SWEAT ISSUE Âą 8
FEBRUARY In the month that has seen the first revolution of the 21st century, a Lady Gaga single so hotly anticipated that it went to number 1 in 21 countries in less than 24 hours and the UK stealthily become a tax haven for big business; issue 8 of sweat brings you art, fashion & TV intros. Well, we could all do with some light relief. So sit back and wait for the shortest month of the year to drift past.
CONTENTS COVER & INTERVIEW WITH mel is aka poor little rich chick NEW YORK FASHION by jess bunyan FLOWERSCAPES by caroline browne TV INTROS by eve bridges
poor little rich chick
With her blog poor little rich chick, Mel Is has carved out one of the most original corners of the blogosphere. Not only does she make beautiful digital collages, along with her wonderful sketches of tattoos and anything that takes her fancy; but her words on life are well observed and frankly beautiful. The fact that she’s only 17 makes it all that more amazing. Born & raised in London, she’s now living in Cyprus channeling her creative energy into tattooing until she comes back to the UK for university. I asked her some questions about her art, blog & very early tattoo career...
SWEAT: What made you want to start a blog? MEL: I’ve always tried and failed to keep diaries, so I decided to take my thoughts and type them instead of writing them down in books which I’d always leave unfinished. The internet just became the most convenient outlet for all the words I had fluttering about in my head.
most of my drawings were scribbled over random pieces of paper and schoolbooks, which would somehow get lost or damaged along the way. A couple of years ago my now boyfriend suggested I keep all my drawings in a scrapbook of some sort and I’ve been doing it ever since. Each book represents who I am and what I’m S: Have you always kept interested in at that sketch books? particular point in time. It’ll M: I had one or two little probably be really cringey sketchpads when I was to look back on when I get younger, but generally older.
S: What or who inspires you the most? M: I find inspiration in the strangest of places, one day I could be very inspired by Andy Warhol’s factory back in the sixties and the next I might just have a random thought whilst drinking tea. S: So, you’re also a tattoo artist (at 17!?) how did that come about? M: With 11 piercings, my friends would always come to me for advice on anything to do with that kind of thing, then a few people requested tattoo designs after looking at my drawings and my passion for tattoo design began there. I was with my friend whilst she was getting a piercing and I got chatting to the owner who saw my interest and asked if I’d like do an apprenticeship with him. It took a while to convince my mum, but I did eventually and here I am. It’s a constant learning process though and I’m very much in the early stages, but I’m grateful to have such a great teacher and the opportunity to do something which isn’t possible for many people my age.
S: Tell us a bit about what you’re working on at the moment. M: My scrapbook is a constant work-in-progress and one of my close friends has asked me to come up with a bohemian henna-like design for her foot, so I’m experimenting with that at the moment. As well as a few other designs on the side. S: What would you like to do more of in the future? M: I’d definitely like to do more tattooing where possible and drawing goes without saying. I’d just like to keep on experimenting with new things and challenging myself, I’m a major fidget; I can’t stay in the same place, doing the same thing for a long period of time. S: Sex, drugs, or rock and roll? M: All 3… in one night. S: Describe yourself in one word. M: Scatterbrain. For more Mel Is head to her blog: http://poorlittlerichchick. blogspot.com
NEW YORK I LOVE YOU
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BUT YOU’RE
BRINGING ME DOWN
best in show
HIGH NECK
LOW NECK
MENS
the colours
WEAR
outerwear
caroline browne Not only a lovely a girl and a great blogger, Caroline Browne also has some serious scanning skills. The flowerscapes she created as inspiration for her fashion course are just beautiful, I asked her a few questions about the series. SWEAT: Where did the idea for the flowerscapes come from? Caroline: The idea of the flowerscapes really just came around by experimenting. I was trying to find different ways of capturing the detail and colour of the ribbons and trims I was photographing for a project and found that scanning objects gave really interesting results. I love the soft and hazy appearance the scans give and thought the fake flowers would look perfect in that effect. S: Could you tell us a bit about your process? C:My process first starts by hunting down all the pretty and fascinating things I can. I then begin the process of editing the scans, usually by adding a red or pinkish tint to give a more vintage and dreamy look.
S: What pieces are you planning in the future? C: I’m currenty using a lot of the flowers I used for the scans for creating a collection for my final project at college. I’ll be de-constructing them and creating trims, yolks and shoulder pads with the petals. I’ll probably be using the scans as inspiration especially when it comes to photographing the final pieces, the hazy effect is something I’d love to be able to create over photos. S: What’s your favorite flower? C: My favourite flower would have to be either Forget-MeNots or Bluebells. For more Caroline head to her blog: ergy-erg.blogspot.com
the best intros TV is awesome, obviously, and as a distillation of an amazing show, their intros are even better. Although there was a long shortlist including: Mad Men, Pretty Little Liars, The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family, here are my absolute favorite top 5 intros:
5. Flight of the Conchords From the guitars that fly into your arms, to dancing salt shakers and playing infront of an aquarium. As whimsical and witty as the show itself is, set to the infectious tune of the intro, it works even more wonderfully. 4. Californication Maybe it’s just because this show shouldn’t be so good and is, or maybe it’s because no one (in the UK at least) seems to know about it so it still feels like mine. But there’s something about the mock film, too overexposed, too sunny, slightly clumsy intro that sums up everything beautiful about it.
3. True Blood Refocusing the mind from reality to the world created around a show is difficult at the best of times. But the short and sweet True Blood intro set to Jace Everett’s “Bad Things” transports me seamlessly from my sofa in Bristol to the Deep South world of accents, vampires and sex. Freaky yet perfect. 2. Weeds “Little Boxes” is the song that really makes this intro. But the scenes of carbon copies running, getting coffee and driving SUVs is again a scene setter and a nice break before the weight that Weeds piled on in later seasons. 1. Freaks and Geeks So I’m assuming everyone’s seen it by now. And it’s simple school picture day set to Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation” owes more to the actors than the premise. Each one summed up perfectly in their reaction, none better than the newly in vogue James Franco. Proof that less is definetely more. Perfection.
SWEAT ISSUE ± 8
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