I S S U E
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SUCCESS VS FAILURE . IT’S NICE THAT VICE MAGAZINE
TOM NEWELL . JULIA POTT . DOUG RICHARD THE GUINNESS BOOK OF COCK-UPS . HARD TALK . JACKO’S FACE A MAGAZINE BY GRADUATES FOR GRADUATES . SHELLSUITZOMBIE.CO.UK . @SHELLSUITZOMBIE . FACEBOOK.COM/SHELLSUITZOMBIE
Illustration by Pete Murgatroyd
Oh. My. God. Ohmigod it’s summer. School’s out. Let’s go to Ibiza and touch some people’s genitals, right? After all, we handed in our projects, got OUR RESULTS AND SMASHED IT (or BARELY SCRAPED IT - don’t tell mum), the world is our oyster, the wind is on our backs, YOLO YOLO. What can possibly go wrong? Not to put too much of a downer on it but... you could end up working in recruitment or behind a bar for the rest of your life. Have a think about that. This mini-issue of ShellsuitZombie is about success and failure. What is success? We would define it as getting paid to do what you love. And it’s fair to say that what you guys love is being creative as fuck. After all, why else would you be reading this? Doubtless your parents or tutors will have told you it’s impossible to get into the creative industries: it’s too competitive ‘what with the state of the economy’. Bollocks. All you need to do is actually try. So this summer, hows about you get an internship, locally or far away. Get a taster for your industry, albeit behind a photocopier or a lasso tool (we all have to start somewhere). Or perhaps make a plan to get featured in a magazine by the end of September. Hell, why not start job hunting right this second? You snooze, you literally lose. We’ve given ShellsuitZombie to a whole bunch of graduates, just like you. Our vision is for the collective to be run by people that are the most relevant to young creatives, ie. other young creatives. They’re awesome and pretty sexy for the most part and we love them. Our new Zombies are doing something extra, for no other reason than to create. That’s all we ask really, of our Zombies and of you. Work hard, have fun and take your passion seriously. You only get one shot to be a creative graduate and it’s a great thing to be. Remember. You’re lucky. You have a dream. So without further ado, we welcome our new Zombies. PT motherfucking O.
WHAT’S IN THE MAG? 5
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THE GUINNESS BOOK OF COCK-UPS
INTERVIEW WITH JULIA POTT
EARNING AND BURNING
Record breaking is a tall order – we look at those people who just fell short.
The British illustrator and filmmaker talks Brooklyn, Sundance Festival and life after uni.
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AGONY ASH
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TOM J NEWELL
WIFF WAFF WHAT? We play pub games and get cocky with the guys behind It’s Nice That.
More work from our brilliant cover star.
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THE INITIATED
SCHOOL FOR CREATIVE STARTUPS
Published poet Kayo Chingonyi writes us an exclusive poem.
Former Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Doug Richards gives us a brutal reality check.
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THE FIBRES OF SUCCESS Illustration lecturer Janet Woolley explains why fame and good grades aren’t everything.
HARD TALK The ins and outs of condom conversation.
A life resigned to working in your pants. It’s not all bad, or is it?
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WHODUNNIT New zombies and collaborators.
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A breakdown of our Boxpark takeover and New Blood shenanigans this year.
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COLLABORATE
MY ONLY VICE
BORN FREELANCE
Got creative problems but no friends to tell them to? Shellsuit’s very own agony aunt is listening. Sort of.
SHELLSUITZOMBIE X NEW BLOOD
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Our resident music expert takes a look at the state of an ailing industry.
We head to Berlin for Currywurst, Techno and a pint with the editor of Vice Deutschland.
Fancy jumping into bed with us? Here’s how to join the madness.
EDITOR’S LETTER We’ve decided to base this diet-size issue around the theme of success, but also on
This magazine was made by a group of young creatives in their spare time who
failure because people don’t seem to talk about it nearly enough.
begged, blew and borrowed to make it happen.
The thing is, errors, mistakes and cock-ups are all a vital part of the creative process.
So stop drooling over Instagram’s new video feature, get off your arse and make
Or so Camberwell Uni lecturer Janet Woolley tells us in her guest piece for this issue.
something worthwhile.
SSZ founder Jonny Burch plays ping pong and draws scarily accurate cocks with the
Print is not dead. It’s undead, and it has a taste for New Blood.
creators of It’s Nice That, and Dragons’ Den old timer Doug Richard gives us a tough Ray Murphy
class in the realities of launching a start up.
Editor We also chat with some UK creatives that managed to make it abroad, including filmmaker Julia Pott, and the editor of Vice Deutschland, Tom Littlewood, whom we
Was issue 4 a success or did we fail miserably? Let us know what you think. Send your
meet after a night of mental scarring at the Berghain.
big-ups and put-downs to @ShellsuitZombie.
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THE GUINNESS BOOK OF COCK-UPS Words by Ash Billinghay, Illustration by Sam Ailey
W
ant to be a superstar but have no real talent? Messed up every
THE HUMAN TOWER THAT FELL OVER
attempt at fame you have ever tried? Well, fear not, you could always
Human towers are tricky things at the best of times. I once got forced into trying
try and break a world record. Record breaking is a road to stardom
one in PE at school, and because I was tall I had to stand at the back to hold
usually trodden by rednecks and people who have taken too many
smaller people up. Unfortunately for a bunch of Chinese people, there was no
drugs to realise that sticking clothes pegs on your face is a stupid idea. Just how many
such tall person to hold them up, and their tower fell over, live on national TV. In
hats can a person wear at one time? No one gives a shit, but I’m sure there’s a world
most countries that would be fine, but because it’s China they all ‘mysteriously
record for it.
disappeared’* soon after.
The art of record breaking has given thousands of overzealous middle-Englanders
If you’re going to try and break a record you should probably think about re-
and ex-Blue Peter presenters a reason to exist. Sure they may lose friends and
evaluating what’s important in your life. Yes, you could gain some minor celebrity
alienate family members in the process, but who needs companionship when you
status and earn your very own page in everyone’s favourite toilet book/last minute
have a mantelpiece full of trophies? But let’s not forget those who fell short of getting
Xmas gift. But you could also mess up in a spectacular fashion and end up getting
their name etched into the history books. These are the folk who just didn’t have the
laughed at forever more. By us.
energy on the day, or could only do it when the adjudicators had their backs turned. They’re not just crap at actual life, they’re crap at record breaking too. Here are our
*They didn’t, they’re fine. Sorry China.
favourite failures: THE BLOKE WHO TRIED TO BREAK COCONUTS WITH HIS BARE HANDS Ever been stuck on a desert island and been in desperate need of nourishment? Well, this is not a man you would want there with you. He tried to break open a load of coconuts with his hands to prove how manly he was, but he didn’t manage to crack a single one. This doesn’t mean he isn’t macho, it just means he’s an idiot and that coconuts should be used to make body armour. THE IRANIANS WHO COCKED UP MAKING A SANDWICH The saying ‘Get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich, wench!’ is one of many reasons why I am single and alone. It is also a phrase that might make these lads incredibly angry. Their attempt to make the world’s longest bread-based snack went wrong when onlookers started to eat it. Exactly how many medals did they win for this effort? Naan. SOME PEOPLE WHO DIDN’T REALISE FIRE WAS HOT Wouldn’t it be ironic if someone organised a charity fundraising event, which resulted in the money raised being spent on treating the injuries caused by the event? That’s precisely what happened when a fire walking attempt turned out to be a bit of an arse ache (and a foot ache, probably) as a lot of the people taking part were unaware that fire might cause burns. If life was truly about survival of the fittest, these people would be dead by now. A SPARROW WHO DID NOT CARE FOR DOMINOES Dear Dutch people. I feel no sympathy over the fact a sparrow knocked over your world record dominoes attempt. Of the 4,000,000 set up, a rogue sparrow only knocked down 23000, which doesn’t sound that bad, but I bet it was just as annoying as when you shave and find you’ve missed a bit when you’re on a night out. THE MAN WHO FORGOT TO TELL ANYONE HE WAS TRYING TO BREAK A RECORD A chap in Russia decided he was going to sit in a plastic box for 50 days and not eat anything. At all. While this probably gained him the perfect catwalk physique and saved him a fortune in Tesco Express bills, it did not get him in any record books because no one knew that he was doing it. Schoolboy.
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WIFF WAFF WHAT? An interview with Will Hudson and Alex Bec of It’s Nice That Words and photography by Jonny Burch
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n every issue of ShellsuitZombie we’ve interviewed a talented duo while playing a
Will is now visibly annoyed. Alex had produced a long and impressively verbose answer
pub game. Having played darts, pool and, ahem, ten-pin bowling, the logical next
with no adverse effects to his game. Clearly deciding that power would overcome,
step was ping pong. The last interview was a cop-out. Ten-pin bowling is definitely
Will starts incessantly smashing every ball, with mixed results. 9-2 to Alex.
NOT a pub game. Tim Key is but one man. It seemed we’d ruined everything. So were you surprised when It’s Nice That became so big?
But do not fear brave readers, under new management the interviews are back on track with a classic boozy sport, table tennis or ‘wiff waff’. Grasping our bats were
AB: Yeah of course! You never expect when you start a blog that 400,000 people will
Will and Alex from It’s Nice That. Two 2008 Brighton grads, this duo now run a media
start reading it.
empire with 26 employees, a magazine, a monthly readership not far off half a million
WH: We started it at a time when blogging was very complimentary – you’d get a lot
people worldwide and their own design agency INT works. Not bad eh. Arseholes. So,
of ‘via’ and ‘link from’, which meant we grew organically.
with sweaty brows, tight grips and intense glares, the boys began their epic battle – Before Twitter, right?
Alex starting off the scoring with a slightly pathetic serve. No-one would realise until later just how important this match would be for everyone present.
WH: No actually Simon Whybray registered @itsnicethat and ran it as an RSS feed. AB: Did he?!
So who started It’s Nice That?
WH: Yeah. I emailed him and asked him if we could use it instead. He said ‘yeah cool WH: I started it as a response to a university brief. No grand plan, just trying to get a
go for it’, gave us the password and off we went. It was really nice of him to do that.
good degree really. It was a great way to remember people’s names and document the people whose work I was looking at anyway. We were working on a project called ‘If
Will, somehow, has hit some ‘good ones’, making Alex dive and grunt with his
you could’ at the time while at Brighton, having all these conversations with creatives
admittedly impressive returns. The crowd round the table is starting to grow, feeding
that we liked the work of at the time. But then we graduated and got proper jobs. It
off the restless energy of the ‘local derby’. 11-7 to Alex.
was the January after that, January 2009, that we say It’s Nice That officially started. AB: Yeah that’s when I got properly involved.
Do you think It’s Nice That fuels copycat work?
It quickly transpires that my questioning isn’t helping Will’s concentration. With every
WH: I think we’ve definitely contributed to that discussion. But there’s a conversation
sentence he’s bleeding points, going down 4-0 almost immediately.
that should happen more about where the line between ‘influenced by’ and copying lies. It’s been happening for ever, it’s just easier to find now with the internet. AB: We’ve occasionally come under fire for being vacuous eye candy but we’ve always
Wait, so when were you guys Hudson Bec?
made sure we add content to what we do. We try to put a spin on it but we never AB: Before that, but It’s Nice That was getting so much more traction that we eventually
claim that we’re educating people – it’s just nice stuff. We want people to understand
decided to put it all into that. At that point I was still doing illustration, Will was still
it but we would never claim to be educating people.
freelancing and we made the decision to go 50:50 and put all our freelance into that one bank account. If one of us happened to earn more money we’d talk about it but
Do you ever get frustrated that the It’s Nice That tone of voice doesn’t let you spill
we were pretty relaxed. I think a lot of people when they set up companies together
rage on the internet when you’ve had a bad day?
say ‘well what if I’m doing all the work’ etc. Wait until it actually happens because it may well not, it didn’t for us. Four years on it’s still fifty-fifty right Will?
WH: One thing I’ve realised quite recently is we got very lucky with the name. It’s
WH: Yeah something like that...
always put a positive attitude on anything.
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AB: We can still critique stuff in a positive manner but we’re not there to put up bad
WH: The magazine is a prime example – we stopped the magazine in its old form
work or blast people. We’re not like that, I don’t want to put shit stuff on the internet.
because we evaluated what we needed from it and thought there was a better way
The name has informed everything we put on there.
to do it. We’ve always been able to make decisions on what to start and what to stop
WH: We’ve worked hard to make sure the tone is accessible and all ego is removed.
and we will always remain independent.
You don’t need to go very far to stumble across ego in our industry, and we don’t want to contribute to that.
But with 16 people on the payroll, you can’t exactly shut down the blog eh.
Will appears to power up, serving well to win himself five straight points from his
AB: People say ‘isn’t it scary that you have to support all these people?’ I don’t think
serve. He wasn’t to know they would be his last. Alex returns fire with a serve so fast
it’s scary, I get to work with great people every day.
it breaks the window. The barman looks up and tuts. The atmosphere is now, frankly, feral. Will has taken a second bat off the wall and is Do you never think ‘let’s just get rid of It’s Nice That’ and just run a straight up
performing Darth Maul-like gestures and noises. Alex is topless and has spread tomato
design agency?
ketchup on his torso like Bruce Lee. The Book Club has never been so full at 3pm on a Tuesday, thick with the smells of sweat, ketchup and testosterone. It’s jolly exciting.
AB: Ha no way. I see It’s Nice That as the sun – everything else would be dull without Finally, you guys have been put on a pedestal as ‘the graduates that did it’. Any
it. If anything else we look for things to add to it rather than take away.
pressure from that? And you still love it like a son? WH: Really? We don’t feel like that at all. The only time we notice our progress is AB: Yeah like an S-O-N! Will’s got a real son now! Will, who’s better? Your real son or
Christmas. When everyone’s gone home and we’re the last in the office we can look
It’s Nice That?
around and say ‘oh there’s a few more computers on desks than there were last year’.
WH: On record? Probably my actual son.
AB: For our events we always close the studio – everyone has to help lift bags and set
AB: I actually agree with you.
up. Everyone’s stressed out in the day but at the end of those days when we’ve done it that’s the most satisfying thing.
Do you have plans for the future that you can tell me about? Alex finally finishes off Will with a choke slam, breaking table in twain and releasing a AB: First and foremost always keep doing what we’re doing as well as we can. From
shower of sparks that rises, meaningfully, to the heavens. Everyone takes a moment
the outside INT might feel established, but from the inside we’re always trying to
to think about what just happened, before lifting Alex aloft. There’s some confusion
improve and make it better. We also have this mantra across the HB group ‘Make it
during which the crowd dissipates, leaving just Alex, Will and this intrepid reporter.
better’, so hopefully the next thing we do will be about making the industry or the
The final score? 21-12. The victor, Alex.
world around us a bit better. AB: Another game? Do you worry about putting something out that doesn’t live up to the INT standard?
WH: Mate, we could play this all day. I’ve got to go.
WH: I don’t think there would be anything that’s dramatically under. What’s interesting
Thanks for everything guys!
about launching the magazine shop each under different names is that we can test INT: No worries, laterz.
it and make it its own without changing the perception of INT. I still think that the biggest thing we will do will be bigger than It’s Nice That. We publish to 400,000 people a month, which is great but there’s bigger audiences to be had.
You can visit Will and Alex at itsnicethat.com or stand in Shoreditch and shout until
AB: The problem with It’s Nice That is we will always be talking to a niche audience –
they answer. Check out the second issue of their new mag Printed Pages, out now.
if we can find something more universal and be nimble about trying new things then that would be great.
Alex drew Will, demonstrating that his style has become more expressionist of late.
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THE INITIATED Poem by Kayo Chingonyi, Illustration by Chris Wise
You come into your own at termini, after the fact, in the safe distance afforded those who remain behind stalled beside the point of action; brave enough to speak once the chances of failure, and success, recede: I was the man in houndstooth shoes you sat next to on the overground to Richmond at 2:05 on June 22nd, you wore a sundress and Ray Bans, rims the shade of your lipstick. Drink? So many pages given over to this yen we have for laying ourselves open, so long as it won’t end in brokenness. What you have to say of hope, hinges within the particular details: Flight 551 from Mexico, Seat 18C, the tallest of the Polish contingent, a palpable frisson in the queue at baggage claim. You know an unbidden compliment for what it is. You can be distinguished from your opportunist counterparts by your tendency to qualify. Where brasher paramours, drunk naturally, might blurt, you opt for poise: Since what works in a film tends to fall flat in print, I don’t usually do this, but I was afraid you’d live your life not knowing what I’d give to know your name.
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THE FIBRES OF SUCCESS Words by Janet Woolley, Illustration by Jade Spranklen
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anet Woolley, leader of the Illustration MA at Camberwell College of Arts, has developed an unlikely view of successes throughout her decorated career in academia. She reckons that it’s not always measurable by exam results or the number of commission notches on a freelancer’s bedposts. Instead, it comes
through self-satisfaction and creative contentment. Here, Janet examines the idea of achievement and dishes out some useful advice for artists on what they should be using as their yardstick. Take a journey back in time and try to remember what success meant to you as child. Pleasing parents or teachers, writing neatly, drawing engaging pictures that can be shared, being quiet in class and singing in tune, all in the quest for a shiny gold star or smiley face in your school book. Reward has always been an accepted way of motivating and educating children, ingraining acceptable modes of social behaviour such as gratitude, good manners, performance and empathy, in the hope that they will function in society and relate to their fellow humans. What university student hasn’t said, at some point, that they wish to be successful? We encourage and commend this driven response, and why not? Eager to trigger conversation and debate within a group of BA Illustration students, I asked ‘What do you mean by success?’ Predictably enough answers including ‘make money’, ‘become famous’ and ‘achieve a distinction in my degree’ were among the most common replies. At what point do we leave this reward-based mindset behind? As an illustrator or artist, we retain a natural desire to please, to communicate, and to be applauded for our work. But after pursuing what is deemed to be an unsafe career, how should we define success? Reflection, research, risk and self-knowledge are all central to a good art education, and vital in the continual development of any creative individual. These elements should equip us with a confidence in our own abilities. The maturity to negotiate and, more importantly, the ability to say no; to draw a line that you will not cross, a point at which you will no longer compromise. Many enjoy such input from others and the challenges that come with it. Others find this aspect of the field entirely objectionable and, as a result, decide to exhibit or self-publish in order to take control of their own outcomes.
“Success is having a career that you love with every fibre in your body.”
How an artist interprets success really depends on their own objectives. Making money, getting published or being in constant demand may seem appealing, but it is often short lived if unaccompanied by more fundamental elements. I would suggest that success is none of the above. It’s about life balance and feeling happy with your creative work, whether it is groundbreaking or merely commercial. Having your own personal artistic journey that runs parallel with the demands of the commissioned work is important too. So what is success? I believe that success is when an illustrator has discovered who they are and where their passions and strengths lie. If they spend time each
Jack White
day on an activity that makes them happy and fulfilled, then they are on the road to success. If the creative world is a richer place after you’ve journeyed through it, then that is success in its truest form.
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BORN FREELANCE Words by Ash Billinghay, Illustration by Maria Pizzeria
F
or some, freelancer is just a title used by the unemployed to escape ridicule
Freelancing, as dreamy as being your own boss sounds, is one of the hardest
and disappointed sighs from their parents. For others, it’s a real career and
things you could ever do. Yes you get to do all of the fun stuff you love, but you also
a seemingly profitable one at that (you know who you are, you tax-shirking
have to do all the crap stuff you hate. Have you ever filled in a tax return form before?
bastards). You work when you want, where you want and, better still, you
Get started. Have you ever used every spare moment trying to sell yourself to anyone
don’t have to pretend to enjoy making coffee for other people. However, it’s not all
who might listen? It’s time to start pimping yourself out. Put on a fur coat, shave your
Loose Women and chocolate fingers; there are downsides too. One of our very own
legs and go stand on a street corner outside an agency because that’s the extent
Zombies recalls the hurdles and hoops he had to jump through during his stint in a
you’re going to have to go to if freelancing is the future you want. There are cons to it, definitely. And if someone came along and offered me
one man band.
a full time role [Editor’s note: Ash has now found a kind owner/employer], I’d bite their hands off and enjoy the poor digestion it caused in my new financially-secure
I didn’t become a freelancer by choice. Oh no, it wasn’t something that
stomach.
happened on purpose at all. You see, I had a job. A proper job. It paid me a regular wage and looked good on my LinkedIn profile. My friends even said things like ‘You
But there are massive pros too. All of the time spent worrying where the next
work there? Awesome!’ But it wasn’t awesome, not for me. The job I had made me sad
pay cheque will come from are totally worth it when you see something you’ve done
and want to jump off things, and that’s not something anyone should have to put up
go live. It’s just a shame how many people you’ll have to sleep with to get there
with for a prolonged period of time; it’ll drive a person mad. So I left that job and told
(metaphorically… most of the time).
myself that, with that experience behind me, the future would be easy. I was wrong. The future wasn’t easy at all. Not only did it mean that I couldn’t afford to live within the shiny lights of London anymore, it also meant that my LinkedIn
SSZ TIP:
profile now had a word on it that scared people. That word was freelance. People looked at the freelance me, not as a quick way to solve a creative problem but as someone who was using the word to disguise joblessness. ‘You left a
One useful piece of advice we often hear is that you
good job to follow your dreams, Ash? Yeah, like we’re going to believe that.’
should ‘dress for work’ when you’re freelancing, which
I didn’t just slip into a life of writing articles and poems for people the way I’d hoped. I wasted months thinking about whether I’d made the right decision, and
makes sense because only boxers and Hugh Hefner have
endless nights awake wondering how the hell I was going to afford to live from now
achieved anything decent in their dressing gowns.
on on. I spent hours in the day looking over job sites, contemplating other roles I wouldn’t enjoy just so I could pay the rent on another flat I wouldn’t want to live in.
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MA SH UP Mashing up Tech, Design, and Business. Hyper Island is now running three of our innovative industry facing programmes in the UK. Applications are now open for 2013/14. Full-Time MA in Digital Media Management Based at our school in Manchester. Next intake January 2014. Flexible MA in Digital Media Management Combining in-school, in-work, and individual study. Based in London. Starting April 2014. Digital Strategy Evening Course Running in parallel in Manchester and London. 8 weeks. Starting October 2013. hyperisland.com @hyperisland lewis.greener@hyperisland.com
INTERVIEW WITH JULIA POTT Questions by Sam Ailey, Illustrations by Julia Pott
L
abelled as ‘one to watch’ in 2013 by Creative Review, British animator and
What was your first year of self-employment like after your MA?
illustrator Julia Pott has a very promising career ahead of her. In 2007, she
Because I moved to New York shortly after graduating from the RCA, it’s hard to tell if
graduated with a BA from Kingston University and went on to complete an
I’m learning things because I’m away from home or because I’m working full-time. The
MA in animation at the Royal College of Art (RCA) four years later. Shortly
whole experience has definitely brought me out of my shell. Things that used to make
afterwards, she decided to up sticks to New York, trading Oyster cards and decent
me want to vomit on my legs –like meeting clients or giving talks about my work– are
cheese for yellow cabs and sugared everything. Her achievements in the last 12 months
getting easier and easier. I’ve learned to always make what I want too. Don’t make
have certainly given her something to write home about, as she saw her short films
what you think the client wants to see or what is trendy at the time, because the work
get screenings at festivals including Sundance and SXSW. We spoke to Julia about
you are passionate about will always turn out better than anything you’re forcing.
about the challenges of working abroad and the benefits of a being a Brooklynite. What can you tell us about your festival screenings? How important are international Did you have a clear idea of what you wanted to do once you’d left university?
awards to you?
When I left Kingston, I was a little sleep deprived and not entirely sure what the next
When work that is so personal and important to you gets accepted into festivals and
step would be. I knew I wanted to direct animation, so music videos seemed like a
receives accolades, it’s the best feeling ever. It means you’re not crazy, and that those
logical step as it allowed a certain level of experimentation and freedom. I got in
months where you looked weird and couldn’t carry on a normal conversation weren’t
touch with Casiotone for the Painfully Alone about doing a video, and from there I
in vain. Some of my closest friends now are people who I met at Sundance and SXSW;
was offered projects with The Decemberists and Bat for Lashes. I loved both of those
it’s like summer camp for nerdy grown-ups.
experiences but I was keen to make more of my own short films again. Storytelling Do you have any tips for creative grads with a travel bug?
is the biggest pull for me and that time away from university helped me realise that.
One of the greatest perks of working for yourself is that you can pretty much do it Did you support yourself with a day job when in the years after uni or were you able
from anywhere. When I was living full-time in London, I often saved up all the money
to jump into creative work immediately?
I made and put it towards a sublet in a different city for a few months and worked
For the first few months after graduating from Kingston I worked in a clothes shop.
from there. You meet so many great people. Going outside of your comfort zone and
I would take on freelance commissions in the evenings and on weekends, and also
having those experiences all contribute to making your work more interesting. Do it!
opened up an online store. By the following November I had saved up enough to just Is there anything you’re particularly looking forward to in the remainder of the year?
work for myself.
I’m going to Annecy in France next week for their animation festival and I’m super You then decided to do an MA in a creative field, which is a big commitment. What
pumped about that. I have a couple of projects on the horizon that I’m really excited
did yours mean to you?
about too. Other than that I will mainly be spending my downtime eating donuts.
I went to the RCA to improve on the areas I felt weak in, and for me that was storytelling. I wanted to leave there feeling that I had pushed myself and taken risks, regardless of how the films turned out. Being back in an academic environment was hugely helpful because you have deadlines, tutorials and friends who are going through the same weird two years as you. After you finished that, why did you choose to move to the US? My mum is from New York and when I was growing up we would spend every summer here visiting my family, so it is very nostalgic for me. I lived in Brooklyn for three months between my first and second year at the RCA to develop my film called ‘Belly’ – that pretty much sealed the deal. I still feel like a tourist though. I love the extremes of the seasons and I get weirdly amped up about festive holidays. How has living in the US helped moved your career forward? I signed to New York-based production company Hornet Inc. when I moved out here and they’ve been a huge help. I’ve met a lot of interesting people here that have resulted in collaborations and I travel more, which I love. That being said, more than half of the projects I do are commissioned by companies in Europe.
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TOM J NEWELL Our cover artist Tom is the sort of illustrator we really love to keep our beady eyes on at ShellsuitZombie. His style is so well honed that it could probably give you a first degree paper cut, but we like that it shows where dedication to a unique style can take you in an illustration career. You can see more of Tom’s work at tomjnewell.com or, if you happen to find yourself in Sheffield before the end of July, go see his current exhibition at The Old Sweet Shop, featuring the ink drawings of demons pictured here, plus a bunch more.
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SCHOOL FOR CREATIVE STARTUPS Words by Tom Ewing
T
here is no such thing as 10 easy steps to anything. In fact, any top 10 list
entrepreneurs of our time haven’t created something new, they’ve just improved on
that isn’t based on quantifiable statistics is, quite frankly, pure opinionated
something that already existed. “Every sector is ripe for disruption, just look at what
bollocks. Plus, 90% of the time (stats, nice) you’d be better off ignoring
James Dyson achieved with bloody vacuum cleaners,” Doug exclaimed. True that.
such a guide and carrying on about your day uninterrupted. Frank, honest
Sucks to be Henry right now.
and brutal advice is far more useful to startup hopefuls. In order to get some of this
5. Don’t shy away from doing something a bit boring. As Doug says: “Any
wisdom we got in touch with American investor and Dragons’ Den O.G. Doug Richard,
part of the world that annoys you or needs solving, that means you’ve got a market.” 6. It’s also important to “find out if the world needs what you want to create.”
and he took us back to school.
If you did want to spend £500 on taking those baby steps towards the big bad world If you’re still reading, then you must be keen for a little business insight. That’s
of business, then Doug reckons that this should be a key focus. Go to trade shows,
exactly how I felt when I phoned Doug Richard, the entrepreneurial extraordinaire and
develop a prototype or do a bit of market research. Make sure that your hunch is right.
founder of School For Startups. The organisation was set up to complement existing
7. Be realistic. We asked what the most common failings were in the
government support for entrepreneurs in the UK, and since 2008 it has welcomed
entrepreneurial world and Doug said: “A downfall I see in so many startups is over-
over 12,000 budding business men and women through its doors.
optimism.” Be realistic about the amount of time it takes to get things moving. 8. Protect your intellectual property rights. As Doug pointed out: “You can
We asked Doug to tell us how to start a worthwhile business with the money you might spend attending a music festival:
find a lot of good resources online,
around £500. “That’s not really possible,”
venture capital companies and open
he said. “It’s not enough money.”
source forums are a good starting point.”
It wasn’t quite the response we were hoping to hear either, but he’s probably right. The only thing £500 will definitely get you is a ticket to one of those get-rich-quick events – the kind that take place in the conference rooms of 3-star hotels and where, ironically, only the organisers make millions. Luckily though, there are a few things
We asked Doug to tell us how to start a worthwhile business with the money you might spend attending a music festival: around £500. “that’s not really possible,” he said. “It’s not enough money.”
A word of warning here though – a DIY legal job is likely to end in disaster, so call in qualified help where possible. Or start dating a solicitor. 9. Register as a business. It might sound obvious, but putting one little © next to your name isn’t going to hold up in court. Furthermore, if you’re teaming up with your buddies, you don’t want to
you can do in order to get your idea off
be squabbling over equity in the future.
the ground. Here are some of them:
Get it down on paper and signed. 10.
1. Get some friends to help you
Don’t
get
consumed
by
out. Two brains are better than one and, following the same logic, three brains are
numbers and figures. If you’re not an Excel hotshot but you think your idea has got
better than two. As well as the inevitable camaraderie and undying sense of adventure,
legs then fuck it, it’s worth pursuing. If you can sell yourselves and create demand
you can also share the workload of boring stuff. “People are far too precious and
for your product or service, then the rest may just fall in to place. “At seed stage the
protective of their ideas; small teams always have a better chance of success than
financials are always just guesses, so I never believe them anyway,” Doug suggests. “If
sole traders,” says Doug.
you’ve got a good story, it’s a start.”
2. Get a proper website. Not a Tumblr, your nine-year-old brother has a Tumblr.
11. I told you this wasn’t a 10-step guide and I’m sticking to it. The last bit of
A registered website is verified and publicised record of your work, which helps fight
wisdom Doug had for us was this: “Don’t pay someone to do what you can do for
against plagiarism. The first impression someone will get of you is likely to be through
free.” Sounds obvious but it’s true. There are lots of tools out there at your disposal
your website, so make it a decent one. “These days there are no businesses that can
and it really has never been easier to start your own business using only a laptop and
succeed without an online presence, whether or not they are physical.” Hit ‘em, Doug!
a little brainpower. Sure, there are lots of other people out there doing it, but who’s to
3. No matter how ‘cool’ your digital venture sounds, it needs to make money.
say that you can’t join the fun? If you’re really keen to take your idea past the dream stage then get in touch
I asked Doug if he thought that the popularity of app development was justified. He
with School For StartUps at schoolforstartups.co.uk. Tell them we sent you and you
responded simply: “An app is not a business model.” 4. Don’t be afraid to enter a competitive sector. Some of the greatest
might even get a queue jump…
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ILLO NEEDED (DOGBOY, SAM TO CHASE)
HARD TALK Words by S Heath, Illustration by Dogboy
Y
ou’ve done the tough work. The leer, the introduction, the small talk, the
have even expired. It no longer feels impulsive, it now feels repulsive. There’s a gap
pricey spirits, the arhythmic shuffling to that Daft Punk tune people won’t
that’s waiting to be filled and you need to attend to it. It’s 45 seconds long, which is
stop fucking playing, the brave suggestion,
roughly how much time it takes to find, open, pinch and
the answer, the taxi and the offer of a
roll on a condom.
caffeinated blah blah that never existed in the first place. All is going well. You’re doing what people do all the time; it’s almost as if you were a normal person. During a deluded moment on the way to the bedroom you think that you finally understand what those rappers on MTV Cribs were on about when they point at their memory foam mattresses and said ‘this is where the magic happens.’ Sadly there’s nothing magic about a painfullylong bout of dry humping, but it’s all part of the process. Before you can even think about trying that worryingly-aggressive move you saw in a BangBros
There’s a gap that’s waiting to be filled and you need to attend to it. It’s 45 seconds long, which is roughly how much time it takes to find, open, pinch and roll on a condom.
video, a dreaded phrase rears its ugly head to suck the
Silence is not an option in this scenario. Neither is humming, whistling, tutting or scatting. Any attempt at ‘sexed-up chat’ will probably result in laughter –the bad kind, where it’s aimed at you– and rightly so. Don’t bother bringing up that piece you read in Monocle about that Chinese mega-city either, as ‘interesting’ facts hold no weight in this conversational vacuum. Chat about fashion, good design, food, apps and new pop-up hummus bars should be saved for work colleagues and housemates, if you resent them. Comments on the token Buddha sitting atop their mantel piece, the dreamcatcher in the window or the French film posters Blu-tacked to the walls should also be kept quiet. Instead, you should remember three solid jokes
fun out of the whole thing.
and pass them off as your own, recount your favourite
“Do you have a condom?”
trick shots in The Big Break or recite your favourite Jeff Goldblum monologue word-
Yes, as a matter of fact you do, and they’ve been gathering dust. Some may
for-word. Better yet, you could talk about this article. Over and over again.
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MY ONLY VICE Words by Ray Murphy, Photography by Grey Hutton/VICE
V
ice has split opinions, started arguments and satirised the shit out of
His initial articles were so well received that the music editor gradually gave
everything for nearly two decades now. From its humble beginnings as
him more to do, before offering him a full-time editorial assistant role. “It wasn’t really
a DIY zine in Canada, it has grown to become one of the world’s most
paid, but because I was abroad anyway and was going to be studying, I had some
influential voices on counterculture, covering everything from fascist
financial support from the UK so I could afford to work for 18 months.” This is an unusually fortunate scenario and one that most grads could only
rallies, to South American hallucinogens and ironic trips to Baleric foam parties. We
dream of, but Tom was clearly appreciative of that. “I was very lucky. Not just slightly,
sent one of our very own to meet the head of its German outfit.
but incredibly lucky that they were willing to invest a lot of responsibility into someone who was so inexperienced.”
“Are they with you?” I looked over my shoulder to see a camera man flanked by a boom operator and weary looking production assistant. “Nope. That’s just an
Oddly enough, he would be reluctant to hire someone like him now that he’s in
oddly timed coincidence,” I replied as I stuffed my city map back into my pocket and
charge. “I’m not sure I would take that same risk today, the company has grown a lot,”
pulled an icy hand from my gloves, still charred from last night’s firework celebrations.
he tells me. “Back then we brought out the magazine once a month and the website played a very small role in what we did; we were mainly about events.”
I’m standing outside of a U-bahn station in East Berlin with Tom Littlewood, the Chief Editor of Vice Deutschland. I’m hoping to find out more about the whole
Directives for the print edition of Vice come from the New York HQ. It’s then
operation and, more importantly, how a 28-year-old from the English countryside
up to the individual offices to pitch and produce their own articles that are later
came to be in control of it. We headed to a dimly-lit pub in Kreuzberg where Tom
consolidated in a US issue, which goes to press two weeks before any other territory.
greeted the barman with some familiarity, while I made a vain attempt to decipher the
Tom is then provided with the chance to pick any articles from this US edition to use
20-letter words that were strewn across the beer menu.
for Vice Deutschland. “It’s a nice position to be in, to have that opportunity,” he says explaining just how much content he gets access to.
Surprisingly, Tom didn’t learn to speak German until he reached university where all undergrads were strongly encouraged to learn a second tongue. Choosing
After the selection process, he only has a few days to turn around a product
to take up German classes instead of the oversubscribed Spanish ones was a no-
that will appeal to Berliners rather than Brooklynites. “I often replace the fashion
brainer he suggests. “In my year there were about 150 people learning Spanish and
content because we have our own clients that we need to please over here,” he tells
only three taking German, so I got to learn the language very quickly. It was just
me. “Also, some stuff doesn’t work; we can’t just translate the US issue into German
intense and very exciting.”
and expect it to be successful.”
As part of the course, he was able to study abroad for a year and was given
Despite the popularity of the print edition Vice’s website is now one of the most
the choice between Paris and Berlin. “I chose Berlin because it’s cheaper and I felt
important pillars in their global publishing model, so I was keen find out when this
like there were more opportunities here; I could learn more in a year than I could in
shift started to occur. “We realised that we had to change how we worked editorially,
Paris.” After a semester at Berlin’s Humboldt University, Tom became frustrated with
from monthly deadlines to daily ones, as the relevance of online media grew,” Tom
the teaching and decided to quit. “It was a big decision, but it was just really boring,”
explains. “We had to start reacting far more quickly as we became more of a news
he says. “So I used the opportunity to try and get a job instead.”
outlet than a magazine.”
Soon afterwards, he stumbled across a German edition of Vice at a friend’s
I’ve often noticed a disparity between the print and online versions of my
place and decided to take an impulsive risk. “I knew the magazine from England, so
favourite publications. I wondered how the style of Vice’s print edition influenced
the next day I went round to their offices and just introduced myself,” – a brave step
its digital content, if at all. “Vice started as a fanzine in Montreal, so there’s always
for a 21-year-old with little relevant experience. “It was the first time I’d really stepped
that kind of DIY and punk attitude which has translated very well into our online
into journalism at all. I’d written quite a lot creatively, but had never been published.”
operations,” he says. “It doesn’t mean that we don’t research our facts and get things right, it just means we’re more open to playing around with humour.”
Tom’s path into Vice was made easier because the company was still growing
If you’re inclined to believe in stereotypes, you might think that funny journalism
at the time. “There were only four people working back then, as they’d just started
wouldn’t be well received in Germany. However, this hasn’t been the case.
two months earlier,” he tells me. “They were looking for a general office intern to help
“[Humour] isn’t necessarily something that needs to be absent from a story; it
out, but then I started writing reviews for the magazine.”
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can actually improve and strengthen the message,” Tom suggests. “When institutions
in Germany that maybe doesn’t in England, and it’s not sarcastic. It could just be
like Zeit start playing more with satire, then it’s almost a justification that we’re not
more honest, less bureaucratic; a more direct form of reporting that cuts through the
complete retards,” he adds, smiling.
convention and bullshit.”
This recognition has helped Tom’s team gain credibility with some of the
A common complaint made a about UK-based magazines and websites is that
country’s more conventional media groups including Der Spiegel, who they now
articles are often too London-centric. Was there a risk of this happening to Vice’s
produce video content for.
Berlin operations? “In order to expand and become more national, we targeted
Given the prominence of the VBS TV arm, I was surprised to hear that Tom
young graduates throughout Germany,” says Tom. “I’ve been watching a lot of The
and his colleagues only cottoned onto to the importance of video content three
Wire recently and there’s a quote from Kima saying: ‘You’re only as good as your
years ago.“Trying to tell a story through a camera is an art; it’s an exciting and very
informants’, and it’s kind of true.”
exhilarating process,” he says. “But the capital we were investing required a certain
So what does the interminable squeeze on staff numbers at big broadsheets
level of seniority and experience. We couldn’t just go and mess around with cameras
and other media outlets mean for aspiring informants and what skills should UK grads
because we had to deliver a certain quality and quantity of work.”
look to demonstrate? “Language is definitely important. But there is a distinction between German and international media companies,” he says, pointing out that you
The UK edition of Vice has earned a fierce reputation for its satirical and scathing reporting that, at times, seems to
don’t need to be fluent in the local dialect
take conceited pleasure in becoming cannon
to work on an English language publication.
fodder for forum trolls. Does this approach
Where you will face difficulties, however,
work with a German audience, and how did Tom learn to understand the Bavarian sense of humour? “When I was managing editor it was my job to go over each article to make sure it didn’t sound ‘foreign’, but also to make sure it made cultural sense for Germany,” he says. “You can’t make jokes about the right-wing, because people wouldn’t take you seriously as a media outlet.” I’m then told that irony also remains a hard-sell, and is mostly avoided. In order to understand the target
“There’s an opportunity that presents itself in Germany that maybe doesn’t in England, and it’s not sarcastic. It could just be more honest, less bureaucratic; a more direct form of reporting that cuts through the convention and bullshit.”
is when you need to communicate with workmates and interview subjects. Fortunately, the picture is a little more optimistic for those looking to pursue paths outside magazines and newspapers. “If you’re working for a creative agency, as a copywriter or a producer, you’ll be dealing with international clients,” Tom adds. “There’s more opportunity for that now in Berlin.” I wanted to touch on something Tom had mentioned earlier during our conversation, when he suggested he’d be reluctant to hire someone who was in his position several
audience better, Tom relied on the help of his
years ago. If he wouldn’t hire a young version
publisher to make sure they were hitting the right tone. “The content Vice UK produced for online was very satirical and didn’t
of himself, what exactly did he expect to see in a suitable candidate for a role at Vice?
come across well here,” he admits. “Had we carried on translating it, we wouldn’t have
“If I find some I like, who has a good perspective and who can talk about things in an
become what we are today.”
eloquent but funny way, then I’d always ask them to start contributing to our website,” he says.“You can quickly see if someone’s got talent or not [...] I think reporting in the
One of Vice Deutschland’s earlier editors once said that, sometimes, a writer
field is the best way to get that impression of someone.”
needs to educate readers to get the joke. “It’s a ballsy statement to make, but it’s something we’ve been trying to do for a while,” Tom says, admitting that it isn’t
The local reporting skills that are taught on many academic journalism courses
something that will happen instantly. “It’s a long process. I still think we’re trying to
seem to appeal to him, and he believes that ability to find an interesting story is more
find exactly the right voice.”
important than writing ability. “It all comes down to how good you are with people – can you get a good quote, can you see the potential in the story?” he says. “You can
It seems to me that the voice he’d like to be heard is more serious and sincere
learn how to write; you can’t learn how to see the world.”
in tone than the English one we know so well. “Ultimately, it just comes down to reporting the news differently,” he says. “There’s an opportunity that presents itself
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EARNING AND BURNING Words & Illustration by Jo Church
F
rom LPs and CDs to P2Ps and MP3s, the way we discover and consume music
entertainment field, the band trusted customers to make a donation between £0 and
has completely changed in the last 30 years. Our man in the mirror Jo Church
£100 depending on what they felt the album was worth. Besides their loyal followers
reflects on the industry and the money flowing through it.
who paid for the album, a new generation of fans also discovered their music for the first time.
Michael Jackson repeatedly found ways to squander his hard earned fortune. After signing a contract with Sony in 1991 worth $1bn in retail sales alone, he eventually
My own understanding of music has also changed dramatically over the years. I used
left behind an estimated $500m debt when his life was sadly cut short at the age
to view music as something I just needed to know a bit about in order to keep up with
of 50. As he moved through the decades, he set vinyl and CD sales records that
my contemporaries. Nowadays, I’m rarely alone without it. Wake up, radio. Walk to
remain unbroken to this day; ‘Thriller’ still tops worldwide charts after shifting over
station, iTunes. Sat at desk, Soundcloud. Cook dinner, Spotify. Only in the past three
65m units. Despite his fame Jacko’s career had plateaued before the noughties, just
years has music become my lifeblood. Although I haven’t bought a CD since 2005, I
as technology began to grapple with the music industry and drastically altered the
still pay for music – I just do it in other ways.
way consumers invested in it. During my final year at uni, the ease and speed of downloading music had a huge When iTunes emerged in 2000, music fans began to familiarise themselves with the
appeal. After just a few months of ‘right click, save as’ I was hooked on new bands and
idea of downloading and owning a digital album instead of having a physical disc.
DJs, going to more gigs and buying merchandise I would never have even considered
It wasn’t long before peer-to-peer and torrent sites surfaced allowing people to
in the past. Without the introduction of MP3 converter websites, I’m certain that I
download album after album of free music, leaving record labels and their artists with
would have carried on listening to my ‘MTV Select’ album from 2001 and wouldn’t be
lighter pockets.
nearly as engaged with the music market as I am today.
Over the past decade, some artists have tried to counter this with mixed results.
I appreciate the moral (and legal) implications of ‘helping yourself’ to something you
Radiohead shrewdly recognised the changes in the industry, and in 2007 they
haven’t paid for, but, in my case at least, downloading free tracks has had nothing
released their album ‘In Rainbows’ as a free download. Breaking new ground in the
but a positive effect on my involvement in, and interaction with, the world of music.
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AGONY ASH
With Ash Billinghay, Illustration by Alex Vissaridis
G
Dear Ash: I worry that I’m wasting my creative talents in a menial job. Help.
ot a creative problem? Can’t get clients to pay up? Whether you’re teetering on the edge of madness because of a dull job, or drowning in salty tears due to bad briefs, our very own agony aunt is here to listen.
QUIT. IMMEDIATELY. There are far too many people in the world doing crap they
Here he is with some solutions that may help, or cause irreparable damage.
don’t really want to be doing. Yes, it might help pay the rent and your electricity will probably be cut off during the first few weeks of you following your creative dream,
Dear Ash: We keep redoing our book and we’ve seen loads of people for crits, but
but what’s worse? Not having power in your lights or not having power in your LIFE?
we still haven’t got a placement. We’re losing hope and money, what should we do? Dear Ash: I’m working on a brief but the client keeps rejecting my most creative Hello reader! It sounds like you’re in a tricky position but you’re going about it all
ideas. I want to impress them but I also want my work to shine, and it won’t if I give
wrong. Keep changing your book? Nah, screw that! Just because one person said
in to their demands.
it was shit doesn’t mean it actually is. Stick to your guns, show ‘em who’s boss and stand menacingly outside the agency’s door until they let you have a placement out
Contrary to popular belief, the client is never right. However it is crucial that you
of fear of mugging. If they still say no, actually mug them*. Your money problems will
always make them think they are, so that their egos don’t deflate forcing them to
be sorted, as will your housing, daily meals, and 24/7 security.
throw themselves under a train to get over the misery of their existence. I once had a client insist I use a picture she created on MS Paint even though it looked like the
Dear Ash: I’ve done some freelance work for someone who still hasn’t paid me. I
work of an armless chimpanzee. I told her it looked great, completely changed it and
feel like they’re taking me for a ride. How should I go forward without losing them
sent it back to her claiming she was my inspiration. I no longer work for that client
as a client?
but it’s not for that reason.
Keeping the client friendly is important, but not as important as being able to afford
Need Ash’s help? He’s here for you, baby. Send your worries to team@shellsuitzombie.
food. If they aren’t paying you then action has to be taken. Send them an email. If they
co.uk and he’ll set you right or lose you your job. It’s the risk you take.
don’t reply, send them another one using swear words. If they still don’t reply, send them a decapitated animal head. If they don’t reply after that, decapitate them**.
*with kindness **again, with kindness
You’ll lose a client but gain everyone else’s respect.
WHODUNNIT Ray Murphy – Editor, @rymrphy
Pete Murgatroyd – Illustrator, petemurgatroyd.tumblr
Tom J Newell – Illustrator, tomjnewell.com
Alex Vissaridis – Art Director & Designer, @vizzee
Maria Pizzeria – Illustrator, @Mariapizzeria
Janet Woolley – Lecturer @ Camberwell College of Arts
Sam Ailey – Illustration Editor, @SamAiley
Jade Spranklen – Illustrator, @JadeSpranklen
Jonny Burch – SSZ co-founder, @Jonnyburch
Christopher Wise – Illustrator, @wistopherchrise
Andrew Muir Wood – SSZ co-founder, @muirface
NOTABLE ZOMBIES James Atkins, Chantelle Barton, Laurence Berry,
SPECIAL GUESTS
Stephanie Bonner, Christina Button, Robert Cross,
Ash Billinghay – Writer, @Ash_Billinghay
Kayo Chingonyi – Poet, kayochingonyi.wordpress.com
Christopher Cryer, Livija Dale, Jake Haynes, Becki
Jo Church – Writer & Illustrator, @jotothejo36
Dogboy – Illustrator, dogboy.co
Hemming, Amy Cecilia Leigh, Nathan Perkins, Emily
Tom Ewing – Writer, @tomewing
Grey Hutton – Photographer, greyhutton.com
Salinas, Matt Weatherall
21
SHELLSUIT ZOMBIE X NEW BLOOD
WE’VE GOT YOUR BOX. AND WE’RE NOT GIVING IT BACK FOR A WHOLE WEEK.
During the week we’ll be packing our temporary HQ with exhibitions, useful talks, creative workshops, live illustration and a bloody nice shop, so come see us, and keep an eye on our Facebook page or Twitter @ShellsuitZombie for special announcements.
SSZ tore Shoreditch in half with a raucous six-week festival of creativity last year. In fact, people enjoyed it so much they’ve let us do it all over again.
We’re uber hyped for the takeover and reckon it’ll provide a decent opportunity for To coincide with D&AD New Blood, we’ve hijacked a unit in London’s best pop-up
good looking creatives from across the country to show their work, to collaborate, to
mall from 2nd -7th July 2013 and we’re going to do weird things with it.
learn and to get really drunk. It’s business in the front, party in the back. Mullet over.
DarkMatterCollective, ShellsuitZombie’s live illustration brotherhood, are getting
CREATIVE SOCIAL TALKSSZ
ready to attack a 2 metre square canvas in a week-long drawing marathon at
Wednesday 3rd July, 6-8pm, Upstairs at Boxpark
LIVE ILLUSTRATION
Tuesday 2nd - Sunday 7th July, 11am-5pm, Boxpark, Unit 55
Boxpark. So come along, pick up a UV pen and join in the madness.
In collaboration with Creative Social, SSZ proudly presents Abi Ellis, Creative Director at LBi, and Alex Lavery, founder of Pitch and Sync. Abi will talk about how
FAT PENGUIN
you put a price on your skills and Alex will fill you in on the importance of failure to the creative process.
Tuesday 2nd July, 3-5pm, Boxpark, Unit 55
SHELLSUITZOMBIE’S ANNUAL FACE-OFF
We’ve called in some close friends to give you the mother of all pep talks before your private view at New Blood. Consider the ice well and truly broken.
NEWSJACKATHON
Wednesday 3rd July, 8-10pm, Upstairs at Boxpark
Wednesday 3rd July, 11am-12:30pm, Boxpark, Unit 55
Do you want the glory of being crowned the UK’s best speed briefing university
Newsjacking just won big at Cannes with Oreo’s Daily Twist. It’s time to get with the
2013? Yes, you do. Come along and represent your uni in the greatest creative battle
programme. Meet at 11am for a quick intro to newsjacking from Jon Buckhart, Head
of all time, or just hide in the shadows and watch the mayhem with beer.
of Social at Lean Mean Fighting Machine, followed by a creative challenge.
OFFICIAL NEW BLOOD CLOSING PARTY
HYPER ISLAND
Wednesday 3rd July, 2-3pm & Thursday 4th July, 2-3pm, Boxpark, Unit 55 A team from the legendary creative educators Hyper Island will be providing two
Thursday 4th July, 8pm-late, Concrete, Shoreditch
opportunities to attend a workshop giving you an insight into how to remain future
ShellsuitZombie are hooking up with the clever lot at Young Creative Council (YCC)
proof in a constantly changing industry.
to host the mother of all closing parties for New Blood 2013.
For more details and updates, keep an eye on shellsuitzombie.co.uk/newblood2013
22
COLLABORATE ShellsuitZombie is growing up quickly. We are looking to work with
the scenes to put together the very best content and opportunities
partners to help bring bigger, better forms of Zombie love to a
for other creative people around London, the UK and worldwide.
wider audience. But we don’t just want you for your cash! We want
Through our printed publication, website, regular events and
authentic, ongoing relationships with organisations that share our
workshops, ShellsuitZombie represents the young voice of the
vision and values.
creative industries.
ShellsuitZombie is a project run by and for the benefit of young
Want a piece of that pie? Here’s how:
creatives. We keep a group of creative minds working away behind
Advertise with us
Have us educate your students
Blogging/Social Media partnership
Our website, blog and social media channels average
Helping students transition into the cruel world of
The best thing about social media is that you can do it
over 10,000 unique visitors each month. You have just
creative work is topic #1 on our agenda. Over the last
in your pants. We can blog for you or you can blog for
read our fourth magazine; issue one and two reached
few years we have visited a number of universities to
us. Equally, we can shout you out through our social
2,000 readers, issue three made it to 15,000. We can
give unique seminars on real world issues such as how
channels or take over yours – who knows what we
give you access to this audience through our selection
to stand out in job interviews, whether London is the
could do together!
of advertising packages.
centre of the world, how to price your work etc.
Run an event with us
Send us free shit
Other ideas
Our events are attended by thousands of young
Being humans, we love receiving free stuff. And what’s
These are just some of the ways you can team up with
creatives each year and they are getting bigger and
more, if it’s good, we will write nice things about it
us. Get in touch and we can sort something out. It
better. We’ve done crazy parties in railway arches,
on our blog. If it’s not good or relevant to us and our
tends to work well if we combine multiple partnerships,
film festivals, an exhibition in a shipping container,
audience, you probably shouldn’t have sent it and we
such as running a print ad and doing an event with you.
contraptions at music festivals, web streamed quiz
may be forced mock you.
Whatever feels authentic.
shows and live illustration nights. Interested? say hello to us here: team@shellsuitzombie.co.uk You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @ShellsuitZombie, facebook.com/shellsuitzombie And check out our website: shellsuitzombie.co.uk
ShellsuitZombie has taken all reasonable care to ensure that the information contained in this magazine is accurate on the stated date of publication. It is possible that the information may be out of date, incomplete or the opinion of the author. Please verify any information from this magazine before relying on it. All content © ShellsuitZombie.
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