Shaker Makers - Shake Bristol

A few weeks back I attended my first Shake zine fair at Rough Trade here in Bristol.

I am a massive zine fan, it's on my to do list to make a zine but I honestly just over think things! One day, maybe!

Shake Bristol put on zine fairs and events celebrating illustrators and zine makers around the country. The fairs focus on comics, t-shirts, zines and prints and encourage illustrative makers to join their colourful and creative events.

Attracted to the bright colours and fun, wobbly Spongebob meets skate artist Jim Phillips characters with more than a wink to gruesome/surf album art from bands like The Cramps, yeah, they got my attention with their poster!

@shakebristol

The Palentines Day Shake art fair poster 

From traditional tattoo artworks, comic book characters to Memphis style and handmade jewellery by the lovely Sophie Filomena, there were plenty of goodies to get my attention but I am always sucked in by the zines! 

Local artist Sophie Filomena with her artworks and statement earrings at the Shake Art Fair. 

I love the shortness and straight to the point-ness of a zine, illustrated characters (that are often an alter-ego or reflection of the artist) and downright honest topics. 

A zine will take you into unknown worlds and scenes, normalising everything from self doubt to mundane life moments and personal experiences, using illustrations and (in most cases) words too. 

The DIY element to zines is always super inspiring and a great way to share your artwork and thoughts. Zines are good for the soul! 

Fun at the Shake Art Fair

I could personally of hung out at the Shake art fair all day, chatting with the artists and looking at all the artwork but sadly my teenage sons attention span and excitement for art crashed way before mine! Before they removed me from my zine fair/ record shop haven we did end up with a few goodies from the day including.....

The Shake haul!

A Space Wolf comic by William Powers

A fun comic series, with the hero of the story being Space Wolf. My daughter Sylvie is keen to get her hands on more copies of Space Wolf at the next fair! 
@willisokong



Boring Comics and Sorry I missed your gig zines by Emma Thacker

These are real sweet and honest zines about the difficulties of fitting in and motivating yourself to go do the things you like! Truly inspiring comics by London based illustrator Emma Thacker. 
@saltandchilli_emma



Shake Bristol also have a website with lots of own brand arty products up for grabs from t-shirts, tote bags, stickers, pins and patches to comics and zines. 

The Shake Mag is not to be missed as it features lots of illustrators and artists from around the world who have collaborated with Shake on a chosen theme, the most recent being The Wrestling issue. For a mere £8 you get 152 pages of illustrations by 52 artists and a free sticker and a bookmark too?? Wowsers! 

Artwork by Sophie Filomena as featured in the Shake Mag - Wrestling issue

@sophiefilomena


No Debutante totally recommends going along and supporting your local artists and zine fairs, there is so much happening and to explore!

Go check out Shake Bristol and all the illustrators mentioned here today and do get in touch with Shake Bristol if you are an illustrator who wants to collaborate!

Warning no dweebs.....

Pinterest obsessions - Modern Art Muses

This post was originally going to be fashion based inspired by my latest musings on pinterest but when I checked out the current pins on the No Debutante pinterest boards I realised I have been subconsciously collecting a lot of art.

I like art. I went to art college. Art was my favourite subject at school and as a kid if I wasn't outside climbing trees and riding my bike I was inside, drawing.   

I never saw myself having a career in art, to be honest, I certainly didn't see myself having a career as a fashion journalist so it's funny how things turn out! Creating garments and prints for a fashion label was as close as I got to becoming an artist. I just adored fashion and in the end that's the avenue I took. 

I am really interested in graphic design and typography, which came as a surprise to me as I hated it whilst I was at art college, I was all about the fine art then. I also love 1980's artists including Jean Michel Basquiat's graffiti'd fine art and I just adore Keith Haring's style, simple graphics, repeated patterns and bright, bold colours with a thick, dark outline.

New York Beat by Jean Michel Basquiat

I am always talking about the Italian Memphis art (also from the 1980's) on this blog and I was so excited when it became contemporary again with designers, like local Bristol designer & No Debutante fave Tezla, whose Memphis style graphics adorn her geometric jewellery pieces. 

Clearly, I am reminded by my youth with all of these artists and the beginnings of graffiti and street art being fresh in my mind. I like bright colours and patterns which always seem to have a fun childlike edge to them. Contemporary artists I like seem to be influenced from this era too.

I am also rather partial to Matisse's cut and paste abstract graphic style which in turn must have influenced Keith Haring in a way. 

Not forgetting a slice of Pop Art and a bit of psychedelia, the Yellow Submarine used to be a favourite film and I just loved the bizarre, abstract artwork by artists including Heinz Edelmann, who was also inspired by Art Deco and Surrealism but his interpretation included the bright colours and patterns that I crave!  





Memphis style artwork

The artwork on show today is only what has appeared in my most recent pinterest hoarding and perhaps this will become a new feature for the blog.It's safe to say that these posts will always be filled with bright colours, fun illustrations and repeating patterns and Modern Art is definitely my thing! 

Alexander Medel Calderon for Lazy Oaf

Keith Haring

Keith Haring does Henri Matisse

Jean Michel Basquiat and his art

PLAY MORE DANCE MORE by Camille Walala

Keith Haring invitation

Alexander Medel Calderon

Jordy van den Nieuwendijk

WASTED by Marco Oggian

If you are having a fashion event or a have a new collection you would like No Debutante to promote please get in touch!

Check out my work with Bristol 24/7 magazine under my name 
Emma Gorton-Ellicott

If you are interested in collaborating with No Debutante or getting featured on the No Debutante blog please contact me nodebutanteblog@gmail.com

Keep up with No Debutantes OOTD posts, collabs and current fashion obsessions posted daily on all of the following. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr,  Pinterest all under the #nodebutante name.

Thanks for checking in Fashionistas.   
ND xx

Co-LAB returns to Bristol

Co-LAB Bristol are back on the map on the infamous Gloucester Road in Bristol. Co-LAB moved into their new home at the end of May and have been going from strength to strength since. Co-LAB, who were sadly moved out of their last space due to high rents (read more on that here) at the beginning of the year, have picked themselves up and started again. With new creatives, artists and designers getting involved and showing at their new little store, things are definitely looking up for Co-LAB. 

No Debutante spoke to owner Simone Kidner, at the launch of the new shop, about the support Co-LAB is getting from the general public and how Co-LAB are still supporting local artists and creatives in Bristol. The new shop also features work by some of No Debutante's Bristol faves including amazing earrings by Tezla Designs and cute illustrations and fanzines by The Sad Ghost Club. 

If you come to Bristol, you will probably visit Gloucester Road, it’s a independent fueled road (apparently the longest road in Europe to home so many independents) and luckily on No Debutante’s side of town! You could spend all day wondering up the Gloucester Road, popping into all the shops, eateries and bars and of course people watching, there is always something going on. Come and check it out! 

Here’s a little video interview with the Co-LAB founder Simone Kidner, check it out to hear what Simone has to say. Plus check out and subscribe to more vlogs and interviews on No Debutante’s youtube channel!

All photography and films by No Debutante 

If you are having a fashion event or a have a new collection you would like No Debutante to promote please get in touch!

Check out my work with Bristol 24/7 magazine here under my name Emma Gorton-Ellicott

If you are interested in collaborating with No Debutante or getting featured on the No Debutante blog please contact me

Keep up with No Debutantes OOTD posts, collabs and current fashion obsessions posted daily on all of the following. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr,  Pinterest all under the #nodebutante name.

Thanks for checking in Fashionistas.    
ND xx

Peskimo, Pandas and Custard Creams

Driven by a love of robots, kittens and evil monkeys Peskimo designers Jodie and David create super cute characters and illustrations that never fail to make me smile! Jumping from Japanese kawaii, anime to vintage Miffy style adorableness and a Great British 'how do you do' element to their artwork Peskimo create a fun, cute and colourful world. 

The Bristol based artists prints and illustrations have been adorning screen printed t shirts, children's books, billboards, magazines, interactive media and nightclub walls since 2004 as part of Bristol's bubbling creatives scene.

New for 2017 Peskimo have launched a range of the cutest wooden brooches and enamel pins ever and have asked to collaborate with the No Debutante blog mixing kawaii cute with bright prints, colours and fun! From sleeping cats on 1950s furniture, custard cream biscuits, happy Pandas, sleepy lions and snug as a bug ladybirds, check out the cutest Peskimo shop  and stay cute and happy!

Images courtesy of Peskimo

Images courtesy of Peskimo

Images courtesy of Peskimo

All images (except Peskimo images) by No Debutante

If you are having a fashion event or a have a new collection you would like 
No Debutante to promote please get in touch!

If you are interested in collaborating with No Debutante or getting featured on the No Debutante blog please contact me on nodebutanteblog.gmail.com


Keep up with No Debutantes OOTD posts, collabs and current fashion obsessions posted daily on all of the following. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr,  Pinterest. all under the #nodebutante name.

Thanks for checking in Fashionistas xx

Co-LAB Bristol

London has NEWGEN a scheme that supports, nurtures and promotes new designers by offering financial support towards fashion shows, a time slot in the ‘NEWGEN pop-up showroom ‘ to showcase their collections & introduces the new designers to influential press and buyers from around the world. All funded by The British (ahem London) Fashion Council. Type Bristol into the search on the British Fashion Council website and you will be greeted with ‘no results’ I think we know where the British Fashion Councils priorities lay…

Bristol supports itself, there is no fashion council and despite Bristol being one of the Top 10 cities in the world to live in, the one thing Bristol fails to do very well is support it’s creatives! Thank goodness Bristol creatives have realised this with collaborations and co-working spaces popping up everywhere in a D.I.Y approach to a problem that was just getting ignored and pushed aside with Bristol favouring corporate businesses over the people who keep the heart of the city beating. Basically if you can’t get the support from your city you support each other! Don’t even get me started on the Bristol Fashion week thing again….Bristol supporting corporate fashion week more like with B-list celebrities, bland shows and corporate bloggers! No Thanks!

Co-LAB

Bristol’s largest Independent Art Shop and Gallery  Co-LAB had conquered the sadly decaying city centre, Broadmead with its mix of independent artists, designers and creatives bringing a new, young and Bristolian feel to an area that had been rejected by Bristol to make way for the new corporate Cabot Circus. 
I loved to pop into Co-LAB on my lunch break and rarely came out empty handed, there was so much going on from fashion items, jewellery, art prints & creative, bespoke gifts plus there was always a new art exibit in the PAPER gallery, with it's small café that made you feel at home, it didn't have that sterile feel that many galleries have, it’s not a library, it’s buzzing and all made in Bristol. I Loved it!

Just as I thought Broadmead was getting more open minded and creative I find out that Co-LAB have been made homeless due to high rents at the Broadmead property! Independents cannot compete with corporates and the gentrification of areas, the sad thing is the building will probably be sold to another coffee shop, turned into more flats or even worse be left derelict, making Broadmead look even more like a ghost town then it already does! There was nothing that Co-LAB could do to compete with the high rents, nobody cared, there was no Fashion Council or even Bristol Council to help them, leaving Co-LAB and it’s 150 local designers involved to fend for themselves.

Help Save Co-LAB

Co-LAB supports local artists providing them with a platform and an opportunity to make a living out of their work, celebrating the individuality and creativity Bristol has to offer. Co-LAB also supports young people who have been long term unemployed to start a career in the arts, providing them with paid internships, work experience and creative enterprise training, showing the young designers how to use their creativity to produce sellable products by hosting workshops with links to the creative sector so that they can become part of it. Which is just brilliant, I wish I had that sort of support when I was a young designer!! Please donate!! 

Find the crowdfunder here or search Co-LAB on the Crowdfunder website

Donating to Co-LAB will help towards funding a lease and a move to a new premises and the refitting of a new shop. They cannot do this without your help!

The crowdfunder still has 3 days to go!! Please donate to the crowdfunder to help raise funds towards Bristol's Co-LAB!  

There are lots of exciting packages on the crowdfunder, for £10+ you can get yourself lots of Co-LAB goodies and invites to their new shop launch party with many other packages available all created by Bristols finest designers..... If you just feel like you would like to help there is a £5 donation giving you a chance to spread a little love and show you care.....who could resist getting involved for such a great cause??

Support Bristol! Support Local! Support independents! Get Involved!

All images sourced from Co-LAB and PAPERarts
If you are having a fashion event or a have a new collection you would like 
No Debutante to promote please get in touch!

If you are interested in collaborating with No Debutante or getting featured on the No Debutante blog please contact me on nodebutanteblog.gmail.com


Keep up with No Debutantes OOTD posts, collabs and current fashion obsessions posted daily on all of the following. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr,  Pinterest. all under the #nodebutante name.

Thanks for checking in Fashionistas xx