Author: Jakub

  • Web series: Roger, the Chicken

    Roger, the Chicken is a web series based on the award-winning short film of the same name. This dry comedy follows an eccentric couple on an existential journey through NYC. Roger is a ‘post-post-hipster who lives his life in a chicken costume and attempts to achieve success in a mundane world’

    The original short was shot in 2011 and was awarded in many film festivals around the States. That’s how the idea of turning Roger, the Chicken into a web series was born.

    Have a look at the first episode of the series below and for more visit:

    www.rogerthechicken.com

    Roger, the Chicken: Dinner from ROGER, THE CHICKEN on Vimeo.

  • Claire Sambrook: Creative Portsmouth

    Claire Sambrook: Creative Portsmouth

    Claire Sambrook is a photographer and a lecturer in Creative Technologies at the University of Portsmouth. She is also involved in a number of creative projects happening around the UK including Creating Balance Project with Anglepoise. Claire also curated Creative Portsmouth, a guide exploring the creative elements of the city through its people, community, businesses and students. 

    Claire talks to us about her background, why she chose to settle down in the UK’s only island city and why creative industries flourish in the city.

    Could you tell us more about your background and how you got involved in all the creative projects in the city. I saw that you used live in London, what made you to move to Portsmouth?

    Claire: I went to art college in Swansea and Cardiff and dabbled in lots of disciplines including stained glass, set-design, screen-printing and then settled on photography because it enabled me to capture moments and control light. In London I spent many years learning the craft and specialised in large format photography and studio lighting. I moved to Portsmouth because of the location – it is the UK’s only Island city. Growing up by the Gower coast in Wales was wonderful and Portsmouth was a good compromise.

    I have been aware of how much the creative profile of the city has grown especially in the past few years it has a real strength which is built upon a community that has started to believe in itself. There are great support networks like Strong Island, Portsmouth Creative Movement and a constant influx of creative and talented students at The University of Portsmouth that are helping to promote and raise the creative offer. We also have working artist studios like Art Space, Clay Station, the soon to be opened Neon Studios and Coastguard Studios. Aspex Gallery and space gallery at the University always have a constant stream of emerging local and national artists. International creative superstars like design studio I Love Dust and artist My Dog Sighs also call Portsmouth home. Other people and businesses to mention – Anglepoise UK, Southsea Deckchairs, The Caravan Gallery, Climax Games, Jeannie Driver, Pete Codling, Karen Ryan and numerous photographers with national and international profiles like Andrew Whyte, Russell Squires, Matt Sills and Paul Gonella.

    Whilst teaching at The University of Portsmouth I wanted to work with local artists, designers, businesses and collaborate with students to try and aid with their skill set and employability profile. This started by working with Southsea Deckchairs and 25 creatives each being given a chair to design. The chairs then went on a tour around the city making the location part of the final photograph.

    Other projects I have run include Bike Stand Designs working with Portsmouth City Council and the designer Wayne Hemingway, Love Your Bike Portsmouth – an exploration into bike customisation with designer Ben Wilson, Visual Libraries – putting sketchbooks into libraries in UK, US and India and then the production of the Creative Portsmouth book. Working with I Love Dust and supported by The University of Portsmouth I wanted to explore the different elements of the city by talking to and promoting the work of creative practitioners, businesses and students. I also worked with community group Strong Island on The Round Tower exhibition featuring 60 local artists and designers, Primary an Phoneography exhibition and lastly the Creating Balance Project with Anglepoise UK and 20 local artists, designers and photographers.

    The Creating Balance Project has been a wonderful experience because we launched it as part of The London Design Festival and it was also chosen to be part of the Icon Design Trail and V&A seminar programme. Collaborating with industry, education and community has been very rewarding each providing support and encouragement leading onto future projects and deeper relationships.

    Could you tell us more about Portsmouth? Why is the city so great for creatives? What does it offer and how it supports the industry?

    Claire: Portsmouth is on the south coast of England just over 100 miles from London. It has a strong maritime history, is a naval port and home to HMS Victory, HMS Warrior and the recently opened Mary Rose Museum. As a result of this history the city has been at the forefront of industrial innovation and design with Marc Brunel’s first mass produced production line at Block Mills in the naval dockyard, it’s shipbuilders and craftspeople.

    Creative people are drawn to the area due to the heritage and location. Living and working by the sea has so many benefits to the creative mind – a place to think and walk, cycle, run. Room to breathe.

    I am always on the look-out for unusual buildings, their history and what stories can be told. So many creative people strive to find these haunts to set-up in business and show off their studios surrounded by the sea with an ever changing multi-cultual population.

    My love of all things creative and a ‘doing’ attitude has never really stopped. I am always open and curious to numerous methods of creating and fascinated by processes. My photography is now more documentation in approach I love to gain insights into working methods and expose the detail in the process.

    My old dog Twm was also featured on the cover Seasick Steve’s album ‘You Can’t Teach An Old Dog New Tricks’ with Steve having found the photo on my Flickr set. I lost Twm last year and over the years took over 3,000 photographs of him. He was a huge part of my life inspiration and fuelled my obsession of photography and exploring the city on our walks.

    clairesambrook.tumblr.com

    creativeportsmouth.wordpress.com

    @create_up

    For a chance to win a copy of Creative Portsmouth simply comment below & let us know what is your favourite creative place in the city you live in. Don’t forget to login with your email when you leave a comment so we can contact you in case you win! Good luck! – THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSES! THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION!

  • Turner & Harper

    Turner & Harper

    We’ve recently discovered the work of homeware makers Turner & Harper. The company is based in North Yorkshire where they hand craft most of their timber product lines and they also work with several artisans from across England to develop their specialist finishes. 

    There is a lot of care and skill that goes into making each of the products that Turner & Harper create. Some of these products include brushes, dustpans and brooms all nod to tradition, balancing timeless aesthetics with considered material choices. 

    Check out the video below which shows the process that goes into manufacturing Turner & Harper’s enamel basins.

    www.turnerandharper.com

    bristles_turner and harper

    enamel bowl_turner and harper copy

    Turner & Harper : Enamel from Turner & Harper on Vimeo.

  • Places: Karavan

    Places: Karavan

    On our recent trip to Wroclaw, Poland, we spoke to Michał Świgulski and Damian Osowski, the founders of two of our favourite bars and clubs in the city, Krvn and Das Lokal.

    We asked Michał and Damian about the night life in the city and how they came up with the idea of opening both places.

    What inspired you to open Das Lokal and KRVN. What’s the concept behind these places?

    Michał: Right now the history of opening Das Local might seem very typical. Looking back, we realise that everything went differently to what we had originally  planned. After graduating from university together with my partner Damian, we started working for big corporations where we would sit behind our desks day after day without any other purpose – we both knew this lifestyle wasn’t for us. We liked good music and our friends really enjoyed the house parties we used to organise from time to time so we though we could turn that into something else and make it a part of our lifestyle.  

    That’s how everything started; our close friend Maciek who also had problems with picking the right career joined the team as well. Das Lokal started from nothing, it was supposed to be a pub or a coffee shop with some good music in the background, and at the weekends we would turn the volume up and organise casual parties for our friends. We weren’t part of Wroclaw’s night life and we didn’t know any djs or promoters who would organise parties back then. That was, perhaps, because we used to spent most of our weekends outside the city, mostly in Berlin.

    Just after we opened the place, it started to attract more and more people who wanted to organise interesting events. After a while, inconspicuous Das Lokal became one of the most important places in the city for everyone who likes electronic music. Our events became more famous and it started to be difficult to get in to the club during the weekend. We were very surprised with the scale and the speed of the changes we were faced with.   

    After two years, the time had come to think about an expansion and that’s how we came up with an idea of a cafe/bar that would operate during the day – we were slightly tired of living in the dark. We found a cool space, we decorated it as we wanted, we gathered some amazing people who believed in our idea, and that’s how we managed to open Karavan. It was also supposed to be a modest place where you could get something quick to eat during the day and grab a drink in the evening. However, the ambition and skills of our young kitchen team really surprised us and that’s how we started to think about cooking more seriously.  Another year has passed and both places still bring a lot of great people in, and the business is doing quite well.

    How would you compare Wroclaw’s nightlife to other Polish cities?

    Michał: We don’t have the full image of what is happening in other Polish cities, mostly because we spend most of our weekends in Wroclaw looking after our businesses. Our city is in some aspects very unique. The fact that it’s actually quite hard to travel to Warsaw gives the cultural life in the city a contrary character – I’m talking about this relatively small part of the city which concentrates more ambitious and alternative initiatives. Most of the people still prefer to go to one of many clubs in the city centre and I’m sure, in this case, Wroclaw is no different to other cities. 

    Th clubbing scene is very close-minded. However, every year more and more people start to realise the difference between trashy disco music and electronic music. The crowded dance floor in Das Lokal and other similar places is the best proof of that. In my opinion, which is also supported by some artists from other cities who performed at Das Lokal, our local audience is more laid back.

    There are many fashionable clubs in Warsaw or Poznan, where people go without paying much attention to who is playing. It’s completely different in Krakow, where most clubs don’t have many problems with filling their dance floors and most of the clubbers are random tourists, and therefore it is hard to talk about the real clubbing scene. In most places an entry fee is unthinkable and the biggest part of the revenue comes from bar sales, which means most clubs try to secure really good artists.

    On the other hand, in all these cities we have places like 1500m2 in Warsaw, SQ in Poznan or Prozak 2.0 in Krakow – places with programmes each season that can make us feel embarrassed. We still need some practice before we can think about competing with any of these places. Our expectations are promising though!

    www.krvn.pl

    www.daslokal.pl

     

  • Travel: Wroclaw

    Travel: Wroclaw

    We’ve recently come back from our short trip to Wroclaw, one of the largest cities in the west of Poland.

    We’ve selected a few photos of some buildings and places that really impressed us. We specially enjoyed hanging out in the up and coming Borough of Four Temples in the Old Town which is full of small cafes, trendy bars and restaurants.

    If you’re visiting the city, make sure you go for a walk around the University and the oldest district in the city, Ostrów Tumski, which is also very close to Wroclaw’s  ‘Manhattan’ and which we blogged about here before.

    We also managed to interview the founders of a couple of local businesses and we’ll share them with you in the coming weeks.

    You can see more photos from our trip here and if you’ve been to Wroclaw before, let us know about your favourite places!