Hurray. I've updated my website to show off some of the super duper exciting work I've been getting up to this past few months. Take a stroll around and hopefully enjoy yourself.
Also, I wanted an excuse to share this seagull pic taken by my good self in sunny Broadstairs last summer. He looks friendly doesn't he?
I've worked with my dear pals at Creative Trust to produce these marvellous handcrafted recyclable giftbox clocks for Red Bull this festive season. These clocks are sent out to all Red Bull's most valued customers who will get a clock as well as some cans of the energetic beverage itself which are sneakily tucked inside the clock as a little extra little treat. Afterall, it is the thought that counts.
Trying to find some fun party music for my good pal Granny's bday and all I can muster up are glorious 90s anthemic pop hits like this one. Let's hope he doesn't mind a night of powerful female vocalists (and a bit of Artful Dodger thrown in for good measure).
This is a thing of beauty. Almost good enough to eat (I say almost because it kinda looks like it might be made out of plasticine. For this we have the merry-go-round of magical colour that is Fred Butler to thank.
So Christmas is a-comin' and there's nothing a'nicer than doing a bit of shop shop shopin'. When it comes to gifts, the more personal the better I'm sure you'll agree.
This year I've ordered some beautiful hand-made initial lamps for my little nieces and nephew. I've picked their fave colours and I'm already picturing them placed by their beds to add a bit of cool timeless fun to their bedrooms.
The lamps are made my amazing pals and work partners at Creative Trust and will be available to buy online in the very near future so you can all get them for your loved ones too. Hurrah.
Obviously if my little nieces and teeny tiny nephew are reading this then I'm sorry I've given the Christmas pressie game away and also I'm very impressed by your internet skillz ;-)
It's nice when kids are actually funny, cute and a bit weird in films rather than those gross, over-keen cheesy ones who have been preened and pushed by their parents and look far too perfect. Know what I mean? Hmmm....
So anyway... I just wanted share what is, in my opinion, one of The Wedding Singer's finest moments.
P.S Billy Idol hasn't aged much at all. Wonder what his secret is.
Just watched The Wedding Singer - definitely one of my fave films as far as rom-coms are concerned. Was pleasantly reminded that one of the best pop songs ever is in this film as well as being in one of my other fave ever movies 500 Days of Summer. Nice when that happens isn't it?
I can live without the song (it just remind me of being in the gym) but I LOVE this video. It has everything in it that all girls of all ages love... all that's missing is mountains of garish pink candyfloss. Beyonce is the master of girlish cool.
Here's a little end of project film for another tour I've recently completed but this one was in the cosy confines of a bunch of lovely Ted Baker stores across the country for their in-store event entitled...ahem... It's Rutting Season (which indeed it was at the time).
Incase you didn't know, during the Autumn months all the magical, magnificent stags and does around the world get their freak on and start going rutt crazy. The guys are all desperate to impress a lady so she'll let him take her home and show off his 'moves' (hopefully minus any music courtesy of Simply Red).
With this in mind, I worked with the skill-tastic dudes at the Guided Collective to help create what can only be described as a human take on the rutting season.
In a number of stores across the UK, customers were invited to try on frocks or dapper suits (if they wanted) throw on the beautiful hand-crafted doe and stag masks made by the hugely talented chaps at Creative Trust and strike a pose.
Said poses were then snapped by some of the UK's top fashion bloggers (including the super-cool Mademoiselle Robot with all images being posted to a specially created app on Ted's Facebook page. As you may have guessed, the most popular guy and gal (or rather, doe and stag) were decided upon by the thoroughly modern decision making process which is 'how many LIKES did you get' on Facebook.
I'm probably going a bit overboard with the description given that there's a film for you to watch above this so apologies for the boring patter.
If you fancy snooping at a few of the ruttee's you can check them out HERE.
Sorry these are all in a slightly jumbled up order but here's the penultimate wall for the Converse One Wall project in the bustling Italian city of Naples. We worked with the mysterious (and as you can see in the film, faceless) street artist Hitnes who added yet another totally fresh and inspiring style and method to the project. Overall, we (the Charly Inc. team) are really proud of the work that has made up this project as it's ended up being a real rainbow of different talents, styles, backdrops and personalities resulting in what I like to think is a more unique take on street art and brands collaborating. Thanks massively to the awesome dudes at Perfect Fools who are the creative forces behind this and the on-site humour for each leg of the tour.
Sorry for the delay in posting this image but here's the final masterpiece by none other than the sweet and the lovely Miss Faunagraphic. Video of her excellence and the amazing family who helped out to follow in the very near future.
I'm sad to say Manchester was the last leg of the Converse One Wall tour but fingers crossed there will be lots more exciting work to follow and I'm sure Converse will keep on pushing and supporting inspiring young talent just like Faunagraphic.
Also, fresh off the press this nice little piece on the project and the revamp of the Northern Quarter in general from the cool dudes at Don't Panic.
Oh and this and many more beautiful photos by the charmer that is Mr Ric Lowe.
A work in progress shot of the epic wall the very sweet Miss Faunagraphic is beautifully decorating for us on Newton Street in the Northern Quarter of Manchester. Sadly this is the final leg of the One Wall tour I've been working on as part of the Charly Inc family (alongside Perfect Fools).
Final pics to follow but already I hope you agree that this is one magnificent blue tit.
I watched a rather dull film called Beginners the other day (well I watched half then got bored). It stars Ewan McGregor, some other actors and an amazing small terrier. If it wasn't for the small terrier the film would be about a hundred times duller. Anyway, boredom aside the thing that I found most uncomfortable about the film was Ewan McGregor's cringeworthy attempt at an American accent. It was as though he wasn't even trying - honestly it was 70% his normal Scottish accent with the odd word said in a clunky 'Brit impersonating a Yank' kind of way. I'm not disputing it's probably a very tricky thing to perfect an accent that is not your own but let's be honest, he's up there as one of the most successful actors of his time from the UK so surely it comes with the territory that he should be at the very least mildly respectable at this stuff. A kid playing Danny from Grease in his school play could have done a better job. Obviously I blame the director too. Either he should have resigned himself to the fact his accent was terrible and have the character be a Scot or replaced him with an errrrmmm American actor. Pah.
Enough Ewan bashing but it did get me thinking about the amount of shockingly bad accents there are on the big screen. I find it rather annoying because they get paid a gazillion dollars to do their job and surely versatility of this sort is a pretty big part of the job. It's a bit like being a taxi driver but only knowing one neighbourhood in the town where you work.
I'm yet to succumb to the rom-com mush that is One Day but I'm informed that Anna Hathaway is up there next to Ewan on the 'Jesus that's a shitty accent' list.
On the other side of the coin, as annoying as she seems in life and on-screen (most of the time) Kate Winstel wins my 'Most convincing American accent' award. Wow I bet she's really proud of herself now she's won this title.
... and buy ourselves a drink (and some sweets). I LOVE THIS. Why they don't still have this playing at cinemas is beyond my tiny brain's comprehension- if anything is going to make me waste my hard earned pennies on sweets and fizzy pop it's this infectious song accompanied by merry edible dancers.
Part three of our European tour with Converse. This is the masterpiece of renowned artist Eltono - who's know on the street art scene as Otone. We found this awesome wall at the infamous, ginormous club Razzmatazz and the club were more than happy for us to add a splash of much loved colour.
On the subject of beautiful street art this glorious piece has been created on the streets of Paris in memory of my (and so many others) dear friend Mehdi who tragically left this land for other better places in the sky last week. He was taken far too soon and was a man of laughter, love, creativity and positivity amongst hundreds of other things which I'm sure I don't need to list here and now. I hope wherever he is he's happy and listening to some seriously good hip-hop circa 1990s. We all love you Mehdi and you'll never be forgotten. Oh and to quote one your favourites: 'Yada Yada Yada'. xxxx
Part two of the wonderful art project I'm working on with Charly Inc, Perfect Fools and Converse throughout Europe. This is Lyon and features the beautiful work of Steven Burke. Next stop Barcelona and a very very exciting talent that I think you're going to like.
Another exciting project I've been working my ankle socks off on - this time for the awesome shoe company Converse. This is part of a campaign called Many Walls whereby we work with artists local to each city and find some truly unique spaces for them to share their creative talents. This artwork was the handy work of the charming and humble Jango Jim who we all pretty much fell in love with. Next up is the uber talent from France Steven Burke whose very cool work will be shared with the world over the next few days.
I'm working with my wonderful pals at Odd London on some 'Firsts' related stuff for the beautiful, shabby British campaign for Doctor Martens.
Above is a rather mesmerising little film from Aggy (I think that's what they call her) on what 'firsts' means to her. Yes, it's all about the boys. Typical.
Anyway I'm working on some very exciting stuff that I can't spill the beans on yet but it's more stuff that celebrates the sense of first times and how brilliant they are. Ooh.
Stay tuned.
Topshop do it again. I find it almost quite annoying that Topshop manage to jump on everything that's massively hip before anyone else gets a look in. Wah nails, Instagram photo booths and now the Pop Bakery.
But I suppose I should just be happy that big humongous companies are embracing creative people big and small.
I have actually never eaten a Pop Bakery delight and if I'm honest I don't think they look very filling nor satisfying (they're VERY small - how can that compare to a huge brownie from Albion Cafe?). They do however look very very beautiful and I'm all for aesthetics so I'm glad they've taken off in such a huge way (they even sell a version in Starbucks now).
Topshop have their very own uber cute Pop Bakery in store which looks as cool and girly as I would expect.
Gold star to Topshop. All other high street fashion stores - must try harder.
This is a masterpiece of a poster by the legendary rock illustrator Ken Taylor.
I'm pretty disappointed I didn't get my grubby mitts on one of these but only 175 were put out on sale and sold out immediately. Bah humbug. On the upside there's plenty more amazing work where that came from and perhaps I'd end up having nightmares if I looked at that every night before bedtime. Check out more of his beautiful work here.
This is Rupert the cat. He lives in the house behind mine and likes to sit on the wall outside our kitchen window meowing until he's let into the house.
He is very cute whilst also being aloof and moody like any good cat should be.
I am under no illusion about that fact that our relationship is mainly based around food - especially given that he likes to bite if you try and pick him up for more two seconds. Physical contact is not part of the deal.
Anyway, I like this 'meow action' shot and that's the only reason it's on here.
p.s. I named him Rupert as I don't his real name - probably Tiddles or something. I have also been informed Rupert is in fact a lady feline but I still think she's a he so I'm sticking with Rupert.
Got handed this the other day whilst merrily walking over London bridge on a beautiful sunny day. Not only are they offering out free hairdos but they're sellotaping Haribo Maoams to the leaflets so there's no possible way you could decline (the leaflet that is, not the free haircut). Maybe it's my gloomy cynicism but all this free stuff doesn't fill me with hope that this is likely to be the haircut to top all haircuts. And believe me I've had some pretty 'special' haircuts in my time so I know what I'm talking about....
This is by far and away my favourite music video of the last twelve months if not all time (still have a soft spot for the Paula Abdul and Cat video of my youth). This magnificent creation comes from the truly magical directorial hand of my good pal Aoife Mcardle. Last week she won Best Music video at the Rushes Soho Awards and never was there a more deserving winner. Song's not bad either ;-)
Tuesday 2 August 2011
This is a delightful image and I would be very happy to call this my home. Failing that it's on my list of 'places to visit' if and when I go on an erm... summer holiday to Germany (not that I have anything particularly against Germany, it's just not top of the list for me)
The upside down house called “The World Stands on its Head” was built as a tourist attraction in Trassenheide, a German town on the Baltic Sea island of Usedom.
The Polish born German business man who had it built wanted it to be an “experiment for the senses.” The Cape Cod-style house had to be built with a steel frame because of the tremendous weight on the section of the roof poking into the ground. The 120 meter square home has to be accessed through the attic. About the only thing the right side up is the stairs because the visitors need to go up them to get to the “ground” floor.
Selfridges has opened up the roof of its Oxford Street building in celebration of the UK launch of Truvia, the calorie-free sweetener made with the best-tasting part of the stevia leaf. Created by Bompas & Parr, the Truvia Voyage of Discovery installation invites visitors to row across an emerald green, stevia plant-bordered boating lake whilst enjoying panoramic views of the capital. Guests are invited to drink from the creative menu of Truvia-infused cocktails which are specially concocted by The Experimental Cocktail Club’s waiters and served from both the island and boat-up bars. A tropical soundscape written by composer Dom James, also provides the perfect background to the adventure, inspired by the South American origins of the stevia plant.
My last experience of the culinary mad scientists was a chocolate waterfall you walked through and then got to bottle up some of the chocolate to take home with you. Massively Willy Wonka in everything they do but what could possibly be wrong with that? Nothing, I say, although adding more marshmallow based ideas into the equation would be no bad thing.
This is a trailer for my most recent project which was the second collaboration between Stella Artois Black and Punchdrunk theatre group. This was the creation of a wonderful team at Mother London and I'm very proud of the final outcome which was a seven scene story that took place across a number of locations around east London. I'll post up a film of scene one shortly but for now this is a bit of a teaser as to what happens.
The story is playing out until the 1st September so there's still plenty of time to get in on the action - and I promise it is action filled. Think action, thriller, fear, beauty and tearjerking romance and you're nearly there.
As female British pop music of late goes she was definitely the top of my list. Amazing look (the best hair in decades - be it real or otherwise), amazing voice, heartfelt, heartbreaking songs, very funny and the sort of troubled tragic soul that really sincerely wished would get better as you just knew she had so many more great songs to share with the world. I don't want to put her in the Pete Doherty pile as a drug addict loser - she was obviously a drug addict but ultimately she fell in love, got in with the wrong crowd and I suppose had an addictive personality that took her down a very dark path. It's really really sad and I wish someone or something could have helped get her out of it.
But on the upside there are all the brilliant, beautiful songs she's created to enjoy. She is Camden's very own Janis Joplin and I truly hope she can rest in peace x
Those searching for a middle ground between tough and ethereal might have found their Dream Girl in Stevie Nicks. The rock n' roll icon struck a delicate aesthetic balance between earth and air, captivating fans onstage with her music - and offstage with her style. Last month marked Nicks' 63rd birthday. Happy belated Birthday to an icon and a legend. And if you haven't read the tell all book by Carol Anne Harris then I suggest you do so immediately. As the woman to follow in Stevie's footsteps with Lindsey Buckingham she was always going to try and paint Stevie as a bit of a lunatic but really she just comes across as the coolest white witch around. Long live Stevie.
A massively underrated song by one of Scotland's finest Simple Minds. Can't claim to be a fan of Jim and co post 80s but this song is an amazing underrated gem. And what a video. Jim's trousers alone deserve high praise!
Number one in an ongoing series of video portraits. Created by the genius and all-round-lovely-lovely-man Danny Sangra These video portraits will culminate in a very beautiful exhibition in the near future.
The sound for all of these films is created by music magician Matt Waites
"Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard..” Poly Styrene was the iconic lead singer of punk band, X-Ray Spex - a breath of fresh air in an oversubscribed genre. Poly sang about the plastic nature of consumerism with her seemingly untamed voice which she would distort to emit a rather frightening scream. Now she is back with new album, ‘Generation Indigo’… RIP.
Anita Blay aka The Cocknbull kid is one of the most underrated musical talents in this country. Instead of just playing the same old bloody Florence, Adele, Jessie J blah blah yawn, more people need to take notice of this super cool lady. She's the best x
It seems that no stone has been left unturned in the pursuit to make a penny or two out of the imminent Royal Wedding. Today I've seen Kate and Wills themed fridges and these delightfully thoughtful pocket sized gifts... royal wedding condoms. To quote the manufacturers who have got a wonderful way with words: "Like a Royal Wedding, intercourse with a loved one is an unforgettable occasion". So stock up and think of England as they say. Grim.
Now THIS is a good idea. I'll bet all those busy busy business guys frantically trying to cram all their work into the few hours that there are in a day whilst ALSO trying to squeeze in time to scoff a delicious sandwich have been crying out for this very object. It beats the banana holder and the battery operated scissors hands down. If I can locate a very important business type wearing the sandwich holder amid a manic day of deal clinching, I'll be very pleased indeed.
The sun decided to come out somewhat prematurely for British climates - especially surprising given that I've been in Scotland. Anyway, let's enjoy it while it lasts and enjoy imagery like this even more.
As someone who really can't stand the overuse of the word 'amazing', in this instance I'm breaking the rules because I think this is truly amazing. And also beautiful. National Geographic Channel have created a real-life version of the animated film Up — launching a house thousands of metres into the air using balloons. Why I'm not sure, I guess I'll have to watch the program to find that out.
A team of scientists, engineers, and two world-class balloon pilots successfully launched a 16' X 16' house 18' tall with 8' coloured weather balloons from a private airfield east of Los Angeles, and set a new world record for the largest balloon cluster flight ever attempted.
If scientists are keen on bringing glorious animation to life then I say next in line is a real-life flying elephant ala Dumbo.
I love this piece of work and I'm so glad that I discovered such a subtle guerrilla gem because it's reminded me that for all the fancy pants 3-D, secret mobile phone codes, tagging and whatnot sometimes the best stuff is really the lovely simple stuff centred around a sincere message. Of course I accept that we have to move with the times and therefore technology is a very important factor in the world of media and especially brand experiences but I always have that slight niggle in the back of my mind when I see those posters that you have to wave your phone in front of in order to see 'exclusive stuff' that's asking me "do people really buy into this stuff"? I guess they must do, otherwise why would brands continue to do it? Anyway I'm probably just being a luddite who will start all my sentences with "when i was young we didn't have... blah blah blah" so I should shut up now.
So yes, back to the subject at hand and I just wanted to post this because for me it's a highly effective, personal and inspiring piece of guerrilla marketing for a brand that we know don't exactly have buckets of cash to spend. In fact I know that the beautiful shutter artwork pieces that Mother did for Penguin Books not so long ago. was paid for in books instead of cash. Who says advertisers are only in it for the money? Regarding the typewriter campaign I'm not sure of the coverage they got in terms of hitting physical stores but it's obviously caught the imagination of the online community so either way it's done the job perfectly. So all together now: long live the book worms!
... I'd like it to look like this one. (I'm with First Direct so thankfully I don't have to deal with the grey 80s-ness of British banks)
Pretty incredible isn't it? This is first-ever, bank concept store for BNP Paribas in Paris, created by Paris-based architect Fabrice Ausset of Zoevox. It has everything you may have ever dreamed and I suspect quite a lot more given than all most people want from their bank is less queues, more smiles and perhaps a slightly bigger overdraft.
As a special treat I took a trip to the theatre last week to see the Scottish Ballet's interpretation of the childhood classic Cinderella. If you are ever in Scotland and one of the Scottish National Ballet's productions are on do yourself a favour and go along. Tickets are mega cheap, the costumes and set design are eye-poppingly beautiful, original and cool, the orchestra are incredible and the performances and totally and utterly amazing. And thankfully no dark twisted murderous endings like a particularly popular film that's out right now.
Sometimes it takes a small sticker to make a big wish.
The simple fill-in-the-blank stickers are created by artist/designer Candy Chang to help citizens in New Orleans express and share their thoughts on their community.
Stickers are free and can be found in corner stores, cafes, bookstores, bars, hair salons, and other places around New Orleans.
Wouldn't this be a nice treat to get from Mr Postie of a morning? These are the extra special gifts that I worked with Creative Trust to design and produce for Red Bull's biggest and bestest customers this festive season. We sourced antique briefcases and filled them with booze, a bit more booze and a few cans of trusty Red Bull and Red Bull Cola. So energy, alcohol, fashion and festive cheer all wrapped in one gift. Let's hope it beats the branded mouse-mat they were expecting.
Sorry, terrible pun. Here are some mouth watering photos of the fantastic doughnut wall that we created for the INQ Mobile Pheromone party in Toronto. If you're ever in doubt about how to tie in food, booze and party the answer is DOUGHNUT WALL. To see more of the party fun and all the hot posing Canadian hipsters you can check out the INQ Canada party pics here. Party on.
Hello I'm Juliette and this is my blog. This is a place where I will share bits and pieces that I like from all over the place. Some of it will be new work I've done, some of it will be work other people have done and some will just be stuff I like and hope you will too.
This is my extra curricular blog for photographs I've taken on my travels around tiny corners of the globe using a selection of film cameras and probably a blackberry once in a while.
I suspect an unhealthy percentage of my photos may be of animals - predominantly dogs but hey ho.
I also have a blog called bits and bobs and another called Oh Juliette! that has slightly more worky type stuff.
