Number plates

Whenever I'm walking around by myself, I always check out number plates. I also play the game when you try to make new words by only adding vowels between last three letters (I'm a sucker for word games). Here are some of my favourites I've collected lately ...

 RIP YSL

 My initials

 ooooeeemmmmgeeeee

 Marie's car

 

etc etc etc .. you get the picture, I like this kind of thing.

First day ...

Yesterday was day one. Super excited to be on the course. I received a permanent marker for being the first to submit my project (as did the last person) - a bit embarrassing but worth it for the pen.

Also received a book about last years graduates from Kingston called "Step_Trip_Step". I attended their end of year show back in the summer which also got me so excited for starting here. Hannah Shipley's work is fantastic, I saw it also at the It's Nice That Graduate's show along side some other brilliant Kingston people like Doug  from graphics and Sarah Maycock from illustration. But the book we were given didn't have my favourite piece of her's in it.

Above is "Stolen" by Hannah. Which she describes as "A collective photography piece documenting the reactions of people caught unawares waiting in photo booths". I really like this piece because it is so simple and humorous. She catches the caught of guard moment perfectly and it works brilliantly as a collection but also as solo pieces. And I like photobooths too. There is an old fashioned photoautomat hidden in the basement of Pizza East off Shoreditch High St, it's brilliant and very smelly. But don't blow on the picture too hard or the image will run.

Anyway, we were told to "have tea" with someone we don't know. So Maya and I went with Zeus. Nice one.

Five minute page

If you've only got five minutes ... have a read of this page and hopefully you will get a feel for what this blog is all about.

Self portrait

Click here to see some photos of making and explanation...

Shows/Galleries/Events (ix)

Object Abuse @ KK Outlet

London Design Festival is just round the corner and this is a show that has got me a bit excited about it. Some of my favourite designers including Michael Marriott and Dominic Wilcox were in the show, so I knew it wouldn't be disappointing. The concept of the show was to take an everyday object and to change the function of it - a simple brief, providing brilliant outcomes. I'm going to share my top three things in the show, even though there is so much more good stuff.

1. Salt&Pepper Shaker (Egg timer) by Emma Morton
This piece is so charming. This is literally turning the object on it's head. It's so simple, I think it would be a really good timer for playing boggle. Good move not putting ground pepper in it, it would have mixed and gone a bit murky with the salt.

2. Paint brushes (Coat hooks) by Dominic Wilcox
Dominic Wilcox can do no wrong in my opinion. This piece is so witty, but also executed really beautifully. When I was younger I would always forget to wash my brushes but I wish they would have hardened in shapes like these. Wilcox is so good at observing things and even better at applying these observations to his work.

3. The gift shop
My third favourite thing, oddly wasn't a piece in the show. It was the peg board made of pencils that KK Outlet display their publications in. I think it is genius, definitely going to be trying this out. So simple, but so great.

 http://www.kkoutlet.com/

Shows/Galleries/Events (viii)

 The Art of Looking Sideways @ Kemistry Gallery

I was in Hoxton on my way to Bethnal Green and decided to pop in to the Kemistry Gallery on the way (because I haven't gone in ages). I was pleasantly surprised to find that the show was all about Alan Fletcher, displaying the original plans for his book "The Art of Looking sideways". I have this book at home, but to be honest I've never sat down to read it because it is so big and awkward. But this show was really great I think. 

Already being familiar with his work, I was most excited by the layout of the show. The individual plastic wallets the artwork was displayed in, allowed you to consider each piece individually. It made me think of "The Art of Looking Sideways" as a blog, with each page being an idea, an inspiration or a quick thought - a bit like Fletcher's own version of our summer holiday project.

Below are some quick sketches I did before I had to leave ...

Shows/Galleries/Events (vii)

Last night I went to a launch for a new line of wallpaper at Ryantown. Everything in the shop on Columbia Rd was covered in the wallpaper even all the framed papercuts and the carrier bags. and skateboards. I thought he should have covered the shop front in it though. It was very odd, because you couldn't see any of the products. I've posted quite a bit on this blog about how much I think having your own shop rocks because of the control you have ... maybe I just want to have a shop ... or maybe I'm fed up of seeing Tesco's popping up everywhere. Anyway, here are some photos of the private view for you to enjoy.

http://www.misterrob.co.uk/

Fruit boxes

Today when I was out and about running some errands. I found some really lovely fruit boxes in the rubbish pile by the market on Strutton Ground. I only decided to take two boxes because that was all I could carry at the time.

Ta-da! I have now decided to use the boxes as stacking shoe storage. Which I think looks quite smart considering it was free.

It reminds me of Michael Marriot's draw unit (above) made from Spanish orange crates, peg board and birch plywood. You can read my post about his work by clicking here.

Links to websites that I like (v)

http://fashematics.com/

Found out about this super cool website on the back page of supersuper magazine. Breaking down runway trends into simple equations. You can even browse and find your favourite designers. Humourous and perfectly executed - ace!

CHANEL

February 1983

i-D is one of my favourite things. I used to remember always reading it when my parents had a copy lying around the flat and thinking "what the hell is the amazing thing!". It started out as a rad fanzine documenting the Kings Rd scene and is now a glossy, global fashion bible. I think Terry Jones has done such a good job with his magazine, just getting his mates like Nick Knight to help him and writing about his friends. That's what I try to do with my zine, write about stuff my friends and I enjoy and collaborate with them too. 

Anyway, several weeks ago I was kindly given issue twelve of i-D, which was landscape.

Recently I feel that it has got a bit too fashion-y, I like the text parts best. So when I was given issue 12 of the mag I was chuffed to see it jammed with street style, a drug education double spread, schoolwear to weekendwear and places to eat. It's really weird reading about all these really crazy cool boutiques and stores on the Kings Road, because I don't really feel it's like that anymore at all it's just full of Whistles and Comptoir des Cotonniers, which is quite sad. I've scanned my favourite spreads for you to have a peek at ...

http://i-donline.com/

I won't miss

I won't miss all the sirens late at night, I live behind a police station.
I won't miss being told to wash my hair

I will miss being able to walk to most places in London though.

Earlham Street

This is the book that appealed to me the most in Magma.

David Shrigley is someone who I've always been aware of, but never really been that into. Until I looked into hislatest book and now I am a hardcore Shrigley fan. I think he is such an intelligent man.People who think he is a cartoonist are stupid.And his photography is the best!

Ideas

I spend a large amount of my time travelling on trains and tubes, between east and west. So I guess that's a situation where I get a lot of ideas and times to think things through. I go through quite a lot of sketchbooks, I think its important to write as well as draw your ideas.

Also I feel like I get a lot of ideas in situations when you can't really say your own ideas because other people are in charge. For instance when I was interning at the art department at ELLE, I came up with so many ideas in a day because I was thinking of ways they could improve what they do but couldn't voice it because it would be unproffessional, but I can apply it in my own practice - if that makes sense!

Design Blogs/Design Groups (iv)

Prick Your Finger

It's hard to keep up with what PYF are up to as they are always soo crazy busy. Whether they're knitting jackets for Boris Bikes or knitting the front of their shop in Bethnal Green, they are always up to something ace! It's run by Rachel Matthew and Louise Clarke who both met at CSM. I remember going to their knitting club "Cast Off" at Tatty Devine when I was like nine and being soo excited by so many people making stuff in a tiny shop. They're the kind of girls who do stuff rather than talking about it!

Currently, they have a pop up shop at Rough Trade (east). So if you're down Truman's totally pop in and they are doing lots of events. I would totally recommend going because they are the loveliest ladies ever!

 

 Last year after complaining to them about how John Lewis didn't have any shoulder pads and writing about it in my zine. They decided to start stocking them to get me my hit, with dallas packaging naturally. They are too cool. That's what is the best about having your own shop - being able to introduce new products so quickly.

Their shop is on 260 Globe Road, E2. Which is full of lots of ace knitted bits and bobs. They also sell my zine there. 

 Rachel's fabulous hair and me.

http://www.prickyourfinger.com/

10 things about me

Ten things about me in less than one minute.

Idea a Day ...

 I think this would make visiting friends in different cities so much easier. And also save so much paper.

Progress

Here are some images of the making of my self portrait. I decided to sew it because I always hate how I look in photographs, especially passport ones and things for official documents. So I decided to create a version of myself, which could be taken to photobooths instead of me.

Girls+Zines

Previously I posted about the exhibition I put on this summer, here.
Here is some press my show received. The show is on till late September at Tatty Devine, 236 Brick Lane. Maybe visit it  ...

DAZED+CONFUSED

TIMEOUT

GRAFIK MAGAZINE

TWIN

ITS NICE THAT

What are they up to? (iii)

Margot Bowman has just graduated from CSM studying Graphic Design. She is most famous for her painted illustrations. However, my favourite piece from her portfolio is below, I think it's better than what she displayed for the CSM graduation show on Shoreditch High St, back in June.

It's called "RE-BAGD". 

Whenever I'm cycling I absolutely hate how my basket always bumps on my mudguards, it's a total nightmare. And I think Margot may have made things a little less hellish for me. It's such a great invention and I want to get my hands on one. Unfortunately programmes such as The Dragon's Den have given us a distorted image of inventors as unable to execute their own ideas independently. But Miss Bowman proves to be quite the contrary.

http://www.margotbowman.com/