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

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

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

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

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

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

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Amelia’s Magazine | irkafirka illustrated tweets: Nick Hilditch explains

irkafirka manflu goblin

Intrigued by a side project by one of our contributors, I decided to get to the bottom of this irkafirka business…

irkafirka: illustrated tweets. “Anything you say may be taken down and coloured in.” What a great idea, how did the project start?
My old friend Chris challenged me to draw a Twitter-inspired doodle a day and post it. My initial reaction was “I don’t have time for this” but the seed was planted, and I decided it wouldn’t do any harm to try it once. The response was instant and we were both hooked.

irkafirka batman joker

Who is irkafirka and why the name?
irkafirka is Nick Hilditch (illustrator, that’s me) and Chris Bell (curator). The name is a Hungarian word meaning doodle. I lived in Budapest for 7 years and speak Hungarian poorly, but its a beautiful word, and I filed it away years ago for future use. Everything about irkafirka came together very spontaneously – the concept, the name, the little dog logo. Everything about it feels right to us.

How did you two hook up and how long have you been in business?
Chris and I have been friends since school, although our lives took us in different directions. It was only through Twitter that we re-ignited our teenage delusions of grandeur. The business relationship is informal – we didn’t start out to make money from the project, we did it for the sheer fun of it. Now it consumes so much of our time and we have such a big audience, we’d love to take it to the next level, but as yet, the means to monetise our success alludes us. One goal we set was to get an irkafirka book published, but we want to get this right rather than rushing into it. We’d love to talk to any interested publishers.

irkafirka horse

How does the technical side work?
Here’s Chris on the technical side: “It’s a clunky-chunk of social-webbery. The website is built on the Fullscreen template for WordPress. Illustrations are taken from TwitPic and posted along with a picture of the original tweet. The illustrations are automatically cross-posted to our Tumblr page. Each new post updates the RSS feed, which populates the iPhone and Nokia apps automatically. We then add a link to the post on the Facebook page, which also carries other miscellaneous nonsense including a gallery of the 200 most recent illustrations, which are pulled from our Flickr picture stream. We also have various pictures on show in cities around the country using the crazy magic of augmented reality. We use Layar and a back-end system run over in Belgium by our dear friends at Hoppala. Best of all, apart from hosting the website everything we use is totally free. We are a pair of cheapskates…”

irkafirka squirrel

How do you decide what tweets to illustrate?
This is the hardest part. The truth is, the vast majority of tweets are utterly banal. It really is just a case of using any means possible to find great visuals, and when I see a tweet I can illustrate I jump straight on it. We look for recommendations from our audience of over 1700 followers, we browse other people’s lists, we search keywords. We do have rules the most important of which is rule 6, “If we stop enjoying it, we’ll stop.” I believe that when a creator is enjoying their work that will come across in the end product, so I’m really just looking for things that amuse me. We also ask that people recommend vivid tweeters to us using the #firkafursday tag, every Thursday. This way, we’ve built up a watch list which occasionally yields results – it’s no guarantee of getting your tweet illustrated, but it almost certainly improves the odds.

irkafirka swedish moon

If you were to chose anything from my recent tweets to illustrate, what would it be? (go on, do me an illustration… or does that count as a suggestion and will therefore be ignored. pretend I didn’t say anything… it’s all subliminal…)
I had a skim through your recent timeline. As is often the case, most of your tweets are either parts of conversations with little meaning out of context, or links. We’re all for wilfully taking things out of context. To this day, one of my personal favourites is “The oven’s broken. I’ll have to get the bloke out”. A very important part of what we do is the element of surprise – we don’t like the subject to know they’re going to get firked. You can commission an illustration, but technically, a commission wouldn’t be an irkafirka. It would simply be a work by the artists behind irkafirka. And it wouldn’t be free.

You try to post daily but of course real life gets in the way… when is an irkafirka more important – what would prompt you to miss a favourite film in favour of an illustration?
irkafirka has become a compulsion for me. If I miss a day, I feel more pressure to make sure I deliver something the next. On a day when I’m busy and can’t see when I’ll be able to produce something, I’m agitated. Usually we try and let our followers know when it’s a rule 5 day (that’s the rule that let’s us off the hook due to other commitments), but I never like to rule it out. My wife has been incredibly patient. A favourite film is a good example of something I wouldn’t miss, though. I’m a bit of an old school cineaste.

irkafirka unicycle

Nick: you used to live in Hungary. Why on earth did you come back to the UK, and what do you miss most about Hungary?
I loved living in Hungary, and I haven’t ruled out moving back. I miss my friends there, the long hot summers and the bableves (bean soup). I came back because I was finding it increasingly difficult to find relevant work. My wife is Hungarian, so we go back as often as possible. People often say “yours is a job you could do from anywhere” which is true to some extent, but to find the work you usually need to get out there and meet the clients. The dream is that one day my work will be so much in demand, I’ll be able to live where I want. So start demanding, demanders.

You also jacked in a career at a digital agency to become a freelance artist. What prompted this move and has it been a success? What’s the best job you’ve worked on so far, and has Irkafirka got you any jobs?
Working at a digital agency was interesting, and I got to work on a lot of great brands. I even helped them win 2 BAFTAs. However, I was there for over 4 years and the work was beginning to feel repetitious. I also wanted to develop my own IP so that I’d have work would that generate an income for me. I didn’t quit because of irkafirka, but it did give me confidence in my own work and helped me build up a portfolio that wasn’t exclusively comprised of other people’s brands. irkafirkas are drawn quickly, in a single sitting, with little or no advance planning, so they’re frequently full of mistakes, but as with great music, I like to think that this is compensated for by the energy put into them. When showing my portfolio, it is the work that generates the most interest. As irkafirka is a significant part of my portfolio, I like to think it’s played a part in all the work I’ve picked up since I started freelancing. The only paid work that’s resulted directly from irkafirka is a side-project for Nokia where we draw illustrations based on comments from the official Nokia blog. It’s too early to say whether it’s been a success, but I certainly don’t regret it, and it’s very hard to imagine going back.

How can someone get hold of an irkafirka print, and which ones would you recommend as christmas presses for specific members of the family?
Selling prints wasn’t initially part of the plan, but the demand was there, so we set up a shop at Zazzle. They’re most frequently bought by the subject, so the market is fairly limited, but we’re looking for ways to make irkafirka-based products with a broader appeal in the new year. The images that make it into the shop are added on the basis that somebody expressed an interest in buying them, rather than because we necessarily think they’re the best works. However, based on what’s there already, here’s my handy irkafirka shopping list that’s surely better than the tired recommendations you’ll find on Amazon.

For your Mum: @BangsandaBun
For your Dad: @BruceandSimon
For your Grandparent: @Whatleydude
For your dirty uncle: @bennycrime
If you find something on irkafirka that isn’t in the shop, and you’d like to buy a copy, just let us know and we’ll upload it. Happy Christmas!

**************************************************************************
Alas, I broke the rules, so I have yet to inspire my own illustrated tweet… although I’m fairly sure that a quick glance through tweets produced in the 24 hours previous to Nick completing this Q&A could have turned up a few goodies (let’s just gloss over the fact that the best was a retweet, okay?)

Best go put the hob on in the kitchen so I can spread them around a bit. (Hob to keep me warm, bloody arctic down there)

RT @PennyRed I am a tiny protesting icicle. A protesticle.

have not left house for nearly three days. or seen anyone. I am a hermit.

pah! I wouldn’t miss it that much, I just went out for food supplies and my face nearly fell off – staying put now

I live in hope that one day I will be deemed worthy…

Categories ,#firkafursday, ,Apps, ,Budapest, ,Bulgarian, ,Chris Bell, ,Flickr, ,hashtag, ,Hoppala, ,Hungarian, ,illustration, ,iPhone, ,irkafirka, ,Layar, ,Nick Hilditch, ,Nokia, ,Tumblr, ,Twitpic, ,twitter, ,Zazzle

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with photographer Shannon Natasha

teebs

Flying Lotus seems to be a man that can do no wrong at the moment. His latest album, ambulance Cosmogramma, viagra was met with resounding praise from critics across the globe and his new EP, visit this site Pattern + Gridworld, looks set to enjoy the same success. In addition to his personal prominence at present, FlyLo’s Brainfeeder label is enjoying similar notoriety due to some inspired signings that are taking hip hop production to dizzying heights. His latest offering, Teebs, is likely to increase the LA label’s popularity even further.

Teebs, real name Mtendere Mandowa, is a 23 year old Californian beat maker who is about to unleash his inspired debut album, Ardour, this month. The elegant piano flourishes and spellbinding harps are closer to the works of Caribou and Bonobo than they are to the works of fellow label mates and beat purveyors Gaslamp Killer and Lorn. This is an album so understated and mystifying that label owner Flying Lotus refers to it as “like an island vacation. The way Avatar looks.” Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs has been heaping praise upon it during her weekly show, calling it “a unique and tender magic.”

The Chino Hills native began producing his own music after he tore his Achilles tendon during a skateboarding accident. Due to the fact that he was not physically able to pursue one of his passions, he simply decided to replace it with another. “I was out for half a year and just made music and art during that time,” says Mandowa. “That’s when I just got stuck, since I got the same feeling I did when I was skating.”

Soon, Teebs’ creations took on a life of their own and resulted in the producer making regular trips to Los Angeles to perform at Low End Theory, the experimental hip hop haven that has produced the likes of Daedelus and Shlohmo. “Low End was the Mecca,” advises the young producer. “I think it still is for a lot of artists coming up in the LA area. It’s freedom in the purest form. Anything goes there as long as it has its own honest feeling to it.” 

It didn’t take long before Flying Lotus became aware of Teebs’ talents and the pair forged a friendship through their similar philosophies about what hip hop should music could be. Says Mandowa: “After a few visits to his old place in the valley and a beat CD that I passed over to him, Lotus just texted me and it read something like, ‘So whatsup, will you join us?’”

This seems like a fairly informal way to score a record deal, but Teebs’ attitude in general tends to give the impression that he takes everything in his stride and tries not to force anything too much. This may just have worked in his favour as his debut album, named after his preferred digital audio workstation, easily ranks as one of the most ambitious releases on Brainfeeder to date.

Despite the fact that Teebs’ first album sounds like a focused collection of works that were meticulously threaded together, he is happy to confess that none of it was intentional. “It’s definitely just a collection of tunes that I pulled together after I was asked to make a record,” confesses the 23 year old. “I never thought my music would get pressed or that I would ever really put stuff out seriously until I got on Brainfeeder. It was a strange feeling like, ‘Oh I need to make this work as a single record now.’”

Ardour is out now on Brainfeeder.

teebs

Flying Lotus seems to be a man that can do no wrong at the moment. His latest album, thumb Cosmogramma, site was met with resounding praise from critics across the globe and his new EP, Pattern + Gridworld, looks set to enjoy the same success. In addition to his personal prominence at present, FlyLo’s Brainfeeder label is enjoying similar notoriety due to some inspired signings that are taking hip hop production to dizzying heights. His latest offering, Teebs, is likely to increase the LA label’s popularity even further.

teebs_ardour_cover

Teebs, real name Mtendere Mandowa, is a 23 year old Californian beat maker who is about to unleash his inspired debut album, Ardour, this month. The elegant piano flourishes and spellbinding harps are closer to the works of Caribou and Bonobo than they are to the works of fellow label mates and beat purveyors Gaslamp Killer and Lorn. This is an album so understated and mystifying that label owner Flying Lotus refers to it as “like an island vacation. The way Avatar looks.” Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs has been heaping praise upon it during her weekly show, calling it “a unique and tender magic.”

The Chino Hills native began producing his own music after he tore his Achilles tendon during a skateboarding accident. Due to the fact that he was not physically able to pursue one of his passions, he simply decided to replace it with another. “I was out for half a year and just made music and art during that time,” says Mandowa. “That’s when I just got stuck, since I got the same feeling I did when I was skating.”

Soon, Teebs’ creations took on a life of their own and resulted in the producer making regular trips to Los Angeles to perform at Low End Theory, the experimental hip hop haven that has produced the likes of Daedelus and Shlohmo. “Low End was the Mecca,” advises the young producer. “I think it still is for a lot of artists coming up in the LA area. It’s freedom in the purest form. Anything goes there as long as it has its own honest feeling to it.” 

It didn’t take long before Flying Lotus became aware of Teebs’ talents and the pair forged a friendship through their similar philosophies about what hip hop should music could be. Says Mandowa: “After a few visits to his old place in the valley and a beat CD that I passed over to him, Lotus just texted me and it read something like, ‘So whatsup, will you join us?’”

This seems like a fairly informal way to score a record deal, but Teebs’ attitude in general tends to give the impression that he takes everything in his stride and tries not to force anything too much. This may just have worked in his favour as his debut album, named after his preferred digital audio workstation, easily ranks as one of the most ambitious releases on Brainfeeder to date.

Despite the fact that Teebs’ first album sounds like a focused collection of works that were meticulously threaded together, he is happy to confess that none of it was intentional. “It’s definitely just a collection of tunes that I pulled together after I was asked to make a record,” confesses the 23 year old. “I never thought my music would get pressed or that I would ever really put stuff out seriously until I got on Brainfeeder. It was a strange feeling like, ‘Oh I need to make this work as a single record now.’”

Ardour is out now on Brainfeeder.

Shannon_Natasha_children

Take a look at Shannon’s website, online her Flickr or Tumblr, abortion and you’ll get to peek into a world of ‘almost’ – almost grown up, almost ready, almost on your way. I feel I should apologise to Shannon in case that sounds patronising, but I mean this in the best way possible. Looking at Shannon’s photos brings back a feeling of being on the verge, excited and nervous at the thought of everything ahead. Right now, the 17–year-old is finishing her high school exams at home in Australia, and has to choose whether to go on to study photography full time or do something else. Almost entirely self-taught, she’s worried that taking her photography to a more professional level could take the fun out of it. But for one more summer, in a place infinitely more sunny than Britain, she is still free to roam around with friends and her camera.

Shannon_Natasha_selfportrait
Shannon Natasha: self portrait.

Shannon’s photos have a fresh and uninhibited feel, with a playful and sometimes dreamy streak. As her self portrait demonstrates, she knows a thing or two about technique and lighting too, and a browse through her work shows she has a good eye for intriguing detail. I think this is what they mean when they talk about talent.

What is it that you love about photography?
I love having the ability to focus on different points, pinpointing something specific you want people to be drawn to. I love creating stories and dreams in my photos, documenting events and recording emotions. I love being able to alter reality, spinning it whichever way I feel.

Shannon_Natasha_untitled

What sparked your interest in picture-taking?
I’ve actually had an interest in cameras since I was very young, receiving my first one as a birthday present when I was about five. I really developed my love for photography around the age of 14, and I delved further into the art by purchasing my first DSLR camera last year. This gave me much more manual freedom, which I had desired for so long. Previous to this I would often borrow the DSLRs from my school, or use my friend’s. I also used film SLRs. I’m mainly self taught, although I did learn a little more in choosing digital photography as an elective at school two years ago.

Shannon_Natasha_CF_VII

You have some great fashion-themed shots in your collection, but my favourites are probably the more ‘quiet’ photos, such as the wire hanger and the rose-painted doorknobs. Which style of photography do you like best?
My favourite shots are often the simple ones, although my different styles of photos all appeal to different parts of me. I love fashion and that’s why I love taking fashion shots. I also adore story telling, the ability to evoke emotion in others through art, and sometimes just having something pretty to look at, something that will sweeten my eyes and hopefully the eyes of others who see my photos. This is one thing I love about taking photos as a hobby, I take them for me. I don’t have any photos that other people have dictated.

Shannon_Natasha_hang_on
Hang on

You seem to be doing more and more fashion shoots. Is this the direction you’d like to go as a photographer?
I don’t think I could ever decide on one direction. I’m definitely interested in shooting fashion but I’d never want to limit myself. One thing I love about photography is the freedom and having the ability to capture my own visions. Sometimes I may have the intention of shooting a fashion-styled set of photos and end up getting carried away with more abstract or conceptual shots.

Shannon_Natasha_i_see_the_light_surrounding_you
I see the light surrounding you.

From where do you draw inspiration? Who are your favourite photographers?
I often draw inspiration from magazines, websites like Tumblr, amazing artists on Flickr and in the world, through music, through relationships, books and my family and friends. Many of my favourite photographers are not necessarily world-renowned. I absolutely love work by Alison Scarpulla, Jeannine Tan, Mary Robinson, Muszka, Tamara Lichtenstein, Nirrimi Hackanson and Evan Hawke. Their photos just catch my breath.

Do you spend a lot of time getting the settings and light right, or is it a more impulsive process? Do you do much post-production?
It’s becoming much more impulsive now, although I do remember when it would take me four or five shots to get the settings right. Now it only takes one or two. Crazy weather in Australia, when the sun can’t make up its mind, doesn’t help. I don’t edit much if I’m shooting fashion or would like the photos to look more realistic, but if I’m going for something a little more magical I tend to spend a bit of time editing.

Shannon_Natasha_140410

With school over, what’s your plan?
The next thing for me will be university or possible an art college, where I will major in photography. At the moment I’d like to do both photography as well as something like law or psychology, but I may not even pursue photography in future study. I enjoy it very much as a hobby, so pushing money and survival into the equation may take some of my love from photography and replace it with nerves and fear which would ultimately be negative.

Shannon_Natasha_black

Other than photography, what makes you happy?
Other than taking photos, my passion is dancing. Mainly hip hop. Definitely dancing.

Follow Shannon Natasha on twitter here.

Categories ,Alison Scarpulla, ,australia, ,Evan Hawke, ,Flickr, ,Jeannine Tan, ,Mary Robinson, ,Muszka, ,Nirrimi Hackanson, ,photography, ,Shannon Natasha, ,Tamara Lichtenstein, ,Tumblr

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