principal colour – AmeliasMagazine

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Tuesday December 6th, 2011 12:15 pm

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

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

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

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.

Written by Miranda Williams on Monday January 30th, 2012 1:41 pm

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

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…

Written by Amelia Gregory on Tuesday October 18th, 2011 9:04 pm

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

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!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday February 23rd, 2012 3:58 pm

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

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.

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.