Amelia’s Magazine | Hobbs AW10 Fashion Collection Press Day Preview

Hobbs-Press Day AW2010

Now, page I don’t normally write blogs about high street clothes shops. But I’m gonna break my rule this time. Earlier this week I went along to the Hobbs press day in their flagship store in Covent Garden – basically just because I was invited and I’ve never been to one of their press days before. I had absolutely no expectations of it, drug since I’ve rarely set foot inside a Hobbs store since I developed a bit of a Bertie shoe fetish in my teen years (the late 80s if you must know). Bertie was once associated with the Hobbs brand, but I’m not sure if it is anymore.

Hobbs-Press Day AW2010

I managed to sashay confidently past the girl on the door girl, “where did you say you were from?” said she, eyeing up my haphazard approach to dressing with curiosity. Then I manoeuvred myself away from what promised to be a lengthy guided tour through each garment in the collection, nearly sending a mannequin crashing in my eagerness to reach the back of the room. And, I was how shall we say it… pleasantly surprised. Straight away I made a beeline for a lovely gold pine cone necklace, taking in the general fruity folk colours of the NW3 collection. Accessories are one of Hobbs’ strongpoints and there was a nice display of cute jewellery and coloured patent bags.

Hobbs-Press Day AW2010
Hobbs-Press Day AW2010

But I was anxious not to waste too much time, so when one of the immaculate PR ladies glided over (I always feel like a bedraggled mess by comparison) I quickly explained that I was only looking for either designer led collaborations or ethical ranges. AHA! She led me towards a young man, standing in front of a rail and eager to pounce on journalists. I was introduced; this was Dean Thomas, designer of the high end Artisan collection, which sources all of its materials and is manufactured within the UK.

Hobbs-Press Day 2010-Dean Thomas
Hobbs-Press Day 2010-Dean Thomas
Dean Thomas describes the Artisan collection.

Dean was chosen straight out of Central Saint Martins precisely because he found all the materials for his final collection from within a 50 mile radius of his home town in Somerset. He held up a few pieces from the AW10 collection for me and I have to say, it was absolutely gorgeous. He’s created a stunning pleated evening dress out of the most unlikely of materials: a waxed cotton similar to the type that gets used in Barbour jackets. Then there’s a lovely stripy mohair coat and a super long evening dress with an elegant train. All the wool comes from Jacob sheep in Scotland and a pretty print was manipulated digitally from a photo of virulent purple Scotts thistles. I was pretty impressed I tells thee. Apparently in 2008 Hobbs was given a good shake up with the appointment of Sandy Vernon as creative director (she used to work at Next and Jaeger), and if this is what she’s doing then she’s onto a winner.

Hobbs-Press Day AW2010
Hobbs-Press Day AW2010

I then got pulled over to meet Karen Boyd, formerly of Boyd & Storey, and shown through her domain; the Limited Edition collection. She too has moved over from Jaeger, where her trademark style – elegant tailoring mixed with feminine details such as faux embroidered prints and little lace collars – was given credit for turning around the once fusty label. This collection is beautiful too, but sadly only the goat skins used in the long haired cape are sourced locally. “They’re a by-product of the meat industry, we don’t use fur.” Most of the clothes are of course made in the far east. As, no doubt, is the pine cone necklace that I had so admired earlier, but I was nevertheless a super happy bunny to discover the very same necklace in my press goodie bag. Comfortingly heavy, it’s been living around my neck ever since, a rare accolade.

Hobbs-Press Day AW2010
Hobbs-Press Day 2010-Karen Boyd
Karen Boyd talks me through the Limited Edition collection.

All in all I left pleasantly surprised. I think it is to be applauded when a large high street retailer such as Hobbs is confident enough to produce a whole range of beautifully made clothes in the UK, at a price point that will still be affordable to many (if not me). Now if only more retailers were to sit up and take note.

Categories ,Artisan, ,Barbour, ,Bertie, ,Boyd & Storey, ,Central Saint Martins, ,Dean Thomas, ,Hobbs, ,Jacob Sheep, ,Jaeger, ,Karen Boyd, ,Limited Edition, ,Local, ,Next, ,Press Day, ,Press Gift, ,Sandy Vernon, ,scotland, ,wool

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Amelia’s Magazine | Corrie Nielsen: London Fashion Week S/S 2013 Catwalk Preview Interview

Interview with Corrie Nielsen, Illustration by Rosa ad Carlotta Crepax, Illustrated Moodboard
Corrie Nielsen S/S 2012 preview by Rosa and Carlotta Crepax, Illustrated Moodboard.

Fashion designer Corrie Nielsen has been wowing us here at Amelia’s Magazine for a number of seasons so we were very excited to discover that for S/S 2013 she has worked in close partnership with Kew… here she describes how the collaboration came about and what we can expect from the new Kew inspired collection.

I am very excited about your upcoming S/S 2013 show, which was done in conjunction with Kew Gardens: how did this relationship come about?
I knew that I wanted to base the season on plants and flowers, so the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew was the natural first port of call. It is one of my favourite spaces in London. The whole studio went to Kew together and we took countless photos, which are plastered all over the studio walls. My PR, Courtney Blackman, ended up meeting Kew’s Chairman of the Board at an event and if you know her, she makes things happen. The rest is history. They were really excited that my collection would be all about Kew.

Corrie Nielsen Corrie thinking about plants on a bench under a tree at Kew
Corrie Nielsen Peony 038_Pae_dau_ - from KEW ARCHIVE
Your interest in history is well known, how did you take inspiration from the original documentation of Charles Darwin’s journeys, which are stored in the Kew libraries?
After the first studio trip to Kew, I took a secondary trip with my business partners and that’s when we got to explore the seed libraries, browse through Darwin’s original letters, etc. I’m fascinated by the concept of Darwin’s ‘The Origin of the Species’ – seeing his letters was an unbelievable honour. I’ve taken that concept and really explored it by researching actual blueprints of plants and flowers. The complexity is staggering and in tranfering the research into the clothes, I’ve really had to employ serious engineering to some of my more sculpted pieces .

Corrie Nielsen Swarovski Collective by Catherine Moody
Corrie Nielsen S/S 2013 preview illustration by Catherine Moody.

Can we expect to see any other influences from Kew – for example are there any particular seeds, flowers, trees or other plants that have inspired the new collection?
Tulips, peony roses and even the Victorian glass houses of Kew influence the range.

Corrie Nielsen Stairs in a glass house at Kew
Corrie Nielsen One of my favourite shapes at Kew
How do you process this information? eg do you take photos and then create mood boards?
Photos, photos, photos and I study individual specimens. My studio walls are one giant mood board. I also research a lot online for further development once I have the concept in mind.

Corrie mood board
Corrie Nielsen The Peacock
How often have you visited Kew in preparation for this season’s catwalk show? Any particularly fond memories that you can share with us…
I’ve gone a couple of times and had a very friendly experience with one of the garden’s peacocks. Being able to go into the seed libraries and seeing all the varied specimens that Kew works with was staggering.

corrie mood
What kinds of fabrics feature in the new collection and where were they sourced from?
I’m working with a lot of silk: metal-infused silks, gradient silks and cotton and lightweight wool. I source most of my fabrics from France.

Corrie Nielsen Team Corrie Nielsen at Kew
What else can we expect from the show in terms of styling and production?
Rebekah Roy will be styling the show and for a second season, Emma Yeo will be creating headpieces. She’s so talented. AOFM Pro’s Yin Lee is doing the makeup again – I love working with her. She really gets the brand. TONI&GUY are doing the hair and we are working exclusively with M&P Models, so every single model on the catwalk will be from M&P. And lastly, once again my collection will be named after a Medieval Latin word…

Corrie Nielsen by Zulekha Lakeca
Corrie Nielsen by Zulekha Lakeca.

Corrie Nielsen shows at the BFC space on Friday 14th September 2012. After London Fashion Week Corrie Nielsen will be exhibiting in Paris at Vendôme Luxury Tradeshow at Le Meurice Hotel, 75001.

Categories ,AOFM Pro, ,Catherine Moody, ,Charles Darwin, ,Corrie Nielsen, ,Courtney Blackman, ,Emma Yeo, ,Illustrated Moodboard, ,Kew, ,Le Meurice Hotel, ,M&P Models, ,Rebekah Roy, ,Rosa and Carlotta Crepax, ,Royal Botanic Gardens, ,The Origin of the Species, ,Vendôme Luxury Tradeshow, ,Yin Lee, ,Zulekha Lakeca

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Amelia’s Magazine | Mildred the Surfing Sheep works her charm for Finisterre.


David LaChapelle’s ‘Rape of Africa’, viagra order illustrated by Lisa Stannard.

I first discovered the deliciously decadent fantasy world of David LaChapelle as a spotty teenager when I used to flick through my stylish older sister’s copies of Vogue. His sexed-up, approved over-the-top, glitzy style and explosive colour schemes – which shamelessly celebrated glamour, popular culture and materialism – were mesmerising, especially to a shy thirteen year old whose most fashionable outfit was an all-in-one stone-washed denim number (this was the first time around when it wasn’t cool).

Over the years, in a fantastic plastic kind-of-way, I have grown to admire LaChapelle’s razor sharp aesthetic, despite the crass nature of some of his chosen themes. Amongst celebrity and fashion circles, he is a master when it comes to knowing what makes a pretty picture so when I heard that his first political show, controversially entitled ‘Rape of Africa’, had opened at Robilant and Voena in Mayfair, I bolted down to the gallery like a horse on speed to check out the kitsch king’s take on more serious affairs.

Having turned his attention to fine-art in recent years, LaChapelle’s latest work is an open critique of western consumerism, presented as a mash-up of Italian Renaissance art and his glossy signature style. The show lends its name to the centre-piece, a tribute to Botticelli’s ‘Venus and Mars’, with a modern day twist. At first glance the photograph features a regal and supine looking Naomi Campbell as Venus in elegant tribal attire with one breast exposed and a handsome semi-naked model, Caleb Lane, as Mars in a post-coital state, surrounded by young angelic boys. On closer examination the boys are carrying guns and Mars is casually resting a finger on a gold human remain, possibly an arm/leg bone, with gold hand grenades, treasures and a diamond-encrusted skull scattered beneath him, in contrast to the African Venus’s more modest surroundings of a goat and cockerel. Behind the opulence, a hole is blown through a neon-lit montage of ‘Sun Bleach’, an American-stylised brand of detergent, to reveal a war-torn landscape with several cranes busy at work, destroying what is left of the distressed land.

Make no mistake, this is LaChapelle’s unapologetic statement piece, drawing our attention to child soldiers, unethical gold and diamond mining, and the derogatory view of African women being viewed as an exotic commodity by Western cultures, as their homes and countries are ravaged for the consumer’s benefit.


David LaChapelle’s ‘American Jesus: Hold me, carry me boldly’, illustrated by Lisa Stannard.

LaChapelle continues in this vein using models in art history to point a finger at the world’s obsession with materialism. In the gallery’s library, a vibrant colour-infused piece streaked with flowing pale blue, yellow and pink ribbons explodes from between the bookshelves. Another photograph inspired by Botticelli, ‘The Birth of Venus’, depicts Venus’s emergence onto the eden-like landscape, looking serenely into the distance, flanked by two male admirers who replace the Zephyr wind-gods and Nymph in the original painting. On closer inspection, LaChapelle again highlights contemporary consumer society by drawing our attention to Venus’s bling footwear (aquamarine diamond-encrusted shoes), with her male admirers wearing gold Puma trainers and a diamante-encrusted fishnet vest, with a metallic blue Nike tick sprayed onto the barefoot of one of the men.

Perhaps the most controversial piece likely to cause offense is ‘Thy Kingdom Come’, an image depicting the pope sitting on a gold throne inside a grand cathedral atop of mounds of treasure troves filled with pearls and gold, with four bloodied naked bodies, bound, blindfolded and scattered beneath the valuables in various states of trauma.

Similarly, a triptych of Michael Jackson in various messiah and saint-like poses flirts with the viewer’s tolerance. The first photograph, entitled ‘American Jesus: Hold me, carry me boldly’, shows an illuminated Jesus sitting amongst a rugged forest landscape, carrying the dead body of Michael Jackson as his white, diamond-encrusted glove lies limply on the floor just beneath his hand. The subsequent panels present Jackson in a saint-like pose with a gold pocket watch and a white dove resting in his hand, standing alongside a female holy saint. The final panel shows Jackson as an Archangel with white feathered wings, contrasting with his black Thriller-style outfit with tears streaming from his eyes, as Jackson’s right foot stamps down authoratatively on the devil’s chest.


David LaChapelle’s ‘Archangel Michael’, illustrated by Lisa Stannard.

As I wandered around the gallery examining the photos, I found myself underwhelmed by LaChapelle’s rather uninventive, shallow and juvenile take on the various themes. Although the photos were distinctively LaChapelle in their refined visual quality, there was no intellectual interpretation required here, challenging you to think beyond what was presented. However, as I pondered further, I realised that it was actually me who was missing the point.

LaChapelle’s work has always been known to be bold and gaudy, compelling and repelling in equal measure, a formula which he uses to leave an imprint on your inner psyche. For example, ‘Rape of Africa’, viewed from afar is a stunning visual of beautiful colours portraying beautiful-looking people, commanding your attention; however, once you are drawn in, it presents you with a harsher reality, hammering on the door of your conscience. Thus, for the MTV and Twitter generation, LaChapelle may be more effective in using a hard-hitting pop culture imagery to bring home the message to a much wider audience than, say a political activist might, through more traditional forms of communication.

Having made his name through photographing the rich and famous, many of whom epitomise the consumerist attitudes that he now criticises, this show is a brave and interesting turn for LaChapelle. As I stepped back out into my dull monochrome surroundings devoid of his magical splashes of colour, it gradually dawned on my inner cynic that the exhibition whiffed slightly of hypocrisy. Apart from the preparatory drawings for ‘Rape of Africa’ included in the exhibition, all of the other portraits are up for sale. How much was LaChapelle making from this show I wondered, and how much of that money was he planning on donating to African NGOs?

I guess whether you’re wearing jewels indirectly responsible for destroying a continent or producing meticulously crafted portraits about jewels indirectly destroying a continent, beauty always comes at a cost.

David LaChapelle: The Rape of Africa is currently on show at Robilant and Voena, First Floor, 38 Dover Street, London W1 until 25 May 2010 (robilantvoena.com/exhibitions).

Having spared the time to attend Mr LaChapelle’s exhibition and write a review of his work leading to increased exposure for him, Amelia’s Magazine had a bit of a nightmare experience with Robilant and Voena’s press office in trying to obtain images for this piece, which are apparently available on request (depending on who you are). So, in the absence of official images from the gallery (and to avoid having to deal with snooty, unhelpful people), we took the liberty of coming up with our own and a few more from the ‘LaChapelle Studio’ as seen below (all illustrations by Lisa Stannard).


Amanda Lepore


Angelina Jolie


Brittany Murphy


Cameron Diaz

bex_glover_mildred_the_sheep
Mildred the Surfing Sheep by Bex Glover.

Hi Stuart, sildenafil could you give us a brief potted history of Finisterre. When did you start the brand and what kind of clothing do you make for whom?
Finisterre was started in Tom (the founder’s) bedroom with a laptop and dialup internet connection around seven years ago in Cornwall, when he realized that there were a lot of surfers who were getting waves in cold water locations who were not well equipped in terms of gear to keep them warm before and after their surfs. Tom started selling amazingly warm fleeces that were popular with guys on the water. The team grew to about five, and the range now includes merino base layers, super warm insulation jackets, gilets, and waterproof jackets. The business was started with surfers in mind, but the reach has expanded into other areas such as climbing, snowboarding, skiing, and cycling, and this is reflected in the ambassadors and product testers that we work with. We have top ten big wave surfers, round the world cyclists and guys climbing Everest working with us and refining our gear – it’s an exciting atmosphere. That’s about it. We generally hold the idea that Finisterre stands for three points of commitment – Product, People and Environment. Other than that, Finisterre is simply a vehicle for our passions, surfing and outdoor pursuits.

When did you start stocking your own sheep herd? And who looks after it?
There is a lady based in Devon, called Leslie, who managed to find the last remaining Bowmont sheep in the UK. Our design director, a fiber fanatic, met Leslie and they started talking about her small flock and sheep. Realizing the potential of the small herd, Tom kept in touch, and the relationship has gone from there as we have got more involved in the work on the farm in Devon. We visit the farm a lot – it’s a small drive away, to see the lambing and sheering. It’s a great farm tucked away in a stunning part of Devon and Leslie makes us feel so welcome. The animals have a great life – and are sheared with utter care by a chap called Raymond.

bex_glover_mildred_the_sheep
The Finisterre Bowmont Herd by Bex Glover.

The Bowmont sheep is apparently on the edge of extinction – where does this sheep come from and what makes it’s wool so good for use in your clothing?
These sheep are a cross breed of Saxon Merino and Shetland. Starting in early 80s, it took the Macaulay Institute of Scotland 20 odd years to stabilise the breed. The ambition was to capture the brilliant fibre of the Saxon Merino with the hardy wild instincts of the Shetland. The finished Bowmont sheep is roughly 75% of the former and 25% the latter. It was intended to give the Scottish hill farmers another type of sheep with increased value coming from the very fine wool. Unfortunately there was not enough demand within the market place and the project was eventually given up. The Bowmont flocks that had been bred were sold on with flocks still existing in Scotland, Wales and Devon. Unfortunately many of the flocks that were sold have been either slaughtered or crossbred with Shetlands, thereby thus losing their pure Bowmont fibre quality. It turns out that Lesley – the North Devon fibre fanatic, has now collected all the remaining pure Bowmonts and is the only one to be breeding pure Bowmont. Currently we use Merino wool in many of our garments – our technical base layers (for running, cycling etc), and hoodys and jumpers. Merino wool is great and it’s one of the finest wools out there, however we just can’t source it in the U.K, we have to go abroad like everyone else to Australia and NZ – and that is something that we can work on with the Bowmonts for the future.

bex_glover_mildred_the_sheep
A Bowmont Sheep by Bex Glover.

How many sheep do you have in your flock? Where do they live? Can you describe a bit more about the environment for both sheep and workers at Finisterre?
We started with around 30 Bowmonts found from the length and breadth of the UK. With Lesley’s work the flock is now up to around 65. Super exciting for us, and we get very nervous around lambing times. We are often crossing our fingers that everything will be ok! The sheep live in the beautiful green pastures of Devon – it might sound a cliché – but for me Devon just has the most stunning rolling fields of anywhere I have been. The sheep seem happy with that living on the small farm. Leslie also keeps some other rare breeds.

I was a bit disappointed to find out that Mildred the surfing sheep was the product of an advertising agency plot to promote your wool. Surely there was more to it than that? Why was this particular sheep chosen to shove in the waves?
The agency in London saw what we were doing with the Bowmont flock and our wool garments and were really fired up by the story and the sheep initiative. We spoke with them and were keen to shoot a short video. They got in touch with Dom and Nick – both talented directors, to feature one of our sheep surfing – they had the skills on video and sound – it was super fun and great to work with them and the rest of the team who came down. Mildred was chosen due to her character, being hand reared as a lamb she’s very friendly and always stoked to be involved.

Can you give us any inside info from the day that you shot the video?
It was a fairly sunny day in Cornwall – we met up with Dom and Nick, who helped us shoot the video on some handheld waterproof cameras. They have the knowhow and have worked on the likes of the Chemical Brothers videos before so we were stoked to have them down. We generally just let Mildred walk down the beach and get used to the surroundings – there was no one about so she was really relaxed and had a good bleat. All in all, it went really well. She didn’t have to do anything crazy that she didn’t wasn’t to, had some lunch then went back to the workshop and Mildred went back to the fields.

How does Mildred respond to getting wet? She almost looks as if she is smiling when she climbs out of the surf. Do you think she genuinely enjoys this?
She enjoyed it. We have about four or five dogs in the office at any one time and we’re always taking them for walks – they have a good life – and it was no different making the video with the sheep. Working with Mildred on the beach meant that we had to have special permission from local authorities, we also brought our local vet along to make sure everything was ok by him. Everyone was happy, we also brought the lady that hand reared Mildred – she was stoked to see Mildred become so famous! Mildred’s even on Facebook now – I’d take a guess that she is the world’s second famous sheep after Dolly.

Where did her name come from? Was that also the result of a meeting or was it more spontaneous? Do all the flock have names?
She was already called Mildred and from the moment we met her she was super friendly and inquisitive. A fair few of the flock have names – HMS Finisterre is the name of one of our young rams…

Mildred surfing sheep-sandra diekmann
Mildred by Sandra Dieckmann.

Have any of the workers at Finisterre stopped eating lamb since getting acquainted with Mildred?
Definitely been a talking point for some! Personally I’m not a vegetarian – but in my opinion there’s definitely some issues around the way some animals are treated for breeding and then transported all over the place.

What are your plans for the future? Will you ever consider doing a more fashion orientated range or collaboration with a designer that might interest my readers?
We’re still super small – there are usually only six of us here in the workshop now, so we’re often stretching to do a lot of things at once. Having said that we love pushing things forward, and we’re always thinking about future initiatives and new products and fabrics. We are working on expanding our range slowly – and continuing our work with our team of athletes and product testers. We’ve got some new t-shirts out this month – collaboration between us and Surfers Against Sewage across the road. Their a small grass roots charity who do some good stuff pressing for better protection of our coastlines. The tees will reflect their campaigns and we will be donating money back. For us it’s essential that as we grown we continue on without compromising the outstanding customer service and the trust we have built with our customers alongside the quality of our gear. In general we will stay within the outdoor market – it’s what we do best, and it’s where our expertise lies. We work with a range of designers, and athletes – collaborating with them on various garments – so it’s always an ongoing process and the doors our always open for a chat!

Thanks Amelia for the time – and if you or any of your readers want to know more email me or check out our website and blog.

Categories ,Ad Campaign, ,Advertising, ,Bex Glover, ,Bowmont Sheep, ,Chemical Brothers, ,Cornwall, ,Devon, ,Finisterre, ,Macaulay Institute of Scotland, ,Mildred the Surfing Sheep, ,Promotion, ,Sandra Dieckmann, ,scotland, ,sheep, ,Snowboarding, ,Surfers Against Sewage, ,Surfing, ,sustainability, ,Viral Video, ,wool

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Amelia’s Magazine | Mildred the Surfing Sheep works her charm for Finisterre.

bex_glover_mildred_the_sheep
Mildred the Surfing Sheep by Bex Glover.

Hi Stuart, could you give us a brief potted history of Finisterre. When did you start the brand and what kind of clothing do you make for whom?
Finisterre was started in Tom (the founder’s) bedroom with a laptop and dialup internet connection around seven years ago in Cornwall, when he realized that there were a lot of surfers who were getting waves in cold water locations who were not well equipped in terms of gear to keep them warm before and after their surfs. Tom started selling amazingly warm fleeces that were popular with guys on the water. The team grew to about five, and the range now includes merino base layers, super warm insulation jackets, gilets, and waterproof jackets. The business was started with surfers in mind, but the reach has expanded into other areas such as climbing, snowboarding, skiing, and cycling, and this is reflected in the ambassadors and product testers that we work with. We have top ten big wave surfers, round the world cyclists and guys climbing Everest working with us and refining our gear – it’s an exciting atmosphere. That’s about it. We generally hold the idea that Finisterre stands for three points of commitment – Product, People and Environment. Other than that, Finisterre is simply a vehicle for our passions, surfing and outdoor pursuits.

When did you start stocking your own sheep herd? And who looks after it?
There is a lady based in Devon, called Leslie, who managed to find the last remaining Bowmont sheep in the UK. Our design director, a fiber fanatic, met Leslie and they started talking about her small flock and sheep. Realizing the potential of the small herd, Tom kept in touch, and the relationship has gone from there as we have got more involved in the work on the farm in Devon. We visit the farm a lot – it’s a small drive away, to see the lambing and sheering. It’s a great farm tucked away in a stunning part of Devon and Leslie makes us feel so welcome. The animals have a great life – and are sheared with utter care by a chap called Raymond.

bex_glover_mildred_the_sheep
The Finisterre Bowmont Herd by Bex Glover.

The Bowmont sheep is apparently on the edge of extinction – where does this sheep come from and what makes it’s wool so good for use in your clothing?
These sheep are a cross breed of Saxon Merino and Shetland. Starting in early 80s, it took the Macaulay Institute of Scotland 20 odd years to stabilise the breed. The ambition was to capture the brilliant fibre of the Saxon Merino with the hardy wild instincts of the Shetland. The finished Bowmont sheep is roughly 75% of the former and 25% the latter. It was intended to give the Scottish hill farmers another type of sheep with increased value coming from the very fine wool. Unfortunately there was not enough demand within the market place and the project was eventually given up. The Bowmont flocks that had been bred were sold on with flocks still existing in Scotland, Wales and Devon. Unfortunately many of the flocks that were sold have been either slaughtered or crossbred with Shetlands, thereby thus losing their pure Bowmont fibre quality. It turns out that Lesley – the North Devon fibre fanatic, has now collected all the remaining pure Bowmonts and is the only one to be breeding pure Bowmont. Currently we use Merino wool in many of our garments – our technical base layers (for running, cycling etc), and hoodys and jumpers. Merino wool is great and it’s one of the finest wools out there, however we just can’t source it in the U.K, we have to go abroad like everyone else to Australia and NZ – and that is something that we can work on with the Bowmonts for the future.

bex_glover_mildred_the_sheep
A Bowmont Sheep by Bex Glover.

How many sheep do you have in your flock? Where do they live? Can you describe a bit more about the environment for both sheep and workers at Finisterre?
We started with around 30 Bowmonts found from the length and breadth of the UK. With Lesley’s work the flock is now up to around 65. Super exciting for us, and we get very nervous around lambing times. We are often crossing our fingers that everything will be ok! The sheep live in the beautiful green pastures of Devon – it might sound a cliché – but for me Devon just has the most stunning rolling fields of anywhere I have been. The sheep seem happy with that living on the small farm. Leslie also keeps some other rare breeds.

I was a bit disappointed to find out that Mildred the surfing sheep was the product of an advertising agency plot to promote your wool. Surely there was more to it than that? Why was this particular sheep chosen to shove in the waves?
The agency in London saw what we were doing with the Bowmont flock and our wool garments and were really fired up by the story and the sheep initiative. We spoke with them and were keen to shoot a short video. They got in touch with Dom and Nick – both talented directors, to feature one of our sheep surfing – they had the skills on video and sound – it was super fun and great to work with them and the rest of the team who came down. Mildred was chosen due to her character, being hand reared as a lamb she’s very friendly and always stoked to be involved.

Can you give us any inside info from the day that you shot the video?
It was a fairly sunny day in Cornwall – we met up with Dom and Nick, who helped us shoot the video on some handheld waterproof cameras. They have the knowhow and have worked on the likes of the Chemical Brothers videos before so we were stoked to have them down. We generally just let Mildred walk down the beach and get used to the surroundings – there was no one about so she was really relaxed and had a good bleat. All in all, it went really well. She didn’t have to do anything crazy that she didn’t wasn’t to, had some lunch then went back to the workshop and Mildred went back to the fields.

http://www.vimeo.com/11309707

How does Mildred respond to getting wet? She almost looks as if she is smiling when she climbs out of the surf. Do you think she genuinely enjoys this?
She enjoyed it. We have about four or five dogs in the office at any one time and we’re always taking them for walks – they have a good life – and it was no different making the video with the sheep. Working with Mildred on the beach meant that we had to have special permission from local authorities, we also brought our local vet along to make sure everything was ok by him. Everyone was happy, we also brought the lady that hand reared Mildred – she was stoked to see Mildred become so famous! Mildred’s even on Facebook now – I’d take a guess that she is the world’s second famous sheep after Dolly.

Where did her name come from? Was that also the result of a meeting or was it more spontaneous? Do all the flock have names?
She was already called Mildred and from the moment we met her she was super friendly and inquisitive. A fair few of the flock have names – HMS Finisterre is the name of one of our young rams…

Mildred surfing sheep-sandra diekmann
Mildred by Sandra Dieckmann.

Have any of the workers at Finisterre stopped eating lamb since getting acquainted with Mildred?
Definitely been a talking point for some! Personally I’m not a vegetarian – but in my opinion there’s definitely some issues around the way some animals are treated for breeding and then transported all over the place.

What are your plans for the future? Will you ever consider doing a more fashion orientated range or collaboration with a designer that might interest my readers?
We’re still super small – there are usually only six of us here in the workshop now, so we’re often stretching to do a lot of things at once. Having said that we love pushing things forward, and we’re always thinking about future initiatives and new products and fabrics. We are working on expanding our range slowly – and continuing our work with our team of athletes and product testers. We’ve got some new t-shirts out this month – collaboration between us and Surfers Against Sewage across the road. Their a small grass roots charity who do some good stuff pressing for better protection of our coastlines. The tees will reflect their campaigns and we will be donating money back. For us it’s essential that as we grown we continue on without compromising the outstanding customer service and the trust we have built with our customers alongside the quality of our gear. In general we will stay within the outdoor market – it’s what we do best, and it’s where our expertise lies. We work with a range of designers, and athletes – collaborating with them on various garments – so it’s always an ongoing process and the doors our always open for a chat!

Thanks Amelia for the time – and if you or any of your readers want to know more email me or check out our website and blog.




Categories ,Ad Campaign, ,Advertising, ,Bex Glover, ,Bowmont Sheep, ,Chemical Brothers, ,Cornwall, ,Devon, ,Finisterre, ,Macaulay Institute of Scotland, ,Mildred the Surfing Sheep, ,Promotion, ,Sandra Dieckmann, ,scotland, ,sheep, ,Snowboarding, ,Surfers Against Sewage, ,Surfing, ,sustainability, ,Viral Video, ,wool

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Amelia’s Magazine | The ACOFI Book Tour: visiting The Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011

On Tuesday I hit the second date of my ACOFI Book Tour, buy this time at the rather wonderful Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh. I chat with super friendly bookshop guru Matthew via the wonders of twitter, symptoms so it was a delight to meet him in the flesh.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Narcissus Garden Yayoi Kusama
Narcissus Garden by Yayoi Kusama.

After settling in for a nice piece of fruit tart and a glance at a selection of the newest titles in the incredibly well stocked bookshop I had a brief chance to wander around the current exhibition Narcissus Reflected, information pills which features a painting by Salvador Dali on loan from the Tate and for the very first time shown as it was meant to be, with the poem that accompanies it. Upstairs a mass of light silver balls floods the airy space – Narcissus Garden is an update of a piece by Yayoi Kusama first shown back in the 1960s. A small darkened room strewn with comfy floor cushions has been cordoned off to showcase a beautifully soporific film by Pipilotti Rist.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 biscuitsACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-iced gemsACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 biscuits

The Fruitmarket Gallery cafe was sadly closed for our evening event so I went a bit crazy in the local supermarket: plates of colourful Jammy Dodgers, Iced Party Rings, Jaffa Cakes, Iced Gems and Pink Wafers were soon adorning the cafe tables. Yup! It was a veritable E number fest. If it’s not going to be beautifully homemade why not head off to the other end of the spectrum I say?! These biscuits remind me of many a childhood party…

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Dr.Hauschka
At the front I arranged a tray of yummy Dr.Hauschka goodies for guests to take away and try later.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Juiceology
Matthew’s expert merchandising skills came to the forefront as he arranged a (fashionable) colour block display of Juiceology juices and appealing piles of ACOFI and AAOI atop a round table next to which I sat to give my talk.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
Abi Lewis of We Are Caravan.

I had been a bit nervous about travelling all the way to Edinburgh because it’s so far away from my normal stomping ground and I don’t really know many people up there… but I needn’t have worried because the cafe packed out very quickly with about 50 people, who gathered in friendly groups, chatting and taking the opportunity to sample the colourful Juiceology offerings before I settled down to do my talk, a very good write up of which you can read on the We Are Caravan blog.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
v
Lesley Barnes and her friend Libby.

Luckily my only Scottish-based ACOFI illustrator Lesley Barnes was also in able to make it along to The Fruitmarket Gallery – she brought along some wonderful work to share with us, and talked a little bit about the process of working with me so it was really wonderful to have her there, especially now we’ve been working together for nearly two years since she answered the brief for my first book. I only realised this week that this was in fact pretty much the start of her involvement with briefed illustration, although she was doing lots of her own work beforehand.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Lesley Barnes

I do like to remind people that hers is an exceptional talent – Lesley Barnes has never been formally trained, instead choosing to do a degree in English Literature, and yet she has managed to develop an utterly unique and identifiable style that is finally garnering some acclaim: she featured in a recent issue of the Sunday Times Style magazine and her work is stocked in the Soma Gallery, to which I will be trundling along on Thursday 26th May.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011

After the talk there was more time to speak to everyone and I managed to take snaps of just a few of the delightful creative people that I met: some of whom I persuaded to pose against the excellent neon sculpture in The Fruitmarket Gallery cafe area.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-We Are Caravan
Ian, Julz and Abi run We Are Caravan, with whom I’ve been chatting on twitter in the run up to my Edinburgh visit. You can also find Abi Lewis, who was dressed in the most wonderful patterned vintage dress, at Hateful Snippets. We Are Caravan run a mobile gallery that travels around in yes, you guessed it, a caravan.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Kirsty Jay Anderson and Emily Hall
Kirsty Jay Anderson and Emily Hall had come along to get inspired. Kirsty studied textiles and now runs A Wooden Tree which sells gorgeous upcycled vintage textiles and ephemera, whilst Emily has recently decided that she is going to turn her hand to illustration after doing many other things for years, including stone carving in castles, which sounds fantastic! I look forward to seeing what she produces.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Mabel Forsyth and Siobhan Murchie
Mabel Forsyth, aka Pink Pig came along with her work colleague Siobhan Murchie of Shiv Illustration – who just happens to be the cousin of Amelia’s Magazine contributor Sam Parr. What a small and wondrous world.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Roger la Borde
The Fruitmarket Gallery stocks my new range of Roger la Borde cards alongside my books (above), and so it was great to meet Lucy, who distributes my card designs all over Scotland. What a lovely lady she is! Here with her friend Sara.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Lucy and Sara

A very enjoyable part of the evening was giving a few portfolio crits. Yay! I hope I get to do more of these at the next few places I am visiting.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Casey Otremba
Casey Otremba.

First up I met American lass Casey Otremba, who was formerly a packaging designer in New York before becoming inspired to come to Edinburgh to study illustration a few years ago. The reason? Someone showed her a copy of issue 4 of Amelia’s Magazine. Double yay!

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Casey Otremba
Her fashion illustration portfolio features some really wonderful fine line pencil work with some stylish injections of pure vibrant colour. I particularly loved the meticulous fluidity of the poses she draws and I hope she’s going to start contributing to Amelia’s Magazine soon so you’ll get to see more of her work…

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson
Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-doodle by Lizzie Hudson
A doodle by Lizzie Hudson.

Elizabeth Hudson had travelled all the way from Glasgow, where she studies fine art, along with her friend Culloden Robertson of Iko Art. It was wonderful to see how a trained fine artist adapts to illustration briefs and I was particularly enamoured of the sweeping fantasies of her impulsive narrative work which make imaginative use of colour, line and text.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson, Amelia
Myself with Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson. I’m not sure why I thought it was a good idea to stick my finger in my ear. It was late.

As a special thankyou to everyone who turned up for this event we are extending the special offer that was available on the night at The Fruitmarket Gallery. Just quote Amelia’s Blog offer when you go in, and you’ll be able to purchase both Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration and Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration for £40 together, or for £22 apiece. The offer is valid for one more week, so if you didn’t decide to purchase on the night you can still take advantage of some very reasonable prices indeed. Thankyou Fruitmarket Gallery!

Next week I will be embarking on a triple whammy: Brighton on Tuesday 24th May at Castor & Pollux, where we’ll be fed by cupcakes from the Angel Food Bakery, then on to Comma Shop on Wednesday 25th May, where there will be the chance to sample a specially blended new flavour of ice cream from G & D’s Cafe: raspberry with white and dark chocolate chips. Nom nom nom. Plus rosette button making lessons from Anna Butler at Custom Made UK. Really, what’s not to like?!

Then on Thursday 26th May I’ll be turning up at the Soma Gallery in Bristol: where Hart’s Bakery will be providing home made iced biscuits, custard creams and gingerbread hearts, whilst local girl and Lahloo Tea founder Kate Gover will be on hand to answer all your tea-related questions.

Finally, I will be back at Tatty Devine on Tuesday 7th June the week after, where I will round up the ACOFI Book Tour with a little help from Biscuiteers. Looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible en route! Don’t forget to join the facebook events by clicking on the various shop links above.

Categories ,A Wooden Tree, ,AAOI, ,Abi Lewis, ,ACOFI, ,Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Angel Food Bakery, ,Anna Butler, ,Biscuiteers, ,Biscuits, ,brighton, ,bristol, ,Casey Otremba, ,Castor and Pollux, ,Comma Shop, ,Culloden Robertson, ,cupcakes, ,Custom Made UK, ,Dr.Hauschka, ,edinburgh, ,Elizabeth Hudson, ,Emily Hall, ,G & D’s Cafe, ,Hart’s Bakery, ,Hateful Snippets, ,Ice Cream, ,Iced Gems, ,Iced Party Rings, ,Iko Art, ,Jaffa Cakes, ,Jammy Dodgers, ,Juiceology, ,Kate Gover, ,Kirsty Jay Anderson, ,Lahloo Tea, ,Lesley Barnes, ,Mabel Forsyth, ,Narcissus Garden, ,Narcissus Reflected, ,Oxford, ,Pink Pig Illustration, ,Pink Wafers, ,Pipilotti Rist, ,Roger La Borde, ,Salvador Dali, ,Sam Parr, ,scotland, ,Shiv Illustration, ,Siobhan Murchie, ,Soma Gallery, ,Sunday Times Style, ,Tatty Devine, ,The Fruitmarket Gallery, ,Yayoi Kusama

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Amelia’s Magazine | The ACOFI Book Tour: visiting The Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011

On Tuesday I hit the second date of my ACOFI Book Tour, this time at the rather wonderful Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh. I chat with super friendly bookshop guru Matthew via the wonders of twitter, so it was a delight to meet him in the flesh.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Narcissus Garden Yayoi Kusama
Narcissus Garden by Yayoi Kusama.

After settling in for a nice piece of fruit tart and a glance at a selection of the newest titles in the incredibly well stocked bookshop I had a brief chance to wander around the current exhibition Narcissus Reflected, which features a painting by Salvador Dali on loan from the Tate and for the very first time shown as it was meant to be, with the poem that accompanies it. Upstairs a mass of light silver balls floods the airy space – Narcissus Garden is an update of a piece by Yayoi Kusama first shown back in the 1960s. A small darkened room strewn with comfy floor cushions has been cordoned off to showcase a beautifully soporific film by Pipilotti Rist.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 biscuitsACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-iced gemsACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 biscuits

The Fruitmarket Gallery cafe was sadly closed for our evening event so I went a bit crazy in the local supermarket: plates of colourful Jammy Dodgers, Iced Party Rings, Jaffa Cakes, Iced Gems and Pink Wafers were soon adorning the cafe tables. Yup! It was a veritable E number fest. If it’s not going to be beautifully homemade why not head off to the other end of the spectrum I say?! These biscuits remind me of many a childhood party…

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Dr.Hauschka
At the front I arranged a tray of yummy Dr.Hauschka goodies for guests to take away and try later.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Juiceology
Matthew’s expert merchandising skills came to the forefront as he arranged a (fashionable) colour block display of Juiceology juices and appealing piles of ACOFI and AAOI atop a round table next to which I sat to give my talk.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
Abi Lewis of We Are Caravan.

I had been a bit nervous about travelling all the way to Edinburgh because it’s so far away from my normal stomping ground and I don’t really know many people up there… but I needn’t have worried because the cafe packed out very quickly with about 50 people, who gathered in friendly groups, chatting and taking the opportunity to sample the colourful Juiceology offerings before I settled down to do my talk, a very good write up of which you can read on the We Are Caravan blog.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011
v
Lesley Barnes and her friend Libby.

Luckily my only Scottish-based ACOFI illustrator Lesley Barnes was also in able to make it along to The Fruitmarket Gallery – she brought along some wonderful work to share with us, and talked a little bit about the process of working with me so it was really wonderful to have her there, especially now we’ve been working together for nearly two years since she answered the brief for my first book. I only realised this week that this was in fact pretty much the start of her involvement with briefed illustration, although she was doing lots of her own work beforehand.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Lesley Barnes

I do like to remind people that hers is an exceptional talent – Lesley Barnes has never been formally trained, instead choosing to do a degree in English Literature, and yet she has managed to develop an utterly unique and identifiable style that is finally garnering some acclaim: she featured in a recent issue of the Sunday Times Style magazine and her work is stocked in the Soma Gallery, to which I will be trundling along on Thursday 26th May.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011

After the talk there was more time to speak to everyone and I managed to take snaps of just a few of the delightful creative people that I met: some of whom I persuaded to pose against the excellent neon sculpture in The Fruitmarket Gallery cafe area.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-We Are Caravan
Ian, Julz and Abi run We Are Caravan, with whom I’ve been chatting on twitter in the run up to my Edinburgh visit. You can also find Abi Lewis, who was dressed in the most wonderful patterned vintage dress, at Hateful Snippets. We Are Caravan run a mobile gallery that travels around in yes, you guessed it, a caravan.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Kirsty Jay Anderson and Emily Hall
Kirsty Jay Anderson and Emily Hall had come along to get inspired. Kirsty studied textiles and now runs A Wooden Tree which sells gorgeous upcycled vintage textiles and ephemera, whilst Emily has recently decided that she is going to turn her hand to illustration after doing many other things for years, including stone carving in castles, which sounds fantastic! I look forward to seeing what she produces.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Mabel Forsyth and Siobhan Murchie
Mabel Forsyth, aka Pink Pig came along with her work colleague Siobhan Murchie of Shiv Illustration – who just happens to be the cousin of Amelia’s Magazine contributor Sam Parr. What a small and wondrous world.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Roger la Borde
The Fruitmarket Gallery stocks my new range of Roger la Borde cards alongside my books (above), and so it was great to meet Lucy, who distributes my card designs all over Scotland. What a lovely lady she is! Here with her friend Sara.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Lucy and Sara

A very enjoyable part of the evening was giving a few portfolio crits. Yay! I hope I get to do more of these at the next few places I am visiting.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Casey Otremba
Casey Otremba.

First up I met American lass Casey Otremba, who was formerly a packaging designer in New York before becoming inspired to come to Edinburgh to study illustration a few years ago. The reason? Someone showed her a copy of issue 4 of Amelia’s Magazine. Double yay!

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-Casey Otremba
Her fashion illustration portfolio features some really wonderful fine line pencil work with some stylish injections of pure vibrant colour. I particularly loved the meticulous fluidity of the poses she draws and I hope she’s going to start contributing to Amelia’s Magazine soon so you’ll get to see more of her work…

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson
Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011-doodle by Lizzie Hudson
A doodle by Lizzie Hudson.

Elizabeth Hudson had travelled all the way from Glasgow, where she studies fine art, along with her friend Culloden Robertson of Iko Art. It was wonderful to see how a trained fine artist adapts to illustration briefs and I was particularly enamoured of the sweeping fantasies of her impulsive narrative work which make imaginative use of colour, line and text.

ACOFI Book Tour Fruitmarket Edinburgh 2011 Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson, Amelia
Myself with Culloden Robertson and Elizabeth Hudson. I’m not sure why I thought it was a good idea to stick my finger in my ear. It was late.

As a special thankyou to everyone who turned up for this event we are extending the special offer that was available on the night at The Fruitmarket Gallery. Just quote Amelia’s Blog offer when you go in, and you’ll be able to purchase both Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration and Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration for £40 together, or for £22 apiece. The offer is valid for one more week, so if you didn’t decide to purchase on the night you can still take advantage of some very reasonable prices indeed. Thankyou Fruitmarket Gallery!

Next week I will be embarking on a triple whammy: Brighton on Tuesday 24th May at Castor & Pollux, where we’ll be fed by cupcakes from the Angel Food Bakery, then on to Comma Shop on Wednesday 25th May, where there will be the chance to sample a specially blended new flavour of ice cream from G & D’s Cafe: raspberry with white and dark chocolate chips. Nom nom nom. Plus rosette button making lessons from Anna Butler at Custom Made UK. Really, what’s not to like?!

Then on Thursday 26th May I’ll be turning up at the Soma Gallery in Bristol: where Hart’s Bakery will be providing home made iced biscuits, custard creams and gingerbread hearts, whilst local girl and Lahloo Tea founder Kate Gover will be on hand to answer all your tea-related questions.

Finally, I will be back at Tatty Devine on Tuesday 7th June the week after, where I will round up the ACOFI Book Tour with a little help from Biscuiteers. Looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible en route! Don’t forget to join the facebook events by clicking on the various shop links above.

Categories ,A Wooden Tree, ,AAOI, ,Abi Lewis, ,ACOFI, ,Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Angel Food Bakery, ,Anna Butler, ,Biscuiteers, ,Biscuits, ,brighton, ,bristol, ,Casey Otremba, ,Castor and Pollux, ,Comma Shop, ,Culloden Robertson, ,cupcakes, ,Custom Made UK, ,Dr.Hauschka, ,edinburgh, ,Elizabeth Hudson, ,Emily Hall, ,G & D’s Cafe, ,Hart’s Bakery, ,Hateful Snippets, ,Ice Cream, ,Iced Gems, ,Iced Party Rings, ,Iko Art, ,Jaffa Cakes, ,Jammy Dodgers, ,Juiceology, ,Kate Gover, ,Kirsty Jay Anderson, ,Lahloo Tea, ,Lesley Barnes, ,Mabel Forsyth, ,Narcissus Garden, ,Narcissus Reflected, ,Oxford, ,Pink Pig Illustration, ,Pink Wafers, ,Pipilotti Rist, ,Roger La Borde, ,Salvador Dali, ,Sam Parr, ,scotland, ,Shiv Illustration, ,Siobhan Murchie, ,Soma Gallery, ,Sunday Times Style, ,Tatty Devine, ,The Fruitmarket Gallery, ,Yayoi Kusama

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Amelia’s Magazine | Rachel Maclean Interview: Going Bananas


All images courtesy of Rachel Maclean

Creating an alternative reality, illness part fantasy, decease part commercial playground, Glasgow based artist Rachel Maclean produces work dealing with the notions of culture, gender and celebrity. Working largely in digital composite video, the Edinburgh College of Art graduate’s short films feature an array of grotesque, highly made-up and ridiculously camp characters which truly have to be seen to be believed. Currently exhibiting in The Market Gallery, Glasgow, Rachel gives us an insight into her weird and wonderful world…


Tell us about ‘Going Bananas!’:

‘Going Bananas!’ is an exhibition of the work I made during my residency at ‘The Market Gallery’, Glasgow this January. Thematically the work explores what I believe to be the intriguing and complex identity of the banana, and physically comprises of a 7-minute digitally composited video projection and a painting to the same scale as the window, which faces onto the street. The figures in this painting have holes cut where their heads would be, allowing visitors to place their faces through, creating the illusion that they occupy the same pictorial space, like the traditional seaside amusement.

Why are you so fascinated by bananas?
The banana is attractive because it seems to exist at the intersection of banality and fantasy. It reclines on supermarket shelves and in household fruit bowls with a gesture of cheap availability. However, unpeel it’s familiar clothing and it reveals a repressed character. The banana signifies a hunger for something beyond disenchanted civility, exposing a lust for the exotic, the ‘Other’, the ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’, promising perpetual feasting and erotic fulfilment. However we slip up on it’s skin and burst out laughing. It’s fantasy becomes mockery, a dancing monkey, a comic disappointment, unfamiliar with the polite world and representative of a dangerously under evolved, primitive existence, ungoverned by the regulations of the civilised world.

What attracted you to start working with film?

Since I was wee I have been messing around with the family camcorder, and have boxes of tapes that document everything from the eventful to the entirely banal. In retrospect I can see that I was particularly attracted to the illusionary possibilities of stop animation, and injecting a sense of the paranormal into the everyday. Additionally, by allowing me to capture pretend play and masquerade on film, it seemed the camcorder helped to visualize a fantasy space or alternative world that is otherwise internalized or simply in the minds eye. To an extent I have never lost this sense of excitement and playfulness in relation to video, and strangely my work still retains a lot of the same interests and subject matter that it did when I was 11 or 12.

Are the characters in your films based on anyone?

I intend for all of my characters to be a complex, almost schizophrenic mixture of references to different people. For example, the central female figure in my video ‘Tae Think Again’ is at once Mary Queen of Scots and Carrie from ‘Sex and the City’, slipping between a number of other references at the same time. I am attracted to the notion of celebrity, and inspired by the Britney Spears head shaving because it seems to represent a moment at which unified, constructed identity throws it’s self up and tips into it’s opposite. The instant of self-consumption, when the signature white smile of the teen pop sensation begins to hungrily gnaw at it’s own image.

What inspires you?

My work is inspired by a number of things at one, and often hinges on a bizarre combination of two apparently conflicting influences, for example Susan Boyle and Heavy Metal in my video ‘I Dreamed A Dream.’ Where I live at the time I make work is also very influential, as I believe different cultures have different fantasies related to place. For example, I stayed in America for 6 months and became much more concerned by an idealised notion of Scotland, as a land of castles, lochs, monsters and kilts. Whereas I found growing up in Scotland, you are very divorced from this fantasy, and instead the imagination is much more directed to the US, and the glamour and intrigue it conveys to the outsider.

What are you currently working on and where can we see you next?
I am currently working on a show organised as part of the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop’s ‘Dialogues’ programme, where I am collaborating with Manchester based sculptor Karen Lyons on a show called ‘Hatchings’. Additionally, I am showing work in the Royal Scottish Academy ‘New Contemporaries’ show, opening on the 3rd of April and hopefully will be working on a music video or two as well.

Categories ,Amelia’s Magazine, ,britney spears, ,calum ross, ,hoggle, ,identity, ,karen lyons, ,music video, ,pop culture, ,rachel maclean, ,scotland, ,scottish art, ,Susan Boyle, ,Video Art

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Amelia’s Magazine | Lost Ocean by Johanna Basford: Exclusive Colouring Book Review and Artist Interview

Lost Ocean cover
Johanna Basford is the prolific illustrator behind Secret Garden, Enchanted Forest and now Lost Ocean, which was published in October 2015. For her latest underwater adventure Johanna has gone back to her marine roots to pull together a gorgeous volume full of intricately detailed drawings inspired by real creatures and ocean fantasies. It’s a must have for any colouring enthusiast!

Johanna Basford portrait
How long did it take to create your new colouring book, Lost Ocean, working on average how many hours a day?
Lost Ocean took about 4 months to complete. Average days don’t really come into play when you work from home and you have a little person to care for, but I have childcare 4 days a week so I cram as much as I can into these hours, then I work when she (finally!) takes a nap or goes to sleep at night.

Lost Ocean colouring by Johanna
Lost Ocean coloured by Johanna Basford.

What are you favourite memories of growing up on your parent’s fish farm, and how have these influenced the making of Lost Ocean?
My parent’s fish farm is a fresh water one and is located about 20 miles inland (not on the coast), so my experiences there didn’t influence this book so much, apart from seeing tens of thousands of fish every day! My parents are both Marine Biologists though so my sister and I spent a lot of time visiting scientific aquariums and on research vessels as children. We could barely make it through a seafood dinner without someone having their main course dissected and an impromptu biology lesson taking place. I think these kind of things all just help open your eyes as a child and expose you to a vast array of different experiences that form the foundation of your imagination as an adult.

Johanna Basford in studio
Your studio looks wonderful (very jealous!), I believe it is in your house? Where is it located, what is the view, how long have you been there and is it always as tidy as it looks in your videos?
We live in a converted farm building in the Aberdeenshire countryside. We are so lucky to be out in the wilds and I really love that feeling of looking out our windows and seeing the changing seasons. Due to the incredible amount of toys Evie began to accumulate (why do small people have so much stuff?!) we converted my old studio which was next to the kitchen into a playroom and I moved into the space in the attic. It was no hardship though as the view from the apex window out across the surrounding fields is so beautiful and it meant I was tucked away when I needed to work and out of ear shot of little people.

Lost Ocean by Louise Chagger
Lost Ocean coloured by Louise Chagger

How long did you stop working for when you had your daughter, and when during the day do you find it easiest to work now, and why?
I took 6 weeks ‘off’ social media when I had her, but was still checking in on email throughout as my second book, Enchanted Forest was about to go to print. My publishers were super understanding though and we all worked around the craziness that is coping with a new born. I worked around Evie’s schedule until she was 6 months, after which we had a wonderful family friend who is a nanny come and help me a few days a week. It wasn’t till then that I really got stuck back into things properly. I work best in the morning, always have done.

Lost Ocean by nijnaa
Lost Ocean coloured by nijnaa

What kind of work commitments are your priority now your time is more limited?
Now that there’s more to cram into a day I’m a lot more selective about what I can take on. I’d rather turn down a job or rejig a deadline than deliver bad work late. I’ve scaled back a lot on commission work and focused on the books and long term projects – the lead times for commercial illustration work are often just days or in some cases hours long and more often than not required immediate amends to meet print deadlines. I just can’t offer that level of flexibility anymore so I’d rather pass up on a job or recommend someone else, than take it and be unprofessional.

Lost Ocean Fish by Maria C Crowdey
Lost Ocean DPS by Maria C Crowdey
Lost Ocean coloured by Maria C Crowdey

What have been the most difficult and the most wonderful things about continuing to work and being a mum at the same time?
The most difficult thing is the guilt. I think all Mums experience this though whether they are working or not. You always feel you could do better for your child. I feel bad for not being with her every day, for letting her watch Cbeebies when I’m trying to answer urgent emails at 6am and for not serving her up a delicious, organic meal I’ve prepared myself every night.

Lost Ocean by Naomi Russell-Baugh
Lost Ocean coloured by Naomi Russell-Baugh

That being said, I wouldn’t change our situation. I love what I do and I’m so lucky to have a job that truly makes me happy. After a day of work or a trip away, I’m so delighted to see her. We make the very most of all the time we have together and I never take a day off for granted. Having that space to do a job I love and fire up my creative and intellectual side means that when I’m back in Mum mode I do so with a fresh head and a happy heart.

Johanna Basford Lost Ocean 1
Where is your favourite place to walk when you want to clear your head and reinvigorate your creative sensibilities?
We live in the middle of nowhere, so I love to bundle Evie into the carrier, grab the dog and walk around the fields and woodland the surround our home. I love the fresh air on my face, to see Simcoe our dog bounding about enjoying the outdoor time and to show Evie the changing seasons.

Lost Ocean by toomuchgoodfood
Lost Ocean coloured by toomuchgoodfood

How are you sharing your love of nature with your daughter Evie?
We spent a lot of time our doors playing, I want to give her the same sort of free range childhood that I had as a child. In the summer we pottered about in the garden, picking strawberries we had grown and smelling the flowers. As Autumn fell we gathered leaves for painting projects and looked for conkers.

Lost Ocean by Tamila Kushnir
Lost Ocean coloured by Tamila Kushnir

You have said that being scared inspires your best work, what situations are most likely to scare you the most nowadays?
Scary deadlines! Now that time is so scarce, anything that involves a short deadline terrifies me. I worry that I’m taking too much on, then I worry that I’m not pushing myself hard enough…

Lost Ocean front plate by Patricia Grund
Lost Ocean front plate coloured by Patricia Grund

You initially trained as printed textile designer (like me!) Now, do you consider yourself an illustrator, a designer, an artist or all the above?
An illustrator. I draw pictures, nothing more, nothing less.

Lost Ocean by laurengunnart
Lost Ocean coloured by laurengunnart

Where do you screen print your artist editions, and how often do you get to do that now?
Dundee Contemporary Arts. I love it there. These days I rarely print, but when I do it’s a treat to be surrounded by so many wonderful artists and to have the excellent facilities and staff at DCA on hand.

Lost Ocean by Rebecca Honeybee Swan
Lost Ocean coloured by Rebecca Honeybee Swan

We first met you when you launched your #TwitterPicture project: you have been very adept at using social media and the internet in general to raise your profile, when and why did you start doing so?
I didn’t want to move to London (or any big city for that matter) and knew that in doing so I was isolating myself. I wasn’t going to bump into art directors and commissioning editors at swanky exhibition openings and I certainly couldn’t just pop round their office with my portfolio to tout my wares. To get around this I used social media and the internet to allow me to open up my studio and connect with these people from my little studio in the Scotland. I tried to think of imaginative ways of getting people’s attention and making my work memorable. An email with a PDF or a link to a portfolio is so boring. I tried to be a little different and to think up ways of presenting my work that was a little more imaginative.

Lost Ocean by Amanda Steele
Lost Ocean by Amanda Steele

Why do you think that sharing work online has become such a major aspect of the adult colouring book phenomenon? 
Because we are all so proud of our creations!! For me colouring books are a collaboration. I create those black and white outlines, but it’s not until the owner of the book adds the colour that those illustrations are ever complete. We need to work together to create the final artwork. So when someone has completed a picture, they quite rightly want to show it off! Who wouldn’t?! The best part of my job, without a shadow of a doubt, is seeing all those amazing pictures on social media, in the facebook colouring groups and on my colouring gallery. It’s humbling to think I have the incredible opportunity to collaborate with literally millions of people worldwide and that we get to share our work with the world. I never see the same illustration twice, every time someone colours a picture they make it unique. It’s like a giant game of consequences; I do my part, then hand the books over to the world and everyone picks up the baton (or should I say the pencil!) and completes the pictures.

Johanna Basford Lost Ocean jelly fish
How much time do you have to upload stuff to your blog and various other online platforms these days? Your Pen Geekery section on your blog is so fabulously… geeky!
Not as much as I would like! Social media and my blog is so very important to what I do, so I try to schedule time for it every day. Whether that’s just posting a quick WIP on Instagram or uploading a new Vlog to YouTube, I feel the colouring community online are so important to what I do, so I want to connect with them as much as I can.

Lost Ocean by renatagclementino
Lost Ocean by renatagclementino

New Designers is one of my favourite places to discover graduate talent, what did taking part in the show do for you?
It was great for me, coming from a relatively small art school in Scotland, to just be in amongst the chaos. It’s good to be a bit scared and New Designers can be an overwhelming place! There’s so much talent, so much energy. Everyone is keen and fresh and unjaded, you don’t get that same feeling again! For me New Designers was a place to make connections. I spoke to lots of people, organized some internships, some freelance work and even had a couple of job offers. Ultimately, it all helped me decided what I did and didn’t want to do going forward.


I love your opinion that technicians are the unsung heroes of art schools! what was the best thing you learnt from them?
The nitty gritty. Like how to get a stubborn stain off a screen. Which inks would last longer than a week if I stored them right. How to make sure my paintings didn’t stick to the inside of a heat press… Not super glam, but it’s practical knowledge like that that you just can’t gleam from a lecture theatre. In my mind, infinitely more useful.

Lost Ocean by jamairanolasco
Lost Ocean coloured by jamairanolasco

Do you or did you ever feel isolated in Aberdeen? How often do you have to travel for work, and have you ever been tempted to move for work reasons?
No. I’m a country girl and I don’t function well in big cities. I can’t draw blossoms and hummingbirds surrounded by concrete and tarmac. I venture down to London about once a month, cram in a whirlwind of meetings then fly north again at bedtime.

Lost Ocean by insolitecass
Lost Ocean coloured by insolitecass. You can download this image for free here

Can you tell us any more about your upcoming collaboration with Staedtler?
Yes, we’re starting to post details of this now. I was approached by lots of different pen and pencil manufacturers this year, asking if I would partner with them. Although I loved all the products that were highlighted to me, I’ve used Staedtler pens since art school and they are the brand that I’ve been recommending for years, so working with them seemed the most honest and natural collaboration. We’ve made a series of videos, a super cool little adult colouring website and there are some special edition products and bundles on the way. I’m also speaking to them about a few top secret colouring projects that I’d like to see realized (watch this space!).

Lost Ocean starfish by dreammaker_kelly
Lost Ocean seahorse by dreammaker_kelly
Lost Ocean coloured by dreammaker_kelly

How do you feel when you see the huge piles of colouring books in book and gift shops across the country?
SUPER PROUD. To see the adult colouring category blossom is the biggest thumbs up you can imagine. What better sign that you are doing something right, something that people truly want in their lives? I love that with every new book that appears, more and more people around the world are putting down their digital devices and picking up pens and pencils. We’re onto a good thing here!

Johanna Basford Lost Ocean whale
I feel as though this Christmas we are about to hit “peak colouring book” for want of a better phrase, do you think the interest in adult colouring books will fade away, and do you see an end point for your (immense) contribution to the genre?
No I honestly don’t. I think adult colouring is just a new form a creativity, one that for whatever reason hadn’t risen to the forefront of popularity yet. The exact format may change and I’m keen to see how the discipline evolves, for example onto new materials, new applications, different techniques (have you seen those pan pastel artworks coming out of Brazil?!) but essentially, I think it’s something we’ve all been craving for a long time. An accessible way to be creative, a digital detox, a stress buster, a warm shot of nostalgia – whatever your reason for initially picking up a colouring book, I’m sure they will become a staple part of your creative life.

Lost Ocean by tatianecandido
Lost Ocean coloured by tatianecandido
Finally, what are you working on now and next? (and any clues as to what another colouring book might contain?)

SO MUCH.

A charity Christmas project I’m launching on 1st December, more details coming soon!
A new colouring book next summer (details are top secret for now I’m afraid).
Calendars!
Pens!
More Christmas!
The list goes on and on…


You can tour Johanna’s gorgeous studio in the video above. Lost Ocean is available worldwide. Thank you so much for taking the time to give such brilliant and informative answers Johanna! I can’t wait to see what you do next. Images thanks to the members of Facebook group Colouring Companions and the lovely people who share on Instagram.

Categories ,#TwitterPicture, ,Aberdeenshire, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amanda Steele, ,Colouring Book, ,Colouring Companions, ,dreammaker_kelly, ,Dundee Contemporary Arts, ,Enchanted Forest, ,Evie, ,Exclusive Interview, ,insolitecass, ,instagram, ,interview, ,jamairanolasco, ,Johanna Basford, ,laurengunnart, ,Lost Ocean, ,Louise Chagger, ,Maria C Crowdey, ,Naomi Russell-Baugh, ,New Designers, ,nijnaa, ,Patricia Grund, ,Rebecca Honeybee Swan, ,renatagclementino, ,scotland, ,Scottish, ,Secret Garden, ,Staedtler, ,Tamila Kushnir, ,tatianecandido, ,toomuchgoodfood, ,Vlog, ,Youtube

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Amelia’s Magazine | Master at work: Albert Watson

At the top of Marylebone High Street lurks a lingerie shop with attitude. Surrounded by fashion-favourite names and organic cafés, adiposity it’s both niche-market neighbour and rebellious relative. Meet Apartment C, treat ‘a fashion retailer that just happens to sell lingerie’. And a lot more besides.

Invited to join Apartment C’s owner Kenya Cretegny for a teacup of G&T, I arrive  feeling excited, curious and thrilled to escape London’s relentless chills. While my eyes dart around the dramatic window-display, the door opens and I’m cocooned by an intense warmth that’s almost hypnotic. Falling further under Apartment C’s ‘spell’, I recline on a cherry-coloured chaise longue while Kenya explains her design-inspiration: “the home of Serge Gainsbourg” meets “the apartment of Coco Chanel at the Ritz”. Forget white-washed minimalism à la nearby boutiques. Here, it’s black walls, wax candles, red-tinted photographs and “a bit of taxidermy”, creating a boudoir-showcase for lacy, racy and eye-catching lingerie. Yet this is no ordinary ‘boudoir’; it’s grown-up and fashion conscious. No red-light-seediness or clichéd kitsch. Escapist? Definitely. And, deliciously naughty. But it’s also a place where you “feel free to stay and visit for a while”. Boys are welcome too.

A Central Saint Martins graduate, Kenya always envisaged Apartment C as a concept store, designing interiors herself, “right down to creating foam board models of the space”. First stop from the high street is the “Lounge”, where lingerie displays are instantly different, adorned with dramatic jewels and paper eyelashes. Walk through to the “Library” and discover a treasure-trove of accessories, swimwear, fashion books, trashy romance novels and G&T’s served from a retro 1930’s bar (an enviable eBay purchase). Furniture, generally, is a cool blend of Art Deco and 1960’s pieces, which seemingly never belonged anywhere else. I sense that the “Library” is Kenya’s favourite part; almost the inner workings of her imagination, to which you are granted access. Play along and purchasing possibilities are endless; who’s thinking about the rain, or recession now? With soft carpet underfoot and French perfumes spritzing the air, I’m soon agreeing with Kenya’s friendly team that I could happily move into this stylish apartment, I mean, shop.

So, which lingerie labels are seducing the Apartment C woman (or her G&T-fuelled lover on the chaise longue)? While “primary focus” is upcoming talent, Kenya and her team stocks “fashion-forward lingerie brands that [they] consider innovators”. A diverse selection, including Princesse Tam Tam, Stella McCartney, Lascivious, Fleur of England and Marlies Dekkers, appeals to many forms of femininity. Kenya shares insightfully: “women are multi-faceted and sometimes we want lingerie that is romantic, sometimes it’s fashion-focused and sometimes it’s sexy…and sometimes we just want to sit in something lovely and comfortable and have a cup of tea.” Save for a few ‘dominatrix’-style pieces, there’s nothing too intimidating about Apartment C, nothing too outrageously sexy. Even the mannequin ‘posing’ provocatively on the bar, appears refreshingly innocent. Particularly so, considering other, more overt versions of sexuality, which reinforce the psychology that women only wear lingerie for someone else. Kenya longs to change such attitudes. Wearing good underwear for yourself? “It’s like saying I love me. We all need a bit of that!”

Kenya has become a self-made ambassador for emerging lingerie designers, but  her finely-crafted backdrop to the bras and bodices has likely led to equal recognition (namely, “Vogue’s favourite lingerie boutique”). Where did the concept for Apartment C originate? Copenhagen. “We heard the most glorious party… the tinkling of glasses, music playing softly in the background, the quiet rumble of voices and then deep, throaty laughter….the whole experience felt so decadent and wonderful and alive.” Ah, the mysterious ‘C’ refers to Copenhagen? Or, Cretegna? Neither. It’s based on Kenya’s discovery that people living in ‘Apartment C’ always seem to host the best parties! Kenya’s passion for her business is tangible, from meticulously arranged costume jewellery, to spacious changing rooms, to her personal style: “…dependent on my mood, and what kind of conversation I would like to have with the world on that particular day.” Well today, Kenya’s skinny leather trousers worn with A/W 2010 aplomb are pitch-perfect ‘Apartment C’. Feminine, but strong. Sexy, but not too much. Fashion-forward and charismatic, despite  extraordinary surroundings. A fashion retailer that just happens to sell lingerie? I couldn’t agree more.
albert watson by rachel green
Illustration by Rachel Green

It’s only around the time I’ve finished asking my questions that Albert Watson seems to start warming to me. I was only given ten minutes with the photographic legend, ed author of over 250 cover shots for Vogue, page Rolling Stone and Time magazines, endless fashion and advertising shoots, and iconic film posters such as ‘Kill Bill‘ and ‘Memoirs of a Geisha‘. But when the Scotsman starts talking there is no stopping him, even though people are circling around for his attention. He motions me over to the photos on the wall, telling me how he chose it all – the printing techniques, the paper, the frames, everything. ‘Platinum prints are forever,’ explains Watson, ‘they don’t age, they don’t fade.’


Ruente Monte

Albert Watson likes to be in control of the artistic process, and he was given more opportunity to do this than usual with his commission for the Macallan, the exclusive Scottish single-malt whisky. Last night the beautiful black and white images were shown in the stunning Pimlico auction house Phillips de Pury. It’s only a shame the public won’t get the chance to see them – the works leave on a four month world tour today.

Albert Watson by Avril Kelly
Illustration by Avril Kelly

With such a wide range of work under his belt, I ask Watson what is his favourite kind of project. But he won’t be made to choose: ‘I like all of it. If I were doing celebrities every day I would hate it, and if I were doing landscapes every day I would hate it. I like the mix of things. The main thing I did for years was fashion.’ He pauses. ‘In the end I wasn’t so interested in the fashion and the celebrities, it was about the pictures.’


Gonzalez Byass Bodegas

In September Watson was awarded the prestigious Royal Photographic Society’s Centenary Medal, a lifetime achievement award. A shy but proud smile spreads across his face when I bring this up. Watson is responsible for some truly iconic celebrity shots, such as Mick Jagger as a leopard and Alfred Hitchcock with a goose, but many people don’t necessarily know him by name. Is this a good or a bad thing?

‘Ah, I don’t care!’ laughs Watson. ‘I care if you like the pictures!’ We get sidetracked talking about something else, but Watson comes back to this point later, unprompted: ‘Sometimes people might not know my name, but those I’d like to know me, they do.’ So it’s deliberate, this low profile then, I ask? ‘No!’ Watson exclaims, before adding: ‘But I’m not that interesting. I just work a lot.’

Watson is notoriously hard working, set to go to Marrakesh the day after the Macallan show, then it’s Paris, then Moscow, all before taking what he says is an unusually long Christmas break in two weeks’ time. ‘On a usual day I may work till 9pm, then I go home and have a meal and go to bed, so I can get up in the morning and work till 9pm the next day. I concentrate on the work.’


Teodoro Fernandez Montes – Elder Statesman, Forestal Peninsular SL Cantabria

I ask Watson what advice he would give to budding artist readers of Amelia’s Magazine. He answers with certainty: ‘You have to be working every single day, at what you want to do. If you work six days and have a day off, then you need to do something – think about your work, do a sketch, go to an exhibition – something, on that day too. You need to be on.’

Albert Watson by Werner Fismer
Illustration by Werner Fismer

Watson’s images for Macallan show a young couple’s journey from Spain, where the oaks that make the barrels for the whisky are grown, up to Scotland and the distillery. All black and white, the images are a mixture of wide-sweeping landscape shots, intriguing close-up details, and some incredible portraits of veterans of the whisky trade. Those of more generous means can buy the prints alongside special edition bottles of the whisky, including a limited range of customised bottles from 1946. This is the year Watson met his wife Elizabeth, when they were both four years old.


Easter Elchies House, The Macallan Estate

This is the second time Macallan has employed a photographer to illustrate its product, starting with Rankin in 2008. ‘We gave Albert complete creative freedom to represent the brand. He has created this art noir roadtrip, showing the process from beginning to end,’ says Ken Grier, director of malts at the Edrington Group, which encompasses Macallan. ‘We wanted to create something treasured and beautiful to look at.’ Grier says he has already prepared next year’s project. He won’t say what it is, but promises: ‘It will again be completely different.’

Grier hands me a glass of neat, ten year old whisky, and not being a massive whisky fan I sip it tentatively. But there is no need to worry – the drink is excellent. Smooth, deep and soulful, just like the photographs surrounding us on the walls.

See more of Albert Watson’s work here. Two new books of Watson’s have just been published: ‘Strip Search’, photos from Las Vegas, and ‘UFO: Unified Fashion Objects’, a selection of fashion photos. You can have your own work judged by Watson by entering the Macallan Masterclass.

Categories ,Albert Watson, ,alfred hitchcock, ,Kill Bill, ,Memoirs of a Geisha, ,Mick Jagger, ,Phillips de Pury, ,photography, ,Rankin, ,Rolling Stone, ,Royal Photographic Society, ,scotland, ,spain, ,Strip Search, ,The Macallan, ,Time Magazine, ,UFO, ,vogue, ,Whisky

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Amelia’s Magazine | Meet Essi Kimpimäki: Featured Artist from That Which We Do Not Understand

Amelias_magazine_TWWDNU_Essi_Kimpimäki_shamaness

Essi Kimpimäki is a Finish illustrator who will be featured in my upcoming 10th anniversary limited edition artists’ book, That Which We Do Not Understand. You can also buy her wonderful work as a limited edition print featuring real gold leaf: visit my Kickstarter campaign here to find out more. Essi relocated to Scotland to study at the Glasgow School of Art. She creates textures through the use of ink, rollers, watercolour, paint, sponge and pencils, before scanning her work into Photoshop where she plays around with the colours and arrangements. Shamaness (above) is her contribution to my book and is inspired by ancient Mesoamerican civilisations who believed there was a strong connection between the spirit and visible world. The jaguar was a protective spirit companion for shamans as they moved between the realms and the bird is emblematic of the ecstatic trance state.

strawberry by essi kimpimaki
How did you research the themes for Shamaness, and what was it in particular that appealed to you about the ideas you chose to illustrate?
I have always been really interested in different cultures, of both past and present, all around the world – the further away the better! I find it fascinating how differently people perceive the world we all live in, and especially the more abstract ideas in life, the things we do not fully understand. In my opinion, the old civilizations usually had the most interesting ways of seeing things, which is why I looked at the ancient Mesoamerican cultures for this project, and the way they saw and experienced the connection between the spirit and visible world.

morocco by essi kimpimaki
Morocco.

The colour palette is amazing, where did you find inspiration for such a bold scheme?
Thank you! I work pretty intuitively when it comes to colours; I like using bold colours in my work in general, and I suppose with this one the bright colour palette came naturally with the exotic location deep in the jungle. I also wanted to create a stark contrast between the shamaness and the dark background of the night-time jungle.

How did you find out about the open brief and why did you decide to submit?
I think I first saw it on my Twitter feed. I have admired Amelia’s Magazine for a long time but never had the chance to even try to contribute to it, as it wasn’t in print anymore at the time I discovered it. So when I saw this opportunity, combined with the inspiring theme, I obviously had to give it a go!

deer by essi kimpimaki
What are your favourite subjects to draw and why?
I’d say my favourite subject to draw is definitely faraway places. There are so many places in the world that I’d like to see (but I’m pretty sure I’ll never see them all unless I win the lottery..), so I guess researching and drawing these places is kind of like alternative travelling to me. I don’t overly enjoy replicating an existing place right down to the comma, but I rather try to create an image that will hopefully convey the atmosphere of the location to the viewer.

sketches-for-childrens-book-essi-kimpimaki
Sketches for children’s book.

You also make your own screen prints, what do you love most about the process of creating art this way?
I currently work mostly digitally, but definitely want to get back to screen printing soon! Working digitally is faster and more cost efficient, but it’s just a completely different experience. When screen printing, you get so much more involved in the process, you are actually creating something tactile with your hands. I also find that screen printing can be pretty stressful at times; when things start going wrong, they really do go wrong, and you can’t fix it as easily as you can with Photoshop. But I guess this also adds to its charm! You can also end up with happy accidents that actually make the work better and more interesting. And seeing and feeling the lovely texture of the finished print definitely makes it all worth it.

new-prints-essi-kimpimaki
You are originally from Finland but now reside in Glasgow… why did you decide to study in Scotland and what has kept you there?
At least at the time there weren’t really any illustration only degrees available in Finland, you had to study graphic design as well, which I wasn’t interested in. I also just wanted to live abroad again (I had previously lived and worked in England for a few short periods), so returning to the UK was an easy and natural choice for me. Because of the high tuition fees in England, I ended up looking at art schools in Scotland, decided that Glasgow seemed like a nice city, and that’s pretty much how I ended up here. My intention was never to stay here after graduation, but I guess things rarely go as you plan! I have my friends and boyfriend here now and I also find Glasgow an inspiring, exciting and friendly city to live in. If only it was located somewhere sunnier, though…

How much of an inspiration does your homeland remain, and how do you think your Finnish roots affect your approach to work?
I honestly don’t know; I’m not aware of actively being inspired by my homeland, but then again, I guess these things often happen subconsciously. Unfortunately I can’t remember where I read this from, but someone wrote that due to our location, Finnish culture is a mixture of West and East; more ornamental and romantic aesthetics from the East, and minimalistic and graphical approach from the West and Scandinavia. I think this is something I can relate to regarding my own work, so maybe that is where my roots show.

christmas-cards-essi-kimpimaki
What are you working on at the moment.. can you give us any sneak peaks?
I’m actually preparing for the Christmas period at the moment; folding cards, cutting cardboard, packing prints, sending out orders. I have just received my Christmas cards and a few other new prints from the printers, ready for the Christmas market I’m attending next month. In addition to this, I’ve been doing some very early sketches of the main character cat for a children’s book that me and my friend are working on!

Don’t forget to visit my Kickstarter campaign if you like Essi’s work. Her print is for sale right here. Read about the creation of the print on her blog here. 50% of profits (after print, packaging and shipment costs are met) go to the artist, so if you like what you see, go support her!

Categories ,Essi Kimpimaki, ,finland, ,FInnish, ,glasgow, ,Glasgow School of Art, ,illustration, ,illustrator, ,interview, ,Kickstarter, ,Mesoamerican, ,scotland, ,Shamaness, ,Spirit, ,That Which We Do Not Understand

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