Amelia’s Magazine | Supermarket Sarah at Selfridges

Sally Mumby-Croft at the ACOFI launch with Jonno and Matt. Illustration by Naomi Law
Sally Mumby-Croft at the ACOFI launch with Jonno and Matt. Illustration by Naomi Law.

Former Amelia’s Magazine art editor Sally Mumby-Croft has put together a stunning movie reminder of the launch party for ACOFI. With music provided by the wondrous 6 Day Riot, find capsule I hope you enjoy a tour of Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, buy as seen at the Bunker Cafe and Scout Hut at 123 Bethnal Green Road on Friday 28th January 2011. It features Susie Bubble, check cakes by Lily Vanilli, sneak peaks inside the book and lots of sketching by the illustrators who helped out on the day.

YouTube Preview Image

I asked Sally a few questions about how she put the movie together:

What where you looking for when you filmed this?
When filming I’m often looking for the quiet moments in between moments of action, whether this be an illustrator lost in concentration, the movement of a pen, the simple action of making tea or a DJ pressing play. I wanted to capture the moments which were unique to an Amelia’s Magazine book launch.

What was your favourite moment of the party?
Apart from assisting Amelia and Matt Bramford with the set up in the morning and watching 123 Bethnal Green heave under the number of guests who turned up for the book launch, my favourite moment of the party was when Amelia and Harriet (of Tatty Devine) cut the fantastic cake made by Lily Vanilli and we had a chance to taste the prettiest cake I’ve ever seen!

Sally Mumby-Croft. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.
Sally Mumby-Croft. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.

Who else have you made short videos for?
Recently I’ve been really lucky to work with the photographer and filmmaker Ben Toms, over the past three months I’ve worked on videos for JW Anderson, Edun and Craig Lawrence.



Outside of fashion film, I’ve worked with the fantastic team behind the upcoming documentary Just Do It: get off your arse and change the world and assisted on the editing of their Grow Heathrow short:

YouTube Preview Image

What else are you working on at the moment?
At the moment I am considering the possibility of revisiting interviews conducted with Xavier Zapata – with Hackney Residents who had been displaced by the Olympic Development in Stratford for my Goldsmiths degree show piece Edgeland: or possibly starting on a brand new short…


Sally Mumby-Croft at the ACOFI launch with Jonno and Matt. Illustration by Naomi Law
Sally Mumby-Croft at the ACOFI launch with Jonno and Matt. Illustration by Naomi Law.

Former Amelia’s Magazine art editor Sally Mumby-Croft has put together a stunning movie reminder of the launch party for ACOFI. With music provided by the wondrous 6 Day Riot, treatment I hope you enjoy a tour of Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, about it as seen at the Bunker Cafe and Scout Hut at 123 Bethnal Green Road on Friday 28th January 2011. It features Susie Bubble, pills cakes by Lily Vanilli, sneak peaks inside the book and lots of sketching by the illustrators who helped out on the day.

YouTube Preview Image

I asked Sally a few questions about how she put the movie together:

What where you looking for when you filmed this?
When filming I’m often looking for the quiet moments in between moments of action, whether this be an illustrator lost in concentration, the movement of a pen, the simple action of making tea or a DJ pressing play. I wanted to capture the moments which were unique to an Amelia’s Magazine book launch.

What was your favourite moment of the party?
Apart from assisting Amelia and Matt Bramford with the set up in the morning and watching 123 Bethnal Green heave under the number of guests who turned up for the book launch, my favourite moment of the party was when Amelia and Harriet (of Tatty Devine) cut the fantastic cake made by Lily Vanilli and we had a chance to taste the prettiest cake I’ve ever seen!

Sally Mumby-Croft. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.
Sally Mumby-Croft. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.

Who else have you made short videos for?
Recently I’ve been really lucky to work with the photographer and filmmaker Ben Toms, over the past three months I’ve worked on videos for JW Anderson, Edun and Craig Lawrence.



Outside of fashion film, I’ve worked with the fantastic team behind the upcoming documentary Just Do It: get off your arse and change the world and assisted on the editing of their Grow Heathrow short:

YouTube Preview Image

What else are you working on at the moment?
At the moment I am considering the possibility of revisiting interviews conducted with Xavier Zapata – with Hackney Residents who had been displaced by the Olympic Development in Stratford for my Goldsmiths degree show piece Edgeland: or possibly starting on a brand new short…


Sally Mumby-Croft at the ACOFI launch with Jonno and Matt. Illustration by Naomi Law
Sally Mumby-Croft at the ACOFI launch with Jonno and Matt. Illustration by Naomi Law.

Former Amelia’s Magazine art editor Sally Mumby-Croft has together this stunning movie reminder of the launch party for ACOFI, doctor with a little help from 6 Day Riot. I hope you enjoy a tour of Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, link as seen at the Bunker Cafe and Scout Hut at 123 Bethnal Green Road on Friday 28th January 2011. It features Susie Bubble, information pills cakes by Lily Vanilli, sneak peaks inside the book and lots of sketching by the illustrators who helped out on the day.

YouTube Preview Image

I asked Sally a few questions about how she put the movie together:

What where you looking for when you filmed this?
When filming I’m often looking for the quiet moments in between moments of action, whether this be an illustrator lost in concentration, the movement of a pen, the simple action of making tea or a DJ pressing play. I wanted to capture the moments which were unique to an Amelia’s Magazine book launch.

What was your favourite moment of the party?
Apart from assisting Amelia and Matt Bramford with the set up in the morning and watching 123 heave under the number of guests who turned up for the book launch, my favourite moment of the party was when Amelia and Harriet (of Tatty Devine) cut the fantastic cake made by Lily Vanilli and we had a chance to taste the prettiest cake I’ve ever seen!

Sally Mumby-Croft. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.
Sally Mumby-Croft. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.

Who else have you made short videos for?
Recently I’ve been really lucky to work with the photographer and filmmaker Ben Toms, over the past three months I’ve worked on videos for JW Anderson, Edun and Craig Lawrence.



Outside of fashion film, I’ve worked with the fantastic team behind the upcoming documentary Just Do It: get off your arse and change the world and assisted on the editing of their Grow Heathrow short:

YouTube Preview Image

What else are you working on at the moment?
At the moment I am considering the possibility of revisiting interviews conducted with Xavier Zapata – with Hackney Residents who had been displaced by the Olympic Development in Stratford for my Goldsmiths degree show piece Edgeland: or possibly starting on a brand new short…

Amelia’s Magazine hearts Sally big time. She’s incredibly talented, knowledgeable and she cares about the world around us.
Sally Mumby-Croft at the ACOFI launch with Jonno and Matt. Illustration by Naomi Law
Sally Mumby-Croft at the ACOFI launch with Jonno and Matt. Illustration by Naomi Law.

Former Amelia’s Magazine art editor Sally Mumby-Croft has together this stunning movie reminder of the launch party for ACOFI, order with a little help from 6 Day Riot. I hope you enjoy a tour of Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, cialis 40mg as seen at the Bunker Cafe and Scout Hut at 123 Bethnal Green Road on Friday 28th January 2011. It features Susie Bubble, cakes by Lily Vanilli, sneak peaks inside the book and lots of sketching by the illustrators who helped out on the day.

YouTube Preview Image

I asked Sally a few questions about how she put the movie together:

What where you looking for when you filmed this?
When filming I’m often looking for the quiet moments in between moments of action, whether this be an illustrator lost in concentration, the movement of a pen, the simple action of making tea or a DJ pressing play. I wanted to capture the moments which were unique to an Amelia’s Magazine book launch.

What was your favourite moment of the party?
Apart from assisting Amelia and Matt Bramford with the set up in the morning and watching 123 heave under the number of guests who turned up for the book launch, my favourite moment of the party was when Amelia and Harriet (of Tatty Devine) cut the fantastic cake made by Lily Vanilli and we had a chance to taste the prettiest cake I’ve ever seen!

Sally Mumby-Croft. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.
Sally Mumby-Croft. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.

Who else have you made short videos for?
Recently I’ve been really lucky to work with the photographer and filmmaker Ben Toms, over the past three months I’ve worked on videos for JW Anderson, Edun and Craig Lawrence.



Outside of fashion film, I’ve worked with the fantastic team behind the upcoming documentary Just Do It: get off your arse and change the world and assisted on the editing of their Grow Heathrow short:

YouTube Preview Image

What else are you working on at the moment?
At the moment I am considering the possibility of revisiting interviews conducted with Xavier Zapata – with Hackney Residents who had been displaced by the Olympic Development in Stratford for my Goldsmiths degree show piece Edgeland: or possibly starting on a brand new short…

There’s a reason why I heart Sally big time. She’s incredibly talented, knowledgeable and she cares about the world around us. You can follow Sally on twitter here, and keep up with her on her Vimeo channel here.
Sally Mumby-Croft at the ACOFI launch with Jonno and Matt. Illustration by Naomi Law
Sally Mumby-Croft at the ACOFI launch with Jonno and Matt. Illustration by Naomi Law.

Former Amelia’s Magazine art editor Sally Mumby-Croft put together this stunning movie reminder of the launch party for ACOFI, sildenafil with a little help from 6 Day Riot. I hope you enjoy a tour of Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, buy as seen at the Bunker Cafe and Scout Hut at 123 Bethnal Green Road on Friday 28th January 2011. It features Susie Bubble, cakes by Lily Vanilli, sneak peaks inside the book and lots of sketching by the illustrators who helped out on the day.

YouTube Preview Image

I asked Sally a few questions about how she put the movie together:

What where you looking for when you filmed this?
When filming I’m often looking for the quiet moments in between moments of action, whether this be an illustrator lost in concentration, the movement of a pen, the simple action of making tea or a DJ pressing play. I wanted to capture the moments which were unique to an Amelia’s Magazine book launch.

What was your favourite moment of the party?
Apart from assisting Amelia and Matt Bramford with the set up in the morning and watching 123 heave under the number of guests who turned up for the book launch, my favourite moment of the party was when Amelia and Harriet (of Tatty Devine) cut the fantastic cake made by Lily Vanilli and we had a chance to taste the prettiest cake I’ve ever seen!

Sally Mumby-Croft. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.
Sally Mumby-Croft. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.

Who else have you made short videos for?
Recently I’ve been really lucky to work with the photographer and filmmaker Ben Toms, over the past three months I’ve worked on videos for JW Anderson, Edun and Craig Lawrence.



Outside of fashion film, I’ve worked with the fantastic team behind the upcoming documentary Just Do It: get off your arse and change the world and assisted on the editing of their Grow Heathrow short:

YouTube Preview Image

What else are you working on at the moment?
At the moment I am considering the possibility of revisiting interviews conducted with Xavier Zapata – with Hackney Residents who had been displaced by the Olympic Development in Stratford for my Goldsmiths degree show piece Edgeland: or possibly starting on a brand new short…

There’s a reason why I heart Sally big time. She’s incredibly talented, knowledgeable and she cares about the world around us. You can follow Sally on twitter here, and keep up with her on her Vimeo channel here.
Sally Mumby-Croft at the ACOFI launch with Jonno and Matt. Illustration by Naomi Law
Sally Mumby-Croft at the ACOFI launch with Jonno and Matt. Illustration by Naomi Law.

Former Amelia’s Magazine art editor Sally Mumby-Croft put together this stunning movie reminder of the launch party for ACOFI with a little help from 6 Day Riot. I hope you enjoy a tour of Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, seek as seen at the Bunker Cafe and Scout Hut at 123 Bethnal Green Road on Friday 28th January 2011. It features Susie Bubble, case cakes by Lily Vanilli, health sneak peaks inside the book and lots of sketching by the illustrators who helped out on the day.

YouTube Preview Image

I asked Sally a few questions about how she put the movie together:

What where you looking for when you filmed this?
When filming I’m often looking for the quiet moments in between moments of action, whether this be an illustrator lost in concentration, the movement of a pen, the simple action of making tea or a DJ pressing play. I wanted to capture the moments which were unique to an Amelia’s Magazine book launch.

What was your favourite moment of the party?
Apart from assisting Amelia and Matt Bramford with the set up in the morning and watching 123 heave under the number of guests who turned up for the book launch, my favourite moment of the party was when Amelia and Harriet (of Tatty Devine) cut the fantastic cake made by Lily Vanilli and we had a chance to taste the prettiest cake I’ve ever seen!

Sally Mumby-Croft. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.
Sally Mumby-Croft. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.

Who else have you made short videos for?
Recently I’ve been really lucky to work with the photographer and filmmaker Ben Toms, over the past three months I’ve worked on videos for JW Anderson, Edun and Craig Lawrence.



Outside of fashion film, I’ve worked with the fantastic team behind the upcoming documentary Just Do It: get off your arse and change the world and assisted on the editing of their Grow Heathrow short:

YouTube Preview Image

What else are you working on at the moment?
At the moment I am considering the possibility of revisiting interviews conducted with Xavier Zapata – with Hackney Residents who had been displaced by the Olympic Development in Stratford for my Goldsmiths degree show piece Edgeland: or possibly starting on a brand new short…

There’s a reason why I heart Sally big time. She’s incredibly talented, knowledgeable and she cares about the world around us. You can follow Sally on twitter here, and keep up with her on her Vimeo channel here.
Sally Mumby-Croft at the ACOFI launch with Jonno and Matt. Illustration by Naomi Law
Sally Mumby-Croft at the ACOFI launch with Jonno and Matt. Illustration by Naomi Law.

Former Amelia’s Magazine art editor Sally Mumby-Croft put together this stunning movie reminder of the launch party for ACOFI with a little help from 6 Day Riot. I hope you enjoy a tour of Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, approved as seen at the Bunker Cafe and Scout Hut at 123 Bethnal Green Road on Friday 28th January 2011. It features Susie Bubble, cakes by Lily Vanilli, sneak peaks inside the book and lots of sketching by the illustrators who helped out on the day.

YouTube Preview Image

I asked Sally a few questions about how she put the movie together:

What where you looking for when you filmed this?
When filming I’m often looking for the quiet moments in between moments of action, whether this be an illustrator lost in concentration, the movement of a pen, the simple action of making tea or a DJ pressing play. I wanted to capture the moments which were unique to an Amelia’s Magazine book launch.

What was your favourite moment of the party?
Apart from assisting Amelia and Matt Bramford with the set up in the morning and watching 123 heave under the number of guests who turned up for the book launch, my favourite moment of the party was when Amelia and Harriet (of Tatty Devine) cut the fantastic cake made by Lily Vanilli and we had a chance to taste the prettiest cake I’ve ever seen!

Sally Mumby-Croft. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.
Sally Mumby-Croft. Photography by Liz Johnson-Artur.

Who else have you made short videos for?
Recently I’ve been really lucky to work with the photographer and filmmaker Ben Toms, over the past three months I’ve worked on videos for JW Anderson, Edun and Craig Lawrence.



Outside of fashion film, I’ve worked with the fantastic team behind the upcoming documentary Just Do It: get off your arse and change the world and assisted on the editing of their Grow Heathrow short:

YouTube Preview Image

What else are you working on at the moment?
At the moment I am considering the possibility of revisiting interviews conducted with Xavier Zapata – with Hackney Residents who had been displaced by the Olympic Development in Stratford for my Goldsmiths degree show piece Edgeland: or possibly starting on a brand new short…

There’s a reason why I heart Sally big time. She’s incredibly talented, knowledgeable and she cares about the world around us. You can follow Sally on twitter here, and keep up with her on her Vimeo channel here.

Gabby Young at Selfridges, no rx illustrated by Sam Parr

The ‘Supermarket Sarah’ pop-up shop opened last month in Selfridges stationery department, here I attended Friday’s opening night to check it out. Press, visit web designers and shoppers celebrated the opening with Campari cocktails whilst enjoying an energetic acoustic set from Gabby Young.

Back in December 2009 I visited Poke Design Studios at The Biscuit Factory for Supermarket Sarah’s Christmas Extravaganza, on behalf of Amelia’s. A year on and Sarah has had wide press coverage, and has celebrity followers such as; Lily Allen, Lindsay Lohan, Tinie Tempah and La Roux. ‘Supermarket’ Sarah Bagner seems, however, unphased by all the attention and continues to do what she does best; sourcing an eclectic mix of quirky vintage finds and indie crafts, and displaying her discoveries in an inspiring and creative way. Starting out in her home in Portobello, Sarah would beautifully arrange her own walls with items to buy and serve customers tea and cakes. The launch of her website expanded her work outside of her living room and has allowed her to exhibit in a variety of locations. Using the website, customers can browse through the items displayed on real walls as part of styled stories.


Illustration by Madi Illustrates

The retro-inspired Selfridges store layout holds shelves of vintage china trinkets, playful plastic jewellery and quirky gifts and accessories, all organized into the walls four sections; Super Stuff, New Designers, Vintage and Gallery where Sarah presents a designer she admires. Currently the Gallery space presents the work of Eley Kishimoto. The collection of printed accessories include; iPhone covers, textiles, limited edition screen printed books, and even a skateboard.

Sarah’s hand-picked selection of designers are given the opportunity to have items displayed in the Supermarket-style ‘gallery’. Carefully thought out curation and styling mean each piece compliments each other, contributing to the personal nature of the ‘Supermarket Sarah’ shopping experience. It was great to see the interactivity at play between customer and product; this interactivity is also achieved on the Supermarket Sarah online platform.


Illustration by Danni Bradford

My favourite pieces included; cross stitch badges from Ma Magasin, Mell Elliot’s Lady Gaga paper doll and Strawberry Creme Nouveau‘s rubber moulded biscuit brooches. John Booth’s eccentric bag charms, Nick White fake tattoos, Katy Leigh‘s painted egg cups, and YCN‘s ‘Light up your mood’ light switch stickers, all also deserve a mention. And other great designers involved include Tatty Devine, Patternity, Donna Wilson, Lynn Hatzius, Swedish Blonde Design and Rina Donnersmarck.


All photographs by Ester Kneen

Bringing a sense of Portobello Market to London’s central shopping location. ‘Supermarket Sarah’ at Selfridges gives tourists a sense of what the London vintage and craft scene is all about. Congratulations to all involved!

Categories ,Campari, ,Danni Bradford, ,Donna Wilson, ,Eley Kishimoto, ,Fake Tattoos, ,gabby young, ,John booth, ,Katy Leigh, ,Lady Gaga, ,Lynn Hatzius, ,Ma Magasin, ,Madi Illustrates, ,Mel Elliot, ,Nick White, ,Patternity, ,Portobello, ,Rina Donnersmarck, ,Sam Parr, ,Sarah Bagner, ,Selfridges, ,shopping, ,Strawberry Creme Nouveau, ,Supermarket Sarah, ,Swedish Blonde Design, ,Tatty Devine, ,vintage, ,YCN

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Amelia’s Magazine | Edinburgh College of Art: Graduate Fashion Week 2012 Catwalk Review


Graduate collection by Farah Saffari

Edinburgh College of Art always have much to offer at Graduate Fashion Week. Weird and wonderful, expert craftsmanship, innovative use of materials and new silhouettes, Edinburgh always seems to make it appear dazzling effortless.

They were all wonderful, frankly, but here are some of my favourites:

Jacob Birge


All photography by Matt Bramford

Jacob caused a striking stir as the show’s opener, featuring futuristic shapes and wide brimmed visor hats. Industrial colours lifted dresses, which were more like armour.

Raj Mistry

Graduate collection by Raj Mistry

Raj’s expert menswear collection really stood out. He married sportswear with engineered shapes with luxurious materials for outerwear; zips and drawstrings in contrasting colours were nice details.

Farah Saffari


Graduate collection by Farah Saffari

A whimsical approach to fashion was the mainstay in Farah’s collection, inspired by nature and, probably, the beach. Cropped tops, translucent layers and piped waists resulted in mermaid-like creatures rather than models.

Colin Oliphant

Something about Colin’s relaxed tailoring for men that also worked on ladies really stood out; it was simplicity at its best. Subtle lapel-free jackets with crew necks were worn over collarless shirts in muted colours, and a collection like this is always welcome amidst a sea of designers who try to push the boundaries a little too far.

Ainslie Hogg

Juxtaposed to Colin’s subtle collection (above) came Ainslie Hogg’s weird and wonderful experimentation with material and shape. It was the kind of collection, akin to Michael Van Der Ham, that shouldn’t work but completely does. Materials of various textures and densities were combined in hap-hazard fashion to create striking ensembles.

Katarzyna Krzywania

I simply loved Katarzyna’s hooded overcoats with contrasting geometric shapes.

Dan William James Prasad


Graduate collection by Dan William James Prasad

Dan’s menswear was a perfect blend of old and new – a sort of updated period novel hero with contemporary, aesthetic fabrics in the place where tweeds and heritage fabrics might be. High-waisted trousers and structured jackets featured in this richly-coloured collection.

Katie Bremner

What’s not to love about Katie’s ethereal world? Her fringed frocks in garish colours, embellished with hearts, added both fun and thought provocation to the show. Not a collection for the supermarket, but for the fashion-forward at the very least.

Marie Leiknes


Pages from Marie Leiknes‘ graduate collection sketchbooks

Marie creates new silhouettes from marvellous knitwear in vivid colours. Millinery had an Eastern influence, whilst the garments themselves featured triangular wool formations and contrasting colours.

Riona Horrox
Riona might have looked to 1990s hip hop for inspiration for her premium menswear. Oversized coats with digital prints were decorated with wool trims or worn with hoods. Orange and copper highlights glared from a general colour palette of black and grey. Riona went on to win the Menswear Award at the Gala Show yesterday evening (more to come on that soon) – and quite rightly so.

Louise Bennetts

Louise’s collection consisted of parachute-like dresses and capes in varying shades of orange – warm tones that brought life to paler structures. Layered translucent materials created interest, and bold black lines that divided up the garments added yet another dimension to this highly polished collection.

Emma Hardstaff
Emma closed the show with her collection of dreamy quilted numbers with vague digital prints, some of which were disguised with translucent fabric. The prawn-like head pieces, whilst attracting attention, were a little unnecessary – but it was a collection worthy of closing the show nonetheless, and gained much deserved recognition at the Gala Show. Bravo!

Three cheers for Edinburgh, as always! Hip Hip…

Categories ,2012, ,Ainslie Hogg, ,catwalk, ,Colin Oliphant, ,Dan William James Prasad, ,Earls Court Two, ,ECA, ,Edinburgh College of Art, ,Emma Hardstaff, ,Farah Saffari, ,Graduate Fashion Week 2012, ,Jacob Birge, ,Katarzyna Krzywania, ,Katie Bremner, ,knitwear, ,Louise Bennetts, ,Marie Leikes, ,menswear, ,Michael van der Ham, ,Raj Mistry, ,review, ,Riona Horrox, ,Womenswear

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Amelia’s Magazine | Jack Teagle opens up shop

Flyer designed by Russell Palmer

Two years since their first show in the basement of Shoreditch Town Hall, more about Circuit Wisely presented 17 Artists in an East London live-work space. This second exhibition asked artists to respond to the location and ‘architecture’ of a residential building, investigating its scope for possible comment on the contested geography of East London.

Emily Whitebread Stills from a Film (2010)

The artists work (of which I was one) had to be temporal and capable of negotiating the duplicitous communal spaces of the building, such as the car park, balconies, stairwells, lifts and terraces. Circuit Wisely made it implict that the artwork was not to impinge on the everyday movement occurring within the building, pushing the artists to consider how their work would be installed without marking the building and it’s context within the geographical location.

The exhibition began on the ground level of the first stairwell, Mihaela Brebenel’s installation 1 to 7; G to 6A – Loose Ends invited the viewer to follow the woolen thread wrapped around the handrails and architectural piping. Mihaela’s work explored the notion of navigating a particular space – through externalising the internal sources of what one does and does not see upon entering a residential building.

Mihaela Brebenel 1 to 7; G to 6A – Loose Ends

Continuing upwards, I passed Richard King’s decorative installation and a burning red screen-print by Daniel Wilkins. However my attention was held by Ben Fox’sculptural shanty-town: Sublet City. The contrasting nature of the contemporary East London building and Fox’s fragile houses echo the rapid development of East London, where an organic mixture of old and new is being skewed by the rapid destruction of original property in favour of the new. Beautifully made from found materials, it is accompanied by ‘the house shelters day-dreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace.’

Richard King Untitled

Dan Wilkins Untitled (2008)

Ben Fox Sublet City

The next level was occupied by Will Jennings’ Portfolio. A critical reflection on the building’s owner and his vast property ‘portfolio’. The publication with it’s selected photography and investigative text aims to create a dialogue between shared landscape and the increasing capitalisation of the concept of home. It is rare that such an opportunity for a piece of work criticising the building is installed in the location that it is criticising. It was interesting to see the interaction and discussion this piece caused with the residence of the building presenting them with the opportunity to re-think their living space. A favourable comparison to make is Hans Haacke’s ‘Shapolsky et al., Manhattan Real Estate Holdings, a Real-Time Social System as of May 1,1971′.

Will Jennings Portfolio

After reading the Portfolio, I continue to walk up the stairs and see Richard King’s second ornamental piece. Hanging in the window, on the level above, the back drop being the East London Skyline, are three beautiful photographs by Alex Ressel.

Richard King Untitled

Alex Ressel A Three Frame Film

‘DIAL 2-2-4-9 AND POINT TO THE SKY’ a vinyl text piece standing opposite a comical 3D image Lost in Space. The image of a famous Robot appears to vibrate from the paper and into a form of hologram – this I am seeing without the help of 3D glasses.

After the completing the stairwell, I made my way to Charlotte Gibson’s Sitting Room Installation made my eyes pop! The collection of brightly coloured collages, furniture, lamps, china, jelly, plastic and string are are arranged in such a way that the space that is inbetween them becomes more important by the string that attaches them, the water and jelly that resides in them and the shadows that are casted by the array of objects.

Charlotte Gibson Sitting Room Installation

Natascha Nanji’s A Tail of Two Cities occupied the lift in the second stairwell. The ceiling was covered with punctured black rubber, the work physically inserted itself into the lift through the weight of the shells contained within the black fabric. The imposition of the transformed the lift experience, from everyday to the uncanny. On one journey a chattering couple walked in unaware of what was above their heads, until a shell grazed the top of the man’s head, alarming him and drawing his attention to the ceiling. A scene from a horror film perhaps?

Natascha Nanji A Tale of Two Cities

After coming down in the lift, I returned to the 5th Floor to find the walkway occupied by Zoe Paul’s Buoy and the terrace contained Susanna JP Byrne’s Cy Cartographer No. Sculpture. Standing tall, the sculpture looks out towards the city – reminiscent of a century guard, looking out over the London landscape. The copper wire felt referential of a school science project and the tripod’s brightly coloured poles appeared similar to the yard sticks used to measure playing fields during practical geography lessons.


Susanna JP Byrne Cy Cartographer No. Sculpture

Zoe Paul Buoy Photograph by Selvi May

Marnie Hollande’s performance piece Gas wowed the audience on the exhibition’s opening night. A figure emerged onto the walkway, her face covered by a shimmering midnight blue mask, the body cloaked in chiffon with attached balloons. Moving onto the terrace to continue the performance, the body and balloons struggled against both the wind and crowd.. The exceptionally strong wind increased the movements of the performer moving within the constraints of her costume. At one point, balloons detached themselves from the costume and were carried into the darkness.

Marnie Hollande Gas

On reflection Jennings, Dray, Fox and Bryne’s pieces directly tackled the building’s geographical location. The other pieces included by Circuit Wisely responded more directly towards the architecture, whereas others echoed the idea of ornamentation. Personally, the importance of the exhibition, lay in tracing perspectives and making connections between the work within the building’s parameters. Circuit Wisely shift away from the stress and importance of individual works when umbrellaed into a singular meaning all too common with groups shows.

The exciting thing about Circuit Wisely is not just the diversity of work on display but the transition they have gone through as a collective of curators. The success of CWII were that the visitor appeared to be completely free to move about the building, but were fact deliberately manoeuvred to encounter the work in relationship to the various movements one can make within the space. The curation and choice of art works allows visitors to experience different environments and transports them from a block of flats to an interesting space for creative people to come together and display work. This show is successful as it is not constrained by the gallery space. It is a platform for the viewer to encounter works in different environments heightening their experience of viewing a group show – and this is the success of the Circuit Wisely curatorial team.

All Photographs by Circuit Wisely

Jack Teagle heroes and villains
Heroes and Villains by Jack Teagle. I *heart* this image.

You may remember that I had a fabulous time at Jack Teagle’s exhibition at Nobrow earlier this year. Then I saw a tweet about his brand new shop and thought it might be time to catch up with one of my favourite illustrators…

What else has been happening since your Dungeons and Desktops exhibition at Nobrow earlier this year?
Just recently I finished my second solo show over in Porto, buy Portugal at the Galeria Dama Aflita. The title was ‘Zona de Combate’ and the focus was on my wrestlers and pop-culture violence. I’ve been contributing to group shows too. The Monsterbation show at the Pony Club in Portland, dosage Oregon, and Tennis Apocalypse, a show in Seattle.

Jack Teagle exhibition

Another group show is coming up in Porto at the end of this year which I will be contributing too as well. I’ve just worked with Mario, the creator of the ‘Causeineedit blog to create a limited run of tshirts, which you can see here. There’s always an exhibition or a publication to work towards, so it’s exciting. I’ve done some editorial illustrations as well as some commercial projects and book design. I’ve been working on painting more, but illustration is something I really want to get my teeth into properly.

Jack Teagle prints

Why the online shop? What are you selling on there?
After selling paintings at shows, I realised that a lot of people were after certain pictures, but they had already been bought up. Painting – then immediately selling the image – wasn’t getting the most out of my work, so I thought a lot more people could enjoy these pictures if I made some up into Giclee prints. I wanted to expand my little business too.

Best buys from your store for:
Granny: Woodland Print
Baby: Skateboarding Cat
Big sister: Happy Print
Little brother? Heroes and Villains Print

You’ve been inspired by a lot of movie monsters – have your favourites changed over the years?
I think some have and some haven’t. I love Nosferatu now, as a child I would have found him a little dull. I loved the totally bizarre monsters, my favourite would have to be The Creature from the Black Lagoon, it’s just such a great design. I’ve always loved mutants and animal hybrids too, especially the Fly.

fear and misery_jack teagle
Fear and Misery prints by Jack Teagle.

What’s the best classic horror movie?
For me it’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It still scares me to this day now. It has the most unsettling atmosphere and sense of claustrophobia. Gore and visual effects don’t really do anything for me. It was just down to the mystery and the atmosphere, I remember first watching and wondering what in God’s name are those pods!

What’s this about the Daddy Donkey Mexican Grill?
Daddy Donkey was really fun to work on. I got the job through the YCN. Joel, the owner of the Daddy Donkey chain saw some of my older wrestling work and hand-drawn text and wanted me to work on some Luchador inspired artwork.

How is life in the south west?
It’s been pretty cool recently, I’ve just been working away. Not much happens, but I can finally drive, so that relieves some boredom. It’s always a relaxed atmosphere down this way. I travel up whenever I can, usually to meet clients and see how things are going, every few months (I should get up more often!) My top tip would be, only megabus a journey if absolutely needed! The train is the way to go, the extra money is worth it. I felt like a sardine every time I went on megabus.

Jack Teagle characters wrestling

Who makes the best sketchbooks?
I’m still searching for the perfect sketchbook! I change format every now and then to keep things fresh. I did use Moleskine, but they tend to fall apart if you carry them around a lot. I love a sketchbook with good paper and usually a good hard cover. The Handbook Travelogue sketchbooks are the best I’ve found so far.

I got a bit of a shock the other day when I opened my local East End rag and saw a little piece about a collaboration you’ve done with the Museum of London. Tell me more about Oscar Kirk’s 1919 diary….
I was contacted through Anorak Magazine to work on a project with a few other illustrators on Oscar Kirk’s diary. Oscar was a 14 year old boy who worked on the docks in 1919 and kept a diary which gives a good look on life back then. He also kept the weather and what he had to eat. We were all given a diary extract to illustrate, and then the finished images were published in Anorak Magazine with the original text. The pages were also blown up and put on display in the Museum of London. (We did an exclusive interview with Cathy Olmedillas, founder of Anorak Magazine: to read it click here)

What have you got planned for 2011?
I want to get some more solo shows sorted out, maybe set out to try some resin cast toys too. At the moment the plan is to keep working hard and to chase any opportunity that comes knocking!

You can check out Jack’s shop right here. I’d grab yourself a bit of the action as soon as you can…

Categories ,Daddy Donkey, ,Galeria Dama Aflita, ,Handbook Travelogue, ,Jack Teagle, ,Luchador, ,Moleskine, ,Monsterbation, ,Museum of London Docklands, ,Nobrow, ,Nosferatu, ,Online Shop, ,Oregon, ,Oscar Kirk, ,Pony Club, ,portland, ,Portugal, ,seattle, ,Tennis Apocalypse, ,YCN

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Amelia’s Magazine | Fiera Design Magazine: An interview with Creative Director Jeremy Leslie

Fiera_magazine_11
Following my interview with Katie Treggiden, the founder of new design magazine Fiera, we catch up with creative director Jeremy Leslie, the man behind Magculture.

Jeremy_leslie_portrait
What parameters did you and Katie decide on together when it came to the design of Fiera?
With so much rich visual material on the pages the layouts needed a calm approach; it was clear early on that the typography would mainly be monochrome and that we’d just use a couple of typefaces. My approach is always to strip things back to a simple set of parts that can be applied in various ways. I don’t like gratuitous decoration, preferring to exploit the content, the words and images, to offer visual emphasis and change of pace as neccesary. There’s a little playfulness in the page number positions and the little Fiera logos that repeat at angles throughtout the issue. Katie and I agreed on everything very easily, with the one exception of a variation on the front cover design that I preferred. But I was happy with what we did.

Fiera_Kaleidoscope
Why did you decide to make quite a compact magazine?
Fiera is a biannual that’s conceived as a journal of record, a magazine to be collected issue by issue. It felt right it should be bookish for that reason, small busy pages recording what Katie finds at the design fairs. The small format also positions Fiera at odds with the larger, pictorial design magazines, and permits the creative use of white space without it becoming excessively wasteful. And it helps with postage costs!

Fiera_magazine_03
How did you get illustrator Assa Ariyoshi involved? (what a coup! She was one of my favourite discoveries at this year’s graduate shows)
I have a long-standing working relationship with YCN, who champion young illustrators. I spoke to them and Assa was quickly chosen and signed up. I love her work, she had some spots in the recent issue of Put A Egg On It, and her work is a central part of our launch edition. That feature, where the writers from the group 26 respond to individual examples of new design and Assa illustrates their words, provides a visual balance to all the product photography.

Fiera_magazine_05
Who else worked on the design of the magazine?
I worked with my assistant Jese Siu, a recent graduate from LCC.

Fiera_magazine_16
How long did you have to design Fiera and what were the biggest challenges you faced?
Katie, Jess and I had already worked closely on the dummy pages for the Kickstarter campaign back in May, so we were ahead things when it came to the real issue. As I said, there’s a set of elements that are gently reinvented and adjusted from page to page and story to story. The production period was actually pretty smooth and quick; the biggest challenge was that two magazine projects were going through the studio at the same time and they ended up coinciding and going to press the same week – Fiera and our redesign of Noble Rot. That was scary but we managed it.

Fiera_magazine_22
What do you hope for in the future for Fiera?
I’m proud of the launch issue but well aware its just the start. We geared the Kickstarter funding so it paid for Issue 1, and any additional sales of Issue 1 will provide the money for a second issue. We’re about to go into production of number two, and from there on we need to start selling more copies to survive. I know enough about publishing startups to keep it real, slowly build, but I share Katie’s vision for Fiera and hope we can keep the momentum growing and reach issues three, four, five…

Categories ,Assa Ariyoshi, ,Fiera, ,Jeremy Leslie, ,Jese Siu, ,Katie Treggiden, ,Kickstarter, ,magCulture, ,Put A Egg On It, ,YCN

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with The Flower Appreciation Society

The Flower Appreciaiton Society_introducing
Ellie and Anna are not your average florists…. inspired by a mutual love of flowers, illustration and all things English, they formed The Flower Appreciation Society, supplying beautiful and unusual arrangements to a multitude of customers from their studio space in Hackney. And that’s not all they do: Ellie also runs knitwear label EDE, and Anna is a nearly qualified midwife. Inspiring indeed. Ellie explains:

The Flower Appreciation Society big lilac display
I studied Textiles at Manchester and Anna studied illustration at Brighton. After being made redundant twice in one year, I went back home to Wales and spent the summer helping my Mum (who is also a florist) with all her weddings. When I returned to London I decided I wanted to continue working with flowers. I started working at The Scolt Head pub in Hackney and met Anna. She had just finished a year long floristry course (which she’d found incredibly uninspiring) and we instantly became friends when we realised that we shared the same aesthetic and love for all things floral. It all started very organically. Anna was asked to do the flowers for a friends wedding and I offered to help. From then on we started doing weekly flowers at the pub and then decided to design our own website. The Flower Appreciation Society was born.

The Flower Appreciation Society_Christmas
I love your idea! Flowers and illustration have always gone hand in hand, when did you have your epiphany and can you remember when you and Anna decided to combine the two loves?
It all happened very naturally. The Flower Appreciation Society began when we realised that we could combine our love of cut flowers with our appreciation of all things floral. Anna had done an illustration degree, so it seemed very right to use illustrations to add something a little different to our identity.

The Flower Appreciaiton Society_flower letters
How much has growing up around flowers informed your love of them? what are your earliest floral memories?
My mother is a silk painter as well as a florist and a wonderful gardener, my Granny was a gardener and my Great Granny was a florist, so I guess you could say it’s in the genes. The house was always filled with flowers, be it fresh cut flowers or huge beautiful bearded iris’ which my mother painted onto the curtains in the sitting room. l was definitely surrounded by flowers from a very early age. My earliest floral memory has to be sitting on the lawn at my Granny’s house eating rose petals!

The Flower Appreciation Society Anna's edible flower illustrations
What have you learnt from your florist mum?
The most important things I have learnt from my mum are my appreciation and sensitivity to colour and shape. When she was training me she always banged on about the shape of the arrangement (which annoyed me at the time!!) but I’m so grateful for it now as its one of the most important things.

The Flower Appreciation Society bike and bouquet
The Flower Appreciation Society floristry tips
I love that you and your partner Anna have such diverse creative careers – can you tell us more about your knitwear brand EDE?
I set up EDE a year ago. I have always knitted, since leaving university and it got to a point where I didn’t have the time to knit myself anymore, so I decided to employ knitters from the area that I grew up, in Herefordshire. It was very important to me to keep the production in England and even more important to support my local community. I now have 15 knitters who work their magic on my designs and I sell them on my website www.edeengland.co.uk Anna and I are very excited about our next project, to combine EDE with The Flower Appreciation Society. Big floral prints on knitwear… we can’t wait!! *nor can I*

The Flower Appreciation Society Buttonholes
And Anna: Can you tell us about your midwife training – where will you be practicing once you are qualified and what kind of births do you hope to attend and facilitate?
I’m just about to finish my 3 year training and hope to practice as a midwife part time in London. I hope this will be the perfect balance, half the week delivering babies and the other half arranging beautiful flowers – two very different environments, somehow it works and I love having such a mixed week. I particularly enjoy working with women and their families from all sorts of backgrounds – in an ideal world they all would be lovely straightforward happy births!

The Flower Appreciation Society_flower bonnet
How do your illustrations sit alongside and work with the flower arranging brand?
What’s great is that the illustrations have become an integral part of the brands identity without us even realising that’s what we were doing. 
It’s so lovely for me being able to use my illustrations in this context, having the freedom to set my own briefs and being able to use my degree in a way i never thought I would. I love being my own boss.

The Flower Appreciation Society_pink jug
The Flower Appreciation Society_As you are editorial
All editorial shots by Holly Falconer for an As you are Magazine editorial.

How do you find the local growers who supply your flowers? Are there people growing flowers in London or do you have to go outside the city?
At the moment we buy most of our flowers from new Covent Garden market and get as much as we can from the English suppliers. Our plan for next year is to develop relationships with local allotment growers so that we can source the majority of our flowers within London. 

Very big display flower appreciation
What flowers does England grow best?
Our favourite English flowers have to be sweet peas, delphiniums, dahlias, hydrangeas and of course beautiful wild foliage. 

Are there any particular scents that you love the most and try to include in arrangements?
Obviously there’s nothing better than flowers which smell. Our ultimate favourite is English lilac. 

The Flower Appreciation Society_mothers day 2012
You’ve had some amazing clients: Florence and the Machine, YCN, Bompass and Parr, La Perla, Radley, Yellowdoor, Shona Heath, Lily Vanilli, Waterstones. Who would be your next dream client?
We’d love to start working with contemporary fashion brands such as Mary Katrantzou. It would be a dream to not only have our flowers decorating the catwalk, but also our floral prints/illustrations adorning the models. 

The Flower Appreciation Society_As you are editorial
Why should we all learn to appreciate flowers more – any simple tips to include them in daily life?
Flowers make us happy. We love the whole process, from building relationships and supporting the market boys to visiting amazing venues, to feeling like we’ve done a good hard days work. Just a single stem of a beautiful flower brightens up any room. Buy a coral peony bud and put it into a bottle and watch it open and the colour fade – quite magical.

The Flower Appreciation Society_Ellie and Anna

Visit The Flower Appreciation Society here.

Categories ,Anna Day, ,As you are Magazine, ,Bompass and Parr, ,Covent Garden market, ,EDE, ,Ellie Jauncey, ,ethical, ,Florence and The Machine, ,Flowers, ,Holly Falconer, ,illustration, ,knitwear, ,La Perla, ,Lily Vanilli, ,Local, ,Mary Katrantzou, ,Midwife, ,Radley, ,Shona Heath, ,The Flower Appreciation Society, ,The Scolt Head, ,Waterstones, ,YCN, ,Yellowdoor

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Ana Jaks: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

ANAJAKS-FigurePracticeInspiredbyHoliday_Season
I found Ana Jaks at New Designers, where she was also discovered by the likes of Creative Review. She contributes a bold design for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion inspired by recent holidays.

ANAJAKSDRAWING
What did you learn and how did you develop as an artist at university?
I’m a recent graduate who studied illustration at Falmouth University which was probably one of the best environments anyone could ever ask to develop in. Before going to university I already had a very set drawing style which was mainly black and white and was all done in fine liner with barely any colour – it had more of a fine art feel to it than illustration, and being at Falmouth meant I had to break that down, strip everything back and start again. This did prove to be a massive struggle for me and at one point I didn’t think I was good enough to continue the course but the tutors there are honestly some of the most supportive I have ever been around and they really taught me how to use colour and not be afraid to take risks and so I really embraced my time there and I honestly don’t think I could have developed the style I did if it wasn’t for being there.

ANAJAKS-NY
What was the best part about studying at Falmouth Uni?
The best part about being there meant going to New York and showing massive clients like Vice and 3×3 your work, where you would get really focused feedback and as soon as I got back to the UK I took it all on board and tried to really bring my work together a lot more and realised how inspiring architecture is, which is why I created my New York piece. This piece of work really felt like a landmark for me, it was finally something that I thought “yes this is how I want my work to look to an audience.”

ANAJAKS-theselfiephenomenon
ANAJAKS-CreativeReviewBillboard2
I found your work at New Designers, what was the most exciting bit to come out of your show there?
The Selfie Phenomenon, which was a project I showed at both New Designers and New Blood, and was fortunately lucky enough to be chosen by the Creative Review and JCDecaux’s Talent Spotting Showcase 2015 where 20 graduates got chosen to have their work shown nationwide. I thought I would include this in the images I have sent to you because it was one of the most exciting things to have happened straight after finishing my degree and seemed somewhat unbelievable. 

ANAJAKS-EcoCallobforToteBag
What recent projects have you been working on?
Recently I have been working on an image for a collaborative project to do with helping the environment and focuses around the idea of stopping people from using plastic bags and so instead are selling tote bags for a pound in order to get people to help the environment. I was invited to design an image for the tote bags which involved me drawing animals which is really something I never do and so it was quite interesting for me I suppose? I usually stick to buildings, figures and environments as it’s something I much prefer but this was actually really fun!

`ANAJAKS-Inspiredbyrecentholiday
What areas of illustration do you hope to work on in the future?
My main interests lie in editorial because I always think you manage to get the most interesting images out of them. I also really love fashion and so the idea of being able to work on advertising campaigns with some sort of fashion house would be my absolute dream. Anything that I can apply bright colour, pattern, shape and an element of design to is perfect for me and I’ve even found that children’s books (although not what I had originally expected to like) are something I could really see myself enjoying.

ANAJAKS-CommissionbyFTMagazine2
ANAJAKS-CommissionbyFTMagazine
How did you become a member of YCN and what have you been commissioned for as a result of being on the website?
I am currently a member of YCN and am lucky enough to have my portfolio showcased on their website which has meant I am able to say my first ever commission was for the Financial Times Magazine which was amazing. It was an article about Gastropubs and so I had to draw pubs and food which was bloody great as they are both things I love! This was really important for me as it really gave me a taste of how the professional world worked in terms of being a freelance illustrator.

`ANAJAKS-dblepg
What inspired your double page for my book?
My colouring book pages for you were inspired by my summer holiday I had in summer. I wanted each page to contain an element I enjoyed most about the holiday, which is obviously why there is just one page full of people lying down doing nothing because I felt like I’d been on my feet for a full 3 years doing my degree and being able to do nothing for 2 weeks was bliss haha. When I was drawing this image it was the first time in quite a while that I had actually gone back to hardcore drawing and it was really good for me because it meant I pushed myself a lot on what I was doing. The other half of the image that is in black and white of the buildings is supposed to be the part I enjoy most which is walking around and discovering things – I actually much prefer this page and can’t wait to see how people colour it in!

ANAJAKS-FigurePracticeInsipredbySeasons
How does your interest in social media materialise in your work?
Being on holiday also inspired me to draw other images like tourists flouncing around trying to maniacally take pictures of everything but not really looking at anything. Social media is a big thing for me and my work and a lot of focus tends to lie around it. It’s interesting because we are obviously in a day and age where it can be detrimental to a creative’s career, but then you see how much it takes over some peoples lives and I love trying to wrap my head around it and create solutions to it through illustration.

ANAJAKS-FigurePractice
How do you try and evolve your style?
I am constantly trying to recreate and evolve my style because I think it’s incredibly important not to get stuck or comfortable in what you’re doing and so I always try and develop the way I draw the figure. Fashion has a huge influence on how I create my pictures and so I always try and do portraits just as little fun experiments! It’s also good to do just to let everyone know you are still working, because I want the world to know I am still drawing and I am still enjoying it and that I am really serious about it all and not just getting lazy, but it does get hard difficult running out of inspiration.

ANAJAKS-CreativeReviewBillboard3
What are you working on next?
I have plans for an upcoming project which I don’t want to reveal just yet but I feel like it’s something a lot of people my age can relate to. I tried for ages to think about something that would be “cool” or “appealing” or about something I love. It’s hard to stay inspired straight after your degree and I think it’s a really important time to keep pushing – especially when you are just working a job you don’t want to be to pay the bills. Ideally I would love to work freelance and be working within a company too.

You can colour Ana Jaks‘ art in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion alongside that of 40 other international artists. Funding on Kickstarter now! Make sure you grab a copy or two, it makes a fantastic Christmas gift!

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Colouring, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Ana Jaks, ,Coloring, ,Colouring Book, ,Creative Review, ,Falmouth University, ,Financial Times Magazine, ,Holiday, ,illustration, ,interview, ,JCDecaux’s Talent Spotting Showcase 2015, ,New Blood, ,New Designers, ,The Selfie Phenomenon, ,YCN

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Amelia’s Magazine | A Summer Punch Up at Sutton House: Kotki Dwa Staycations Album Launch Party Review

Kotki Dwa Staycations CD bundle by Sam Glynn
Kotki Dwa Staycations CD bundle by Sam Glynn

Staycations. A word us Brits are getting more and more used to: when the sun shines, there is honestly just no place like home. Great Britain has been the centre of attention this summer. After all, if it’s good enough for world record holders and a Queen, it’s good enough for us. The beautiful rolling green hills, still blues lakes and near-empty endless beaches. We’re spoilt for these spots, everywhere. So why not celebrate them? Forget the rain and embrace our terrain right? Right. Amelia’s Magazine music favourites, Kotki Dwa, well and truly do. So much so, Staycations is the title of their follow-up album. But wait… Here comes a very interesting tale.

While fans sat patiently waiting for second record news, the boys Alex, Tom and Tristan, were hatching quite the plan. An idea long in the making, came true this summer on 2nd July, the release date of the album. And this plan? To ask the National Trust to be their record label. They gave a firm yes!

Kotki Dwa Cakes by Abi Renshaw
Kotki Dwa rice paper printed jam cupcakes by Abi Renshaw

So we’ve all been to a National Trust property right? Yes? Well there are over two hundred historic houses open to the public. Your folks probably took you to an endless amount as a kid. Visiting these properties seemed like a staple part of growing up. Now I’ve hopefully got you reminiscing, it’s filled you with fond memories hasn’t it. The pristine gardens (with a maze if you were lucky), the delicious dairy ice cream from the café, the views from high above. Kotki Dwa thought the same. Dreamt up by the boys, which must feel like an awfully long time ago now, was this rather genius idea. Once they secured the all-important ‘yes’, the possibilities became endless. They knew exactly that this would open all kinds of (historic and stately) doors – to be inspired by, write about and record in.

A Summer Punch Up on Saturday 14th July was their big night. The album was out there, glowing reviews were flowing from Pitchfork, the Guardian and the BBC. This launch party was set to go off. Plus, the venue was quite special in it’s own right. Many ran through the doors bang on 7pm into Sutton House, Hackney’s oldest house and a National Trust gem. So much so, Alex spilled they wrote a track based on its ghost. Buried deep in Homerton, 80 lucky people got to party in this property, built in 1535 by a prominent courtier of Henry VIII. WOW. The Summer (it was raining) Punch Up started with the twilight punch picnic.

Cucumber triangle sandwiches, scotch eggs, jam filled cupcakes with their Polish name on rice paper (lovely touch and too pretty to eat) and flower cakes fashioned in plant pots with Oreo ‘soil’. Delicious.

Kotki Dwa Summer Punch by Edie OP
The Summer Punch Up cocktails menu by Edie OP

They even had themed cocktails after three of their songs. Outside in the bunting-filled courtyard was an ice cream cart. Pay a donation for a scrummy pot of Taywell and cover it in their home-made Pimms syrup. Yeah!

Supporting Kotki Dwa were two fantastic bands, Glaciers and Niteflights. Each surrounded by Kotki Dwa’s British holiday themed set of picnic hampers, hay bales and a snorkel. Once the twilight picnic had gone down and the dancing to both bands over, it was to be their finest hour. The first quarter of the hall filled with the 80 strong crowd. I’m pretty small in height so was pleased with my wing position right by the grand piano, oohhh. The room was beautiful, with its red walls and high beams. Sticking to songs solely from Staycations, you could just see it in their faces, how happy they were they’d got to here. The idea had become an album, and it was rattling that ghost upstairs no doubt. I very much enjoyed the heavily loud instrumental ending of The Wolf, and the single Poison required some serious dancing. The absolute highlight for me was during the song Staycations. A girl dressed in a crab costume was throwing beach balls into the crowd to lyrics such as ‘you la la like it when we go away’ and ‘didn’t I read that sunshine repairs your sanity’. A fantastic night ending with a disco hosted by DJs Midnight A-Go-Go and NZCA/LINES.

Kotki Dwa King Crab by Dan Morison
King Crab by Dan Morison

Oh to re-live that night all over again, yes please! I did the next best thing, I quizzed singer Alex about how they bagged the National Trust as their label and where you can see them play live this summer: read my interview with Alex Ostrowski here.

Categories ,A Summer Punch Up, ,Abi Renshaw, ,Alex Ostrowski, ,Bandcamp, ,BBC, ,Beach balls, ,Box Hill, ,bunting, ,Crab costume, ,Dan Morison, ,Edie OP, ,Geoffrey Taylor, ,Ghost, ,Glaciers, ,Great Britain, ,hackney, ,Halloween video, ,Harpsichord, ,Hattie Newman, ,Homerton, ,Ice Cream, ,Kotki Dwa, ,Lake District, ,Limited edition CDs, ,Lunch EP, ,National Trust, ,Niteflights, ,Picnic hampers, ,Pimm’s, ,Pitchfork, ,Polish, ,Queen, ,Recording, ,Robin’s Clogs, ,Sam Glynn, ,Sam Parr, ,Scotch eggs, ,Staycations, ,Sun shine, ,Sutton House, ,Taywell, ,The Guardian, ,Triangle sandwiches, ,Twilight picnic punch, ,World record holder, ,YCN, ,Yorkshire, ,Yorkshire Dales

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Amelia’s Magazine | Kotki Dwa Staycations Album Launch Interview with Alex Ostrowski

Kotki Dwa at Sutton House by Sam Parr
The band at their Sutton House album launch by Sam Parr

Your 5 track EP ‘Lunch‘ came out in November 2011. Before that, It had been a wee while since you put any music out other than your Halloween video and exclusive Amelia’s Mag song for the USB Issue. Did this help you prepare for writing and recording Staycations, plus getting you back into performing live no doubt?

Yes we tend to leave quite big gaps in between our major projects. This time around it gave us the chance to develop our sound in the ways we’d been wanting to. The Lunch EP was kind of a ‘study’ to try out some new ways of doing things, moving forwards from our first album. We’d been working out how to be more economical with our part writing, so that things slotted together more deftly. Hopefully that comes through on the new album.

Great videos have always featured pretty heavily with your singles. I was locked in when I watched Robin’s Clogs! You all look like you have a lot of fun making them. As the three of you are all a creative bunch, this must be a pretty great extension of making music right?

We do love making videos and tend to have a lot of fun making them, perhaps too much sometimes! It’s good having a different outlet for ideas.

Kotki Dwa tied to their cardboard keyboard
Kotki Dwa tied to their cardboard keyboard

Love the new video directed by Hattie Newman for the song Staycations. Plus she just played flute for a track at your gig. Where did you film this?

It was actually directed by Geoffrey Taylor but art directed by Hattie Newman (she worked with Geoffrey on all the styling and made some cool props). We’re pretty good friends the lot of us, so we all mucked in. To make the video we went on a jaunt around Great Britain, trying to take in the jaw dropping sights of the National Trust’s properties around the country, whilst also changing battery packs, avoiding parking tickets and generally trying to make a music video on the fly with only a few warm scotch eggs to fuel us.

Everyone loves a scotch egg. I’m sure many bands are kicking themselves that they didn’t come up with approaching the National Trust. Are they doing exactly as any other record label would?

We approached the National Trust a long time ago with our ideas. They’ve been great sports and have supported us with many of the resources that a record label might sort out — space to record in, help promoting the album etc. Fundamentally the setup has enabled us to operate very independently and do everything exactly how we’ve wanted to, which is good fun and never disappointing.

All the teapots inside Sutton House
All the teapots inside Sutton House

So, as you started to formulate a plan to approach the National Trust, how did you do it? I imagine no one had ever asked them to be their record label before. Did they sit and think on it or jump at the chance to be involved? You must have been dying to tell everyone…

It was tempting to tell people about it in the early stages but we kept schtum. We approached the National Trust very carefully and very directly as a band. We knew exactly what we wanted to ask, and we knew exactly what the reasons were for them to say yes, so we explained everything with as much clarity as possible so that they would understand what we were on about. They got it pretty quickly and it took a couple of months to put the plan in place, but we got there!

How did this lightning bolt idea arise? I’d love to think you were just in a castle and thought, hey, imagine recording a track in here!

We wanted to partner with somebody other than a label for the release, because we thought it would throw up some interesting challenges. We’d already decided upon the title of our new album – Staycations – which we chose for its bittersweet connotations. And so, the National Trust sprang to mind because they look after so much of the British outdoors and so many weird & wonderful places for us to record in.

Alex from Kotki Dwa at the making of the video for Staycations
Alex from Kotki Dwa at the making of the video for Staycations

How many places did you visit up and down Great Britain in all? Do you have a favourite one? Did you write the album before or after these visits?

I think we’ve lost count. We’ve been to the Yorkshire Dales, Borrowdale and Upper Wharfedale in the Lake District, Heysham Head on the West Coast, Arnside Knott, Box Hill in Surrey, Pulpit Woods, Pitstone Windmill, plenty of the London properties including Fenton House, 2 Willow Road and Sutton House – the oldest house in Hackney! We really enjoyed visiting Malham Tarn in Yorkshire, where we had a relaxing boat ride.

Any plans to do anything further with them? I guess they’re helping you by stocking it in their NT shops now right? How many did you press?

We’ve just done a launch show at Sutton House, which the National Trust look after. We also put on a special exhibition at YCN on Rivington Street which showed some National Trust bits including some amazing old postcards which show some of the places they still look after today. We have stocked the album in a handful of their shops too which is nice, only fifty special physicals in existence.

Yes I have one. It’s hand bound in cloth with a lyric-postcard set and 4-colour risograph poster. Staycations has had good things written about it by the Guardian and Pitchfork. It couldn’t have gone much better!

It’s very flattering and we’re truly delighted by the response. We’ve been working on this for so long so it’s great to hear that people are enjoying the results. Hopefully if people enjoy the album they’ll buy it via our website!

During the making of Staycations video
During the making of Staycations video

Yes, it’s great you are selling it through Bandcamp. You all must be super chuffed with how well it’s all going. Especially as your loyal fans got to snap up just 50 limited edition CDs. Your original artwork or unusual features have been a pretty strong USP for Kotki Dwa. For instance, with the yellow Robin’s Clogs vinyl, I got the CD single, a flower pressed badge and fold out poster with lyrics. You really do think about the whole package, where many bands just don’t. Do you enjoy providing all these touches on the side of your music or is it just as important?

Yeah we enjoy making the whole thing as perfect as we can. We’re a fairly small operation so when we do something we do it wholeheartedly. I work as a designer at YCN so that comes in handy on the packaging front.

For me it makes it more treasured. Plus you obviously want your fans at your gigs to know the lyrics. For instance, with the Staycations MP3 version, I’m shown the lyrics on my iPhone! Don’t think I’ve ever seen this before!

Really? Cool, didn’t know that!

The sold out limited edition Staycations bundle
The sold out limited edition Staycations bundle

Well what a nice surprise! The album launch for Staycations: A Summer Punch Up, how did it go?

We had a really great time! We recorded some of the album at Sutton House so it was nice to revisit for a party. We had some great other bands playing too — Glaciers, fronted by brilliant illustrator Nic Burrows, and Niteflights who are an impressive new 4 piece well worth a listen.

Have you had to abide by a load of restrictions, like no noise after 10pm and you have to wear white cotton gloves?

National Trust visiting hours tend to be from 11 until 5 we’ve found, although we’ve bent a few rules like that over the past year! I did have to audition in order to be allowed to borrow one of the Trust’s oldest harpsichords though. Luckily I passed the audition and got to record with it — it’s on the album!

Inside the limited edition Staycations
Inside the limited edition Staycations

Oh great! Have you pencilled in a UK tour for this year? Any other events planned like your Polish paper-cutting workshop?

Well we’re playing Midnight A-Go-Go in London on 25th August, which will be fun. Let’s see what else comes up…

You can catch Kotki Dwa playing at Midnight A-Go-Go on Saturday 25th August at The Waiting Room (underneath The Three Crowns) on Stoke Newington High Street. 9pm – 4am and tickets are just £5. Read my review of the Staycations launch at Sutton House here.

Categories ,A Summer Punch Up, ,Abi Renshaw, ,Alex Ostrowski, ,Bandcamp, ,BBC, ,Beach balls, ,Box Hill, ,bunting, ,Crab costume, ,Dan Morison, ,Edie OP, ,Geoffrey Taylor, ,Ghost, ,Glaciers, ,Great Britain, ,hackney, ,Halloween video, ,Harpsichord, ,Hattie Newman, ,Homerton, ,Ice Cream, ,Kotki Dwa, ,Lake District, ,Limited edition CDs, ,Lunch EP, ,National Trust, ,Niteflights, ,Picnic hampers, ,Pimm’s, ,Pitchfork, ,Polish, ,Queen, ,Recording, ,Robin’s Clogs, ,Sam Glynn, ,Sam Parr, ,Scotch eggs, ,Staycations, ,Sun shine, ,Sutton House, ,Taywell, ,The Guardian, ,Triangle sandwiches, ,Twilight picnic punch, ,World record holder, ,YCN, ,Yorkshire, ,Yorkshire Dales

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