Amelia’s Magazine | Modern Love: S/S 2012 Preview Interview with designer Sarah Arnett

Modern Love by Ola Szpunar
Modern Love by Ola Szpunar.

Sarah Arnett is a multi talented designer who just happened to train at the same university as me. She graduated the year above, and since then has had an extremely interesting and varied career – from contributing illustrations to Amelia’s Magazine to creating a beautiful fashion line that is exclusively stocked in Liberty – it seems she is capable of turning her hand to all aspects of design! Prepare to be very inspired….

Modern Love SS12
sarah arnett Modern Love by angela lamb
Modern Love by Angela Lamb.

You’ve had an eclectic career, training firstly in woven textiles for fashion on the same course as me at Brighton Uni, and then moving into illustration, interior design and back into the world of fashion. Can you tell us more about your journey across these disciplines?
I found it very difficult to decide what to do in the first place, all I knew was that I wanted to go to art college, I grew up with a family of designers and makers so being able to sew and paint seemed normal and I used to watch my father work in his studio, everyone was able to draw, paint… in fact my great uncle designed fabrics for Liberty. Things happen in your life like having children, and other things become important… it’s the same with my work, other things become more exciting and more important. I am totally inspired by the process and that drives me to try more things. It’s an exciting time for crossing over disciplines and I have always just thought of my self as a designer… It could be fashion, interiors… or illustration. I am so inspired by working on a range of projects; in the last couple of years year I have shown in a couple of exhibitions at Somerset House, worked on Modern Love, designed the new look of the uniform for the National Trust, as well as creating illustrations for The Sunday Times Style Magazine. I also design a small bridal collection that I sell through a vintage shop in Brighton… and there is a long list of other things that I want to do!

Modern Love SS12
Sarah-Harnett-by-Laura-Griffin
Modern Love by Laura Griffin.

What is the highlight of working across disciplines?
No day is the same….

Modernlove ss12 Long v neck dress
And what have been the difficult parts?
I love and hate fashion, sometimes I think it’s a frivolous waste of time and on the other hand can make someone feel beautiful and have a real impact on their life… I don’t think I am a fashionable person and have never felt very comfortable in my own skin, but I am and have always been fascinated by clothes. I find fashion a very big challenge. The stress of running your own business is hard work, as is that freelancer’s worry of where the next job will be coming from… and there is always self doubt. But I look at all of these as things that drive me on to try and do better.

Sarah Arnett Modern Love by Isher Dhiman
Sarah Arnett’s Modern Love by Isher Dhiman.

Why did you name your clothing brand Modern Love?
Myself and my business partner Kim Hunt really liked the idea of a name that encompassed what we felt and admired about good design. The Love of beauty, vintage, heritage and the feminine and the Modern… a way of thinking, responsibility to the environment, ethical and local manufacturing, our vision, our way of working and maintaining a good work/life balance for ourselves (we did have our production meeting on the beach over looking a very calm sea today!) and a reference to David Bowie never hurt anyone! I

Modern Love print design SS 2012
Print design from the current collection.

For S/S 2012 Modern Love is all about a mix of tropical and country garden prints – described as earthy African hues meet the soft English sky (love that description) Where did you find inspiration for the imagery?
I find that I am constantly working and re-working the same themes which are a mix of my African, big sunshine early influences and my love of the softer, rolling South Downs up-bringing. I can’t ever choose between them. If I admire or value or find something beautiful or fascinating I am drawn to design with it, I think it’s a very similar sensation to eating something or collecting things. It’s a different way of owning or tasting something. I draw it.

Modern Love print design SS 2012
How do you reconcile living on the sometimes rainy south coast of Brighton with your fabulous African childhood? Are there ways to bring a bit of African sunshine back into your life?!
In a strange way having the coast and that big expanse of water and sky to look can be as dramatic and uplifting as the sunshine and dry African plains: I walk down to the sea every day I possibly can, it’s very important to me. Without it I would hate the winter even more than I do! My ideal situation would be six months here, six months there. 

Modern Love print design SS 2012
How easy is it to design shapes to suit your prints, or do you begin the other way around?
The collection starts out with shapes and a woman in mind first. Then I feel like I have to think about that woman, what she would wear and start to fit the prints around it. It’s always a bit of a narrative, there has to be a reason for the print to be there. Quite often we will find an image of a woman for each season and then we will always question whether she will wear each design. Kim and I design the shapes together so we talk and talk and draw and have to justify why it has to be there. Once we have the bones of the collection together I go into my own world for a few weeks getting the new prints together. I like to engineer the print to the pattern pieces of the garment.

Modern Love print design SS 2012
Why did you decide to print the fabrics in Como, Italy?
There is a fantastic tradition of textiles in Como. I first went there when I did a work placement in Switzerland. We were very near to Como and visited it often. If you have to choose a location for a factory visit, I can’t imagine anything more beautiful! The printers I work with have printed in a traditional way for a couple of generations and then moved over to digital twenty years ago when it was first being experimented with. The laying down of pigment, whether via digital or by screen print, is only part of the process. They are very skilled in the handling and finishing of the fabrics which makes them feel beautiful and gives them a longevity. The digital process is much cleaner than traditional screen printing and uses far less water and energy. I like the tradition and the finesse of the final production. What they lack in delivering on time they make up in the detail and quality!

Modern Love SS12
Modern Love SS12 5
Modern Love by Nanae Kawahara
Modern Love by Nanae Kawahara.

Who are the craftspeople who make the collection for you? Can you introduce us to them!
Brighton is so full of talented machinists and pattern cutters, it’s a very sociable place and over the years I have met lots of people I can call on to help me. I have used the same machinists for the last ten years. They work form home and small studios as well as working for me they are working for lots of top designers; a good machinist is worth her weight in gold! There used to be a lot of small garment factories in the area and it’s a shame they have all disappeared. There is a new initiative called The Fashion Trust based in Sussex which is trying to pull all the local resources together which will be great for designer just starting up.

Modern Love SS12
Sarah Arnett Modern Love by Jacqueline Valencia
Sarah Arnett’s Modern Love by Jacqueline Valencia.

Modern Love is stocked exclusively in Liberty – a dream for most clothing brands. How did you get the label into this most prestigious of shops?
Well, Liberty made it very easy, even with beautiful photographs and constant emailing it’s very difficult to get the attention of the buyers unless you see them face to face at a show. We lined up with everyone else at their Best Of British Open Call and were the only womens wear brand to have got through last year. It was a great experience because at least you knew you had a few minutes of complete attention to show your collection in the flesh. I think it has been a great success and we feel very proud to have our collection there, especially since it was our first goal when starting Modern Love.

Modern Love SS12
Modern Love SS12
Find Modern Love at Liberty right here.

Categories ,africa, ,Angela Lamb, ,Best of British, ,Best Of British Open Call, ,Bridal, ,brighton, ,Como, ,David Bowie, ,fashion, ,Fashion Textiles, ,illustration, ,Interior Design, ,Isher Dhiman, ,Italy, ,Jacqueline Valencia, ,Kim Hunt, ,Laura Griffin, ,liberty, ,Modern Love, ,Nanae Kawahara, ,National Trust, ,Ola Szpunar, ,print, ,Sarah Arnett, ,Somerset House, ,Sunday Times Style Magazine, ,Sussex, ,The Fashion Trust, ,University of Brighton, ,vintage, ,Woven Textiles

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Amelia’s Magazine | Ikebana AW15: An interview with fashion designer Sadie Williams

Sadie Williams by Bonaramis
Sadie Williams by Bonaramis.

Fashion designer Sadie Williams was inspired by the 1962 Best of Ikebana book on Japanese flower arranging to create a bold and innovative AW15 collection that features multiple textile techniques and a glorious mash up of fabrics. Here she tells us more…

Sadie Williams AW15
Where did you study on BA and MA and what were the best aspects of your courses?
BA in Fashion Design at Brighton. Best aspects were the technical training this gave you, and the amazing tutorship of Jane Shepherd, who introduced us young, clueless first years to many many brilliant and inspiring aspects to this vast industry. She also and helped us to develop into stronger designers, and taught us that we should be unafraid of creating something extreme, bizarre or seemingly ‘anti-fashion’.

Sadie Williams AW15
MA on the ‘Textiles For Fashion’ pathway of the MA Fashion course at Central Saint Martins. This is where I finally felt like I found ‘my thing’, through lots of learning through mistakes! It was tough, but the best thing I have ever done. I feel honoured to have been taught by my textile tutor Fleet and the late great Louise Wilson.

Sadie Williams AW15
You’ve been much feted since your MA collection caught imaginations, what has been the best outcome of this?
Being able to continue working creatively and express myself and my vision, sometimes this is in collaboration with another brand or project and more recently under my own label. I have also loved being able to travel and meet so many brilliant people along the way. It’s all still very much a learning curve.

Sadie Williams AW15
Your collections are defined by sleek silhouettes, what is it about such graphic shapes that appeals to you?
For me, I really focus on creating the textiles, often quite laboured (multi-layered, printed, quilted, appliqued, embossed etc). I love clean simple silhouettes and feel that partnering them with my textiles is both cool and necessary way to present my work in a stronger and clearer way, and avoid the danger of fussy garments being overworked or theatrical.

Sadie Williams AW15
How do you source so many different types of metallic fabrics?
Always on the look-out! But also, I create a lot of different metallic fabrications through altering/re-working existing fabrics using various techniques, for example bonding shimmering transparent fabrics over satins or lurex, weaving metallic ribbons into fabrics, or stiffening flimsy loose-weave lurex by embossing and bonding it.

Sadie Williams AW15
What fabrics are your favourite kind to work with and why?
I think it’s clear that I rather like lurex! But honestly, I just really love working with all sorts of textiles. I love being set a project/job where I have to work with a fabric that I wouldn’t normally select myself, for example, one of my favourite projects form the CSM MA was working with lace, which I doubt I would ever have considered before.

Sadie Williams AW15
I understand you are in the process of moving studios, where is the new one and what would we see if we came to visit?
It’s in East London, Haggerston, right by the canal! There’s a lot of rolls of fabric! Shelves full of books and mags, lots of portfolio boxes, my heat-press, sublimation printer sewing machine, mannequin etc. Lots of crafty things like wire, plasticine, coloured acetates and tons of different kinds of papers (which I often use for making our animations). All the things I need to do what I do!

Sadie Williams AW15
I loved your latest collection, inspired by Ikebana flower arrangements, what was the process of translating the Best of Ikebana books into wearable garments?
It was more the idea of translating the spirit of those beautiful 1960’s images of floral arrangements into my work, rather than a visual translation. I liked the way that they were subtly vibrant, and very playful and fun yet so composed and still at the same time. I hope that makes sense! I worked with my friend Georgina Norris to create accompanying floral arrangements using the leathers that were featured in my collection, so we used these in my installation spaces at London and Paris fashion week, and I always intended to pair them up with imagery of my garments into a printed and digital lookbook.

How did you include techniques such as weaving, quilting and applique?
I wove together some brilliant vintage Indian ribbons that I sourced from a market stall in Shepherds Bush. In fact I bought up all his stock! I appliqued these as decorative patched onto the fronts of tops. I also used applique to apply metallic leather onto fine silk-prganza, which was actually pretty tricky and took a lot of sampling. It’s a multi-step process involving machine-sewing the leather and organza between layers of a specialist translucent quilting paper, which you can then tear away. I quilted a few lurex garments, by sewing around the print design through lyers of wadding and onto a backing fabric.

Sadie Williams AW15
Do you have any other collaborations with your brother Joe Williams on the horizon?
He is currently on a trip travelling for a few months, but we have an agent, and so when the right projects come up and we are both available, then yes! And I would love to work with him again to illustrate some of my own work again in the near future.

What’s next for Sadie Williams, can we expect another full collection next season and if so can you give us a clue about your new inspiration?
I am definitely going to be applying for NewGen sponsorship again for SS16, so fingers crossed! And I am afraid I’m going to keep my lips sealed at the moment!

Categories ,AW15, ,Best of Ikebana, ,Bonaramis, ,Central Saint Martins, ,East London, ,Fleet, ,Georgina Norris, ,Haggerston, ,Ikebana, ,interview, ,Jane Shepherd, ,japanese, ,Joe Williams, ,Louise Wilson, ,Lurex, ,Metallic, ,Newgen, ,Sadie Williams, ,University of Brighton

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Amelia’s Magazine | Studio 350 – University of Brighton Graphic Design & Illustration Graduate Show 2015

George Harvey brighton uni 3
In early July the Brighton University Studio 350 graphic design and illustration show was held at the Rose Lipman Building in Hoxton. This year there was a particularly diverse range of talents on display from both graphic design and illustration. Here are my favourite finds.

George Harvey brighton uni 2
George Harvey brighton uni
George Harvey brighton uni 4
Firstly, I fell in love with African influenced patterns by George Harvey, who also played with type featuring amusing quotes from comedian Mitch Hedburg.

Julie-Ann Pedida brighton uni
Julie-Ann Pedida focused on the colour and designs of coral in miniature sculptures and in this stunning cushion pattern design. Imagine what she could produce for my colouring book open brief!

Sasha George Brighton Uni 2
Sasha George Brighton Uni 4
Sasha George Brighton Uni 3
Sasha George Brighton Uni
I loved apocalyptic illustrations by Sasha George: definitely another favourite find who could produce amazing pages for my colouring book.

Florence Reddington brighton uni
This crossstitch needlework by Florence Reddington purveyed an equally dramatic message in a very different way.

Roo hasan brighton
Printmaker Roo Hasan produced this lush pattern on a tent.

Brighton Uni Illus Amy Fullalove
Amy Fullalove made a graphic wall display inspired by the signage needed for nuclear disposal units in the far distant future.

Nigel Farage by Holly MacDonald
This pottery sculpture of Nigel Farage is by Holly MacDonald who is “teaching the world about politics threw fun ceramics and cartoons” with her Pop-Up Poll Booth project.

Doyeon Sharon Kim brighton uni
Graphic prints by Doyeon Sharon Kim had a distinct 80s vibe.

James Heginbottom
James Heginbottom 2
James Heginbottom created a series of spooky photographic collages inspired by the occult, witchcraft and all things macabre.

Vicky Stevenson
Artist Vicky Stevenson put together an interactive stand inviting visitors to Take Something and Leave Something: I took some sparkly badges and left a note saying ‘I like your sparkly badges, and so will my child‘ and he did!

All of these images first appeared on my own my instagram feed: follow me there to catch my discoveries as I make them.

Categories ,2015, ,Amy Fullalove, ,Doyeon Sharon Kim, ,Florence Reddington, ,George Harvey, ,Graduate Show, ,Graphic Design, ,Holly MacDonald, ,Hoxton, ,illustration, ,James Heginbottom, ,Julie-Ann Pedida, ,Mitch Hedburg, ,Nigel Farage, ,Pop-Up Poll Booth, ,review, ,Roo Hasan, ,Rose Lipman Building, ,Sasha George, ,Studio 350, ,University of Brighton, ,Vicky Stevenson

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Amelia’s Magazine | The ACOFI Book Tour visits Castor and Pollux in Brighton

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 -000

Art and design shop Castor and Pollux is situated in three airy arches on Brighton seafront, ampoule a location that was formerly public loos and then a yoga studio.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011
The view outside the shop. How gorgeous is this?

The arches now house a beautifully curated collection of well designed goodies: there’s a kids’ section, for sale a book section, a gallery space and lots of cards, note books, homewares and hand made jewellery. It’s all highly desirable, so I’m super happy that my Roger La Borde cards now have a home in Castor and Pollux alongside Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration. You really must visit the shop if you are in Brighton!

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011
ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011
ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011

Unfortunately I arrived last night for my ACOFI Book Tour with very little time to spare. (Thankyou traffic, in the four years since my beloved Cinquecento departed for the great car graveyard in the sky London streets have started to resemble the chaos of cities like Delhi, what with all the large trucks a-honkin’ and a-hootin’ at each other). Luckily April was on hand to help me shift piles of books down onto the seafront – aided by Suki and Alice Pattullo, who studied illustration at Brighton.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 postcards
ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 ALICE Pattullo and April
Alice Pattullo and April of Castor and Pollux.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Suki, Alice with a guest
Suki and Alice with a guest.

I should have known that if I went to Brighton I was bound to bump into some people who studied on the same course as me at University of Brighton (Ba Hons Fashion Textiles with Business Studies since you ask). Turns out the fabulous illustrator Sarah Arnett, who I first discovered at Pick Me Up (and who has since started contributing to Amelia’s Magazine) was in fact a few years ahead of me.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Sarah Arnett
Lovely Sarah Arnett.

Sarah has taken an interesting route to illustration – she specialised in weave at college (we had a choice of print, knit or weave) and then went into the textiles swatch trade, before setting up a small studio making clothes that ended up becoming a shop. She only discovered the joy of illustration when a friend bartered some Illustrator lessons in exchange for a dress. Now, not only does she produce gorgeous illustrations, but she has also recently launched the most BEAUTIFUL collection of clothes featuring her inimitable flower designs. The label is called Modern Love and you can find it in Liberty.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Lou Taylor, Jo Vintage Brighton, Kate Jenkins, April
Lou Taylor, Jo of Vintage Brighton, Kate Jenkins and April.

When Kate Jenkins turned up I recognised her instantly, and not because we have run multiple blogs featuring her unique knitted artworks. She looked familiar because she too was the year above me at Brighton. How wonderful to discover that Brighton fashion textiles graduates are doing such diverse and interesting things that have fed into the world of Amelia’s Magazine.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Juiceology
ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Angel Food Bakery
ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Angel Food Bakery.

Before my talk started guests had a chance to once again try out the lovely Juiceology juices, which I have decided are a bit like a juice equivalent of Refreshers sweeties – they have such a wonderful tang to them, quite unlike any other juice I’ve tasted. April had also managed to source some outstanding cupcakes from the Angel Food Bakery – who, quite without my knowledge, had baked the most beautiful buttery creations featuring a transfer design of the Amelia’s Magazine logo.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Lahloo tea

This time round I also had a moment to drink a few cups of Lahloo Tea, and can confirm that both the Peppermint and Darjeeling were absolutely delicious, served very prettily in tea cosy covered china teapots. There were also of course samples of Dr.Hauschka aplenty to take away, much appreciated by those in attendance.

There were plenty of other interesting people at Castor and Pollux, and here’s a selection of those that I managed to talk to:

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Paul from Chichester
Paul had come all the way from Chichester on behalf of his girlfriend… and he’d sneaked out a copy of her issue 2 for me to sign for her birthday (hope she’s not reading this) which I thought was incredibly sweet. Fortunately he didn’t seem at all daunted by the heavy female quotient: sadly one boy ran away before my talk began. Boys, please come and meet me, my talk is just as much for you! I’d also really like to encourage as many people as possible to come and talk to me at the remaining talks… I want to hear what you are up to so that I can give your creative projects as much exposure as possible.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Sarah Meredith and Matilda
ACOFI book tour rock cakes pumpkin ring
Sarah Meredith of Rock Cakes could only stay for a little while because her little girl Matilda needed to get home for bed, but she too had brought along some back copies for me to sign. She was sporting some fantastic rings from her dainty jewellery collection – I particularly love the enamelled pumpkin and the cute birds which sit together as if talking. You can find more of her designs on the Rock Cakes website and on Etsy.

ACOFI book tour angel food bakery cupcakes
ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Angel Food Bakery
Me chomping on a cupcake from the Angel Food Bakery.

Also present was Lou Taylor, who has also recently started contributing to Amelia’s Magazine. She has been using paper art to create the most amazing props for many years, but illustration is a new thing. I think her paper cut techniques work marvellously well as illustration – see her CocknBullKid illustration for example – and am glad she has found a place to showcase this new work.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Jessie Ford
I also met illustrator Jessie Ford, whose website you can check out here.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Racheal Brooks, Racheal Stott, Verity Brown, Judith Wilding
Racheal Brooks, Racheal Stott, Verity Brown, Judith Wilding

Judith Wilding of Delicious Industries is a graphic designer, who keeps a great blog about old school design.

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Verity Brown
Verity Brown shows me her portfolio.

A few recent graduates of my course turned up just as I was finishing my talk and one had been savvy enough to bring her portfolio of lovely fashion illustrations to show me. They missed most of the part where I talk about how you absolutely have to be online and engaged with social media to promote yourself as an up and coming creative, but I hope they will listen to my advice as, unbelievably, none of them had any web presence at all! I wish my old course would ask me back to teach the students a bit more about self promotion and marketing for creatives…

ACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Verity BrownACOFI book tour Castor Pollux Art 2011 Verity Brown
Illustrations by Verity Brown.

Jo of Vintage Brighton has very speedily blogged about my talk last night, so you can find out more about it by hopping over here. Thankyou Jo!

As I upload this blog I am sitting in the Pegasus Theatre cafe in Oxford and in a few minutes I have to get along to the next date on my #ACOFI Book Tour. Tonight I will be talking at Comma Shop at about 7.30pm tonight: please do join me from 6pm to network, eat Good Biscuits, taste a new G&D ice-cream flavour and learn how to make button rosettes with Custon Made UK. Then tomorrow I will be rolling on up to Bristol to speak at the Soma Gallery. It’s all very exciting because I love meeting so many different creative communities, so do come and join me at one of these venues soon and tell me what you’re up to. I am back at Tatty Devine in Brick Lane on Tuesday 7th June. Over and out.

Categories ,ACOFI, ,Alice Pattullo, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Angel Food Bakery, ,brighton, ,Castor and Pollux, ,Cinquecento, ,CocknBullKid, ,Comma Shop, ,cupcakes, ,Custon Made UK, ,Delicious Industries, ,Dr.Hauschka, ,G&D Cafe, ,G&D ice-cream, ,Good Biscuits, ,Ice Cream, ,Jessie Ford, ,Judith Wilding, ,Juiceology, ,Kate Jenkins, ,Lahloo Tea, ,liberty, ,Lou Taylor, ,Modern Love, ,Oxford, ,Pegasus Theatre, ,Racheal Brooks, ,Racheal Stott, ,Rock Cakes, ,Roger La Borde, ,Sarah Arnett, ,Sarah Meredith, ,Soma Gallery, ,Tatty Devine, ,University of Brighton, ,Verity Brown, ,Vintage Brighton

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Amelia’s Magazine | The Ecologist Guides to Food and Fashion: an interview with illustrator Lucy Kirk

Lucy Kirk - Ecologist guide to fashion cover

The Ecologist has just published two superb new books with Leaping Hare Press that detail the ways in which we can improve the food and fashion systems, both of which are so fraught with unethical and environmentally detrimental practices. The two petit guides are designed in an easy to read format and chapters are accompanied with some wonderful illustrations by Lucy Kirk, a contributor to Amelia’s Magazine and one of my star picks at her University of Brighton graduate show in 2012. Here she explains the process of working with The Ecologist and the creation of engaging illustrations from often difficult subject matter.

Lucy Kirk - Ecologist guide to fashion - cottonkiller

How did you get hired to create illustrations for the new Ecologist Guides?
I graduated from the University of Brighton in 2012 and during the final degree show Ivy Press visited the exhibition and later invited me and a few others to visit their Lewes office to show them more of our work. After a rather nerve racking (on my part) portfolio meeting, they kept my details on record. A few months later I received an email from James Lawrence at Leaping Hare Press asking if I’d be up for doing some initial drawings, which later lead to the project.

Lucy Kirk - Ecologist guide to fashion - harris tweed

What was the process of creation and collaboration with the Ecologist like?
The art director James Lawrence was great to work with, he sent me the authors’ written text and brief ideas he’d had as starting points for me to work with. This being my first major commission it was hard not to find it a little daunting, so having some key notes was really helpful. It allowed me to interpret the text creatively but not get to lost.

Lucy Kirk - Ecologist guide to food - WORKERS

How many images did you have to create altogether and how long did it take to get together all the images for both guides?
I think roughly about eighty. I started working on the project during the summer of 2012 but it continued on and off until november 2013. It was more of a collaboration to be finished as and when the text was complete. I think I preferred this process rather than a block of solid work, as it allowed me to approach each section of drawings with a fresh mind.

Lucy Kirk - Ecologist guide to food cover

What materials and techniques do you use when you work on line drawings like this?
As often as possible I like to work with loose cartridge paper rather than a sketchbook, a big pot of black ink (which I normally spill) and a new paintbrush. I like a tiny brush; the ones used for model railways are my personal favourite.

Where did you find inspiration for the images?
Sometimes from reference photography, if there was a particular message to portray or imagery I had no previous knowledge of. Other illustrations were inspired by things around me. My parents live on a farm in Nottinghamshire, which proved helpful when it came to working on some of the food drawings.

Lucy Kirk - Ecologist guide to food-packhouse

What was the hardest aspect of creating images to accompany often difficult topics?
I think it was hard not wanting to offend anyone, but James was good at suggesting alternatives and ways to avoid this. I found that trying to marry imagery to sometimes upsetting text can be tricky, but I think that overall everyone who worked on the books has done a great job.

Lucy Kirk - Ecologist guide to fashion - roadkill

What was the worst thing that you learnt about the food industry?
There were lots of interesting things I learnt about the food industry that I either knew little or nothing about. It opened my eyes to the conditions of workers that I think is sometimes easy to forget. The exploitation of some women working as tea pluckers in East Africa was particularly upsetting.

What was the most interesting thing you learnt about the fashion industry?
There’s a section on slow fashion which I think is great: it is the process of making clothing that lasts a long time and is often sourced and produced locally or via fair-trade. There’s more of a stress on quality of garments rather than quantity and it’s becoming more and more popular. If you are interested in fashion I think it’s definitely something you should be aware of.

Lucy Kirk - Ecologist guide to fashion - sew machine

Has doing this project altered the way that you relate to either fashion or food, and if yes in what sort of way?
Yes, I think it’s easy to turn our heads and forget issues that are happening around us and trick ourselves into believing we are not personally responsible. I’m not saying I’ve become vegan overnight but it has definitely made me become more aware. I think both authors approach both subjects in a way that’s an interesting and informative read and I’d recommend them to a friend. I’ve already leant my copies to my grandma.

Lucy Kirk - Ecologist guide to food - cows

What else are you working on in 2014?
As well as doing illustrations, I also co-direct a stationery business called Pen On Paper with my friend and fellow artist Millie Popovic, who is also a Brighton graduate. So day to day our time is taken up designing new products and printing orders. We have some events and projects later in the year which I can’t yet reveal yet but I am very excited about. But when I’m not screen printing cards, I’m working on a new ceramic series which hopefully will be ready soon. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to work with clay, so it feels good to go back. I’m also a new member of the illustration collective Puck and there’s lots of exciting things happening with them this year, which I’m looking forward too, including some exhibitions and maybe some publications.

The Ecologist Guide to Food and the Ecologist Guide to Fashion are out now, published by Leaping Hare Press and available from all good bookstores.

Categories ,Ecologist Guide to Fashion, ,Ecologist Guide to Food, ,Ecologist Guides, ,fairtrade, ,interview, ,Ivy Press, ,James Lawrence, ,Leaping Hare Press, ,Lucy Kirk, ,Millie Popovic, ,Pen On Paper, ,Puck Collective, ,the ecologist, ,University of Brighton

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Amelia’s Magazine | New Designers 2014 Review: Best New Illustration & One Year On Textiles

New Designers Adam Corns 2
Illustration by Adam Corns.

I sadly missed the first weekend of New Designers this year, but I made it to the second weekend and made a beeline for the illustration degree and graphic design stands.

New Designers Horses Josephine Birch
I began with the Cambridge School of Art stand, which is always one of the strongest in show. These characterful horses are by Josephine Birch.

New Designers Francesca Esme Morris
I adored this colourful patterned work by Francesca Esme Morris.

New Designers Aleesha Nandra guitars
These wooden cutout guitars by Aleesha Nandhra feature lyrics and imagery from favourite songs.

New Designers 2014 -Jess Bennett
Jess Bennett updated Snakes and Ladders with her Space Race board game, part of a project to ‘make space cool again.’

New Designers Louise Hall- churches
Louise Hall was inspired by the churches of East London for her London Bells series.

New Designers hannah Kurz
Hannah Kurz created these truly stunning illustrations for a book inspired by Nordic folklore.

New Designers Ella Catt
This cute papercut card design is by Ella Catt at Nottingham Trent University.

New Designers Chris Worker
I was most impressed by the monochrome artworks of Chris Worker, who gives a modern spin to the art deco style of Metropolis. This rocket is part of a stencilled visual history of spacecraft and he also did some amazing tarot card designs. A really awesome body of work, do check out his website.

New Designers Claire Evans
I made a quick trip downstairs to check out the always impressive University of Brighton Design & Craft stand and discovered these samples of recycled plastics by Claire Evans, who explores new ways of working with used materials.

New Designers Holly Alexander
This interactive musical quilt by Holly Alexander blends new and old ideas together to encourage the act of storytelling.

New Designers 2014 -gordon gorilla
Hayley Moisley developed her Gordon the Gorilla character as a learning aid, with interchangeable facial features to create different emotions.

New Designers Amy Clare Barden
New Designers Amy Clare Barden crocNew Designers Amy Clare Barden croc
Back on the top floor I discovered yet more talent amongst the Falmouth University graduates. These awesome animals and the crocodile lift the flap book are by Amy Clare Barden.

New Designers Katie Ponder 2
New Designers Katie Ponder
Katie Ponder was the deserving winner of an AOI award for her From the Rite of Spring series.

New Designers Sessions Surf Shop by Joe Baines
Joe Baines created this eye catching identity for the Sessions Surf Shop.

There is something no nonsense about the way that Falmouth put their identikit boards together and bed down at both New Blood and New Designers every summer, but I would really love to see what the students could do with a stand alone show in London one year.

New Designers Jordan Wray at Plymouth College of Art
Over at Plymouth College of Art Jordan Wray depicted a host of fish in The Element of Surprise.

New Designers Katie Turner
New Designers katie turner foxes
Cute patterns featuring badgers, strawberries, foxes and mushrooms by Katie Turner would look great on wrapping paper.

New Designers Sam Thorne
Sam Thorne’s shouty lady is the best kind of optical madness.

New Designers Adam Corns
People on their iPads everywhere, and fabulous brights (see top of the post). There was some awesome work on show from Adam Corns at Birmingham City University.

New Designers Bunnies by Hollie Crooker
This tumbling pile of bunnies by Hollie Crooker is an astonishingly detailed bit of art.

New Designers award winner Matthew Alker
Over at UCA Farnham I was introduced to the award winning work of Matthew Alker.

New Designers Dogs, by Angelica Hood at UCA Farnham
These plush dogs with lolling tongues are by Angelica Hood.

New Designers Otro Mundo Libby Parra
New Designers 2014 -libby parra
I was immensely chuffed to be gifted one of the best things I found at New Designers; Otro Mundo, a beautiful limited edition risograph zine by Libby Parra, printed by Ditto Press. Her otherworldly creatures are bathed in a neon glow as they wriggle across the pages.

New Designers sparklymouse
New Designers sparklymouse face
At the end of my visit I just had time to visit the One Year On zone. This cheerful hoop embroidery is by Louise Jones, aka Sparklymouse.

New Designers Berty B
This great retro inspired textile design is by BertyB.

New Designers Neon weave
Angie Parker hand weaves these epic neon textiles; absolutely stunning.

New designers charlie mortley
Charlie Mortley’s galactic textile designs were used to great effect in upholstery.

New Designers rosie moss
And finally (phew) these lush figurative textiles are by Rosie Moss, who contributed illustrations to Amelia’s Magazine many moons ago.

Categories ,2014, ,Adam Corns, ,Aleesha Nandhra, ,Amy Clare Barden, ,Angelica Hood, ,Angie Parker, ,BertyB, ,Birmingham City University, ,Business Design Centre, ,Cambridge School of Art, ,Charlie Mortley, ,Chris Worker, ,Claire Evans, ,Design & Craft, ,Ditto Press, ,Ella Catt, ,Falmouth University, ,Francesca Esme Morris, ,Gordon the Gorilla, ,Hannah Kurz, ,Hayley Moisley, ,Hollie Crooker, ,Holly Alexander, ,illustration, ,Jess Bennett, ,Joe Baines, ,Jordan Wray, ,Josephine Birch, ,Katie Ponder, ,Katie Turner, ,Libby Parra, ,London Bells, ,Louise Hall, ,Louise Jones, ,Matthew Alker, ,Metropolis, ,New Blood, ,New Designers, ,Nottingham Trent University, ,One Year On, ,Otro Mundo, ,Plymouth College of Art, ,review, ,Rite of Spring, ,Rosie Moss, ,Sam Thorne, ,Sense of Making, ,Sessions Surf Shop, ,Space Race, ,Sparklymouse, ,textiles, ,The Element of Surprise, ,UCA Farnham, ,University of Brighton

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Amelia’s Magazine | Now What: University of Brighton Graphic Design Ba Hons Graduate Show 2012 Review

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Jenny Moorcroft
Papercutting by Jenny Moorcroft.

The Now What exhibition at Netil House showcased graphic design alongside the illustration graduates, and also hosted a panel discussion about the state of creativity today. Their show brochure was the most interesting one I have yet seen, combining beautiful design with interesting writing: Mia Warner interviewed a traditional sign writer, Sarah Julia Clark writes about sexualisation in music videos and Hannah Bingham talks about the role of designers in society. As a whole the exhibition blurred the boundaries of design, with graphic designers and illustrators alike applying their creativity to multiple areas, a welcome trend in the shows which spurred some interesting comments in Creative Review about the kind of work that gets attention from journalists. For my part: I write about anything that catches my eye, and will confess that it does have to be a fairly immediate response as I just don’t have time to spend browsing through lots of work. So a bold and imaginative display is a must… students, it’s your time to shine! Here then were my favourites:

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Sam Dagger
Sam Dagger‘s stark monochrome editorial pages, titled Colonialism.

Now what university of Brighton 2012
Summer bright colours, metallic sweeps and abstracted type by Chloe Hannah Taylor.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Kathryn Cross

Painted cubes that rotate on doweling rods by Kathryn Cross, an intriguing 3D representation of Chatroulette, the infamous ‘dating’ site. ‘It aims to replicate and intensify the uneasy feelings experienced when being viewed by an online stranger. The images of four male users encountered on the site have been pixelated and applied to rotating wooden ‘pixels’.‘ By pixelizing the faces they are not evident close up but become apparent when viewed from afar – as seen in the video on her website.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Liv Taylor
Liv Taylor specialises in publication design – and her carefully laid out pages would not look out of place in a high end fashion magazine.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Jenny Moorcroft
Intricate paper cutting by Jenny Moorcroft took on a three dimensional quality in beautiful photographs and in stacking cubes.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -May Burilova
Lovely letterpress from May Burilova.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Matt Chandler
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Matt Chandler
Matt Chandler had fun with candy colours and screenprinting to create a vinyl record sleeve inspired display.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Mia Warner
Adore hand written type by Mia Warner, who is following in the grand tradition of sign writing, though her sentiments may be somewhat menacing.

Don’t forget to check in with my write up of the Brighton illustration graduates, and click here to read my review of 2011′s graphic design show.

Categories ,2012, ,Chatroulette, ,Chloe Hannah Taylor, ,Colonialism, ,Graphic Design, ,Hannah Bingham, ,Jenny Moorcroft, ,Kathryn Cross, ,Liv Taylor, ,Matt Chandler, ,May Burilova, ,Mia Warner, ,Netil House, ,Now What, ,review, ,Sam Dagger, ,Sarah Julia Clark, ,University of Brighton

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Amelia’s Magazine | Now What: University of Brighton Illustration Ba Hons Graduate Show 2012 Review

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Pippa Toole
Image by Pippa Toole.

There were a host of specially curated graduate design exhibitions in London last week – including work by my old gaff, the University of Brighton. The intriguingly titled Now What took place in trendy Netil House at the north end of Broadway Market, a spacious venue that allowed the graduates to spread out and make imaginative use of the space. Although poor lighting made it hard to take decent photos of some of the work I found plenty of student talent to admire: first up the graduating illustrators, many of whom played extensively with the medium: working in 3D, photography and set design.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Lucy Kirk
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Lucy Kirk
Lucy Kirk describes herself as an illustrator, model maker and farmer’s daughter, and her Farm Sale display featured a delightful combination of energetic line drawings and ceramic models of farm workers and their beasts at work and play.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Scarlett Wilson
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Scarlett Wilson
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Scarlett Wilson
Beautiful painterly illustrations and interesting mark making from Scarlett Wilson.

Pippa Toole Brighton What Now
Pippa Toole Brighton What Now
Pippa Toole Brighton What Now
Pippa Toole Brighton What Now
I loved Pippa Toole‘s gothic work, inspired by gang culture and slogans on bikes and leather jackets: all tattoos, posturing and meaty limbs.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 Jonathan Andrew Taylor
Now what university of Brighton 2012 Jonathan Andrew Taylor
Jonathan Andrew Taylor had created strange little characters and also has a website called theinternetmakesmetired.com – which features a shaking distressed man crumpled on the floor. I know how he feels at times.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Joanna Rutter
Joanna rutter
Joanna Rutter mixed print with textile design in her beautifully laid out display.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 Emily Frances Barrett
Emily Frances Barrett created strange worlds teetering and tilting with wooden Ewok style walkways and platforms bearing exotic plants. I’d like to tell you more about the thought processes behind her models but the website on her business card doesn’t work. Doh.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Alex Wells
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Alex Wells
Inspired by octopi, Alex Wells had created a stunning decorative typeface.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Jack Felgate
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Jack Felgate
Jack Felgate‘s work was titled A General Dissatisfaction with the World and featured an assortment of intriguing subjects painted in photo-realistic style on wood (a nuclear bomb, a penis shaped cacti).

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Kotryna Abromaityte
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Kotryna Abromaityte
Black lino cut prints by Kotryna Abromaityte were inspired by folk tales from around the world – most notably a sadistic Lithuanian tale.

amy eyelyn hughes
Strange watery people from Amy Eyelyn Hughes. Nebuchadnezzar: ‘sniggering at a banana or a peculiar shaped tree stump.’

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Rufus Day
Pretty typography by Mia Warner on skateboards by Rufus Day, clearly an enthusiast (of skating).

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Zoe Landry
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Zoe Landry
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Zoe Landry
Zoe Landry screenprinted on cardboard for Houses to Build. I was also intrigued by The Endless Forest, a small installation consisting of wool, wire and mirrors.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Elisa MacDougall
I really like the way that Elisa MacDougall draws people in loose ink brushes: strange that her website too (like theinternetmakesmetired.com) features a cowed person on the floor. What does it all mean?

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Sarah Julia Clark
Who Runs the World? GIRLS – Genius collaged screenprints featuring well known lyrics bathed in a metallic glow, by avid feminist Sarah Julia Clark of Studio Her.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Tom Matthews
Bag Head, Red Face, Cracked Milk, by Tom Matthews.

Now what university of Brighton 2012
For sale: an assortment of brilliant artworks. I really wanted to buy that ace Beyonce poster but I had no money on me. Next up: a review of the graphic designers, also on show at Now What. You can read my reviews of last year’s University of Brighton illustration show here and here.

Categories ,2012, ,3D, ,A General Dissatisfaction with the World, ,Alex Wells, ,Bag Head, ,beyonce, ,Broadway Market, ,Cracked Milk, ,Elisa MacDougall, ,Emily Frances Barrett, ,Farm Sale, ,graduate, ,Houses to Build, ,illustration, ,Jack Felgate, ,Joanna Rutter, ,Jonathan Andrew Taylor, ,Kotryna Abromaityte, ,Lucy Kirk, ,Mia Warner, ,Model Making, ,Nebuchadnezzar, ,Netil House, ,Pippa Toole, ,Red Face, ,review, ,Rufus Day, ,Sarah Julia Clark, ,Scarlett Wilson, ,Set Design, ,Studio Her, ,The Endless Forest, ,Tom Matthews, ,typography, ,University of Brighton, ,Zoe Landry

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Amelia’s Magazine | Now What: University of Brighton Illustration Ba Hons Graduate Show 2012 Review

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Pippa Toole
Image by Pippa Toole.

There were a host of specially curated graduate design exhibitions in London last week – including work by my old gaff, the University of Brighton. The intriguingly titled Now What took place in trendy Netil House at the north end of Broadway Market, a spacious venue that allowed the graduates to spread out and make imaginative use of the space. Although poor lighting made it hard to take decent photos of some of the work I found plenty of student talent to admire: first up the graduating illustrators, many of whom played extensively with the medium: working in 3D, photography and set design.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Lucy Kirk
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Lucy Kirk
Lucy Kirk describes herself as an illustrator, model maker and farmer’s daughter, and her Farm Sale display featured a delightful combination of energetic line drawings and ceramic models of farm workers and their beasts at work and play.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Scarlett Wilson
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Scarlett Wilson
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Scarlett Wilson
Beautiful painterly illustrations and interesting mark making from Scarlett Wilson.

Pippa Toole Brighton What Now
Pippa Toole Brighton What Now
Pippa Toole Brighton What Now
Pippa Toole Brighton What Now
I loved Pippa Toole‘s gothic work, inspired by gang culture and slogans on bikes and leather jackets: all tattoos, posturing and meaty limbs.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 Jonathan Andrew Taylor
Now what university of Brighton 2012 Jonathan Andrew Taylor
Jonathan Andrew Taylor had created strange little characters and also has a website called theinternetmakesmetired.com – which features a shaking distressed man crumpled on the floor. I know how he feels at times.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Joanna Rutter
Joanna rutter
Joanna Rutter mixed print with textile design in her beautifully laid out display.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 Emily Frances Barrett
Emily Frances Barrett created strange worlds teetering and tilting with wooden Ewok style walkways and platforms bearing exotic plants. I’d like to tell you more about the thought processes behind her models but the website on her business card doesn’t work. Doh.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Alex Wells
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Alex Wells
Inspired by octopi, Alex Wells had created a stunning decorative typeface.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Jack Felgate
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Jack Felgate
Jack Felgate‘s work was titled A General Dissatisfaction with the World and featured an assortment of intriguing subjects painted in photo-realistic style on wood (a nuclear bomb, a penis shaped cacti).

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Kotryna Abromaityte
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Kotryna Abromaityte
Black lino cut prints by Kotryna Abromaityte were inspired by folk tales from around the world – most notably a sadistic Lithuanian tale.

amy eyelyn hughes
Strange watery people from Amy Eyelyn Hughes. Nebuchadnezzar: ‘sniggering at a banana or a peculiar shaped tree stump.’

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Rufus Day
Pretty typography by Mia Warner on skateboards by Rufus Day, clearly an enthusiast (of skating).

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Zoe Landry
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Zoe Landry
Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Zoe Landry
Zoe Landry screenprinted on cardboard for Houses to Build. I was also intrigued by The Endless Forest, a small installation consisting of wool, wire and mirrors.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Elisa MacDougall
I really like the way that Elisa MacDougall draws people in loose ink brushes: strange that her website too (like theinternetmakesmetired.com) features a cowed person on the floor. What does it all mean?

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Sarah Julia Clark
Who Runs the World? GIRLS – Genius collaged screenprints featuring well known lyrics bathed in a metallic glow, by avid feminist Sarah Julia Clark of Studio Her.

Now what university of Brighton 2012 -Tom Matthews
Bag Head, Red Face, Cracked Milk, by Tom Matthews.

Now what university of Brighton 2012
For sale: an assortment of brilliant artworks. I really wanted to buy that ace Beyonce poster but I had no money on me. Next up: a review of the graphic designers, also on show at Now What. You can read my reviews of last year’s University of Brighton illustration show here and here.

Categories ,2012, ,3D, ,A General Dissatisfaction with the World, ,Alex Wells, ,Bag Head, ,beyonce, ,Broadway Market, ,Cracked Milk, ,Elisa MacDougall, ,Emily Frances Barrett, ,Farm Sale, ,graduate, ,Houses to Build, ,illustration, ,Jack Felgate, ,Joanna Rutter, ,Jonathan Andrew Taylor, ,Kotryna Abromaityte, ,Lucy Kirk, ,Mia Warner, ,Model Making, ,Nebuchadnezzar, ,Netil House, ,Pippa Toole, ,Red Face, ,review, ,Rufus Day, ,Sarah Julia Clark, ,Scarlett Wilson, ,Set Design, ,Studio Her, ,The Endless Forest, ,Tom Matthews, ,typography, ,University of Brighton, ,Zoe Landry

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Amelia’s Magazine | Pick Me Up Graphic Arts Festival 2013: Pick Me Up Selects Review

Pick Me Up London 2013 review-MaricorMaricar donut
Banana vs Donut by MaricorMaricar.

Each year I look forward to exploring new graphic art and illustration talent at Pick Me Up, and so it was that I trundled along to Somerset House this Sunday, skirting the Marathon on the Embankment to enjoy a relatively quiet visit. First up, some of my favourite pieces from Pick Me Up Selects, the opening section where new talent is given a brilliant showcase.

Pick Me Up London 2013 review-MaricorMaricar banana
MaricorMaricar are twins who work out of Sydney in Australia – I loved their beautiful typography created with delicate embroidery, but my favourite pieces had to be their tiny artworks featuring surreal images and puns. A banana doing a somersault through a donut? Why not?!

Pick Me Up London 2013 review-Tom Edwards lion
University of Brighton graduate Tom Edwards displayed a whole wall of domestic cats and wildcats – a big hit with Snarfle, who likes to growl at anything that could potentially be a lion.

Pick Me Up London 2013 review-Katie Scott Snake
I instantly recognised the intricate work of Katie Scott, who I first spotted at her graduate show in 2011 – she makes delicate patterned artworks that remind me of old fashioned classroom anatomical aids. I’m glad to see she’s had a busy few years, creating artwork for the likes of New York Times and Phaidon.

Pick Me Up London 2013 review- Malarky
Malarky is an interesting choice for Pick Me Up, best known to many as a street artist who paints bright big toothed animals all over walls and shop fronts in east London. We couldn’t resist a little print titled Hotpot Snottini, which features one of his beasties inside a 70s casserole dish. Strange and wonderful.

Pick Me Up London 2013 review- PingsZoo
Ping Zhu goes by the very apt moniker Ping’s Zoo – loved this jungle scene, erupting with animal activity. As a follower mentioned on instagram, I love how you don’t see all the beasties straight away.

Pick Me Up London 2013 review- Hattie Stewart
We will be posting an exclusive interview with self confessed professional doodler Hattie Stewart shortly. Hattie channels the spirit of pop artists such as Keith Haring to transform glossy high fashion magazine. The likes of Vogue, Pop and Love are given outrageous makeovers, the models acquiring colourful leopard print skin and cartoonish eyes.

Pick Me Up London 2013 review- Daniel Frost
I was struck by a wall of marvellous miniatures by RCA graduate Daniel Frost, who works his stick figures in bold primary colours. Each little vignette and model is a part of his imaginary Frostville, where the strangeness of everyday life is celebrated.

Pick Me Up London 2013 review- William Goldsmith
Delicate watercolour people populate narrative illustrations by the Glasgow based William Goldsmith – these are a sneak peak at pages which feature in his upcoming graphic novel The Bind.

Pick Me Up London 2013 review-Rob Flowers squid king
The popularity of risograph prints shows no sign of waning, and their instantly recognisable muted neon colour palette was present throughout Pick Me Up. We were so smitten with this Squid King that we bought him, a bargain at £10. Rob Flowers (above and below) is inspired by mythology, folklore, early fast food merchandising and the surreal. His wall was a riot of monsters and mushrooms in a zingy range of colours.

Pick Me Up London 2013 review- Rob Flowers mushroom
Above I have covered the artists whose artworks I captured reasonably well in photos (not easy, when trying to carry a squealing baby at the same time, I’ve discovered), but there are many more of mention: fabulous Kama Sutra inspired typography by Malika Favre, surreal 3D installations by Anna Lomax, brilliant crayon portraits by Damien Florébert Cuypers, stunning retro style minimalist art inspired by everyday activities (such as painting toenails) from Sarah Vanbelle and delicate dreamlike fantasy environments by You Byun. Coming soon: my round up of the best of the rest of Pick Me Up. Make sure you catch the last few days if you haven’t already been: full listing hereRead last year’s review of Pick Me Up Selects here.

Categories ,Anna Lomax, ,Damien Florébert Cuypers, ,Daniel Frost, ,Frostville, ,Graphic Art, ,Hattie Stewart, ,Hotpot Snottini, ,illustration, ,Kama Sutra, ,Katie Scott, ,keith haring, ,Malarky, ,Malika Favre, ,MaricorMaricar, ,New York Times, ,phaidon, ,Pick Me Up, ,Pick Me Up Selects, ,Ping Zhu, ,Pings Zoo, ,rca, ,Risograph, ,Rob Flowers, ,Sarah Vanbelle, ,Snarfle, ,Somerset House, ,Squid King, ,sydney, ,The Bind, ,Tom Edwards, ,University of Brighton, ,William Goldsmith, ,You Byun

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