Sat 21st April: Vogue Festival - Incoming NOKI

Thanks to NOKI for pinging over this iphone pic from his customisation event as part of the weekend's Vogue Festival and shots from his studio making his 'Rave till your nose bleeds' piece.  He took part in a panel alongside Louise Gray, Mark Fast and Simone Rocha (l-r).  A 2nd instalment also saw David Koma, JW Anderson. James Long and Christopher Raeburn take on the same challenge of transforming a grey sweatshirt into a unique and new design.  NOKI bonded his to another garment and decorated it with his trademark permanent marker-pen check print in a V shape for Vogue.  Simone re-made hers entirely in silver and crocheted the panels together at the seams.  Mark dyed his black and made it into a dress with fringing whilst Louise turned hers inside out and spray painted coloured panels.  If you head over to the site, you can read up on all the varied events that have been taking place from lectures and interviews with Tim Walker, David Bailey, Christopher Bailey, Dolce & Gabanna, Tom Ford and Stella McCartney to group Q&A discussions with the Vogue fashion team, models, journalists, makeup / hair stylists and London's new generation designers.......... all continuing tomorrow ........... with live updates and footage on their blog.

Friday April 20th: Jessie Ware 110%

 

Here are snaps from Jessie Ware's first UK headline solo gig last month at The Nave church in Islington - the perfect setting to house her incredible voice which raises the roof of any establishment she plays.  Jessie has been wearing my wares for a while and I last wrote about her in the summer from her performance at the Notting Hill Carnival as part of the Major Lazer soundstystem.  Since this time she has been in the studio with producers laying down the finishing touches to her debut album which she showcased at this event.  The most exciting collaboration for me is with Dave Okumu from The Invisible 3 who took to the stage to back up Jessie with his signature spell binding guitar riffs.  You can now hear a couple of the tracks which are starting to be released with her single 110% which dropped this week as a follow up to Running which premiered in Febuary.  Both videos have been direceted by Kate Morross and styled by Damian and Avigail responsible for many of the amazing music looks you will know from the likes of Rhianna and Tinnie Tempah...............  Jessie has already been featured by The Guardian, i-D, Wonderland, Ponystep, and Fader so this is a name to highlight in your festival guides this summer .......... 

Keep up to date with her blog over at Red Bull Music.

Friday April 20th: Margot Bowman for Kiehls & Trees For Cities

When I visited Margot Bowman for a studio visit last month she showed me the initial prototype of her packaging for a Kiehls charity project.  Last evening the product launched to coincide with Earth Month for which the net proceeds of this special pot of cream will be donated to Trees For Cities.  The environmental concern is dedicated to getting urban environments more green - literally via planting trees.  I like the ethos of this action bringing communities together too, its not just about the natural world but also the human one.  Hurrah to Kiehls for getting involved.

Here is Margot's design and the girl herself with some of her balloons that turned the Covent Garden store into a party with The Voguettes and Lou & Nova on the decks.  Marawa The Amazing hosted the soiree reading out the winners of a raffle at the end - for which I got the very first ticket pulled out of the sombrero!!  I never win anything, Im stoked!  And I got a Margot Bowman sticker!  To get your own limited edition sticker jar of Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel-Cream, they are now available at all stores and Liberty.

(Top to bottom:  The design, Grace & Anna Patternity, The Voguettes, Lou & Nova, Yu Masui, Marawa, Margot)

Thurs 19th April: Converse X 100 Club

I went along to the Converse press day to have a look at the sneakers (new Jack Purcells!) but learnt something totally unexpected.  I had no idea that Converse were responsible for saving the legendary central London music venue The 100 Club last year.  When the institution was under threat of closure, Converse stepped in (do you like my pun!!) and saved the historical space with a sponsorship deal.  Here you can see in the display some of the replica posters from the original historical gigs and the latest sessions set up by the new initiative such as Gorillaz, Young Turks and Ghost Poet.  If you head over to the site you can watch all the artists interviews which were screened at the press day  alongside the 100 Club edition boots. 

Weds 18th April: Secret 7" for Teenage Cancer Trust

I love vinyl and I love art.  Therefore this  Secret 7" show caught my interest when Where's My Jumper tipped me off about it via Twitter.  Seven bands have donated a track to The Teenage Cancer Trust to sell this Saturday on Record Store Day.  The limited run of each 7" single are individually packaged in a totally unique art-worked sleeve.  The artists responsible for the 700 singles are a mix of international submissions, contemporary illustrators and designers, a selection of industry heavy weights, the actual bands themselves and teenagers who receive the support of the charity.  No one piece is labelled so its a guessing game of which song and which designer is combined in a record when you come to purchase it.  Here is a little indication:
Musicians include:  The Cure, Noah & The Whale, Florence & The Machine, Ben Howard, DJ Shadow, CSS and Bombay Bicycle Club
Artists include:  David Shrigley, Michael Spencer Jones (Oasis, Verve), Central Station (Happy Mondays, Black Grape), Toby Mott (De La Soul), Stylorouge (Blur, The Cure, Morrissey), Richard Evans (The Who) and Grammy winner Peter Corriston (The Rolling Stones, Billy Idol, Carole King, Debbie Harry, Led Zeppelin, New York Dolls and Tom Waits)
I think it's a safe bet that these scribble big hair illustrations are portraits of Robert Smith and going to be The Cure record ......... perhaps even a Shrigley cover?  There is one magnificent sleeve I'm pretty sure I know the culprit behind the intricate graphic cardboard motif - Chrissie Macdonald.  If I were to buy one it would be this coral cover............ which would you choose?   I really like the felt lion too............. !!
The private view took place last evening at Idea Generation Gallery in Shoreditch and now open for public viewing ahead of the sale on Saturday.  The starting bid is £40 with a first come, first serve basis............. so get down there early and look deep in your pockets for this great charity................... teenagers have very specific requirements when being treated for cancer as they feel alienated from both children's and adult's wards............... and now there is a dedicated initiative actively fundraising to provide a solution to this specific situation.   


(Above are my own personal favourites ............ but if you are a Florence Welch fan you really need to see for yourself as they are all remarkable!)

Tues 17th April: Artist Profile - Thomas Petherick

                            

Coming from a props-making background I have first-hand experience of knowing exactly how difficult it is to construct exact objects and the inordinate amount of time too!  If you are a perfectionist this is stretched even further.  Here is the work of Thomas Petherick who fabricates his work to a detailed degree and for this reason I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw these incredible beaded jaguar heads.   By referencing the ornate original, he scaled up the skull in core-foam and then mathematically decorated it to perfection with beads, replicating the tiled pattern.  It blows my mind to think how he managed to do this and in a very short space of time, turning round the two pieces in just eight days!  SKILLZ!

I have previously featured Thomas's work on the blog via the headpieces he has collaborated on with Charlie Le Mindu.  It is his handiwork behind the latest collection, captured in the Zoe Hitchen film featuring Princess Julia with lilac and black large sculptural sections of hair.  In addition to these animal masks for Tupac Martir, Thomas has been creating special pieces for various designers, stylists, photographers and directors since graduating from Goldsmiths College last year.  You can see a selection of these when you scroll down his site and above are some shots from his studio space where the magic happens.  To follow future projects coming out, find his Twitter and Tumblr. ................... and see our official commemorative portrait from when Thomas and Charlie took us to The Crazy Horse in Paris on my Tumblr.