Amelia’s Magazine | A Trip to Pontins Camber Sands Holiday Park with Toddlers

Pontins Camber Sands Review with Toddlers 4
A few weeks ago myself and some other Shoreditch mums took our 6 toddlers down to Pontins in Camber Sands. It was a cheap holiday in down season, meaning that we pretty much had the resort, wind and rain to ourselves. I’ve been to Pontins many times for ATP weekenders back in the day, but this was my first time doing it as a mum.

Pontins Camber Sands with Toddlers Amelia Snarfle
Pontins Camber Sands Review with Toddlers 2
We had a run of chalets along an entire ground floor row, so the kids loved racing between everyone’s identical ‘houses’. The idea being that we would dine together and then calm the little ones down in their own space, but this also meant we mums spent the evenings on WhatsApp. Rock n Roll!

Pontins Camber Sands Review with Toddlers Rye
Rye playground Inclusive Play
Our first day was a rainy affair, so we drove into Rye and headed straight into a cafe for hot drinks. Then we took the kids on a soggy tour of the town walls, culminating in a visit to a very boggy playground on the field below: cue much slippage in mud in the mizzle. On a plus note the swings were great! And there were some fun interactive smiley faces with embedded sounds to play with.

Pontins Camber Sands with Toddlers beach 2
Pontins Camber Sands with Toddlers beach
Camber Sands photo by Lily Lam
Photo courtesy of Lily Lam.

On Sunday we braved the wind to visit Camber Sands, but had to retreat inside before too long because the toddlers weren’t having any of it, despite the lucky find of a kite in the dunes. We were turfed out of one cafe for being too rowdy (honestly, toddlers, how dare they?) but ate chips in the friendlier place next door.

Pontins Camber Sands with Toddlers soft play
Pontins Camber Sands Review with Toddlers
Pontins Camber Sands with Toddlers 6
Pontins Camber Sands Review with Toddlers 3
Sadly the Pontins bouncy castle was not on offer, so we spent the afternoon in the soft play centre, trying to avoid the arcade machines and racing around the giant hall on the upstairs level, where I once saw the likes of Yoko Ono, Peaches and Bat for Lashes. Whenever I ask Snarf what his favourite bit of the day was he invariably says ‘running around’ and they had a ball in the huge open space.

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Pontins camber sands playground
Pontins Camber Sands with Toddlers 7
We had big plans to take advantage of the swimming pool but as always it seemed like too much drama, however the little ones loved having the choice of so many playgrounds on their doorstep, forcing us to race around the chalets after them. And they loved feeding the gulls (chuck a chip, watch them appear like magic from nowhere!)

Pontins Camber Sands with Toddlers chalet
So, Pontins, basic, a bit downmarket, but fun nonetheless. We are already planning our next destination en masse…

Categories ,Arcades, ,ATP weekender, ,Bat for Lashes, ,Bouncy Castle, ,Camber Sands, ,children, ,Family, ,Holiday, ,Holiday Park, ,Mumlife, ,Off Season, ,Peaches, ,playground, ,Pontins, ,review, ,rye, ,shoreditch, ,Sussex, ,Toddlers, ,Weekend, ,WhatsApp, ,What’s App, ,Yoko Ono

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Amelia’s Magazine | The School Creative Centre: Putting the Cool in School

A Saturday night in downtown Kilburn saw the long awaited (and, case decease considering it was recorded about 18 months ago, treat long overdue) launch of Horses for Courses, more about the debut album from Teesside trio Das Wanderlust. Taking the stage after sterling support from the ever wonderful Bobby McGees, the place of lead singer and keyboard player Laura Simmons was taken by the mysterious “Rock Wizard”, decked out like some prog-tastic spawn of the mid-70′s Rick Wakeman. But – lo and behold! – ‘twas indeed that cheeky scamp Laura underneath (the cape and false beard were in fact discarded because it was bloomin’ hot)!

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Das Wanderlust are one of those bands that can be guaranteed to divide opinion. So much so that, confusingly, the NME decided to produce a schizophrenic review which on the one hand raves about the album, whilst on the other describes one track (Sea Shanty) as “literally the worst song we’ve ever heard and annoying on an almost nuclear level” (guitarist Andy Elliott ruefully reminded the audience of this). Personally, I think they’re great.

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Musically, they are very reminiscent of X-Ray Spex, particularly Simmons’distinct vocal delivery, and late-70′s Fall. Crunchy guitars, buzzy 20p second hand Casio-style keyboards and melodies that don’t go quite where you expect, it’s a style that Das Wanderlust describe as “wrong pop”. The single Puzzle is what Elastica might have sounded like if they hadn’t spent all their time transcribing Wire and Stranglers albums whilst, conversely, the piano-based Turn to Grey has a very nursery-esque quality.

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One thing to say about Das Wanderlust is that in no way do they take themselves seriously on stage. After a little dig at the archetypal Shoreditch gig crowd, there is much onstage banter (which apparently led to a bit of a rebuke from a rather sniffy reviewer in Cardiff recently) and they appeared to be having so much fun that they didn’t realise they’d reached the end of their set.
Heading back to the distant north, I’m sure their hearts were gladdened by the response to their set and the generally positive reviews to Horses for Courses suggest that hopefully we shall be seeing much more of Das Wanderlust soon.

Live photos appear courtesy of Richard Pearmain
For the next few weeks, purchase London will be transformed under an umbrella of environmentalism and sustainability. Which ever corner of London is your turf, treatment you will find something to watch, shop learn, listen to or take part in. Love London: The Green Festival is the biggest green festival in Europe, and will be running from June 4th – June 28th. It will encompass hundreds of cheap and free events in and around the capital that will be categorised under three themes: Green Places, Green Living and Green Innovations. There will also be an onus on Eco – Thrift, a topical theme given the current climate that we are all facing. From a Love London Recycled Sculpture Show at the Wetland Centre in Barnes, Community Garden Open Days, London Farmers Markets Picnic on The Green, Eco-Cultural Festival…. the list seems almost infinite. That is before we include the talks aimed on sharing tips and ideas on how to live a more sustainable and green lifestyle.

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I spoke with the people behind Love London and asked a little bit more about what we can expect in the next few weeks.

What is the purpose of the Love London festival?
The purpose of the festival is to empower Londoners to build a more sustainable future for the Capital. The festival achieves this by bringing communities together to share ideas and celebrate innovations. It supports and promotes grass roots action.

What types of events take place during the Love London festival?
A huge range of events take place during the festival – all have an environmental /
sustainable focus. Events are organised by themes. The 2009 main theme is Green Places. Sample events: Culpeper Community Garden (growing veg in small spaces) Love London Recycled Sculpture Show, WWT London Wetland Centre, Waste Free Picnics Tour the Greenwich Eco-House.

Sister themes + sample events include Green Living Green Innovations, The Art of Green Cleaning Eco-Vehicle Rally (Brighton– London), Energy Doctor Surgeries Insider London – Eco Tours, There is also a cross-theme focus on Eco-Thrift this year – many events will teach Londoners how they can save money and save the environment eg Swap Shops and Energy Use surgeries.

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Illustration by Jessica Pemberton


Sustainability is a very topical subject matter isn’t it?

Very much so, obviously sustainability is always on the agenda, and this year we have a large aspect around eco-thrift. People think that sustainability will cost them more more but it will actually save them money.

How long has Love London been running?
The festival is now in its seventh year. Over the years it has grown from a weekend event to one week, then two and is now three weeks long. It has evolved from London Sustainability Weeks to Love London Green Festival. Starting with less than ten events it now offers hundreds.

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Events from previous Love London Green Festivals. Note the Naked Bike Ride of 2006!

How can Love London benefit the city and the lives of Londoners?
Love London events give Londoners the knowledge and inspiration to do their bit to make the Capital cleaner and greener. As the festival spreads the word and people take action the city will become a more pleasant place for all.
The main theme for 2009 encourages Londoners to celebrate and protect the city’s vital Green Places. Londoners will get out cleaning up rivers and carrying out conservation work as well as enjoying the space with picnics in the park and nature craft workshops. The Love London Recycled Sculpture Show is a highlight event.

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The Heron is the focal piece in the Recycled
Sculpture Show. It is by the artist Ptolemy Elrington and has been
made from old shopping trolleys dragged out of a canal.

Who organises the festival?
It’s a partnership of like minded charities such as London 21 Sustainability Network,
The London Environment Co-ordinators Forum, London Community Recycling
Network
, London Sustainability Exchange, The Federation of City Farms and
Community Gardens, London Civic Forum, Sponge, Government Office for London,
Open House, Global Action Plan and The Mayor of London.

Click here to find out more about Love London Green Festival.
Henry Hudson is a strange chap. I’m absolutely sure of this, ambulance though the only evidence I have is his art. I’ve seen plenty of wacky art made by otherwise normal people. You can usually tell. But this is the real deal. Luscious gilt picture frames house these extraordinary works which don’t so much update Hogarth as render a more visceral, visit web decaying Hogarth. The works currently on show at the Trolley Gallery on Redchurch Street in Shoreditch are drawn from the Rake’s Progress and Harlot’s Progress series. They are details and deteriorations. And they are paintings made of plasticine, stained with tea.

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Hudson’s selection of the imagery brings us the moment when squalour invades the Eighteenth Century gentleman’s oasis of luxury. Everything is opulence bought with bad debts that are just turning nasty. A beautiful wall mounting for a candle tries to maintain its dignity beneath menacing cracks in the cieling. It feels like a very contemporary concern, refracted through a prism of history which we are doomed to repeat.
Fundamentally, these are works which straddle being good fun art, and being a veiled threat. It’s original, and supremely confident work, and leaves me in no doubt about one thing: Henry Hudson is a strange chap.

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On the other side of Shoreditch, Roman Klonek is exhibiting his stunningly vibrant woodcuts. 20th Century Russian Propaganda jostles with the lowbrow feel of Fantagraphics comix or some of Spumco‘s more knowing animation.

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Some of this is really stark and simple. A hairy-faced man does some ironing, but somehow it turns into an existential moment for him, but then, wait; that is filtered somehow through the bold and bright cuteness of it all. It’s as if Camus were a gonk. Other scenes are more complex, with a few figures going about their business, totally isolated from one another. I was reminded of some of Balthus’s better works, but with colour sense that comes purely from early comics.

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Some of the most striking works are laid out as comic book front covers, in fact, with text in Polish, Russian, and Japanese. Klonek’s work is seriously slick, and his background in graphics show’s through. Almost all of these prints made me wish there wre an animated TV show which made almost no sense and looked just like a Klonek. There’s just something about his associations betwen the cartoon world and the exotic characters of foriegn alphabets and spellings that draws you in and thrills. Judging by the little red dots appearing by the works, I’m not the only one who felt the need for a some Klonek in my life.

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Henry Hudson is at the Trolley Gallery until July 25, while Roman Klonek closes at Kemistry Gallery on May 30.
Last night Amelia’s Magazine had an office trip to the Proud Galleries in Camden, viagra order to visit the House of Diehl’s Style Wars, clinic a concept first brought to Brick Lane in 2002 promoting the art of ‘instant couture’. Since then it has evolved into a competition on an international level, approved holding heats in New York, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong and Johannesburg, and last night was the only European stopover.

The New York Times described it as like “an old-school MC Battle, with one crucial difference: they spit out rhymes where these guys spit out style”. My goodness! Almost too edgy to take.

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The night involved two teams squaring up against one another through several rounds, creating an outfit in a five minute slot before sending it down the catwalk to be goggled at by the crowd, and then dissected by a celebrity panel including VV Brown, Jodie Harsh, photographer Perou and Joe Corre.

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Citing as inspiration the transformative capacities of clothes through recycling them, as seen with Margiela and Viktor & Rolf, the designers used everything from the clothes on their own backs, to raw materials like clingfilm, duct tape and paper, cricket shin pads, badminton rackets and even beer coasters to a variety of themes.

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It’s a very public creation of art (somehow we can’t imagine Margiela himself taking part) that relies on our ability to conceive fashion as ephemeral, so essentially polarising itself to the credit crunch inclination towards investment purchases – instead suggesting there’s a more creative (and indeed, environmentally friendly) way of making a garment last longer.

In a way I like this idea of ‘momentary’ fashion especially when trends are practically over before you’ve even put your socks on first thing in the morning, and Style Wars came from the idea that if you enjoy going out, your clothes aren’t going to last. So if you only need an outfit to last for a night, maybe five minutes is all you need to put it together.

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It’s a fashion blitzkrieg that with a timeframe that might pose a variety of questions. ‘Style’ is a self-contained label that pretty much covers what went down here: it’s style over substance, but how can you create anything else in five minutes? Is it this just for an evening or is it really possible to be conceptual and interesting in five minutes? It is just art if it barely toes the line of the functional aspect that supposedly distinguishes fashion from art?

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There were definitely some neat ideas even if the looks were sometimes holistically unsatisfactory: I particularly liked the inflatable aeroplane cushion used as an Elizabethan ruff, some puff sleeves courtesy of a pair of lampshades, and eventual winner David’s creation of a jumpsuit out of a boring old suitbag – I thought it properly captured the spirit of the evening and was humorously self-referential.

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Style Wars seemed like a purely creative exercise extraneous to the business side of fashion where conceptual design was really rewarded, which is a really liberating idea, but I felt the reference to Margiela was an unnecessarily highbrow one. This is after all ‘instant couture’ and most of the outfits were barely functional, even sometimes falling apart. But this isn’t really the point. Being part of a baying crowd was something you wouldn’t get to do at a real fashion show, so Style Wars is definitely an opportunity to let loose your inner hooligan and just have a drink and a jolly old time. That’s certainly worth five minutes of your time.

Photos: Courtesy of Errol Sabodosh

If you were under the impression that during these times of economical downturn the arts for most people, troche local councils and national governments took a back burner, price you would be very much mistaken. All that is required, for sale the School Creative Centre would argue, is a refocus of relevance, access and opportunity.

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By using a decommissioned school building to bring together professional artists of all persuasions, some of whom take up residency and produce work on a rotational basis, The School Creative Centre has it’s sights set high for new community engagement in the arts. The first year over with and the Centre has already established itself as a thriving visionary initiative attracting talent such as painter Nicholas Archer. Speaking about the benefits of sharing creativity in a communal environment he says “I have been working as a professional artist for ten years, often quite a solitary experience and The School Creative Centre provides a fantastic opportunity to work in a stimulating environment with other creative professionals”.

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Nicholas Archer, Resident Artist

Professor Val Williams is another member of the School Creative Centre family. During her career as a photographer and author she has amassed around 40 years of archived records which have come out of storage and are now happily housed at The School for researchers to access. The school provides a welcome antidote to the cut-throat money-spinning art world we may be used to in the capital and signaling a return to a more altruistic communal way of producing and sharing creativity in an environment that prides its self on striving for excellence as well as supporting the local community.

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At the heart of the School are Ian Ross, Christine Harmar-Brown and Nikki Tompsett who all arrived from notable artistic backgrounds in theatre, fine arts and educational project management. Taking over the building in 2008 and transforming it from Freda Gardham School into the creative centre it is today was no easy task. Situated in Rye, East Sussex, it is a world away from the hectic art scenes of London or nearby Brighton, but is able to offer it’s locals top of the range facilities and a programme of classes, talks, workshops and demonstrations. They receive their funding from the Arts Council, , East Sussex County Council and Rother District Council, as well as from hiring the space out for corporate events and the tickets they sell to performances such as the upcoming ‘Class and Corruption’ in June, based on Brecht’s Threepenny Opera.

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Jillian Eldridge Resident Artist

The sheer range of space and opportunity is startling. A theatre with 150 seating capacity; a rehearsal space ideal for dance or yoga; experimental spaces, studio spaces of varying size and privacy, a café and a well stocked library to name a few. In terms of activities you can take part in anything from life drawing to bookbinding, jazz dance to turntablism, run by experts in their fields and aimed at promoting inclusion and engagement particularly for the younger generations in society.

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Danny Pocket Drawing Mentor

Local MP in the area, Michael Foster, wants to encourage this reclaiming of buildings for good causes instead of leaving shops and public spaces emptied during the recession to remain unused and become derelict. “That might mean new community uses, new spaces for arts and crafts, new premises for small start-up businesses, community cafes, and spaces for social enterprises and the voluntary sector.” It has also been announced that consider sums of money, we’re talking six figures here, have been designated by central Government to help communities across the country find creative ways to fill empty spaces and remove the negative impact that unused buildings have on society as a whole. It seems we can all look to The School Creative Centre in Rye for inspiration and encouragement that it can, and will, be done.

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Lorna Crabble Bookbinding Mentor

How would you creatively use a reclaimed space?

Categories ,Community, ,Reclaimed Building, ,Rye, ,School Creative Centre

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Victoria Foster of The Aviary

the aviary Darling Jane Detachable Peter Pan Collar
Victoria wears the Darling Jane Detachable Peter Pan Collar.

The Aviary is the brainchild of two fine art graduates, Victoria Foster and Ben Fletcher. In late 2009 the project began life as a way of upcycling the ever-growing array of clutter that surrounded these inveterate magpies, by re-appropriating curios as jewellery, charms and stationary. The couple have a commitment to living mindfully in all they do: read on to discover more about their inspiring outlook on life, where to hang out in Kent, and how their latest illustration collaboration came about.

the aviary Autumn Breeze vintage pendant
Autumn Breeze vintage pendant.

the aviary kent
Hello! firstly, I didn’t realise you live in Kent. What took you to Kent and whereabouts are you? What do you recommend that visitors to your part of the world should do? 
Hello! Well, we came to university in Canterbury and haven’t been able to tear ourselves away from Kent since! Recently many of our friends and contemporaries have made their way to the bright lights of East London, and although we’re often there, we made a conscious decision to reject the trend and have now set up our home and studio on the stunning North Downs, between rolling fields and a forest! Perhaps growing up on the outskirts of the Big Smoke spoiled the magic a bit.

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Ben in the woods.

If you’re heading away from London for a day or two, these are some of our fail-safe favourites! Maybe we should get sponsorship from the Kent tourist board?! Stour Valley Arts is based in Kings Wood on our doorstep, and most loved works have to include Jem Finer’s Score for a Hole in the Ground and London Field Works Super Kingdom.

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The second Folkestone Triennial took place last summer and the town now houses an array of permanent artworks by artists such as Cornelia Parker and Mark Wallinger that allow you to encounter a faded seaside town with fresh eyes. There’s also some interesting creative collectives like Diver School who provide good nights out and a great burgeoning underground music scene thanks to Box Social Records who put on great gigs. Very excited about Tall Ships on Wednesday 1st February!

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Turner Contemporary in Margate has a brilliant programme of exhibitions, and the Old Town is now full of gorgeous vintage stores like Showtime Retro, cafes and independent, ethical shops like Blackbird that champion designer-makers as well as running great workshops. And of course, there’s the cobbled streets of Canterbury where coffee at Boho is a must, then seasonal food, cocktails and bad dancing into the early hours at The Farmhouse.

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Summer is the best time to be here for impromtu beach gatherings, sea swimming and woodland walks. It really comes to life with the yearly arrival of Lounge on the Farm music festival. Sondry Folk’s inaugural jamboree was pretty special last year too.

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The Aviary grew out your love of hoarding charity shop finds, something that I suffer from myself, any tips on how to make the most of such finds within the home?
Ha! Well, our studio is in a state of perpetual chaos, and is in serious danger of looking like a room from Grey Gardens. However, since relocating to the sticks we have been a lot stricter with what vintage and thrifted finds are allowed across the threshold from our workshop and into our home. We’re in no way stylists but do both love domestic interiors. As a rule of thumb we favour decorative yet genuinely functional objects. Either they must be of use at home, or work well as props to display our work against. Obviously there have been a few special exceptions! Small grouped collections are always better than cluttered surfaces, and mixing up the old with new and handmade stops our house looking like a local history museum, or worse still, a care home! One of the best things about living in Kent is that bargains can still be found in local charity shops, boot sales and flea markets. We picked up our antique organ for a fiver, a beautiful 1920s portable typewriter for £3.50 and an ornate gold mirror out of a skip!

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Charm pendant.

Your products are exquisitely made, can you tell us something of the process? Do you ever find it hard to dismantle or cut up old things?
Thank you! We place a lot of importance on craftsmanship. We’re both pretty fastidious about the finish of our products so it’s lovely to know it shows. A clear desk, a box of favourite finds, a sketchbook and pen, scalpel, pliers, piercing saw and files, blowtorch and solder, along with patience, tea and 6music are the bare essentials at the start of our design process! All of our jewellery and accessories are, wherever possible, made from reclaimed, recycled or preloved items. Gathering these disparate fragments of vintage ephemera, taking them apart and then making temporary collages from them is always the first process in translating them into new, one-of-a-kind pieces. Sometimes the decision to dismantle a particularly old, or rare item can be difficult, but usually the items that we are using have already come to the end of their previous useful lives either through decay or neglect so we feel that we’re rescuing them from being lost to landfill, or simply forgotten about. It’s as much about uncovering aspects of lost stories as it is about upcycling existing materials.

the aviary pocket watch case collage pendant
pocket watch case collage pendant.

Why is it so important to you to be sustainable in your business practice?
Without wanting to sound trite, we really see The Aviary as an extension of the way we’re trying to live. For us, being in an incredibly rural community is about learning to slow down a bit, adopting a more sustainable lifestyle. We feel it’s impossible to justify cheap mass produced items and a ‘throwaway’ attitude when the impact of climate change and the strain on resources is already so evident. Therefore the only option left to us as contemporary designer-makers is to create sensitively and responsibly. As makers, it is also wonderful to see a design through from start to finish. Thankfully, we also adore the aesthetic of low impact materials!

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How did you get from fine art to handmade limited edition products? Were there any bumpy moments along the way and how does your partnership work?
Our practices always seemed to mix fine art concepts with craft-based techniques so the transition has mostly felt like a natural progression. We still employ many of the same skills too, such as illustration, collage, assemblage and small sculpture. After our degrees we were both still making work, exhibiting and interning for artists and arts organizations, but working within the confines of limited studio access and equipment meant we started to reassess things. The final ‘change’ came after taking part in the 2009 Art Car Bootfair with our collective, Club Shepway. Selling our first, unofficial range of miniature fine art works and curios went down a storm. We haven’t looked back since! As a partnership we work alongside one another to create overlapping bodies of work that then form our collections comprising of individual pieces. It’s so helpful to have someone to share ideas with and perhaps enables us to be more ambitious yet playful. The only thing that is less fun is bickering over who does the greater share of the admin! There are still bumpy moments, mostly involving money and time, but on the whole it’s been brilliant. It has taken a couple of years to shake off the art school guilt and officially ‘come out’ as designer-makers, but we’re getting more confidence in the integrity and worth of our products.

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Harriet Gray illustration collaboration.

You have recently collaborated with some illustrators, including Gemma Milly who appears in ACOFI, how did you hook up with them and what were you looking for in a potential collaborator?
To be honest, the collaborative projects stemmed from frustration! Surrounded by a sea of half-made collections, half drunk cups of tea, scrawled lists, collages and quick sketches we felt in desperate need of some fresh perspectives – something that we probably took for granted whilst at art school. We put a call out via Twitter asking for young illustrators who would consider working with us to communicate the nostalgia and uniqueness of our trinkets and treasures and reflect back the kind of girl they thought would wear our jewellery. We were completely taken aback by the number of creatives at similar points in their careers who also wanted to join forces but quickly settled on three incredible illustrators – Harriet Gray, Gemma Milly and Scarlett Rebecca, not only because of their amazing technical skills, but because we felt that they, and their work shared a similarity in spirit to ours.

gemma milly illustration collab
Gemma Milly illustration collaboration.

What have you produced with these illustrators?
The girls each created a range of beautiful illustrations using a selection of samples we sent them as their starting points. They took our trinkets and treasures and translated them into something more than the objects themselves. In return, we are now in the process of making a small collection of pendants and brooches based on their illustrations. This collection won’t be for sale but will be documented and shown online alongside the original drawings. The project has opened up new and exciting dialogues about our work and has really helped push fledgling ideas forward, as well as being really fun!

scarlett rebecca illustration collaboration
Scarlett Rebecca illustration collaboration.

You are featured on Not On the High Street, a great website for independent designers. How did you get together?
Well, we’d heard a little about NOTHS.com through friends and fellow designer-makers. After making some tentative enquiries we were really pleased to be invited to become a ‘partner’. It seems to be a brand that lends another layer of credibility and professionalism to our little venture, which has helped with making other retail and press contacts. We’ve been impressed with the functionality of the site and the control we’ve been given over the content of our ‘shop front’ with them. They’re very supportive of young businesses and allow us real flexibility.

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Deer one pendant.

Where else can you buy Aviary products? 
We’re so lucky to stock with some fantastic independent shops across the UK! We currently have collections on sale with Of Cabbages & Kings in London, Pretty Scruffy in Chichester, Chapter Arts gallery shop in Cardiff, Made in the Shade in Glasgow and in the very near future we’ll also have ranges available at Moonko in Sheffield and Lionstreet Store in Rye.

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double sided pendant.

If you want to come and see us in person we’ll be at Love Handmade? Valentine’s Fair in London on Saturday 11th February as well as the Designers/Makers market at Old Spitalfields throughout the year.

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What are you most excited about working on at the moment?
So many things! In some ways, this is the best time of the year for us because it’s the recovery time following the Christmas rush. We’re currently developing new collections looking at charms and amulets because of having this time to be playful. And we’re having a bit of breathing space to concentrate on other side projects, such as Ben’s Tatterattles EP release on Holy Ghost Records. We’re also really excited about other future collaborations, putting together a ‘proper’ look book with a great photographer, and having chats with potential summer interns!

Categories ,Art Car Boot Fair, ,Autumn Breeze vintage pendant, ,Ben Fletcher, ,Blackbird, ,Boho, ,Box Social Records, ,Canterbury, ,cardiff, ,Chapter Arts, ,Chichester, ,Club Shepway, ,Cornelia Parker, ,Darling Jane Detachable Peter Pan Collar, ,Designers/Makers, ,Diver School, ,Folkestone Triennial, ,Gemma Milly, ,Grey Gardens, ,Harriet Gray, ,Jem Finer, ,jewellery, ,Kings Wood, ,Lionstreet Store, ,London Field Works, ,Lounge on the Farm, ,Love Handmade? Valentine’s Fair, ,Margate, ,Mark Wallinger, ,Moonko, ,North Downs, ,Of Cabbages & Kings, ,pocket watch case collage pendant, ,Pretty Scruffy, ,rye, ,Scarlett Rebecca, ,Score for a Hole in the Ground, ,sheffield, ,Showtime Retro, ,Sondry Folk, ,Stour Valley Arts, ,Super Kingdom, ,sustainable, ,Tall Ships, ,Tatterattles, ,The Aviary, ,The Farmhouse, ,Turner Contemporary, ,Upcycling, ,Victoria Foster

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Amelia’s Magazine | Boo, Forever introduce the video for Motif

Boo Forever ghost faces by Benjamin Fletcher

Boo Forever by band member Benjamin Fletcher.

Kent based band Boo, Forever are a collective who make woozy lo-fi electronica. As they get ready to support Casual Sex at the brand new Ramsgate Music Hall this Sunday, I caught up with band member Simon Norton to find out the inspiration behind Motif, the album opener which comes accompanied by hypnotic video featuring footage from the infamous bonfire celebrations in Rye.

Boo Forever monster

Simon explains: Motif is the opening song of the album and fittingly so as it’s an edited recording of the first time we ever sat in a room together to write. We just gathered around this little microphone and played with ideas; this one came out sounding cool so Daniel Addison fiddled and made nice with it.

It’s actually the only track on the album that was put together in such a way. To write and record the rest of the songs we would all just drop in on Dan when we could and lay down little bits and bobs; Dan’s studio is very much a bedroom studio and really tiny. It was magic hearing the songs take shape like this; I’d return to sing or play something and they’d be all these new elements that would in turn give me new ideas. This meant that there was this constant kind of spontaneity to it all and each songwriter could do their thing and trust in Dan to pull it all together.

We liked the idea that the first thing we recorded would be the first thing people hear, so we asked our fashion designer friend Helga daFonseca to work on a video with us for Motif. I think maybe when talking about what we were doing I might have made our process of bringing our little musical offerings to Dan sound a bit ritualistic as Helga wanted to explore rituals with the visuals. We took a train and a camera down to record the Bonfire Societies in Rye and there’s cool found footage in there too. I love it; it’s woozy like the song.

So now we are real excited for people to hear the album and to hear our live interpretation of the songs too. We have fiddled with the songs again to make them work live which has been a whole lot of fun and means they are still evolving and adapting like they were when we were writing.

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Hear more from Boo, Forever here. The album is out now on Something Something Records. Buy tickets for their Sunday gig here. They play at Stepping Stone Studios in Maidstone on the 5th of April and are included on the line up for City Sound Project in Canterbury this May.

Categories ,Benjamin Fletcher, ,Bonfire Societies, ,Boo Forever, ,City Sound Project, ,Daniel Addison, ,Helga daFonseca, ,kent, ,Motif, ,Ramsgate, ,Ramsgate Music Hall, ,rye, ,Simon Norton, ,Something Something Records, ,Stepping Stone Studios, ,video

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