If you follow my blog, you know that I did the first shooting for my series of art projects around bikes and participatory urbanism last November. (You can read up on the open call here, if you are visiting my blog for the first time.)
I'm excited to say that the artwork is out now as a limited edition of 100 giclee fine art prints (594mm x 840mm)that are all signed by me and are available exclusively on my website.
So here's a bit of background on the making:
On an empty parking lot off Broadway Market in Bethnal Green, my sister and I set up a white backdrop for everyone to ride onto and pose for me. Can you tell from the picture below that the day started bright and was nice and cold? It was freezing.
Lots of lovely people came, and just to give you a taster, I show you a few close-ups from the day below, starting with the fabulous Della Tinsley of ELDS.
The gorgeous lady below had come across my open call flyer and when she read up on the project on my blog, she noticed that I had photographed her 'lone' bike, so that enticed her to come along to be photographed with it ... aren't they a match?
Fancy helmet ...
... a bike for good measure ...
Bonny and Clyde on bikes?
Respect!
The day made for much laughter and joy and I enjoyed focusing on the connection between the owners and their two wheels - in most cases, as we also had a uni cycle and a three wheel scooter.
The most noticeable aspect for me as the photographer was how the bicycle worked as a prop that brought out everyone's unique smiles and happy attitudes. That's why I decided to align all the portraits on one large sheet ... it was lots of work to clean up every shot, so the whites are all equal.
And here it is: 'For the Love of Urban Bikes'!
To purchase a print or to check it out in more detail please visit my website. Thank you to all who came along and a special thank you to ELDS for helping to spread the word, and make us cups of tea all day to keep me smiling and warm inside :-)
We are about to launch our first ever wallpaper book. Getting together the in situ images was hard work, but also a lot of fun, some of which I'd like to share with you, for your entertainment and inspiration. As you may remember if you've subscribed to our newsletter, we said a while ago that we wanted to get into the habit of doing more interactive stuff on our facebook page. So I'd like to invite you to tell us which design from the ones featured in this post you like best and why, for a chance to win a 'Sevens' cushion in taupe or red, displayed at the bottom of this post.
Please post your answers on facebook. We will announce the winner on Friday the 9th May!
Doesn't this look innocently enough like a shelf mounted on a wallpapered wall?
... and this one: a proper hallway, decorated with Bikes of Hackney, wouldn't you think?
photograph by Rita Platts.
Far from it: What you can't see is the hand holding the coat hanger in place, just out of frame to the right. (I was holding it so I don't have a picture to show you.) Special thanks to our local Hackney friends @Hoxton Mini pressandAlly Capellinofor their bags on the coat hooks!
photograph by Rita Platts
Paris Marble above, the newest design of my Concrete Inspirations collection. I love the colour accents the objects bring to this shot, styled by Louie Waller. The table is one of my limited edition tables, with a printed Formica top in the Opal design.
This design will launch this month, it's called Parquet Inspired by Andrew Stafford, so no link available just yet.
As the name suggests, there's a backstory to this design:
Over the past few years my friend, furniture designer Andrew Stafford, has worked with me on designing my trade show stands. Prompted by his suggestion, I originally created the artwork for 'Parquet' for our stand at the Home Show 2013 (read the full story in an earlier blogpost here)
To make up this design I took lots of images of the parquet floor in Andrew's kitchen, and then I have re-pieced each piece of wood together from my photographs to form a chevron that repeats. It was a lot of work and I'm very happy with the outcome. To give the wood space to 'breathe' I have kept the repeat wider, so this design comes as a double-width 110cm wide, 5m long roll, which I think is very special.
However, if you have looked back on my previous post, you will notice how much bigger the scale was on the one-off artwork for the trade show stand. For my ready-to-buy wallpaper I have altered the scale to make it fit most residential or commercial uses, but as you can see, modern technology gives us a lot of flexibility for scales and sizes.
So if you are interested in having an unusual wall pasted with this design, do get in touch, we can produce it in many different ways to fit your desired specifications.
Above is a 'behind the scenes' image of Sevens Taupe wallpaper (no link available yet) that I posted on instagram. I always find it fun to imagine what happens off the frame of a cropped image.
It was harder than it looks, though, to keep the guitar in place and for Rita Platts to get this shot!
By the way, Sevens Taupeis new to launch in wallpaper. I have scaled the 45's so they are as close to a 7" record as I could get them for the repeat.
I really look forward to seeing how our customers pick up on this design and how they will use it in their homes ;-)
Below, Fretwork, imagined in a conservatory setting of flowers and vases.
Lastly, I thought I would add this amusing video on how to put wallpaper/accent murals on your wall. It's by Surface View,whom I work with on many projects and showcases Geo.
Now don't forget to roll on over to our facebook page and tell us your favourite/s from the ones listed above. Here's a picture of the cushion you could win (either red or taupe).
Now don't forget to roll on over to our facebook page and tell us
your favourite/s from the ones listed above. Here's a picture of the cushion you could win (either red or taupe).
