Sat 2nd May: All Yesterday's Parties

Bella has started a blog of her photography and here are her snaps from our smoking huddle outside WorkIt's 1st birtday at Visions. That'll be both Becca and Amy lookin HOT HOT HOT with this season's statement jewellry ..........Amy's disco ball gold earrings are a good link to Bella's blog name............http://discobellaforever.blogspot.com/...........and come to think of it, her own .........spadgerdisco.blogspot.com/..........can I detect a theme here?

Friday 1st May: Stone Cold Sober

Not a reference to my state of mind but the title of Paloma Faith's upcoming single release on June 15th. The creative team responsible for my graphic delights have been in cahoots with Miss Faith to cement her new ident since signing her deal. I asked one half of the duo "No Days OFf" Patrick Duffy how it came about and where the collaboration is twisting and turning since taking off:


"Epic called me almost a year ago to ask if I could meet up with Paloma and start talking about artwork. We both agreed almost immediately that we wanted to work with photographer Finlay Mackay, and were very pleased that he ended up shooting the campaign. The results really are epic, but I can't let them out of the bag just yet...

Andy MacGregor did some beautiful illustrations of decorated lettering and doves as a starting point for the identity. Though we've yet to use the decorated lettering, we were keen to keep the doves, so one of them ended up being incorporated into Paloma's logo ('paloma' is Spanish for 'dove').

We're currently working on the artwork for the first single, Stone Cold Sober, and the album will follow shortly after that."


I checked out Paloma's new video but unfortunately cannot work out how to embed it so go here to view:
http://www.myspace.com/palomafaith
I don't have the vital statistics on the credits for this one yet but I can identify the silver panel dress that is by Petra Stores...... seen here in my snap from when Paloma debuted the incredible creation in Feb 2008 at Sketch.
Go and have a look at the video and listen to the track, its a real treat. Can't wait to see the album artwork as soon as the cat is able to jump out of the bag....................http://www.nodaysoff.com

(Recent portrait from Alistair Allan's coverage of the New Look 40th birthday party on Weds night where Paloma performed)

Thurs 30th April: Some People Think Im Bonkers

For the 1st time I don't have any answers, only questions

1) Who has made this? (All credits please.........)
2) Who wants to join me on the dance floor?

Thankyou to Alex Cunningham for alerting me to this.

Thurs 30th April: Here Come The Kings

Since I last wrote about Colin Henderson's joint direction with Daniel Brereton on the Golden Silvers video for "True Romance", he has been tinkering on the group's 2D identity. The album was released on Monday on XL Recordings so I have seen a glimmer of the shimmering illustration on promotional advertisements. But now we can finally see the complete package of which Colin has sent over images of the CD, booklet and album cover printed in 6 colours (CMYK, gold and silver). To continue the collaboration, Colin has taken typography drawn by Gwilym (the lead singer) to integrate in his visuals and both talents joined forces on the art direction.

To see what else Colin has been conjuring up, check out his ace blog and discover artwork for the recent music festival "Land of Kings".................
www.colinhenderson.blogspot.com
http://www.colin-henderson.co.uk/

Weds 29 April: Pantone 109

You may have noticed London Buses becoming like dazzle ships with graphic yellow Selfridges banner adverts. It has all been part of the preparations to launch the centenary which has just unveiled instore. Throughout May, Selfridges will celebrate its 100th Birthday with a festival of music, fashion and frolics!

There is a retrospective of displays from the windows, all the way through the store as seen here in my snaps. Each window is a homage to the original schemes initiated by Harry Gordon Selfridge using the signature Selfridges Pantone 109 yellow.

Now to the entertainment to be found in the yellow cafe............
On Friday Patrick Wolf performs in the evening after an afternoon of Jonny Woo hosting Gay Bingo! Then on Saturday Giles Deacon will be putting on a fashion show followed by CHECK THIS Boogloo Stu's cabaret on Sunday! AAGH! That will bring back many a memory from my "Dynamite Boogaloo" boogeywoogey-ing from yesteryear Brighton days..........
That is just the 1st week, the following weeks will see music from Ebony Bones, VVBrown and dj slot/fashion shows from Henry Holland, Nova Dando and PPQ.

Tues 28th April: SOFT FURNISHINGS Part II

My blog buddies over at SHOW have sent some more goodies .........a few shots of Mariacarla in a YSL bodysuit as styled by Fran who you can see here with Christian Wood fixing the hair........and their muscle-man David O'Donnell! To catch intermittent highlights there is a twitter feed straight from the source with the latest news that Alex Fury will be filming a short interview with Nick Knight which will be posted on the site later today. ..............

http://twitter.com/showstudio

Tues 28th April: SOFT FURNISHINGS

Alex Fury of SHOWstudio has sent over this collage to introduce their new project unveiling today. Peter Saville has been asked to guest host the July issue of Wallpaper* and one of the features will be a shoot with his long term collaborator Nick Knight. The duo have also rallied up set designer Gideon Ponte, stylist Francesca Burns and model Mariacarla Boscono to help conjure up an "Erotic House". The objective of the venture is to scrutinize the sexuality of fashion and furniture by fusing the two together. The shoot is happening over the next couple of days with a live video stream from set, straight onto SHOW starting at midday. This is the fantastic USP of SHOW ............ that pages of editorial can be captured whilst in motion at the exact raw moment of spontaneous spells unfolding.
If you happen to miss the action as it happens there will be edited highlights and interviews available to view at the end of each day..........
http://www.showstudio.com/project/softfurnishings

Tues 28th April: Another MAN / Christian Schoeler

Thanks to David St.John-James for the invitation to the opening of Schuebbe Projects exhibition of Christian Schoeler paintings. Here are a couple of oil works (Dominik) which were particularly beautiful with inexplicable detail within the soft wash of gestural strokes. Other water colours were equally delicate and deftly executed with a soft palette that was echoed by the stunning rainbow that happened to appear in the sky! Magic!
After the show we crossed Vyner Street to Bistroteque to see Pam Hogg's curated cabaret with not only her own renditions but a stellar line up: Bishi, Matthew Stone (impromptu cover of Elton Johns "Your Song") and Mike Figgis (yes, film director!) who guided us through a jazz repertoire on guitar and trumpet!
These are images from Mandi Lennard's blog which is a new edition to the blogger's delight of fashion insiders snappings............

Mon 27th April: Bishi & Nathaniel

.........................after a day of soaking in some sculpture at the Tate Britain, Bishi took me to M.Goldsteins to acquire her own ..........a cute taxidermy Barn Owl, who for now we have affectionately named "Barny".........

If you haven't yet ventured to this enclave of treats, then head east this weekend to check out the choice collection of curios comprising of antiques, records and exquisite vintage clothing & accessories selected by the discerning hand of Pippa Brookes..........


M. Goldstein
67 Hackney Rd
London E2 9ED

Sun 26th April: Eureka ..........ka......ka.......ka.......ka.....ka!

Here are a couple of Amy Gwatkin's photos from the Fashion Innovation evening at the Design Museum on Friday night hosted by Let Them Eat Cake Magazine. There was an open discussion with some of the designers on show including Cooperative Designs, Katie Eary, Gemma Slack, Maria Francesca Pepe, Piers Attkinson etc........chaired by BFC scout Andrew Tucker . I missed the debate on London creativity as I was busy being creative upstairs holding an accessories workshop. Rosy Nicholas and I showed participants how to make mini paper sculpture brooches and hair pins with an unexpected highlight being a particularly delightful 9 year old who was surprisingly one of the most articulate people we conversed with the whole night! By the way, the lettering above my head was not infact an indication of my particular skill but the title of the current exhibition in the space! I hadn't even noticed until Amy pointed it out which made me crack up. Here is the shoe-box of our own "Designs of the year" which we prepped at the studio to take with us..............

Sun 26th April: Profile Weekender - James Copeman - Part 4

Last but not least my personal favourite is "Young Love" by the Mystery Jets with split screens, primary colours galore, a crochet spilt cup of tea, and the band having fun dancing together whilst lying down on individual dollies.
Thanks to James for his Polaroids ............if you want to see his latest offering look up "Heartbreak" by The Magistrates..............





http://www.rsafilms.com/d/black-dog/companies/blackdog-uk/

Sun 26th April: Profile Weekender - James Copeman - Part 3

............so to the donkey which has a starring role in one of Copeman's most recent projects for French artist Emma Daumas. Here are some of Jame's Polaroids from the shoot in October and my top quality hard-hitting journalistically sound questions which he has answered with a healthy pinch of salt for an enlighteningly honest insight to his particular approach:





How did you first get involved with videos crossing over from motion graphics?-

i got bored stuck indoors, behind a computer animating stuff at mtv. so i approached some bands i was listening to and as soon as one said yes i nicked a load of mtv equipment and shot it.

How much do you get involved with the hands-on side.................do you make any props/sets/costumes?-

im pretty hands on, i made/bought all the props and costumes in the early vids (with help) but as the budgets allow i try and get more help. still work pretty close with prop/sets costumes designers to make sure i get as close to what i imagine as possible.




Are your ideas subconscious or do they come from identifiable inspirations?

i think they are subconsciously identifiable (vague enough answer?)

Your first promos have a charming naive quality. Is that a distinct look, special to your style that will remain when working with bigger budgets or do you think your aesthetic will evolve?-

i think the aesthetic will evolve slightly as with every promo i learn somin new and refine my style, but i will constantly try to keep some aspect of ME in them.




Looking back, are there any activities you enjoyed doing when you were growing up that are actually related to what you do now?-

i watched ALOT of tv, instead of making friends.

Is there a stand out music video you loved as kid? (Mine was Jackie Wilson - Reat Petite!)

def! DEVO - whip it, such a great song and weird video, i'd just discovered masturbating and that video always got me goin.

What is your most treasured possession and why?

my penis - we just like hangin out together

Do you have a dream client / project?

id love to travel back in time and do a video for david bowie, we would then become best buddies and share an apartment in newyork together.

Sat 25th April: Profile Weekender - James Copeman - Part 2

So after Noah and The Whale etc. James went on to do more Super8 work, in particular this beauty for Icelandic artist Emiliana Torrini. Not only is it heavily infused with his graphics moving in and out of the action with speech bubbles and characters faces on inanimate objects, but.........he has drawn on the actual props............. snails. Her chorus of singing "do do do do do do do do" decorates the shells with primary paints (see my screengrabs). Although that is my favourite part there is also great use of animation in making her hair accessories morph shape like a Frida Kahlo portrait come alive.

The track is titled "Big Jump" with the lyric "take a big jump but your afraid to break some bones" hence the plaster cast she sports as seen here in one of Jame's snaps. His Polaroids actually feature in the film, telling the story of what is happening to Emiliana like an illustrated story book. This other Polaroid with a painting of Queen Elizabeth, is perhaps an indication of a particular fascination for James as she crops up again in "The Mystery Jets - Half In Love With Elizabeth" where he has taken that title quite literally. Its a hilarious narrative with the character ignoring his girlfriend in preference to an obsession with the Queen! From a Queenie look-a-likey to a real donkey..........check back tomorrow to see where one appears.............

Sat 25th April: Profile Weekender - James Copeman

When your duvet is all downy & soft and your pillow's all nestly & healing ........there is not much incentive to abandon your dream ship and face the reality of the day ahead (potentially eased with a drinkalby hot cup of tea delivered by your flatmate - HINT HINT). The only thing that gets me jump started and animated is turning on E4 Music to see the latest videos. There are 2 divides and both equally entertaining. Half are excellent and worthy of full attention and appreciation. The remaining half are so diabolical and tasteless its the perfect opportunity to vent frustrations on slagging off each detail of appalling fragment and finish.
So HOORAY to the folks that have wit and charm, currently producing the best calibre of the genre by confidently sticking their 2 fingers up at the homogeneous same old, same old format. Here is one such compatriot - James Copeman. Its been exactly one year since he signed to RSA/Black Dog and scooped the award for "Best New Director" at the very first MVA's in October. Copeman was competitively head hunted by Black Dog after his first flurry in directing on promos for Noah & The Whale and Laura Marling. Coming from a background in Motion-Graphics, the clips combine his own imagery drawn ontop of the film and splices of stop-frame animation. Although budgets were initially humble, the constraints were harnessed resulting in Lo-fi trails that look genuinely vintage and cutely charismatic. Its evident that time and consideration went into the art department for a strong stamp of personality in the realisation but complimenting the different musician/s. It is this trademark that alerted me to his work and I have asked him some questions to find out more..............and of course requested imagery from his own archive with the obligatory snap of workspace which I always like...........this is a great one to give insight into his retro-tinted-quasi-Hispanic-comical sensibility..........

Friday 24th April: Time for Tea

Yesterday was open day at Cube PR for the press to come and squizz the new collections, chomp on some cake and have a hot cup of cha, courtesy of "Time For Tea". Cube is located at the rear of a charming shop front on Lambs Conduit Street with the actual shop now open to pop-up enterprises with the current resident being Johnny ...........seen here setting up getting ready for the descending marauds of fashionistas. For one week he has decamped from his Shoreditch High Street HQ and lined the shop walls with silk embroidered wallpaper to set off his vintage fixtures and fittings. These props are for hire as part of his enterprise consisting of .........Event Production, Location Hire, Vintage Vehicles, Host/Acting/Modelling, Nightclubs, Cabaret compering and dj'n, .......or simply providing a weekend destination for cream teas or B&B for those that want to hang-it-out. Clearly being a "slasher" is not such a modern phenomenan after all!
If you do infact have Time For Tea, Johnny will be under his bunting brewing up some banging builders tea and cutting up quiche for one more day ..............and then returning home to.......

Open for Tea & Cake
Every Saturday
& Sunday

TIME FOR TEA
110 Shoreditch High St
E1 6JN

http://www.timefortea.org.uk

Weds 22 April: Alternative Miss World

Its back! Andrew Logan's Alternative Miss World Contest is making a return after 5 years and this year the theme is "The Elements". It all started in 1972 as one of Logan's parties in his studio in Hackney but on this particular occasion guests had to construct a costume specially for a cumulative competition. A couple of categories were contrived to give it a "Crufts" feel, judging the entrants on poise aswell as their coats! Andrew dressed in a half-half costume he found in junk shop which has gone on to serve as his trademark look as the host/hostess of the proceedings (with complementary makeup split perfectly half way up his face!). At this inaugural contest, David Hockney played judge with a plethora of discerning divas to follow in subsequent years including: Molly Parkin, Celia Birtwell, Zandra Rhodes, Gerlinde von Rosenberg, David Bailey, Angie Bowie, Barbara Hulanicki. That's just the judges! Derek Jarman made a Super 8 film in '73 and Mick Rock was resident photographer in the formative years. If you want to trawl the archive to uncover listings and appearances from the likes of John Maybury, Leigh Bowery, Divine.............then go to the excellent site which someone has painstakingly brought together: http://amw.andrewlogan.com/
Here are some snaps that I took when had a magical night and honour of being Bishi's guest at dinner with Zandra Rhodes a couple of years ago. This is Andrew with one of his artworks and also sporting one of his mirror mosaic accessories - a lip bowtie?! We sat either side of Andrew and took great delight in listening to his reminisces of first meeting Divine and tales of the the time and subsequent contests. As I have never been myself, I am so excited that the opportunity has come around again.........get your tickets now, its on the 2nd of May!

Mon 20th April: Work It 1st Birthday

It doesn't seem like a year ago since the madness and mayhem started vibrating the basement of Visions video under the 90's anthem jurisdiction of Work It.............but this weekend saw the cutting of the 1st year birthday cake and a night of unprecedented dancing to celebrate. I was sent a bottle of "Black Raspberry" from the guys at Belvedere to road test on a gathering of young discerning ladies before its UK launch. So I couldn't think of a better opportunity than sharing it with the gorgeous toastmistresses of the night who looked their typical resplendent selves in satin and crushed velvet finery. The brown bag wrapped beer bottles were put to one side to sip on some source and soda with a thumbs-up verdict all round. The night was billed with every dj that has played since the inception and we represented up front for the 30 min slot of our fave girl Teo Cruise (seen here in pics lent to me with kind permission of resident photographer: http://www.mistoffelees.co.uk/).
Here's to another year's success and whirlwind adventure to Johnny Dett, Tina Turnover and Think Twice.......................thanks to you guys for always treating us so well and I'm still SO upset that I spent NYE in bed with the flu and not styling out to Snoop with you...........

Sun 19th April: Nova Dando HQ

So it was now my turn to do some interior shots of this lushly decorated space in Hackney where both stylist Nova Dando and set designer Petra Stores work from. My time-keeping can occasionally be questionable but this visit was perhaps 2 years late I think! Nova has been looking after one of my mannequins since we took down our installation at VIVA hair salon which I had to retrieve. It looked like a set from Bladerunner with the mannequin reminiscent of a replicant buried amongst all the props and incredible clothes dotted around. This is the nearest thing I have seen to a NYC loft abode in London and I absolutely loved it. So much to look at! Its a crazy collection of artistic co-habitors that not only accumulate random pieces but produce them too. Nova was concerned it might look a mess but I was in heaven visually dissecting all the cosmic clutter and curios to find the jewels. And there were plenty of beautiful shiny magpie enticing gems on Nova's desk which she has been calling in for her new video project with The Gossip. No more info to divulge yet, but you can now check out one of her most recent collaborations with Charlie Le Mindu on the new Peaches video "Talk To Me" directed by Price James ................