University Press...

A big thanks this week to Wolverhampton University for featuring our Pop-up exhibition on their blog, with a special mention to one of their alumni Kayleigh Hadley...

The University has posted about us before, so we are very flattered to have been included for a second time to celebrate the achievements of one of their former students, as well as the other designers involved.

The full article is available to view here

Spontaneous Repetition...

Last week saw the launch of the long overdue retrospective of work by Thomas Heatherwick at the V&A.

After completing an MA at the Royal College of Art, Heatherwick set-up the studio in 1994 as a space to explore all creative mediums from architecture and furniture design, to engineering and urban regeneration. His exploration of structures and surfaces using controlled repetition, as well as the creative spontaneity of an idea through materials, adds balance and a strong thought process.

Tucked away in The Porter Gallery, it felt like a more discreet offering than some of the other exhibitions at the V&A, but certainly didn't detract from the sheer scale, and confidence of some of the pieces on show.

What was really lovely about the exhibition was the emphasis on the 'studio'. The designs might be big and bold, but Heatherwick's ego certainly wasn't evident, as the range of works were all presented as collaborative projects.

At the entrance, visitors are invited to 'produce' their own guide by cranking a large handle which operates a huge engineered reel of paper, unravelling each section to a very satisfying 'tear here' perforation.

The exhibit weaves through the space, tracing the work and thought processes involved, all neatly stacked to make the most of the ceiling height of the gallery. Classic telephone receivers are dotted through the space with interview snap-shots adding another layer, with each area playing with scale and proportion just as much as the work itself.

The exhibition gives an intriguing and intimate insight into one of the country's design pioneers and someone well worth celebrating, the best of British...

Heatherwick Studio - Designing The Extraodinary is on at the V&A until 30th September...

From blog to Plog...

In anticipation of the next issue of Plog Magazine, and our general excitement over being 'in print', we thought we would return the favour and find out a bit more about the publication, and its founder Son Emirali.

 

Still at University, amazingly, Son manages the design, marketing and distribution of Plog whilst studying Graphic Design at Winchester School of Art. And we complain about juggling our day jobs with running our own business, we cannot imagine trying to do something like this while studying for a degree!

We managed to catch Son briefly to answer of few questions about the magazine and his motivations after graduating...

What was your motivation for starting the magazine? Why now, why not wait until after graduating?

Well I started the mag in my first year at university, we were in the process of making a magazine cover for one of our briefs, throughout the project I was really getting into blogging and archiving all the students work that was inspiring me. I realised I didn't want this work to just sit in my bookmarks, I wanted to have a physical piece of it so I remembered it. I think that alone was the key motivation, to be surrounded and inspired by great work.

At the time, waiting until I graduated wasn't even something to consider. Being so passionate about others work I couldn't resist to start gathering it all, with the intention to inspire other students whilst we were actually studying, so we could feed of each others work.

  
What support did you get, if any with the initial set-up?

In terms of motivation to get the idea going, quite a bit. I got great support from the students I was selecting to feature, and a great deal from my tutor at the time, James Branch. He really helped to encourage me to follow through with the idea, and stressed how important side projects are.

When it comes to the technical stuff of printing, financing, websites and building a team - not much, just a few people to bounce ideas off were enough. It was mainly down to me to work out the kinks along the way. It was all pretty easy until issue 3 went nationwide, then it became a lot harder, finding a distributor and really stepping into the publishing industry.

  
Was there a quite a bit of research involved or was it something you felt passionate about and wanted to do regardless?

Initially, not much research involved at all. As I started the mag literally when I first stepped foot into uni, I still had a lot to learn about how to develop an idea, and how important research is. But I think this naivety and passion is what lead the magazine to take off so quickly, and for me to have so much determination to make it work.

Is this a collaborative effort? Friends, family or a solo project?

Indeed it is! Don't know where I would be without the rest of the team. Initially there were three of us, myself and two other friends, but as time went on it turned more solo until a few other friends of mine started to jump on board.

At the moment there's myself, Adam, who helps design and art direct the issue with me. Kieron, who takes charge of our online content, and Ben who helps go through all the submissions we receive. We all also do various other little jobs, as I'm sure you've guessed, we don't exactly have a marketing team, project manager or a PR assistant!

One thing we do have though are a lot of guest contributors which I'm happy to say are contributing well to the mag! We've recently had Anneka French and Nick Reading writing for us, as well as a whole batch of studio guest bloggers, students who blog about the live work going on in their studios.

Can you give us a sneak peek at what we can expect in the next issue?

In the next issue we've been lucky enough to have a bespoke cover designed exclusively for us by KOKOMI, directed by Spiros Halaris. Something that we think will really pop off the shelves. Look out for a little preview of that soon!

We've got valuable interviews from artists within the industry, and of course a great catch up with yourselves which I'm sure our readers will be excited to hear about. As usual you can expect to see a wide variety of student and graduate work, from thought provoking photography to witty illustrations.

Biggest achievement to date?

That's a hard one! I would say the magazine, but I still feel like we could and will achieve a whole lot more soon. So instead I think I'll go with persuading my parents to let me completely redecorate my room to then have three people throw paint balls all over it as part of an art project. And yes it's still like that to this day!

  

What's the future plan after graduating, will the magazine take centre stage or be a side project to your own creative endeavours?

Another hard question! I'm a bit unsure at the moment, I think if the magazine doesn't take centre stage, then it'll be a pretty darn big side project. It's hard to say as I've got such a passion for many areas, whether it's publishing, design, technology or even creating installations, who knows where I'll end up!

The next issue of Plog Magazine is out in June...

Unlucky for some...

On a leafy street in SE15, set half-way between the grittiness of Peckham, and the affluence of East Dulwich, we set about opening our very first pop-up exhibition on Friday 13th...

We were slightly dubious about the already over-used term of 'pop-up', but in our case it pretty much summed up the two week showcase we had planned, and although one of the biggest storms hit the streets of South London literally an hour before we opened the doors, we couldn't have asked for a better turn-out.

We were joined by five of the six designers, who were on-hand to talk about their work, and celebrate the launch following a good few months of preparation and meetings.

Of course none of this would have been possible without the support of TheHouseWith, offering us the use of their perfectly proportioned space. A former photographer's studio, it has been the blank canvas we have been looking for to show off the curated collection of new designers.

New illustrations by Kayleigh Hadley and CM Carter sit opposite each other towards the rear of the shop, and create a rebellious angst-ridden teenagers bedroom style to the space. 

Silver jagged offerings from Roisin Connolly and Michael Carroll segment the exhibition, and act as a natural pause point before the bold and bright work from Ben Phe and Sandy Powell which add a punchy blast of colour towards the front. 

There was also time for Ben to add our very own over-the-door sign in his signature style, with CM Carter adding her illustrations not only to the window, but to our open/closed sign as well. This was a true collaboration from all involved, making it all the more special for us.

For this first exhibition, we wanted to offer a range of works and specialisms to highlight the cross-section of talent that exists across the country, and from the response from Friday night's launch, everyone was as excited as we were to bring these six new designers to the fore...

Kayleigh Hadley

CM Carter

Michael Carroll

Roisin Connolly

Ben Phe

Sandy Powell

TheHouseWith and Look Like Love present Pop-up People - 14th-28th April - 174, Bellenden Road, London SE15 4BW

And the winner is...

A couple of weeks ago we launched a competition to win our first limited edition canvas bag, plus a £10 voucher to spend on-line at Look Like Love...we asked who we had chosen to grace the bag itself from the six designers taking part in the Pop-up, and the answer is CM Carter.

We looked at several illustrations for the final bag design, but felt the piece from CM Carter not only best represented us, and our collaboration with The HouseWith, it looked pretty cool too!

Everyone with the correct answer was put into a hat and the winner picked at random, and we are pleased to announce that Amelia Irta is the winner! Well done Amelia, we will be sending the bag, and £10 voucher this week, as well as a set of the designer postcards produced for the Pop-up itself.

But don't be disappointed, we have the bags for sale on-line right now for the bargain price of £5!
Head over to the shop to pick up your own limited edition bag, or if you are in South London over the next couple of weeks, we have them available to buy directly from the Pop-Up...

In it to win it...

We promised earlier in the week we would be celebrating the launch of our pop-up exhibition with a competition... 

So, for your chance to win one of our Look Like Love/The House With limited edition canvas bags plus an all important £10 voucher to spend on-line at Look Like Love, all you have to do is answer the following question...

We have 6 designers showcasing their work at our exhibition from the 14th April, but who's design have we chosen to grace the bags themselves?

Answers on a postcard...no not really, just always wanted to say that!

To be in with a chance of winning this already coveted bag (well by us anyway!) and a £10 voucher to spend on-line, email us at looklikelove.popup@gmail.com by 12pm on Thursday 12th April.

We will announce the winner on Saturday 14th April, and as you know, you have to be in it to win it!

Good luck...and if you're not the lucky winner, the bags will be available to buy on-line from Saturday 14th April too...

The small print...one answer per email address will be allowed, and the winner will be chosen at random from the list of correct emails received. Entries will not be accepted by anyone associated with TheHouseWith or Look Like Love. The winner will be notified by email, and then announced throughout our social media network. The bag and voucher will be sent within 14 days of the close of the competition. The voucher to the value of £10.00 will have a discount code that will be able to be used for one transaction at the Look Like Love on-line shop and will be valid for 6 months from date shown on voucher. After this date the voucher will expire and will not be redeemable - if anyone has any queries with regards to the T&C's please contact us@looklikelove.co.uk

Pop-up People...

From the heart of Peckham in the last two weeks of April, we will be hosting a collaborated pop-up exhibition with design company TheHouseWith. We've been dropping hints about who, when and where, but since a meeting with THW last week, we now have our final six exhibitors decided upon.

We presented all designers who applied to be a part of the exhibition, and would like to thank everyone for their interest, but numbers had to be limited due to the space, and we hope you are as excited as we are to host these hugely talented bunch of new designers.

The event is to also coincide with our first year as Look Like Love, and the designers exhibiting are a true reflection of the journey we have had over the last 12 months, as some of the first designers that caught our eye during last years shows, and initial research.

Ok, so enough waffle...here are the six you will be able see next month, some of who you will be familiar with from our support and promotion, who we will be proudly representing in Peckham!

Ben Phe - Illustrator, newest edition to Look Like Love and member of Art School Disco...

Michael Carroll - Sustainable Furniture Designer who we got chatting with at New Designer's 2011 and soon to have pieces available through our shop...

Roisin Connolly - Jewellery Designer from Dundee who uses acid-etching to create her amazing pieces...

Sandy Powell - Textile Designer who works with felt and recycled leather and will add a bit of softness to proceedings...

Kayleigh Hadley - Lyric-inspired and movie-loving illustrator is currently experimenting with lino-prints for a new collection...

CM Carter - Illustrator and all-round doodler, our first blog post, so it would be rude not to include her, and her amazing caricatures into the mix...

We'll be posting more details about the designers, the work you can expect to see, and information about dates and opening times in the next few weeks...our first literal watch this space moment...we cannot wait!

Outspoken...

It's always been a dream, being a writer of sorts, my mum and sister can vouch for the many hours I used to spend sat at a typewriter, (showing my age now!) putting my imagination down on paper.

It's been said that everyone has a book in them, and as lovely as that idea is, time isn't always there to actually sit down in the same way I did at the age of ten. So when we started writing this blog, it brought back the more journalistic side of me, and the quick, sound bytes have been a good way to get thoughts, and opinions down. Nothing too long was the key, as no one seems to have any kind of extended attention span anymore...who have I lost already?!

So when the opportunity came up a few months ago to become one of the regular feature writers for Creative Boom, how could I possibly turn it down. 

My first published article went on-line today, titled University/Life, and the plan is to write about the issues facing creative graduates, not only the impact universities have on finding a job, the new tuition fee system effects on applications, but also real experiences from recent graduates as they cope with internships, and how they maintain creative motivation on a day-to-day basis...

If you have any issues you would like us to highlight, and submit to Creative Boom, (and if we're really really good, be featured on The Guardian website too), them we would love to hear from you.

Open/Closed...

On a cold and snowy Friday evening we found ourselves weaving through a myriad of warehouses in Bermondsey. Not our neck of the woods as a rule, but we were making the exception for the one night only pop-up exhibition 'Open/Closed' from art collective Art School Disco.  

We posted about the recent graduates a few weeks ago, and have been following their progress, collectively and individually ever since, so we had to make the trip down and put a few faces, to the on-line names.  

On show was work by all six members of Art School Disco including Ben Phe, Katie Allen, Johnny Ace and Mary Roe. The warehouse setting certainly helped set the scene and added a few dramatic shadowy corners in which to view the work. 

We are already big fans of Ben Phe , having featured his own work a few months back in the post, Just Super Cool, but it was a real treat to see his intricate illustrations on glass up close.  

Katie Allen also had a small collection of illustrative and mix-media pieces, and we couldn't resist buying one of her hand-made postcards. 

What's great about these collaborative showcases is the real sense of creative spirit and coming together. You could literally feel the hard work that everyone had put into the exhibition, and the passion that continually challenges and surprises us as viewers, and appreciators.  

It shouldn't always be about the slick, curated and sometimes clinical exhibitions that see hundreds of people flocking through the doors, for us, it's about the talent, the enduring passion, and playfulness that should be celebrated from some of the UK's up-and-coming new designers...it was definitely worth getting a bit lost and cold for! 

The Last Word...

With an ever increasing amount of technical wizardry and wonderment to supposedly make our lives easier, there are a few who work tirelessly to maintain crafts, techniques, and traditional ways of working alive.

The Counter Press is a small typographic collaboration between David Marshall and Elizabeth Ellis. Both established graphic designers, they have always had an interest, and passion in the origins of typography, and when the opportunity arose to purchase a neglected original press, there was no going back.

Months of painstaking work eventually brought this beautiful press back to life, and The Counter Press was born. Individually, and together they work on small commissions, and short-run prints, and in December saw their largest print run of their own Christmas cards.

Over the last few years wooden type has been seen as a decorative accessory in our homes, being sold at a premium, lined up on book shelves, a mish-mash of fonts and styles sat together, but it's certainly worth taking a second to think what they could have been used for in years passed...a film poster from the 1940's, the front cover of The Times perhaps.

Having seen first hand how this process works, it is incredible to believe that this was how everything we see in print today used to be produced, and it's collaborations like The Counter Press that will see this skill kept alive for many more years to come...