A sparkly new studio opening

It was over a year ago now that we moved out of the wonderfully supportive and friendly Pie Factory in Margate, to set up our own independent studio and workshop.

The new workspace was the storage and warehouse side of what used to be (we think) a distribution centre for the local brewery. That was some 100 years ago, and it has since been a furniture stripping workshop (oh really?!), part of a tattoo parlour, and at one point possibly even a squat - nice.

Spread out over two floors, and with a good space for storage as well as woodworking and sewing etc. I thought it would be a great opportunity to have the space that we so needed for all our diverse activities. It can be tricky having a meeting about a textile design when you are sitting in a pile of sawdust and underneath some future furniture projects.

Studio 24 before.

The unit was internally connected to the neighbouring shop, and the hardest thing to do in the past year has been to disconnect the two on paper! 'Studio 24' was born, and we have spent 12 months re-wiring, re-glazing, woodworking, painting, demolishing, plumbing, tiling, plastering, cleaning, restoring, weeding - the works.

Had we been able to suspend work on furniture for a few months, our fantastic new workspace would have been finished with speed. But, happily, people really need Margate Drawers, and we've fitted our renovation in around our daily furniture work.

We are finally near the end of all of the changes, and plan to have a little celebration to mark the new studio opening. Our WONDERFUL neighbours from Block Colour (another welcome change to the street in the last six months) will also be opening to show off the latest work of their very own Heidi Plant, so there will be lots to see on our street at the weekend.

If you find yourself anywhere near Margate on the 26-29th July, or even if you bring yourself here on purpose, we would love to see you. We are right next to the Barbers on Hawley Street just two doors down from Morrisons and opposite the old town. There will be work to see, some to buy, and all started with a Thursday late night opening where we might even have something to feed and water you with. See you soon!

Back to Barrow! Further workshops @ Signal Films

This month I'm heading back to Cumbria to hold some more workshops with Signal Films and their creative heritage project - The Cooke's department store. Before, we worked on the computers and in dry art materials. This time I'm keen to get the participants messy with some screen printing practice, and use some of the shapes and images we discussed first time around to decorate a textile or to make an art print.

I love the idea of linking the function of what we print on, to the store itself. Perhaps some adverts that would have looked at home in the front windows, or a shopping bag that can reference the retail history of Cooke's. With a bit of graphic design plotting and some cleverly cut stencils it's got all the potential to look really good!

If you would like to know more about Signal Films and the hard work they are putting in to reviving this building, then check out their website and that of the project. And of course if you are any where near Abbey Road, Barrow, then stop in and see what we're up to!

From Kent to Cumbria

For a while I've been toying with the idea of leaving my southern seaside town for a few days in order to learn a little more about other UK coastal communities.

Then by pure co-incidence I was contacted Signal Films, and heard all about the amazing work being done on reviving the histories of the Cooke’s building (an old department store) and it’s neighbouring businesses in Barrow-in-Furness. When they asked if I would like to come and help with the creativity - it was a straightforward ‘yes’!  

As a designer I take inspiration from the histories of my hometown, so I found the Cooke’s stories were the perfect topics to inspire some really interesting imagery. The accounts of the people who used to work in the department store tell tales of dolls and fabrics, socials and deliveries, furniture and upholstery, good days and bad – all things that can inspire some fantastic shapes, colours, and patterns.

I visited Signal Films to run a few days of workshops back in May and had a chance to meet some of the very creative volunteers. We had a whole selection of Cooke’s adverts and collected information to work from, and everyone involved came up with some fantastic design ideas based on the history of the store as well as Barrow itself. 

We used the notion of old adverts or retro textile designs as a template to work to, and everyone seemed encouraged by a different element of the store’s past. Some taking part chose to draw elements of their design by hand before scanning them into the computer, while others were happy enough to start working in a program like ‘Photoshop’ straight away. All in all the results were a great start to my side of the project (see one below) and I’m looking forward to working with the volunteers in some further days next month. We hope to make a striking piece of art or design that can represent some of the oral histories in a new way.

A repeat pattern inspired by the haberdashery floor in the Cooke's buildings.

 One discovery was that the store had it's own furniture workshop in the attic, which used to ship it's produce down to the sales teams - how amazing is that?! Considering we’ve got the manufacturing and upholstery history of Cooke’s top floor to live up to… I wonder what we’ll make!! 

Zoe Murphy for Liberty Print

I found myself taking a brief holiday from my 'Margate' illustrations for some new pieces that were launched this spring. In collaboration with iconic British department store Liberty, I have recently designed a series of drawers that are lined with the heritage brands latest fabrics, and are covered in screen prints inspired by the content.

Liberty’s 'William Morris' print of 'Strawberry thief' lined a seven-drawer chest whose lid I have printed with my own arts and crafts inspired illustration. The colours on the pieces also matched the plush padded fabrics that are used inside the drawers, to make for a high quality homage to the stores rich history of designs.

The arts and craft movement believed in doing things properly, fairly, by hand, by people, and with care and attention - something that means a lot to me.

The provenance of products is becoming more and more important to users, and the beliefs of people like William Morris are even more alive than ever. It was fantastic to be able to look to him and his work for inspiration on some of these pieces.

This collection sees a new set of colours for the furniture, as well as a lid design that has been printed exclusively for the store, and use of both contemporary and traditional Liberty Print fabrics. Great fun to do and a refreshing change!

From a concerned social media addict...

I was SO pleased when I heard the news that our Margate Town Team had won their bid for the Portas Pilot money to spend on their campaign for turning the high street’s fortunes around. Growing up here in the 80’s and 90’s meant I spent every Saturday in Margate high street, and cannot believe the decline it has seen even in my short lifetime. I want to see it busy again and be able to actually use it like I know lots of people in Margate do as well.

Like a lot of people probably, I’ve been just as worried this week when news has been coming out about a Channel 4 TV program planned around four of the Portas Pilot towns – one of which is Margate. Since one of the contracts for town member involvement has been made public, there has been a justified amount of concern about what it means to be on this TV show. Will the silenced/contracted town team not be able to promote or inform about their campaign on social media? (that'd be crazy surely?) Will the aims of a quick turnaround TV show be at odds with a community campaign to sustainably and permanently turn the high street around? Will the town and the people who are going to be passionately volunteering be portrayed in the right way for their efforts?

This is all a big concern and definitely something, I think, to be born in mind and monitored. My even BIGGER worry is that Margate won’t grab this opportunity with both hands and make something of it. That silencing clause needs to be checked, true, and I am dubious about the involvement of a probably less than altruistic TV show. However, it goes without saying what a huge opportunity it is to get even more drive behind, and attention for, the work that the town can do for itself.  Not to mention a chance to show the government and councils what can be done when the funding is put in the hands of local people.

As a community full of scores of residents and businesses, Margate now has a stellar opportunity to take this (in the end quite token) amount of money and use it to make as much good as possible. If a TV show wants to film? Let them! Grab it, use it, take every bit of promotion they want to give it, and regardless of their involvement – lets actually turn our high street around, in the way we want to. I have faith that this can remain a community project, because no matter if we are seen on the telly or not, I feel everything the team does (and will inspires others to do) is going to serve the community in the end. Let whoever wants to be involved film the progress, keep an eye on them – yes, and more than anything don’t let that put the rest of the community off. I wanted to try and remind everyone that this can remain Margate’s campaign, and this is a great time for all of us to get behind a project that has well intentioned people at it’s very core and make it bear fruit.

I always think a party is only as good as the people that go to it. I’m joining this one and I’m going to bring all my friends. Film away, all I care about is being able to go to the shops again and having a town I’m (even more) proud of.

If you would like to know more about Margate's Town Team you can find them here: www.margatetownteam.wordpress.com

@MargateTownTeam 

www.facebook.com/MargateTownTeam

 

Slow Coast

This new year we took a trip up to Edinburgh for the Hogmanay festival - a VERY long way from the southeastern seaside. Edinburgh is a fascinating city, much taller than I ever knew, and has been wonderfully preserved - feeling very historical. Funnily enough, one of my most favourite parts of our long weekend was the trip up to another part of the UK on the train. Some of our journey ran alongside the northern coastline which would show fields butting right up against sandy bays and violet seas. Quite different to what I'm used to seeing from a train in Kent and the Midlands. It reminded me of just how contrasting British scenery can be, even within a different part of our own island.

Nick Hand, a photographer and graphic designer from Bristol, would know a great deal about this. He is a keen cyclist who spent a lot of 2009 and '10 on a lone bike trip around the coast of the UK interviewing makers, craftspeople and artists. I met Nick when he arrived in Margate from Whitstable and was looking to chat to local makers about their craft and history.

Nick is already the nicest and calmest man you'll ever meet, but his project 'Slow Coast' was such a wholesome and engaging one that I was thrilled to meet up with him and be interviewed about my set-up in Margate. We had a great afternoon in my Pie Factory studio and I got to hear as much about his fascinating journey as he did about my work.

I could talk a lot about the interesting people and beautiful scenery that Nick saw in his two trips, but he (and the people he interviews) do it a lot better. So I would HIGHLY recommend taking a look at his SlowCoast website and the sound slides he created from his photos and recordings. He is one of the best and most unassuming photographers I have ever worked with, getting beautiful shots from putting people right at ease. You can quickly tell from his blog and website content that he is a man who cares about good production, craftsmanship, and the importance of discovering new people and places. This reflects wonderfully in the photographs he takes and the projects he embarks on. In my mind his activities are well worth a follow, and I'm so pleased my own trip up the coastline has reminded me of his.

Printed furniture for Cave Interiors, Primrose Hill

Last year I had the brilliant opportunity to make some work for the very talented Georgina Cave of Cave Interiors in Primrose Hill. Her interior design studio, based in a particularly beautiful part of London, goes to great lengths to both support UK designers, and commission customised work for their clients. The table above is one of a series of three pebble tables I printed for Cave Interiors. They went down so well that they have commissioned me to produce some more pieces for their showroom, and this May I delivered a further nest of striped tables and a decorated magazine rack.

If you'd like to see more of the new pieces, then stop into the Cave Interiors showroom on Princess Road, Primrose Hill.

Pie Days and Holidays

It's all kicking off in Margate at the moment with the opening of the Turner Contemporary. One of the (quite simply) fantastic projects that has been happening in the buzzy run up to the event is the 'Pie Days and Holidays' - Margate food stories collection. This inventive Taxonomy, the brainchild of artist Sophie Herxheimer and Kate Kneale of Marine Studios, has seen illustrated stories collected around the town from it's residents - all about food. This is a project that Sophie has used before as a means of showcasing the colourful social histories of everyday people in a regular town. In 'Thames Festival Feast on the Bridge' Sophie collected stories about food (good/bad/funny/sad/secret/home/abroad/snacks/meals) and screen printed them, in her own illustrative style, onto tablecloths for a huge community feast. She has this year succeeded in collecting a further 175 food stories from Margate, and created a wonderful exhibition of them, illustrating just how diverse and interesting the funny folk of this town are.

Starting out as a simple attempt to get to know the residents better, the project has grown into an exhibition, a feast (of all of the described foods), a limited edition book, and decoration for the boarded up shopfronts of Margate!

My brother and I were lucky enough to have the opportunity to tell Sophie our food stories - mine being about sausages - and I was completely enchanted by the idea. I even won a 'gingerbread Mermaid' for my enthusiasm about the whole thing, which is a whole new food anecdote in itself! In my opinion, food is everything as it is in the family, the everyday, it is reward & punishment, occasion & solitude, and for that reason everyone has a food story. A lot of an individuals personality is given away by the stories they tell about the things they eat.

If you want to hear some audio on the project, the BBC featured it in their Food Programme, and you can STILL get down to the exhibition as it has been extended until the 28th April, see the website for details. The idea is brilliant, the stories are wonderful, the boards look so colourful, and I am going to buy the book.

Here I am!

Hands up if you hate being behind. Yup. Me too.

It has been far too long since I last posted, and that is mostly due to taking part in too many interesting things and not having enough time to write about them! So here I am, to fill in on the years events, and endeavor to keep news up to date. Meet you back here at least once a week okay? Great. :D

The Margate Drawers make the big screen!

A few months ago I dropped off a load of work at Ealing Studios to be used in the new 'St. Trinians' film - 'The legend of Fritton's gold'. It may never even make it into shot, but the set director told me that my work is being used to style the room of the 'new girl' (Sarah Harding from Girls Aloud) and so I'm thinking there is a good chance it will get a peek on screen! The movie comes out on the 18th december, so fingers crossed and tickets booked......

www.furnish.co.uk- A great little feature!

Nice post from www.furnish.co.uk who saw me at Tent London a couple of weeks ago. That show news to you? I have a LOT of updating to do on here, ha ha. Great mention. :D

New Designers - One Year On

I was one of the lucky few picked for the 'One Year On' part of this years New Designers showcase at the BDC in Islington. It was just brilliant to be back there as last years show where everything started is still pretty fresh in my mind (would you believe).

The area was curated by Thorsten Van Elten and his team and I had a busy but fun week. I had a chance to exhibit with some of the loveliest new designers like Abigail Borg (new shop opened online) and Deb Elsaesser (beautiful recycled wood furniture), the And Then boys as well as James Plant and James Moss (and they design together! - brilliant), and loads more!

Momiji couture contest

Okay...so I have been told off a number of times now for not updating the blog. The truth is I have been doing so many interesting things that I have had no time to write about them! I'm not going to apologise, I'm just going to get on with it! :D

Back before we did New Designers, Matt and I had the great opportunity of teaming up with Momiji again for their 'Couture Doll' contest. - Always great fun.

This is a great competition and as this post is long overdue I must hurry along anyone who wants to enter as the brief is pretty cool and its only on until 30th October! (naughty zoe)

Momiji are inviting entries to design a fabric doll for their brand using an alternative, or even crafty, method. You can stitch one, weave one, applique one, knit one (purl one), embroider one, knot one, crochet one..... you see where I'm going with this. The winner gets their creation seen in the Royal/T gallery in Los Angeles as well as being featured in Selvedge magazine. The judging panel is pretty star studded as well, reason enough to get out the knitting needles.


Matt and I were enrolled to design the flyer and also to decorate the stand for the competition at New Designers Week 1. We had a FAB time printing and painting onto lots of scraps of cardboard, and spent the day on the show build up installing lots of fabric inspired circles!

To enter visit the website for the competition and have a look at the blog running alongside it for more info!

But I thought I was cool??...

I thought I was pretty up to date with the technojabble (making it clear I'm probably not), but realised this week I have neither a flikr account nor a twitter one. Facebook is old hat apparently and so I have decided to raise myself grumpily out of my armchair, take the pipe from between my teeth, and set up some new accounts.

This works out pretty well actually because... should anyone want too... they can now see a lot more about what I'm up to through photos and, erm,... musings?.. on my flickr and twitter.

Yaaay! :D

Grand opening of the Pie Factory!!

A day I have been waiting for, for a long long time. Having moved in to the building in February (first one let, check ME out with the keen!) we waited until the end of June to open when the studios had more residents and the space was nearer completion.

The Pie Factory in Margate is a set of five studios/workshops converted from a ...well... pie factory, in the middle of Margate's old town. The project is the work of Janet and Tim Williams who have carefully sought to keep some of the key features of the building intact and will be opening a restaurant and bistro on the ground floor in the coming months.


It has a really great roof terrace (pictured above) which the Mayor of Margate officially opened and which I hope to utilise on every sunny day we have here - slim chance. I am in studio no.1 and three of the other studios have already been let, leaving just one available!


It was a F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C opening day, with very little time to eat or drink finding myself with so many great people to talk to. Thank you so much to everyone who made the trip over to see what on earth we'd been doing in there these past few months. This included my nan, auntie and cousin who travelled all the way up from Bournemouth for the day. Roll out the red carpet!
A few surprise bouquets and the Guardian spread that morning made me look a lot more glam than I was feeling, I had worked hard all week to prepare things for people to see, touch, and take home. But what fun!! How many times can you open one studio I wonder?......

Some lovely mentions.

A great mention in the Metro during recycling week and then in the Guardian on the same day as the opening! Whoop whoop!

Its all about the Fhaaaaaamily...

An addition to the team.

Matt Murphy.

Fresh out of Kingston University and snapped up by his big sis, the world will now have the benefit of two creative heads when they come to our door. This boy is uber talented in both photography and graphic design, and from a wonderful linage - if I do say so myself.

Watch this space for improvements in all that we do thanks to this lovely man...



(okay so the photo is a little old.. but we are sometimes found still doing this...)

Any one see me on the telly box?

This.... is a re-post. A tidy up of the blog is in order.

Just over a week ago I managed to get myself on the television, did anybody hear about that? Half of South East kent did! I was interviewed by BBC South East Today for a short bit about my work and Margate, and half way through a day of filming had to leg it up to a landline to be interviewed on Kent Radio - live and terrified!!

Hoping to post more details about this soon, and to one day find a digital copy of both events. For now I will just say - interview with beach cleaner about my work, a very squinty Zoe in the bright sunshine, and a unplanned glimpse of Matt in a t-shirt reading 'My mustache brings all the girls to the yard'....brilliant!!

Thanks to both the reporter and the radio host, a fab day. Builders have been recognising me ever since - very welcome!

Studio Opening Sat 27th June.

Whitstable drawers @ Frank

Tonight is the opening of my show at 'Frank' in Whitstable and I am very excited. A Whitstable chest of drawers and Formica adorn the windows and walls of this adorable shop which sells contemporary gifts, art, stationary, and crafts... oooh and now a really fab chest of drawers! Any one available please do visit tonight 6-8.30pm or any time in the coming weeks, at 65 Harbour srteet in Whitstable. I am very happy with the pieces on display and can't wait to see what people think.

Ooh, and here's the print that is on the lid, how nice eh! I seriously love this chest, the colours are lovely and muted and the lid print has oysters and beach huts on it. I am not doing this for long though so place orders while you can .... I miss you Margate.... :D

Bank holiday booty.

If I don't mention now I will forget completely, but I had an amazing bank holiday weekend at the bootfairs. We have at least three near us on any given Sunday of the summer, and I most definitely have a favourite. The least professional looking with the hand painted signs and the junkiest stalls is always a winner for me - and for everyone else it seems, as it is always packed! This weekend I decided to visit the same bootfair on both Sunday and Monday morning and absolutely cleaned up! I spent £30 over the whole two days, and bought:

4 pieces of clothing
1 typewriter
1 casserole dish
1 retro tea set
1 floral tray
1 set of pyrex dishes
1 T&G green mixing bowl (favourite brand)
1 teak bureau
1 homemaker side dish
4 books
1 pair of shoes
1 teak mirror
4 embroidery threads
2 pieces of dolls house furniture (too veneer and print on - they are going to be brilliant!)
1 bacon sandwich
1 burger (thomas)
2 mugs of tea
1 festival ice cream

How good?! Get to your bootfairs people!! x

Midcentury Show - Bexhill on sea.

My next show is one week away in a seaside resort on the coast of Sussex. All info is listed below:

The Midcentury Show curated by Modern Shows
In association with Elle Decoration
Sunday 10th May 2009
De la Warr Pavilion, Seafront, Bexhill on Sea, East Sussex, TN40 1DP
£5, children free, disabled access
www.modernshows.com
www.dlwp.com to book advance tickets
Mark the beginning of Summer and quell your addiction for design classics by escaping to the Seaside for our much loved South Coast show. Enjoy top furniture, ceramics, glass and lighting while taking in sea views, great food, a free art exhibition from one of the UKs leading artists Susan Collins and creative Lift the Lid workshop for kids. Headlining our show is exciting new designer Zoe Murphy www.zoemurphy.com who will be unveiling her first Bexhill piece of customized vintage furniture following her Margate series. Murphy was recently shortlisted for the BBC’s New Designer of the Year Award and we love her work. 30 top European dealers specialising in furniture, lighting, ceramics, glass, art, sculpture and fabrics will be on hand to sell and chat about their twentieth century design classics. The De la Warr pavilion, a modernist masterpiece in its own right, is the place to be with funky design junkies flocking from all over the country and especially from Brighton, Hove, Hastings, St Leonards and Rye for their vintage fix and snort of sea salt.
http://www.modernshows.com/docs/shows/midcentury/index.html.

Liberty online and Elle decoration.

The Margate coffee table is now online with Liberty! I thought I'd put a link to this little rite of passage as I am very chuffed.

I'm currently working on some very special pieces for the store, some of which I want to keep for myself - and they are only on paper at the moment! ...hmm. More will be posted when they are made in time for the early summer.

Aside from that, I have managed to squeeze my way into this months Elle Decoration, jammy I know. I'm involved with a competition that Liberty and Elle Dec have teamed up to do, and the little guy below is being given away as one of the five prizes! My second ever chest, awwww. Bye bye sweetie.

''So this is what Eastbourne looks like!''

After a very welcome invite to have some of the Margate drawers in a photo shoot we found ourselves on a trip to Eastbourne last Monday. It was for a great lifestyle magazine, but having no idea if press would appreciate such a reveal I will let you know the name when it is published. I have a lovely dutch girl with me at the moment named Danielle who is on a two month work placement, and so we drove the chest down to Eastbourne pier together and had the oppertunity to have a look around. Danielle took some great photos on her camera and we used the chance to play on the penny slot machines while the shoot was going on, I'm trying to introduce her to all of the important aspects of british culture.... :D

Look out for the feature on my press pages in Sept time.

Saying cheese and fried food.

We have been having GLORIOUS weather in what truly is 'sunny Margate' at the moment. Being the grafter I am I have been stuck indoors working away on pieces for all sorts of projects and commissions, but then there were the promotional photos that were due to be shot this week.....

This allowed me a brilliant afternoon 'off' on Friday when we got to take a trip to the local greasy spoon (one of about 72 - fantastic) and order up a big fried breakfast and mug of tea. I think it makes for a much better photo if I'm shown in some of the places I actually go to, and the cafe we shot the 'don't mug yourself' style pictures in (The Streets fans will know what I mean there) is called the Dalby Cafe. This place is tucked away in the back streets of Cliftonville and is famed for its doorstop slices of toast and its 'Monster Breakfast' board of fame. You can get a decent fry up for under five pounds and take a seat on flip down chairs that were salvaged from the old local tram cars, easily my favourite place to get a breakfast.

We took plenty both in the cafe and on the beach, all in all - my kind of Margate.

Sunday Times Style magazine

Now how about that. A fantastic and unexpected mention in the Style magazine from the Sunday Times. They popped in a little picture of my Margate coffee table in a feature about boutique buys.

There has been lots of press in the last couple of months in fact, all of which will be updated on the site soon, but I thought I would make a quick mention today!

NEC Springfair and climbing the walls

Another fun thing I've done since Christmas (they just keep on a-comin don't they!) was to pay a visit to the NEC Springfair to draw illustrations onto the walls of the Momiji stand. It was freeezing cold, hence the beanie hat clamped to my head, and I spent a fun day running up and down a ladder doodling onto the walls. The look this year was that of a sort of urban loft with mock concrete walls and retro furniture - I loved it! The pictures aren't too clear but it was a nice and creative day and you can see more about the event on their blog.

Au Revoir Margate... for a week anyway.

Just before Christmas I received some wonderful news from a representative of Maison & Objets in Paris. I was invited to exhibit at 'Meuble Paris', the furniture show part of the 'Maison' Fairs. So at the end of January I found myself in the French capital with a 3mx5m stand to fill at the most enormous show I have ever been to, and all for free! It was by far the most awe inspiring thing I have taken part in yet, and I was the only English ... and female.. one out of the five 'Tremplins' asked to exhibit. What a week! I was also lucky enough to get called over to Paris before Christmas for a photo shoot and had a picture of my work make it into the main catalog - a big big honour, and welcome press. It was a great week and I had the chance to show people from all over the world pictures and prints about Margate, ha ha. So fun.

Special thanks has to go to Amy Thackeray, an adorable friend of mine who worked hard with me for the whole week. Bless you girl!

Christmas work

In the run up to Christmas I found myself making a lot of chests and a few other interesting projects as well! I won't post them all on here, I will save it for the site update (soon soon soon) and for now will simply upload a few not-so-great shots of pieces I have made for some lovely people in London, Brighton, and beyond. So this is a very brief second installment regarding my busy winter, and a note to say keep your eyes peeled on the site....