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Amelia’s Magazine | Ohh Deer Pop-Up Shop at Wolf & Badger: Review

Ohh Deer Pop-Up

The only thing I know about Mayfair is that it’s a pretty good property to buy if you’re playing Monopoly. In reality, this pretty ‘n’ posh street is filled with people wearing suits standing outside clubs in the afternoon sun and, as far as I can tell, looking (or at least trying to look) as though they make lots and lots of dough. The cash kind, not the squishy kind.

It is strange but sort of perfect that the latest Ohh Deer Pop-Up is on Dover Street. As I head to the launch I notice that skinny jeans, hipster glasses, tattoos and dyed hair are dotted amongst the briefcases and Oxford shirts, as people make their way to the opening of this creative hubs latest temporary shop. These arty folks are a stark contrast to the suited up worker bees hanging out for cocktails after a hard day in the office.

Ohh Deer Pop-Up

When I get to my destination I am not disappointed. Nestled in a basement shopfront, in independent retailer Wolf & Badger‘s Gallery Room is a wonderful, creative celebration. Although it’s been and gone now, this illustration extravaganza took place between the 21st June and 4th July, with the launch event I popped along to falling on Thursday the 20th June.

I’ve written a lot about online shop and illustration collective Ohh Deer lately. I interviewed Co-Founder Jamie Mitchell a few months ago, I wrote a strange and slightly creepy love letter about them which you can read here. Bearing all this in mind, I was understandably pretty excited to be heading to their pop-up launch.

Ohh Deer Pop-Up

The night was filled with the latest contemporary illustration talent and general creative peeps and all sorts of products were on hand, from tee’s to cushions. With free illustrated badges and neon cupcakes on the menu as well as plenty of tipple all ’round, this was a pretty cool pop-up (and my first). Complete with a goodie bag to end the night, and artwork projected onto the wall, this was an illustration spectacular at its best.

Ohh Deer Pop-Up

Wearing Rosita Bonita seahorse earrings, I bumbled my way inside with a friend and got myself a drink and some cake. Tired after work, this was the perfect way to get my spirits up as well as meet some creatives and browse some great products. Laura Gee‘s beardy cushions and Jack Teagle‘s comics made a particular impression on me, and I also met Drew Turner and saw his spectacular tattoos. The night was a mesh of bright My So Called Life style dyed locks, quirky outfits and plainly clothed artists and arty types too. My friend having abandoned me for her book club down the road, I spent the second part of the night getting to know the amazing Yasmin Dilekkaya of Yas-Ming Ceramics and her lovely mum as well as getting an eyeful of the latest in contemporary illustration.

Ohh Deer Pop-Up

One of the especially exciting things about this pop-up was seeing a whole bunch of Ohh Deer products up close and personal. Although I spend a good chunk of my wages buying out their stock and have everything from t-shirts to a notebook myself, there’s something special about seeing it all laid out. As one of those annoying hipster peeps that spends their evenings hanging out in Paperchase until it shuts, I can imagine myself spending my time lingering in permanent Ohh Deer stores one day. Fingers crossed they open one.

Ohh Deer Pop-Up

As an illustration junkie living outside London, this Ohh Deer Pop-up was one of my first real introductions into the illustration world. Meeting some of the collaborators and hearing them talk about the brand was great too. With workshops spread over the pop-up to help build skills and get creative in a flock, there was not much more you could ask for from this young, fresh, determined creative company. Pretty impressively the pop-up also kicked up quite a buzz with Elle, Time Out, The Evening Standard and The Telegraph all giving it a mention, as well as the workshops being completely booked up.

Once all the fun and games was over at the end of the night and and after a long journey home courtesy of National Rail, I realised I had left my cardigan on the train (again). ‘Ohh Deer‘ I said to myself, smiling.

Ohh Deer Pop-Up

To find out more about Ohh Deer and get your hands on their beautiful illustrated products check out their website here www.ohhdeer.com.
Pictures courtesy of Ohh Deer and Yas-Ming Ceramics.

Written by Jessica Cook on Tuesday July 16th, 2013 11:25 am

Categories ,Alice Potter, ,art, ,ceramics, ,cupcakes, ,cushions, ,Dover Street, ,Drew Turner, ,Gemma Correll, ,Homeware, ,illustration, ,Jack Teagle, ,Jamie Mitchell, ,Kris Tate., ,Marc Callaby, ,Mayfair, ,Ohh Deer, ,Pop-up, ,Rosita Bonita, ,T-shirts, ,Wold and Badger, ,Wolf & Badger, ,Yas-Ming

Amelia’s Magazine | Valentines Day 2013: Jewellery, Handmade Gifts & Discounts on Chocolates

I’ve given you some great ideas for unique handmade Valentines cards, and now I bring you a round up of beautiful and unusual gifts, including, of course, some delightful jewels.

dowse design anatomy brass pendant
Dowse Design don’t pander to the usual romantic image of Valentines, instead they have crafted an unusual gesture of love that is bound to turn heads: the Anatomy etched pendant comes in steel or brass and is made in England.

With Love Silver Necklace_Nicola Crawford_RRP £135
Jewellery designer Nicola Crawford has based her designs on the lost art of letter writing in a collection entitled With Love. These tumbling letters may well spell out your own feelings.

Georgia Wiseman Sirus Limited Edition pendant
For something more jewel encrusted, Georgia Wiseman has some glamourous earrings. I love the art deco influenced Capella design, but she has also created a special limited edition pendant for Valentines; Sirus, which looks like a modern day flint, is made with a smokey Swarovski crystal set in rose gold. She’s offering free P&P up until February 14th too.

EOTW designs Hand made Solid SIlver Earrings
We profiled Eye of The World Designs back in 2011, and since then designer Hope Von Joel has been busy building the brand, which bridges interior design and jewellery. I love these bold laminated wood and perspex earrings.

Made & Told heart ikat cushion
Moving on to other gift ideas, Made & Told are offering hand woven Ikat cushion covers with a heart pattern. They are handmade in Uzbekistan and come gift wrapped for £30 (including P&P) using the code SAINTVALENTINE. The company promotes traditional crafts from central Asia and you can watch a film about the making of the cushion on their website.

Nichollette Yardley-Moore vintage silk scarf Rose cushion
Designer Nichollette Yardley-Moore collects vintage fabrics, scarves and original flags which she then transforms into beautiful one-of-a-kind cushions. I like her romantic floral cushions, which are made up with vintage silk scarves from the 1960s

MrPS happy hearts Hankies
These pretty hankies by illustrator Robert Shadbolt are covered in smiling hearts. They are screen-printed by hand in the Mr.PS studio and come in double-packs of candy pink & sky blue, and plum & turquoise.

Chloe Cook painted teapot
If you find an overload of hearts a bit saccharine, how about this starry hand painted teapot by Chloe Cook?

M.Hulot Strapped howe red bag
Or how about a beautiful rich red hand made leather Howe clutch from M.Hulot?

London Kills Me Reclaimed slate Heart
Slate hearts from London Kills Me are hand cut from reclaimed roof slate, much of it from the nineteenth century, meaning that each one has a slightly different patina. They can be written on in chalk pen: making them an ideal alternative to a paper card.

sabina savage hummingbird scarf
This wool and silk mix scarf by Sabina Sauvage features four bold hummingbirds and comes with a lovely blood red border.

Charlotte Linton Cove_paisley scarf
There’s something a bit, I don’t know, meaty, about this unusual bright red Cove Paisley scarf by designer Charlotte Linton. It would make an unusual gift, the swirls reminiscent of hearts and body parts.

David Shillinglaw Double Heart painted bottle
Artist David Shillinglaw offers beautiful hand painted bottles, which come with a short personal message: perfect for a beer lover perhaps?

And: for something a bit different, how about a personalised serenade over the phone from consummate karaoke professionals Hot Breath (above). ‘Intimate, passionate and 100% from the heart. All sung by a professional amateur to the best of their ability.’

To find exclusive handmade designs, go no further than the Love.Make Designs pop up shop at Craft Central’s Corner Shop in Farringdon, London from the 11-17th of February.

Luxury-Valentine-Gifts-My Voucher Codes Chocolates Hotel Chocolat
And don’t forget, chocolates will always go down a treat, so why not take advantage of some great discounts at My Voucher Codes? Get 10% off any purchase from Hotel Chocolat: how about their Sealed With a Kiss selection, which comes in a pretty heart shaped box?

Thorntons Be My Valentine chocolate selection my voucher codes
Or you could really make an impression with this Be My Valentine chocolates selection from Thorntons, with a bespoke message hand iced onto a chocolate tag. Take advantage of My Voucher Codes and get a free box of chocolates when you spend £20 with Thorntons, plus free delivery on orders of £25 or more.

To round off the blog, here’s a clever infographic describing spending patterns on Valentines Day, brought to you by the folks at My Voucher Codes.

Valentines Day spending patterns infographic
Fancy being featured in one of my regular round ups? Make sure you follow me on twitter @ameliagregory: most of these designers responded to open callouts for Valentines ideas.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday February 7th, 2013 2:15 pm

Categories ,2013, ,anatomy, ,Be My Valentine, ,bespoke, ,Capella, ,Charlotte Linton, ,Chloe Cook, ,chocolate, ,Cove Paisley, ,Craft Central, ,cushions, ,David Shillinglaw, ,discounts, ,Dowse Design, ,Eye of The World Designs, ,Georgia Wiseman, ,gifts, ,handmade, ,Hope Von Joel, ,Hot Breath, ,Hotel Chocolat, ,Howe clutch, ,Infographic, ,jewellery, ,Karaoke, ,London Kills Me, ,Love.Make Designs, ,M.Hulot, ,Made & Told, ,Mr PS, ,My Voucher Codes, ,Nichollette Yardley-Moore, ,Nicola Crawford, ,Robert Shadbolt, ,Sabina Sauvage, ,Sealed With a Kiss, ,Sirus, ,Swarovski, ,The Corner Shop, ,Thorntons, ,Uzbekistan, ,Valentine’s Day, ,Valentines, ,Vouchers, ,With Love

Amelia’s Magazine | Valentines Day 2013: Jewellery, Handmade Gifts & Discounts on Chocolates

I’ve given you some great ideas for unique handmade Valentines cards, and now I bring you a round up of beautiful and unusual gifts, including, of course, some delightful jewels.

Chloe Cook painted teapot
If you find an overload of hearts a bit saccharine, how about this starry hand painted teapot by Chloe Cook?

M.Hulot Strapped howe red bag
Or how about a beautiful rich red hand made leather Howe clutch from M.Hulot?

sabina savage hummingbird scarf
This wool and silk mix scarf by Sabina Sauvage features four bold hummingbirds and comes with a lovely blood red border.

David Shillinglaw Double Heart painted bottle
Artist David Shillinglaw offers beautiful hand painted bottles, which come with a short personal message: perfect for a beer lover perhaps?

To find exclusive handmade designs, go no further than the Love.Make Designs pop up shop at Craft Central’s Corner Shop in Farringdon, London from the 11-17th of February.

To round off the blog, here’s a clever infographic describing spending patterns on Valentines Day, brought to you by the folks at My Voucher Codes.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday February 7th, 2013 2:15 pm

Amelia’s Magazine | Ohh Deer Illustration Collective: an interview with Co-Founder Jamie Mitchell

Ohh Deer , Jamie Mitchell illustration

Ohh Deer is more than just a site that sells cool graphic tees, it’s a collective of young creatives featuring some of the most talented emerging illustrators out there. Founded in 2011 by Jamie Mitchell and Mark Callaby, Ohh Deer offers everything from greeting cards to homeware. In fact, Amelia ear-marked one of their lovely cushions (designed by William Branton) in her Christmas Gift Ideas 2012 post. More than just a quirky online shop, jam-packed full of juicy illustrated bits ‘n’ bobs, they also function a bit like a creative agency, working on briefs together (for clients like Universal Music) and helping promote each others work.

The band of merry pens that make up this fresh-faced brand have proven than two leads (of the pencil variety) are better than one with their great products and impressive roster of clients. Rather than brave a tough industry alone, Mark and Jamie decided to work together, bringing a whole host of other bright young things they admired on board too. There’s now a whole range of pencils involved, including Nicholas Darby, Alice Potter, Ruben Ireland, Miguel Mansur, Jamie Mills and Kris Tate. The site also stocks products by various other illustrators including Jack Teagle and Emma May to name but a few.

Ohh Deer, Jamie Mitchell illustration

The result is Ohh Deer, the equivalent of a sort of ‘super-freelancer’ with more time, talent, range and skills than one illustrator could muster alone. Fun, fresh, beautiful, honest, scary, relevant, Ohh Deer illustrations cover a lot of bases with their vast range of styles. Complete with a young, contemporary vibe, the company is straight out of the dreams of many a creative-type.

If you don’t already follow Ohh Deer on Facebook then you should, as it quickly becomes obvious that their brand-name gives them an edge for cracking all manner of social media-friendly and meme-happy jokes. This isn’t just a collective that follows visual culture, they’re part of it.

Ohh Deer , Jamie Mitchell illustration

Last year, to give my wardrobe an injection of all things illustration, I took out a subscription to the Ohh Deer T-shirt Club. This, like my Stack Magazines subscription, is one of my monthly indulgences. Whether it’s a design featuring a lemon with adorably bulgy eyes or kitchen utensils with attitude, these staples give my wardrobe, and my creativity, a boost each month. There’s so much stuff on the site I want that it would be impossible for me to list it all here, but currently I’m drooling over some lovely wooden neck-creatures , wishing I could buy ALL the stationery as well as lusting after a whole batch of other penned goodies that make me shiver with creative delight. They even have copies of Wrap in their shop, an illustration magazine which comes with 5 sheets of illustrated wrapping paper each issue.

With all this in mind, I spoke to co-founder Jamie Mitchell about how he came to setup the business and what Ohh Deer has in store for 2013.

Ohh Deer , Jamie Mitchell illustration

What gave you the impetus to start Ohh Deer?
The business was founded as a means to support myself and Mark. After a while we added several Illustrators to our collective and since then it’s blossomed. We’ve realised the potential to help other creatives and we’re determined to create something synonymous with contemporary Illustration.

What philosophy do you think is at the heart of the business?
The business feeds back a direct proportion of profit to the artist who’s work it is, and that’s how we like to do it. Ohh Deer as a business needs enough profit to grow, and be able to launch people to a higher level of recognition but our core aim is to support illustrators, and a lot of support for freelancers comes financially.

Ohh Deer

What kind of plans do you have for Ohh Deer in the future?
We’re now on the highstreet, and hopefully will be in Topshop and Paperchase nationwide soon. Our next step is to get the brand recognised internationally, and the same process will hopefully be applied to several amazing countries.

How did you go about picking illustrators to collaborate with?
The original selection of Illustrators were picked from people who’s work we admired on Twitter, these were people we were in regular contact with and whose work we would love to own. Since then we’ve added Illustrators and Artists to the roster who embody everything we love about the field. We all have a contemporary feel to our work, and we all work differently.

Ohh Deer, Jamie Mitchell illustration

You started Ohh Deer with Mark Callaby, do you both run the project full-time?
Me and Mark founded the company in 2011, and we run the company from a HQ in Loughborough. Full-time there’s also Laura and soon to be Ricky who will be doing lots of tech related wizardry.

You originally pursued a career in Architecture, is this something you might look back to in future?
I might drift back to Architecture for small projects, I still love to design space, but never for anything permanent, I imagine my career will be very varied, as design can change so much from one project to the next.

Hannah Richards, Ohh Deer

What are the influences of your own personal illustration style?
A childhood diet of David Attenborough.

What other projects are you working on right now?
Ohh Deer is where the majority of my time is spent, I’m completing Album artwork for a very talented Musician at the minute. I’m doing a piece for an exhibition in Oxford about ‘contemporary fairytales’, I’m doing some work for a company called Kigu, who make brilliant onesies. I’ve just started a collection of Dinosaurs (because I love them) but also because I’ve been asked by the Natural History Museum to produce contemporary Dino products. I had an interesting email in my inbox this week about wallpaper design, so that could be happening too soon. Ohh Deer products will soon be on sale in Topshop and Paperchase as well as Scribbler and hopefully some other high street chains – so our mission to create a ‘launchpad’ for the artists is definitely taking shape. Next it will be the world.

Drew Turner, Ohh Deer
Rebecca Potter, Ohh Deer
Kris Tate, Ohh Deer

How often do you put pen to paper?
I don’t get to draw all that often, I don’t have any free time at all, I’m working to be able to do more, by hiring a PA to manage some of the details, but I normally output a single Illustration every two months or so.

What’s the best aspect of starting up your own business?
Being your own boss. I’m unemployable – and by that I don’t mean I’m not professional, I just get restless, bored and disappointed with an unvarying list of jobs to do. I also love the ability to help support and nourish the careers of lots of awesome illustrators – our online following allows us to showcase work and host public facing competitions to see what other brilliant work is out there.

And the worst?
Not having enough hours in the day.

Jaco Haasbroek, Ohh Deer

What advice would you give to budding illustrators?
Say yes to everything – Don’t expect to make any money to begin with, and when you’ve got some projects under your belt, don’t let big companies bully you for cheap labour, you’re a very talented individual and don’t you forget it!

Ruben Ireland, Ohh Deer

The beautiful illustrations in this piece were provided by Jamie Mitchell. The Ohh Deer products are by a range of illustrators and you can find them all on the Ohh Deer website.

Written by Jessica Cook on Thursday April 11th, 2013 10:06 am

Categories ,Alice Potter, ,architecture, ,collective, ,contemporary fairytales, ,cushions, ,David Attenborough, ,dinos, ,draw, ,Emma May, ,Graphic Design, ,greeting cards, ,Homeware, ,illustration, ,illustrators, ,Jack Teagle, ,Jamie Mills, ,Jamie Mitchell, ,Kigu, ,Kris Tate., ,Mark Callaby, ,Miguel Mansur, ,natural history museum, ,Nicholas Darby, ,Ohh Deer, ,onesies, ,Online Shop, ,Paperchase, ,Ruben Ireland, ,Sandra Dieckmann, ,Scribbler, ,shop, ,T shirt Club, ,topshop, ,twitter, ,Universal music, ,William Branton, ,Wrap Magazine

Amelia’s Magazine | Royal College of Art MA Degree Show 2011 Review: Textile Design

Emma Lundgren by Natasha Waddon.

Textiles were displayed amongst product design at the Royal College of Art 2011 degree show – fitting, health as many textile designers showed practical applications for their textiles on cushions, trunks, tables and more.

RCA MA degree show 2011-Emma Shipley
Emma Shipley had produced an intricate print collection from fine pencil drawings that captured the patterns of nature… and some curious beasties. I’d love some of this on my wall… Follow Emma Shipley on Twitter.

Emma Lundgren by Sophia O'Connor
Emma Lundgren by Sophia O’Connor.

RCA MA degree show 2011-Emma Lundgren
I loved Emma Lundgren‘s Scandinavian inspired collection of brightly coloured costume and accessories. Think traditional Sami costume meets the rainbows of the Northern Lights. Lapland reworked for the modern age. Follow Emma Lundgren on Twitter.

RCA MA degree show 2011-Yunshin Cho
I liked the striking surface patterns of Yunshin Cho‘s print, based on the skeleton of a ship. It reminds me of wood laminate and 50s design classics. But her website on her business card doesn’t work… hopefully soon?

RCA MA degree show 2011-Rachel Philpott
Rachel Philpott chose a more avante garde approach: cotton covered with glitter and folded into intricate origami shapes. I don’t know how she did it but it was pretty amazing.

Thorunn Arnadottir by Natasha Waddon.

RCA MA degree show 2011-Thorunn Arnadottir
Thorunn Arnadottir chose that favourite contemporary source of inspiration the QR code, beading it into this amazing dress. Follow Thorunn Arnadottir on twitter.

RCA MA degree show 2011-Lauren Barfoot
Dresses printed by Lauren Barfoot hung wafting in the light breeze near the window – dominated by orange and purple shades these designs were inspired by Matisse and Fauvism. She’s well up on Twitter. Go follow her.

RCA MA degree show 2011-Kit Miles
Kit Miles collided classical baroque with digital music for these bold graphical prints.

RCA MA degree show 2011-Hannah Sabapathy
An exploration between the natural and manmade was also the basis for Hannah Sabapathy‘s collection – seen here on an architectural side table.

RCA MA degree show 2011-Jonna Saarinen
Jonna Saarinen of Finland brought a Scandinvian sensibility to her Hundreds and Thousands print collection that was display to great affect on picnic ware and table cloths. Follow Jonna Saarinen on Twitter.

RCA MA degree show 2011-David Bradley
David Bradley explored printing and pleats in some extraordinary dresses. Best appreciated for their technical expertise close up.

RCA MA degree show 2011-Kitty Joseph
Kitty Joseph created saturated colour prints in Colour Immersion.

RCA MA degree show 2011-Marie Parsons
Lastly, Marie Parsons used traditional stitched quilting as the basis for her final piece – a brightly coloured trunk that juxtaposed digital embroidery and laser cutting of latex on hard and soft surfaces. Her collection was influenced by East End building sites, Mykonos Town and Paris flea market finds.

The RCA Graduate Show continues until 3rd July so I highly recommend that you check it out soon, and get on board with my other write ups.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday July 1st, 2011 4:06 pm

Categories ,2011, ,50s, ,baroque, ,Beading, ,Colour Immersion, ,contemporary, ,cushions, ,David Bradley, ,digital, ,Emma Lundgren, ,Emma Shipley, ,EmmaEvaCaroline, ,Fauvism, ,finland, ,Graduate Shows, ,Hannah Sabapathy, ,Hundreds and Thousands, ,Jonna Saarinen, ,Katherine Joseph, ,Kit Miles, ,Kitty Joseph, ,Lapland, ,Lauren Barfoot, ,Marie Parsons, ,matisse, ,Natasha Waddon, ,Neon, ,Northern Lights, ,origami, ,print, ,Product Design, ,QR code, ,Quilting, ,Rachel Philpott, ,rca, ,Royal College of Art, ,Sami, ,Scandinavian, ,Sophia O’Connor, ,Stitching, ,Textile Design, ,textiles, ,Thorunn Arnadottir, ,traditional, ,Trunk, ,twitter, ,Yunshin Cho

Amelia’s Magazine | Caitlin Hinshelwood’s natural history

Life on earth

Hawks, more about snakes, seek dinosaurs, discount sharks and bears – there isn’t a kitty in sight in Caitlin Hinshelwood’s excellent fauna. We fell in love with the work from the textile designer and artist when she, alongside partner Rose de Borman, put on the Field Work pop-up shop in Spitalfields last month. In gentle earth tones, patterns of vegetables, flowers and arrows are repeated in the fabric, sometimes interspersed with Caitlin’s scratchy handwriting. The result is ever so subtly brilliant, like a cake that’s not too sweet and gets better as you eat it. I don’t want just a cushion with Caitlin’s prints – I want wallpaper. Because as we all know, too much of a good thing is wonderful.

Ghost arguments

There is something quite playful about your work – like you’ve sat down with your pencils and doodled, almost effortlessly. Is that anything close to the reality of making your art?
In some respects yes; I definitely like to get all my books and photos, put on music and just start drawing or painting with it all out in front of me. But more often than not an image is already partially formed in my mind and it’s a case of putting it down on paper, getting it out of my head. Often it is words and colour that inspire the initial ideas and then the drawing comes, that’s especially true of my paintings. The playfulness is an aspect of my work I am happy to be recognised, I know I am making work I am going to be happy with when I laugh to myself whilst I am doing it.

There’s drawing, painting, etching, embroidery and printing, I think … what’s your preferred medium?
Initially, and most recently, I’d say drawing in pen or pencil. I have rediscovered how much I like using a simple pencil of late. However, I love mixing and using colour so then painting or printing always come in. I love the process of screen-printing regardless of how infuriating it can be, I enjoy the skill of it and building up the imagery. It’s like processing photographs yourself, it still feels like magic when the image appears on the screen.

Whale cushion

Your style seems perfect for textiles – like the fantastic ‘par avion’ swallow cushion. Is the choice to use textiles a commercial one, or is this just how you prefer to work?
I studied printed textiles at the University of Brighton so it was natural to continue using it as a medium for my work and, as mentioned before, I do love the technicality and physicality of screen-printing. Making your drawings translate to textiles gives them a new lease of life, a new context. The confines of designing in a square for a cushion or making things repeat can be part of the enjoyment. I like the variety of textiles; you can produce a print design that can be reproduced and used for fashion but you can also treat a cushion like an art piece in itself. Some of my textiles can mean as much as any painting that I do.

Giving up ghosts

I love the animal themes, and the fact that it’s not just the ‘cute’ animals but also whales, dinosaurs and so on – and the vegetables! What inspires these?
Natural history is something I often gravitate towards. It seems like an obvious thing to me as I have always liked this stuff since childhood; I wanted to be zoologist when I was little, my favourite toys were plastic dinosaurs and I have been brought up to love gardening. One of the places I am happiest is in my garden and growing vegetables. The recent animal drawings are part of a collection meant as a homage to David Attenborough and his ‘Life on Earth’ programmes. Hence my new ‘Attenborough Cushions’ which as well as featuring his portrait, complete with Soviet-esque beams, depicts a different series from ‘Life on Earth’. Whale imagery and all things maritime are a personal obsession of mine I find difficult to move away from and even if I do leave it alone for a while I always end up revisiting it.

Trio of Davids

You have an impressive list of designer names on your client list. How did you build up your customer base?
After university I won a place with Texprint, an organisation that selects 24 textile graduates from across the country and takes them to show at Indigo in Paris. I think this experience really showed me the reality of life after university and what you needed to do if you wanted to work for yourself. And that meant pestering people and slogging my portfolio around Paris, London and New York so people saw my work.

You collaborate a lot with Rose de Borman, both with the homeware range and the recent ‘Field Work’ pop-up shop. Could you tell us a little about how you two work together?
Rosie and I met at Brighton and apart from becoming great friends I think we recognised in each other shared tastes and admirations, and realised our work sits well together. Since we graduated we naturally started collaborating on certain projects, sometimes it’s more enjoyable to work on something with a friend, but we have always maintained working independently of each other. The homeware range is the only truly collaborative design project we have done together and this developed from a commission to go to India and work with a manufacturer in Jaipur to produce the range. Field Work was born in 2009 out of a desire to showcase our work, in all its different forms, in a setting that we could curate and in which we could also celebrate the work of other artists and designers we admire.

Vegetable plot dress

What are you working on these days – any new projects you can tell us about?
I am mainly going to be in the print workshop – I have a load of t-shirt commissions to finish and plenty of production to do. I am going to Mexico later in the year that will hopefully inspire a whole new range of work. It is in its very early stages at the moment but I am going to be doing some work for a Whale Festival in Vancouver, which is exciting and pretty perfect for someone that likes drawing whales. And then there is another Field Work to organise – hopefully before the year is out.

Wittgenstein

Then there’s your printed t-shirt business – will you draw anyone or is it just famous people? By the way I get why you don’t want to draw Paul McCartney, I do. The other three are cool though.
Yeah I don’t have anything against the Beatles; it’s purely McCartney I have reservations about! It doesn’t have to be famous faces; I just want it to be particular to the person that has requested a t-shirt. I’d draw anyone within reason. Obviously some choices are more populist than others and I do prefer the more obscure ones, the faces that people are less likely to recognise. I am slightly dismayed by the serious lack of women though!

Caitlin Hinshelwood

See more of Caitlin Hinshelwood’s work on her website. You can read her blog, visit her shop and look at her t-shirt site too.

Written by Jessica Furseth on Thursday April 14th, 2011 9:33 am

Categories ,animals, ,art, ,Caitlin Hinshelwood, ,cushions, ,David Attenborough, ,drawing, ,Field Work, ,Hinshelwood de Borman, ,Life on Earth, ,natural history, ,painting, ,Paul McCartney, ,print, ,Rose de Borman, ,T-shirts, ,Texprint, ,textiles, ,the beatles, ,University of Brighton, ,Whale Festival

Amelia’s Magazine | Caitlin Hinshelwood’s natural history

Life on earth

Ghost arguments

Whale cushion

Giving up ghosts

Trio of Davids

Vegetable plot dress

Wittgenstein

Caitlin Hinshelwood

See more of Caitlin Hinshelwood’s work on her website. You can read her blog, visit her shop and look at her t-shirt site too.

Written by Jessica Furseth on Thursday April 14th, 2011 9:33 am

Amelia’s Magazine | Christmas Gift Ideas 2012: Cushions!

ooh deer pictor_cushion http://www.williambranton.com
Pictor cushion in super soft faux suede by William Branton for Ohh Deer.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be blogging all my best suggestions for a range of gifts, from homeware to jewellery to fine art prints to kids’ clothes… and to start off my round up I bring you my pick of cushions…

As a surface to display design in the home cushions are hard to beat, which is why you will find so many illustrators and textile designers currently churning them out. And they’re a great way to cheaply dress up your living room – so why not splash out on one, or two, for your loved ones. And then you’ll get to enjoy them too. Perfect!

ben the illustrator greenland multicoloured cushion
Ben the Illustrator believes that ‘good places make people feel good‘, whether you’re on the coast watching birds, or on the couch watching TV. His artwork is inspired by nature and his new homeware range is printed and hand-made in the UK, aided by his wife Fiona and manufactured ‘using unlimited volumes of colour and love‘. I love this Greenland design, inspired by Arctic dwellings.

kate marsden park hill cushion
The iconic Park Hill housing estate in Sheffield inspired this large square cushion by Kate Marsden, which is digitally printed on the front with black felt on the reverse.

Imogen-Heath-Dahlia-Cushion
Imogen Heath combines traditional artistry with digital technology to create print designs such as this bright Dahlia design.

shake the dust cheetah cushion
Shake the Dust is a new ethical design brand which sources, commissions and sells hand-made, luxury homeware and accessories: traditional skills are reinterpreted through modern eyes. This gorgeous Cheetah design was made in the Kingdom of Swaziland by Baobab Batik.

constructive studio faces_cushion
Craig Yamey of Constructive Studio created this beautiful calligraphic face print from his studio in Cockpit Arts, Holborn. Read more about the Constructive Studio collection here.

Donna Wilson oak tree cushion
No blog on cushions would be complete without mention of the all conquering Donna Wilson – I particularly like this shaped woollen oak tree. Something a bit different for the sofa!

Darkroom cushion Camille Walala
A little bit 80s, a little bit tribal,what’s not to love about Camille Walala‘s brilliant double sided cushion which was inspired by the wall paintings of South Africa’s Ndebele tribe? Part of the T-R-I-B-A-L-A-L-A collaboration with Darkroom.

howkapow white bear paul farrell cushion
I adore this White Bear/Black Bear two-sided cushion by Bristol-based illustrator, Paul Farrell, available from the great Howkapow design website run by husband and wife design team Cat and Rog.

ooh deer big_chill_jack teagle cushion
On Culture Label I found this characterful cushion designed by the inimitable Jack Teagle for Ohh Deer, who work with a host of illustrators to create lovely things.

Soma Ben Javens drum major mini cushion
Is it a cushion? Is it a plush toy? I’m going with the former for the purposes of this fab creation by Ben Javens on Soma Gallery. Each Drum Major cushion is carefully screen-printed in the UK using eco-friendly water-based inks, then stuffed and sewn by hand by Beast in Show in Oxford.

poppy and red ditsy flower cushion
A search of Society6 brought me to this lovely ditsy design by Irish design duo Poppy & Red.

Lu Flux Alphabet A cushion
For patchwork lovers: check out these fab alphabet cushions by ethical designer Lu Flux. They are all made from vintage fabrics sourced in Britain and no two are the same.

Urban-Cross-Stitch-Floral-Skull-BUST
For those of you who prefer to create your own: I’ve already bought one of these as a present – an amazing floral skull cushion by Urban Cross Stitch. Meet them in person at the Bust Craftacular.

lorna syson Bullfinch cushion
Finally, for a festive feel that will work all year around, how about these plump and handsome bullfinch adorned cushions by Lorna Syson, discovered last weekend at the Cockpit Arts open studios.

Look out for my next gift blog, coming soon.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday December 3rd, 2012 8:37 pm

Categories ,Baobab Batik, ,Beast in Show, ,Ben Javens, ,Ben the Illustrator, ,Black Bear, ,Bust Craftacular, ,Camille Walala, ,Cockpit Arts, ,Constructive Studio, ,Craig Yamey, ,Culture Label, ,Cushion, ,cushions, ,Dahlia, ,Darkroom, ,Donna Wilson, ,Drum Major, ,eco, ,ethical, ,Greenland, ,Holborn, ,Homewares, ,Howkapow, ,illustrator, ,Imogen Heath, ,Interior Design, ,Interiors, ,Jack Teagle, ,Kate Marsden, ,Lorna Syson, ,Lu Flux, ,Ndebele, ,Ohh Deer, ,Ooh Deer, ,Park Hill, ,pattern, ,Paul Farrell, ,Shake the Dust, ,Skull, ,Society6, ,Soma Gallery, ,T-R-I-B-A-L-A-L-A, ,Urban Cross Stitch, ,White Bear, ,William Branton

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