Remember those boxes at play school…? You know, the ones where you put your hand inside without knowing what awaits…(slightly scary) to feel a random texture or guess the object… no? Oh well, you missed out Never mind though, if you do fancy delving your mits into random boxes simply for the delight in discovery of new textures and materials – visiting the Scin Gallery is a must.
Based on Old street (the Barbican end) this fantastic designers resource has recently been refurbished to provide exhibition space for suppliers of innovative or interesting materials. As you may imagine, that’s quite a wide fishing net (which they probably have a sample of too) yet here its all wonderfully catalogued so its not overwhelming. Take your time as you work your way through boxes of neatly organised samples of textures and materials that still make you go ‘oooooh, that’s coooool’. Its free and warm welcomes are extended to designers of all walks, architects, film, product – and creative peeps who have an interest in all things ‘material.’ There’s also a peaceful and super white library space with desks, perfect for us weary design folk to rest our throbbing feet and racing minds while browsing the fabulous archives. Bliss.
Top Drawer & Home: Gray Pants
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In our regular ‘Meet The Supplier’ posts, we turn the Plink spotlight onto media friendly suppliers that are happy to work with industry professionals such as Stylists & Designers – and who provide special terms to do so. Whether its a product loan for a credited stills shoot or a press discount on purchase, these suppliers welcome the call. In this post we meet Sarah Newman, the talent behind the visually striking products that create Design Bark
Q. What’s behind the name?
Design Bark is the product of my MA research at Chelsea College of Art and Design where I developed a process of screen printing brightly coloured graphics onto real wood veneer – hence Design Bark was born.
Q. Describe your stock style in a sentence
Bright geometric hand screen printed bespoke wood veneer products including lampshades and panelling
Q. Where do you seek inspiration?
Artists – Sarah Morris, Bridget Riley (I named a lampshade after her), and Josef Albers. Architects – Herzog & de Meuron, Sauerbruch Hutton. And finally mathematics and geometry!!!
Q. Where would you most like to see your products become a prop?
Any gorgeously styled film set, or a fashion back drop for Vogue, or windows of Liberty (not asking much huh!)
Q. Tell us a little about your manufacturing process
I use only FSC certified suppliers and source environmentally friendly pigments wherever possible which I then screen print by hand at my studio in South London. All manufacturing is UK based, helping to keep the carbon footprint low.
Q. What makes you a media friendly supplier?
I’m a small designer/maker I’m keen to get exposure for my products and open to media opportunities. Also, I’ll happily undertake bespoke lampshade orders and liaise with clients throughout the design process.
Website: www.designbark.co.uk
Press Requests: Sarah Newman - Email: sarah@designbark.co.uk
Get Social: Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/DesignBark
For the right production Sarah will: Hire To Production, Loan For Press Credit, Press Purchase Discount
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Set Decorator Liz Griffiths was kind enough to let me pitch up in her kitchen and talk to her about her experiences in the art department.
From working on music videos with Madonna and Justin Timberlake to TV shows and films like Gracie, Doctor Who, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, Liz gave me the lowdown on life as a Set Decorator. We also chatted about the upcoming film The Great Ghost Rescue and the Doctor’s current companion, Karen Gillan’s We’ll Take Manhattan. Liz also talked about her experiences working with fellow podcastee, Marcus Rowland.
If you’re insane about interiors and passionate about props, this one is definitely for you.
To see Liz’s full credits, click here, and to visit Liz’s own website, click here.
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This week, Sculptor Bruce Gordon was nice enough to come down to Pinewood Studios to chat to me about his role in the art department.
Having started his career by wood turning, Bruce moved into working in TV and film on projects like Batman Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Captain America and Tim Burton’s upcoming Dark Shadows.
Bruce talked to me about the challenges of working on the new design for the Batmobile, the pros and cons of gettings an Master’s degree and the beautiful work featured in The Wolfman.
To see a full list of Bruce’s credits, click here and to visit Bruce’s own website, click here.
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Red Curtain Creatives: Tim Browning
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I once again headed to Pinewood Studios to learn about the world of Concept Art and Art Direction from Tim Browning who’s working on the upcoming Bond feature.
Tim’s dabbled in a number of disciplines including concept art, draughting, prop design and art direction with credits on The Golden Compass, In Bruges, Alice in Wonderland and the upcoming John Carter.
We discuessed the coming changes effecting Concept Artists, rubber puppet Yoda versus CGI Yoda and Tim’s unexpected cameo in Alice In Wonderland. He also filled me in the on the design of John Carter and Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie. Sidenote: the director of How To Lose Friends and Alienate People who neither Tim or I could remember is Robert B. Weide. Don’t say I never gave you anything.
To see Tim’s full IMDB credits, click here.
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