Issue 3: Summer 2012
www.shellsuitzombie.co.uk
. ANDREA ROSSO TIM KEY . . LEEFEST ALED LEWIS JOE SIMPSON . . . KIGU SELF STARTERS #YOLO PIMP MY COFFIN TEN THINGS I HATE THAT EVERY OTHER FUCKER SEEMS TO LOVE STACK . YCC . ART SCHOOL DISCO . DAYZINE . FUTURE SHORTS . AMMO MAGAZINE . AND MUCH MORE!
Aled Lewis
OOH YOU’RE A BIG BOY NOW EH? YOU GRADUATED, SO FUCKING WHAT. EVERYONE GRADUATED. THAT’S LEVEL ONE AND YOU’RE ABOUT TO FACE THE BOSS. SO YOU HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF ‘HAVE I GOT THE STRENGTH TO BEAT ON THIS FOOL?’ BECAUSE AS WE ALL KNOW, IF YOU NEVER BOTHERED TO POWER UP WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE, HE’S GOING TO RIP YOU A NEW ONE. INSTAGRAM THAT, BITCH. YES, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT ‘MAKING IT’. SOME OF YOU WILL HAVE ALREADY MADE IT AND OTHERS HAVE NO PLANS TO MAKE IT AT ALL. BUT WITH THE GUYS WITH THE MONEY STARTING TO WAKE UP AFTER A COUPLE OF YEARS OF FINANCIAL HIBERNATION, NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE A MOVE. IT’S EASY RIGHT, YOU HAVE AN IDEA AND YOU GIVE IT A WHIRL. WHAT’S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN? THIS ISSUE COVERS SUCH TOPICS AND A LOT MORE. WE AREN’T GOING TO SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU BUT WE WILL SHOW YOU A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE DONE IT. YOU JUST NEED TO GROW SOME BALLS. WE TOO GREW UP OVER THE LAST YEAR. AS YOU CAN SEE, DESPITE STILL BEING A ZINE AT HEART THIS MAGAZINE IS SOMEWHAT BIGGER THAN THE LAST, AND MORE COLOURFUL. WHAT’S MORE WE ARE NOW RUNNING A LITTLE IDEAS CLUB, ZOMBIELABS, BEHIND THE SCENES. WE’RE SLOWLY WORKING OUT HOW TO MAKE OURSELVES SUSTAINABLE (IN TERMS OF MONEY, NOT THE EARTH. WE’RE NOT WANKERS), WHICH IS SUPER EXCITING. AND WE NEED YOU. IN THIS MAGAZINE IS A HOST OF OPPORTUNITIES - TO SHOW YOUR WORK, TO COLLABORATE, TO LEARN AND TO GET REALLY DRUNK. IDEALLY WE WANT YOU TO DO ALL FOUR AT THE SAME TIME. JUST PLEASE STOP MANAGING YOUR ONLINE PERSONA FOR LONG ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN. THAT’S ALL WE ASK.
WHAT’S IN THE MAG? INTERVIEWS & FEATURES
GENERAL DOODAHS
UNCONTAINED EXHIBITORS
ALED LEWIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
ZOMBIELABS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The only man who has worked out how to make a living out of his toy collection talks about his method and inspiration.
A little announcement from us. It’s purple.
SELF STARTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
He paints celebrities. He is going to America to do more painting. Andrew gets jealous.
20//20 COLLECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 ALED LEWIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 TEA AND CRAYONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 HIGH SPIRITS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 LEEFEST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 MATTHEW MCGREGOR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 MICHELA AND AURORA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 RISE ‘N’ SHINE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 MATT BOX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 INCIDENTAL FEED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 AMMO MAGAZINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 THE LOST ARCHIVE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 DONSHI BOXART . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 AMY RODCHESTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 DAYZINE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 STACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 THE BAKERY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 MINT DIGITAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 COLLECTIVE LONDON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 KIGU. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 D&AD GRADUATE ACADEMY . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 IDEAS TAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 PHNX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 EDDIE & MABEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 FUTURE SHORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 THE CAPTURE COLLECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 FACE/BOX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 GUI BORCHERT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 ART SCHOOL DISCO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 YOUNG CREATIVE COUNCIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
JOE SIMPSON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Andrew interviews a lot of people that he wants to be and learns how not to be a ‘wantrepreneur’.
STOCKHOLM SYNDROME. . . . . . . . . . 16
MUSIC IS A FREE DRUG. EXCEPT YOU SHOULD PROBABLY PAY FOR IT. . . . . . . . . . . 22 Jo Church goes on a very roundabout route to his favourite song.
Jonny finds out what the Stockholm creative colleges are all about and why they have the reputation they do.
YUNG AND THE MOUNTAIN. . . . . . . 26 ADVERTISING FOR GOOD: A MONTH LONG ADVENTURE IN RECIFE, BRAZIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Dylan Viner recounts his adventure helping a charity in Recifé, Brazil
ON CLIENTS AND CONFIDENCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Jake Jennings and Alix Land tackle the tricky relationship between you and your client.
TIM KEY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 The young poetic upstart scores an imaginary strike as we play ten pin bowling.
Joe tells a story. It’s a bit strange. Swearing.
TEN THINGS I HATE THAT EVERY OTHER FUCKER SEEMS TO LOVE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Olivia Rose kicks off. About everything. Well, about ten things. More swearing.
LEEFEST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Fancy winning a ticket to an awesome little festival in south London? Are you an artist? get involved!
UNCONTAINED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
ANDREA ROSSO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 The Italian creative director of 55DSL talks streetwear, collaboration and what’s coming up for DIesels younger brother.
We are running a six week festival of creativity in Shoreditch. Find out more and browse who we have on here. And theres a poster for you to stick on your wall/fridge/ dog too.
THEM WOT DID IT THE SHELLSUIT ZOMBIE TEAM
OUR LOVELY CONTRIBUTORS
Jonny Burch
Aled Lewis did the cover. Legend. aledlewis.co.uk
One half of ZombieLabs, Jonny is currently mostly
Chris Pensa opens art to LDNers. loveartlondon.com
going swimming in Stockholm but has left a spare pair
Poppy Mardel makes death fun. poppysfunerals.co.uk
of trunks (navy blue) in London. Follow him on twitter at @jonnyburch.
THANKS MUST GO TO
David Lambert does your laundry. laundryrepublic.com Joe Simpson paints like a mofo. joe-simpson.com Fredrik Heghammar runs shit at Berghs. berghs.se
First and foremost our thanks go out to the team at
The other half of ZombieLabs, Andrew spends his time
Johanna Frelin is CEO of Hyper Island. hyperisland.se
our sponsors 55DSL, especially Charla and Andrea in
being smug, eating slowly and being smug while eating
Dylan Viner helped kids out in Brazil. @dylanviner
Bassano and Mark and Lucy at 55DSL UK. Check out
slowly. Follow him at @muirface.
Per Englund is a photographer per-englund.com
their latest collection on www.55DSL.com.
Andrew Muir Wood
Joe Fry - warped mind. works at google. @joeadamfry
Jo Church
Pete Murgatroyd draws shit petemurgatroyd.tumblr.com
to hassle them with deadlines, amends, image requests
Our newest recruit, Jo once made his own Morph ani-
Jake Jennings is a big old designer. jake-jennings.co.uk
and subediting responsibilities
mation, except Morph was a pervert. True Story. Follow him at @jotothejo36
Alix Land like jake, a designer. alixland.co.uk Rachel E. Rawlings pens rachelelizabethillustration.co.uk
Secondly to countless mates who have allowed us
And finally to all the people who signed up to
recieve and distribute the magazine. Without you guys no-one would be able to read it. And that would be
Sam Moore & Bora Demirbilek
Tim Key - Wow. I mean just wow. timkey.co.uk
Honourable mention to Sam who put together the
Olivia Rose is SO ANGRY. oliviarosephotography.co.uk
Don’t answer that.
illustration that dictated the Uncontained style and
Ed Brown is a great scribbler. edjbrown.com
Bora who created the beautiful Uncontained trailer.
Andrea Rosso is Creative Director of 55DSL. 55dsl.com
that we love you very much.
crap would it not. What would you be doing right now? If we’ve missed you out we’re sorry! But know
Maxi Jazz, by Joe Simpson
4
ALED LEWIS An interview by Andrew Muir Wood
I
t takes a certain sort of person to painstakingly
spend a bit of money sometimes. If you use it wisely
my “Video games versus real life” work, which is like
manufacture a miniature shell suit to be worn by a
and if the idea is solid enough then I find you usually
a pixel–photography mash up. He asked me to do a
plastic zombie, on the off chance that it might just
get some reward out of it.
bunch of pixel character designs, so I did some really pixelated 8-bit Angry Birds: only 20 to 30 pixels, but
end up looking amazing. That vision, patience and
sense of humour has seen our cover artist Aled Lewis
But it all started with t-shirts?
really stylized and I quite liked them. But it became clear that he wanted something that was more 16 or
progress from a factory cleaner to a design rockstar, with brands, ad agencies and galleries climbing over
T-shirt design gave me a great platform to start from.
32-bit, which is many more pixels within each character
one another to get a piece of him.
It was a really good learning curve because you have
and that was always going to take a long time to do.
to reduce your design to five screen colours and
I sent him half a dozen character ideas and he really
Aled cut his creative teeth as a fan favourite on
make it work. With a T-shirt you create something
liked them, so he said let’s do 250 of those, which was
Threadless.com. Since then he has branched out into
people glance at across the room and immediately
great but also a lot more work!
other styles and formats including the humble plastic
understand. Now the people that I surrounded myself
toy, of which he possesses a small army. His most recent
with at Threadless are moving on to other things and
achievement was having his pixel art commissioned for
finding that those skills are really transferable. It took about a week (Abigail corrects: it was WAY
the front page of the New York Times website. I met up with him and his wife Abigail in a draughty
How long did that take you?
What made Threadless such an effective launch pad
more than a week!). I think that’s a problem that I
for your career?
have, my grasp of time and how long it will take me. If a client asks me if I can do something by a certain
French cafe on the South Bank, where we drank Stella At Threadless when you submit a design, it gets voted
time, my usual immediate knee-jerk response is ‘yeah
and commented on. You get immediate feedback on
no problem’. Then halfway into it I realise the mountain
your work and suggestions on how to improve it. You
I’ve given myself to climb. Thankfully the NYT put
get an insight into how other people see your work.
that story back by about two weeks in the end, so I
I’m working with an agency doing an ad based
And its not just from your peers and other designers,
had enough time to spend that much time on it and
on the format of my “Toy stories”. They’re getting a
but a critique from the end user, the buyers. Even stuff
get it right.
photographer in to shoot it but I’m going to be doing
as simple as “I hate that on orange” or “I’d never buy
the typography and the art direction for it. And they’re
a yellow tee”. It makes you think about the way you’re
custom-making the little plastic models and stuff. It’s
going to do your next one.
and reminisced about the 90s. You’re a busy bee right now aren’t you?
So do you have trouble saying no? No.
my baby but someone else is doing it, that’s going to be a new thing for me.
How else do you promote yourself online?
Is it going to be difficult to let go?
I try to take as much ownership of my name on the
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever been asked to do?
Internet as I can. In the last year or so I’ve been trying I think, no, well, potentially, we’ll see, I’ll tell you
to make more effort to spot social media and social
This guy wanted to have one of my Threadless tee
afterwards. I’m fine with it, I’m happy with it, I’m happy
network opportunities quite early, so you can get in
designs: “Hot chicks on wolves”, which is these girls
to have a part in doing it. It’s nice as a designer to be
there with the username you want and to be on top
going through the forest on the back of massive Uber-
in this situation rather than for an ad agency to see
of that before it becomes a big thing. Some of them
wolves shooting machine guns and drinking beer, on
my work and then just take that idea and imitate it
disappear and you never hear about them again, but
a vinyl print on the hood of his car. I think that would
themselves.
it’s worth trying to get in there early.
have been really funny but I never got round to doing it.
How many toys do you actually have?
Friendster is coming back isn’t it?
I don’t get that many weirdos though, I’m looking
(Abigail rolls her eyes) There must be 500 I guess. In a
Is it really, I don’t even know if I’m on there, you’re
small London flat it does feel like too many, but they’re
worrying me. I signed up for about five the other day
all neatly stored in huge boxes under the bed. I’m
I can’t even remember what they are, all I know is I’ve
considering doing a Lego project, I don’t know quite
got the e-mails in my inbox and I’m ready to go at any
I think a series of book covers for Penguin would be
where I’m going with it, but I love Lego.
moment if I need to start using them.
pretty cool. A poster for a film, I’d love to do that. I’d like
forward to that. What would you love to do that you haven’t done yet?
to design a cover for Time magazine or the Economist. I like to speculate to accumulate. I’ve probably spent
Tell us about the New York Times gig Sometimes you don’t know what your dream client
thousands of pounds on toys, but it’s paid off because of the work and direct sales that I’ve got from it. You’ve
I shit myself to begin with, because I didn’t quite
is until you are asked to do it. The dream actually is I
got to be prepared to take a little bit of a risk and
know what the art director was after. I was developing
just want to sell my own artwork and do my own thing.
5
And occasionally work for a client on a fun brief that
of the most productive things that I ever did was a
since I applied to university in 2005, everything else
I choose to pick up, not because I need to do it but
project to make something new every day. When you
since then has just been online. It’s just a case of getting
because it’s a cool project and I’d like to be a part of it.
raise your output people are bound to start seeing it.
yourself seen and making as much noise as you can.
Some things will be a miss, but the hits will be amplified. What advice would you give to the youngsters trying
So work, but give your work the platform to be seen.
Great advice. Thanks a million!
Don’t get hung up on the idea that you need a perfect
Good to chat with you, you crazy fool.
to make it in design? There is such an opportunity for you to get your work
physical portfolio. I recently went to a talk from a really
out there and to develop what you already have. Just
good typographer whose advice for the students there
Aled is currently exhibiting “post-post modern ironic
get yourself onto the relevant social networks and have
was to make sure that your portfolio is perfect. This
art for a cynical world” at Gallery 1988 in LA. Visit his
dialogues with people on those networks as well. One
advice is about 10 years old, I haven’t had a portfolio
site for more retro awesome: www.aledlewis.com
6
we calLed your mum and she says it’s ok for you to
COME AND PLAY WITH US No bullshit. Say it like it is. That’s what shellsuitzombie is about. We’re young and a bit different, and we like that. So with that in mind we started ZombieLabs. It’s an ideas club dedicated to experimenting and coming up with new experiences for our friends. Experiences that are a bit different, like us. If this sounds like your cup of tea, we’d love to talk to you. So get in touch, and lets play.
London | Stockholm info@zombielabs.co.uk @Z_labs
The Miserable Rich by Joe Simpson
SELF STARTERS by Andrew Muir Wood
A small glistening bead of sweat began to make its way down the cheek of the dowdy middle-aged lady. She had just been informed by a celebrity venture capitalist, smugly stroking a stack of fifties, that neither he, nor his fellow tycoons were interested in investing in her personalised children’s underwear business. She was beginning to doubt the value of those 100,000 pairs of embroidered pants that were now sitting in a warehouse in India. It seemed so clear before: what do all children wear? Pants. What do all children have? Names. How many children are there in the world? 3 billion. Why had nobody done this before? Remortgaging her house seemed a small price to pay for a ticket to the pants party.
W
ell, that’s how I remember it anyway.
quickly and for peanuts.
Smartphones and tablets
Over the next few pages you will meet some genuine self-
Poor lady, it was difficult to start your
provide the sleek, minimal hardware for anyone to
starters, not a wantrepreneur in sight. First up, talented
own business 10 years ago: you had to
customise.
Whether it’s a furry case or a full-scale
artist Joe talks about how he has taken full advantage
spend your own money or convince
banking app, you get to skip straight to delivering the
of the web to promote his painting and ruin a perfectly
investors, you had to hunt around for customers and
core benefit. As a result, entrepreneurial activity has
good holiday. Then our business-couple Poppy and
market research was expensive and time consuming. If
become way more accessible to the mainstream.
Chris talk about how they were inspired to give up their jobs at Sotheby’s and start two very different
you had a really good idea it would probably get stolen by a massive corporation with an infinite legal budget
But the aspirational aura surrounding the ‘start-up’
companies. Finally Dave shows that not all pants-
before you even released your product. Best leave it
crowd has also produced an ugly bastard child: the
related ventures end in massive debt and humiliation.
to the management consultants and those delusional
“Wantrepreneur”. More attracted to the idea of having
inventors trying to get on TV.
a company than actually coming up with a decent
While each has made clever use of the opportunities
product, the wantrepreneur spends too much time
and technologies available to them, the most striking
polishing the company name and logo, getting drunk
similarity between these entrepreneurs is the enormous
at SXSW and not enough time actually making his
amount of time injected into their ventures. There are
The web continues to present new platforms for
crowdsourced, location-aware, content aggregation
no shortcuts in this game.
researching, funding, prototyping and promoting ideas
pinboard idea (or whatever).
Oh my, how things have changed.
9
Paloma Faith by Joe Simpson
10
JOE SIMPSON An artist experimenting with new web services
J
oe Simpson is a London-based figurative painter whose work
are also bigger pieces on offer such as large canvases that will be
has been shown around the world. In the UK he’s exhibited at
completed when I return to my studio in London.
The Royal Albert Hall, Manchester City Art Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery and The House of Commons. Joe’s intricate oil
What have been the pros and cons of this approach?
paintings are more than photorealistic, they have an additional energy to them that makes the mind race for an explanation of the stories
It actually went really well and raised much more than my initial target.
behind each scene or face. His most recent creative project is a crowd-
I think it’s a novel way to promote a project as it will make a pre-made
funded trip ‘Across America’, during which he will create hundreds of
audience who will have an invested interested in following my trip. The
small pieces of work for each person who backs the trip (and a few big
only down-side is that I’ll now have a lot of work to do when I’m away,
pieces for high-rollers). The idea of selling work before you’ve done it
but I’m hoping that will be a great motivation to be very productive.
is a novel way to save cash for a trip, but 78 paintings in a month Joe?! Who inspires you artistically? What was the inspiration behind your Across America project?
I’m a big fan of Sufjan Stevens and the way he approaches music. He often works on projects that have an unusual concept or starting
A lot of my work is about journeys and travel. I’m interested in the
point, he’s written whole albums about specific American states,
romantic notion of the ‘in-between’ places like train stations, airports,
researching the history and idiosyncratic stories that define a place.
cafes and departure lounges.
There’s a nice quote from Alain de
He’s also written albums about a schizophrenic artist, a strip of road
Botton that says ‘journeys are the mid-wives of thought.’ In the past
and a series of Christmas records. I’m trying to take this approach with
I’ve created series of paintings inspired by the ‘road movie’, I thought
my art work, and to create ‘projects’ where each painting is connected
it would be great to actually do a trip myself and make work inspired
to the others in the series.
by my trip. It will also force me out of the studio and to work on quicker, more experimental pieces on the move.
What about from a business perspective?
I’ve always been pretty fascinated by America, so much of the films,
I’m really interested in the way Damien Hirst has created an art empire.
music, art and books that I consume come from the States – I’ve always
From the start he was super entrepreneurial that I think came from
thought of it as a cool, cinematic place that I’m watching from afar. A
being really ballsy and confident. I’ve read an interview where he was
lot of my work has a slightly American feel to it, so it seemed like the
discussing his shark in formaldehyde piece and he described how he
natural choice of the place to go.
wanted to get the most audacious thing delivered to him in London by just talking on the phone, I really admire that intent. I’ve tried to
Have you always made use of online services during your career?
use the Internet to reach out to people who appear out of reach, for example for my musician portraits project I got in touch with some
I’m a big fan of social media and I’ve always relied heavily on the
really famous people (like Brandon Flowers, Mark Ronson, Jamie
Internet to promote my work. Ever since university I’ve had my own
Cullum etc.) who agreed to let me paint their portrait.
website and that’s been a great tool to show my art – especially when lot’s of people end on the site by accident after googling the
Most entrepreneurial item of stationary?
mountaineer Joe Simpson or Jessica Simpson’s creepy dad. I’ll be tweeting (@joesimpsonart) and blogging the whole time I’m away,
Does an iPhone count? Having your portfolio on your phone is so
uploading pictures of the art I’m creating.
useful to me now, my paintings look quite good on a small screen so it’s an easy way to show your work and explain it’s my actual job –
Can you expand on the role of crowd funding in the project?
people used to just smile apologetically when you tell them you’re an ‘artist’, now I can explain it better. But if an iPhone doesn’t count as
After I came up with the idea I had to figure out how to fund it. I have
stationary – which I suspect it doesn’t – I’ll say a set square. Don’t ask
friends in bands who had used crowd funding to pre-sell their album
me why.
and ‘rewards’ before it was made, as a way to raise the money to produce it, it had gone really well for them and made the new album
5 words of advice for the go-getters of the future?
possible to happen. I decided to have a go myself and offer people the chance to buy the original art that I would be creating whilst I’m
Do what you believe in.
traveling. It was a bit of a risk because I would be selling work that hadn’t been made yet and I wasn’t sure whether people would get
Joe is currently exhibiting his Musician Portraits in the Royal Albert
involved, but I tried to keep the bids quite cheap to reflect this – such
Hall and if you’re quick you might get a piece of his Across America
as a small painting on a beer mat, or 8”x5” sketches for £15. There
project. www.joe-simpson.co.uk
11
Aeroplane coffin ©Jack Bell. All other photos © Agnieszka Luczak.
12
POPPY AND CHRIS Two ways of looking at a pimped-out coffin - Poppy’s Funerals and Love Art London
A
fter meeting at the Courtauld Institute and both working
whips me into line when I’m being a tyrant. I’m a lucky lady.
for Sotheby’s, this married couple quit their jobs to start their own thing. Chris jumped first, Jerry Maguire style,
What have you learnt from your experience Chris?
to start Love Art London, whose members are invited to
a programme of exclusive pop-up talks with artists in their studios or
Chris: If I could do it again I would probably take a little more time.
at shows. Recently Poppy, wanting a piece of the small business pie,
I launched Love Art London about a month after quitting my job at
started up a much more tangential company, Poppy’s Funerals. Like
Sotheby’s. When you have a good idea, it’s easy to freak yourself out
Dave Lambert and LaundryRepublic, Poppy has addressed another
and think ‘if I don’t launch this company RIGHT NOW someone’s going
stressful and expensive aspect of life, the death of a loved one.
to beat me to it’ but looking back my plan was so specific the chances of that happening were tiny.
Wow! funerals, how did you get into that Poppy? You both work from home, how do you stay productive in that Poppy: Travelling in Ghana I saw the bespoke coffins designed to reflect
environment?
the life of the person - people are buried in coffin sized pineapples, aeroplanes, cocoa beans, mobile phones, beer bottles. Choice and
Poppy: If you care about it, you are constantly in the zone whether you
freedom mean a lot to me. By providing simple, affordable cremations
like it or not. But Radio 6 music and tea keep me going and Shandy
and returning the ashes to the family, we provide the freedom to hold
at the end of the day has some kind of magical power over me. It’s
the funeral ceremony however you want, free from the crematorium
the potion that takes you to Narnia when you’ve been stuck in the
and the undertakers in black.
wardrobe if you know what I mean. Chris: Apart from jumping up and down naked in front of the mirror
Chris, wasn’t one of your recent events looking at Ghanaian coffins?
you mean? Coffee and fresh air.
Chris: Yes in January, the African art expert Jack Bell took us for a
Who’s your hero and why?
special tour of the Southbank Centre’s exhibition Boxed: Fantastic Coffins from Ghana. Each casket reflects the dead person’s profession.
Chris: Anyone who swims against the tide. Like Will Ferrell in Blades
If you were a fisherman, you get buried in a fish. If you were a fruit
of Glory.
farmer, you get buried in a pineapple. If you were a barman, you get
Poppy: I don’t really have a hero - just a load of insp-irational people
buried in a bottle of beer.
around me. Anyone who makes a living out of an unexpected passion. These people make me very excited.
What was your Eureka moment Chris? What’s your favourite business cliche? Chris: Standing in Eduardo Chillida Sculpture Park in San Sebastian
(I like ‘plucking the low-
hanging fruit’)
on a scorching summer’s day. The place was deserted except for an annoying bride having a magazine photo shoot and I couldn’t
Chris: A juicy piece of city jargon I heard recently was “skin in the
understand it. I figured maybe people didn’t know the sculpture park
game” - in context, if you hold a 30% stake in the company you run
was there - it’s about a 10 minute bus ride from the town. It made me
you’re considered by your investors to have a meaningful amount of skin
think there are so many amazing places of cultural interest in London
in the game.
that through my job as a British Art expert at Sotheby’s I had access to
Poppy: I hate business cliches. They make me sick.
but which the public had no idea even existed. So I set about unlocking those doors and taking people for a behind the scenes peek.
5 words of advice for the go-getters of the future?
How has your relationship helped each of you build your businesses?
Chris: Don’t sell out to Google. Poppy: Follow your instinct. That’s it.
Chris: I was lucky to have an amazing wife who agreed to pay the bills whilst her husband quit his stable job, grew a beard and blew his savings
Chris’s Summer line-up is looking pretty sweet:
on launching a start-up.
www.loveartlondon.com. Poppy is ready to smooth your funeral
Poppy: His support and enthusiasm are superhuman. But he also
experience: www.poppysfunerals.co.uk
13
DAVE LAMBERT Disrupting the laundry industry
F
ive years ago, Dave Lambert could not have
since, although we’re planning on breaking out the
predicted that one morning he’d be standing
superman outfit (and accompanying red underpants)
on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square dressed
for some marketing in the next couple of weeks...
as superman, ironing a collection of red, extraWhat have you learned from the experience?
large underpants. This stunt was a massive PR boost for LaundryRepublic, Dave’s 24 hour dry cleaning and laundry service which uses secure lockers installed in
I would not have managed this without a good sense
residential and office buildings around London. Such a
of humour. If I could do it again, I would hire faster – at
simple idea that addresses a major pain point for many
the start we tried to do everything ourselves, and we
busy people.
would have been better off bringing in talented staff at an earlier point.
So how on earth did you get into laundry? What is the most entrepreneurial snack? My co-founder and I used to work long hours in the City. It was a nightmare getting our clothes cleaned
The most entrepreneurial snack is clearly the Jaffa Cake.
– most dry cleaners were only open during pretty
It’s delicious and tax efficient.
restrictive opening hours, and hauling my stuff around was hardly convenient. On top of that, the service was
What’s your favourite business cliche? (I like to ‘leverage
pretty variable and customer service non-existent.
my core competencies’)
We started LaundryRepublic because we needed it in My favourite business cliché is ‘Do you want jam today
our lives!
or jam tomorrow?’. Unless you work in a jam factory, What’s all this I hear about you dressing as superman
that’s completely meaningless.
in Trafalgar square? 5 words of advice for the go-getters of the future? It ended up being quite a successful piece of guerilla PR Have the idea, then execute
- we became Big Picture of the Day on the BBC News website, followed by a full article that was on the front page. After that, we got into the FT and The Times, so
Dave certainly did execute. Laundry Republic is going
for a total cost of about £60 (the cost of the outfit, plus
from strength to strength, expanding across London
a dozen pairs of white Asda underpants and a packet
with designs on expanding across the UK and beyond.
of red dye) it gave a pretty good return. Not done it
www.laundryrepublic.com
14
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FOUNDRY : 4 GRADUATES. 3 MONTHS. 1 BRIEF.
STOCK SYNDR T
creative
it’s the healthy work/life balance – it seems ok to
institutions on the international stage have
leave work on time - or perhaps the seemingly less
never been higher. Led by the future-named
competitive attitude of agencies here, a fact that was
Hyper Island and with many other slightly
pointed out to us by several people upon arriving in the
smaller institutions hot on its heels, the Swedish capital
city. Swedes have a very collaborative mindset; there’s
is very much where it’s at if you want to get ahead,
very little hierarchy and bragging is a definite no-no.
especially in the digital side of the industry.
As Fredrik Heghammar of Berghs mentions, you can
he
reputation
of
Stockholm’s
wander up to the creative director of a major agency But what is it that makes the atmosphere, philosophy
and just go for a coffee and a chat. Just try doing that
and attitude of this city so appealing? Having
in London or New York.
experienced Stockholm for a couple of months now, there is definitely something in the air here. Maybe
Stockholm by Per Englund
16
This is, of course, only half of the story. I chose to
KHOLM ROME interview people from Hyper Island and also Berghs,
(especially as both schools have successful distance
a slightly smaller college with a huge international
learning courses and Hyper also has a base in
reputation for producing industry-ready and highly
Manchester) but having visited a lot of traditional
employable
talk
advertising and design courses in the UK, there is
extensively about collaboration and the importance
definitely something to be learnt from the Swedish way
in studying under active members of the creative
of doing things.
creatively
led
graduates.
Both
community. This lack of ego and keenness to network reflects exactly the attitude young creatives should
Have a read of the interviews on the next page – both
be aspiring to in order to make the most of their
of these colleges are making strides forward in their
future careers.
teaching methods, not just for graduates and young people but increasingly for professionals needing
I’m not saying everyone should move to Stockholm
creative top up courses. And they are all super nice!
17
BERGHS I managed to catch, Fredrik Heghammar, programme
out there right now but Berghs students will be able to
Do you understand the hype about Stockholm as a
Director for Art and Copy at Berghs.
communicate in the future too.
creative city?
So Fredrik, could you tell me a bit about Berghs?
Is there a rivalry between you and Hyper Island?
I think its the lack of hierarchy that we have in Sweden
Sure. We work like real agencies in that we work on over
No not at all, in fact we encourage our students to
all share knowledge with each other. You can call a
100 briefs a year and over 10% of that is collaboration
find other schools to work with on projects. A recent
creative director at a swedish agency and have lunch
between different programmes. Like in a real agency
project, Prototon, meant we invited tech schools to
with him. That would never happen in New York. We
we aim to collaborate and encourage students to seek
work with us and spottily for a 24 hour period. A lot of
are also a very loyal people.
students in other courses to work with.
people are now talking about the third creative person
We also really value our spare time - we have
in a team as well as an art director and copywriter
summer vacation and make sure we have time off.
being the technician or a PR person or planner.
That’s a really important part of Swedish culture.
The difference between Berghs and Hyper seems to
So a good work life balance?
that means everyone is very collaborative and we
The other big difference is that we don’t have any full time tutors. We are very close to the industry and all of our tuition is made up of industry members coming in.
be a technical one - Hyper is more interactive and So your students are only ever taught by practicing
technical and Berghs is more aimed at Ad Creatives.
Yeah, how can you understand the world if you’re
professionals?
Is that right?
stuck inside an office? London and New York are both
Yes. And the cool thing is it goes very well for the
Yeah generally we are more strategy based, though we
school so we have a lot of international lecturers
do have an interactive communication course which is
wanting to come and teach here. Everyone wants to
similar to Hyper Island.
terrible for this. Are there any alumni you are particularly proud of? Yes there are and we try to incorporate them as much
come to Berghs! There are one and two year courses and even a batchelor programme where you do one
How big is Berghs? How many students do you
as possible because we can help each other out. Alumni
semester here and then go to Academy of Arts in San
take on?
can benefit from staying in touch by tapping up the best people into their own agencies.
Francisco or Billy Blue in Australia. Our day courses make up about 40% of the students
At the moment we have a guy called Christopher
and thats about 250 students. Another 40% comes
Waldekrantz who was at Droga5 in Australia but
from industry people who want to top up their learning,
has now returned to set up the new R/GA office in
Do these themes inform the output?
and we have distance learning courses as well.
Stockholm. We still work with him a lot, he runs courses
Yes especially in our major projects. We work with
So those not able to move to Stockholm can still get
Francisco which he and I are going to be at for eight
real clients who pay a certain amount to set a brief to
a slice of Berghs?
weeks.
the client and the amount of money paid by the client
Absolutely. A lot of students from across the world
Is there a bit of advice you can give for someone who
forms the working budget for the two month project.
want to participate and a lot of agencies want our
has just graduated?
The exhibition on the 26th of May also has the theme
students so we are really concentrating on that heavily
of Collaboration.
at the moment.
So you make sure the students go through the entire
The fact that its all professionals teaching these guys
know the craft of design. I used to play the trombone
creative process?
must mean they have great employment prospects.
and there was this saying ‘you need to know the song
Yes quite often speakers come in and present a brief
Yeah. It’s all about networking as you know so a couple
design too. We also have a theme for this years show
and the students then get to work on it as they would
of months ago just out of interest we organised a
‘great minds don’t think alike’. We like that.
in an agency before pitching it back in.
careers day. The waiting list for agencies to be at the
We also have themes - this year is collaboration, the last year was the fear of failure.
at Berghs and we are running a summer camp in San
our students. The students get to pitch their ideas to
You need to network, to get to know the right people. Also I would say that if you are a designer you have to
before you can improvise’ - this is definitely true of
The big difference between Berghs and other
event was so long that we could probably hold one
Check Berghs out at www.berghs.se and have a look
courses, for example Hyper island is that we really
every week! We had 30 agencies in the end from
at a recent video produced by some of their students
teach the students how to communicate on any
London, New York and Sweden and every student got
for Ray Ban, ‘Bright Lights’,
platform. Other courses teach for the trendy platform
to show their book to eight agencies each.
www.vimeo.com/31582735.
18
that went viral here:
From the Hyper side of things I managed to bend the
foreseeing needs that are coming. This means, that
Which of the many visiting lecturers has been
ear of Johanna Frelin, CEO of the university.
learning modules and outcomes can vary from year to
your favourite?
year. In this way, we make sure that our courses are constantly up-to-date, renewed and changed, suited
It’s actually impossible tochoose one or two, as they
for the needs and requirements of the industry. As
all contribute differently and in their own way when
Hyper Island started in 1995 when Jonathan Briggs,
98 percent of our students get employment within
interacting with our students; from leaders of Forbes
David Erixon and Lars Lundh met during a project
or shortly after their graduation, we dare say that our
500 companies to local start-up entrepreneurs.
involving a CD-rom production. They soon realized
method has proven to work.
Hi Johanna! Can you tell me a bit about Hyper Island?
For young creatives, both prospective Hyper Islanders and everyone else, is there any advice you
the increasing need of a different kind of education involving industry-based learning, for the growing
Can you describe the structure of the courses at
can give to ensure that they can get everything they
new media industry. In 1996, in Karlskrona, Sweden,
Hyper Island? How do you do things differently?
want from their career?
I believe that a strong differentiator is our methodology.
charge of our own learning and in power to reach
We focus a lot on “learning by doing”, a lot on group
our own potential. As long as youre willing to take
dynamics, reflection and feedback.
responsibility, it can happen. Expect learning to be
At Hyper Island, we believe that we’re all in
they started the first student program at Hyper Island, which had 32 students. Today, Hyper Island offer student programs in Karlskrona, Stockholm and Manchester and have offices in London and New York. In total, we have around 400 students each year.
We say that there is nothing wrong with making
life-long and a constant process. If you fail, make sure
mistakes, in fact, it might be the best way to learn and
to learn from your mistakes; reflect upon what when wrong and make sure to do it differently next time.
The organisation has also developed to operate
improve. A lot of our students claim that studying at
as an executive learning facilitator for professionals
Hyper Island is not only a professional development
and companies seeking to develop their business and
but that you also grow as a person and as an individual.
During 2012, we will expand our operations toSingapore.
What do you think of the design scene in Stockholm? With the graduate market so saturated by home
culture in the context of transformative technology. As well as a preparation for industry, Hyper Island
grown talent is there any chance for English graduates
seems to act as an incubator for interesting projects
in Sweden?
What do you think it is that makes Hyper so relevant
in itself. With Hyper Island’s name on so many great
in todays creative industry? What makes Hyper Island
ideas, is there a product of the university that you are
Sweden is a small market and country, for sure. Yet,
graduates so employable?
most proud of?
we have a large creative community (Canadian Martin
What Hyper Island does is to prepare our students
There are so many fantastic ideas, work and minds
the most creative country in the world in their global
for working in the industry, and to be relevant to the
coming out of our students and alumni all the time,
creativity index for 2012!) and we have students coming
industry. Therefore, we collaborate closely with the
so it would be impossible for me to choose just one!
from all over the world that do their internships or find
industry throughout the whole learning experience,
However, one project that we are especially proud of
jobs here.
and all of our students work with real clients and real
is ‘72h For Peace’ that Hyper Island initiated together
English is also a very well-used language here.
projects to get the best learning experience as possible,
with the agency CP+B, and worked on together with
However, at the same time, the creative community
understanding clients’ needs and challenges in a world
our students.
is global and the students at our current campuses in
Prosperity Institute actually concluded that Sweden is
Manchester, Stockholm and Karlskrona, tend to go all
where change will never be as slow as it is today. One
The aim was to see how hundreds of brilliant and
of our strongest pillars in our methodology is “learning
creative minds (aka our students) could collaborate
by doing”, as we believe that practicing and “getting
and come up with ideas for how to create world peace.
yourself wet” is the best way to learn.
The whole project was carried out during 72 hours
Have a look at Hyper Island at www.hyperisland.se
where the participants also interacted with and got
and check out ‘Hyper Island on a Wall’ (if you haven’t
ideas from the public.
already seen it) here: www.vimeo.com/22099160.
Secondly, there are no fixed curriculum for our programs; in that way we can be agile to the changing
over the world to find outlet for their creativity.
needs of the industry, both in adapting as well as
HYPER ISLAND 19
ADVERTISING FOR GOOD: A MONTH LONG ADVENTURE IN RECIFE, BRAZIL By Dylan Viner
A
fter five years working in brand strategy roles
Four hours later I was lying in a pool of my own sweat in
was partnered with, Melhor Comunicação. I lived with
at ad agencies and digital shops in London
a pitch black room in the middle of the tropical Atlantic
a local family in a gritty, cramped, poor and dangerous
and New York, working on everything from
forest on a small island that was home to three high
neighborhood called Brasília Teimosa. I rather liked it.
shampoo and search engines to vodka and
security prisons and was in the midst of a full power
It’s a labyrinth of narrow and nameless cobbled streets,
chewing gum, I was getting itchy feet. I was looking for
cut. As I listened to the cacophony of animals clawing
built between a hodgepodge of primitively built homes.
a new challenge. For some that means walking away
at the window, punctuated by the menacing barks of
By day it’s a cauldron of noises and smells. Butchers,
from a job, or even an industry. I really wasn’t sure what
savage dogs, and felt a thousand hungry mosquitoes
fishmongers, grocers and the like hawking their fare
it meant for me.
sucking my gringo blood, I almost changed my mind.
from their street carts while neighbors call to one
I didn’t see Jesus’ face in a peace of burnt toast but I did
My project was with an NGO called O Pequeno Nazareno
bake in the sun. After the sun sets, residents pour onto
discover The International Exchange, an organization
(OPN), whose mission is to improve the lives of the
streets, perching on plastic stools and sipping local
that matches marketing professionals with NGOs in
children living homeless on the streets of Recife, many
brews, the sounds of Brega music and the victorious
developing markets that need marketing help. One
of whom are deeply involved in drugs and crime.
cries of card game success filling the evening air. A
hand-written note to advertising luminaries Jeremy
The NGO rehabilitate them by housing, feeding and
world away from the East Village, Manhattan.
Bullmore and Jon Steel (this was how they insisted
educating them so that eventually they’re able to gain
candidates apply- I wouldn’t wish my handwriting
employment at companies in the city, a critical step so
Creating the campaign itself was challenging, heart-
on anyone) and a few months of Portuguese evening
that they don’t end up back on the streets.
breaking and ultimately inspiring. To understand the
another from their rooftops as they hang washing to
importance of what OPN was doing for these young
classes later, and I was on a plane to Recife, a in the North East of Brazil.
The problem was that no businesses in Recife want
men, I wanted to try to understand what they were
to offer these adolescents interviews, let alone jobs.
escaping from and how they ended up on the streets.
It’s very easy to trot out the almost nauseatingly clichéd
That’s where I came in. Partnered with a local agency
And so I went with a social worker from the NGO to
adage that we “like to be stretched” or “taken out of our
of seven people, I was tasked with creating a campaign
spend an afternoon speaking with the mothers of two
comfort zones.” I should know. I say it all the time. Am I
to build awareness of OPN’s work and to convince local
of the boys that are living at the retreat.
ever totally out of my comfort zone though? Sure I feel
businesses to consider offering these adolescents jobs.
vaguely uncomfortable giving a presentation when not
Oh, and I had just thirty days to launch it, and a budget
Almost none of the boys have fathers in their lives. In
fully prepared. And yes, I feel intense embarrassment
of about $3,000 I had raised through donations. Not
many instances their whereabouts are unknown. But in
singing karaoke or having people watch me dance. But
daunting at all.
the case of the first boy, R, his father was assassinated for drug debt. This is the terrifying world these boys
when was the last time I felt hopelessly, terrifyingly out of my depth. Up Shit creak. I couldn’t remember. And
I split my time between OPN’s retreat on the island of
come from. His mother unfortunately isn’t even in the
I really hoped, on my flight to Recife, that my project
Itamaracá (the one with the prisons, blood sucking bats
favela. She lives rough on the street where she is a
would do just that, clichéd or not.
and dinner-plate sized tarantulas) and an urban abode
crack addict and prostitute. We found her on a busy
about two hours away in Recife, closer to the agency I
corner in the city, and spoke briefly about trying to arrange for her to visit her son, and also about helping her to improve her living situation. She agreed to letting us help and to the visit, but I doubted she would remember the conversation ten minutes later, let alone come to see her son. Next, we went to a favela to visit the mother of Z. The smell hit me first. Rotting garbage and human waste. It was impossible not to wince. Then I noticed the number of naked children, many only a few years old, crawling around in the dirt tracks in between the homes, broken glass strewn on the floor. Z’s mother and grandmother live in a ‘home’ (though it’s tough to call it that) constructed from corrugated iron and other found materials. It’s about the size of a small Manhattan bedroom yet houses 18 people as well as a few mangy, flea-ridden dogs. Z’s mother told us many tales that made my stomach turn, particularly that of the rats that scurry over them at night. As we were talking to her, we could see a drug deal being done right outside the home in broad daylight by boys who look no older than ten. I tried not to stare.
20
Visiting the families certainly inspired me to want to
Rather than actors, we deliberately chose to use
manager and creative director in Brazil, having helped
help, but it didn’t reveal an insight into what exactly we
the faces and real names of the boys at the NGO.
to write, design and even take the photos for the
could do or say to create change. For that, we needed
Authenticity is a much maligned and overused word
campaign. The unexpected reality is that I’m enjoying
to understand the problem. What was stopping the
in the ad industry. But in this case it really was what
my job more than ever. I’ve changed the way I work, I’m
young men from getting jobs?
we were trying for. As a result, we resisted the urge
trying to bring some of the scrappy entrepreneurialism
to air brush the photos and leave our subjects looking
I thrived off in Brazil to the table, and I know that as
After days of interviewing as many local CEOs as we
like Maybelline models. We wanted them to be as real
long as working for corporations is supplemented with
could persuade to sit down with a gringo and a notepad,
as possible.
the opportunity to use my skills to help those who really need it, I’m going to wake up feeling lucky to
we uncovered the insight that I believe unlocked the whole project.
By the time I left Brazil, the creative work was every-
be here.
where you looked – from the biggest billboard in the All of the companies we spoke with expressed human-
city, the backs of hundreds of busses and elevator
itarian inclinations and a desire to help society.
screens in commercial high-rises, to newspapers,
Dylan Viner is a native Londoner living in New York City
Unfortunately they were frank in confessing that
business journals and restaurant bathrooms. And the
and working as a Planning Director at JWT. When not
‘charity’ was trumped by the need to protect their
media was all secured for free thanks to some hustling
creating ad campaigns for Rolex, Smirnoff and Kleenex,
business. They were reluctant to consider employing
that even Del Boy would have been proud of.
he can be found taking photos of interesting looking people and buying over-priced mid century furniture.
individuals from OPN because they didn’t believe individuals with their backgrounds would have the
Back in New York, and back at JWT, the worry was
Follow Dylan on twitter at twitter.com/dylanviner
ability or attitude to positively impact their company.
always that I would find it hard to “go back” to flogging
and read more about the Homeless Recife project at
booze and luxury watches. I had played planner, project
dylanvinerbrazil.wordpress.com
Having lived with these teenagers, watched them attend school, and talked to them about their work aspirations, it was clear to me that a company would be hard pressed to find anyone more highly motivated and dedicated for an apprenticeship. I landed on a simple enough strategic idea that if you hire from OPN, everybody wins: The adolescent, your business, society. But with the stereotypes about these young men so deeply entrenched, I knew the creative would have to provoke and disrupt. Our strategy was to force business people to confront their preconceptions, letting them know that what’s holding the adolescents back is not a lack of ability, but instead their prejudice. Ultimately we wanted to challenge the businesses to give the adolescents an opportunity to prove themselves. To bring this to life visually, inspired by street artist JR amongst others, we decided to use tightly cropped black and white portrait photography. We hoped that it would not only be visually impactful, but that it would create a personal and intimate connection between the viewer and subject. Perfect for the message we wanted to convey.
21
22
MUSIC IS A FREE DRUG. EXCEPT YOU SHOULD PROBABLY PAY FOR IT Words and pictures by Jo Church
A
wartime journalist listens to a Portishead
Darryl was at a stage in his life where he’d been
album to help compensate for his stressful
relentlessly touring and boozing with some of the
life of danger and tough, potentially fatal
biggest cats in the sea for over 10 solid years (cats-
decision-making. Meanwhile, a zookeeper
people, sea-industry). Which sounds really fucking great right?
of hibernating lemurs has nothing short of 160 bpm Danish heavy metal on his iPod to get his ticker going
Nope.
every morning. Music can provide a counterbalance for your emotional equilibrium.
At this point he’d developed a vocal disorder, had There are dozens of reasons why people listen to music,
hardly spent a second with his wife and newborn son,
but what I’m interested in is how it affects your mood
his dad died, Jam Master Jay died, the group started to
and can influence you emotionally. From enhancing
slip off the covers of magazines and down the charts,
your dimples that extra millimetre, to making your
and err oh yeah he just found out he was adopted. So
blood boil with anger. Okay, well you might not have
basically shit got tricky. He plummeted from the top
thought about going on any killing sprees lately, but
of the top to the lowest of lows in a matter of weeks
there are people out there who are so strongly affected
and had diddily squat to shout about. On the verge of
by music, that they lose all rational thought.
suicide he heard Sarah McLachlan’s song ‘Angel’, on the radio, which completely knocked him for six.
When Mark Foster wrote the song ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ for his band (Foster The People), he wanted to get
This one song had such an immediate impact on his
right inside the head of an isolated, psychotic kid.
whole outlook of life; it made him take a big step away
Little did he know that almost exactly a year later in
from the hip-hop scene. He wrote an autobiography,
September 2011, a 14 year old boy was to get arrested
worked tirelessly to help charities supporting foster
for comments on the song’s YouTube page. After
kids and visited various businesses and colleges as a
obsessing over the lyrics which urge all the cooler kids
motivational speaker, using his story as the inspiration.
that they’d better ‘outrun my gun’, the young outcast threatened to take his rifle into Wigwam Creek School
This begs the question, why can’t that song affect
and go on a shooting spree the next day.
everyone’s life for the better? Sure, not everyone needs their life to take a 180, but if we pinned down
Foster claims he was bullied at school, but the band’s
Mel Gibson and forced that song into his anti-semitic
bassist, Cubbie Fink (great name), used to share bunk
ear-holes, would he be converted into a loveable chap?
beds with someone who very nearly suffered at the
Almost definitely not. It’s a great song n all, but some
hands of similarly troubled youths during the Columbine
people are simply bad eggs. Every good or bad song
massacre. Cubbie’s cousin fortunately survived but he
resonates with each individual in a unique way, and it
shared much of her emotional torment after the event.
takes a certain state of mind to want to change in the
The band felt that they could use these experiences
first place.
as a platform to communicate the message that youth Almost everyone has a go-to song (some have many)
gun violence in the States needs to be addressed.
that takes them to a place emotionally when others Initially, when I heard this story, I was shocked that a
can’t. For some, that song can change over time
young boy could get himself arrested for writing words,
depending on trends, lifestyle or whatever, for others it
YES WORDS. But then it got me thinking about the
remains a constant beacon. There’s no right or wrong,
influence music can really have on people. Let’s not get
that’s just the way it goes.
too bogged down in depressing stories of worryingly impressionable folk who start etching away at their
Don’t get me wrong, music doesn’t always want to
wrists the second they get caught downwind of a
be taken too seriously, I’m all for sticking Hall & Oates
Coldplay concert though. I stumbled across an uplifting
on full whack and dancing in my pants until the seam
story about Darryl McDaniels (formerly one third of hip
gets breached. It’s just great to have a song or album
hop group Run-DMC). He openly talks about how he
you can fall back on because it helps you revisit that
was on the brink of suicide when he heard a certain
special place.
song, which transformed his entire outlook on life for My song? At Last - Etta James.
the better.
23
ON CLIENTS AND CONFIDENCE By Jake Jennings and Alix Land
O
ne of the most intricate relationships to
presentations are important for determining the right
a single idea, confident in their teams incredible abilities
perfect is that of designer and client. We
collaborative relationships, there are an ever-increasing
to provide the most effective solution. Compare this
believe there is a consistent misunder-
number of free or creative pitches. Can we say no?
to those who approach clients with eight or more
standing of the design process whether
The terror that someone else is there waiting for the
solutions. Whilst we can’t force-feed a client, only
we work alongside large corporates or small one-man
opportunity should we decline keeps many from doing
‘show [them] the door, [they’re] the one that has to go
operations; dentists or musicians.
so. The ever expanding chain continues. How can we
through it’, we still should be seen as, and believe we
tell a brand’s story when we are failing with our own?
are, the expertise that will deliver amazing results and help position the client as number one in their sector.
Yet this doesn’t mean it’s OK to client-bash. After all design is our speciality, whereas they have a more
Take the highly respected profession of medicine as
objective, quantitative and business-led focus. Clients
an example. Patients work with a doctor to achieve a
have not been trained to recognise creative ideas
diagnosis and treatment by describing their symptoms
without visuals being placed in front of them. Instead
in detail. Patients don’t dictate their cure. Designers
their thoughts are focussed on execution and style
should be treated similarly – as experts in the field of
as this is the level of design they are exposed to in
communication. Yet this is not the case, perhaps due
everyday life. Is there a need to educate and guide the
to a lack of communication about the design process.
client through the creative process? Do we need to
Presently shrouded in mystery to the outsider, we could
show them the importance of the many intermediate
make our profession more transparent by explaining
steps which are integral to our understanding of their
our process with the client.
business and brand? It ultimately comes down to what we know makes
“FIND OUT WHAT THE NEXT THING IS THAT YOU CAN PUSH, THAT YOU CAN INVENT, THAT YOU CAN BE IGNORANT ABOUT … BECAUSE IN THE END, THAT’S HOW YOU GROW.”
Paula Scher
Yet is the client really the core problem we face?
designers unique: ideas. Conforming to a current style
Instead, we feel that the issue could lie within us, the
or trend is not necessarily what makes us special,
creatives, and the lack of confidence in ourselves and
concepts are. This creative spark is a highly prized
One of the greatest things about our industry is a
our industry as a whole. Perhaps we are unsettled
skill and one to be commended amongst the ever
passion to challenge, to continually create new ideas
due to the recent recession, the increasing number
expanding ranks. It is what defines British designers
and break boundaries. Striving for the impossible and
of poorly skilled amateurs that taint our profession,
on an international scale. We believe in the term ‘idea’
refusing to be told what we can’t do. In our experience
or more likely, the rising levels of competition with a
to describe the unique way a proposed design directly
however, there are many designers who have settled
larger number of agencies and people in the creative
relates to a brand and their activities, unlike the current
back to let things continue as they are, having lost
industry than ever before. Our relationship is ultimately
practice for the phrase in frequently documenting and
their drive to go where no-one else has gone before.
about trust and with the lack of confidence in ourselves
disguising styling.
In our opinion, what makes a great designer is one that is forever learning, forever challenging. We are
as an industry, how can we expect a client to believe in us or the service we offer? The result of our anxieties? A client’s trust is left incomplete, demanding they look elsewhere for additional security, for example through post-creative market research groups. Having recently been involved
“ANYONE CAN BE A DESIGNER, NOT EVERYONE CAN BE A GOOD ONE.”
Andy Russell
committed to doing great work for great people, but must endeavour to ensure a stronger environment is present for this to happen each and every time. One of the remarkable things about our industry is how we strive to improve brands, now we must strive to do better for our own industry.
in a four month series of focus groups debating a logo choice, we understand these are an effort for clients
We need to bestow on our clients the knowledge to
However we must have confidence with good reason.
to return to their base teachings, to quantify solutions
make a distinction between amateurs with a copy
Design is a perpetual learning process and it’s OK to
rather than utilising creative expertise and instinct.
of Photoshop and designers who have real skill and
not know everything. We feel every new project should
We let them. Is our lack of challenge a suggestion we
remarkable creative minds. Whilst the former focus
always be approached assuming we know nothing
do not believe in our own judgements? Surely having
on styling, the latter have the remarkable ability to
about the subject. What we do need is confidence
deeply immersed ourselves within a brief, identifying
create concepts that relate to a brand, telling its
in our craft and skills to deliver great ideas and the
the problem(s) and fully understanding the market
unique story. By re-establishing what the word ‘idea’
perfect end result.
before prioritising creative, focus groups should not
really means, our opinion is that we can eliminate the
be required as a final confirmation to our efforts. Our
majority thought that anyone can become a prof-
As we have discussed above, it’s easy to moan about
solutions become co-ordinated by mass committee,
essional designer without previously needing specialist
the many issues facing our industry. Yet how are we
not only removing negative aspects but also the quirky,
creative training.
as a creative community going to solve, and act, on these? Let us stop thinking negatively (we have already
risky and unique elements too. Similarly, we feel that we need to regain our own faith
done enough of that for you) and focus on the positive.
Similarly, pitched work highlights that the client
in this viewpoint. It is our duty as designers to choose
We are the thinkers, the idea generators, the world-
doesn’t know who they can trust, before, during or
what works best for a client and stand behind these
changers. We know this is the most exciting industry
after the creative process. Whilst we feel credentials
decisions. There are agencies well known for presenting
to work in.
24
We believe there is room for a more supportive leading
and importance of design. Their trust re-established. In
where next month we will present your suggestions to
body within the profession, one that unites us in our
order to achieve a quality design solution there will be
D&AD and report back.
expertise. To no longer function as singular islands,
an understanding, by adhering to industry-wide rules,
hiding ourselves away like students in an exam, but as
of the importance for using accredited agencies. We
Alix Land is an ideas-led graphic designer with a strong
a united profession. We feel there is inspiration to be
know that once a small number of clients adjust, the
focus on typography. You may have heard of one of
taken from well established and respected professions
avalanche effect will take place with everyone wishing
her side projects, such as ‘What Designers Look Like’.
such as architects (RIBA), engineers (IET) or doctors
to be seen to use ‘professional designers’. Whilst we
(alixland.co.uk)
(GMC), even design committees found on other
all need to act together, our government also needs to
continents (AGDA). One of their key features is the use
back us; unlike their current stance for recommending,
A strong enthusiast for ideas, Jake Jennings has
of accreditation to enhance the role of the ‘professional’
even demanding, creative pitches. We believe each and
worked with some of the leading creative agencies from
and establish a deeper respect. In a climate where
every one of us has the power to change things for the
Pentagram in New York to The Chase in Manchester. Jake
everyone thinks they are a designer this is an important
better. We tell our clients to challenge themselves, but
is a freelance graphic designer. (jake-jennings.co.uk)
separation. Similarly, we envision a collective manifesto,
do we have the confidence to challenge ourselves? Illustrated by Rachel Elizabeth Rawlings, an illustrator
describing rules of practice that is backed and enforced across the industry to strengthen our cause. Educating
What do you believe is the potential for our profession?
whose unique style exists in a wonderful world
our clients is a small part of the solution. Through
Let us stand stronger as a collective to continue British
somewhere between quaint and the slightly quirky. A
providing a copy of this designers’ manifesto, a client
design as a world-changing influence. Share your
lover of words, tea and above all, a passion for drawing.
would realise just what they are paying for; the process
thoughts by visiting clientsandconfidence.tumblr.com
(rachelelizabethillustration.co.uk)
25
YUNG AND THE MOUNTAIN A short story by Joe Fry Illustrated by Peter Murgatroyd
N
o one would listen to him but he was
The Mountain stood facing Yung. He stood there for a
“Inside this box, is an idea”
very long time. Months passed.
definitely right. They just didn’t get it. He’d invented a new maths. It wasn’t about the
Yung stepped towards the box. As he reached the
numbers it was about what they meant.
Mountain, the Mountain rose. He blocked Yung’s path.
What was the point of reading? No one would listen!
“Anyone can have an idea!” shouted Yung. … “ANYONE
They asked the most irrelevant questions. Try and think
CAN HAVE AN IDEA!”
He took all of Yung’s ideas. You can’t be all three! The Mountain had accepted the bribe so surely the idea in the box was his! Yung stepped towards the box.
about it on a four dimensional axis. One was the most important, the self, two was us together and three was
The Mountain said nothing for a while. Then he said,
The Mountain stepped into his path. “You can have the
kissing. You see, it’s all about how far away they are
softly, “You can have the idea. But you have to wait.
idea. You cannot have it now”.
from each other in space? Remember that child who
You cannot have it now”. Yung sunk to his knees and
bit his own arms and only wanted to watch the tape?
slouched exhausted at the Mountain’s feet.
They screamed and writhed and fucked in their own fat and cried and pounded up against Yung as he squashed
He knew every word. Four meant that everyone had the same soul and five was the most important number
WE WILL BE GHOSTS! THAT I AM CERTAIN FOR!
into a corner and crawled deeper into the wall. Yung
of all. You see there are artists, and there are scientists,
As Yung reeled his head around the others in the
feels like his body is further and further away, her
and there are gardeners. You can’t be all three! He’d
room were almost on top of him, two huge Turkish
snarling teeth and saliva spit burning and frothing from
write a book for people to find on the bus, and read,
ladies with jewelry through their eyes and creatures
her mouth and her eyes “NO BABY! YOU’RE GOING TO
and understand. They’d take it home and pass it on until
snickering and snattering in their rolls of flesh, filthy
HAVE AN IDEA BLIND! CRIPPLED! DEMENTED! WITH A
everyone had read it. Then they’ll make a website where
with tar and food and with two other men slumped
CAT CRAWLING UP YOUR BACK WHILE THE WHOLE
you can play chess instead of having a job and build an
over them, barely supporting one another’s weight,
CITY TREMBLES IN EARTHQUAKE, BOMBARDMENT,
energy centre in the African desert. There’ll be no need
their fat sticking and rubbing and sliding on the wood,
FLOOD AND FIRE!” Yung screams and pleads her to
for money.
their faces bulging inches from his own as he breathed
stop. The boy mouths the words along with the tape.
stifled and suffocated in their pounding flesh. GET
“BABY AIR AND LIGHT AND TIME AND SPACE HAVE
OUT MY FUCKING WAY YOU LITTLE CUNT. Vegas
GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THEY DON’T CREATE
lights and plastic jackpots ping as she knocks into him
ANYTHING! EXCEPT MAYBE A LONGER LIFE TO FIND
The next day they cheered outside his house and as the
“BABY…”, she dribbles and oozes, “BABY YOU MUST”
EXCUSES FOR!”.
cameras flashed the sun rose and they beat his door
Her fat arms wobble with sequins and shoulder pads
down. They carried him out cheering and demanding
and sweat patches; she drops cigarette butts from her
Years passed. Yung grew old and grey and withered
he sing, and he did. And as they carried him they
mouth into his like a mother feeding her young.
and sick and sat shivering, awake, staring into the
Yung tried to tell her.
darkness behind the box day after day, never trying to
crammed him into the van and drove him away amongst Everything sped up and flew towards Yung as if he
steal it, never trying to trick the Mountain, never trying
was falling. He sprang panicked and shouted at the
to talk to the Mountain again. All he could think of was
The noise was unbearable. She was standing so close
Mountain “CAN I HAVE THE IDEA!”. The Mountain
having the idea. He remembered nothing. But he knew
to him! Everyone was looking at him. The noise!
waited. “You can have the idea. But you have to wait.
he was going to be OK. He knew he was going to have
The colour, the frenzy, the plastic, spiky and jagged
You cannot have it now. I only tell you this so you do
the idea. He grew sicker. Yung could barely lift his head
chemicals and cuts and the speed of it made his head
not abandon hope entirely”.
to the Mountain. He said, in his last breath, “If anyone
the crowds, chanting his name through their tears.
can have an idea, then why, in all this time, all these
spin. Flesh burned. He couldn’t stand. All around him were feathers and insides and whistles and noise and
THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE IS TRUE. THE PREVIOUS
years I’ve been here, has nobody else tried to have the
cigarette smoke and skin and the smell of rot.
SENTENCE WAS FALSE. As hands grabbed and slipped
idea that’s inside the box?”
and the stench groped all over him. She kissed him. Yung Yung tried to stand up and open his eyes. He smiled at the huge, white room.
slipped his body free just in time to lurch his head back
The Mountain replied, “The idea that is inside this
as the ceiling opened and she was slung down, a noose
box exists only for you. And now I am going to close
around her neck which snapped soaking wet, dangling
it forever.”
limply above him whilst buzzers ring and scream He sat down at the huge, white desk.
FDEATHKILL!!!#43266!!!…
FDEATHKILL!!!#43266!!!…
And he closed the box. And Yung died.
FDEATHKILL!!!#43266!!!.... THE CROWD GOES WILD! “WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT MEANS BABY?”
In front of the desk was a box that had been left open. In front of the box was a huge Mountain. Yung stared
Yung staggered back to his desk to sit down for a little
screamed the woman. “WHAT DOES IT MEAN?” “I
at the Mountain. The Mountain stared at Yung. Yung
while. Days passed. He stared at the box. “What about
don’t know” Yung thought. “COME WITH ME BABY!”
stood up slowly. “Is this the box?” he asked. He sat back
if I promise not to have any other ideas. I’ll give you all
she hollered, “I’LL SHOW YOU!”, turning on her heels
down. He stared at the Mountain. The Mountain replied,
my other ideas that I have. You can have all of them. If I
as her huge, beautiful hips moved in the garden breeze.
“No. This is not the box”.
give them to you, can I have the idea behind the door?”
She seemed to float so slowly but Yung couldn’t catch her up, like he was heavy, as she turned the corners ahead of him, the sun flaring through beautiful flowers
“Then what is this box?” Yung asked.
The Mountain said nothing.
The Mountain sat in silence.
“Look for fuck’s sake fine, look, here’s all my ideas, you
walked towards a stone wall with five open doors. She
can have them, here’s all the ideas I’ve had and you can
disappeared through the middle one. As Yung turned
have all of them, and all the fucking ideas I’m going to
to go through the door, she slammed it in his face.
and hedges and birds and the smell of perfume. She
Yung stood up. “Then what is this box?”
have, AND YOU CAN JUST FUCKING HAVE THEM ALL” And he had an idea.
The Mountain sat in silence.
27
TIM KEY An interview by Jonny Burch
As is the tradition at ShellsuitZombie magazine, we like to interview our stars while playing a minor sport. First it was pool, then darts. For this issue we invited multi-award winning comedian and poet Tim Key to join us in a round of ten pin bowling. Except, as is tradition, it’s all a lie. Well, unless he was emailing me from Hollywood Bowl in North Finchley. Which would be an extraordinary coincidence.
A
fter much trash talk, Tim Key (35, Famous
took me back onto stage. Armed with this shield of
Having seen two out of your three slut-based shows
poet,comedian and star of Mid Morning
poems I was able to face down my audiences more
(I missed slut in the hut unfortunately) and watched
Matters) and I finally agree to meet up at
effectively.
a bit of Cowards, I get the impression you’re a fan of ‘short film’ as a comedy medium. Any plans to
Hollywood bowl in North Finchley. By the
continue down that road?
time we are through the shoe swap Tim is already
You’ve sort of created yourself a new genre somewhere
complaining about Hygeine standards and I’m starting
between comedy and poetry. Is there anyone who
to wonder whether this interview will be a shambles.
has influenced you, any heroes? Or maybe not, you
I think we’re going to go shorter. I’ve got a plan to
fucking maverick.
film something on the top of a building. A fifteen second piece, me and a girl. The wind causing havoc.
Tim’s reputation as the supposed kingpin of the north London comedian’s bowling circuit obviously precedes
I’m a fucking maverick. I’ve never even seen any
him, as both the manager of Burger King and several
other comedy or read any poetry. I just tend to bowl
That sounds dramatic. Having seen Edinburgh favourites
of the slot machine regulars give him knowing nods. I
and when I’m tired I retire to the tastefully done out
like We Are Klang struggle with the Telly, would you
suspect that Tim Key is about to wipe the floor with me.
bar next to the lanes and write some verse.
ever consider your own sketch/poetry show?
But I don’t care. I just want a chat. But I suppose Coogan must be up there, eh Sidekick
I’d always consider that. I’m constantly standing
Having entered his name somewhat intimidatingly as
Simon. Go on, he’ll be annoyed if you don’t mention
back and looking at my live stuff and trying to work
just ‘KEY’, Tim strolls up to the lane and unzips his
him.
out what it is. Whether it could work on Telly. What I’d have to lose, what I’d have to add in, how much
custom ball bag, revealing the orb within. Do you like ten pin bowling?
Oh yeah, I’m a big fan of Steve Coogan. I used to
money I would stand to make, whether I would sing
listen to his radio show when I was at sixth form
my own theme tune.
college. We used to quote Knowing Me Knowing Yeah I do, so this is perfect for me. I play at Rowans
You a great deal. I don’t think it did me much good
Tims final round sees him emit a yelp and spill his
in Finsbury Park whenever I can. My ball naturally
socially, but I guess it was all part of growing up.
coke a bit as he achieves a spare. It seems to be a
curls to the right so I have to start it off left and then
“Who were the bishops?”
career best for the young poet. After a victory lap and a high five with the manager of Burger King I
watch it arc back and into the front pin. Once I got 3 pins down with one ball.
Tim’s fifth round is a corker. Using the barriers to his
manage to sit him back down.
advantage he deflects the ball off left, right then left It was to only be the two pins this time. Happy with
again, judging the speed perfectly to stop the ball
How do you deal with your burgeoning fame while ‘on
this, he sits back, smugly cracking open a diet coke.
against the front pin. He sends another ball down to
the street’, signing peoples appendages and being
finish off the first.
accosted and whatnot. Is this what you imagined?
my phone outside the British Library. How did you
So you’re a poet right? Tell me about ‘The Incomplete’
More or less. Sometimes you have to be quite
feel about that?
- sounds a bit ruddy serious.
demanding about the appendage-signing. There are
I didn’t feel great, obviously. I’m a busy man and I
Supposed to be. I just needed to pull them together.
or in a book. At that point you just have to be strict,
already had my cycle helmet on, then I have you in
At that point they were just drifting round my flat on
and sometimes actually physically wrestle their
my face swishing through photos. I kept looking at
pieces of napkin and foil. It was time to catalogue
appendages out and onto a desk so you can do a
my watch and shifting from one foot to the other.
them in a proper hardback. I tried to make it as ruddy
proper autograph.
And yet still you swished.
serious as possible. At times I let it slip but generally
When we first met I showed you creepy pictures on
people who want your signature on a bit of paper
A recurring theme in your poetry is the everyman - this
I was pleased that I’d created an anthology that
You famously won a fringe comedy award back in the
made you smile but also made you think and weep.
day with a Cambridge footlights show that you should never have been a part of, not being at the university
comes across most in the names you choose for your characters. Whats the best name you’ve ever come
That makes me pleased also. So does this mark a
an’ all. A bit of a theme for this issue is ‘strapping on
up with? Is there someone you wish you could just
permanent shift in your comedy or do you just have
a pair’ and that clearly worked for you. Any regrets
put into every poem? I.e. Rob Pacey, Mark Davenport,
several strings to your bow? Are you looking for your
or would you encourage future stars to do the same?
Andy Waugh and Mike Abbot the peacocks.
first serious hollywood role?
Tim whips another ball down the alley before replying,
I cannot get such a role because my skills aren’t
occasionally I think you have to strap them on
nailing one pin without touching any of the others in an
strong enough. I think I will try and sneak into
or you’ll get nowhere. I know for a fact if I hadn’t
impressive feat of accuracy.
Hollywood through the back door in about ten years
strapped mine on I would have ended up doing
No, no regrets. I think if you’ve got a pair then
time. The most likely routes are (a) writing a role
one piece of amateur dramatics before moving to
There are some names I keep going back to. Rod
for myself, (b) starting as a runner and working my
Eastern Europe and trying to find work teaching
Wilde is one. Also Chris White. When I wrote my last
way up, or (c) screwing someone like Winona Rider
lawyers before marrying some poor lamb in Kiev. It
book I had to do a search for Chris’s and change a
or the lawyer out of “A Time To Kill” and hoping for
doesn’t sound that bad now I think about it. Maybe
few out. For some reason I’m really attracted to that
the best.
there’s still time.
a chive in one of my poems, it will usually turn out
Are you excited about the Olympics? I know you’ve
Go on, write us a poem mate. Just a little one.
that he’s called Chris.
got tickets. Maybe you could be an olympic ten pin
name. If someone’s burning an umbrella or eating
I’m not very good at writing poems on command.
bowler?
I once wrote one to a girl but that’s because I’d
Hmm ok. It’s definitely Mike Davenport for me. So
promised her one if she let me touch her hair.
what came first, the poems or the comedy? I read
I’ve watched the skittles on Sky Sports 3 and those
somewhere that you said poems seemed like an
guys are immense. The Finns and The Americans
obvious next step after finding stand-up tough. Any
are different class. They’ll make it swing way out
Fair enough. Thanks for all the words and the
truth in that? Or did I just make it up in my head?
wide and then banana back in fiercely. All the
wonderful game Tim.
skittles fall down. I’ve seen it where a skittle has No worries. It broke up my morning nicely.
That’s come right out of your head. What’s wrong
appeared to explode as the ball hits it. I’ve seen it
with you? No, the deadened months after I knocked
where skittles have gone flying into the crowd and
stand-up on the head were filled with writing a one-
spectators have been knocked out or killed. I’ve had
Tim zips up and polishes off his diet coke, seemingly
man play. I then started working comprehensively
friends round and shown them this stuff on Sky Plus.
satisfied with a job well done. You can visit his
with gap-toothed comic Alex Horne on his Edinburgh
It’s breathtaking.
website at www.timkey.co.uk or follow him on twitter at @timkeyperson. He is currently touring
shows. Gradually I started writing verse to fill up tube journeys. Before I knew where I was I had a
Tim is in his stride now, approaching a fifty percent hit
his show ‘Masterslut’ - we thoroughly recommend it.
whole notepad full. At this stage my momentum
rate as he breaks the 40 barrier with ball number 12.
Otherwise give the man a google at least.
29
TEN THINGS I HATE THAT EVERY OTHER FUCKER SEEMS TO LOVE By Olivia Rose Illustrations by Ed J Brown
I’ve been called a hateful bitch in my time, but I prefer to think of myself as passionate about the little things. Admittedly, my rage can swiftly peak well above average human levels for the silliest of reasons, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have a point, folks, and when I think I have a point, I write it down. I must warn you that in reading on, there is a high possibility that your most favouritist thing ever in the world, like, ever, is about to be ripped apart through a series of wildly exaggerated arguments full of needless expletives and cheap jokes. Don’t get too upset - I toyed for a long while with the idea of putting myself at number 1. on this list - so there’s a little bit of arrogant self-deprication to make us all feel better before we start.
1. Festivals
“
What do you mean you don’t like festivals?!” Is the incredulous faced question I get asked by anyone I tell my dirty secret to over the summer months. It’s a bit like saying
that you don’t like babies, or animals (I don’t really, but we’ll get on to that later) or sweet little cotton candy puffs of love flying through a happy sunflower sky.
People look at you, shocked and appalled and
sometimes even with sympathy, but always confused. So very, very confused as to why I might not want to participate in a claustrophobic trap of outdoor living, my precious belongings unsafe, just left in the tent that will inevitably be stolen or blown away and will most certainly never be comfortable, spending days - not just one but MULTIPLE days - wedging my way in and out of thousands strong crowds to try and get within 100 meters of whatever act is headlining that day only to be
constant stream of people drunk or on drugs who
stuck there for hours, unable to leave for fear of losing
think everything is a fucking hilarious laugh when really
my 1mm square breathing space, unable to urinate for
nothing is funny, or the fact that most of these places
fear of the general toilet facilities and unable to enjoy
are cheeky enough to then actually ask you to PAY for
myself because I’m desperate for a piss and can’t reach
the pleasure of being unable to wash, protect yourself
fresh air with my mouth. *Breathe* Not to mention the
from the elements or pull, because you look and feel
queuing for the car park, the trekking through miles
like a badgers arsehole. People, if that’s your thing,
of fields just to get your goddamn stuff pitched, the
then cool. Enjoy. But please, for god’s sake don’t look at me like a poor little lost loser girl when you pack
save her life yet calls herself a singer when at best she
up your things and carpool off to Glastonbury, because
was a great backing dancer in a pop band that is now
I’m not jealous. Believe me i’m not.
dead. (For the record, the blonde one is now a violent drunk, the the one no-one can remember is currently
2. Cheryl Cole
I
playing Mrs. Shrek in a musical, the ginger one has finally been accepted and the lot of them hate the Irish bitch so much she had to skip the country - Girls Aloud
f there is one example of a celebrity life story that
will never make a comeback).
really irks me more than anything, it is the rise and
rise of the talentless Cheryl Cole. It’s often hard to
was when Cheryl Cole was fired from the US X Factor. I
Ironically one of my favourite news stories ever
put my finger on exactly what I hate about her the
still LOL about it now. Evil, I know, but we gotta get our
most - possibly the fact that the nation seems to have
kicks somewhere in this cruel, cruel world and I figure
forgotten that once upon a time, before ten years of
that was karma for the whole, racist attack against a
personal training, hair removal, orthodontistry, styling
toilet attendant thing, that everyone seemed to forget
and hair and makeup, Cheryl wasn’t actually beautiful.
about when she married, got played by and then
Or possibly the fact that her sweeter than thou, stylish,
divorced, Ashley Cole. And whilst we’re on the subject,
chic and emotionally weak projection of herself is in
I’d like to extend my hatred further to Cher Lloyd, who
direct conflict with the chav tattoo (it’s barbed wire
to all intents and purposes is like a budget version of
yeah, like Pamela Andersons got) that adorns her
Cheryl herself (if there could even be something so
thigh. Perhaps it’s because she cannot hold a tune to
extraordinarily cheap as that).
30
imitation of something you just gotta do before you die. Hear me now, that major statement should only be used where absolutely necessary, eg: Just stabbed my lying pig of a boyfriend after I found out he’s been fucking my bff for the last 2 years! :) #YOLO
4. Drinking
U
gh. Even the word ‘drinking’ gives me cold sweats down my back and visions of my face on a tiled floor, crusted in sick, iPhone clamped in my hand, frozen on
the embarrassing sext I sent to my boss the night before.
Drinking is a big thumbs down in my world.
And because I’ve hated on the stuff for so long (don’t get me wrong, I went to Uni and learned this all the hard way) i’m now a lethal lightweight. The idea of a glass of wine at a working lunch fills me with fear. I’d be swinging from the strip lighting and doing Britney’s I’m A Slave For You before the day was through. I’ve really never understood drinking culture. It’s like the entire country waits until around 4pm on a Friday, when suddenly they feel that illusive “Friday feeling” (do they bollocks!) and finally allow themselves to ‘have fun,’ which generally consists of consuming as much poisonous liver liquid as possible until they can no longer form cohesive sentences or use their legs, despite which they still appear to be desperately trying to get off with Tina from accounts or Hairy Harry from the Post Room (neither of whom are even remotely attractive).
No, I’m more of a stoner kind of a person. Whilst
you are relaxing with a pint at the pub, slowly developing cirrhosis of the liver and getting increasingly more red nosed, bloated bellied, aggressive and vomit-y, I’m chillin’ at home with a spliff, dodging lung cancer and psychosis, ready to either get creative or pass out in a respectable coma, no bodily fluids omitted, no shameful messages sent.
5. Animated kids films
T
3. #YOLO
I
here has been a trend since the good old days, when things like Toy Story and Finding Nemo were actually kind of mind blowing, exciting and new, despite the fact that you
were aware you were really a little bit too old to be watching those kinds of films.
’m an occassional tweeter, I prefer facebook
myself, but saying that, I do enjoy a good hashtag.
It’s like the more Pixar spits them out ten a second,
Nowadays, I have an actual aversion to the things.
But, there is also nothing more annoying than
the more addicted people around the world are getting
a bad one.
YOLO - you only live once, started
to that momentary fix of giddy kids happiness that
as a rap in The Motto by Drake and Tyga. When it
normally involves a story of love and morality, good
existed alone in that context: “that’s the motto ni**a
overcoming evil and all in a colony of ants, or a group
YOLO” I thought it was kind of clever and a bit sexy.
of marching bloody penguins.
But eventually, the message filtered down from an
impactful, explosive Hip Hop one liner, and landed in
animation, is a great thing - for children too young to
the hands of the squeaky clean teenybop celeb type
understand that the world is a dark and evil place, full
creatures such as Zac Efron, who seem to make a living
of pedophiles, rapists, murderers and phone hackers,
out taking authentically gangsta concepts and turning
waiting around every corner to fuck you up royally if
them into Mickey Mouse bastardisations, suitable for
they get half a chance.
the pre-teen market. YOLO was cool before it got a
# and went viral, because it meant: Go out! Do drugs!
goon, can actually indulge in these heinous, sugar-
Have sex - even anal! Get crunk! Cos you only live
coated lies and enjoy them. And there is something just
once! But now? #YOLO is an excuse for overexcited
so incredibly annoying about the people who come out
teenagers all over the world to... Wear Ugg boots with
of those films waxing lyrical about the great graphics.
shorts! Or say “bitch” to their mum! Or some other pale
It’s kids shit people. For kids.
31
The cutesy cutesy, nicey nicey world of kids
I can’t believe anyone with an IQ above total
least bit annoying, just overtly enthusiastic or painfully sullen. I think perhaps people really only come here for a quick bite at lunch time, which would make sense, except we can never seem to get the food out in under an hour.
6. Robert Pattinson
R
obert Pattinson and his girlfriend Kristen ‘The Menacing Hunch’ Stewart are amongst the most boring celebrities to have ever graced this earth. But even more eye gaugingly
annoying that Kristen’s permanent screwface, is the R Pattz fancying disease that seemed to grip the
8. The Daily Mail Website
R
oll up, roll up, read all abaaaat it, it’s the only place for celebrity gossip and what a fool I’d be too, to deny that. The problem isn’t just them really; it’s us and our bloody obsession
with celebrity bullshit. Not to mention their constant
nation before, during and after the Twilight trilogy had
attack on women and their bodies. We’re fat, we’re thin,
become a massive money making franchise.
we’re fat, we’re thin, we’re fat, OMFG we’ve got cellulite
Let me say some keywords to you that might help
on our arse (shame!) and fillers in our face (break-
you explain my particular abhorrence at the idea of
up?) and a little tiny food paunch (bitch is pregnant!)
being sexually attracted to a man like Robert Pattinson:
Give. A. Shit. The Daily Male is just that. Pseudo-semi-
Pasty, Personalityless, C*nt.
celeb porn in the form of tits and ass which did you
know, dear readers, are the most “clicked on” topics
On top of which, he has openly admitted to
being afraid of the vagina (that’s right, the man who sucks blood for a living, probabaly wouldn’t even give you head) and have you ever actually heard him say anything interesting? His acting skills are as dead as the character he plays and frankly, I would never dream of touching the K Stews sloppy seconds.
7. Wagamama
H
i and welcome to the most boring and overpriced restaurant on earth. We go by the name of Wagamama, which is misleading as it suggests that there might
actually be an elderly Asian woman that is something of a culinary genius, somewhere in the building frying up a storm. This is not the case. What we can actually offer you is a seat on a long school bench style table, next to another person, group of people or possibly a date. Worst case scenario, you’ll be sitting next to a morbidly obese woman or a man with body odour. Best case scenario, you’ll have come when it’s empty and be sitting on a 60ft long table alone. Either way it will probably be awkward. People rave about our food, which is typically bland and always made on the cheap and then marked up to however much we can get away with before Watchdog feature us under the headline “daylight robbery”. Take our best dish for example, Chicken Katsu Curry - so unauthentically Japanese that it appeals to the mass market! Bonus! Thank God no one can taste that it is pre-bought shit, probably constructed from a powder that’s made in Eastern Europe and mixed with boiling water to serve.
If we’ve put you off the Katsu, you can always try
one of our rice bowl dishes, a snip at just ten pounds a pop for a luke warm serving of white rice and peas with the occasional micro prawn. And it’s not just the food that draws the crowds here, the wholesome array of staff come in two forms, neither of which are in the
32
in digital journalism? We should be bloody ashamed
applauding these women like there is no tomorrow,
lest I see rage and use it as a football. Regardless of
of ourselves.
just because one married a Prince and the other one
your arguments FOR your dog, pet owner, I see them
Me, I regularly self-flagellate after an episode of
has a nice bum. And now we’ve gone below the belt,
for what they are. Wild creatures ready to turn on you
Keeping up with the Kardashians. I suggest you cut
I would like to add that although I find Pippa’s rear to
at any time. Dogs can hear sounds that we don’t even
yourself and rub salt in the wounds next time your
be quite peachy; it is certainly not the best arse i’ve
hear, so next time your Labrador that is usually “so well
naughty mouse starts involuntarily clicking away at
ever seen. Please people, no. Come to your senses. The
behaved!” gets spooked by one of those high pitched
that sidebar of shame...
country casuals cum Kings Road look is a look, that’s
ASBO alarms they’ve got outside Tesco’s and rips your
for sure, but it isn’t gracing the pages of the real fashion
face off in a flurry of teeth and claws, don’t say I didn’t
magazines and nor are we seeing actual fashionistas
warn you.
9. The Sisters Middleton
L
ditching their peter pan collars and creepers for Jaeger wrap dresses and cashmere cardigans.
et me just get something off my chest that has
Olivia Rose is a photographer and regular columnist
been bothering me for a while. This year, the
for the Huffington Post. You can find her sulking on
sisters Middleton appeared on the TIME’s 100 most influential people list and were quoted
as being “avatars of inspiration.” What a fucking joke! Unless of course we’re talking about their ability to inspire proper fashion journalists to become blithering, royalist, idiots - now that for sure has happened. I’m not sure if the fashion writers are scared that if they utter
10. Dogs
N
twitter at @oliviarosephoto.
ow this one is really controversial. There
Ed Brown is an illustrator and one part of Art School
is nothing more annoying for a proud
Disco. You can check them out on the 11th of July at
dog owner, than to meet a hater of not
Uncontained (see p53 of the mag) and his work here:
only dogs but pets in general. Whilst you
www.edjbrown.com.
might be completely bowled over by the cuteness of
the truth, it’ll be off with their heads, but in the last
your salivating, fur covered, walking stench, I am not.
12 months, I have seen respectable people lowered to
Don’t invite me in to your house and then thrust an
writing articles on why flesh coloured tights are sexy,
overexcited pup in my face and ask me to coo over
why the kitten heeled court is the new platformed slut
your collie or pet your poodle. No matter how many
shoe and how fascinators could ever be a good look.
times you tell me “He won’t hurt you! He’s such a good
Neither Kate, nor Pippa Middleton is stylish. I’m not
boy!” whilst using that tone adults reserve for children,
being mean, or sweeping with my judgments here, I have
retards and dogs, I will not want to interact with your
tried, on several occasions to like what they wear, but
pet. I won’t want to look at it (dogs can see the hatred
I can’t. Because 100% of the time, they look older than
in my eyes and they don’t like it), I won’t want to touch
their age, restrictively conservative and wholly boring.
it (because it will smell and despite your best care and
But what fucks me off EVEN more than their painfully
attention will more often than not, be sporting some
average M&S styling (flat leather knee boot, black or
form of intense drool train), I won’t want to talk to it
flesh tights, shapeless, un-figure hugging dress with
(It can’t talk back. Do you see people talking to lamps?
little to no imagination in the colour or pattern, blazer),
No, exactly) and I definitely won’t want to hear it. In
is all of the respectable fashion journalists out there
fact, If it’s little and yappy I suggest you lock it away,
33
ANDREA ROSSO A
ndrea Rosso started the streetwear company 55DSL in 1994 as a spinoff of his fathers company, Diesel. As Creative Director, his designs reflect his interest in other peoples work and creativity and stem from a love of collaboration, a theme that has always defined the direction of the company. 55DSL has now become a household name and has distribution all over the world, so it was a great honour to be able to ask Andrea a few questions about himself and his plans for 55DSL in the future. An interview by Jonny Burch
34
Hi Andrea! So streetwear - what is it? Hmm, I don’t know any more, the 90’s were a long time ago! I think nowadays street has lost it’s original dangerous vibe, and home is the new streetwear! Did you always want to be in fashion or was it just the family business? Going into the clothing field was a really natural step. When we were growing up you have to imagine that me and my Brother used to sleep in denim fabric wagon and we worked at the wear house every summer, so I guess it was pretty normal, in our blood even. The split from Diesel - was that an exciting moment of independence? We never split! Let’s just say we took our chance to be independent outside the family house. Exploring
use their Polartec® Classic 200 fleece fabric. For
nowadays. It’s all about word of mouth and com-
new people, a new situation and a new market.
the upcoming FW12 collection we played with the
munities. People don’t trust big advertisements any
outdoor mood of Polartec and added a dose of
more but do trust a link on a friends facebook page.
Do you have any fashion skeletons in your closet?
55DSL’s signature street design for a resulting look
We also work exclusively with a lot of international
Whats the worst thing you’ve ever worn?
that mixes cool colour with technical performance.
bloggers who advise on trends
For the next season I’m excited about a Salewa Fashion skeletons? I don’t know, I feel pretty
jacket we just finished with a super nice colour
confident with all the stuff I’m wearing. But I
and shape. We always have new collaborations coming up and I
remember that my mom when I was at Elementary school used to make me wear these shoes with
What else does 55DSL have coming up?
How do you look for your collaborators?
am going to get much more connected to music in my work. I’m planning on going to a lot of festivals this
a penny in the front. I hated them then but now Sometimes it’s pure random coincidence, we just
summer, including Calvi on The Rock festival in France
happen to meet the right people at the right time.
which we are partnering and Secret Garden Party in
Whats the new line looking like? Favourite piece?
Other times it’s friends and friends of friends!
the UK. We also have the fifth anniversary of our 10.55
Our collection is inspired by the Caribbean world,
Outside the world of fashion, if you could collaborate
magnum P.I. style. But of course still maintaining
with any brand or person what would you create?
More than this though, I’m super excited about a short
our italian heritage. My favourite piece is probably a
Maybe a 55DSL Rocket!
film we made with a bunch of directors called CANADA.
they’re very trendy!
limited edition tee project coming up in 2013.
They’re the guys behind that amazing Battles ‘Ice
gingham shirt with caribbean flowers all over it. The whole workwear/hawaiian vibe is something that
I’d love to work with loads of different artists, but if
Cream’ video. We spent two weeks on an epic road
people wear around.
I had to choose it would probably be Aaron Rose.
trip from the top to the bottom of Italy. It was crazy;
Maybe it would be something to do with vintage,
it involved a volcano, Roman baths, and a helicopter
from furniture to solar panel design.
evacuation. But you’ll have to wait till September to see
Any collaborations you’re really excited about? Or any artists you’d love to approach?
that one...
I can’t wait to see our upcoming collaboration
What would be your advice for any young creatives
with Polartec ® Classic 200 for three pieces that
looking to get the chance to collaborate with 55DSL? The most important thing is to always show your work with maximum enthusiasm. What is your favourite city in the world for style? I like Tokyo a lot because I grew up watching Japanese cartoons. I also love the midwest of America, cities like Colorado Springs, Denver and Chicago. What about London - any favourite hangouts? London is a great city. I like hanging out in Shoreditch with all its vintage shops and indian restaurants. Bars like Jaguar Shoes and old bars like the Commercial Tavern and the Old Blue Last. What are the biggest shifts happening in fashion? Are you finding new ways to have conversations with 55DSL fans through social media and is that affecting your lines? The biggest shifts I see happing in fashion are that people want, like, appreciate “real” stuff, you know almost going back to some kind of heritage and vintage per se. Yes, we are heavily driven on the social side of things - a company has to be
35
Check out Andreas creations at www.55DSL.com.
WANT TO MAKE LIVE ART AT A LONDON MUSIC FESTIVAL AND GET FREE TICKETS TO SEE BANDS LIKE THE MYSTERY JETS AND GHOSTPOET?
6
years ago a young man called Lee staged a
people to display their work in a dynamic setting and
Send a sketch or photo of your proposed construction
music festival in his parents’ garden with a few
lends itself greatly to interactive installations.
and, if you have one, a link to some of your other work.
local bands playing.
The submissions will be judged by the LeeFest team,
150 people came, got
wasted, made a bit of a mess. Lee’s parents
This is where you come in.
including Lee himself and ShellsuitZombie at the end of May. There will also be a prize for the best overall
came back from their holiday and went beserk. That
work, to be judged by some very special guest judges.
could have been the end of the story but fortunately
We want you to produce an installation to be displayed
it is not. That first event raised a load of money for
at LeeFest this summer on the 29th and 30th of June.
the Teenage Cancer Trust and Lee’s dad is a pretty
It can be anything you like, any size you like. It can be
relaxed guy. So he was allowed to have another festival
a performance, a stall, a short film, an existing piece of
the following year: 350 people turned up, with more
your work, an interactive sculpture or even a number of
You and your co-artists will receive free camping
money raised for Save the Children...
related objects around the site. Think Burning Man but
tickets to the festival. Your biographies, sketches and
in the grassy fields of Bromley.
final construction will be featured on the LeeFest and
What’s in it for me?
ShellsuitZombie websites and promotional materials.
6 years later, with a grassroots award under its belt, LeeFest is now a flourishing music and arts festival.
This year’s theme is ‘contrast’. Interpret that as you will.
The event will expose your work to a diverse young,
The capacity has been kept at 2000 to preserve the
Perhaps you can experiment with light and dark, digital
creative
intimate vibe, but there is now a very impressive roster
and physical, good and evil or how about making
Furthermore, your creative skill will help to improve the
of acts this year, including Mystery Jets, Summer Camp
something new and unique out of something old. Make
artistic reputation of this young event and help it to
and Ghost Poet.
it dynamic and even interactive and you’ll be in with a
grow, year on year.
Furthermore, the festival is raising
serious amounts of money for the Kids Company charity.
audience
(and
some
amazing
bands).
great chance. In previous years we’ve had a sandy beach with deck
Most importantly, helping LeeFest helps Kids Company
When they approached us about getting creatively
chairs, a DJ shed, a graffiti wall, short films and portable
to feed thousands of hungry children in London
involved with the festival, it was no-brainer. We love the
toilet art, so we are open to all suggestions!
every week.
How do I enter?
Got any further questions? Please contact Danielle;
LeeFest story and we like Lee and his team. The plan is to evolve the artistic component of the festival, by
danielle@leefest.org.uk. Check out the full brief and
encouraging young artists, designers, carpenters and dreamers to exhibit their existing work or new creations
Email Sam from the LeeFest team on sam@leefest.org.
on the festival site. It’s a great opportunity for creative
uk with a paragraph explaining yourself and your idea.
36
LeeFest itself at www.leefest.org.uk/collaborate/artists
PRESENTED BY SHELLSUITZOMBIE &
30 days, 30 creatives, 1 box
We are psyched to be working with 55DSL on our latest project: Uncontained.
THE LINEUP
Earlier this year, they approached us with a challenge. 55DSL’s Boxpark store is built out of three shipping containers, joined through the middle. Two of them are used for selling the brand’s flagship clothing collection, but the third is devoted to Studio 55, a creative platform for cool artists and designers to create work. In the past they have featured the work of famous artists like Dragon76 but we wanted to get more out of the box than just a party and some art on the walls. So we dropped this idea on them: How about we put someone different in the container EVERY DAY for 6 weeks? And thus Uncontained was born. Uncontained is a six week event on Shoreditch High Street where we are bringing in 30 creative individuals or groups to take over a box in Boxpark for a day each, during which they can do whatever they want, whether it’s illustrating the space, playing music, creating
20//20 COLLECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 ALED LEWIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 TEA AND CRAYONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 HIGH SPIRITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 LEEFEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 MATTHEW MCGREGOR . . . . . . . . . . . 41 MICHELA AND AURORA . . . . . . . . . 42 RISE ‘N’ SHINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 MATT BOX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 INCIDENTAL FEED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 AMMO MAGAZINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 THE LOST ARCHIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 DONSHI BOXART . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 AMY RODCHESTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 DAYZINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
something, having a party, or whatever else they fancy. Check out uncontained on www.uncontained.info
38
STACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 THE BAKERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 MINT DIGITAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 COLLECTIVE LONDON . . . . . . . . . . 48 KIGU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 D&AD GRADUATE ACADEMY . . . . 49 IDEAS TAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 PHNX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 EDDIE & MABEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 FUTURE SHORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 THE CAPTURE COLLECTIVE . . . . . . 51 FACE/BOX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 GUI BORCHERT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 ART SCHOOL DISCO . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 YOUNG CREATIVE COUNCIL . . . . . 53
day 01
day 01
saturday 2nd JUNE
20//20 COLLECTIVE ART
MUSIC
FREE BEeR
PARTY
Who are you? 20//20 is an artistic and curatorial collective with a focus on creating collaborative exchanges in contemporary art outside conventional gallery spaces. The work of the Collective seeks to generate a variety of modes of practice including artwork, exhibition, publication and debate. What are you up to in the box? ‘Aegis’ - an exploration of what is important to protect in the changing landscape of Shoreditch and its environs. Groups led by a photographer, writer, sound artist and architect will collaborate on a multimedia psycho-geographic map of the potential future of the area. The day will culminate in a subversive alternative to a corporate-style development launch; a refreshing antidote to those that advertise the apparently wholly positive effects of Olympic-style re-generation. What’s next? Our upcoming work includes a 20//20 project in New York and branching out in London to work with performance groups to develop an original piece. www.2020online.tumblr.com
day 02 day 02
MONDAY 4TH JUNE
ALED LEWIS: MAJESTY! ART
PHOTOGRAPHY
FREE BEeR
ILLUSTRATION
PARTY
Who are you? I am a designer, illustrator and author based in London. I try to make stuff that makes people think and stuff that makes people laugh and sometimes stuff that does both of those things at the same time. What are you up to in the box? On the Jubilee Bank Holiday Monday, I am aiming to create a collection of screen prints honouring Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. And maybe some other bits I’ve been working on! What’s next? Finishing off a book, doing loads of gallery shows, opening up a shop to sell my screen prints and appearing on the cover of Time magazine. www.aledlewis.com
39
day 03
day 03
tuesday 5th JUNE
tea and crayons ART
FREE BEeR
ILLUSTRATION
MUSIC
PARTY
Who are you? Tea & Crayons is an illustration collective founded in October 2010 by six like-minded and ambitious ladies, all working as illustrators and/or graphic designers and brought together by a love of tea and hard work! Hailing from all corners of the country, we aim to work together, sharing knowledge and creativity. With each member bringing a unique style to the mix, we work independently as well as collaboratively, playing to our strengths - each other! What are you up to in the box? A Jubilee Tea Party fit for a Queen! We’ll be exhibiting and selling our work and other goodies, running dropin Making Workshops and friendly, casual advice sessions for new illustrators, live-drawing a Massive Monarchy Mural on the walls, letting people be Queen (or King) For The Day by posing in a crown and ending up on a hand-drawn stamp, and generally having a jolly good knees up with copious tea and biscuits. We’ll be exhibiting work and selling prints, running drop-in workshops and advice sessions for new illustrators, drawing on walls, drawing people wearing crowns, and giving cups of tea to anyone who would like one. And maybe a biscuit or two. What’s next? Uncontained is our first group exhibition so we’re
day 04
hoping to continue the trend and show our work together more often! We love discovering up and coming illustrators on our blog so we’re hoping to set some open briefs to get others involved in what we do
day 04
in Tea & Crayons. We also want to establish our online Etsy shop and produce more collaborative pieces as a collective as well as continue to promote each other
WEDNESDAY 6th june
individually!
HIGH SPIRITS ART
FREE BEeR
ILLUSTRATION
www.teaandcrayonscollective.blogspot.com MUSIC
PARTY
Who are you? Lauren is a freelance illustrator who loves cats, colour and The Beatles. Not necessarily in that order. Heather is an designer/thinker who loves biros, Alan Fletcher and censorship. In that order. What are you up to in the box? Create a flock of suspended colourful origami cranes, containing
images
and
messages
of
positivity,
happiness and general niceness, producing a vibrant backlash against the social, political and economical negativity of 2012. We invite you to make your own bird/s or simply leave a message or drawing for us to turn into a bird. Join us by submitting your happy thoughts, tweets and well-wishes. What’s next? Lauren is aiming to continue working with lovely clients and producing illustrations to make your eyes happy. Heather is hoping to escape retail and make epic stuff for a living.
day 04
www.tinysketchbook.blogspot.com
40
day 05
thursday 7th JUNE
leefest ART FILM
DESIGN
MUSIC
FREE BEeR
PARTY
Who are you? Leefest is a homegrown 2 day music and arts festival close to Bromley, that began in Lee Denny’s back garden when his parents told him not to have a house party... of course the only logical thing to do in those situations is to have a festival! This year the fest which has Mystery Jets, Slow Club and Ghostpoet performing amongst others, is teaming up with Shellsuit Zombie to put on an array of eclectic arts pieces across the site. What are you up to in the box? Showcasing the musical talent that will be performing at Leefest 2012, we will be taking over the box and bringing a slice of the festival to London town. What’s next?
© Sophia Whitfield - www.sophiawhitfield.com
To get ready for Leefest 2013! But for now, we’re looking for all kind of artists whether you’re a painter, sculptor, or film maker to get involved and apply to be involved at this year’s festival! http://www.leefest.org.
day 06
uk/collaborate/artists/ www.leefest.org.uk
FRIDAY 8th JUNE
Blow Me! The Life and Times of The Humble Balloon ART
DESIGN
FREE BEeR
MUSIC
ILLUSTRATION
PARTY
Who are you? Hi, my name is Matthew McGregor and I like to party. I draw a bit as well. Anything from boiled-down, visual one-liners to multimedia collage. Output mostly digital, screenprint or Posca all-up-on-your-walls. Currently a Resident Designer at Gray’s School of Art. Cute animals, general filth, bad jokes, contemporary culture, the consistently solid work of other illustrators, and my friends, who are frankly, amazing, for putting up with me, are all huge sources of inspiration. What are you up to in the box? On Friday the 8th of June my birthing partner and I will be conceiving 50 balloons. These fragile bundles of floaty fun will urgently require donations of personality and substance (not literal) from common people like you if they are to avoid becoming vacuous airheads, sucked into a world of celebrity soirees, Vajazzles and… Clitter? (Is that a thing yet?). Get involved and receive a super-limited screenprint/zine for your troubles. Birth, life and death in one weekend. Boom! What’s next? In the next year I’m going for either prolific illustrator or freestyle tree-surgeon. Can’t imagine all of the fantastic things that won’t happen to me in the next year, but ready to embrace any odd success along the way.
day 06 41
cargocollective.com/matthewmcgregor
day 07
MONDAY 11th JUNE
Buttons like fine rain that soaks you through ADVERTISING
ART
MUSIC
Who are you? We are an international creative team from Italy and Romania, working for Lean Mean fighting Machine, an award winning digital advertising agency in London. We come from a background in photography, design and illustration. When we work on a concept, we like to explore the most unusual media to express it. “Buttons Like Fine Rain That Soaks You Through” is an example. What are you up to in the box? We push more and more buttons everyday.
We
can’t stop ourselves from opening Facebook, Twitter,
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email and click on everything. Pressing buttons is an addiction. It’s instinctual. Just like the feeling of pressing bubble wrap. No one can resist it. We take this
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concept to the extreme, imagining a quotidian scene completely covered in buttons: from the walls to the popcorn. Visitors are invited to step in and resist the temptation. What’s next? For the next year we’d like to get good work out, that we’re really proud of, and finish the personal projects we started. michelaandaurora.co.uk
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TUESDAY 12th JUNE
RISE ‘N’ SHINE ART
FASHION
FREE BEeR PARTY
FILM
day 08
MUSIC
PHOTOGRAPHY
Who are you?
reflecting the light. Tempting, ain’t it? What’s inside
Shine Studio’s awards ceremony in a swanky venue in
People all over the world love waking up to Rise ‘n’
that crispy shell? That’s right: possibility! Hard boiled
the heart of the capital of glamour (London)! On top
Shine, the hard-hitting breakfast show with a soft
facts meet soft, heartwarming stories as we bring you,
of that, there’ll be more live shows where ordinary
edge! Presented by household icons Emilia Crimble
the Rise ‘n’ Shine Live Show! We’ll be broadcasting live
people have the chance to be a part of the live studio
and Susan, not to mention a whole team of experts
from the box all day, ending with a light finger buffet
audience! They’ll also be releasing a warts ‘n’ all DVD
out in the field, you’d be insane to miss even a single
where you’ll get a chance to mingle with the stars and
with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, so watch
second of this heart-warming/ ground-breaking show:
maybe even collect an autograph or two!
this space!
What’s next?
www.risenshinestudios.com
so don’t! What are you up to in the box?
It’s an exciting year to be Emilia Crimble and/ or
Picture this: an egg in a cup on a table, a teaspoon
Susan: at some point they’ll be hosting the Rise ‘n’
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day 09
WEDNESDAY 13th JUNE
ACID DROPS ART FILM
DESIGN
MUSIC
ILLUSTRATION
FASHION
Who are you? I’m a young designer specialising in hand painted illustration & animation. My project Acid Drops, which aimed to psychedelically capture the individual styles of influential skateboarders, received international attention. I try to apply the same strong D.I.Y. ethic applied within street skateboarding to my artwork. What are you up to in the box? I plan to demonstrate my process of simple animation, display original pieces from previous works and experiment with new materials. Because it’s sponsored
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by 55DSL I was thinking of painting on ripped up denim. That’s a material alot of skaters can relate to. What’s next? A lot of different projects , A few of them I have to keep quiet about until they come out though. An expansion of a clothing & print label (called Unreal Estate). I’ve
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started to help fund my work. I want to make my art as accessible and interactive to my audience as possible.
THURSDAY 14th JUNE
Uncontained is a great way to start this.
INCIDENTAL FEED
www.mattbox.co.uk
ART FILM
day 09
DESIGN
MUSIC
FREE BEeR
PARTY
Who are you? Incidental is a cross-disciplinary group of musicians, designers and programmers who collaborate to explore ideas of sound, place and the creative experience, often with a strong emphasis upon participatory practice and new media. Over 7 years, we’ve completed a variety of projects in the UK, Europe, Asia and the US, including live performances, books, installations, CD releases, and
day 10
software design. The thing is never the thing. What are you up to in the box? We’ll be offering up interactive, site-specific sonics featuring Feed, our new music app for iPad. Feed is designed to enable users to create complex, rich compositions based upon whatever sounds are around you. For the box, we’ll draw in sound in real-time from across Boxpark, offering visitors the chance to remix and compose with these sounds as they happen. Boogietronics
forged
from
burger
bar
kitchens,
doomdrones built from the sounds of passing cars ... What’s next? Highlights likely to include some or all of the following: debut public events of Alt+Now, a new project on a collision course between design and radical futures; a 12” release featuring remixes of our Krom Monster project, combining traditional cambodian instruments with electronics & improvisation; performing in a mine; publication of pamphlets about magical listening, loops and lies; getting back to Mississippi and exhuming the corpse of Charley Patton once and for all. www.theincidental.com/feed
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FRIDAY 15th JUNE
AMMO MAGAZINE ART
DESIGN
ILLUSTRATION
FREE BEeR MUSIC
PARTY
Who are you? At Ammo we’re addicted to illustration. In fact we can’t get enough of the stuff so we decided to create a printed magazine dedicated to discovering and showcasing the finest artists in the world! We’ve been publishing our magazines for a couple of years and have been lucky enough to feature some leading illustrators on our pages. What are you up to in the box? We’ll be launching the 9th issue of Ammo Magazine! Uncontained seemed like the ideal place to unveil our latest edition and have a little party with our contributors and supporters. Our good friends @ inkygoodness will be accompanying us and bringing their Beermat Character Competition to town. @ ohh_deer will also be setting up their stall and selling a selection of their illustrated goodies. We’ve also invited Gordon Reid, better known to some as Middleboop to spin some musical vinyl on the day too.
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What’s next? We’ll be launching a brand new website with clicky bits, moving pictures and magic sprinkles.
We’re
also in the process of planning a very special edition that will combine traditional printing techniques with modern digital wizardry. There are plans to launch some exciting competitions too, with the chance for contributors to get their artwork onto a variety of
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printed output. www.ammomagazine.co.uk
day 12
monday 18th june
THE LOST ARCHIVE ART
DESIGN
ILLUSTRATION
FREE BEeR MUSIC
PHOTOGRAPHY
Who are you? I’m
Graeme
Often daubed in chinagraph, press cuttings, and Crichley,
a
graphic
designer
and
handwritten stories, these pictures paint a fascinating
photographer, working freelance in national print
insight into the inner-workings of Newspapers.
media. Originally from Cheshire I now split my time
In order to evoke the spirit of these lost photographs;
between living in East, and NorthWest London. I
The Lost Archive invites you to bring a vinyl record
studied at Central Saint Martins College a few years
from the last Century, to play as you browse.
ago, whilst it was still in Holborn (managed to keep my initials from the sign once it closed). I enjoy subversive
What’s next?
acts, news, dirt & drama, badger pits, staying up too
I’ll be screen printing my heart out at Split Ear Studios,
late and dreaming up impossible projects - my sights
looking for opportunities to move into more creative
are on you RoyalMail.
and digital areas of design. Starting a greetings card company with the delectable Courtney Ryan. Cycling
What are you up to in the box?
to Paris via Brighton. Plotting to access London’s secret
The Lost Archive will exhibit treasures from what was
underground mail-train railway, thanking ZombieLabs
once the World’s Largest Photographic Library.
and finally, tidy my room.
Alphabetically chronicled photographs, on the subject of Animals, Film, People, Sport & War will be displayed.
www.graemecritchley.com
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day 13
tuesday 19th june
DONSHI ART
DESIGN
ILLUSTRATION
PHOTOGRAPHY
Who are you? I am a creative octopus looking to gather not just the creative professionals but the people who create in their minds, and the ones who create outside of the monotonous day to day life. We may miss that talent due to today’s mechanistic life styles, which is detrimental to the creative world. Donshi was formed by a whimsical play of my name but is designed to allow creative individuals to blossom through inspiration. What are you up to in the box? I decided I wanted to bring together a series of artists and creative’s alike to start the ball rolling in creating a playful visual environment, BoxArt. The idea of BoxArt is to contain the concept but in a dynamic/uncontained environment, constantly shifting and altering.
We
want to break the barriers between the observer and
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the artist. The public can become directly involved in creating their own space and how they perceive the artwork by adding and changing it themselves. What’s next? The idea is to create small pop up exhibitions/shops
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which create nodes of inspiration that is devoid of any formal constraints. By providing these spaces in London we can create situations in which the public
wednesday 20th june
can stumble across and which breaks their typical
Amy Rodchester
route and allows our curious minds to wander. www.donshiart.com
ART
DESIGN
FREE BEeR
PHOTOGRAPHY
Who are you?
day. The execution of this project develops from a
I am a graphic designer at Brass agency, based in
series of 3D posters I created as a self brief for a dance
Leeds, where I enjoy the challenge of working for many
festival. I hope to create an exciting, experimental
different clients on a variety of projects. In my spare
series of posters from the installation photographed in
time I pursue personal projects involving photography
the box.
and illustration. I enjoy creating designs rich with ideas, in a variety of mediums, exploring and discovering new
What’s next?
techniques as I progress.
My plans for next year are to continue to establish myself and grow as a designer, open an online shop
What are you up to in the box?
of prints/cards, buy a bicycle, explore new cities, learn
I plan to use the box as a live platform for a photoshoot
a new language and master some interesting recipes.
of people visiting that day. I will take the content as it collates and build it into an installation to capture an essence of boxpark, representative of that particular
www.amyrodchester.com
day 14
day 15
thursday 21st june
dayzine ART
DESIGN
ILLUSTRATION
FILM
FREE BEeR
MUSIC
PARTY
PHOTOGRAPHY
Who are you? Day Zine is a project themed around the time of its making, a creative time capsule. Each issue sees the collaboration of a handful of exciting creatives who form a one day workshop. This results being designed into a limited run printed zine. The work created is inspired by the characteristics of those 24 hours; so everything from the location, weather, news or conversations can effect the content. This makes each issue, as each day is, inherantly unique.
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What are you up to in the box? We will be using the box as the location for Day Two, the BoxPark and the surrounding areas providing the inspirational space. Through collaboration, live performance and public interaction on the day we aim to push the envelope of what a zine can be. The box walls will display the creative process, every draft and idea being produced and mounted to show the paths taken to the final product. We’ll then finish with an evening show of music, spoken-word and more. What’s next?
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After Day Two the experiment will continue; with each issue providing a new context and approach to what can be told in a day. As we consider this very much a
FRIDAY 22nd sunday 24th JUNE
journey we hope to learn more about the creative and journalistic process, and about telling stories. Most of all our plan is to meet loads more people that we can
STACK IN THE BOX
do this with. We plan to be surprised.
ART
www.dayzine.co.uk
DESIGN
FREE BEeR
day 16
PARTY
FASHION
FILM
ILLUSTRATION
MUSIC
PHOTOGRAPHY
Who are you? Stack is the subscription service that sends out a different independent magazine every month. You never know what you’re going to get next, but you do know it will be a beautiful, intelligent magazine you probably wouldn’t otherwise have seen. What are you up to in the box? Day one is all about the cover competition - people vote for their favourite cover on Twitter or Facebook, or by coming down to the box. Every time somebody votes for a cover we’ll print a copy and stick it to the wall, and by the end of the day we’ll have something that’s part infographic, part teenage bedroom. Day two is a music magazine mixtape, with our favourite music magazines coming down to soundtrack the box. And day three is a magazine sale - come and have a flick and buy some great independent magazines. What’s next? Stack will keep on finding great new magazines and sending them out to the people who want to read something more interesting than the average WHSmith fodder. We’ll stage more Printout events in association with magCulture, and generally keep on poking our noses into independent print. www.stackmagazines.com
day 17
monday 25th June
The Bakery ART
FILM
FREE BEeR
ILLUSTRATION
Who are you? I am an illustrator and graphic design near London. I’m studying at Chelsea College of Art and Design in BA Graphic Design Communication, about to start my final year. As for the work I do, I like to keep things varied. I enjoy having my hands in different honey pots, which normally means more work for me. But I like getting the chance to do a bit of everything. What are you up to in the box? Working in the design industry often thrives on the cut-and-dry. However the Bakery is part fantasy, part comedy and partly a whimsical take on the dark inner workings of my mind. Somewhere between a heaven of sugar and a storybook, the box will be a little nostalgic and bursting with colour, but not sickly sweet. The
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Bakery will be dripping with cinematic flourishes and in full technicolour. What’s next? I plan it to be my best year so far, I will be graduating
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(hopefully) and then looking for work. I set up my studio this year and hope that will be developing steadily as well as dreaming to set up my own shop. I’ll be working
TUESDAY 26th JUNE
on more projects and I’m sure I’ll be watching more
MINT FOUNDRY
television. I imagine next year will be hectic but It’s all part of the job, which is why I love it so much.
ADVERTISING
www.andrewjonathanbaker.com
FILM
DESIGN
FREE BEeR
MUSIC
PARTY
PHOTOGRAPHY
Who are you? Mint Digital is a creative technology company. We’re a passionate crew of innovators, designers and software developers. We have a graduate scheme called Mint Foundry. It has two guiding principles: 1. Don’t get graduates in to simply help out on our work. 2. Look for people who don’t do what we do, to work on something we haven’t done before. Why? Because we are more interested in a mutual
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learning environment. Who says we can’t learn from them? What are you up to in the box? We are looking for four graduates to join Foundry 2012. It doesn’t matter what you studied or what your background is. What counts more is a passion for combining design and technology. Interaction designers, software developers, product designers, hardware engineers, graphic designers, electrical engineers. Even English graduates who are closet hackers. As long as you are bringing a skill, you’re in. We’ll use the box to meet these people. How? That’s a secret. What’s next? Keep making awesome things. www.mintdigital.com
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day 19
day 19
wednesday 27th june
COLLECTIVE UPSTARTS ADVERTISING
DESIGN
FREE BEeR
PARTY
Who are you? Collective is a digital creative agency which puts strategy at the heart of what we do. We call it ‘creative intelligence’. Our aim is simple: to create big, beautiful, brilliant ideas that work. We love being useful. We love digital products. We love being challenged. We love clever. Our clients include Honda, ESPN, BBC, Callaway Golf, Gatorade, and EA Games and we live in Clerkenwell, London. What are you up to in the box? We love people that challenge us. We love challenging ideas. So if you’ve an idea that’s too big for school. That might not be possible. That others have scoffed at.. But an idea you believe in, we’d like to hear from you. You’re an upstart. We like upstarts. Collective is giving graduates and all bright-youngthings the opportunity to root around in the ideas top drawer and pitch their best digital concept. The winning upstart will spend a month (or whatever it takes) in the Collective Studio dedicating time to developing
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their idea with access to Collective’s award-winning creatives, designers, and developers.
thursday 28th june
kigu
Whether it’s a fully formed prototype, a university major project, or just a spark of something special - we want to hear from you. Come down to the Uncontained Project at the 55DSL Box and tell us why your idea
ART
needs some space to grow.
FASHION
MUSIC
PARTY
FREE BEeR PHOTOGRAPHY
What’s next?
Who are you?
Helping our clients get to the future first and continue
Founded in 2009, Kigu is a fancy dress company with
to deliver award winning work.
a difference. Specialising in the sale of all-in-one animal costumes (Kigus), they also run their own events in the
www.collectivelondon.com
capital. Whether it’s an attempt to smash the Guinness World Record for the most people taking part in a piggyback race, or a more traditional silly-bollocksrave-up, Kigu Parties are always the hottest ticket in town. What are you up to in the box? We plan to turn up, pop up and instigate a rave-up!
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We’re going to set up a Kigu Pop Up Shop by day, displaying all our existing designs, alongside the new Kigu Exclusive range, which consists of limited edition Kigu styles re-worked in all-new colour combinations. At 6pm, we’ll shut up shop and get into party mode – call in the DJs (super special guest TBC), crank up the sound system, fire up the lazers and crack open the free beers! What’s next? The next 12 months will see the release of tons of new products - from new Kigu designs and more Kigu exclusives - to brand-new ranges fit for festival and party consumption. We’ll be launching Kigu Kids (www.kigu-kids.co.uk) and collaborating with other companies to bring a wider range of amazing products onto the site. Tails coming soon. Last, but by no means least, more Kigu parties – in London and beyond. www.kigu.co.uk
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day 21
FRIDAY 29th JUNE
D&AD Graduate ACADEMY ADVERTISING FILM PARTY
DESIGN
FREE BEeR
MUSIC
ILLUSTRATION
PHOTOGRAPHY
FASHION
Who are you? D&AD is unique. No other creative community is quite like it: operating not for profit, our mission is to inspire, stimulate and set industry standards, whilst identifying, educating and rewarding the next generation of creative talent. The Graduate Academy is the ultimate prize of the D&AD Student Awards. It trains the brightest new international stars to contribute effectively to the industry’s future from day one. All Academy attendees are eligible for a paid placement or craft bursary. What are you up to in the box? The Academy showcases the best in new, young creative talent. So we will be using the box to literally do just that - we’ll be ‘on location’ for an interactive photo-shoot. Our creative warriors will be unleashing their skills to build the set and will ask the public to get involved with the creation of the live shoot.
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Publicity shoot or creative riot? We’ll see…
MONDAY 2ND JULY
What’s next? In its second year, the Academy has grown in to a
IDEAS TAP ADVERTISING FILM PARTY
ART
FREE BEeR
DESIGN
month long programme of collaborators, interrogators and activators. The best agencies and brands in the MUSIC
ILLUSTRATION
industry join young creatives from around the world, to challenge themselves and the future of commercial
FASHION
creativity.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Who are you?
We’re supporting young start-ups and getting new
Ideas Tap is an arts charity set up to help young creative
creatives in to paid placements - providing access to
people at the start of their careers. They are hosting
industry and demonstrating the power of creativity to
one day of the festival, awarding the day to the best
affect positive change. Join the journey.
submission on their site. You can apply up until the 8th www.dandad.org/talent/graduate-academy
of June here: bit.ly/JFX7MT
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www.ideastap.com
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day 23
TUESDAY 3rd july
PHNX ART
DESIGN
MUSIC
FASHION
FILM
PHOTOGRAPHY
Who are you? PHNX is an innovative design house that focuses on Seeing The Unseen. Creating Design lead Technology, Products and Visions for the future world of Arts, Fashion and Wellbeing. Capturing beyond horizons and bringing them to reality, everything from catwalks to concrete, with the human at the heart. PHNX uses design merged with science to provide real solutions to real problems. Creating bold visions with the underpin of good design. Always doing what design should… improving and inspiring lives. What are you up to in the box? Creatively displaying years of textile research into the development of new Chromic colour changing inks, I will merge science, performance, design and art. Constructing a supernatural Church and Alter within the box. Resulting in a funeral for my PHNX. Where routinely the Alter and PHNX will change colour in front of the visiting disciple’s eyes, from black through colour to white. Complete with PHNX hymns, blessings and regular funeral trimmings. With one difference. This funeral is a resurrection. What’s next? Currently I am functioning as part of a design directed science and technology collective, working towards a September exhibition at the Royal Academy of Engineering. Where we will envisage the future of design within our lives, providing improved and smarter solutions to the stuff of tomorrow. While Simultaneously I am building the PHNX brand and conjuring up ventures, through textiles, film and exhibitions. Constantly working to Inspire future generations to think differently about the environment
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they live in. www.phnx.co
day 24
wednesday 4th july
EDDIE & MABEL VINTAGE FASHION MUSIC
FREE BEeR
PARTY
ILLUSTRATION
PHOTOGRAPHY
Who are you?
to our fabulous vintage wares you can also come along
We are Eddie & Mabel Vintage. Created in 2010 we
and have a cup of tea and a delicious slice of cake.
have spent the last two years touring the country and
We will also have the saucy burlesque dancer Stellar
selling vintage clothing accessories in fairs, markets
Malone on hand to teach you a few signature moves
and specialist events.
and help you channel your inner 1950’s pin up.
We focus on selling cherry
picked vintage bags, jewellery, scarves and clothing for women from eras ranging from 1950’s right up to the
What’s next?
1990’s. All of our items are affordably priced and are
Over the next year we hope to start selling our treasures
an easy way of switching up your look whether you’re
online via ASOS MarketPlace as well as starting a line in
a vintage vixen or not!
jewelry customization where we will take our broken or odd pieces of jewelry and revamp them.
What are you up to in the box?
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We will be hosting a vintage haven of tea and trinkets smack bang in the middle of the Boxpark. In addition
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www.eddieandmabel.webs.com
day 25
thursday 5th july
FUTURE SHORTS ART
MUSIC
FREE BEeR
FILM PARTY
PHOTOGRAPHY
Who are you? Future Shorts is the largest short film network in the world. Since 2003 we’ve built a new audience for film across the globe, developed a platform for filmmakers that allows millions of people worldwide to engage with their work. Working
across
exhibition,
distribution
and
experiential events, Future Shorts is the product of 9 years of audience development, experimentation and of reacting to the demand for another way of experiencing film. What are you up to in the box? We will be attempting to create and show a short film in a day. Using both recognised film-makers and members of the public and willing volounteers we will script, film and edit the film before a premiere screening at 8pm alongside some of our other shorts, complete with Popcorn from Love Da Pop and free beer. www.futureshorts.com
day 25
day 26
thursday 5th july
the capture collective FILM
ART
DESIGN
PHOTOGRAPHY
Who are you? The Capture Collective are a creative community of
What are you up to in the box?
camera owners, who bring people together to create
We’ll be hosting London’s first Street Photography
and share great photographic content on and offline.
Massively Multiplayer Game, Photofreestyle:Shootout.
Since the Collective’s inception, we have developed
We will challenging photographers, photography
a street photography concept called Photofreestyle,
collectives and the general public to capture the streets.
which helps people capture the world around them
However, they only have 24 hours to find the perfect
with some creative guidance and taken this format
shot based on each a Photofreestyle brief. These shots
across, Edinburgh, London, Cuba and New York. We’ve
will go head to head over three weeks for a chance to
also delivering a custom Street Photography workshop
feature in the Box. We’ll also previewing photography
for London’s Olympic Park Legacy Company.
from our LDNCaptured initiative 100 days of London by 20 Londoners. What’s next? During our takeover we’ll be days away from completing our flagship project ‘LDNCaptured’ an initiative that has brought together a group of camera owners and writers based in London. Our team of writers have been creating original works that have been used to guide our camera owners creative process whilst capturing the city over 100 days. This year we will be sharing what our Londoners created and captured in an online, outdoor and gallery exhibition.
day 26
www.thecapturecollective.com
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day 27
MONDAY 9th JULY
face/box ART
DESIGN
MUSIC
FILM
PHOTOGRAPHY
Who are you? The pen has been my best friend since I first licked the ink off a ballpoint. I’m 19 years old and I’m a Creative Director/Curator with a penchant for poetry. I write and do some journalism, having liaised with the guardian, Q Magazine and Big Up magazine. Sometimes I interview people I’m keen on, such as A$AP Rocky and THEE Satisfaction. I’m also the Online Editor at Live Magazine. What are you up to in the box? We look in the mirror everyday and check the fridge a million times a day – but how often do we take to contemplate the way we do the things we do… everyday? Face/box wants to explore how the digital age influences the way we portray ourselves, see
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others, interact and consume. Attempting to translate the virtual world into the physical world, the box is a space for art to comment on who we have become today…whether good or bad! What’s next? To have some fun. I will continue to work across all fields such as film, audio, print, and visual art to present complete installations and events for audiences. I hope to go abroad throughout the next to curate and create with a wider range of artists too, popping up events all over the world! (*rubs hands and raises eyebrows in sinister fashion*). The big goal is to own a space like Studio 57... without the sex and drugs of course. www.weareadverts.tumblr.com number.36
MOST AWESOME THINGS IN THE WORLD
BEARS
number.58
MOST AWESOME THINGS IN THE WORLD
UNICORNS
day 28
tuesday 10th july
GUI BORCHERT ADVERTISING
ART
DESIGN
ILLUSTRATION
Who are you? I’m a Creative Director / Graphic Designer / Artist from Rio de Janeiro + New York City + London. What are you up to in the box? I will do a takeover with limited edition screen prints of a series called “The Most Awesome Things of the World” where each numbered poster features a different Awesome thing. Opinions of what is or isn’t awesome might differ from person to person. What’s next? To make more awesome things. www.guiborchert.com number.19
number.7
MOST AWESOME THINGS IN THE WORLD
MOST AWESOME THINGS IN THE WORLD
ROBOCOP
BURGERS
day 29
day 29
wednesday 11th july
ART SCHOOL DISCO ART
MUSIC
FREE BEeR
ILLUSTRATION
PARTY
Who are you? We are the Disco, we like to party, dance and sometimes drink rum but mostly we just like to work bloody hard. Visuals are our passion and we love making things look awesome. What are you up to in the box? For our début solo show we just wanted to have a free for all celebration of our stuff in the context of music and music based imagery that we enjoy. This has all been influenced by musical icons, genres and themes that we love. Expect all day music, FREE CAKE, a make your own zine table, some dress up hats and a very intimate dance-floor. Lets party, dance and eat cake Art is fun What’s next? We hope to expand Art School Disco and continue exhibiting at further venues around the country. There are also plans in place for a potential publication. As
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well as this we will continue our weekly themes, having fun and making art.
thursday 12th july
www.artschooldisco.tumblr.com
YOUNG CREATIVE COUNCIL ADVERTISING FILM PARTY
ART
FREE BEeR
DESIGN
MUSIC
ILLUSTRATION
PHOTOGRAPHY
Who are you? We’re a group of young advertising creatives. Our mission: Inspire creative thinking and ideas generation across all disciplines. Our belief is ‘People who do, change the world. Everyone else is just living here.’ We share what we think you want to know. We put
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on events we hope you want to be at. We live in the real world. If you’re a student, a graduate or a working creative, welcome. If you like what we’re doing get in touch: monkeys@youngcreativecouncil.com What are you up to in the box? Our little home away from home. It’s going to be the final night and we want to bring as many creative types together to celebrate the Uncontained project in the most interesting way. In the daytime we’ll have some top ad industry talent on hand to dish out advice on young aspiring creatives’ work, and in the evening we’ll treat you to a night of goosebumping sounds and beverages to whisk the night away. Come down and jam. What’s next? The same as we do every year Pinky, try to take over the world. More events, more do-shops, more Weekly Scores. Meet more nice people and work with them to make amazing things. Keep your eyes peeled on our site for details of up and coming events.
© Andrew Attah - www.andrewattah.com
www.youngcreativecouncil.com
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