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! 

More Tea Vicar...

We mentioned a couple of weeks ago a few new additions to our shop were on the way, and our first new arrival is from graduate jewellery designer Roisin Connolly.

We are really excited to be working with Roisin and representing her work, as we've been fans since we posted about her work back in August in, A Personal Journey, where Roisin's technique of acid-etching gold and silver with photographic images, really caught our eye.

We have a couple of her acid-etched creations, as well as her adorable tea-inspired silver earrings. What's more comforting than a good cuppa and a slice of cake, that combination never fails...

...Click on SHOP to see Roisin's pieces, as well as all our other graduate work available to buy...

Animal Magic...

We might be heading off to places in the sun, but we still keep a look out for any talent that catches our eye, it's been a long time, and we are excited to get back to showcasing one such designer.

Julia Kisselmann is a designer who graduated last year from the University of Bedfordshire in Illustration. Her work leans towards nature, with a hand-drawn aesthetic, and a bold use of colour and scale.

We particularly like pieces from her Transmutation collection, where animals themselves cross-over into nature, and the exploration of flora and fauna become intertwined.

With the creation of her brand, and business in mind, her creativity doesn't wane, and its great to see a range of strong products being built around a true talent...

Eat, drink & be in Miami...

Well, what a trip! We've been wanting to visit Miami for some time now, and when the days are still greyer than grey, January seemed like the perfect opportunity to get away for some much needed R&R...and how right we were.

We don't want to go on about how amazing it was, how sunny (not a cloud), and how warm it was (27º everyday), we want to give you all a snippet of some of our favourite bits and bobs, places and spaces...

Where we stayed...
The Gansevoort Hotel was pretty special, and right on South Beach with amazing views of the ocean. Couldn't fault the service, and the highlight was the rooftop pool and bar...pure bliss...

Where we ate...
A couple of places to mention, first up for a true holiday vibe, Larios on Ocean Drive. A Cuban restaurant right by the beach, sits sandwiched between ump-teen other eateries along the strip, all jostling to entice you in with their continuos happy hour. The food here was incredible, and definitely worth a visit for their amazing chicken and shrimp dishes...authentic and delicious...

For some serious people watching, and of course stunning food, our next top spot of choice is Prime Italian, it is expensive, but worth it for some stand-out Italian food, feeling hungry just thinking about it!

Where we danced...
Always, always an important part of any trip we go on, a highlight was dancing 'til dawn at LIV. It is part of the FontaineBleau Hotel, and if you ever want to feel like you're actually in a hip-hop video, this is where you need to be! Great music, and yes, very expensive drinks, but if you're up on American sport-stars, then you'll find them here in one of the many VIP areas dotted around. Oh yeah, and we can't not mention the dress-code...put it this way, we were certainly way over dressed!

Where we shopped...
We had a bit of a vintage vibe in mind when it came to shopping, and there are a couple of great little places worth checking out. One to mention is C.Madeleine's a complete treasure trove of incredible pieces, a serious amount of vintage designer, so we did spend the majority of our time browsing before heading back to the beach, because after all, that's what it was all about...

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...

Just New...

A new year always brings a sense of optimism, a fresh set of challenges, a new creative project, an energised and motivated approach, and for us this is no different.

We start though with bringing back our showcase of some of the great, and the good work that goes on out there by graduates and part-time designers...

Art School Disco are an illustrative collective based in the UK is made up of six designers that each take their own style, and apply that to a new theme each week.

Made up of Ben Phe, (we featured his work back in August in 'Just Super Cool...') Simon Abbott, Ed Brown, Johnny Ace, Keiron LeVine, and Katie Allen, their individual interpretation makes their blog an eclectic mix of creativity, sometimes a little quirky, and maybe even crazy at times.

There's a definite sense of a dark undertone, and a touch of morbid humour with some of the works, but this all adds to the appeal for us, and showcases pure creative vision at it's experimental best...