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August 31, 2018 - Comments Off on sensei

sensei

se. xxii

wish you were back to school too, chum?

 

SEE
Camden Arts Centre currently has a whopping TWO shows not to be missed (rare to get so much goodness under the same roof in one go) so head down before mid-Sept to catch ‘em. Photographer Peter Fraser’s show Mathematics does an ace job of getting your brain to wander using still images, and kinetic artist Yuko Mohri brings you into her rhythmic Rube Goldberg world using clever mechanical tricks-n-treats.

Hayward is back in full swing now, their second exhibition since the revamp will be the group show Space Shifters, opening late September and with the intention of messing with your perception of space. It features work by Anish Kapoor, Yayoi Kusama and (a personal favourite) Daniel Steegman Mangrané, so you’re guaranteed to get your visual-spatial muscles suitably tripped out. sensei highly hopes it will be better curated than the Lee Bul show, where the work of a talented-beyond-words performance artist felt shrunken down to a blank museum corpse. Sorry, Southbank.

TOUCH

Uber awesome creative director Es Devlin has got her installation ‘Mask’ up in Somerset House until 23rd September, well worth the viz. The South-East London-based stage designer has pulled out her immersive stops for the likes of Ye, Jay-Z, Louis Vuitton, The Weeknd and The Brits. Are the Brits even cool? Dunno, but her film superimposed on sculpture superinvolved in installation bloody is. CHEKKIT.

HEAR
You might think the third floor of Selfridge’s is only home to mens’ ties that each cost more than a month’s rent, but until 6th Sept you’ll find the installation Super Sharp Reloaded squatting there instead. Curated by Tory Turk and co-conceived by Saul Milton, the show is the first instalment of a series of exhibitions called RTRN II JUNGLE, all about looking at the style in the UK garage and Jungle music scenes - in particular the appropriation of Italian luxury labels like Versace, Moschino and D&G.

In other news, Eleven Pond’s 1986 album Bas Relief has been dominating my Spotify, I suggest you melt your ear hairs over the Bedroom Mix of Watching Trees, too.

 

SMELL

Getcho nose OUTTA the sand with the Open City Documentary Festival running over at the ICA from 4-9th September. If you, like me, are always lamenting this image-saturated world we live in, and blaming it for our generation feeling like “we’ve seen it all before”, then perhaps you, like me, will find a glimmer of hope in this fiesta of creative documentaries. They’re (about 70%) sure to throw up something we’ll feel slightly less desensitised to. Plus, I spy John Malkovich.

TASTE
Have been bleeding my eyes dry watching the IG stories from @tastecadets, featuring People Just Do Nothing’s Allan (there = Grindah, here = Seapa), Kieran and Marcus caning round London on Mobikes, working up appetites on Welsh campsites and getting serious sustenance from places like O.ppa in Richmond, where the Korean BBQ looks more legit than Elle Woods’ perm-related cross-examination.

For more DIY BBQ delights I’ve got some recos in from someone actually Korean - she makes kimchi in paddling pools using cabbages in the multiples of 24. Put that in your pipe and ferment it. To find the finest in Central head to Olle in Shaftesbury Ave, but if you’re after London’s top top Korean BBQ offering, head to Jin Go Gae down in New Malden.

@larabaxter

Published by: Lara Baxter in All, Opinion
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August 10, 2018 - Comments Off on sensei

sensei

se. xxi

damn daniel, it august and you ain't even done your spring clean yet

TASTE

Hands up if your weekend brunch hankerings are now starting as early as 4pm on a Monday. Hands up if you just really wished that London would fix up and dedicate an entire weekend to brunch. OK everyone with their hands up can bloody well HIGH FIVE each other because the FIRST EVER BRUNCH FESTIVAL is coming our way on the 1st September. I ain’t sorry.

Also Frank Prisinzano is doing his annual food tour around Italy at the mo and his IG story-hopping between Lake Como and the outskirts of Tuscany is making my gallbladder - which I suspect is of Italian descent somehow - ache with longing. It’s a crying shame but I have a feeling Covent G’s Bancone is gonna sort it all right out. There are clams with seaweed butter on the menu and what that means is I don’t even need to finish this sentence.

SMELL

A paper outlining exactly how much we are cannonballing ourselves and our rapidly changing climate straight into ‘Hothouse Earth’ has had us sweating like Theresa in Brussels. And if for some barbaric reason it hasn’t, Al Gore’s coverage of the Mendocino Fire Complex - now California’s largest wildfire on record with an area measuring LARGER THAN FKING DALLAS - sure will. If you’re now burning with a need for action then check out the Climate Coalition and in particular Speak Up Week, where you can get your MP to sign the cross-party letter backing a zero emissions target by 2050, and also find or organise events near you. Do the right thing, violator.

HEAR

GAIKA is the latest in the “I’m a creative director of everything I touch” series (notable alumni include everyone on your IG feed rn) boasting songwriting, performance art and a recent lookbook collection called ‘Armour in Heaven’ featuring Flohio and Mista Silva as models. He’s also political editor of Dazed, and I’m not sure if this is more of a joke than Dazed having a political editor in the first place. Sneeriness aside, his new album ‘Basic Volume’ isn’t half bad, and his multidisciplinary talents continue to manifest themselves through an interactive musical experience (jargon points thru the roof) at Somerset House, commissioned by Boiler Room and focussing on the irrepressible power of sound system culture - focussing on and coinciding with August Bank Hol’s Notting Hill Carnival, which I hope everyone is putting on their happy hats for!!!

TOUCH

THEEEE ULTIM8 LDN LOLS EXPERIENCE is back, you know what it is sons, itz Secret Cinema A.K.A a secret film (it’s Romeo & Juliet tho everyone knows that by now) in a secret location (I’m smug at where it is so 3 guesses which part of London we’re talking) with sooo many more secrets that you and your crew gonna feel like the human embodiment of Chinese Whispers. Snap up some tix for various dates throughout August. No one ever regrets.

SEE

Considering he was a complete giant in fashion, you probably never realised just how physically little Mr Azzedine Alaïa was. This exhibition at the Design Museum celebrating the late Tunisian designer features photos of him next to towering elastic supermodels that read almost like a series of comedy double acts. Next to these humorous bursts and the spectral dresses floating around in his signature sculptural style, what really breathes life into the show is the ‘Film Room’. Featuring a fashion short starring Linda Evangelista teasing males like it was 1986, and old runway recordings featuring (how could it not) the one who called him ‘Papa’: Naomi Campbell. It’s in these screenings that you get a real sense of “the Alaïa girl”, with all her sensual spontaneity and feminine invincibility. She’s happy-go-lucky but with a deep vamp pout and it works wooooonders.

@larabaxter 

Published by: Lara Baxter in All, Opinion
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July 30, 2018 - Comments Off on Creative Stories From Cannes – The Roundups Roundup

Creative Stories From Cannes – The Roundups Roundup

So, you missed Cannes AND Creative Social’s Cannes round up? Fear not, here’s a write up of Creative Social’s round up.

Creative Social held their 5th annual ‘Creative Stories … from Cannes’ (previously Mini Cannes) on 18th July. Partnering with audio network and The IPA, they brought together a whole host of Cannes speakers to talk about the trends and tips from this year’s festival.

A rather blurry image from Scarlett and Charlotte’s talk

BRAND PURPOSE

First up on the agenda was the role of brand purpose. And buzzwords they most certainly are not. Charlotte Cramer (Strategy Consultant, Co-Founder of CRACK+CIDER, and Author of Be Bad, Do Good) and Scarlett Montenaro (Creative, 18 Feet and Rising, and Co-Founder of CRACK+CIDER) teamed up again for ‘Advertise Like You Give A Damn’ (www.alygad.com), urging the industry to reconsider effectiveness. They argued that effectiveness isn’t effective when it’s largely based on ROI. Return on Investment may sound like a pretty solid measure, but it fails to consider real social impact. Take makeup brands, according to their ROI they’re performing well but where is the consideration of impact on young girls’ confidence? Advertising is not doing enough. The pair called out industry bodies, arguing that they need to set horizons further. Awards for positive impact need to be given on a longer-term basis, not for work based on a short annual cycle.


Jung von Matt AG for Edeka, The Most German Supermarket

Some of the biggest winners at Cannes were purpose-driven – from Edeka’s ‘The Most German Supermarket’ (picked by Charlotte Williams, Director of Content at Cannes Lions) to Carling Black Label’s ‘Soccer Song For Change’ by Ogilvy Cape Town. Both are stellar examples of provocative and impactful work.

The panel touched on some of the issues surrounding brand purpose, with Al Campbell of We Are Social urging brands not to do something with purpose for no reason. Brand purpose has to be, for want of a better word, authentic. Brands like Shell greenwashing just won’t cut it. The rest of the panel were in agreement, with Natalie Graeme (Co-Founder, Uncommon) arguing that brands need to evaluate whether they deserve to exist, and Katrina Dodd (Head of Trends, Contagious) reaffirming that if you’re going to embrace some kind of purpose, it needs to be central to your brand.

AI and Data


Ogilvy Brazil for Forbes

The machines aren’t coming for our jobs just yet. Charlotte Williams led her AI discussion with a pearl of wisdom from Alicia Hatch, CMO of Deliotte Digital – “AI is good at patterns, it’s the job of creatives to connect the dots”. Charlotte called for an end to the paradigm of data vs creativity, urging agencies to recognise that data is not an end but a tool to be utilised. Karen Boswell’s (Head of Innovations at adam&eveDDB and Founder of TwoSpeciesLtd) pick of standout work was Ogilvy’s work for Forbes with Transparency International, an AI-centred campaign raising awareness of corruption.

The panel questioned the future of AI, with Simon Gill (Chief Creative Officer, Isobar) considering the potential for a breakthrough piece of work in VR and AR. He also mentioned the addition of Social & Influencer as a category this year, linking to the largely unexplored territory of virtual influencers (cue audience groans). Katrina closed with a positive note, reminding us that, as with previous technological advances, we’ll find a way to figure things out.

Transparency and Trust

Brands have to show transparency and clarity. What does this actually mean? As Charlotte Williams points out, people trust brands who share their beliefs. This also means brands need to ‘fess up when they mess up. Case in point is that KFC FCK ad. If you’ve been living under a rock this year and haven’t seen it, it’s well worth a look.


Rothco and The Times, JFK Unsilenced

Another stellar campaign was ‘JFK Unsilenced’, winner of the Creative Data Grand Prix. What does this have to do with trust and transparency, you ask? Well, Rothco was tasked with repositioning The Times as a paper that represents many voices. They used existing audio of JFK to recreate a speech he had written which called for America’s leadership to be “guided by the light of learning and reason” and to challenge those who would “confuse rhetoric with reality”. With technology that could now have a huge positive impact on ALS sufferers, The Times’ speech that never happened sits just on the right side of fake news.

Surprise and Delight

Shot on iPhone using Cheetos Vision. Yes, that’s my dog.

Last up, some tips on the work that surprised and delighted the speakers. Jo McCrostie (Head of Creative, Global Radio) champions her medium, noting how “audio is the place you can really afford, as a creative, to be playful”. With that in mind, she picked ‘Break The Taboo’ for Sociedad Argentina de Urologia Buenos Aires by Grey Argentina as a piece that really surprised her. Rectal examinations aren’t often advertised in a non-visual medium, so it’s a great spot if you’re interested in writing for audio and perfecting the ‘twist’ in your script.

Candace Kuss’ (Director of Social Media, H&K Strategies) pick for surprise and delight was Bihor Couture by McCann – a true David and Goliath tale that proves creative work doesn’t need “giant media buy” to be charming an impactful.

Karen Boswell’s pick was “surprising and fun”, reminding the jury not to take themselves too seriously amid all the talk of brand purpose. She chose Cheetos Vision, an AI camera that finds Cheetos snacks in everything it sees. Bonus points for parodying Apple’s ‘Shot on iPhone’.

Panel highlights included ‘Bodyform Blood Normal’ by AMV BBDO (preach!) and Kiwi Shoe Polish’s long copy ad. Ogilvy Chicago’s work, featuring the shoes of greats like Muhammad Ali and Amelia Earheart is a welcome reminder that long copy is not dead. As Katrina points out, our tube journeys would be nothing without all those ads to read (I’m looking at you, Jack Daniels). Long live the written word.

So, there you have it. Brand purpose, AI, data, trust, and some tips for work that will surprise and delight.

Written by @sophielockx 

 

Published by: Holly in Events, Opinion, Reviews
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July 5, 2018 - Comments Off on sensei

sensei

se. xx

#garethsouthgatewould patiently read this whole post and promptly go about ticking off every item on it. so be like gareth and you'll win the world cup too, guys

 

TOUCH

Raf Simons set up a permanent camp in my admiring heart not just via the anemic pastels and shoulder pads with albatross-sized wingspans in his Fall 2018 show back in February, nor through his “dad shoe” (heavy Audi edition) collab with Adidas, and NOT EVEN with CK 205W39NYC’s latest collection taking preppy to the next level with all its shameless Ivy League branding. It was, in fact, in his appearance the film Dior and I. Spoiler alert: he cries, I cried. The documentary followed the designer’s first collection as creative director at the major French label we all know and love, founded by one serious Anglophile. Anyway, this emotional journey of me and Raf is all but a precursor to the V&A’s announcement that they will host the largest Christian Dior exhibition IN HISTORY next year. So we’ve got a long time to gnaw on our nails in anticipation - tickets will be available in September. Make sure you bag ‘em.


SMELL

The summer vibes are falling on us heavy like a plague of flying ants. Oh wait that’s not even a simile that’s ACTUALLY HAPPENING IN ZONE 1 RN. Ignore the sensation of bugs on your face with another scent o’ summer which is everyone’s favourite kitschy 70s apéritif - NO, not YOU, Aperol, we’ve had more than enough of you - Campari!!! Get a sensible dose of Red Passion at this new exhibition of the Italian bevvy’s classik advertising posters dating from the 1920s all the way through to hippie-era 60s. Down it, fresha.


HEAR
BBC Radio 4’s Reith Lectures for 2018 have begun, kicking off with historian Margaret MacMillan exploring humanity’s twisted and complicated relationship with war. If you’re not the type to listen live on ‘the wireless’ then download the talks instead. Makes for more educational listening than jamming to Juice Wrld on the Victoria line AGAIN, with all his cheap samples and melodic rap A.K.A. everything people will tell you is wrong with hip hop today. But give yourself ten mins anyway to enjoy the vid for it by Cole Bennett, the animator famous for backing lo-fi Soundcloud traxsters, like Natalie or Black Papa. If you’re the type who likes <500 plays on your music then you about to cream, son. And if you’re not careful you gonna end up with Famous Dex. Music wormholes ftw.

TASTE

Mortadella parties!!! Who knew entire soirées could be devoted to the pale pink foodstuffs that kinda looks like salmonella on a stick but other people have said it’s edible sooooo away you munch! (gotta love social norms, right?) Bright Restaurant, the new very well-received opening up in London Fields, is gonna be kicking back this Sunday with Federico Orsi for some meaty plundering on his Romagnola pigs that are fed on barley, fava and wild herbs. Meat taste guuuuud.

 

SEE

Clips from the K hole? On second thoughts, no thx, but if you want to get pretty damn close check out the selection of moving image works by artists from visual arts society The London Group in a series entitled ‘Altered States’. Someone cue Ron Trent. If you missed it during the Waterloo Festival that just passed then no fear, because you can catch up on the action on their Vimeo.

 

@larabaxter 

Published by: Lara Baxter in All, Opinion
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June 20, 2018 - Comments Off on sensei

sensei

se. xix

tired? you can't be Crashing as hard as Lee Bul at the Hayward Gallery though, get down to the immersive fancies there to prove me wrong

SEE
A big floating thing has appeared on the water outside the Serpentine Gallery. It’s a new piece from Christo A.K.A one half of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, up there with the Coolest Couples Of All Time and famed for their monumental outdoor art. 20 metres tall and weighing in at 600 metric tonnes, this 3D trapezium of scaffolding-esque piping barrels is already sending LDN into a spin, exhibit A being the Serpentine swimmers who are complaining that the sculpture’s shadow has left them ‘doing lengths in the gloom’. Yeah, that’s what you get from the type of people who exercise in Kensington. Go down to Hyde Park ends to (a) see the sculpture (b) hopefully feel at total peace and (c) throw eggs at said swimmers.

TASTE

Booma Booma Booma Booma, I want you in my rooma. Yes, cheap Vengaboys fun always go down a treat. Knew you’d like that one. This Brixton establishment pairs modern Indian füds with ⅓ pints of craft beer, ooh whee we are smiling WIDE. In other newz, Night Tales is back, and it’s biting hard. Their new, permanent venue will open in July on Hackney’s Bohemia Place, and I got exhausted just reading about all its new features/bars/restaurants/DJs. Watch this space for empty house beats, people drenching their souls with prosecco, fusion food parading as something original and a general stifling air of pretension. I genuinely can’t wait.

TOUCH

Around this time last year, supercomputer AI extraordinaire IBM Watson learnt what it meant for a sporting moment to be “worthwhile” just from being fed past data, and then managed to create a Wimbledon highlights video all on its ownsome. Nice one. But just touch wood the machines aren’t taking over soon, because this year, they’re learning to answer back. Watson just took part in a debate club in San Francisco, and was not too shabby at all. General consensus was that the delivery was shit (think they just need to reprogram the voice to sound like ) but the content had a lot more  So you can stop abusing Siri now, her - his? are machines gender fluid or neutral? - comebacks are gonna beat yours to a pulp. Probably already are tbh.

 

HEAR

So I guess 2k18 is the year of the 23-minute album. Nas’ new wun NASIR, Pusha T’s DAYTONA, Kanye’s infamous ye and collab with Cudi on KIDS SEE GHOSTS, The Carters’ (pushing it at 38 minutes) Everything is Love. We're drowning in the half-hour hip hop. And the general opinion - spread wider than butter on a Turkish carpet - of the eternally snarky public is that these releases all, comically, somehow happen to be each artist’s most mediocre work, EVER. They’re all so average, so wildly average that you can’t help but wonder whether maybe they’re all in cahoots. Maybe they’ve all purposefully made TV-show-length work to try and tell us that no art was made in a 30-minute episode. Or maybe they’ve had enough of being these borderline musical genii and are taking a stand to show that they’re people too, and they’re allowed to make 5/10 average shit. Or maybe, we all just need to sit back and relax a bit, because not every rhyme needs to go where no rhyme has gone before, and you should be allowed to sing about certain themes but forget to mention key refs, and this loop is allowed to be as catchy as Taylor Swift, and yes, you CAN re-use samples from 7 years ago. I think we all know what happens when we get too angsty about giving a good performance, and if you’ve somehow forgotten then England playing in the World Cup is here to remind you. So consider the Era of Fucking Average royally christened, which is not quite a Dark Age of lyricism but definitely somewhere in the Dull Taupe region.

SMELL

Croissants? Croisette? Are you frolicking in Cannes, or just with a can of La Croix in your PJs at home, watching Sasha Lane’s IG stories, eating Richmond chicken sausages and begging someone to come over to help nurse your hangover? In that case make sure you keep UTD (an abbreviation I’ll leave you to work out) with watagwan at this year’s Lions festival, as well as watching everyone on the YDA shortlist and Saatchi & Saatchi’s New Director’s Showcase. But start off with this interview with Sir John Hegs that does that unusual thing that only the advertising industry seems to do, which is continuously talk about how everything needs to change, but shows no significant shifts in any direction… the baton is yours, friends. Take that mother and beat the shit out of advertising.

 

@larabaxter

Published by: Lara Baxter in All, Opinion
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May 16, 2018 - Comments Off on sensei

sensei

se. xviii

feeling rubbish about your creative output? can't be as bad as that abysmal DC ad written for millennials by old white men, right? refresh your memory and not your palate with how NOT to live your life here

 

HEAR

Definitely not the Arctic Monkeys’ new album. That’s harsh, I haven’t listened to it, I’m making a snap judgement because I’m a bitter millennial and don’t think life is ever going to get any better than it did in Any Suburban Park in Summer 09, or perhaps cranked off our collective nut on a sofa in second year. And if anyone even begins to start uttering the sound “Child-” you know EXACTLY what’s coming music-wise (and good on you, because it’s a tune to end many tunes and a video that’s even better, we heart you Hiro our hero). So in that case, give your ear-hairs a groom with the Iranian-Dutch beats of Sevdaliza. If you’re liking her new release Humana then make sure you hark back to her 2017 album Ison. And if you need a quick dose of whatever it is that gets you through the day then your toenails will crumble during the very first bars of this RIPPER by John Tejada, and then you can watch the master at werk during his live set at the LA Mixmag Lab. It’ll keep your week happy, trus meh.

TOUCH

Touch an actual object and not just a glaring screen that warns of our slow decline into losing use of our fingertips' nerve endings because we haven’t needed to be tactile in years. OK maybe ahead of myself there but issuez gotta be raised, right? South London Gallery is hosting a LGBTQIA book fair which will no doubt be a trove of independently published queer fiction, political writing and critical insights, and actual printed matter to have and to HOLD. Workshops and talks to go with em too, so head down on the 25th and 26th May, at least just to appreciate the title with its echoes of Zoe Leonard’s beautiful 1992 artwork for David Wojnarowicz.

 

SEE

Curzon Cinemas are doing a Nick Cave film series because, well why the shit not, he touches people in a way a crummy indie arthouse film cannot. They kick it off on the 22nd May with the 1987 Wim Wenders film Wings of Desire, and it only gets more crooning from there. Grab tix before he grabs u.

SMELL

That fresh layer of paint, yuh. The Royal Academy re-opens on the 19th May (totally fine if you didn’t even realise it was shut) to celebrate its 250th birthday the only way a gallery knows how: with a fuckload of art stuffs. So head down 19th/20th for some drop-in printmaking workshops, spoken word performances and communal flag-flying. Yes. And to keep your bellies full as well as your left brains, there’ll be street food and cocktail bars all weekend, like The Ginistry and Mother Clucker. Peckham-based creative collective BORN N BREAD will be throwing an after party (a demure 10pm finish ofc) with DJs, live performances and immersive installations (obviously).

 

TASTE

I say Danish, you say… hygge? The crusty yogs in Christiania? Organic open rye sandwiches? Blatant and unapologetic clichés? Mais oui. Feed your baitness at modern Danish restaurant Snaps + Rye with some finely flavoured arctic char, pickled fennel, trout paté and, OMG, buttermilk panna cotta. PS GUESS WHAT it’s in West London. Golborne Road, u hav my back and my backing.

And if it’s somehow possible to drink rosé unironically, here’s the place to do it: their 2015 French bottle is a smooth treat. Oooh, I sounded borderline connoisseur there.

I know you don’t need telling I’m not.

@larabaxter

Published by: Lara Baxter in Opinion
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April 25, 2018 - Comments Off on sensei

sensei

se. xvii

we had a brief and flirtatious summer weekend just there, but it's over now, and you know what that means? it's time to start drafting your ideas for PARODY CHRISTMAS CAMPAIGNS (obviously) because, as in AdLandLife, these will take 6+ months to perfect (using the word 'perfect' liberally)

 

SEE

Do those eye bogies need scratching? No fear. Thomas Mailaender exhibits his contemporary photography at Michael Hoppen Gallery - he was taken on by Louis Vuitton a while back and he developed the ONLY existing method of printing leather within the fabric, as opposed to simply on the surface. Dat’s some deep dye. His “fun archaeological” objects are on display too; they read like physical meme humour and will genuinely make you lol a lil. Also not to be missed are rounds of Peckham’s current shows - Alastair Levy at Lily Brooke, ‘Instant Excess’ at Rod Barton, Magali Reus at SLG and Caterina Silva at Bosse & Baum.

Caterina Silva.

Thomas Mailaender.

 

TOUCH

The glittery giant otherwise known as awards season is almost upon us, and things are kicking off this week with D&AD, whose famed pencils always find their way to work that’s both killer creative and slightly off the big-brand beaten track. With the first wave of winners announced on Monday and more on the way this week in tandem with the festival, there’s going to be plenty of creative brain candy for you to induce indigestion with. And if you didn’t manage to get your grubby hands on tickets (or a pencil), the coverage will come in thick and fast on social media, and make sure you check back to their site regularly to get some award-winning inspo. Studio Hato’s ace identity for this year is also worth a cobbles.


HEAR

From the 2015 album ‘Theory of Flo’, Auntie Flo proves that although 3 years in music is tantamount to a lifetime in genre evolution, there is such thing as a timeless classic these days, and no better example than this banger with Anbuley. If you’re rendered speechless by those beats as well as the dystopian stylings of Chloé, bag yourself un billet to Printworks this Saturday for a line-up that rivals the South-East London establishment’s light system in terms of blinding. DJ Koze will be spinning tracks from his upcoming LP ‘Knock Knock’ which, if the first release from it is anything to go by, you’re gonna have a stamping good night.

 

 

TASTE

Since somehow managing to exhaust all the food options at Pop Brixton, Flat Iron Square, Dinerama and (easily enough) The Prince, and now being in dire need of that sweet heaven of washing down hot, fresh munch with overpriced draught beer, nirvana has been found in the sprawling Elephant & Castle space Mercato Metropolitano. They do miso ramen, sourdough pizzas and steak & chorizo on sweet potato fries that will catapult your eyes to the size of NEPTUNE. If only yalls’ stomachs were that big. Also just opened is Mare Street Market up in ol’ Hackers, but good luck finding a seat among the “creative industry clones” and adorbz dogs that are only ever held in the crooks of arms.

 

SMELL

Fashion reeks of guilt. Guilt of encouraging twisted beauty ideals, guilt of nurturing unhealthy, stressful and ostracising work cultures, and - perhaps one of the most recent revelations - guilt of destroying the planet through questionable production processes and widespread child labour. Then what better way to address this through a blunt, exhaustive and informative exhibition at the V&A? Atta girl, fashion.

 

@larabaxter

Published by: Lara Baxter in All, Opinion
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April 19, 2018 - Comments Off on Stacey Dennis: Champion Northern Creatives: Part 4

Stacey Dennis: Champion Northern Creatives: Part 4

Best known for her cheeky cards, Leeds born, Stacey Dennis provides us with her hugely inspirational story of her creative start-up and now award-winning business Love Layla. We talk about how she quite literally used her 'skills to pay the bills' and turned 30 quid into a million and why carving out your own path might lead to even bigger and better things.

Excited to introduce the fabulous Stacey Dennis!
Let's get right to it, what University did you got to and to do what?
Leeds Art College & Leeds Met University, studying Design

After finishing formal education what did you do next?
Shortly after graduating, I began my first role within Graphic Design at a Musical
Instrument company based in Leeds. My job was to edit photographs of instruments
and design layouts for the in-house magazine.

How has your career path been shaped over the years?
Amongst various Graphic Design jobs, they were mainly all office based positions. I did break off after a redundancy to travel Australia. This led me to various job roles while backpacking around, but then I landed a position in Sydney working at a Design & Print shop - this was really where I came into more print production, understanding colour process and more technical design.

It was a local business and I became close to the owner who guided me through 9 months of training and development within my skills. Still working as a junior, my Manager was an amazing Illustrator and taught me how to really control design skills throughout the Adobe suite software. On my return to the UK, with my now Australian Husband, I then landed a Managerial position within a similar type of business back in Leeds.

Wow, what a journey!
What have been some of your most difficult obstacles in the workplace?

I think the most difficult obstacles within my career are being a Director of Love Layla. While I still love my job as a Designer, running a business involves job roles that I have zero interest in - such as Accounts. It takes me a long time to understand the sums!

Thankfully, I am super organised so can handle the workload but understanding and throwing yourself into duties that you really have no idea (or interest!) about...

What has been your favourite project to work on?
My favourite projects have always been logo design - throughout my career and having various tasks, I still and always will love designing logos! Simply because they are the “emblem” of someone’s business - there’s a lot riding on that. It’s the pressure I love then...

I did feel really proud and loved designing a sign for our offices -the sign is huge and I have never had to design a sign for myself, that was special.

Starting out, how did you create opportunities for yourself?
I always tried to put myself into everything - I always kept up with trends and found my own style. I was fortunate to gain experience within both print and design - this gave me a better understanding of a finished product when I was designing to send to print.

You have a very family orientated brand and business, who would you thank for helping get where you are?
It's true! The biggest input to my career started with my parents - they would drive me crazy places for crazy equipment/tools/materials to create my designs while at Uni. After them, I would say my boss from my job in Sydney. I was only supposed to be a temp for 3 weeks - 9 months later, I left the country and the job along with the support and advice of a professional who had grown her business from scratch.

So, from Leeds to Sydney to Leeds again, what was it that made you create Love Layla?
Love Layla came about because I was made redundant (again) as I left for maternity leave to have my baby, Layla. I was working as a freelance designer when my husband had a back injury. We were left with £30 and a one year old so I used my skills to pay the bills!

I designed 11 cards for Valentine’s Day and pushed them through Social Media. 3 years later, we stand in a warehouse with 4 members of staff (who are all family) with my husband, Jay, also as a Director. Layla is now 4 years old and we have a huge social media following generating repeat and new custom.

  

Amazing! What would you say has been your biggest achievement to date?
While not to sound too cocksure, my biggest achievement is managing Motherhood and building a successful business turning over £1million in our first year of trading. That was a big year and a proud achievement.

Absolutely, that's incredible. Why do you think the North of England is so special?
Yorkshire Puddings - My Dad is the king of them!

I was born and bred in Leeds and I love being in the North because it’s home! With great cities, we have lots to offer - chips and gravy for one!

What is great about Northern creatives?
There are lots of opportunities worldwide for Creatives, but sometimes they aren’t plausible or practical - so Northern Creatives are able to reach out to the North to assure you that you don’t need to be in the capital to have good ideas - nor do you need to have the skyline backdrop for inspiration.

If you have the eye, determination and drive, it will take you where you want to be.

What does the future hold for 2018?
Continue building our business, generate more designs and products to add to our collection and in general, keep enjoying my work and designing.

What advice would you give to anyone entering the creative industry?
Keep going, it’s not easy. I do find sometimes what looks great to you, isn’t always to someone else - but stick with your gut. Believe in what you do and keep practicing. I have gained a lot of skills through watching and practising video tutorials since I left University and through running my business.

Always think outside of the box, sorry for being cliché - It’s not my usual style, but always look for the not so obvious things in life, they might just lead you to a good thing.

One final thing, who is Twat Cat?
(Laughing) That's our cat and he is Twat Cat.

--

Got a birthday, anniversary, wedding to go to? You know where you're going now.
Discover more of our amazing Champion Northern Creatives here.

Published by: Adele in Ad-vice, Opinion, Outside Of London
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April 10, 2018 - Comments Off on sensei

sensei

se. xvi

if you squat and squint real well, you'll see that 'puma' is an anagram of 'faux pas', either that or that's the name of their next line of creps that with 78% likelihood will not sell out

SEE

In total effing awe of this emoji art page - damn these yung kids got skills. There’s not much on this earth that will make you as happy as seeing Kendrick’s cheek made of cookies and Eric Andre’s hair recreated with motorbikes and spiders. For more visual animated wonders available OFF the sociomediosphere and in the big L-D-N instead, check out Frances Stark over at the ICA and a screening of her interpretation of Mozart’s famous opera ‘The Magic Flute’. The behind-the-scenes vid of her work makes for worthwhile watching as she explains how obscure art doesn’t alllllways have to be poncey and inaccessible. (But it sure does help).

TOUCH

MORE THRIFT MAKES THE HEART GROW SCHWIFTY. Poplar Union is starting a monthly sewing class and in the process discards all that ‘make-do-and-mend’ preconceptions you had about the needle-and-thread, and shows you that new skills taste just as good as new clothes. Ones you’ve made yourself, obviously, not sold your soul to the high street (and their questionable exploits) for.

 

HEAR

The sweet sound of drums’n’laughter that you’ve been direly missing since all that endless Easter joy came to an abrupt halt last Tuesday. Hideaway in Streatham not only puts on live jazz, soul and funk nights - laying the aural nectar on so thick they could sell it as manuka - they host comedy nights on Fridays too. Getcho giggle on, forget it’s Friday 13th, shed the week’s sorrows, all that jazz. Literally, jazz. Monday nights sees a jazz workshop and jam session for all abilities, so you with the deaf tones can finally make it to deftones (the Def Jam version).

SMELL

Dance but NOT as you’ve known it before. Which is quite possibly you stepping on your own toes feeling like the physical embodiment of awkwardness, being squashed against a club wall wet with the condensation of fifty gurning 19-year-olds, and not being able to get the stink of said late teenagers out of your nostrils. Check out IDENTITY at Shoreditch Town Hall from the 12th - 14th April; contemporary artists will be exploring identity through voguing, hip hop, krump and generally shaking thangs that should be shook.

TASTE

Ever get caught in that weird conveyor belt-esque hole of Facebook videos that are a satisfying medley of relatable meme lols, the best moments from The Thick of It and unending #FOOD? Well you and me both, brother, we’re like pole and line tuna - reeled in af. Anyway I was doing this recently and somehow through the glaze of “I’ve now watched 25 minutes of disembodied hands prepare meals so swiftly it’s superhuman” that had crystallised over my eyeballs, I paid attention to someone telling me what to order at a Korean BBQ. So, naturally, Korean BBQ has now permeated my every waking thought. Which means I bring you GOGI in Edgware Road (WEST!!!), Asadal in Holborn and Dotori in Finsbury Park. Thx FB, for once.

@larabaxter 

Published by: Lara Baxter in All, Opinion
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March 26, 2018 - Comments Off on sensei

sensei

se. xv

bunny says as bunny does. make sure you don’t confuse your e’s and w’s by making this a Waster weekend, and check out how to keep yourself busy in london with these gems

 

TASTE

Wines curated by the Noble Rot (nobrot, lol) gang, a “lightly seasoned” whole turbot that has instantly become the only thing I can think about and rhuuuuuubarb. Rhubarb is so lit rhubarb needs to have its own Drag Race. This is all from Brat, a new Welsh/Basque mash-up opening on Redchurch Street, with a website that’ll make independent design studios wet their pants and a refreshingly straightforward menu that redefines the entire genre of minimalism. Sort of.

 

SEE

The long weekend means one thing. It means there’s more time to put off going to see exhibitions you’d been meaning to see but was so wrapped up in telling people how much you’d been meaning to see them that you forgot to actually do it. So this fin de semana, fight back against your procrastinatory self who would always choose another pint over leaving the house at 10am to catch some of dat sweet A.R.T. relief and check out expressive paintings from Rose Wylie’s late hubby Roy Oxlade, visceral grime from Pakui Hardware, nocturnal woodcuts from Tom Hammick and a big fat new show from Saatchi Gallery called Known Unknowns.

Roy Oxlade @ Alison Jacques Gallery

Pakui Hardware @ Tenderpixel

 

HEAR
Kkkkk this one’s not in London, fine, you caught me, I secretly believe there is life outside the M25, so what. You xenophobe. Unfortunately, I’m not 100% convinced Palmbomen II’s new alby ‘Memories of Cindy’ matches up to the Dutch wreckhead’s excellent eponymous album, released back in 2015 on Tim Sweeney’s Beats in Space label, but fuk it. I’m young, dumb and ready for some Palmbo-mun. And from your enthused reaction to my poor rhymes, I can tell you are too. ‘Av a trip down to Bristol on 7th April for a pounding live show by the friendly Dutchman, followed by more sonic spasms by electronic duo The Golden Filter.

SMELL

Smells like you, but better. Like your veins upgraded to fibre optic broadband or your name now rhymes with orange. London is lucky to host General Assembly - an organisation that runs short technology courses and workshops on things you know you should really know about, like UI/UX design, data science and Python. Sign up today and get HD ready.

 

TOUCH

You’ve already forgotten about all those art shows I told you to see, haven’t you. I know you too well, sensei pumpkin. Talking of pumpkins, the Turner Prize nominee Anthea Hamilton has teamed up with Jonathan Anderson of Loewe - the home of the sexily-cut handbag - to create a bunch of vegetable-inspired costumes. Yes, really. The commission is called 'The Squash'. The nutritional outfits are proudly worn by performers who will skulk around the area of Tate Britain that’s been transformed into an asylum-esque, white tiled space halfway between Ex Machina and that episode of the Simpsons where Homer falls into 3D-land. I'm getting hungry for aubergine parmigiana just thinking about it.

@larabaxter

Published by: Lara Baxter in Events, Opinion
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