Yak

Yak

Home / Life / Travel / Fashion / Food / Music / Art

Conquering America with Jillian Mann and Kyla Trethewey Chloe Ferres talks bibliophilia The pursuit of happiness with Clio Wood

Best read with a nice brew

2 Yak Magazine

“Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it…”

- Wilferd Peterson As well as some regular goodies, we have a bundle of creative types joining us in one way or another for this issue of Yak; travelling book collector, Chloe Ferres, swaps emails with us about bibliophilia; brave-hearted up-cycle artist, Clio Wood, sits down to talk with us about creating a happier life for yourself; and Canadian road-trippers, Jillian Mann and Kyla Trethewey (shutterbug duo, Our Wild Abandon) send us some very lovely postcards from the American highways.

So, grab a cup of tea, sit down, enjoy a wealth of meaningful conversations and be inspired.

Lara xx

3 Yak Magazine

Contents

P. 8

P. 32

It’s that time again; Harriet Whinkup unearths forgotten gems as clears out her bedroom for this issue.

Our Wild Abandon: Home Is Where You Park It, After All The shutterbug duo sends us some pretty cool postcards from the road.

P. 14

P. 42

Clearout Conversations

Chloe Ferres: Cover to Cover The Sydney born, raised and based designer, Chloe Ferres, got in touch with us to talk about bibliophilia.

P. 26 Clio Wood: The Pursuit of Happiness We sit down with upcycle artist, Clio Wood, to talk about her very own pursuit of happiness.

Your Conversations We’ve eavesdropped high and low to find out what you’re talking about.

5 Yak Magazine

Hey, mum.

6 Yak Magazine

7 Yak Magazine

Words: Lara Shingles Images: Lara Shingles

Clearout Conversations: Harriet Whinkup I don’t have stuff, only things

Cherished homes are very much like labyrinths; intricate mazes built of clever buys, treasured comforts and longforgotten things. We joined journalist and all-around trendy type, Harriet Whinkup, as she made her bedroom all neat and orderly, unearthing lost possessions that were rich with colourful narrative.

Yak: I’ve just found some letters. Do these mean anything to you?

Harriet: They’re from my Nana, Nana Helen. I started writing to her when I moved into university halls. I saw a postcard that looked a lot like a Penguin cover and it said, ‘A room of one’s own’. I sent it to her and told her that I was looking for a pen friend. The next parcel I posted to her had a letter set inside, which was actually the pink set you can see here.

What kind of stuff would you talk to one another about?

She’d write about her week and stuff.

It’s funny because she would always sign off as though we were having

a real conversation and she wanted me to get out of her house. She’d be like, ‘Oh, I’m going for a bath now, so I have to go.’ She’d always draw a little smiley faced man at the end too.

whenever I went away on holiday.

I went to 13 different countries last summer and sent her one from each place. It’s really cool to know that she kept them.

We’ve found four here, but are there any others?

It would be really nice to actually get your hands on them and, perhaps, do something with them and the letters you have.

I know she sent more so they’re definitely hiding somewhere still.

She passed away recently though. My mum had to clear out her house and she actually found loads of postcards that I had sent her over the years from

8 Yak Magazine

Yeah, definitely. I think that one day I’ll put them all in a frame or something… when I’m a bit more over everything that has happened. »

9 Yak Magazine

10 Yak Magazine

You know, I haven’t looked through my record collection in ages.

How long have you been collecting them for?

It began when I went to the record store day in Kingston last year with Ryan, who is a friend who is a boy. I got Tegan and Sara as well as a free sampler. I should say that I didn’t actually have a record player at this point. So, I needed to get one obviously. I bought a £10 ASDA brand one. My dad saw it and got all of his records out of the attic to give to me.

Luckily for you, he was more than generous. What is it about records that you enjoy so much?

I just think it’s cool to put a record on because it really makes you listen to the music. And, you’re excited to get to number seven say, because it’s ‘Songbird’ or whatever. You don’t know what the number is actually, so you’re just excited to get to ‘Songbird’.

I like singles too, but you have to keep changing them otherwise they will play forever.

It was on his laptop, not a record player, but my old housemate would get so stuck on singles, playing the same song on repeat every day, all week. I remember ‘Fast Car’ week and ‘Cough Syrup’ week- the Glee version.

He was big on the Gary Barlow charity single at one point too. Thankfully that was a longer song so the plays-perhour was mercifully reduced.

Oh, he definitely needs to get himself a record player.

What about these knickknacks?

That’s my pill pot from Prague. I don’t know what the currency is there but whatever it is, it cost 60 of them. The front is the 24-hour astronomical clock there. It’s a big thing that goes hourly and everyone gathers in the Square to watch it.

The necklace is a necklace I wore whilst travelling. I was wearing a St. Christopher; the saint of travel, I think it is. That and a little cross was my protection. The coins are Denmark currency. I remember thinking how cool they were because they had holes in the middle. They all have love hearts and crows and look like a thirteen-year-old girl has made them.

I went to Copenhagen afterwards too, which I loved. I want to live there with a bike and this necklace.

And, I would visit you all the time.

What about this little bag of goodies?

The friend I was travelling with last summer is involved with couch surfing. When she was at home, she hosted somebody for dinner, so the guy hosted her back when we were in Budapest. I was tired and didn’t want to go, so I avoided it. Instead, I got on the underground system there and went into the city. I found this little old man in this shop who was essentially just selling bits of metal. Some of them looked like rings though and I

11 Yak Magazine

thought, ‘I can make my own jewellery out of this’.

That's a really cool idea. So, how has it felt going through your room today?

It’s been great to find so many things that hold memoires. Some of the things involving Nana were a bit sad because you stop and think, ‘Oh, she’s not with us anymore’, but then that is a part of her that I’ll always have.

Having her writing is actually really nice and I’m totally going to get it tattooed somewhere someday.

That would be nice. I was reading a story the other day about a man who, to mourn the loss of his mother, had gotten the sound waves from the last voicemail she ever left him tattooed on his arm.

Oh wow, that’s a lovely idea.

I thought so too. If there was something that you could lose forever then, perhaps an embarrassing photograph, what would it be?

I tend not to bring embarrassing photos with me, but at my parent’s home it would be photographs of me naked in a bath on holiday- they would be gone. Maybe something that I have spent so much money on that I have never used or worn, like a pair of shoes. It always hurts to see that kind of thing over and over again.

Still I think that anything- anything that you once loved- should always be around you.

You can follow Harriet on Twitter at @ Whinkup_

12 Yak Magazine

Words: Lara Shingles Images: Chloe Ferres

Chloe Ferres Cover to cover

What’s your perfect hideaway? For twenty-four year old designer, Chloe Ferres, it’s a foreign book maze. And, that’s where you’ll often find her. Chloe’s pursuit of plentiful bookshelves that both capture her admiration and offer her comfort frequently takes her across the globe, to places like Strand Book Store in America, Berkelouw Book Barn in Australia and even to outdoor book markets in Ikebukuro, Japan. We recently got in touch with the Sydney-born, raised and based bibliophile to shamelessly swoon over the loveliness of books.

Yak: So, what do you find so appealing about books?

Chloe: Books have always been a part of my life. My mother is a teacher-librarian and so was my grandmother. For me, the appeal of books lies in their beauty and tactility.

The information and knowledge they contain is secondary. I do judge books by their covers, their look, feel, material, typography and design.

I completely understand that.

Specifically then, what do you like in terms of a book’s look, feel, material, and so on?

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what draws me, or anyone else for that matter, to pick up a book in the first

place. The cover along with the title is often our first impression of a book and, therefore, it is near impossible for anyone not to judge a book by its front cover.

For me, a tactile matte finish is appealing and bad typography is a deal breaker. A pre-loved book is appealing for the history it holds.

A scribble, a tear, a folded corner and, books that form part of a series will always look good on the shelf, so I amassed a collection of orange

13 Yak Magazine

Popular Penguins much quicker than I could read them!

I’m trying to imagine what your own bookshelves must look like, but I don’t think I could envision anything to do them justice. Is there a dominant genre or design style to all of your books, or is there a lot of diversity?

My book collection is quite eclectic.

There are photographic monographs, art and design books, travel books and guides. New and vintage Penguin classics, books from my childhood, and new children’s books that I’ve discovered and bought too. Popular fiction, books that belonged to my parents, grandparents and strangers.

And, English and foreign books collected on my travels. »

There are cook books, text books, dictionaries and atlases, as well as books on religion, philosophy and psychology. Also, books on specific topics of interest to me, including paper, maps, colour, typography, punctuation, letters and handwriting.

Not to mention books about books and even a book about the bookshelf!

Oh, and more than a few books that I’ve created by hand, or with Blurb.

My own bookshelves are a work in progress, constantly evolving as I rearrange to make room for new things. There is not enough room in our apartment to have all our books on display, so I have to settle for only having the most recent additions at home, for now. I have grand dreams of a house with rooms and hallways lined floor to ceiling with books!

Oh, that would be fantastic! Are there any books you are particularly fond of?

There are many, many books that I’m particularly fond of! I’m quite attached to any love at first sight, vintage books brought home from overseas; German black letter leather bound classics with lovely spines bought for a steal in Vienna, hand stab-stitched notebooks full of Chinese calligraphy found in Yunnan, beautifully designed Japanese hardbacks from Tokyo and decorative one dollar American hardbacks from Boston.

My relationship with new books isn’t as instantaneous, probably because most of them are replaceable. So, I guess I’m most fond of the elusive volumes that I haven’t, yet, been able to make my own- ‘Migrations’ by

Sebastiao Salgado and ‘Biography in Books’ by Irma Boom.

It must be so hard sometimes to travel, see so many lovely books and know that you can’t bring them all back home with you! What do you look for, or ask yourself, when you’re deciding whether or not to buy a book?

When I buy a book on my travels, cost is always a factor. It’s much easier to justify a £1 bargain than a £100 splurge! But, the defining factor is uniqueness. I ask myself, ‘If I don’t buy this now, could I get it again?’

Especially when luggage space comes at a premium!

I know a locally printed, beautiful second hand book with its former owner’s name scribbled in the corner, will be a more meaningful souvenir than a brand new best seller. This doesn’t mean I don’t buy new books on my travels. I recently bought a book by a local photographer in outback Western Australia because I didn’t think I’d come across it again.

And, of course with the prevalence of online bookshops, both new and second hand, I don’t feel as though I am missing out if I don’t buy something because that book is only a few clicks away if I change my mind at a later date!

14 Yak Magazine

You've built such an enviable, photographic library on Instagram.

When and why did you decide to start documenting bookshelves?

Photographing bookshelves is a way of keeping books that I cannot own.

It wasn’t a conscious decision to begin and pursue a documentation of the bookshelf, but rather a natural progression for a book loving photographer. With that said, I’ve probably been photographing bookshelves with my iPhone for at least two years. It’s probably time to make a book watch book!

Which I would love! For the people who might not be familiar with it though, could you talk a little bit about book watch and what it means to you?

The term started as a hashtag (#bookwatch) suggested by Julie Gibbs, the founder of Lantern Booksan imprint of Penguin Books- on Instagram, where I was sharing photos of bookshelves whilst on holiday in America. I just stuck with it!

You used a quote by Jean-Claude Carrière to caption one of your photographs recently. It said: “I often walk into one of the rooms where I keep my books simply to look at them, without touching a single one. It feeds me in a way I cannot explain. It feeds my curiosity and at the same time reassures me.”

I remember reading it and thinking that it capsulizes so many people’s views on books perfectly. I, as well as you and many others I’m sure, »

15 Yak Magazine

will spend hours in a bookshop sometimes, just staring at books, and admiring how all of them look, feel and smell.

I felt a strong connection with the sentiment behind that quote when I read it in ‘This Is Not The End of The Book’ by Eco and Carrière. My husband sometimes catches me just staring at our bookshelf actually.

It appeals to me aesthetically, emotionally and intellectually.

When I visited Strand Books in New York, I was so overwhelmed by the atmosphere and adventure of a seemingly inexhaustible supply of books that it took three visits before I even contemplated a purchase. I was just so happy to look and explore, just absorbing the space whilst I had the chance to.

You can check in to Chloe’s photographic library on Instagram at @chloeferres.

16 Yak Magazine

17 Yak Magazine

18 Yak Magazine

Words: Lara Shingles Images: Clio Wood

Clio Wood Upcycling yesterday's treasures

Everybody has dreams and aspirations. Unfortunately, not everybody has the bravery to chase them. Upcycle artist, Clio Wood, was once one of those people; fantasizing about a more fulfilling future whilst being stuck in a corporate office job.

Jolted by the realisation of a life revolving around dull documents, bright computer screens and boring meetings though, she left to find a happily ever after that would make her heart sing in a way her office job never could or would. We visited Clio in London to talk about chasing joy and reaching dreams.

Yak: I know that you’ve been working as an upcycle artist for a while now, and that it’s a profession you love and are happy in. Previously though, you were walking a pretty slow and gloomy path, so I’m really interested in knowing more about how you got to where you are today. I think the best way to go about that is by starting at the very beginning. So, what were school and college like for you? And, what kind of a student did you used to be?

Clio: I have always been fairly creative but I’m also pretty academic, so I did well across the board in most of my subjects and I didn’t need to be told

to do work. My husband is always surprised that I never got in trouble, or that I was never given a detention.

I did art all the way through, but I also focused on humanities and languages. I actually ended up having a gap year and did an art foundation course during that time, but it wasn’t really with a view to go on to an art degree because I already had a place at Cambridge.

19 Yak Magazine

So what was your view then? Was there a dream job that you aspired to have, or some kind of career path mapped out?

No! I just did what I was good at.

I kind of thought that it might be nice to do design or be in fashion- I actually used to make a lot of my own clothes- but I just thought that that was not going to earn me a lot of money and my parents were pretty clear that, having paid for all of my schooling, they wanted me to get a real job.

That sounds a lot like the first episode of Girls. So you went to »

Cambridge then, and did you go straight into a corporate office job after graduating?

What about your friends and family during all of this? Were they supportive of you?

Yeah. I was in asset management for a few months and decided that was not for me. I became a head hunter, working for a small boutique firm who promoted me very quickly. I found that they weren’t developing me though, or giving me the skills to do the job that they wanted me to do. I moved to a bigger international firm, which was great, until I realised that it was kind of the opposite. They weren’t developing me because the systems weren’t in place and I was kind of getting lost in the shuffle. And, head hunting in general, if you’re not in a small firm, is quite a selfish world. It’s very relationship driven, so people get very jealous and guarded about their contacts. It becomes a little bit bitchy and that didn’t really float my boat.

I couldn’t have done it without my husband because going from a pretty comfortable salary to not that much is quite a transition to make. And, we had a mortgage at the time too.

So did the realisation of all of that push you towards making the decision to leave? And was it then a decision that you had toyed with for a while?

Yeah, I hadn’t been happy there for a while. The opportunity came up to take voluntary redundancy, so I did that and took a bit of money away. I had already started thinking about my own business and going back to more of my creative roots anyway.

I’d actually moved down to four days a week in that job to focus one day a week on doing more creative side projects, so it was a good push to actually get me to leave. Then I spent about six months a year after that finding a studio, building a client base and developing my style.

Supportive and understanding then.

Is he a creative type as well?

Not really. He used to be a strategy consultant and then he eventually moved to running eHarmony in the UK. Now he runs the marketing and international arm of SportPursuit. That can still be really useful because he’s got that very strategic and analytical brain where I haven’t. Equally he approaches start-ups in more of a meaningful, financially driven way than I do. I’m very much about growing it organically and seeing where it goes, so it can be very helpful talking to him about the flip side of that, like how am I going to actually make money?

You said you spent six months a year getting everything set up and I imagine you were discussing a lot in that time too, so it was obviously a long process. How was that whole process for you? Any difficulties?

I’ve been doing this properly for about a year and half, two years. I mean, I only launched my website

20 Yak Magazine

about a year ago now. Before that, I don’t really feel like I had started the journey properly. It’s just getting to a stage now whereby, you know, PR is reaching a tipping point on how many people are looking at me and are aware of me as a brand, so it feels like the hard work is finally starting to pay off.

So to just look back now that you’re reaching that point then, how does it feel seeing everything come together?

Whilst you’re in it, it’s actually hard to get perspective, so it’s important to step back from time to time and actually go, ‘Oh wow, I do have my own studio now’ and that’s quite cool.

But I find that quite difficult because there’s no one there to celebrate with, which is why it’s really helpful going to events and training programs at places like Google. There’s a mothers and business club that I belong to, and that’s been really good for training and for learning, but also for just talking to people here and there who are in a similar situation.

I was thinking about your job on the way here. You’re your own boss in a company that does something you love and, whilst upcycling is probably your main focus, there’s the flexibility in this to exercise your creativity in so many other ways.

Yeah, and I would hate to go back to working in an office eight to eight like I did, especially not really enjoying the environment. I’m not necessarily concerned with being my own boss.

It’s more about creating your own schedule, and having the »

21 Yak Magazine

opportunity to think outside of the box and be more creative on the daily basis that I really appreciate.

Right. Generally as well though, how much better do you feel in yourself as opposed to three years ago?

Much better, much happier. You know, I’m really busy at the moment and that’s hard, especially being pregnant at the same time. But at least I’m busy and tired out doing something that I really, really enjoy. Obviously there’s crap stuff like managing difficult clients for interior design projects when they’re just not listening to reason about the colour scheme, but at least it’s colour scheme and not something that I couldn’t give a flying fig about.

Yeah. Picking up on the crap stuff though, I guess that’s one of the things that play on the minds of so many people who have dreams to do something much better and more fulfilling, but can’t seem to realise them. It’s scary to do. What would your words of encouragement be?

A lot of people ask that, you know. I’ve spoken to loads of people as well who say, ‘Oh gosh, I could never do what you’ve done.’ I just think that so many people spend so much time thinking, and planning, and talking about it and saying ‘I wish’. And, not enough people actually go, ‘Well, fuck it, let’s just give it a try’. I think if more people did that, yes there would be a lot of failures, but there would also be a lot of people who had found that they actually really enjoyed it and were more successful than they thought.

I think as well, for such a long time life in society has been so a structured and conformed. You know, at this age you should be here and at that age you should be there. And, it’s terrifying to go off course.

Yeah, especially if you’ve done something fairly run of the mill, like languages, or history, or economics, or whatever it might have been at university. And, if you’ve been to a fairly decent university, they are just going to push you into the middle ground. Nobody I know does anything amazingly interesting, or did anything that interesting when they graduated.

They all became bankers, or accountants, or consultants, or lawyers and that was it.

I don’t think people realise how unhappy they are until they stop doing something and find that they’re much happier than they were, so it’s actually quite difficult to have that argument with someone because they would probably maintain that they were not that unhappy. It becomes a routine whereby you earn enough money to let you live in a decent property and go out with your friends quite a lot, which feels like it makes up for it.

Actually it’s interesting seeing people getting to their late twenties, early thirties and going, ‘Oh hang on a minute. I don’t need to be doing this if I really don’t like it. Let me see, is there something else I can do?’, even if it’s just going into a smaller company where their skills are relevant, like an accountant going to be a financial director at a charity.

But, it is really useful to take a step back and ask yourself whether you want to be in the same office at the same desk in ten years’ time, probably earning three times as much, but is that going to give you life satisfaction?

Are you going to be seeing your other half as much as you want to? Are you going to be able to go on holiday without your Blackberry? Are you going to be able to see your kids grow up? And, you know, there is more to life than… money.

It’s nice to see people having the certainty to do that, which I think you get after a few years in business because you have a bit more experience, a bit more self-confidence and a bit more money. It would just be really nice if people could think a little more outside of the box directly after university as well, but I guess that’s the whole thing with capitalism, and I understand that there’s an imperative for some people to not only go out and find a job, but to find a job with fairly decent pay.

How much would you stress the importance of having that outside of the box mentality then, and encourage people to take a more alternative route to find their own personal happiness?

22 Yak Magazine

They’re very difficult questions to ask yourself though, especially when you’re in such a comfortable routine.

They really are. I think I’m quite lucky that my husband thinks along the same lines as me. We’re going to take a year off, to just live in France with our child when it arrives. It’s great that we can do that and we’re on the same page. It’s why we were drawn to one another, obviously. We’re both ambitious, but ambitious for things outside of the corporate world.

You can find out more about Clio and her work at www.cliothemuse.co.uk/.

You can also follow her on Twitter at @ cliowood.

23 Yak Magazine

Words: Lara Shingles Images: Jillian Mann & Kyla Trethewey

Our Wild Abandon Home is where you park it, after all Canadians Jillian Mann and Kyla Trethewey grew up viewing America as a mysterious land, full of possibilities and better weather. Fast forward a few years, and the duo is eight states and 20, 105km closer to conquering the country that once confounded them. We caught up with Jill and Kyla as they headed east from New Orleans, LA in their beloved trailer, Bobby Jean.

24 Yak Magazine

25 Yak Magazine

26 Yak Magazine

27 Yak Magazine

28 Yak Magazine

29 Yak Magazine

30 Yak Magazine

31 Yak Magazine

32 Yak Magazine

33 Yak Magazine

Words: Lara Shingles Illustrations: Lara Shingles

Your Conversations What did you say?

From forums and Facebook to back alleys and buses, here are some of the best conversations we’ve overheard.

“What are you doing after university?”

“I have a yoga class.”

“You do yoga and study PR?” “I know, they’re total opposites.”

“What’s the difference between undergrad and grad school?”

“More work, less sleep, can’t wear sweat pants to class.”

“You can’t take a dog named Shark to the beach.“ “Why not?”

“Well, what if it runs away?”

35 Yak Magazine