breads and cakes as well as most of the usual foodstuffs you would expect to find in a small local supermarket. But if it turns out that there is something that isn’t available customers can simply scribble a note of it up on the blackboard for the managers to see — grapefruit juice, curry powder, lentils and ghee were among the omissions when I visited on Saturday 5 June.

the-peoples-supermarket-sign

Todd was store manager when I made a trip to TPS on Saturday. Delighted at how quickly word of the store was spreading Todd said they had been really busy since the shop opened on Tuesday 1 June, so he was quick to make an appeal for more staff — then he could have a decent lunch break, he told me jokingly. Todd was also happy about TPS’s reception in the local area too, saying that he really felt the whole community was getting behind the project.

Which is good because the setup will make the greatest difference to those who live or work near the shop who will be able to use it fairly often and make the most of the discounts, after paying the £25 membership fee of course. There might be another reason why people will volunteer to work for free at TPS though — an added bonus for some maybe? The running of the shop is to become the subject of a new prime time Channel 4 documentary, which I’m sure will put a shine on the prospect of volunteering for any self-promoting types out there. There are also plans for a cookbook, packed full of recipes for dishes made with ingredients from the shop. I guess lentil curry is out for the time being then!

the-peoples-supermarket-brea

Perhaps the best thing about TPS though, is the whole ‘niceness’ of it all. There has been a wealth of comments on the twittersphere about the enthusiastic staff, the smiling customers, and the general buzz in the air that something new and exciting is happening. Certainly while at university I used to pop along to a small fruit and veg cooperative each week and I remember the more grass roots approach to buying and selling food being an enjoyable experience. And it seems the tweeters were right — the same pleasant atmosphere is already in full swing in Holborn. Katie, a student from the nearby University College London, spotted me taking some pictures outside, “It’s great isn’t it?” she said, “I think it’s the atmosphere which is nicest, I came in on opening day and people were chatting to each other. Chatting to complete strangers — I mean that doesn’t happen in London very often does it?”

Chatting to strangers, volunteering in a supermarket and reaping the benefits and all while being filmed for Channel 4 — I don’t think that happens anywhere very often.

Categories ,Acorn House, ,Arthur Potts Dawson, ,brooklyn, ,Channel 4, ,David Barrie, ,Ethical Shopping, ,Holborn, ,Kate Wickes-Bull, ,Lambs Conduit Street, ,Lord Kitchener, ,Marxist, ,Park Slope Food Coop, ,Tesco, ,The People’s Supermarket, ,TPS, ,Waterhouse Restaurant

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Amelia’s Magazine | The People’s Supermarket: a new approach to food shopping

the-peoples-supermarket-shop-front
A new era in food shopping could have dawned a few weeks ago as The People’s Supermarket in Holborn opened its doors for the very first time.

It’s ultimate aim? To bring an end to the big supermarket chains one potato at a time of course! At least that’s what team ‘People’s Supermarket’ believe; chef, Arthur Potts Dawson — already known for his Acorn House restaurant in King’s Cross and London’s first eco-restaurant, the Waterhouse Restaurant in Hackney; retail consultant, Kate Wickes-Bull; and self proclaimed social entrepreneur, David Barrie.

So what’s so special about The People’s Supermarket (TPS)? Well, modeled largely on the Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn, established in 1974, it will work as a totally nonprofit venture. Run fully by teams of volunteers, all profits will be invested back into stocking the shop with great food at minimal prices and TPS hopes to help families and low income groups in the community along the way by providing work experience, training, and low cost shopping. A sign outside listed the number of members as 124 on my trip but I can imagine this will soon start to rise, and anyway Potts Dawson reckons they need at least 300 members for the shop to actually become a sustainable business. Anyone can shop at TPS but the team hopes that as customers visit this unique project and see the quality of produce and with the added incentive of getting great discounts they might become a member — pledging to work at the shop for a few hours every month and paying a £25 annual membership fee. The website promises, in Marxist-like terms, a supermarket that is “run by the people for the people, selling the best food at the lowest possible prices.”

the-peoples-supermarket-fruit

Located on Lambs Conduit Street near Russell Square tube, TPS doesn’t stand out as exactly being a glamorous shop, nor has it in anyway been made to look trendy as I was half-expecting — seeing that this is the natural habitat of posh delis, coffee shops and boutiques. Instead TPS doesn’t appear to look much different to the private local supermarket that went before it, and originally belonged to the enemy — Tesco. Now the place has been spruced up by an army of helpers — all volunteers of course, but the main decoration is the addition of posters to the walls – which, although sadly lacking images of Lord Kitchener, famous for appearing in YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU posters – appeal to customer’s philanthropic side, stating in block capitals, “The people’s supermarket needs you, join today”. All this does go to show, however, that TPS is serious about saving money. Instead of investing in funky counters and arty light fittings, TPS has clearly poured all available funds back into stocking the shop with the best produce.

The fruit and vegetables, which are laid out on old second-hand tables like in a market or old-fashioned green grocers, are sourced from some of the best farmer’s markets around. There are also selections of handmade breads and cakes as well as most of the usual foodstuffs you would expect to find in a small local supermarket. But if it turns out that there is something that isn’t available customers can simply scribble a note of it up on the blackboard for the managers to see — grapefruit juice, curry powder, lentils and ghee were among the omissions when I visited on Saturday 5 June.

the-peoples-supermarket-sign

Todd was store manager when I made a trip to TPS on Saturday. Delighted at how quickly word of the store was spreading Todd said they had been really busy since the shop opened on Tuesday 1 June, so he was quick to make an appeal for more staff — then he could have a decent lunch break, he told me jokingly. Todd was also happy about TPS’s reception in the local area too, saying that he really felt the whole community was getting behind the project.

Which is good because the setup will make the greatest difference to those who live or work near the shop who will be able to use it fairly often and make the most of the discounts, after paying the £25 membership fee of course. There might be another reason why people will volunteer to work for free at TPS though — an added bonus for some maybe? The running of the shop is to become the subject of a new prime time Channel 4 documentary, which I’m sure will put a shine on the prospect of volunteering for any self-promoting types out there. There are also plans for a cookbook, packed full of recipes for dishes made with ingredients from the shop. I guess lentil curry is out for the time being then!

the-peoples-supermarket-brea

Perhaps the best thing about TPS though, is the whole ‘niceness’ of it all. There has been a wealth of comments on the twittersphere about the enthusiastic staff, the smiling customers, and the general buzz in the air that something new and exciting is happening. Certainly while at university I used to pop along to a small fruit and veg cooperative each week and I remember the more grass roots approach to buying and selling food being an enjoyable experience. And it seems the tweeters were right — the same pleasant atmosphere is already in full swing in Holborn. Katie, a student from the nearby University College London, spotted me taking some pictures outside, “It’s great isn’t it?” she said, “I think it’s the atmosphere which is nicest, I came in on opening day and people were chatting to each other. Chatting to complete strangers — I mean that doesn’t happen in London very often does it?”

Chatting to strangers, volunteering in a supermarket and reaping the benefits and all while being filmed for Channel 4 — I don’t think that happens anywhere very often.

Categories ,Acorn House, ,Arthur Potts Dawson, ,brooklyn, ,Channel 4, ,David Barrie, ,Ethical Shopping, ,Holborn, ,Kate Wickes-Bull, ,Lambs Conduit Street, ,Lord Kitchener, ,Marxist, ,Park Slope Food Coop, ,Tesco, ,The People’s Supermarket, ,TPS, ,Waterhouse Restaurant

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Amelia’s Magazine | Tent London 2011 Review: Best Surface Design

Kate Usher wallpaper
Wallpaper by Kate Usher Studio.

The printed textile designer in me will always be a sucker for great decorative surface design. Here’s some fabulous stuff that I found at Tent London this year.

Kate Usher Meerkat wallpaper
At the Designed and Made stand I was immediately drawn to Kate Usher‘s marvellous wallpaper designs with names such as Sharkbait and Hang About. She has set out with an admirable mission to shake up the tired old cliches that appear on most children’s bedroom decor, story so expect bold designs, thumb all printed to order on FSC approved base papers… and with the possibility to add a bespoke Swarovski crystal topping. Wow-wee.

Tent London 2012 review -kate usher and sarah blood
Also at Designed and Made I liked the neon Duck lights by Sarah Blood which offer a fun updated version of this kitsch classic.

Tent London 2012 review -flavor paper
Tent London 2012 review -flavor paper
Tent London 2012 review -flavor paper
Brookyln’s Flavor Paper had flown to the UK to showcase their unique wares. What fun! I particularly loved their hot air balloon display and given their provocative name I couldn’t help asking if any of their designs were actually scratch ‘n’ sniff – to my delight I discovered that indeed the cherries were. All their designs are created to buyer specifications, either digitally or via traditional screenprinting.

Tent London 2012 review -bluebellgray
Digital printing was used to great effect by Scottish designer Fi Douglas of Bluebellgray, retaining the feel of pretty hand painted floral watercolour textiles.

Tent London 2012 review -happy happy bows
I am not sure which section these Happy Happy oversized bows fit into since they are essentially an entirely useless bit of decor. Made by RCA trained designer Stephen Johnson, these kitsch creations are intended to bring a bit of happiness into the world.

Tent London 2012 review -3form tiles
Tent London 2012 review -3form tiles
Gorgeous (but very expensive) irridescent sculpted bespoke tiles were on display from 3Form solutions.

Tent London 2012 review -Lisa Grue avantgarden
And then I chanced upon Lisa Grue, who I last met in Copenhagen a year ago. She was taking in part in Tent London with a group of artist/designers working in multiple disciplines under the name avantGarden.

Tent London 2012 review -Lisa Grue avantgarden
Tent London 2012 review -Lisa Grue avantgarden
Tent London 2012 review -Lisa Grue avantgarden
Titled Beautiful Mortality, all of avantGarden‘s work was inspired by the beauty of life, death and decay and all the designs were rendered in a limited colourway of cream and browns – quite a departure from Lisa’s usual colourful work. I loved her moth and fox designs and her huge hand-appliqued wall hanging.

Tent London 2012 review -Meyer-Lavigne
Tent London 2012 review -Meyer-Lavigne
Bulbous painted ceramic plant pots from Meyer-Lavigne were also particularly wonderful.

Tent London 2012 review -Louise Gaarmann
Louise Gaarmann presented some tactile ceramics in imaginative combinations of shapes. Together with textile designer Tina Ratzer she had created Mr.Craftsman, a huge tribal coat in pure wool accessorised with hanging ceramic talismans.

Our Man_ratzermeetsgaarmann mr craftsman
Don’t forget to take a peek at my pick of this years furniture design too.

Categories ,2011, ,3Form, ,avantGarden, ,Beautiful Mortality, ,Bluebellgray, ,brooklyn, ,ceramic, ,copenhagen, ,Danish, ,Designed and Made, ,digital, ,Duck, ,Fi Douglas, ,Flavor Paper, ,Happy Happy, ,kitsch, ,Lisa Grue, ,London Design Festival, ,Louise Gaarmann, ,Meyer-Lavigne, ,Neon Lights, ,rca, ,review, ,Sarah Blood, ,scratch ‘n’ sniff, ,screenprinting, ,Stephen Johnson, ,surface design, ,Swarovski, ,Tent London, ,textiles, ,Tiles, ,Tina Ratzer, ,Underwerket Projects, ,Wallpaper

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Amelia’s Magazine | Portfolio: an interview with illustrator Gabriel Ayala aka Gaarte

Nova Chiu A/W 2013 by Gaarte

Nova Chiu A/W 2013 by Gaarte.

Fashion illustrator Gabriel Ayala is based in New York, from where he has been contributing regularly to Amelia’s Magazine for several years. We always look forward to his idiosyncratic and often spectacular depictions of runway looks from the London Fashion Week shows, and thought it was about time we caught up with the enigmatic illustrator better known as Gaarte.

Ekaterina Kukhareva S/S 2014 by Gaarte

Ekaterina Kukhareva S/S 2014 by Gaarte.

How did you get into fashion illustration?
I first came into contact with fashion illustration through a book in the library at KCC (Kingsborough Community College). This was 10 years ago. I remember flipping through the pages of this book and when I landed on George Stavrinos‘s page I just feel in love. By the next semester, I was at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) studying Fashion Illustration. I had a mentor in the school, Bil Donovan, who is a fashion illustrator and encouraged me towards pursuing it as a career.

Fyodor Golan A/W 2013 by Gaarte.

Fyodor Golan A/W 2013 by Gaarte.

What is your design background?
As far as design goes, I did a semester of menswear (at FIT). By this time I was already in school for about 5 years and I couldn’t take it anymore. Within those 5 years I studied graphic design, photo retouching, commercial illustration and fashion illustration.

Heohwan Simulation by Gaarte

Heohwan Simulation by Gaarte.

What are your design inspirations?
I draw inspiration from other designers’ work. I don’t get inspired by nature, animals, or abstract concepts. I need to keep the work consistent & commercial within extremely tight deadlines. (I know that the response seems very dry but I’m keeping it real).

How do you set about working on a new illustration?
I start every work from a concept written in my sketchbook… I need to decide how this project relates to ME? What is MY perspective. Once I decide how the work speaks to ME then I start sketching ideas. Afterwards I develop the sketches into works that have a commercial sensibility.

Corrie Nielsen by Gaarte

Corrie Nielsen by Gaarte.

What is an essential requirement for you to work happily?
Music videos and music are really essential. I start blasting music, seeing the visuals and that inspires me to work through the illustration. I usually have youtube or MTV hits playing. Depending on how I am feeling I listen to certain types of music. Pop, hip-hop, rock, reggaeton it doesn’t really matter. If I don’t have music then I feel like I’m forcing the work instead of letting it flow. I refer to this a creative constipation.

Here are some songs that I’m digging at the moment:
Jay-Z Ft. Kanye West- Who Gon Stop Me
Eminem – The Monster (Audio) ft. Rihanna
Natalia Kills – Problem
I Luv This Shit (Explicit)

Ong-Oaj Pairam by Gaarte

Ong-Oaj Pairam by Gaarte.

You’ve been contributing to Amelia’s Magazine for some years now, how did you discover it and what keeps bringing you back?
I used to work for a company named stylesight.com and I was tracking an image (from their offices) back through the blog of Tom Hovey. In his blog he had a link to Amelia’s Mag and the rest is history I guess. I think that Amelia’s Mag is a platform for emerging fashion creatives worldwide. And the magazine is the only publication in the world to display photography and fashion illustration in the same article under the same light (at least this is what I believe). And the reason why I keep coming back is to be a part of a publication that promotes and displays fashion illustration.

Carlotta Actis Barone S/S 2013 by Gaarte

Carlotta Actis Barone S/S 2013 by Gaarte.

What has been the best part about creating fashion illustrations for Amelia’s Magazine?
The best part is creating the work. Executing a piece of commercial work for the  public is exciting. Having that work live and represent me, my idea, my concept and my brand is dope. It’s better than having your work in a gallery, in-print or on a wall because that is static… it’s a static life. When you get your work out there, especially on a platform like Amelia’s Magazine, then the work has the capability to take on a life of it’s own (I’m not saying that it always takes a life of it’s own… I’m saying it has the capability). It is good to have work featured in the magazine coz that gives you credibility, sort of like Juxtapoz, but for fashion illustration. Then social media allows the artwork to take on another life, another audience.

Ashish S/S 2014 by Gaarte

Ashish S/S 2014 by Gaarte.

You have recently been working with Fashion Group International in New York. Can you tell us a bit about the company and what your role is?
I’ve been with FGI since 2011. They are a membership organization and a non-profit, specializing in events tailored to the fashion professional. There are many different regions, each region organizes events such as retail and beauty symposiums, trend presentations and so on. We recently celebrated our 30th Annual Night of Stars Gala honoring Marc Jacobs. And we are currently organizing our annual Rising Star Awards. I am the first in house graphic designer/ web designer. I’m also involved in social media for FGI. I work with a team of marketers to develop the look and feel of an event as well as design and develop any printed material and eblast relating events. On the social media end of things, I tie the events into the social platforms and try to keep FGI in the conversation (of major fashion news).

Yeashin S/S 2014 by Gaarte

Yeashin S/S 2014 by Gaarte.

Referring back to the inspiration question, when you work with a bunch of marketing people you’re work needs to be on point EVERY single time. So you need to refer to what is happening in the industry and trying to keep up with commercial standards. And there are so many different events so you have to pull inspiration from EVERYWHERE…. so you’re everywhere and no where at the same time.

Nian S/S 2014 by Gaarte

Nian S/S 2014 by Gaarte.

Can you tell us a bit about your everyday life in Brooklyn, New York?
My everyday life is boring… and I love it like that. I am a fitness guy so I begin my day with an egg white protein shake. Then I’m off to the gym to workout. I spend 2 hours at the gym come back home. The rest of my day is spent in front of a computer when I’m not cooking and running around with my nephew. In case if you’re wondering, the majority of the meals that I cook are healthy. I do a lot of research on healthy foods. Most people think that I’m on steroids but I’M NOT. (When I say most people I’m referring to: my co-workers, my friends, my brother and my mother).

Gabriel Ayala self portrait

Self Portrait.

Thankyou so much Gabriel, it’s been fabulous to get a better insight into your everyday life, inspirations and work practice. Do watch out for more artwork from Gaarte in the near future, as he will be one of our very special portfolio illustrators on the new website.

Categories ,Bil Donovan, ,brooklyn, ,Fashion Group International, ,Fashion Institute of Technology, ,Gaarte, ,Gabriel Ayala, ,George Stavrinos, ,Juxtapoz, ,Kingsborough Community College, ,London Fashion Week, ,new york, ,Rising Star Awards, ,stylesight.com, ,Tom Hovey

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Amelia’s Magazine | Secret Garden Party 2010: Sunday Review

SGP 2010-puppetry
SGP 10-gold people by Amelia Gregory
Photography by Amelia Gregory.

Saturday arrived with none of the threatened rain we were worried about. Indeed, sale the ground was so dry and cracked en route to our far flung campsite that it had opened into deep fissures.

SGP 10 orange wings by Amelia Gregory
SGP 10-indian headdress by Amelia Gregory

The ad hoc nature of Secret Garden Party has it’s down points – lack of coherent line up information being one and don’t even get me started on the toilet washing facilities and *serious* lack of bins, recycling and water points. But one blessed relief after the meaty corporate queues of Latitude was the huge diversity and quality of food on offer. Around almost every corner some little caravan had set up shop to flog tea and toasties, coffee and candy, tapas or freshly made pizzas. Our breakfast consisted of a freshly toasted marmite and cheese crumpet served by a trio of “strumpets” – such a simple idea but wonderfully well executed.

SGP 2010-pizza by Amelia Gregory
SGP 10-pizzas by Amelia Gregory
PIzza prepared by my friend Lisa of Happy Kitchen.

The sunshine persuaded huge amounts of people into the lake for a swim amongst the copious pond weed which they lobbed joyously at the people crossing the pontoon bridge.

SGP 10-swim by Amelia Gregory
Alexis-West-Sarah-Blasko
Sarah Blasko by Alexis West.

Down at the main stage Sarah Blasko seemed curiously annoyed by her lack of audience – perhaps someone should have warned her of the laid back nature of Secret Garden Party goers, particularly after a long hard night of partying. Further research reveals that Sarah is huge in Australia so she is probably isn’t used to such a muted reception and might explain her slightly brittle performance. Worth checking out though.

SGP 2010-I Blame Coco by Amelia Gregory
SGP 2010-I Blame Coco by Amelia Gregory
Fritha Strickland - I blame coco
I Blame Coco by Fritha Strickland.

Shortly afterwards the youngsters were out in force for I Blame Coco. As someone behind me muttered, she “looks just like a female Sting” – funny that. I was strangely unmoved by the overproduced artistry of Coco and her studiously mannered 80s dance style. Still, the kids seemed to love her, so maybe I’m missing something.

SGP 2010-the whip by Amelia Gregory
Dee-Andrews-The-Whip-SGP2010
The Whip by Dee Andrews.

The excitable electronica of Manchester based outfit The Whip was far better fun and the female drummer drove the now fully fancy-dressed crowd wild. “Look after each other tonight,” they laughed with the audience.

SGP 10-silver head by Amelia Gregory
SGP 10-forum by Amelia Gregory

It’s good to see the lecture programme at Secret Garden Party growing in scope and popularity every year. This time we could pick from paranoid film screenings at the Conspiracy Camp or the more intrepid offerings of Explorer Camp. Over at the Forum area Ben Goldacre drew an enormous crowd for his talk on the spurious claims of the pharmaceutical industry and the dangers of Gillian McKeith.

SGP 10-glove head by Amelia Gregory
SGP 2010-alice by Amelia Gregory
SGP 2010-group by Amelia Gregory

A quiet bit of wandering brought us to the last undiscovered gems – a few children dozing to some dire but strangely enjoyable puppetry in the Cabaret Tent, and a meeting with The Earl in the S&M Tent, where a sweet looking girl in a floral head garland was being shown how to spank her best friend. I got more excited looking at pictures of The Earl’s cockerpoo puppy on his mobile.

SGP 10-waterslide by Amelia Gregory
SGP 10-waterslide by Amelia Gregory
Blimp on fire SGP Tim Adey
Blimp on fire by Tim Adey.

The creators of Secret Garden Party are massive fans of the Burning Man festival and they try very hard to recreate the same feeling here in the UK. Never is their inspiration more obvious than during the annual destruction of the party island in the middle of the lake. As night fell it was time to let off hundreds of Chinese lanterns and the blimp was set on fire. We accidentally found ourselves with a fabulous vantage point of the fireworks in a backstage area complete with hot tub.

SGP 2010-Golden Filter by Amelia Gregory
SGP 2010-Golden Filter by Amelia Gregory
SGP 2010-Golden Filter by Amelia Gregory
Golden filter by Jenny Costello
The Golden Filter by Jenny Costello.

Back over at Where the Wild Things Are Aussie-American combo The Golden Filter were doing wonderful things… and having been underwhelmed by their new album Voluspa I wasn’t quite prepared for the excitement of their live show. Charismatic singer Penelope Trappes channels an effective hybrid of floaty Florence and Alison Goldfrapp electro beats – all bathed in an eerie orange glow that made this performance a definite highlight of the entire weekend. One twitterer even proclaimed it “the best experience of Secret Garden Party.”

SGP 2010-reverend by Amelia Gregory
reverend and the makers - jenny robins
Reverend and the Makers by Jenny Robins.

It was indeed a hard act for Reverend and the Makers to follow… but that was okay because the entire audience was now drunk on Saturday night fun times. “Who’s off their heads?” Jon McClure wanted to know whilst he and his hype man jumped up and down at the lip of the stage and a girl at the back miraculously *played* the keyboard with no hands and *sang* along, though no noise came out of her mike. I told you this pretty young thing was a bit of a trend.

SGP 2010-circusnight Amelia Gregory
SGP 10-rottweiler by Amelia Gregory
Man with a Rottweiler in a skirt.

Heading home after a long day we passed the sounds of Brassroots entertaining a packed tent with a full brass band rendition of the Eurythmics classic Sweet Dreams. It was a beautiful way to end the night.

SGP 2010-Collosillyum
Hay bales for seating in the Collosillyum area. Photography by Amelia Gregory.

If Latitude is a well planned amble between the South Bank, order ICA, Royal Opera House and Somerset House with added sheep, then Secret Garden Party is the biggest most eccentric three day party in the grounds of a country mansion you could never dream of. Two more diverse festivals you could not imagine.

SGP 2010-Blimp
The Party Blimp – accessible only by boat.

Music is just one of the elements that make up the Secret Garden Party experience, surely the only festival where the main acts are liable to be upstaged by a death-defying wheelchair race or a mud wrestling fight. Because the stages are not the central focus there is always space to sit down or to dance, and the natural layout of the main stage in particular means that there’s always space to see the bands properly – which makes for a far more comfortable viewing experience than at most festivals. Despite a distinct lack of well known bands the quality of music on the line up is never low, and as usual I discovered lots of great new music.

SGP 2010-couple by Amelia Gregory
SGP 2010-frog by Amelia Gregory

My favourite Secret Garden Party stage is built into the side of a huge tree. This year there were giant eyeballs sewn into the back and the front was made up to look like the prow of a ship, complete with a naked female figurehead. Shortly before the prow had been swung into destruction by inebriated climbing mammals Animal Kingdom took to the good ship Where the Wild Things Are with a beatific set of melodic songs that have gleaned comparisons to Radiohead, Sigur Ros and Coldplay.

SGP 2010-Animal Kingdom by Amelia Gregory
SGP 2010-girls bust by Amelia Gregory
Animal Kingdom by Holly Exley
Animal Kingdom by Holly Exley.

Over in the geodesic rave dome – AKA the Remix Bubble – the Lake District’s finest Burn the Negative were proving to a small but highly motivated crowd (including security on balloons) that danceable indie electro doesn’t just come out of the big cities.

Alexis-West-Burn-the-Negative
Burn the Negative by Alexis West.

Secret Garden Party has expanded massively since I first came in 2004, and the more idiosyncratic attractions are now linked to the main arena by a floating bridge that caused much swaying hilarity on every crossing. As a mid afternoon treat I decided to get my toes nibbled by some miniature carp from Turkey.

SGP 2010-Fish Therapy
Yes that’s me. White legs! Photography by Tim Adey.

The Doctor Fish has been used for centuries to cure skin ailments, and they were particularly excited by my friend Jemima’s Psoriasis. It was a very soothing experience, and my skin felt notably softer afterwards. This is the first time this particular species of fish have been imported into the UK and entrepreneur Keon Petre hopes to open a range of fish nibbling franchises.

SGP 2010-Emma Ware by Amelia Gregory
Emma Ware.

A huge pink tent housed stalls from a carefully picked range of artists and designers including Spitalfields based illustrator Dan Hillier and jeweller Emma Ware, who makes gorgeous contemporary pieces from recycled inner tubes. Expect to hear more about her designs on this blog soon.

Abi Daker - Fionn Regan
Fionn Regan by Abigail Daker.

Fionn Regan was the perfect treat for a sunny day, following in the traditional mould of talented Irish folk singers with added 80s McEnroe hair band action. Never a bad thing in my book.

SGP 10-baby by Amelia Gregory
Steve Mason by Katherine Tromans
Steve Mason by Katherine Tromans.

I knew there was a reason I felt immediately warm towards main stage act Steve Mason despite having no clue who he was – turns out he was one half of the excellent Beta Band. And anyone who twitters about Ian Tomlinson is even better in my books. Musicians with a conscience – we need more of them.

emma_block_marina_&_the_diamonds
Marina and the Diamonds by Emma Block.

I’ve been a big fan of hot tip Marina and the Diamonds for some time now, but we missed most of her set whilst enjoying the most wonderful three course dinner at the Soulfire restaurant, housed in three yurts (look out for my full review, coming soon). Instead we caught the last few songs, which still gave me ample time to admire her vermillion lips and whippet thin waist: I can now confirm that she is every bit as sexy in the flesh as she comes across on record.

SGP 2010-Marina and the Diamonds by Amelia Gregory
SGP 2010-Marina and the Diamonds by Amelia Gregory

Afterwards we were treated to some nefarious circus fun from Down Under – including pubic angle-grinding, sword swallowing and weights hooked into eyelids. Tasteful.

SGP 2010-angle grinder circus by Amelia Gregory
SGP 2010-circus by Amelia Gregory
SGP 2010-circus eyeball lift by Amelia Gregory

I featured the Infadels way back in issue 04 of Amelia’s Magazine in 2005, and they’ve been steadily plugging away ever since. I haven’t heard any recent albums but they seemed quite happy to play lots of the old tunes, which perfectly suited the late night party crowd.

infadels by harriet gray
Infadels by Harriet Gray.

Most amusingly they seem to have acquired a female joint lead vocalist on one of their most famous tunes. Maybe all ageing bands will one day invite drunk negligee-wearing teenagers on board to spice things up. Oh hang on, it’s already become a trend… (see Saturday’s blog…)

SGP 2010-Infadels by Amelia Gregory

Abby-Wright-The-Delays
The Delays by Abby Wright.

Last up on Where the Wild Things Are at gone 1am the glitter-covered Delays played a fantastically energetic set to a shockingly small crowd. “Let’s see some shoulder action,” they pleaded. “It’s not a festival without it.” Several people obligingly mounted their friends with rapidity. I hope one day this vastly underrated band finds the success they deserve. Catch our recent interview with them here.

SGP 10-aliens by Amelia Gregory
SGP 10-robot mime by Amelia Gregory

gabby young by moon
Gabby Young by Moon.

Our Sunday got off to a sleepy start, viagra 60mg as it did for most Secret Gardeners. Bypassing the cleverly marketed Hendrick’s gin carriage in favour of a cup of tea, I wended my way to the press tent to once more charge my damn crappy iphone, and caught the soulful electro sounds of Belleruche, rather erroneously described in the £5 brochure as “blissed out hip hop beats”.

SGP 2010-hendricksgin
This lovely artwork was displayed in the Hendrick’s train carriage. Apparently the artist is a woman based in the Truman Brewery but they couldn’t tell me who it was. Does anyone know? Photography by Amelia Gregory.

SGP 10-main arena by Amelia Gregory
SGP 2010-belleruche by Amelia Gregory
Belleruche by Stacie Swift
Belleruche by Stacie Swift.

It wasn’t long before I was distracted by the nefarious lure of mud wrestling over in the aptly named Collisillyeum. To start off proceedings a small semi naked boy was encouraged to wrestle a large slippery man in nowt but pants – thankfully it transpired that this was his dad otherwise the picture below might look extremely dodgy.

SGP 2010-collisillyeum by Amelia Gregory
SGP 10-mud fight by Amelia Gregory
SGP 2010-mudfight by Amelia Gregory
SGP 2010-mudfight by Amelia Gregory

After the couple had managed to drag mum into the mud it was time to pit some blonde ladies against a couple of brunettes before sending a load of curiously willing men into the arena, where many a bollock and boob was soon on display. Naturally my proximity to the action ensured both myself and my camera got well spattered in mud.

SGP 10-David Rodigan by Amelia Gregory
SGP 10-David Rodigan crowd by Amelia Gregory
SGP 10-David Rodigan crowd by Amelia Gregory
Dave-Rodigan-by-Louise-Sterling
David Rodigan by Louise Sterling.

Back at the main stage DJ David Rodigan was the surprise hit of Sunday afternoon. The 59 year old gave us a guided tour through the history of reggae with all the enthusiasm of an overexcited puppy whilst the crowd jumped around in reciprocal glee.

SGP 2010-savoir adore by Amelia Gregory
Andrea Peterson Savoir Adore
Andrea Peterson Savoir Adore
Savoir Adore by Andrea Peterson.

Savoir Adore hail from Brooklyn, and showed typically American enthusiasm for Secret Garden Party. “We’re so excited – this is the coolest place.” Wearing standard festival glittery eye make up (I blame Bat For Lashes – even the boys are covered in it these days) their gorgeous brand of melodic electronica was met by a laconic audience. “I know how tired you guys are…” opined singer Deidre Muro, “but I invite you to stand up.” She didn’t have much luck, but this shouldn’t be equated with any lack of enthusiasm.

SGP 2010-Horace Andy by Amelia Gregory
Horace Andy by Sine Skau
Horace Andy by Sine Skau.

Over in the main area it was time to subject my poor camera to another onslaught – this time a paint powder fight that bathed the happy dancers in a pastel fluoro glow before submerging them in the mellow beats of reggae supremo Horace Andy.

SGP 10-body paint by Amelia Gregory
SGP 10-clown powder by Amelia Gregory
SGP 10-paint powder by Amelia Gregory
SGP 10-paint powderfloor by Amelia Gregory
SGP 10-paint by Amelia Gregory
tim adey paint powder
Last photograph by Tim Adey.

Thanks to a tip off from my boyfriend I caught the fantastic Gabby Young and Other Animals playing to a small crowd at the Chai Wallah tent. Gabby was dressed in an amazing ruffled paper and lace concoction accessorised with coloured false hair pieces; a dream to photograph and illustrate. Together with banjo and brass she creates wonderful big band indie folk you can dance to. A real discovery.

SGP 2010-Gabby Young by Amelia Gregory
Gabby Young by Michelle Urvall Nyrén
Gabby Young by Michelle Urvall Nyrén.

We stayed for the majority of headliners Mercury Rev, most notable for their well practiced stadium posturing. Ours was a quick midnight drive back to London but I hear at times there were dire queues to get both in and out of Secret Garden Party.

SGP 2010-Mercury Rev by Amelia Gregory
SGP 2010-Mercury Rev by Amelia Gregory
SGP 2010-Mercury Rev by Amelia Gregory
Mercury Rev by Mags James
Mercury Rev by Mags James. Animal hood by Merrimaking.

All in all this was another vintage year from the one festival that refuses to bow to corporate Festival Republic pressure. Long may it remain thus, for this is one grown up’s party that deserves to continue in perpetuity. I shall leave you with my remaining selection of Sunday’s highlights.

SGP 2010-theatre by Amelia Gregory
Interactive games in the theatre tent.

SGP 10-best costume by Amelia Gregory
Best costume of the entire weekend? Even he had no idea what it was supposed to be.

SGP 10-leigh bowery by Amelia Gregory
Make up inspired by Leigh Bowery.

SGP 2010-limbo by Amelia Gregory
Doing the limbo in a feather boa.

SGP 2010-rollers by Amelia Gregory
A man in bikini, fat suit and rollers. Why of course!

SGP 10-wild thing art by Amelia Gregory
Art in the woods.

SGP lovers Tim Adey
Loved up, photography by Tim Adey.

sgp wheelchair race tim adey
Wheelchair disaster. Photography by Tim Adey.

Categories ,Andrea Peterson, ,Bat for Lashes, ,Belleruche, ,brooklyn, ,Chai Wallah, ,Collisillyeum, ,David Rodigan, ,Gabby Young and Other Animals, ,Hendricks, ,Horace Andy, ,Louise Sterling, ,Mags James, ,Mercury Rev, ,Merrimaking, ,Michelle Urvall Nyrén, ,moon, ,Savoir Adore, ,Secret Garden Party, ,Sine Skau, ,Stacie Swift, ,Tim Adey

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Amelia’s Magazine | Seven Little Houses animation for the 4th Annual Aniboom Awards: the inside scoop.

It’s the day before the general election and the concluding part of Amelia’s Magazine interview with Think Act Vote founder Amisha Ghadiali. Tomorrow you have a chance to vote, mind order use it.

Why do you think if “politics were a brand, visit this no one would wear it!”?

This statement is about Westminster politics, symptoms in many ways the system we have is out of date for the world we are living in now. I don’t see people wanting to “wear” it as it is. This is why I really support the work of campaigns like Vote for a Change that focus their around how we can make the system work better for us.

How can fashion be used to engage people in Politics?

I think that fashion plays a key role in how we express ourselves and we use it to communicate things about ourselves or messages that we care about. The campaign t-shirt has become iconic as a phenomenon. At the beginning of the campaign, we ran a competition to design the perfect campaign t-shirt, which was a great opportunity for up and coming illustrators to showcase their work. The winning design by Jesson Yip was selected by a judging panel that included Katharine Hamnett and Daisy de Villeneuve. The symbols represent each word, with different fonts to represent different people’s voices. The design was then printed onto Earth Positive Eco T-shirts and is now on sale.

Through working in the ethical fashion industry I see fashion as a key way to think about sustainability. We all wear clothes, and the fashion industry affects so many people across the world as well as the environment. I work closely with Ethical Fashion designers at EFF and am one myself with my jewellery label. As an ethical designer, you don’t just have to make sure that your collection looks and fits great, but you spend a huge amount of time researching new fabrics, new technologies and finding out who is telling the truth about their labour standards or production methods. You need to be pioneering and inquisitive as you think through your entire collection and its impact on the environment and people at every stage.

Ethical Fashion designers are always pushing boundaries and are extremely passionate about what they do. I wanted to include this talent in the campaign and asked leading ethical fashion designers to create a show piece or an easy DIY customisation using a Think Act Vote t-shirt and off cuts from their collections. The designers that took part included Ada Zanditon, Junky Styling, Traid Remade, Tara Starlet and Beautiful Soul. The pieces that they created in just a week are stunning.

Think Act Vote discusses the negativity imbedded in modern politics – Were there any particular examples that spurred you into action?

There are loads of examples, just try and think when the last time you heard something positive about politicians or about changes in our communities. We are always focusing on people’s failings and the ‘fear’ out there. Just last week the country spent two days focusing on the story about Gordon Brown saying a woman was a bigot.

Is this negativity the reason, do you think, for the decline in the number of votes?

Not the only reason. Things have changed a lot over the last few decades. I think two features of the neo-liberal British political landscape are related: the rise of consumerism and the demise of traditional participation. I think that the way we express who we are is different now, not that many people are lifetime members of political parties. Political identity is no longer inherited.

As mentioned before I don’t think the political system reflects who we are, which makes us lose interest.

Have you been watching the Leader’s Debate?

I have seen bit of them, but not all the way through as have been doing talks and events most evenings in the past few weeks. I think it is great to have the leaders on TV, as it has really helped getting people talking about the election. I am not sure how much of their personalities and policies we are really seeing as the whole things does feel a little over polished. I think it would mean more if we had a vote on who was PM as well as on our local MP. I would also like to see some of the smaller parties be given this platform too.

Will you be voting this election?

Yes I will be voting, I think this is vital. I haven’t decided who for yet. I will decide on election day. I am deciding between three parties but then I went on Voter Power and saw that my voter power in my constituency is only 0.039. It is an ultra safe seat. So I am thinking about voting through Give Your Vote. It is a fantastic campaign about Global Democracy which allows you to give your vote to somebody in Afghanistan, Ghana or Bangladesh. It is an act of solidarity with those who do not have a say in the decisions that affect them.

Join Amisha tonight at: The Future I Choose with Live Music, Poetry, Fashion, Photography ??
The City and Arts Music Project, 70-74 City Road, London, EC1Y 2BJ?
5.30pm til 9pm

When Lesley Barnes found out about the 4th Annual Animboom Awards animation competition in conjunction with Sesame Street (Blimey, symptoms try saying that fast!), she just knew she had to work with fellow illustrator Thereza Rowe. The results of their collaboration is this wonderful piece: Seven Little Houses. You can also watch the video here.

Seven Little Houses clouds
Seven Little Houses bottles

Lesley Barnes describes how they approached the Aniboom competition:

One of the competition categories was to design an animation that would help children learn about either colours, shapes, numbers or letters. We chose the number seven as it seemed to give us scope to do a bit of counting without it being a huge number for kids to deal with and for some reason we both agreed that there was something special about an odd number.
We gave the animation a circular feel by creating it around the idea of a day, with the sun at the beginning and the moon at the end. Repetition was key so the narrative turns around lots of groups of seven; the idea being that children will get used to counting 124567 and begin to repeat it. As well as having the numbers on screen we included groups of seven objects; seven houses, seven bottles, seven clouds, etc. because it’s easier to visualise the numbers as objects.
The animation was mostly done in after effects and took about a month to finish. My friend Al Paxton, who is a musician in Brooklyn, provided the sound. It was his idea to have the voices (him and his girlfriend) shouting out 1234567 and I think it’s really important because it encourages children to shout out along with the animation.

twoofhearts_sheltercardquilt_lesleybarnes
Lesley Barnes’ illustration for the sShelter Card Quilt.

Thereza Rowe Shelter Card Quilt
Thereza Rowe’s illustration for the Shelter Card Quilt.

Lesley first got in touch with Thereza after admiring the playing card that she designed for my Shelter House of Cards Quilt in 2009, and since then they’ve kept in constant contact via email and twitter. I asked them to write down a few words about each other.

Lesley Barnes on Thereza Rowe:

We both had cards included on Amelia’s final Shelter Card Quilt and Thereza‘s goats – although she now tells me they are deer – were my favourite! Amelia’s Magazine has given us such a great platform for our work: we have been in touch ever since and knew that we wanted to do a collaboration at some point… When I saw the Aniboom Sesame Street competition I thought that Thereza’s textures, colours, shapes, illustration style and personality (including her love of pink milk and bendy straws) would be perfect for it. We started work with Thereza‘s house illustrations and from that we both designed a selection of characters. There were far too many in the end, so the final seven characters were a bit of an amalgamation of our work.
Working with Thereza was ace and the best thing was all the colour that she brought into the animation – my animation can sometimes get a bit monochromatic so it was such a pleasure to work with such a great selection of colours and textures. I also think that Thereza‘s lovely upbeat personality comes through in Seven Little Houses.

Seven Little Houses umbrellas

Thereza Rowe on Lesley Barnes:

When Lesley contacted me for the first time with some nice words about my work and a suggestion that we should collaborate in a future project I was so excited because as soon I set eyes on her stunning animation and illustration work I knew that we would eventually produce something really good together. Since then we have kept in touch whilst keeping an eye out for interesting briefs which would suit our ideas of a collaboration… and so the Aniboom competition came about!
Working with Lesley has been an ongoing joy as she’s creative, diligent, determined and hands on. We both share a similar sense of humour which is very important because it makes the working process a pleasant experience. As the project developed I was amazed to see how the aesthetics of our work just gelled together effortlessly, almost like magic. Surprisingly we have not met in person yet, although it feels like we have….
I am really proud of how she made our illustrations move in such a graceful manner and we’ve been receiving some lovely responses from people who have seen the animation. I’d also like to echo Lesley’s thoughts on the constant support and appreciation of the work we produce that we get from Amelia’s Magazine.

seven little houses
seven little houses people

I also wanted the girls to talk about the importance of Twitter to their collaboration, as I often see conversations between Lesley and Thereza passing through my own Twitter feed: it’s how I found out they were collaborating on the project for Aniboom, and it’s a medium I feel strongly that all illustrators should engage with.

Lesley on Twitter:
Twitter is an easy way of staying in touch and see what each other is up to. When you are a freelancer it’s great for reminding you that you are not completely alone in the world and means you can check out what’s inspiring other people, collaborate with them, get feedback and generally just have a bit of a chat.

Thereza on Twitter:
Using Twitter helped make the collaboration go more smoothly because Lesley and I were always tweeting bits of work in progress to each other and teasing other about what was coming next. I used to be very resistant to using Twitter but now I’m a self proclaimed addict because it’s enabled me to engage with some ace collaborations that otherwise might not have happened.
Twitter is probably the best current social tool for illustrators in terms of networking and establishing links with both the industry and peers as it provides an open channel for direct communication and it’s fab for promoting your own work and the work of others. I love the fact that Twitter is free of advertising and has a nice layout which allows you to customize your page background nicely. I’m really fussy about such factors…
Also, the job of an illustrator can often be a lonely one as we spend a great deal of time confined in our workspaces, well, working… so I tend to have my twitter page open through the day, so it almost feels like having lots of nice people around :)

Both Thereza Rowe and Lesley Barnes appear in Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration.

Categories ,Al Paxton, ,Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, ,Aniboom, ,animation, ,brooklyn, ,collaboration, ,Goats, ,illustration, ,Lesley Barnes, ,Open brief, ,Sesame Street, ,Seven Little Houses, ,Shelter Card Quilt, ,Shelter House of Cards, ,Social Media, ,Social Networking, ,Thereza Rowe, ,twitter

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Amelia’s Magazine | Double Bravo Designs: an interview with Barbara Buenz

DoubleBravoDesigns_Valentines_ParAvion
I haven’t seen Barbara Buenz since we were at school together, erm, a very long time ago. But then, through the joys of social media, she got back in touch, and I was most intrigued to find out that she is now a graphic designer based in New York. Her Double Bravo designs were born from an itinerant childhood, living in major cities across the world and communicating via that most old fashioned mode; airmail. Following the birth of her first child she finally committed her lovingly crafted letterpress talents to paper – creating Double Bravo – a beautifully designed collection for those who still lust after real stationery.

DoubleBravoDesigns_BundleUp_ItsColdOutside
DoubleBravoDesigns_HalloweenCostumes
You led a very itinerant childhood, how has this informed the way you design?
It’s interesting as it influenced how I design as well as what I design. In the case of the former it made me very aware of what makes a particular place special. Filling books with sketches helped capture the place and also the time. Letters and postcards sent across oceans and continents to keep in touch and to keep connections alive resulted in all the travel and this all informs what I design – stationery and paper goods of all kinds.

DoubleBravoDesigns_ThanksGorgeous
What has the reception been like in your hometown of New York?
Hometown pride is plentiful in New York City and the Year You Were Born and the Year We Said “I Do” are a great way to celebrate one’s city as well as a special event in one’s life. A win/win!

DoubleBravoDesigns_YearYouWereBorn_London_2012
DoubleBravoDesigns_YearYouWereBorn_London_2012_detail
How do you choose the key phrases and features for your customised cards?
By soaking it in and by asking myself: what makes a particular city special? What can you only experience there? I’m lucky to have spent time in many cities in the collection so remembering time spent there perhaps with music listened to there – remembering restaurants, parks, special features … In a way this process is like travel which I always enjoy.

DoubleBravoDesigns_YearYouWereBorn_NewYork_2012
What other places have you got set in your sights?
Paris! Rome! Buenos Aires! All very dear to me for various reasons. Closer to home I’d love to add Miami. It’s a city I’ve spent lots of time in and that I’ve always considered a gateway to South America – it’s such an exciting & culturally diverse city. And Philadelphia too! It’s near and dear to my heart as I went to University there – I’d love to celebrate that historic American city.

DoubleBravoDesigns_Wedding_Congratulations_DoNotDisturb
Where did you learn the art of letterpress and how do you make your work now?
In Brooklyn, of course! There are lots of wonderful old presses rescued from obscurity and from under blankets of dust that have been carefully restored that have found new homes in bright studios that can be rented for use by the hour. Some very knowledgeable young printers have been hugely helpful in the process from photopolymer plate to printed card and I’m very thankful to them for their generosity and knowledge.

DoubleBravoDesigns_Mispronunciations
You strike me as a bit of a typeface fiend: what kind of details do you like in a good font?
Personality goes a long way! A face, that offers many options and retains its character. In the case of the Born/I Do cards one that is timeless and elegant with gravitas required for a family heirloom/keepsake.

DoubleBravoDesigns_HappyBirthdayDarling
Most of your designs are quite minimal but you have also included patterns and illustrations in your thank you card range: do you hope to expand on this and if so what kind of imagery might we see?
I like the look of hand drawn drawings when printed on a letterpress printer – the line has an energy and vivacity. I sketch all the time and think that some of these might make it onto future designs.

DoubleBravoDesigns_SofteeIceCream_ThankYou
Your thank you cards for young writers strike me as a particularly good idea. Why do you think it’s important to keep saying thank you on paper rather than via email, or, even, text?
I really believe it’s an honor to be thankful. We all have so much and seem to all too easily focus instead on what’s missing. Giving thanks, saying thank you, reminds us how much we have to be thankful for; realizing this important wealth makes one happy. Being thankful is also the best reinforcement cycle. You want to do more things people can be thankful about! Starting this realization young is a fantastic idea!

DoubleBravoDesigns_YearWeSaidIDo_London_2012
Nowadays, where do you travel to and what gets you excited on those trips?
After a childhood accumulating a vast collection of visas and passports I’ve been very happy to allow myself and my children to grow roots in New York where they are equally comfortable ‘surfing on the subway‘ and identifying bird calls in the vast acres of park near us and shells on the beach. That said with family overseas we’d love to dust off our passports and head for adventures and connection in South America sometime again soon.

See more Double Bravo designs here or find Barbara Buenz on etsy here. Read more about Barbara’s thoughts on parenting on Momfilter here.

Categories ,Barbara Buenz, ,brooklyn, ,Double Bravo Designs, ,Graphic Design, ,Greetings cards, ,Heirloom, ,Keepsake, ,letterpress, ,Momfilter, ,new york, ,Par Avion, ,South America, ,stationery, ,Wedding Stationery, ,Year We Said “I Do”, ,Year You Were Born

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Sadhna Prasad: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

MA_ProjectSpread3_SadhnaPrasad
Indian artist Sadhna Prasad contributes a vibrant page to Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, inspired by her interest in parallel worlds. Here she shares her colour rich take on life, weaving together a love of dreams, memory and fantasy.

Portrait2_SadhnaPrasad
Sadhna Prasad_colouring
What is your colouring book artwork inspired by? It’s very intriguing.
I am currently obsessing over the existence of parallel worlds and researching about how the idea of the same came about. The illustration for the Coloring Book is an experiment for this relationship between humans and spaces. It is to define the two worlds which will connect in multiple ways, depending on the person filling the colors in to finish the image.

MA_ProjectSpread2_SadhnaPrasad
How did you come to study at Camberwell, and how does a London education differ from a Mumbai education?
I had researched a lot about the Illustration courses and the course-structure at Camberwell sounded very exciting and challenging. My education in India was under-graduation hence guided constantly by professionals and I was referred to as a student. In London, I was a professional who had taken up a year to finish a particular project, experimenting along the way with the feedback of tutors. That’s the difference. I was moulded into a complete professional.

Quote2_SadhnaPrasad
Why are you so interested in memories, dreams and fantasy?
I have always believed that my work should resonate with my personality. Memories create that relatable added layer. I am way more expressive when I relate to situations and scenarios personally. Dreams and fantasy is my gateway to edit the existing world.

MA_ProjectSpread1_SadhnaPrasad
Where would you most like to create a mural and why?
I would love to create a narrative-mural at intervals from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in India. It covers the two extreme points of the country. (Kashmir-North India, Kanyakumari-South India). This is an ideal roadtrip journey across India and it would be a story for people to travel through and will also help them travel further. The mural would be spaced on the roadtrip route from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Now that I have pitched the idea, I am excited to work towards it.

MA_research1_SadhnaPrasad
Adobe_ColossalANIMALS_SadhnaPrasad
Can you tell us more about your involvement in the worlds Biggest Student Art Show?
I use Behance quite frequently to look for freelance opportunities or to follow and look at other peoples work. I stumbled upon this competition under Behance’s Job Portal and I thought I should give it a try. Everything worked out perfectly and I was chosen as one of the ten students around the world to be featured in Adobe’s Worlds Biggest Student Art show where each of us got an amazing opportunity to contribute a design piece to be painted on a wall in Brooklyn by Colossal Media. We were given a common theme – ‘to show our unique perspective of the world‘.

Adobe_Colossal_SadhnaPrasad
Why do you like entering competitions and which ones have you entered recently?
Competitions keep the adrenaline rush going for me. I love working under strict guidelines and time restrictions. Apart form that, it gives you various opportunities to travel and connect with people form all over the world who illustrate to make a change. I have recently entered two for Film Festival Official Poster Competition and I am working on one due in January for a picture book.

Quote3_SadhnaPrasad
How are you exploring animations?
I am currently experimenting with a software called Cinema 4D, to see what 3D elements I can add to my illustrations. I intend to start the experimentation with a common theme and small GIFS till I conclude in the form of an elaborate motion graphic video.

Quote1_SadhnaPrasad
What is you personal project Life’s Little Instruction Book?
I came across this tiny little book at a bookstore in India called “Life’s Little Instruction Book” and decided to pick it up. After reading all the quotes I realised the book is a confusion of emotions by the author, where he is telling you what is right and wrong. After the one year hiatus with work, I decided I would illustrate what the quotes meant to me, literally or satirically. It is the long term project with which I plan to record my work changes.

MA_research2_SadhnaPrasad
You have just been on a road trip across India, can you tell us more?
The roadtrip was one of a kind, because it was a collaboration with 15 other creatives whom I hadn’t known before. Such a surprise the trip turned out with some great collaborations on the trip, painting murals/boats while we travelled and millions of ideation for future opportunities to work together. It also gave me an opportunity to dwell further into the topic of stereotypes and spaces. Moreover it gave me time to think, reflect and meet some amazing people.

MA_Projectcover__SadhnaPrasad
Where are you based at present and why?
I am currently based in Mumbai, India, working as a freelance illustrator as well as looking for other work opportunities while connecting to the illustration community in India and elsewhere.

Portrait1_SadhnaPrasad
Artwork by Sadhna Prasad features in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion alongside 40 other artist, funding now on Kickstarter. Get your copy for Christmas!

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adobe’s Worlds Biggest Student Art, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Behance, ,brooklyn, ,Cinema 4D, ,Colossal Media, ,Colouring Book, ,Film Festival Official Poster Competition, ,India, ,Indian, ,interview, ,Kanyakumari, ,Kashmir, ,Kickstarter, ,Life’s Little Instruction Book, ,Mumbai, ,Sadhna Prasad

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with street artists and filmmakers Peru Ana Ana Peru

Peru Ana Ana Peru are Brooklyn-based multimedia artists. Their bizarre, pharmacy colourful creations can be found all over the streets of New York, brightening up the city’s darkest corners and entertaining passers by. In their own words, they leave ‘keepsakes around the city for others to find.’ They produce fine art, which can be seen as an extension of their street work, and they also make films. Peru Ana Ana Peru are bursting with creativity and their artistic output tends to be eye-catching, witty and brilliant. I caught up with them last month to reminisce about their visit to the UK, and find out what they had been up to since then.

Peru Ana Ana Peru came to London late last year to take part in a LAVA Collective group show. They have fond memories of the trip: ‘London was great. There was a nice energy about the place, at least that’s what we gathered from the small time that we stayed. Definitely would like to spend more time out there if and when we can. LAVA was amazing, and working with them was a pleasure. They brought together a massive show that was very special and that people seemed to like’.

Earlier this year, Peru Ana Ana Peru were invited to take part in the Eames Re-imagined project, in which artists were invited to upholster and decorate a classic Eames chair design. This was a prestigious invitation and the finished result looks great, but as they reveal, it was not the most harmonious project they have ever worked on; ‘The process for the Eames Chair was an interesting one, and involved a long, final night of arguing and painting, arguing and cutting, arguing and gluing, etc. When we finished it we couldn’t tell if we liked it or not. So we went to bed, mad at the chair. Then we woke up and saw it again, and we started liking it’.

Having appeared in books like Street Art New York (Prestel), Peru Ana Ana Peru are perhaps best known as street artists, but in fact they see themselves primarily as film makers. In an interview with Brooklynstreetart.com they describe video as ‘the medium we feel the most comfortable in, and in which we feel we have the most to offer.’ They shoot most of their own material, but occasionally use found footage in their work. One film featured clips of 1950′s porn, shot on Super 8mm. I asked them where they found the source material; ‘We found this footage at a flea market in Chelsea ages ago, but we got it without bothering to look at what the footage was of. Then later when we got home, we decided to check it out, and we found that it was all porn, all of it. Like, 12 rolls of film. Some in color, some in black and white. We were floored. We had always wanted to use it for something, so one day we did. At the moment is no longer online because youtube took it off for violation of terms or whatever—We’ll have to get that video back online soon’.

Their last solo show at the Broolynite Gallery featured small TV screens imbedded into canvases, a format which unified their film making and illustration work. The show also featured some fantastic piñatas, which I couldn’t resist asking about: ‘The idea simply sprang from a long held fascination and nostalgia for piñatas, and the fact that we knew we wanted some 3D objects in our show. So, piñatas seemed natural. They were fun to make, and coincidentally a friend of ours, Meg Keys, happened to make piñatas pretty much for a living. So we hooked up with her and popped them out’. Are the any plans to make any more pinatas? ‘Perhaps one day’. It seems that revisiting old ideas is not high on the agenda for Peru Ana Ana Peru: ‘We tend to get extremely bored with things if we dwell on them too long.’ http://www.brooklynitegallery.com/

Last year, Peru Ana Ana Peru joined dozens of artists to take part in Public Ad Camapin’s NYSAT project (New York Street Advertisting Takeover). Public Ad Campaign is the brainchild of Jordan Seiler, who has been waging war against street-side advertising hoardings for many years now. Much of the advertisements that appear in American cities are placed there illegally with the tacit consent of the authorities. Seiler and collaborators whitewash these adverts, then invite artists to come and decorate the blank spaces they have created. I asked Peru Ana Ana Peru how they came to be involved with the project: ‘We got involved after we were contacted by Jordan, and we naturally agreed to be a part of it. We thought the concept of the project was amazing, and it is what has always drawn us to take part in anything he is involved with. Jordan is a very smart guy and his projects are always reflective of that’.

Finally, I asked Peru Ana Ana Peru if any New York artists had caught their eye recently. (I haven’t there for a while and I’m feeling out of the loop.) They mentioned a street artist I hadn’t heard of called Nohjcoley, I’ve been checking out his work and I think it is lovely, you can visit his photo stream here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nohjcoleynotions

I’d like to thank Peru Ana Ana Peru for taking the time to talk to me. You can check out their films on Vimeo, including my personal favorite, ‘On the Roof’: http://vimeo.com/peruanaanaperu


Illustration by Gemma Milly of Zara Gorman’s Millinery.

Over the last few years the RCA’s MA Fashion course has quietly been producing a series of innovative designers – from menswear designers James Long and Katie Eary to womenswear’s Michael van der Ham, page Erdem and Holly Fulton (whose influence could already be seen on the Bournemouth catwalk). All of whom (except Erdem ) subsequently showed at London Fashion Week via Lulu Kennedy’s Fashion East.

The RCA MA course consists of several different courses from Millinery (a course of one) from which Zara Gorman showed her exquisitely shaped hats…

Illustration by Katie Harvey

to Womenswear and Menswear knit, accessories, shoes and of course Womenswear and Menswear. The accompanying press release listed the words of inspiration mentioned by the students in relation to their individual collections and the words that fitted the show as a whole. It was slightly disconcerting to see the world ‘Chav’ being used as an inspiration, a word created by the press to demean those that wore Burberry Check head to toe (Pre Christopher Bailey Hello Danielle Westbrook) it’s connotations appear to be similar to Noveau Rich – those with too much money and not enough taste.

A look celebrated and parodied by Ab Fab’s Eddie and her love for trends and ‘hot’ designers, It’s impossible to not know she’s wearing a ‘designer’. Astrid Andersen plays with fashion’s ability to celebrate and pastiche it’s own brand at the same time on the same item (think LV’s monogrammed bags or Moschino Jeans). Her menswear is certainly not forgettable, nor was Courtney McWilliams’s take on sportswear in which the t-shirts and jackets proudly beared that particularly English symbol: the pit-bull.


Illustration by Joseph Keirs

This was an incredible exhibition of the craft, research and invention that is currently occurring within the Fashion Department of the RCA.

Menswear designer Trine Jensen presented breathtaking sweaters embroided with charms (as in bracelet) to hoops.

Sam McCoach’s womenswear knit Illustration by Lesley Barnes

Alison Linton also specialised in knitwear producing ethereally delicate dresses, it is fantastic to see a continuing return and reinvention of age old materials and techniques.

Victoria Stone’s cut up shirts… Illustration By Marnie Hollande

Poppy Cartwright’s white PVC collection was reminiscent of Christopher Kane’s black SS10 presentation.


.

Frances Convey’s colour and shapes

Illustration by Katie Harvey

Illustration by Lesley Barnes

The monochrome creped collection by Cecile Bahnsen came complete with 1990′s inspired sportswear jackets. Elements of grunge reappears through the designers choice of length – often the dresses hang tightly around the ankle. Flashes of Amber from clueless appear with the presentation of the Fez hat. It’s that time already. The revival of the 1990′s.

Illustration by Marnie Hollande

Bahnsen’s monochrome was interspersed with cut out pieces – bordering on body amour – softened through the colouring of pastel pink.

This is but a small selection of the graduates from this year’s RCA show, the more this reviewer revisits the look book accompanying the show the more previously unnoticed details emerge from these young designers collections.
peru-ana-ana-peru-public-ad-campaign
Peru Ana Ana Peru participate in Public Ad Campaign.

The bizarre, store colourful creations of Peru Ana Ana Peru can be found all over the streets of New York, prescription brightening up the city’s darkest corners and entertaining passers by. In their own words, viagra they leave ‘keepsakes around the city for others to find.’ They produce fine art, which can be seen as an extension of their street work, and they also make films. Peru Ana Ana Peru are bursting with creativity and their artistic output tends to be eye-catching, witty and brilliant. I caught up with them last month to reminisce about their visit to the UK, and find out what they had been up to since then.

peru-ana-ana-peru_dogs
Dogs.

Peru Ana Ana Peru came to London late last year to take part in a LAVA Collective group show. They have fond memories of the trip: ‘London was great. There was a nice energy about the place, at least that’s what we gathered from the small time that we stayed. Definitely would like to spend more time out there if and when we can. LAVA was amazing, and working with them was a pleasure. They brought together a massive show that was very special and that people seemed to like’.

Earlier this year, Peru Ana Ana Peru were invited to take part in the Eames Re-imagined project, in which artists were invited to upholster and decorate a classic Eames chair design. This was a prestigious invitation and the finished result looks great, but as they reveal, it was not the most harmonious project they have ever worked on; ‘The process for the Eames Chair was an interesting one, and involved a long, final night of arguing and painting, arguing and cutting, arguing and gluing, etc. When we finished it we couldn’t tell if we liked it or not. So we went to bed, mad at the chair. Then we woke up and saw it again, and we started liking it’.

peru-ana-ana-peru-eames-chair
Eames chair design.

Having appeared in books like Street Art New York (Prestel), Peru Ana Ana Peru are perhaps best known as street artists, but in fact they see themselves primarily as film makers. In an interview with Brooklynstreetart.com they describe video as ‘the medium we feel the most comfortable in, and in which we feel we have the most to offer.’ They shoot most of their own material, but occasionally use found footage in their work. One film featured clips of 1950′s porn, shot on Super 8mm. I asked them where they found the source material; ‘We found this footage at a flea market in Chelsea ages ago, but we got it without bothering to look at what the footage was of. Then later when we got home, we decided to check it out, and we found that it was all porn, all of it. Like, 12 rolls of film. Some in color, some in black and white. We were floored. We had always wanted to use it for something, so one day we did. At the moment is no longer online because youtube took it off for violation of terms or whatever—We’ll have to get that video back online soon’.

peru-ana-ana-peru-sculpture

Their last solo show at the Brooklynite Gallery featured small TV screens imbedded into canvases, a format which unified their film making and illustration work. The show also featured some fantastic piñatas, which I couldn’t resist asking about: ‘The idea simply sprang from a long held fascination and nostalgia for piñatas, and the fact that we knew we wanted some 3D objects in our show. So, piñatas seemed natural. They were fun to make, and coincidentally a friend of ours, Meg Keys, happened to make piñatas pretty much for a living. So we hooked up with her and popped them out’. Are the any plans to make any more pinatas? ‘Perhaps one day’. It seems that revisiting old ideas is not high on the agenda for Peru Ana Ana Peru: ‘We tend to get extremely bored with things if we dwell on them too long.’

peru-ana-ana-peru-street-art-book

Last year, Peru Ana Ana Peru joined dozens of artists to take part in Public Ad Camapin’s NYSAT project (New York Street Advertisting Takeover). Public Ad Campaign is the brainchild of Jordan Seiler, who has been waging war against street-side advertising hoardings for many years now. Much of the advertisements that appear in American cities are placed there illegally with the tacit consent of the authorities. Seiler and collaborators whitewash these adverts, then invite artists to come and decorate the blank spaces they have created. I asked Peru Ana Ana Peru how they came to be involved with the project: ‘We got involved after we were contacted by Jordan, and we naturally agreed to be a part of it. We thought the concept of the project was amazing, and it is what has always drawn us to take part in anything he is involved with. Jordan is a very smart guy and his projects are always reflective of that’.

Finally, I asked Peru Ana Ana Peru if any New York artists had caught their eye recently. (I haven’t there for a while and I’m feeling out of the loop.) They mentioned a street artist I hadn’t heard of called Nohjcoley, I’ve been checking out his work and I think it is lovely, you can visit his photo stream here.

nohjcoley-mural-art
Mural Art by Nohjcoley.

I’d like to thank Peru Ana Ana Peru for taking the time to talk to me. You can check out their films on Vimeo, including my personal favorite, ‘On the Roof’: which you can watch here

Categories ,brooklyn, ,Brooklynite Gallery, ,Eames, ,film, ,Flea Markets, ,Lava Collective, ,Meg Keys, ,Nohjcoley, ,Peru Ana Ana Peru, ,Porn, ,Public Ad Campaign, ,street art, ,Super 8, ,Vimeo

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Amelia’s Magazine | Beat the Champ by Cory Arcangel at The Curve, Barbican


Illustration by Oliver John Quinn

After hanging out with contributor Nick for lunch during Menswear Day, information pills I hot-footed it up to Vauxhall Fashion Scout to check out D.GNAK‘s latest offerings. It was the only menswear show I’d see at the Freemasons’ Hall and it was fairly quiet. I’d enjoyed his outing last season and was looking forward to seeing how his quirky Japanese aesthetic would translate for A/W.

I bumped into contributor Georgiahttp://www.ameliasmagazine.com/?s=Georgia%20Takacs there and we headed into the venue, here sitting on opposite sides so not to get the same pictures. As we sat down, sales she started FREAKING OUT. ‘Is that Paul Weller? IS THAT PAUL WELLER?!’ she began yelling. It turns out it was, and he was nestled on the front row with his missus and two children. Georgia immediately went over to chat to him and I took a few pictures of them together, grinned nervously at him and thought to myself that his haircut has a lot to answer for.

On with the show. In a bold move from last season’s classic tailoring with contemporary twists, Kang D (the designer behind D.GNAK) had injected strong colours, interesting knits and enormous rucksacks.

The show opened with utilitarian tailoring that you might expect George Orwell’s Winston Smith to wear dark grey baggy trousers with an apron-like upper half was teamed with a luxurious floor-length cable knit cardigan. Next, a rich pea-coat with over-sized lapels and plaid-detail shoulders.

D.GNAK as a label is quickly establishing itself as an expert in materials and textures. Wools, corduroy, tweed and cotton were all on display, spiced up using colours like mustard and burgundy.

There’s also an eye for the unfinished – that’ll be the Japanese ma influence then – with fraid hems that look a bit like a Saville Row tailor has had the day off – but teamed with polished blazers and expensive-looking coats, this works really well.

Every man is pretty much catered for here. There’s sartorial tailoring in the form of suits and Sherlock Holmes-esque coats for the sharpest dresser; wool blazers with contrasting buttons and vibrant trousers work well for casuals; corduroy onesies will have the more fashion-forward males racing to the shops.

Ace accessories were on offer – oversized patent leather rucksacks with suede details were worn on both shoulders, buckle straps revealed helpful features like an umbrella carrier. I like.

This was a much fresher collection than last time – the same level of craftsmanship was on offer, but it’s interesting to see D-GNAK explore different pieces, experiment with colours and toy with the traditions of sartorial menswear.

See more of Joana Faria’s illustrations in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration!

Illustration by Oliver John Quinn

After hanging out with contributor Nick for lunch during Menswear Day, illness I hot-footed it up to Vauxhall Fashion Scout to check out D.GNAK‘s latest offerings. It was the only menswear show I’d see at the Freemasons’ Hall and it was fairly quiet. I’d enjoyed his outing last season and was looking forward to seeing how his quirky Japanese aesthetic would translate for A/W.


Contributor Georgia with Paul Weller

I bumped into contributor Georgiahttp://www.ameliasmagazine.com/?s=Georgia%20Takacs there and we headed into the venue, recipe sitting on opposite sides so not to get the same pictures. As we sat down, she started FREAKING OUT. ‘Is that Paul Weller? IS THAT PAUL WELLER?!’ she began yelling. It turns out it was, and he was nestled on the front row with his missus and two children. Georgia immediately went over to chat to him and I took a few pictures of them together, grinned nervously at him and thought to myself that his haircut has a lot to answer for.


Illustration by Joana Faria

On with the show. In a bold move from last season’s classic tailoring with contemporary twists, Kang D (the designer behind D.GNAK) had injected strong colours, interesting knits and enormous rucksacks.

The show opened with utilitarian tailoring that you might expect George Orwell’s Winston Smith to wear dark grey baggy trousers with an apron-like upper half was teamed with a luxurious floor-length cable knit cardigan. Next, a rich pea-coat with over-sized lapels and plaid-detail shoulders.

D.GNAK as a label is quickly establishing itself as an expert in materials and textures. Wools, corduroy, tweed and cotton were all on display, spiced up using colours like mustard and burgundy.


Illustration by Rob Wallace

There’s also an eye for the unfinished – that’ll be the Japanese ma influence then – with fraid hems that look a bit like a Saville Row tailor has had the day off – but teamed with polished blazers and expensive-looking coats, this works really well.

Every man is pretty much catered for here. There’s sartorial tailoring in the form of suits and Sherlock Holmes-esque coats for the sharpest dresser; wool blazers with contrasting buttons and vibrant trousers work well for casuals; corduroy onesies will have the more fashion-forward males racing to the shops.

Ace accessories were on offer – oversized patent leather rucksacks with suede details were worn on both shoulders, buckle straps revealed helpful features like an umbrella carrier. I like.

This was a much fresher collection than last time – the same level of craftsmanship was on offer, but it’s interesting to see D-GNAK explore different pieces, experiment with colours and toy with the traditions of sartorial menswear.

See more of Joana Faria’s illustrations in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration!

Illustration by Oliver John Quinn

After hanging out with contributor Nick for lunch during Menswear Day, visit this I hot-footed it up to Vauxhall Fashion Scout to check out D.GNAK‘s latest offerings. It was the only menswear show I’d see at the Freemasons’ Hall and it was fairly quiet. I’d enjoyed his outing last season and was looking forward to seeing how his quirky Japanese aesthetic would translate for A/W.


Contributor Georgia with Paul Weller

I bumped into contributor Georgiahttp://www.ameliasmagazine.com/?s=Georgia%20Takacs there and we headed into the venue, pharm sitting on opposite sides so not to get the same pictures. As we sat down, she started FREAKING OUT. ‘Is that Paul Weller? IS THAT PAUL WELLER?!’ she began yelling. It turns out it was, and he was nestled on the front row with his missus and two children. Georgia immediately went over to chat to him and I took a few pictures of them together, grinned nervously at him and thought to myself that his haircut has a lot to answer for.


Illustration by Joana Faria

On with the show. In a bold move from last season’s classic tailoring with contemporary twists, Kang D (the designer behind D.GNAK) had injected strong colours, interesting knits and enormous rucksacks.


All photography by Matt Bramford

The show opened with utilitarian tailoring that you might expect George Orwell’s Winston Smith to wear dark grey baggy trousers with an apron-like upper half was teamed with a luxurious floor-length cable knit cardigan. Next, a rich pea-coat with over-sized lapels and plaid-detail shoulders.

D.GNAK as a label is quickly establishing itself as an expert in materials and textures. Wools, corduroy, tweed and cotton were all on display, spiced up using colours like mustard and burgundy.


Illustration by Rob Wallace

There’s also an eye for the unfinished – that’ll be the Japanese ma influence then – with fraid hems that look a bit like a Saville Row tailor has had the day off – but teamed with polished blazers and expensive-looking coats, this works really well.

Every man is pretty much catered for here. There’s sartorial tailoring in the form of suits and Sherlock Holmes-esque coats for the sharpest dresser; wool blazers with contrasting buttons and vibrant trousers work well for casuals; corduroy onesies will have the more fashion-forward males racing to the shops.

Ace accessories were on offer – oversized patent leather rucksacks with suede details were worn on both shoulders, buckle straps revealed helpful features like an umbrella carrier. I like.

This was a much fresher collection than last time – the same level of craftsmanship was on offer, but it’s interesting to see D-GNAK explore different pieces, experiment with colours and toy with the traditions of sartorial menswear.

See more of Joana Faria’s illustrations in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration!

Illustration by Oliver John Quinn

After hanging out with contributor Nick for lunch during Menswear Day, abortion I hot-footed it up to Vauxhall Fashion Scout to check out D.GNAK‘s latest offerings. It was the only menswear show I’d see at the Freemasons’ Hall and it was fairly quiet. I’d enjoyed his outing last season and was looking forward to seeing how his quirky Japanese aesthetic would translate for A/W.


Contributor Georgia with Paul Weller

I bumped into contributor Georgiahttp://www.ameliasmagazine.com/?s=Georgia%20Takacs there and we headed into the venue, medications sitting on opposite sides so not to get the same pictures. As we sat down, she started FREAKING OUT. ‘Is that Paul Weller? IS THAT PAUL WELLER?!’ she began yelling. It turns out it was, and he was nestled on the front row with his missus and two children. Georgia immediately went over to chat to him and I took a few pictures of them together, grinned nervously at him and thought to myself that his haircut has a lot to answer for.


Illustration by Joana Faria

On with the show. In a bold move from last season’s classic tailoring with contemporary twists, Kang D (the designer behind D.GNAK) had injected strong colours, interesting knits and enormous rucksacks.


All photography by Matt Bramford

The show opened with utilitarian tailoring that you might expect George Orwell’s Winston Smith to wear dark grey baggy trousers with an apron-like upper half was teamed with a luxurious floor-length cable knit cardigan. Next, a rich pea-coat with over-sized lapels and plaid-detail shoulders.

D.GNAK as a label is quickly establishing itself as an expert in materials and textures. Wools, corduroy, tweed and cotton were all on display, spiced up using colours like mustard and burgundy.


Illustration by Rob Wallace

There’s also an eye for the unfinished – that’ll be the Japanese ma influence then – with fraid hems that look a bit like a Saville Row tailor has had the day off – but teamed with polished blazers and expensive-looking coats, this works really well.

Every man is pretty much catered for here. There’s sartorial tailoring in the form of suits and Sherlock Holmes-esque coats for the sharpest dresser; wool blazers with contrasting buttons and vibrant trousers work well for casuals; corduroy onesies will have the more fashion-forward males racing to the shops.

Ace accessories were on offer – oversized patent leather rucksacks with suede details were worn on both shoulders, buckle straps revealed helpful features like an umbrella carrier. I like.

This was a much fresher collection than last time – the same level of craftsmanship was on offer, but it’s interesting to see D-GNAK explore different pieces, experiment with colours and toy with the traditions of sartorial menswear.

See more of Joana Faria’s illustrations in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration!

Illustration by Oliver John Quinn

After hanging out with contributor Nick for lunch during Menswear Day, doctor I hot-footed it up to Vauxhall Fashion Scout to check out D.GNAK‘s latest offerings. It was the only menswear show I’d see at the Freemasons’ Hall and it was fairly quiet. I’d enjoyed his outing last season and was looking forward to seeing how his quirky Japanese aesthetic would translate for A/W.


Contributor Georgia with Paul Weller

I bumped into contributor Georgiahttp://www.ameliasmagazine.com/?s=Georgia%20Takacs there and we headed into the venue, sitting on opposite sides so not to get the same pictures. As we sat down, she started FREAKING OUT. ‘Is that Paul Weller? IS THAT PAUL WELLER?!’ she began yelling. It turns out it was, and he was nestled on the front row with his missus and two children. Georgia immediately went over to chat to him and I took a few pictures of them together, grinned nervously at him and thought to myself that his haircut has a lot to answer for.


Illustration by Joana Faria

On with the show. In a bold move from last season’s classic tailoring with contemporary twists, Kang D (the designer behind D.GNAK) had injected strong colours, interesting knits and enormous rucksacks.


All photography by Matt Bramford

The show opened with utilitarian tailoring that you might expect George Orwell’s Winston Smith to wear dark grey baggy trousers with an apron-like upper half was teamed with a luxurious floor-length cable knit cardigan. Next, a rich pea-coat with over-sized lapels and plaid-detail shoulders.

D.GNAK as a label is quickly establishing itself as an expert in materials and textures. Wools, corduroy, tweed and cotton were all on display, spiced up using colours like mustard and burgundy.


Illustration by Rob Wallace

There’s also an eye for the unfinished – that’ll be the Japanese ma influence then – with fraid hems that look a bit like a Savile Row tailor has had the day off – but teamed with polished blazers and expensive-looking coats, this works really well.

Every man is pretty much catered for here. There’s sartorial tailoring in the form of suits and Sherlock Holmes-esque coats for the sharpest dresser; wool blazers with contrasting buttons and vibrant trousers work well for casuals; corduroy onesies will have the more fashion-forward males racing to the shops.

Ace accessories were on offer – oversized patent leather rucksacks with suede details were worn on both shoulders, buckle straps revealed helpful features like an umbrella carrier. I like.

This was a much fresher collection than last time – the same level of craftsmanship was on offer, but it’s interesting to see D-GNAK explore different pieces, experiment with colours and toy with the traditions of sartorial menswear.

See more of Joana Faria’s illustrations in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration!
Cooperative Designs A/W 2011 by Natsuki Otani
Cooperative Designs A/W 2011 by Natsuki Otani.

Last season I was incredibly gutted to miss the Cooperative Designs presentation – such were the glowing reports on our website. But in my enthusiasm I actually turned up too early this time, treatment got turned away, medications ate a Pret sandwich… and then missed most of what turned out to actually be a catwalk show on repeat.


Cooperative Designs A/W 2011. Photography by Tim Adey.

Descending some stairs we were asked to sit in a darkened vault but my photographer’s sixth sense directed me instead to stand in a separate photographers box, healing where the models paused for a few seconds in somewhat brighter conditions.

Cooperative Designs A/W 2011 by Jane Young
Cooperative Designs A/W 2011 by Jane Young.

This was a collection inspired by 90s rave culture, Drum n Bass and the contemplative industrial photography of Thomas Struth, which meant that the oversized silhouette of Cooperative Designs came in industrial tones of grey and beige stripes combined with fluoro highlights in tie detailing, visors and threaded hair accessories.

Cooperative Designs A/W 2011. Photography by Tim Adey.
Cooperative Designs A/W 2011. Photography by Tim Adey.

Cooperative Designs A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCooperative Designs A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Cooperative Designs A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia Gregory.

There was lots of asymmetrical patterning, floppy hooded jumpers, boxy baggy tops and knit dresses tiered with baggy pouches. Lacy see through knitwear recalled the combat trouser shapes so beloved of 90s dancers. Hats by Noel Stewart were tall and floppy like a gnome’s or featured ear flaps and visors – questionable styles that were somehow rendered infinitely desirable. A wide knitted skirt was particularly cute, as were the little boots by Flip Flop, customised by Cooperative Designs with extravagant orange soles.

Cooperative Designs A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCooperative Designs A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCooperative Designs A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Cooperative Designs A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia Gregory.

Of any designers that I love I can actually imagine myself wearing Cooperative Designs. Their clever knitwear is by it’s very nature supremely flattering to the shape of a real women. Thankfully, they make a point of picking their models to reflect their customer.

Cooperative Designs 2011. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Plywood jewellery by Corrie Williamson for Cooperative Designs 2011. Photography by Amelia Gregory.

On my way out I was given a brilliant press release: informative, well written and protected in a cardboard envelope that even I would struggle to lose. Best of all, it came with my very own piece of painted plywood jewellery by Corrie Williamson, as featured in the collection. More designers could learn from such professionalism on the press release frontier.

You can read Naomi Law’s excellent review here and you can see more of Natsuki Otani’s work in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration.

Illustration by Oliver John Quinn

After hanging out with contributor Nick for lunch during Menswear Day, information pills I hot-footed it up to Vauxhall Fashion Scout to check out D.GNAK‘s latest offerings. It was the only menswear show I’d see at the Freemasons’ Hall and it was fairly quiet. I’d enjoyed his outing last season and was looking forward to seeing how his quirky Japanese aesthetic would translate for A/W.


Contributor Georgia with Paul Weller

I bumped into contributor Georgiahttp://www.ameliasmagazine.com/?s=Georgia%20Takacs there and we headed into the venue, sitting on opposite sides so not to get the same pictures. As we sat down, she started FREAKING OUT. ‘Is that Paul Weller? IS THAT PAUL WELLER?!’ she began yelling. It turns out it was, and he was nestled on the front row with his missus and two children. Georgia immediately went over to chat to him and I took a few pictures of them together, grinned nervously at him and thought to myself that his haircut has a lot to answer for.


Illustration by Joana Faria

On with the show. In a bold move from last season’s classic tailoring with contemporary twists, Kang D (the designer behind D.GNAK) had injected strong colours, interesting knits and enormous rucksacks.


All photography by Matt Bramford

The show opened with utilitarian tailoring that you might expect George Orwell’s Winston Smith to wear dark grey baggy trousers with an apron-like upper half was teamed with a luxurious floor-length cable knit cardigan. Next, a rich pea-coat with over-sized lapels and plaid-detail shoulders.

D.GNAK as a label is quickly establishing itself as an expert in materials and textures. Wools, corduroy, tweed and cotton were all on display, spiced up using colours like mustard and burgundy.


Illustration by Rob Wallace

There’s also an eye for the unfinished – that’ll be the Japanese ma influence then – with fraid hems that look a bit like a Savile Row tailor has had the day off – but teamed with polished blazers and expensive-looking coats, this works really well.

Every man is pretty much catered for here. There’s sartorial tailoring in the form of suits and Sherlock Holmes-esque coats for the sharpest dresser; wool blazers with contrasting buttons and vibrant trousers work well for casuals; corduroy onesies will have the more fashion-forward males racing to the shops.

Ace accessories were on offer – oversized patent leather rucksacks with suede details were worn on both shoulders, buckle straps revealed helpful features like an umbrella carrier. I like.

This was a much fresher collection than last time – the same level of craftsmanship was on offer, but it’s interesting to see D-GNAK explore different pieces, experiment with colours and toy with the traditions of sartorial menswear.

See more of Joana Faria’s illustrations in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration!
Cory Arcangel 2011-Beat the Champ. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Cory Arcangel’s Beat the Champ. Photography by Amelia Gregory.

For us Londoners it can be tough sometimes. If you find yourself shoulder barging your way down Oxford Street just to try and get to work, check you can be forgiven for wondering why you bother. If you’re spending maybe two thirds of your pay cheque on rent in a tiny, salve leaky flat above a shop. If you’re looking for breakfast on a Sunday morning and skipping over pools of vomit on your trendy street. But then just when you’re about ready to pack up, ampoule belongings in a handkerchief on a stick and all, the city reels you back. One of the reasons I just can’t leave London is there are places like the Barbican. I’m sure that clued up Amelia’s Magazine reading folks are familiar with the Barbican, but just for any of you wondering what this respite from London’s horribleness could possibly be, here are the basics.

Cory Arcangel 2011-Beat the Champ. Photography by Amelia Gregory

The Barbican Estate, built up in the 60s and 70s, is an imposing, Brutalist style complex comprising the Barbican Centre – an arts, drama and business centre with about a hundred different interesting things always seemingly happening at any given time; a YMCA; the Museum of London and a residential estate. Yes, that’s right, people actually live there. How cool is that? As for the events at the Centre itself, they’re amazingly varied and always concertedly cutting edge… Occasionally to the point of pretentious but well, I’d rather have pretension than no new art, hands down. With that in mind, I was interested and a little wary when I read the press release for Cory Arcangel’s Beat the Champ in The Curve – An area of the centre used to showcase new innovative artists.

Cory Arcangel 2011-Beat the Champ. Photography by Amelia Gregory

A digital artist from Brooklyn, New York (alarm bells), Arcangel has rigged up a whole bank of games consoles, ranging from a 1970s Atari to a current (as far as I’m aware) Playstation Three, each fitted with a bowling simulator game. The clever part is that he’s rejigged the games so that the bowler will always strike out. The controllers attached to each console have been physically rewired so that nobody can ever win.

It’s a surprisingly arresting installation. I’m tempted to say I was bowled over but that’s just cheap, you readers are better than that. For such a seemingly simple idea I had a number of reactions. I was immediately impressed, in the most literal sense, by the scale of the projections. Floor to ceiling along one side of the space. The larger than life bowling alley of the present day game meant I almost felt as though I was in place of the player. It’s also realy cool to see just how much video game technology has changed over such a short time.

Cory Arcangel 2011-Beat the Champ. Photography by Amelia Gregory

The first bowling game in the group is a pixilated figure, all white on a bue background and barely discernable as man-shaped, who slowly rolls a ball to a bleeping 8-bit soundtrack. Compared to the games we’re used to now it’s hard to imagine how this could ever hold anyone’s attention for more than five minutes. Then there are the hilarious 90s efforts, all thumbs up, shades and backwards baseball caps like that episode of the Simpsons when Itchy & Scratchy introduce Poochy the skateboarding dog.

Cory Arcangel 2011-Beat the Champ. Photography by Amelia Gregory

The modern day game is as life like as can be, the player is a pudgy middle aged bowler and he bewails his constant gutter balls with his head in his hands. There is, undoubtedly, an interesting emotional response to seeing these virtual bowlers perpetually losing out. In interviews Arcangel has described himself as “glass half empty kind of person” and his past work has included a hack of a Super Mario Brothers game whereby everything was removed except the pixelated clouds rolling past. The rolling Mario clouds and the pins that never get knocked down both seem so naïve but suggest a sort of post modern existentialism which I really like. The title of the installation is interesting, perhaps driving home the idea of futility, the bowlers are never going to Beat the Champ. They’re never ever going to roll anything other than a gutter ball and I guess, at the risk of sounding melodramatic, the idea might be that that’s what we’re all afraid of doing with our lives.

Cory Arcangel 2011-Beat the Champ. Photography by Amelia Gregory

Beat the Champ is in The Curve at the Barbican until May 22nd 2011 and admittance is FREE. Find out more in our listing here.

Categories ,Atari, ,barbican, ,Barbican Centre, ,Barbican Estate, ,Beat the Champ, ,brooklyn, ,Brutalism, ,Cory Arcangel, ,Digital Artist, ,Itchy & Scratchy, ,museum of london, ,new york, ,Oxford Street, ,Playstation Three, ,Poochy, ,Simpsons, ,Super Mario Brothers, ,The Curve, ,YMCA

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