Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Stratis Kastrisianakis, co-founder of Nakedbutsafe magazine

nakedbutsafe front cover-NATALIA-ZAKHAROVA
Nakedbutsafe magazine is a beautiful new arts, fashion and photography magazine with a conscience, produced in Greece, printed in the UK at Principal Colour, and available worldwide. Co-founder Stratis Kastrisianakis explains the thinking behind the creation of his new publication in more depth:

Nakedbutsafe dreaming of another world
Nakedbutsafe dreaming of another world
What does Nakedbutsafe mean and how did you decide upon the name for your new magazine?
Nakedbutsafe means that our magazine tries to be ‘naked’ from any form of ties and connections to standard industry pressure points like PRs etc… which makes it highly independent. I think readers don’t trust magazines and the media in general any more because there is no more news, only commerce. Magazines today (including many so called independent ones) are just sales platforms for major brands. As a freelance photographer I witnessed last minute calls from major brands in Paris to an otherwise quite credible publication, asking for clothing items to be used on the cover shoot even when they had nothing to do with the theme of the shooting. Additionally ‘naked’ means naked from any form of post production that cannot be done in the dark room. This could have made the magazine feel a bit nostalgic, but this is not the case. We celebrate photography and our research into young artistic and photographic talent shows that there is a strong trend towards not using post production. We want our fashion photographers to enjoy the process of taking photos in the moment, and not to rely on the lab. Naked is also naked from any fear of press censure. We encourage freedom and the breaking of boundaries every day, not just in the magazine. The choice of name was a natural decision from the state of mind we found ourselves in at the start of 2011.

Nakedbutsafe your joy is my low
Nakedbutsafe your joy is my low
Nakedbutsafe your joy is my low
Who is behind Nakedbutsafe? Can you tell us a short history about its creation?
Myself (Stratis Kastrisianakis) and my partner Manos Samartzis are the creators and driving force behind the magazine. We do everything in house from design to proofing, and from art curating to monitoring distribution and sales. Happily we are blessed with many talented friends and old collaborators that jumped on the idea of giving a hand to a project that started out shy but now is a full time commitment. One day in december 2010 myself and Manos were so frustrated by a commission that we decided NOT to work for these kind of publications any more. So nakedbutsafe was born out of frustration. Then we started a task of entering into a world that already seems so natural, even though it was all news to us back then. We chose to work with consultants and not actual collaborators so we could keep the schedule under control (it is hard to ask people to work for free under pressure) and so that we would not offend anyone’s artistic expression by rejecting them. Nakedbutsafe is 100% an in house process with 95% of its material shot especially for us. Today things have changed dramatically. Every day we get requests from artists and collaborators of every kind that want to be part of nakedbutsafe. This is all very exciting. Our new roster is a very selected list of young and emerging talent in their fields.

Nakedbutsafe-morgan-smith
Your press release speaks about living life with intellectually fulfilled integrity, how is this best manifested in the magazine’s content?
Our take on lifestyle aims to show people that we are humans with brains and not just simple forms of life who react to outside influences. We do not need toys and wealth to live a rich life. Wealth comes from bettering our lives. There are alternatives out there that will create conditions for a new experience. We don’t just need things to show off to other members of our circle. Our planet is a wonderful thing and it is ours. Freedom from needing stuff but encouraging new experiences is our biggest tool towards independency from the media promoted garbage that fills our lives. This is clearly stated in many parts of our magazine – we want it to be a magazine that is read and not just a coffee table item. Magazines are not decorative items.

Nakedbutsafe-natalia-zakharova-fashion
Nakedbutsafe-natalia-zakharova-fashion
Nakedbutsafe-natalia-zakharova-fashion
How difficult has it been to launch a magazine in Greece in this time of financial crisis?
Amazingly difficult and challenging. But also this is one of the reasons why we manage to keep editorial integrity. Once you hit the bottom you can only go up. Also the anger that exists inside everyone in Greece right now has transformed itself into a creative force.

Nakedbutsafe-after-every-party-i-die
Nakedbutsafe-after-every-party-i-die
I love the statement that you ‘appreciate illustrators, but not the ones who call themselves photographers’. Why is it so important to you to use images that are not airbrushed?
See my previous answer for part of this explanation. All readers, even non industry ones, are so familiar with post production that they have lost their trust in the colours of a sunset, of a fruit and eventually the beauty of human form. It’s a crime. We are living in the era of temporary plastic surgery through imagery.

Nakedbutsafe let it fall
Nakedbutsafe is published in English. What was the decision about this, and where can you buy the magazine?
English is the most commonly spoken language and the one that suits most of our international team. It was a decision based on practicality. In the future we want to have multilingual articles in the magazine (in their original form) as well as in English, but this will not be the case anytime soon. Pineapple Media and Comag International are the people behind our global reach. We have somehow limited printing numbers (under 15,000 copies) so our reach is global but targeted. In January 2012 we will have full details of where to buy nakedbutsafe but for the moment please check out Where to Buy on our website.

Nakedbutsafe-Magda-Langrova-1
Have there been any difficulties in ensuring global distribution, if so what have you learnt?
Yes. As always a new craft brings excitement and also problems which need to be dealt with. Not knowing the actual distribution locations until the magazine is already in the stores was news to us. Now we know and it’s ok. We are not an urgent magazine to buy in terms of news.

Nakedbutsafe all signs point to no
Why is it important to you to create a magazine from 100% sustainable sources?
I will reverse the question; why is not so important for everyone else? There is too much intellectual garbage out there, never mind actual garbage. Let’s all be sustainable – it will make everyone happier.

Nakedbutsafe-shepperd-6
Nakedbutsafe-shepperd
How did you discover Principal Colour and why did you decide to use them to print Nakedbutsafe?
Their take on natural and ecological printing was a big attraction, but I also like that Principal Colour is run with an informal mood that is in line with the playful (but still extremely serious) character of nakedbutsafe. They are amazing and I have no hesitation in recommending them to others. I received their press proofs by mistake for issue 1 and there was no difference in quality between mine and theirs.

To read the rest of this article hop on over to the Principal Colour tumblr blog.

Categories ,art, ,brazil, ,Circle of Transformation, ,Comag International, ,eco, ,Greece, ,magazine, ,Maike Ludenbach, ,Manos Samartzis, ,Nakedbutsafe, ,Ned Sewell, ,photography, ,Pineapple Media, ,principal colour, ,Print Design, ,Stratis Kastrisianakis, ,sustainable

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with textile designer Emma J Shipley

Emma J Shipley by Natalia Stuyk

Emma J Shipley S/S 2012 by Natalia Stuyk

It was Liberty of London’s Best of British open day, and I can remember quite clearly the moment that Emma Shipley pulled a selection of fine pencil drawings from her bag. Quiet gasps came from around the table. We all pulled the papers closer to our faces, screwing up our eyes at these exquisite drawings, to see if they were really the work of hand. The excitement doubled when she delved into her case and produced a handful of her intensely detailed and rich coloured scarves. Luxurious, conversational pieces, and undoubtedly delicate works of art.

Gorilla-emma shipley
Gorilla drawing courtesy of Emma J Shipley

She then told us about herself – a graduate from the MA Textiles course at the Royal College of Art, who loves drawing (spending up to 10 hours a day with pencil in hand). At the RCA she won prizes and scholarships, and achieved further recognition when her first collection, Hyper Nature, was bought by Browns – a commendation that most graduates can only dream of. Emma Shipley‘s print collection was spotted in this review of the RCA’s 2011 Textile Design show by Amelia. Emma spoke to me ahead of the launch of her label at London Fashion Week A/W 2012.

Emma J Shipley by Alejandra Espino
Emma J Shipley by Alejandra Espino

I was first introduced to your designs at the Liberty of London Best of British open day – what have you been up to since then?
I haven’t stopped! I won Texprint’s pattern prize, and with this, exhibited my work in London, Paris, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and also visited the silk mill industry area in Como. As well as working on my scarf label, I’ve been pursuing an exciting collaboration with jewellery designer Tomasz Donocik, on a collection of bejewelled silk scarves. These have so far previewed at Garrard and Harvey Nichols, with the full collection to launch at London Fashion Week.

I’m also currently working on an exciting commission for an American fashion corporation, using mathematical algorithms and programming techniques I developed during my MA at the Royal College of Art to produce randomised, non-repeating patterns. Aside from this, I’ve been producing limited edition fine prints from my drawings, and working on some special commissions for fashion, interior and automotive clients.

Emma J Shipley by Fay Newman
Emma J Shipley by Fay Newman

Can you explain a little about your passion for drawing, and how you moved into scarf design.
It’s something that I’ve always done and loved – it comes naturally and is a part of me. Through studying textiles at the Royal College of Art, I began to focus more and more on my drawing, devoting more time to this stage of the design process, to create something unique and full of soul. The drawings have really become artworks, that are translated onto textiles – I felt that these artworks lent themselves perfectly to luxury scarves, which can be collectable pieces and can be seen as a canvas.

Can you explain a little about the process that goes into making your scarves? What materials are you working with?
The designs are digitally printed directly onto the fabric using the latest technology, as this gives the best results with all the fine detail in my drawings, as well as being more environmentally friendly than traditional printing methods. Fabrics in the new collection include cashmere, modal and Italian silks.

Emma Shipley
Photo courtesy of Emma J Shipley

You outsource most of your production. What is it like managing this? Any lessons learnt?
Absolutely! The transition from college and making everything yourself, to having small runs of samples made, to outsourcing larger production orders is huge. However I don’t think the lessons can really be taught, and at every stage I have felt that I’ve learnt more and more, which hopefully will help me in the future. In fact setting up my own label straight from college has been a steep learning curve in every way.

Emma J Shipley by Katie Chappell
Emma J Shipley by Katie Chappell

You’ve said that your influenced by Darwinian evolution and nature – can you explain where these influences come from?
It’s difficult to explain my passion for this – I think nature is just something that I’ve always been inspired by and drawn to. It’s such a rich and unending source of inspiration and I think the most spectacular and beautiful things in the world are found in nature. An interest in the theory of evolution has also always been there – for me our inextricable link to all other living things inspires so much wonder and awe

I share your love of Walton Ford – what do you find inspiring about his works?
His subject matter and botanical influences are close to my interests, and I love the way he subverts traditional references (botanical illustration) by adding sinister details and exploring the darker side of nature. I also love the way he plays with scale.

What about the new collection – what can we expect?
A continuation of the natural, scientific and mathematical influences. Vibrant colours as well as bold monochrome. A collaboration with jewellery designer Tomasz Donocik, on a collection of bejewelled silk scarves with silver and gold. New fabrics including cashmere and silk chiffon, and some stunning cashmere jacquard woven scarves.

Emma J Shipley by Alejandra Espino
Emma J Shipley by Alejandra Espino

You are launching your new collection at LFW… What expectations do you have?
Exciting and intimidating…! I don’t know what to expect as it’s my first London Fashion Week – the most important thing for me would be to get a great response to the collection, and also of course to meet buyers from stores I would like to be stocked in.

What else will 2012 hold for you?
Exhibitions and launches of wallpapers and interior fabrics with some big interior companies later in the year.

Emma J Shipley will be showing her new A/W 2012 collection in Somerset House, at the Exhibition for London Fashion Week, February 17th – 22nd 2012.

Categories ,Alejandra Espino, ,animals, ,Browns, ,Como, ,Darwin, ,drawing, ,Emma J Shipley, ,Fay Newman, ,Katie Chappell, ,Liberty of London, ,Luxury, ,MA Textiles, ,Natalia Stuyk, ,nature, ,pencil, ,rca, ,S/S 2012, ,Scarves, ,Silk, ,Texprint, ,Textile Design, ,Tomasz Donocik, ,Walton Ford

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Amelia’s Magazine | Introducing the printers of Amelia’s Magazine: Principal Colour

Alan and Martin Principal Colour by Kellie-Black
Alan Flack and Martin Darby of Principal Colour, help illustrated by Kellie Black for the launch of ACOFI.

I have been working with Kent based lithographic printers Principal Colour for 8 years now, ailment ever since Martin Darby and Alan Flack so kindly helped me to produce the very first issue of Amelia’s Magazine in print way back at the start of 2004. Over the years my harebrained ideas have inevitably demanded that each new issue utilise a new print technique, and they have patiently helped me through all the most difficult of production issues. Die-cut, flocked, scratch ‘n’ sniff, Swarovski crystal encrusted, glow in the dark, metallic, holographic, foiled, 6 colour, different papers for different pages… the list of my requirements went on and on. And then I went on to produce two books with Principal Colour, Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration and Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration (both in the shops now) – and these also featured awkward production challenges, including embossing accurately over print and pearlescent effects. Yup, I have been anything but an easy customer, but I am always sure of what I want to produce and Principal Colour are always more than happy to help me achieve things which even they have never heard of or tried to do before. Working with Principal Colour has been absolutely essential to everything I’ve done in print, and it’s been an absolute pleasure to work with such delightful people – I fully believe that good relationships are the key to a sustainable and happy business.

Now, after several years of nagging, I have finally persuaded Martin and Alan to embrace the wonders of Social Media, with me at the helm. Because Principal Colour do a lot of high end lithographic print design alongside their bread and butter jobs, my output for them on social media will concentrate on interesting design for print, as well as tips for the best outcome using lithographic print techniques. Much as I adore the internet, my heart will always lie with quality print design, and since I really enjoy the whole production process I shall relish the process of discovering more. Why not join us to learn more about the secrets of print, for there is a lot to share.. and believe me, however big the internet gets, print design ain’t going nowhere.

You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. Our first blog on Tumblr is a Q&A with director Martin Darby about the history of Principal Colour and what makes the company tick…

Categories ,Alan Flack, ,Amelia’s Magazine, ,Crystal Encrusted, ,CYMK, ,Die-cut, ,Facebook, ,Flocked, ,Foiled, ,Glow-in-the-Dark, ,Holographic, ,Kellie Black, ,Lithographic, ,Martin Darby, ,Metallic, ,Miss Pearl Grey, ,principal colour, ,Print Design, ,Printers, ,scratch ‘n’ sniff, ,Swarovski, ,Tumblr, ,twitter

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Pretty Green Look Book designer Dave Uprichard of One Big Company

Creative design agency One Big Company designed the new S/S 2012 look book for Liam Gallagher’s clothing brand Pretty Green, which was then printed by Principal Colour in Kent. This beautifully made object was inspired by record sleeves and features stunning photography shot on London’s Hampstead Heath. We caught up with designer Dave Uprichard to find out what goes into putting a look book together.

Your most recent project has been the creation of a look book for Liam Gallagher’s clothing company Pretty Green. How did the collaboration come about?

Myself, Matt and Neil (the other members of the One Big Company team) were contacted by a former colleague from our time at Ted Baker who now designs the collections for Pretty Green.

Have you worked on the design of many look books over the years?

Yes indeed, working at Ted Baker they were one of the bi-annually repeated projects we looked forward to most and as a bonus towards the end of my time there they started creating a High Summer mini-lookbook too so I got to turn my hand to that as well.

One of Dave’s Ted Baker look books (also printed by Principal Colour).

What do you think sets the Pretty Green collection apart from other fashion collections for men?

Apart from the inherent sense of cool which comes through its associations withLiam Gallagher and the best bits of the British music scene what’s great about Pretty Green compared to other fashion collections is that each season is different – obviously your staples are still there but there’s no taking the best selling styles from previous collections, adding a different button or pocket to it and rolling out something which is 99% the same as last year.

What inspired the design of the look book?

It’s inspired by the British music scene of the 60s & 70s, the format is a 12” with a black slipcase to echo a record sleeve and then all the shots have been graded to give an aged analogue feel. There’s no digital crispness with this book, we wanted it to look raw.

The sleeve was die-cut and foiled.

How did you choose the materials and print production techniques for your look book?

Firstly the paper stock had to be uncoated to be in keeping with the grading we’d added to the photography, we knew this would darken up any imagery so that had to be taken into account when printing. We picked Challenger Offset by Antalis McNaughton for this. Other than that it was a case of picking a great black stock for the cover and slipcase (Colorset by Fenner Paper) and ensuring that the foiling of the logos was of the highest quality. We haven’t been let down!

You’ve clocked up 10 years in the print design industry – what have your design highlights been?

The biggest highlight would be breaking free of corporate shackles and setting up with Matt & Neil, maybe not a design highlight but a highlight of my design career! Other than that, it’s hard to say… I’ve worked with so many great clients and brands from MTV to Ted Baker to Pretty Green. Can I just say that the past 10 years have been a highlight?

Where did you work before setting up One Trick Pony? And what skills did you learn at each different place?

I started at a boutique creative agency called Point Blank which was lead bySteve Wallington, it was the perfect place to cut my teeth as everyone had input into creative briefs – the ethos of PB was that a great idea was a great idea no matter whether it came from the Creative Director, Junior Designer or company accountant! After that I went in-house in fashion, working at Ted Baker for just over three years. Then I took a foray into retail design with Portland Associatesbefore setting up One Trick Pony with Matt Bishop and ultimately One Big Company with Matt & Neil.

Aldgate Lofts property brochure – produced for BMOR

What prompted you to start out on your own?

Without wanting to sound bitter it was getting made redundant for the third time! Admittedly Matt and myself had been freelancing for a year or so as One Trick Pony before my employment was cut short and it couldn’t have happened at a better time as Neil had just approached us with a very exciting offer of a monthly retainer from a fairly sizeable property client so everything fell into place perfectly.

Aldgate Lofts property brochure – produced for BMOR

One Trick Pony is about to become One Big Company – what’s the difference?

Pretty much the name is the only difference…

…you can read the rest of this blog over on the Principal Colour tumblr. Please do visit!

Categories ,Aldgate Lofts, ,Antalis McNaughton, ,Bluewater, ,BMOR, ,Challenger Offset, ,Colorset, ,Dave Uprichard, ,Die-cut, ,Fenner Paper, ,Foiled, ,Hampstead Heath, ,Liam Gallagher, ,Matt Bishop, ,O’Dear, ,One Big Company, ,One Trick Pony, ,Point Blank, ,Portland Associates, ,Pretty Green, ,principal colour, ,Ted Baker

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Amelia’s Magazine | Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration launch party illustrations: meet more illustrators!

Zarina Liew at work
ZLiew_#2_Rose&Harriet TattyDevine
My wonderful girls, rx Rosie and Harriet of Tatty Devine, sick who created the lovely Cutlass Necklace for my party.

Zarina Liew looked oh so casual during the afternoon launch party – every time I turned around there she was, chatting away, charming the guests in expert fashion. But if I thought she was shirking I could not have been more wrong – she churned out the most amazing bunch of illustrations in record time, all in stunning watercolour fashion plates – every single one of them. Wowser. This lady has so much talent it’s painful… behold her beautiful illustrations. So delightful, every single one.

ZLiew_#5_Katie antoniou LondonPlinth
Presenting the lovely Katie Antoniou of London Plinth – sometime Amelia’s Mag contributor and general all round fabulous fashion gal. Here’s her review of the night.

ZLiew_#6_Holly HollySpringett
Holly Springett wrote an absolutely fabulous blog about the launch, with some of the very prettiest photos to accompany it – go check it out here.

ZLiew_#3_Josephine&Sarah SomersetHouse
Here’s Josephine and Sarah from Somerset House, who I hope very much will be in contact soon to talk about a possible collaboration…

§ZLiew_#1_Alice TattyDevine
Alice of Tatty Devine sports some very fabulous jewellery indeed – by Tatty Devine of course.

ZLiew_#7_Gabby&Stephen GabbyYoung
Gabby Young with her boyfriend Stephen. What a lovely couple!

ZLiew_#4_Sarah ShopStyle FabSugarUK
Sarah of Fab Sugar – anyone catch her last name? I don’t think we met.

ZLiew_#8_Laura&Courtney ForwardPR
Laura and Courtney of Forward PR. Lovely lovely women, who helped me in the run up and on the night most immensely. Say hello if you see them around at LFW.

ZLiew_#10_Tara&Louisa CentMagazine
Tara and Louise of Cent Magazine – I did an interview with the lovely Louise, so fingers crossed that will be available soon.

ZLiew_#9_Matilda Ecologist
Matilda of the Ecologist – likewise they should be running a review of the book – keep an eye out and let me know if you spot it before me.

ZLiew_#11_Katie BLOWOnline
Katie Rose wrote for BLOW online.

ZLiew_#12_Alex Pukka_LondonFashionWk
Lastly but very much not leastly we have Alexandra Haddow of Pukka teas.

You can follow Zarina Liew on twitter on @cobaltcafe and don’t forget you can buy Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration here, with a special 10% if you use the discount code ACOFI LAUNCH up until the 28th February 2011. Find out just how Zarina made the leap from the corporate marketing world into the creative arms of illustration: amazing inspiring stuff in this Skype interview on youtube.

YouTube Preview Image

ZLiew_#2_Rose&Harriet TattyDevine
My wonderful girls, cialis 40mg Rosie and Harriet of Tatty Devine, symptoms who created the lovely Cutlass Necklace for my party.

Zarina Liew looked oh so casual during the afternoon launch party – every time I turned around there she was, check chatting away, charming the guests in expert fashion. But if I thought she was shirking I could not have been more wrong – she churned out the most amazing bunch of illustrations in record time, all in stunning watercolour fashion plates – every single one of them. Wowser. This lady has so much talent it’s painful… behold her beautiful illustrations. So delightful, every single one.

ZLiew_#5_Katie antoniou LondonPlinth
Presenting the lovely Katie Antoniou of London Plinth – sometime Amelia’s Mag contributor and general all round fabulous fashion gal. Here’s her review of the night.

ZLiew_#6_Holly HollySpringett
Holly Springett wrote an absolutely fabulous blog about the launch, with some of the very prettiest photos to accompany it – go check it out here.

ZLiew_#3_Josephine&Sarah SomersetHouse
Here’s Josephine and Sarah from Somerset House, who I hope very much will be in contact soon to talk about a possible collaboration…

§ZLiew_#1_Alice TattyDevine
Alice of Tatty Devine sports some very fabulous jewellery indeed – by Tatty Devine of course.

ZLiew_#7_Gabby&Stephen GabbyYoung
Gabby Young with her boyfriend Stephen. What a lovely couple!

ZLiew_#4_Sarah ShopStyle FabSugarUK
Sarah of Fab Sugar – anyone catch her last name? I don’t think we met.

ZLiew_#8_Laura&Courtney ForwardPR
Laura and Courtney of Forward PR. Lovely lovely women, who helped me in the run up and on the night most immensely. Say hello if you see them around at LFW.

ZLiew_#10_Tara&Louisa CentMagazine
Tara and Louisa Lau of Cent Magazine – I did an interview with the lovely Louisa, so fingers crossed that will be available soon.

ZLiew_#9_Matilda Ecologist
Matilda of the Ecologist – likewise they should be running a review of the book – keep an eye out and let me know if you spot it before me.

ZLiew_#11_Katie BLOWOnline
Katie Rose wrote for BLOW online.

ZLiew_#12_Alex Pukka_LondonFashionWk
Lastly but very much not leastly we have Alexandra Haddow of Pukka teas.

Zarina Liew at work
Zarina Liew at work. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.

You can follow Zarina Liew on twitter on @cobaltcafe and don’t forget you can buy Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration here, with a special 10% if you use the discount code ACOFI LAUNCH up until the 28th February 2011. Find out just how Zarina made the leap from the corporate marketing world into the creative arms of illustration: amazing inspiring stuff in this Skype interview on youtube.

YouTube Preview Image

ZLiew_#2_Rose&Harriet TattyDevine
My wonderful girls, pharmacy Rosie and Harriet of Tatty Devine, tadalafil who created the lovely Cutlass Necklace for my party.

Zarina Liew looked oh so casual during the afternoon launch party – every time I turned around there she was, chatting away, charming the guests in expert fashion. But if I thought she was shirking I could not have been more wrong – she churned out the most amazing bunch of illustrations in record time, all in stunning watercolour fashion plates – every single one of them. Wowser. This lady has so much talent it’s painful… behold her beautiful illustrations. So delightful, every single one.

ZLiew_#5_Katie antoniou LondonPlinth
Presenting the lovely Katie Antoniou of London Plinth – sometime Amelia’s Mag contributor and general all round fabulous fashion gal. Here’s her review of the night.

ZLiew_#6_Holly HollySpringett
Holly Springett wrote an absolutely fabulous blog about the launch, with some of the very prettiest photos to accompany it – go check it out here.

ZLiew_#3_Josephine&Sarah SomersetHouse
Here’s Josephine and Sarah from Somerset House, who I hope very much will be in contact soon to talk about a possible collaboration…

§ZLiew_#1_Alice TattyDevine
Alice of Tatty Devine sports some very fabulous jewellery indeed – by Tatty Devine of course.

ZLiew_#7_Gabby&Stephen GabbyYoung
Gabby Young with her boyfriend Stephen. What a lovely couple!

ZLiew_#4_Sarah ShopStyle FabSugarUK
Sarah of Fab Sugar – anyone catch her last name? I don’t think we met.

ZLiew_#8_Laura&Courtney ForwardPR
Laura and Courtney of Forward PR. Lovely lovely women, who helped me in the run up and on the night most immensely. Say hello if you see them around at LFW.

ZLiew_#10_Tara&Louisa CentMagazine
Tara and Louisa Lau of Cent Magazine – I did an interview with the lovely Louisa, so fingers crossed that will be available soon.

ZLiew_#9_Matilda Ecologist
Matilda of the Ecologist – likewise they should be running a review of the book – keep an eye out and let me know if you spot it before me.

ZLiew_#11_Katie BLOWOnline
Katie Rose wrote for BLOW online.

ZLiew_#12_Alex Pukka_LondonFashionWk
Lastly but very much not leastly we have Alexandra Haddow of Pukka teas.

Zarina Liew at work
Zarina Liew at work. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.

You can follow Zarina Liew on twitter on @cobaltcafe and don’t forget you can buy Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration here, with a special 10% if you use the discount code ACOFI LAUNCH up until the 28th February 2011. Find out just how Zarina made the leap from the corporate marketing world into the creative arms of illustration: amazing inspiring stuff in this Skype interview on youtube.

YouTube Preview Image

rachel-destecroix-acofi-susie-bubble-portrait
Susie Bubble needs no introduction and I absolutely adore Rachel’s rendition of this infamous fashion blogger. She’s been a great supporter of Amelia’s Magazine so it was an honour to see her at the launch party. You can read her write up here. Thanks Susie!

Rachel de Ste. Croix has developed a unique style that suits both childrens’ book illustration and fashion illustration a treat. Working from life she sketches a likeness of her subject and then transfers into into her computer through a painstaking process involving a light box and lots of black felt markers. From there she messes around in photoshop to achieve a beautiful handmade look that in fact makes the most of digital special effects – something which I talked about when I mentioned her in my Digital Arts interview. Here’s her fabulous ACOFI launch party output:

rachel-desctecroix-acofi-neil-bennnett-digitalartsmag-portrait
I love the fact that Neil Bennett of Digital Arts donated his ACOFI tote bag to his daughter, order who has been using it to carry her school books, pharm much to the envy of her classmates. Check her out in this twitpic: coolest kid in town!

rachel-destecroix-acofi-katie-wright-portrait
Katie Wright writes Style My Wardrobe and she managed to grab a little bit of my time to ask a few questions at the launch – you can read her great write up here.

rachel-destecroix-acofi-sarahBvernon-portrait
Sarah Vernon is best known as SBV of essbeevee, buy information pills a lovely fashion blog. Here’s her write up.

rachel-destecroix-acofi-tigzrice-portrait
Tigz Rice is actually a friend of Rachel’s – I’ve now had the pleasure of working with more than a couple University of Westminster graduates, who are all super talented. Can’t think why. Maybe it’s because one of my bestest mates the wonderful illustrator Simone Lia teaches there. Or else it’s something in the water.

rachel-destecroix-acofi-amelia-gregory-portrait
I cheekily asked Rachel to illustrate me. Well, she did such an amazing job with everyone else I really didn’t want to be left out. Here I am wearing my Joanna Cave earrings (new season darling) and Beautiful Soul cape-let made out of an upcycled kimono. You can buy similar Beautiful Soul pieces (they’re all different obviously) at the V&A shop.

MattBramford_ACOFI_Rachel de ste croix
Rachel hard at work drawing Susie behind a curtain of hair. Photography by Matt Bramford.

You can follow Rachel de Ste. Croix on twitter on @precious_little and don’t forget you can buy Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration here, with a special 10% if you use the discount code ACOFI LAUNCH up until the 28th February 2011. Here’s Rachel talking in detail about how she creates her illustrations on youtube.

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Lily Vanilli ACOFI launch cake by Abby Wright
Lily Vanilli ACOFI launch cake by Abby Wright. This must be the most lovingly photographed and illustrated cake ever!

Ah, sickness Abby Wright. Where to begin? She has grabbed the proverbial illustration bull by the horns and run with it, big time. Never has someone still at university so inspired me. Some people just get it you know? And she’s one of them. If you’re reading this and you’re still at university wondering how you will ever get noticed, then read on and learn. I’m serious. This girl has got it going on.

Firstly – she’s all over twitter chatting to fellow illustrators up and down the country all the time, encouraging them and swapping advice. She’s so switched on she even instigated the Tea and Crayons illustration collective. Secondly – she just keeps on creating. Day after day she volunteers illustrations for Amelia’s Magazine. She’s not afraid of making mistakes in public, she puts it out there and learns, and it is a joy to watch her work developing all the time. Students all over should be inspired… just take a look at how many followers she has on twitter! Abby Wright is going places.

Which is why I asked her along to be at my ACOFI afternoon launch party. And here are the results of her doodlings:

Johann_Chan_Digital_Arts_abby_Wright
Johann Chan, art editor of Digital Arts – no doubt grinning ear to ear because he came down for the fabulous cakes (see above).

Adorngirl_Abby_Wright
Adorngirl, otherwise known as Ashanti Jason, who wrote this lovely blog about the event.

Emma_Davenport_Abby_Wright
Emma Davenport is an old friend of mine who. Inspired by a life long love of the charity shop – snap! – she has been researching the history of ethical dress and fashion at the RCA. She has a blog called Frock Conscious and you can read her party piece here.

ACOFI_launch Charles Ampadu_Abby_Wright
Charles Ampadu – fashion stylist and model scout.

Neil_Bennett_Digital_Arts_Abby_Wright
Neil Bennett – editor of Digital Arts. The one with the very cool stepdaughter, yes, that’s him again!

Nikki_Nakki_Lou_Abby_Wright
Nikki Nakki Lousuper blogger from the Wirral.

Prince_Cassius_Abby_Wright
And finishing up with socialite Prince Cassius. Oh yes, he of the dapper clothing and super fro – a delight for both illustrators and photographers alike. What a gent.

Abby Wright takes tea. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur
Abby Wright takes tea. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.

You can follow Abby Wright on twitter on @abbyillustrator and don’t forget you can buy Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration here, with a special 10% if you use the discount code ACOFI LAUNCH up until the 28th February 2011. Find out just how Abby gets ahead in illustration in my interview with her on youtube here.

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6 day riot by Natsuki Otani
6 Day Riot‘s Tamara Schlesinger by Natsuki Otani.

There were so many amazing guests at my ACOFI launch who didn’t come down to the afternoon tea party that it seemed only natural to ask some of the illustrators who were also not present during the daytime to illustrate some of them. Which is how I wound up with this merry bunch of beautiful pictures.

A couple were unsurprisingly enamoured of 6 Day Riot: Natsuki Otani (above) and Erica Sharp (below) show just how differently illustrators can see things.

6 Day Riot by Erica Sharp
6 Day Riot by Erica Sharp.

ACOFI cake by Lesley Barnes
Lesley Barnes felt moved to illustrate the cake, view but not on a table, oh no. On a head, where I feel it belongs rather nicely.

ACOFI-Launch Tim Adey-by-Yelena-Bryksenkova
Lovely Yelena Bryksenkova (who alas did not make it at the very last minute due to snowy conditions in New York) took up the challenge of illustrating my boyfriend Tim Adey… resplendent in Liberty print shirt and waving aloft a dainty teacup.

Amelia Gregory by Gemma Milly
Gemma Milly – also absent on a prolonged trip to Canada (the poor thing) illustrated the whole of my outfit, from Joanna Cave earrings, through Beautiful Soul cape, via Monsoon dress (ahem) down to Nina Dolcetti shoes. Splendid.

Gemma Milly-Courtney Blackman_ForwardPR
Gemma Milly also did this lovely illustration of Courtney Blackman from Forward PR.

Cleide Carina of Sketchbook at ACOFI launch by Abi Daker
Abigail Daker, stuck over in Cyprus, took on the challenge of capturing Cleide Carina of Sketchbook Mag. Love it!

emma_block_pipettes_ACOFI
You’ve already seen The Pipettes by Emma Block – but hell, it’s so good why not show it again?

Amelia Acofi by Faye West
Faye West as well took up the challenge of rendering me in all my illustratory glory.

Gareth A Hopkins Will From Mystery Jets
Gareth A Hopkins decided to illustrate the heart throb that is Will from the Mystery Jets… I feel he’s caught his tousled nature perfectly. He looks truly Byron-esque!

Jo Cheung Robots in Disguise
Jo Cheung fancied herself a bit of Robots in Disguise action. Love their hair. So changeable. But never ever boring. It’s been a long and beautiful relationship. Theirs, ours. You know. (They appeared in issue 1 of Amelia’s Magazine a long time ago…)

Kellie-Black-A-Goodone-Goodtime
Kellie Black illustrated one half of Goodone. Having a Goodtime.

Kellie-Black-Alan-&-Martin-Of-Principal-Colour
And then came back to render the lovely men who run Principal Colour in Kent. Voila, I introduce to you Alan Flack and Martin Darby, my printers extraordinaire. I’ve been working with them for seven years now and I will never stop telling people just how lovely they are… Amelia’s Magazine owes an awful lot to them. Hell, they even talk me through existential crises (Alan has found me in tears on more than one occasion).

ACOFI-launch-Liz-Johnson-Artur-byLisaStannard
Lisa Stannard did my parents Bruce and Ursula – who I barely even ran into over the entire night. But I hear they had fun which is all good.

ACOFIlaunch-Amelia+Nicola-by LisaStannard
And then she also did me together with Nicola Woods of Beautiful Soul, she who designed my wonderful shrug.

HANNAH BULLIVANT by Natasha-Thompson
Natasha-Thompson-ACOFI-ELLIE-LOUGHRAN
Natasha-Thompson-ACOFI-KORAL-WEBB
Natasha Thompson came up trumps with pictures of earth contributor Hannah Bullivant and bloggers Ellie Loughran and Koral Webb. Read Koral’s blog here: much kudos to her for asking her tutors if I can lecture at her University in March. Which I will be.

disney-roller-girl-katie-harnett2
I got wind that Navaz Batliwalla of Disneyrollergirl had made it along to the launch although I didn’t get to meet her myself. I then found out that she “outed” herself just days later… there seems no better time to get her illustrated on the web. Here she is, by Katie Harnett.

cassius-katie-harnett
Who also could not resist a bit of Prince Cassius action. And why the hell not?

ACOFI cover by Ani Saunders
Ani Saunders of The Pipettes decided to create her own version of Andrea Peterson’s front cover for ACOFI. Just love it.

Amelia & Matt by Karina Yarv
Finally, Karina Yarv couldn’t resist herself a little bit of the action even though she wasn’t there, this wasn’t done from a party snap and she doesn’t appear in the book. Though doubtless she would have done if I’d met her earlier. Karina is just one of many illustrators who have done so much amazing work for Amelia’s Magazine in the past months. Thankyou so much, all of you, for being so so brilliant.

You can buy Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration here, with a special 10% if you use the discount code ACOFI LAUNCH up until the 28th February 2011. Please do buy a copy if you want to ensure this website keeps going strong to support both young creatives and people doing good in the world…

Categories ,6 Day Riot, ,Abigail Daker, ,ACOFI, ,Alan Flack, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Ani Saunders, ,Beautiful Soul, ,Cleide Carina, ,Courtney Blackman, ,Cyprus, ,Disneyrollergirl, ,Ellie Loughran, ,Emma Block, ,Erica Sharp, ,Faye West, ,Forward PR, ,Gareth A Hopkins, ,Gemma Milly, ,goodone, ,Hannah Bullivant, ,Illustration Rally, ,Jo Cheung, ,Joanna Cave, ,Karina Yarv, ,Katie Harnett, ,Kellie Black, ,Koral Webb, ,Lesley Barnes, ,liberty, ,Lisa Stannard, ,Martin Darby, ,Miss Pearl Grey, ,Monsoon, ,Mystery Jets, ,Natasha Thompson, ,Navaz Batliwalla, ,Nicola Woods, ,Nina Dolcetti, ,Prince Cassius, ,principal colour, ,Robots in Disguise, ,Sketchbook Magazine, ,Tamara Schlesinger, ,The Lovely Wars, ,The Pipettes, ,Will, ,Yelena Bryksenkova

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Amelia’s Magazine | Amelia’s Magazine 10th Anniversary Kickstarter Campaign: That Which We Do Not Understand

Amelias Magazine TWWDNU Kickstarter header
Amelia’s Magazine is 10 years old this year, and to celebrate I’m going back into a print!

I’m producing a limited edition gold foiled artists’ book and an exclusive series of A2 limited edition art prints with real gold leaf. Find out more in the video below:

Amelia Gregory at work 2014-AmeliasMagazine
This is where I work at my home just off Brick Lane in East London.

Amelia’s Magazine has continued as a web only magazine since I stopped making it in print, but remains a labour of love since I do not currently take any advertising or sponsored posts. Therefore, in order to realise my dream I am raising money through the Kickstarter crowd funding website. This is a very exciting and nerve-wracking time for me, because I must raise the entire amount of money in order to receive any of it. I therefore need to raise £12,000 (or more) in 24 days and I would love your help in doing so.

Amelias_magazine_TWWDNU_Cristian_Grossi_ver_sacrum
Ver Sacrum by Cristian Grossi. This flashing gif shows how the gold leaf might look on the fine art print.

How you can help:

Please share the campaign amongst your friends on social networks, via email and of course by word of mouth. We are using the hashtag #TWWDNU. It is especially important to drive traffic at the start and encourage Kickstarter to promote the campaign within the Kickstarter community, but every little share counts whenever that may be and I am very grateful for your time and effort.

Please choose one of the Kickstarter rewards for yourself from the campaign page. Pledge for rare back issues, books, hand screen printed t-shirts, postcards and of course the limited edition book and art prints. The book will not be available in many shops and I am offering rock bottom prices to early bird bidders to get the campaign rolling.

Amelias_magazine_TWWDNU_Essi_Kimpimäki_shamaness
Shamaness by Essi Kimpimäki.

A bit more about this project:

That Which We Do Not Understand 10th anniversary artists’ book:
The book features art and creative writing about That Which We Do Not Understand, a theme that will explore the many ways in which humans seek to understand the things that they don’t understand in their lives, inspired by my personal experience of two late miscarriages. The book is being printed on high quality recycled paper from Antalis by Principal Colour in Kent and features gold foil on the cover and gold spot printing throughout. The final publication will be beautiful and inspiring, full of thought provoking contributions that question and celebrate the miraculousness of life. The book will bring contributors’ work to a large audience, and better still, artists will receive 50% of profits from sales of the fine art prints, which will be made in editions of 10.

Amelias_magazine_TWWDNU_mateusz_napieralski_tribal_cumulus
Tribal Cumulus by Mateusz Napieralski (Gust of Wind).

The artworks and writing for the book have been found through an open brief on the Amelia’s Magazine website, which many of my readers will have already seen and perhaps even submitted to. The deadline has now been extended for Kickstarter, and closes on midnight (GMT) on Sunday 16th November so you can still submit work, but please do it sooner rather than later. The book will be designed as the campaign progresses and if everything goes to plan it will go to print in late November, and you will receive your copy in good time for Christmas. The launch party is planned for Thursday 11th December at Tatty Devine’s shop on Brick Lane, and the prints will be on exhibition until the end of the year. Any unsold prints will be available through the East End Prints website.

TWWDNU front cover collage meteors, meteor showers
Cover art prints:
These are A3 sized and will feature the cover image from That Which We Do Not Understand in abundant real gold leaf on the special shimmering gold cover stock that we are using for the book cover. I have not yet designed the cover art but you can be sure it will be eye-catching and amazing (see my inspiration above): think meteor showers and 10 Years on top of the Amelia’s Magazine logo encased in a flaming meteor… Grab a piece of Amelia’s Magazine history, and get in early to take advantage of my amazing early bird deal.

Amelias_magazine_TWWDNU_Niall_Grant_Mater_Gaia
Mater Gaia by Niall Grant.

Fine art prints:
I have chosen five artists for my first round of fine art gold leaf A2 prints: each has created a very beautiful and very different piece of art that will be printed up as an archival quality giclee print with hand applied REAL GOLD LEAF highlights by Harwood King. There will only be ten of each artwork available at the amazing price of £180, so make sure you order yours early and don’t miss out.

Amelias_magazine_TWWDNU_daria_hlazatova_the_empress
The Empress by Daria Hlazatova.

Pot Luck prints:
I am also offering prints at the cheaper price of £140, which must be purchased sight unseen – these are for those of you who trust my taste and are willing to take a bit of a gamble! The more pledges I receive the more prints will be produced, so I look forward to sharing those choices with you as they are made.

TWWDNU example images1
Example artwork from That Which We Do Not Understand (clockwise from top left) by Laura Wilson, Adam Corns, Sarah Tanat-Jones and Dorry Spikes.

TWWDNU example images 2
Example artwork from That Which We Do Not Understand (clockwise from top left) by Emma Farrarons, Maia Fjord, Sarah Parris and Yoko Furusho.

You can see sneak peaks of the artwork that is being created if you follow the #TWWDNU hashtag on twitter and instagram. Please do take a peek at more of the goodies below, then click on over and support my Kickstarter campaign page here. Thankyou so much!

Amelias-Magazine-Kickstarter-Rewards-postcards
12 exclusive postcards featuring a range of print processes (foiling, glitter, pearlescent ink) for only £5.

Amelias-Magazine-Kickstarter-Rewards-Back-issues-10-angle
Rare back issues for only £10.

Amelias_Magazine_issue6_Kickstarter_T_shirts
Beautiful hand screen-printed t-shirts at the rock bottom price of £25: perfect Christmas presents.

Amelias-Magazine-Kickstarter-Illustration-books-rewards
My two illustration books in a bundle for only £30, currently retailing for £23 each on Amazon in the UK.

Categories ,#TWWDNU, ,10 Years, ,Adam Corns, ,Antalis, ,Brick Lane, ,Creative Writing, ,Cristian Grossi, ,Daria Hlazatova, ,Dorry Spikes, ,East End Prints, ,Emma Farrarons, ,Essi Kimpimaki, ,Gust of Wind, ,Harwood King, ,illustration, ,Kickstarter, ,Laura Wilson, ,Maia Fjord, ,Mateusz Napieralski, ,Meteor, ,Meteor shower, ,Miscarriage, ,Niall Grant, ,Open brief, ,principal colour, ,Sarah Parris, ,Sarah Tanat-Jones, ,Shamaness, ,That Which We Do Not Understand, ,Ver Sacrum, ,Yoko Furusho

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Justin Hammond, Curator of the The Catlin Guide and Catlin Art Prize

A highly collectible work of art in itself, The Catlin Guide for 2012 is the premiere place to discover the best new graduate artists from across the UK. We decided to quiz curator Justin Hammond on the history of The Catlin Guide. Read on to find out more!

You are about to launch the 2012 edition of The Catlin Guide at the London Art Fair, between the 18th – 22nd of January at the Business Design Centre in Islington. What can people expect?
Due to the financial implications of most art fairs, galleries tend to pack out their stands with large and expensive statement pieces. So I’m going to do the opposite and curate a show of small scale drawings, photography and works on paper. I’ve asked artists like Gabriella BoydTom Howse to make very small paintings. I’m showing eleven artists from the Guide – a real mixture – and for most of them it’s the first time they’ve shown in that kind of environment. We’ll also be giving away copies of The Catlin Guide, of course.

Dark Green Fritillery on Wildlife Attracting Mix, installation by Alison Stolwood
.

You’ve picked 40 graduates for inclusion in the guide: what criteria determines who you pick, and what are you looking for?
Potential is the key criteria. I’m looking for artists with the ability and desire to progress and really make their mark in the art world over a prolonged period. Ultimately, I choose the final 40 artists but a big part of the initial long-list is made up of recommendations from course tutors, curators, collectors, gallerists, artists, critics and bloggers.

Rowena Hughes, twofold interleaf
Twofold Interleaf by Rowena Hughes.

What is your background?
I studied Art History in Manchester in the early 90′s, but didn’t open my first space in Hackney until 2005. Along with my brother, I ran MLIA in Broadway Market for a couple of years showing new grads and generally making it up as we went along. That was when I decided to start the prize and Catlin came on board as the sponsors almost immediately. The first year was held at the now defunct Ada Street Gallery with a first prize of £1000.


Portrait of the artist on vacation and the door opening for a Byronic Hero by Hannah Harkes.

How do you support the up and coming artists that you choose, so that their career gets off to the best start it can?
The Catlin Guide functions as an index; a bang-up-to-date ‘who’s who’ of the new wave in contemporary art, and that’s a great platform. If the Guide can help to facilitate exhibition opportunities or encourage interest from galleries and collectors, then I see it as a success. Last year, the winner of the Catlin Art Prize was awarded £5,000, whileCatlin bought work by participating artists and commissioned two new pieces for their collection, so there’s financial support too.


Catlin Art Prize 2008 at LSO St. Luke’s

How is The Catlin Guide related to the Catlin Art Prize, and how do they work alongside each other?
In a way, they’re quite separate. The Catlin Art Prize came first and The Catlin Guidewas initially a supplement to that and a way of documenting the shortlisting process. Now, I think The Catlin Guide has taken on its own identity and individual worth. All artists for the Prize are selected from the book, but there’s a gap of four months between publication and exhibition, so The Guide has its own lifespan.


Victoria Matkin‘s ‘Ladies in Waiting’ – Catlin Art Prize 2010 at Village Underground Victoria Matkin’s © Justin Green Photography.

What are your particular hot tips from the current batch of featured artists in the guide?
All 40 artists are in with a shout, but some are already streets ahead in terms of attention and publicity. The press will always focus on new grads from the Royal College of Art or other major schools, so I’m going to pick out Mandy Barker from De Montfort University and Hannah Harkes from Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen. I like the way that both artists are forging their own paths. Neither is primarily concerned with producing commercial work, but what they make is very desirable. Hannah is on a residency in Tallinn and has just sent me through a fantastic new piece called Desert Picnic Imposter. I’ll be showing it at the launch.


David Malone.

What has happened with previous artists that were featured? Have they gone onto great things, if so what?
The Catlin Guide is only three years old, but lots of artists have gone on to feature in high-profile exhibitions in the UK and abroad. Leah Capaldi and Joshua Bilton from the 2011 Guide have just finished showing as part of Bloomberg New Contemporariesand Noemie Goudal has been selected for Out of Focus: Photography, at the Saatchi Gallery in May. But I’m taking a long-term view; it’s all about what happens over the next decade or more.


Untitled byAli Kazim.

How is the guide itself produced and how do you ensure that it is a desirable object destined for collectibility?
The slipcase makes The Catlin Guide very expensive to produce but we’re not looking to make a profit or even recoup the production costs. We print a limited number so that all adds to its collectibility. The first edition has sold out and there are just a few of the 2011 edition remaining. OK, here’s the technical stuff: For the slipcase we’ve used Lockwood Green 135gsm from the GF Smith Colorplan range. The Guide itself is printed onto 170gsm Munken Polar. All the paper products are FSC certified. There are 128 pages.

TOM HOWSE - MOSSY LICHENS  (CATLIN GUIDE)
Mossy Lichens by Tom Howse.

Why did you decide to print your guide with Principal Colour? Was it important to use a printer based in the UK and if so why?
Catlin came across Principal Colour and we were impressed with their green credentials. Printing abroad was not an option due to the tight deadlines. It’s imperative that the information in the Guide is as relevant as possible, so we sign off in the week leading up to Christmas and publish in mid January. Principal Colour were prepared to go in and work on The Catlin Guide over the Christmas break.


Tom Howse at work.

For information on the design of the guide and tips for how future graduates can best make an impression on curator Justin Hammond make sure you visit the rest of this blog at the Principal Colour Tumblr feed. You can check out The Catlin Guide for 2012 at the London Art Fair between the 18th – 22nd of January at the Business Design Centre.

Categories ,Ada Street Gallery, ,Alex Ball, ,Ali Kazim, ,Alison Stolwood, ,Bloomberg New Contemporaries, ,Broadway Market, ,Business Design Centre, ,Catlin Art Prize, ,David Malone, ,De Montfort University, ,Desert Picnic Imposter, ,FSC certified, ,Gabriella Boyd, ,GF Smith Colorplan, ,Gray’s School of Art, ,Hannah Harkes, ,Joshua Bilton, ,Justin Hammond, ,Leah Capaldi, ,Lockwood Green, ,London Art Fair, ,Mandy Barker, ,MLIA, ,Moje Sabz, ,Mossy Lichens, ,Munken Polar, ,Noemie Goudal, ,Out of Focus: Photography, ,Peter Saville, ,principal colour

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Amelia’s Magazine | Ahoy there Amelia’s Magazine! What’s your fave Christmas song?

snowdragon-by-lorraine-nam

Illustration by Lorraine Nam

Back with post two on Christmas music. I hope post one was enlightening. Now let’s see what the chaps at Amelia’s Magazine love to listen to at Christmas time. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE xx

2000 miles by Karina Yarv

Illustration by Karina Jarv

Karina Jarv – Illustrator
Of course there are always a lot of favourite Christmas songs… It’s Christmas, information pills there is a fantastic mood in the air and you want to listen to something very old and familiar to you. The same thing is with me. ONE of my favourites is ‘White Christmas’ by Bing Crosby. But to be honest my current favourite is the ‘2000 miles’ cover by 6 Day Riot. Everything is so perfect there for me: magical voice, amazing sound… Yes, the original song is great, but this sounds a little bit more personal. When I hear this song I want to put the kettle on, take a warm bath and good book with me and wait for someone…very special…’to come back’ to me someday.

Amelia Xmas

Amelia Gregory

Amelia Gregory – Our Magazine Leader
Do they know it’s Christmas? from 1984 – because it reminds me of being young. I love that all the famous pop stars of the era are featured in it, but it was still so craply done – no stylists on hand in those days. Of course it was cheesy even then but I was given a 7″ for my birthday which I still treasure.

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And as I discovered watching the Frisky and Mannish show at the Lyric Theatre, it encompasses all the essential elements of a Christmas tune – obvious references to Christmas, innuendo, pathos, political context, bells and a sing-a-long chorus. An absolute classic.

Faye

Faye West

Faye West – Illustrator
So hard to choose, but it will have to be Mariah Carey‘s All I Want for Christmas (is that what it’s called?!), reminds me of being 14, in New Look shopping for a Christmas Disco outfit in 1998, the year we did a dance to Spice Girls for the Christmas assembly. I chose a gold glittery vest top with a blue velvet mini skirt as had Geri Halliwell in mind. The song makes so many of us excited. And then the fun of dancing to it in summery June in ‘Boombox’ a few years ago!

hippo-xmas-by-lorraine-nam

Illustration by Lorraine Nam

Lorraine Nam – Illustrator
I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas is my favourite Christmas song. It’s funny and silly and it has a great background story to it. The little girl ends up actually getting a hippopotamus and donates it to the local zoo. 

Martin from Principal Colour Amelia’s Book Publisher
Amelia has been working with Principal Colour since 2004. They have a close relationship, enabling her to do lots of new, experimental things when printing covers – like the pearlescent cover in the latest book, Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration available now here. Martin says his fave Christmas song is: Without doubt it has to be “merry xmas everybody” by slade, when I was young it was what Christmas was about and then when a bit older in the pubs was the sing along of choice (and apparently I used to look a bit like Noddy Holder – don’t know if that’s a compliment or not to be honest).

Matt Bramford Christmas Grump

Matt Bramford

Matt BramfordAmelia’s Magazine Fashion Editor
Mine is Jona Lewie’s Stop The Cavalry because it’s so silly and I get to do my infamous fawn dance.

slow club by karolina burdon

Illustration by Karolina Burdon

Hannah

Hannah Bullivant

Hannah Bullivant – Writer Contributor – craft extraordinaire
Ok my favourite christmas song is It’s Christmas and You’re Boring Me by Slow Club, because its beautiful…even though i feel the opposite about my mister, I just love it.

Rob photo

Robert Harris

Robert Harris – Writer Contributor
I love Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon. It’s got a lovely lilting, folky melody – it’s actually based on an old folk standard called Stewball. It’s a protest song about the Vietnam War, which makes it 100 times more meaningful than anything by Slade, and it’s one of the few credible Christmas songs. Well, until Yoko Ono starts singing…

Elvis-Christmas-Album-by-Mina-Bach

Illustration by Mina Bach

Mina Bach – Illustrator
The Elvis Christmas Album is an absolute MUST at Christmas for me!

jess_upperstreet

Jessica Furseth

Jessica Furseth – Writer Contributor
My favourite Christmas song is probably ‘Silent night’. It reminds me of what Christmas was like when I was a kid, when it was sort of magic. Where I grew up there weren’t really any Christmas-themed pop songs, so I don’t really like those as they don’t hold any significance for me. So yes, I like the old-fashioned songs.

Wham illustration by Avril Kelly

Illustration by Avril Kelly

Avril Kelly – Illustrator
Wham! Last Christmas. It is the ultimate cheesefest of Christmas songs, I hear it every Christmas in the car on the way to visit family and friends. Everyone always sings along loudly and rather terribly, it has to be said. It’s fun and cheesy and just I love it.

Abby Wright

Abby Wright – Illustrator
Well this is a hard question, I love Christmas songs, especially those I can sing or dance to. In particular I love Stop the Cavalry by Jona Lewie, Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon and Band Aid’s Do They Know it’s Christmas. My favourite ever though would have to be Merry Christmas Everybody by Slade. It makes me so happy, and it’s a song that i’m guaranteed to dance to and get a sore throat singing to! It’s fun, cheerful and just what Christmas should be. I hope one year soon we will have an actual Christmas song for Christmas number one again!

Jingle Bell Rock by Chloe Cook

Illustration by Chloe Cook

Chloe Cook – Illustrator
Jingle Bell Rock by Billy Idol. I’ve chosen this song because I absolutely L-O-V-E Billy Idol, and I also love Christmas, so it’s putting my two favourite things together. Also I just think that it’s quite a funny thing that such a massively known punk rocker has done a cutesy little Christmas song, and I think more people should listen to it!!

Daria Hlazatova – Illustrator
I know what you’ll say about my favourite Christmas song being “Jingle bells rock” by Bobby Helms – “cheeky!” Well, I first heard it as a child in “Home Alone: Lost in NYC” and loved it. Since then it became associated with this city until finally some years later I found myself in NYC at Christmas completely alone. I remember hearing this song when passing Macy’s and being hit by a wave of nostalgia. Cheeky dreams come true at Christmas, I thought! Hope your Christmas is a happy one!

Helen Martin

Me – Helen Matin

Helen Martin – Writer Contributor
Christmas TV by Slow Club is my favourite Christmas song. It makes me happy. Tender, honest, true and full of yearning. Gorgeous.

Categories ,6 Day Riot, ,Abby Wright, ,Amelia Gregory, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Amelia’s Magazine, ,Avril Kelly, ,band aid, ,Bobby Helms, ,books, ,Chloe Cook, ,Daria Hlazatova, ,Editor, ,Elvis, ,fashion, ,Faye West, ,Frisky and Mannish show at the Lyric Theatre, ,George Michael, ,Geri Halliwell, ,Hannah Bullivant, ,Helen Martin, ,Jessica Furseth, ,John Lennon, ,Jona Lewie, ,Karina Jarv, ,Karolina Burdon, ,Lorraine Nam, ,Macy’s, ,Mariah Carey, ,Matt Bramford, ,Mina Bach., ,New Look, ,new york, ,principal colour, ,publishing, ,Robert Harris, ,slade, ,Slow Club, ,Spice Girls, ,Wham!, ,Yoko Ono

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