Fri 29th Jan: Vote Ron

For anyone that follows me on twitter, you may know of my fascination for all things furry and especially my allegiance to Cat Party.  It is one of the funniest blogs I know and makes me smile every day...........just check out the recent post of a cat's sleeping position likened to that of David Bowie walking on the ceiling in Labyrinth.  This blog has escalated in its activity since I first signed up and now has a heady roster of high-brow creative contributors.........and a quoter of ridiculously CUTE CATS!

Now that the party is officially off the ground, there is a monthly competition to acknowledge the best post with a special edition mug prize!  WOW!  I'm not a competitive person but this feature gets me fierce.  I just want that mug!  

I haven't made the shortlist this month  :  (, but Dan Wilton has with his entry about the crown that Rosy Nicholas and I made for his superstar moggy Ron.  Please head over to http://miaowmix.blogspot.com/ and VOTE FOR RON so that Dan can be the rightful owner of the first mug of 2010!

Thurs 28th Jan: Knitwear by AMS

Here is something so fresh, you can almost still smell the lanolin from the sheep that were shorn for these literally "off the hook" sweatshirts.  Artist Danny Sangra sent me a sneak preview of his first ever exploration into the world of wearable illustration under the title "AMS" which is a venture in collaboration with knitwear designer Lynnda Needles.  Whilst shooting the look book for the collection at the weekend, Danny shot this trailer of the proceedings.  So whilst the images of the knits are being compiled we can preview the sexy slouchy styles of "A Minute's Silence" in this sixties style snippet.  Personally I would like to bag the lux blue number with yellow triangle elbow pads.............apparently when you purchase one of these investment pieces, it comes wrapped with care in a hand made moth repellent bag alongside an original drawn artwork!  

I quickly flung an impromptu interview together to get a sense of where the duo are coming from.............in true spirit of my blog the answers er on humour rather than fact..........but as you may detect these jokers are actually deadly serious and AMS should be penned down on your wishlist ASAP.........For example the "Corgi" that I inquire after is not actually the breed of dog as they lead you to believe.........it is infact a British heritage knitwear company that have previously worked with COMMES Des GARCONS...........

a)  How do you and Lynnda know each other?

 

Lynnda Needles:  We met in Prison.

Danny Sangra: It was kinda of like a cross between Porridge and Tango and Cash 

b)  Who else does Lynnda collaborate with..........?

 

LN:  I have been collaborating with Carolyn Massey, on her knitwear, for the past 3 seasons. I am excited as the braided belts and accessories that I hand made for her are about to hit the shops for Spring Summer. 

 

I have also been working with Von Sono on knitwear for the past 4 seasons, although she is taking a having twins break. I work on knitwear with her and was also behind the hand crafted masks...

 

 

c)  What are the influences for this collection...........the patterns and colours?  Does it have a name?

 

LN:  Danny's crazy brain full of patterns. When I see it I see it in textile form...this season we have made hand frame knitted garments, our next project could be anything!

 

All the garments are named after characters from Jean-Luc Godards film Band a Part - Franz/Arthur/Odile/Anna/Luc - Where we got our name from...

DS: Yes the name came from the scene in Bande a Parte when Godard cuts the sound out of the film. It's the point when they must think up a plan. Anna Karina was a big influence on the collection  

d)  How did you discover Corgi and was it fun visiting thier workshop?

 

LN:  We were having tea with the queen and I mentioned how much I liked her socks.

DS: Needles is always having tea with Liz the second

e)  What is your target market and how/where will you be selling?

 

LN:  We are looking to show our collection to buyers during London fashion week, we obviously have a list of shops we would love to be stocked in, so fingers crossed! We will also be taking personal orders - Fred?

 

f)  What was your favourite piece of knitwear from your childhood...........what is your current favourite as an adult?

 

LN:  My 100% acrylic bumble bee dungaree's as a child. As a fully grown adult my         100% cashmere bumble bee dungaree's, I'm now a yarn snob.

DS: A hand knitted cardigan my gran knitted.........The 'Franz' roll neck blue cardigan with the triangle patches we had made as it was made for me

AMS KNITWEAR 2010 from danny sangra on Vimeo.

Weds 27th Jan: Bethan Wood "Particle" Part II

Rosy Nicholas and I had a surreal walk thru the sharp edged skyscrapers on the Southbank to get to The Design Museum for the opening of Behan Wood's artist in residence.  Here she is looking resplendent as ever in a Peruvian Jacket teamed with one of her "Super Fake" scarfs.  One of her works was a shelving system with incredibly intricate laminate marquetry to resemble the chip board of packing crates...........an idea chosen with The Design Museum in mind, as it was originally a banana warehouse when the boats used to come down the Thames?!  The other design is a soft stool made from a hand knitted cover by Giannina Capitani using the same camouflage design, in a palette of lush pastels.  I want both for my house NOW but of course both have taken months to produce so I'll just have to keep dreaming..............whilst Bethan flys straight off to Venice to start yet another residency!

(All photos by Rosy, except knit sample lifted from Behan's blog)

Tue 26th Jan: Henry Cottons

Occasionally the members of my studio come together on the same job............in this instance Hillman Studio were in charge of Art Direction and Andy Macgregor was in charge of integrating himself into those props as he was the model.  Last time I wrote about his sideline career was announcing his role as the face of the new Aquascutum campaign shot by Tim Walker.  This is the latest collaboration for Italian label "Henry Cottons" also shot by Walker and you can see his camera bag above in these screengrabs.  Ive lifted them off a very nifty stop frame animation made on the shoot which perfectly illustrates the whole set build of the spitfire from start to end.  First it takes over the front room of Glenham Hall in Suffolk and secondly it lands outside in a corn field.  We haven't yet received the film in the right format to share with you but I'll be uploading it as soon as it homes into view itself!

To see more of Andy Macgregor's action in front of the camera, go here

To see more of his action behind the camera, go here

Mon 25th Jan: Colour from Mexico City

I was listening to Jarvis Cocker dj'n on Radio 6 yesterday ...........the guy is just brilliant........he played some Klaus Nomi and had Gonzales as a phone in guest.................he also reassured the listeners that the 24th of January is officially the most depressing day of the year thus things can only get better from here on in..........THANK GOD FOR THAT!

I don't know about anyone else but Ive been feeling the wrath of S.A.D recently so my best friend Anna Leader sent me some cheerful colour to cheer me up from her current city of residence Mexico..........so I thought Id share it with you all..........(sorry the dyed chicks are controversially unsettling, but had to be posted out of intrigue and wonder?!).  Thank you Anna!

1. Fruit that looks like those paintings that make up faces out of fruit...

2. A FRED Piniata (dont ask me to bring it back! Id get taken away at NY customs!!!)

3. Baloon man today in the park....

4. And these sorry looking fluff balls: