All Things Considered

Rob Ryan at St. Jude's

Please join Rob Ryan at St. Jude's from 11am this Saturday (November 22nd) to celebrate the opening of our latest exhibition.

His work is the result of the painstaking hand cutting of delicate papers. These intricate works are either sold in papercut form or developed as limited edition screen-prints.

In addition to his own projects, Rob has collaborated with and been commissioned to work alongside many prestigious names such as Paul Smith, Tatty Devine, Liberty and more recently Fortnum & Mason.

We’re pleased to be exhibiting a range of limited edition screen-prints alongside other handmade products.

Will Self on the Brompton

A link from the Brompton folding bicycle website led me to this article by Will Self in The Independent:

"It was love at first sight – the first time I saw a Brompton folding bicycle, I fell in love with it. All right, perhaps this is an exaggeration on all fronts: it wasn't the first time I'd seen one, but the first time I'd really noticed it – or her.

And it was not so much love – an emotion, I concede, that unless you're seriously perverted, only truly exists between sentient beings – as a kind of lusty covetousness; but, you can take it from me, it was a very strong feeling, and one that has only increased over the years I've either had a Brompton between my thighs, or hefted one in my arms."

Read the article in full (Portait by Andy Sewell)

Rob Ryan

I'm not entirely sure if this has been published yet, but Rob Ryan recently created this book jacket - one of a series - for Louis de Bernieres.

We're already looking forward to Rob's exhibition with us, opening on Saturday 22nd November. We'll be featuring a selection of Rob's prints, some of his ceramic tiles and hopefully a few other goodies.

And Rob has kindly agreed to design our 2008 charity Christmas card.

Last year we raised £1200 for Maggie's Centre and we're hoping to beat that, even if it's just by a few pounds.

We'll aim to have the cards ready in early November with all profits going to charity - not the rather mean contributions made by most High Street stores (this is an enlightening article). We haven't costed this year's card, but in 2007, for each £1.75 card, 75p went to Maggie's.

As soon as Rob has completed the design we'll post details here but if you'd like to receive an e-mail as soon as the cards are launched, please sign up for our e-mail newsletter.

Stabo - Short Tactical Airborne Operation

I came across Stabo at Creake Abbey Studio's, North Creake, Norfolk earlier today. At the far end of the yard, the monthly farmers market was in full swing, selling what looked like an excellent and varied selection of locally produced food and drink.

At the near end of the yard, there are a number of converted barns, Stabo an accessories and clothing shop is situated in one of these. Owners Ed Benn and Ros Hathorn make traditional work-wear jackets, (a sort of shorter version of the one Arkwright used to wear in 'Open all Hours'), waxed cags (cagoules), bivvy trousers made from old 1950's tents, leather bags and shopper bags made from parachutes. They also screenprint their own designs onto leather accessories and t-shirts for children.

As well as selling from their studio at Creake Abbey, they also sell at The All Saints Garden Art and Craft Market Cambridge on Saturdays and on Sundays, Spitalfields East London although I think they may be having a months holiday from the latter two locations.

Tonke Campers

A friend and fanatical camper-van admirer sent me a link to this Dutch website, Tonke Campers. These beautiful hand-crafted wooden units have the combined look of classic yachts and gypsy caravans with quality, retro styled interiors.

The functionality of these carriages look fabulous and there seems to be heaps of space in them too. I like the fact you can release the carriage from the vehicle allowing you to set up camp so you are then able to drive off without having to make sure everything inside is secure and put away.

As you would expect, they're not cheap but if holidaying in one rather than owning one is tempting, then there are two Fieldsleepers available for hire.

Unfortunately, the site doesn't have a English version but with the help of Babel Fish and a little linguistic imagination, you can get the gist of what Tonke Campers are all about.

Rust Stickers

Seeing as Simon is soon to be the owner of a smart new bicycle (see post below), I thought he may want to deter envious eyes and keep possible thieving hands at bay with the addition of these ingenious rust stickers.

Humourous ideas man Dominic Wilcox quotes...

*Note. This anti-theft device is not guaranteed to work in any way. However, I have stuck them to my shiny new red bike and can confirm that it hasn't been stolen yet. 13 days of not being stolen in London probably equates to 7 years of non-stealing in the friendly countryside.

Lunar Cycles

I'll soon be taking delivery of a new bicycle - very similar to the one pictured here (though painted in two shades of warm grey).

A chance link from Underworld's excellent site led me to Lunar Cycles, who build beautiful single-speed bicycles, based on vintage steel frames which are stripped of unnecessary lugs, shot-blasted and then painted to order.

A short test ride along some quiet roads close to Hyde Park Corner and I was smitten. There's something incredibly elegant and immediate about a single speed bike - cycling at its simplest.

Lunar Cycles may already have a bike to suit you, or you might opt for a custom build. Find out more at www.lunar-cycles.com

Harrington & Squires

I spent another couple of inspirational days in Tufnell Park last week at Harrington & Squires - the small private press run by graphic designers Vicky Fullick and Chrissie Charlton.

Named after Bob Harrington and Horace Squires - two tutors at Hornsey College of Art in the 1960s - the workshop measures just  288 picas (1.2m wide), and it’s amazing the use that’s been made of the aptly named Corridor.

Splitting their time between commissioned work, regular workshops and their own publishing projects, the work hanging from every vertical surface is inspirational.

I’d visited before and had spent the last few months putting together a basic printing set up, built around an 8” x 5” Adana. Having dabbled with this over the last couple of months there were some ‘holes’ in my knowledge which needed filling. On this visit I managed to produce a new fabric care card for our mail order purchases, and spent a blissful couple of hours printing away - almost in some sort of letterpress induced trance - overlooking a busy Fortress Road.

If you want to find out more about Harrington & Squires it’s worth tracking down a copy of April 2008’s World of Interiors magazines.

Modern British Posters

Last week I finally made it to this excellent exhibition of British posters from the middle part of the 20th century.

The exhibition features work by Edward Wadsworth, Paul Nash, Edward Bawden, Edward McKnight Kauffer, Abram Games and Tom Eckersley amongst others - all from the private collection of Paul and Karen Rennie.

Paul had previously introduced me to many of the artists and designers whose work is exhibited - and the show acts as the perfect introduction to the genre, as Paul Rennie explains:

"The evolution of British graphic design, from 1920, onwards has usually been presented as a footnote to developments in Europe. These posters show a graphic language of range and sophistication emerging in Britain and able to communicate beyond the established rhetoric of advertising and sales."

The exhibition runs until the 17th of May at the Lethaby Gallery, Central Saint Martins, Southampton Row, WC1. You can also view this slideshow of the work being exhibited. Highly recommended.

Detour: Moleskine Exhibitions

I wish my selection of battered and half used Moleskine books were just a tiny bit as exciting at the ones featured at Detour, an exhibition of thirty three personal Moleskine notebooks of artists, writers, designers and illustrators of international acclaim. Sadly mine are just filled with shopping lists and to-do's that slowly get done.

Over the past two years, Detour has been held in London and New York, and this years exhibition is taking place, right now in Paris at Printemps Design Boutique at the Centre Pompidou, until 19th May. The exhibition will move on next to Berlin and in 2009 it will be in Venice, Istanbul, etc...

There is also MyDetour, where notebook submissions are open to anyone . The chosen books are displayed on-line and off-line in Paris. You can view pages from notebooks on Flickr, or you can look at videos of Detour artists notebooks via YouTube. It's quite addictive - and very inspiring.

If you feel motivated to get illustrating, we sell a variety of Moleskine's at St. Jude's Gallery.