- Interviews

Interview with Norman Petersen - Designer of MechaWear

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 13:21:01 -0800

Cycling culture and fashion combined into a very fresh accessory collection, designed by Norman Petersen, both artist and cyclist. MechaWear handmade pieces are becoming an urban fashion trend and I’m glad to welcome Norman who talks to us about the whole project and gives valuable insight and advice.

Enjoy!

Hello Norman, welcome to EC! Give us a brief introduction of yourself - when did you start creating jewelry in general?

Hi, Aphrodite. First of all, thank you so much for this interview and for featuring my work. Also, thank you for all your amazing work in bringing us Eye Candies.

My jewelry work comes out of my lifelong interest in art and invention. When I was little my mom might come home to find me in a suit of armor built from cardboard wrapping paper tubes or in a new papier mache mask. I started fine art painting in high school. In my late 20's, I was working as a house painter and through that I found decorative finishing and trompe l'oiel. Add to all that a love of bicycles and you get the MechaWear product line.

So I'm not a jewelry designer in the classical sense but due in part to my background in art and decorative finishing I'm always looking for opportunities to make things look beautiful.

Talk to us about the MechaWear project. How was it inspired and what were the first steps you took towards branding?

A couple years ago I was wearing a basic bicycle chain bracelet and it just came to me that it could and should be colorful and that there was room for a formal design concept and a unique clasp.

The overarching brand concept is based on the growing Upcycling movement which suggests that we should be able to take a lot of this stuff we just consume and, instead of melting it down or tossing it into landfills, find alternate uses. Recycling is often expensive and inefficient and only one part of a big picture solution.

For the name, I was on Godaddy, riffing on possible domain names. “Mechanical wearables” came to me and then MechaWear came out of that. I was fortunate to find a good domain name so easily as that can be expensive and time consuming.

Give us a short description of the creative procedure and technique going into designing and manufacturing a MechaWear piece.

The recycled bike chain goes through a rigorous, 4 stage cleaning process to remove old grease from between plates and rollers. The chain is then protected against rust and corrosion (Turns out some people have somewhat corrosive sweat. Go figure). The unique, hidden clasp is installed and finally the bracelet or necklace is decorated with the exclusive MechEnamel process.

After many attempts with different coloring materials I created an enameling process that's durable, allows for virtually any color and has a rich, luminous quality. Traditional glass enamel is energy inefficient and expensive. It's also nearly impossible to apply to mechanically complex items. I have an investment partner who won't let me share details on our unique enamel process but suffice it to say that MechEnamel is amazing in color and luminosity, is harder than glass enamel and the process is totally “green” in terms of the environment.

One of my goals is to keep the jewelry aspect of the MechaWear project minimal. Of course everyone has an idea for the material and I have to stay true to myself and not try to please everyone. However, some of the suggestions have been too amazing to deny and have been/will be implemented, so my ears are always open (send ideas to contact at mechawear dot com. You will be rewarded).

How would you describe the person loving and wearing MechaWear?

I'm amazed at the variety of people showing interest in this product. For example I was recently in a local coffee shop and the barista flipped out when she saw my blue MechaWear bracelet. She bought one for herself and one for her boyfriend. When her 62 year old mom saw it she had to have one. To top it all off, none of them are cyclists.

We had assumed that it would be a niche thing for cyclists but our customers are turning out to be anyone into edgy, fashion forward accessories.

Apart from supporting recycling, you also organize donations by offering limited edition pieces. How has this gone so far and what are your future goals?

It's going well for some of the causes and so-so for others. One of the big lessons has been that the big charities don't have time for small fund raisers. For example we wanted to do a hot pink bracelet for Susan G. Komen until we learned that they require a minimum of $5000 in monthly donations if you so much as mention their name in relation to a product. Livestrong has been very slow in responding to our offers of fund raising which is sad because I'm convinced that a length of Lance's chain converted to a yellow MechaWear bracelet would bring a few thousand dollars at auction.

So we decided to keep it local and grow from there. We've raised over a thousand dollars for drug exposed newborns (picc.org) and we're also involved with some great bike related non-profits like IMBA and Bike Works in Seattle. Also, we're in talks with some celebs who like the product and are interested in helping raise funds. I'll make sure EC gets that scoop early.

What's your opinion on trends and brands - mainly promoted online and what tips would you give to a new, upcoming designer?

Since we don't have funding to flood the market quickly and fuel a fast trend, we are looking at building a brand patiently over time and our projections are modest. If we get some viral juice, great. If not, just having a cool product that gets noticed and builds over time is fine by us.

The concept of brand is so elusive and strange that I try not to worry about it. Our pieces have the website printed on them because we don't have unrealistic expectations that everyone will remember the name.

If seems that the casual jewelry world (as opposed to luxury brands like Tiffany) is not like cola or cars with regards to loyalty. It looks cool so you buy it and hopefully it gets worn. The reality is that anyone who wears fashion accessories has a box of stuff they don't wear very often.

I strive to create something unique enough that it stands out from the common link chain or colorless metals. I believe this will translate over time into a core group of fans who will spread the word by wearing it often.

My first tip for a new designer is to ignore most of the creative advice people will so willingly share. Research your ideas to establish value and if it's there, build them. Listen to what people suggest, but don't let it keep you from producing and shipping your ideas.

Secondly, ship. Set a date to finish it, plan the steps to make it happen and then get it out the door. Fear keeps most people from actually shipping a finished product. Be afraid, but ship anyway. Ideas are virtually worthless without follow through. World changing inventions are out there in the notebooks of people who are too timid to share them. Don't let that notebook be yours.

Regarding online sales: It comes back to shipping. I've been dragging my feet about submitting MechaWear to bloggers for a while. “It's not quite ready”. “I need to get this re-shot”. “The FAQ page isn't complete enough...” There's never a shortage of excuses. So then one day I say to heck with it and submit to a few blogs and someone awesome like Aphrodite from EC gets right back to me. Do it now is the point.

I think one of my mistakes was that I insisted on building my own sites. I wanted to get to know the code, have control... Very time consuming and if I could do it over I'd hire someone or use Ix or Shopify and learn the code on the side. The upside is that I'm not beholden to anyone for design and I can fix problems quickly instead of waiting for a tech geek in an email queue.

Where do you find your materials and what gets you into creative mood? Can you describe your studio/working place?

I'm dedicated to using recycled materials so I have agreements with bike shops to supply chain and spokes and other worn out parts.

The creative mood is always with me. I don't mean to sound pompous; It's actually a problem. I have to force myself to stop thinking about design and color and invention. It's a struggle to just relax and “be” without thinking about a painting or a design.

The struggle for me is more about what Seth Godin refers to (in Linchpin) as Emotional Labor or being willing to risk ridicule and failure every day. This is what keeps most people from creating or building something amazing out of their own unique being.

Think of a parent who's child is heading out for a ski trip, a bike ride, or to summer camp: “have fun, be careful”. But children, businesses and artists grow when they take risks. So to counter act that inner parent I have to look in the mirror every morning and say to myself “have fun. Take risks. Do something dangerous. Fail a lot.”

In the great book 'The Now Habit', Dr. Neil Fiore instructs to “just start”. Instead of “I'm gonna get this done now”, say “I'm just going to START on this part and see what happens.” This mindset is designed to reduce the fear associated with big projects and it's made a huge difference in production for me.

My studio: I love to look across industries for ideas so when I'm in auto parts or hardware stores I'm thinking about painting and jewelry. I have saws, drills and brushes and plaster and glues, re-curves and transfer paper and grinders... This is the only way stuff like bicycle chain and enamel can come together to form fashion accessories. I make a point of keep all this stuff organized because if things are helter skelter it's impossible to produce.

When you're not creating MechaWear - what can we find you doing? Hobbies, interests ...

My first love is mountain biking and cycling in general. I've been weight training for the last year or so and I'm realizing all kinds of amazing benefits from getting strong and lean. Physical health is a component of success in general and when I make that a priority I realize positive results in all areas of my life.

Share 5 of your favorite jewelry designers and 5 inspiration sites you visit most often.

Well, having established that I'm not a traditional jewelry designer, I hope it's okay if I fudge this a bit. I see brilliant design as unconstrained by specific disciplines and for me the most amazing ideas come from unexpected places.

1. The Italian painter working in California, Carlo Marchiori (http://catoga.com/carlo-marchiori/carlo-marchiori.html) is a big inspiration for me because he sees opportunity for decoration in unusual places.

2. I love the work of Karim Rashid who created the Bobble water bottle and literally about 3000 other things: http://www.karimrashid.com/ His work is very expressive while focusing on useability. He's driven in all the best ways including environmental and social concerns.

3. I look to Art Nouveau for a lot of inspiration. Mucha, Tiffany, Rene Lalique. I like this line from Wikipedia: “Art Nouveau is a philosophy of design according to which artists should work on everything from architecture to furniture, making art part of ordinary life.”

The organic shapes and use of multiple materials satisfies my broad ranging creative energy and I love to take the complex forms and reduce them or borrow specific elements.

4. I used to feel weird for just staring and looking at images or color or form for long periods of time until I realized that it's my primary job. If “good artists borrow and great artists steal” (Picasso) then you'd better start looking at stuff to steal. So I use Google Image Search a lot (turn off “moderate safe search” because the blog with just the right photo might have the “F-word” or breasts and get filtered out). Also, http://Piccsy.com is very inspirational. I also rely on Flickr, 1x.com...

5. I have to mention the master of color, Maxfield Parrish. His work was very high toned and vibrant and I've always been drawn to that. Hold the pastels, pass the primaries. This love of intense color definitely shows in the MechaWear line. http://www.americanillustration.org/artists/parrish/parrish.html

Can you give us a sneak peak of your future plans?

Look for some very lean items with feminine lines that incorporate the MechEnamel and some surprises.

Also, we've got a bag in the works that features Upcycled cloth and a dual use feature for the bicycling world. MechaWear is as much about bicycle fashion as anything else: http://mechawear.com/blog. The bag will have a very substantial charitable component as well.

Last but not least, please feel free to add anything else you feel like sharing.

I recently built a simple blog to share some of my paint and mechanical work. I'm only posting my personal favorites so it's sparse for now but will grow with time: http://normanpaints.com.

Thanks again, Aphrodite.

LINKS: […]

Site: http://mechawear.com/index.html
Blog: http://mechawear.com/blog/

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Interview with artist Stephanie Bucholz

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 01:56:23 -0800

I always love receiving emails from artists who are interested in showing their work on Eye Candies. And I was more than pleasantly surprised when Stephanie Bucholz introduced me to her creative world. Experimenting with a wide variety of art forms including figure drawing, landscapes, still life, even wire, Stephanie creates pieces that are rich in emotions. Pieces that are inviting to the eye and makes you want to look closer in order to explore the artist’s drawing techniques (lines, shapes, patterns etc) and in my opinion Stephanie Bucholz has undoubtedly a very personal and interesting touch.

Let’s welcome her!

Hello Stephanie and welcome to EyeCandies. Give us a brief introduction of your background. Do you remember when you actually knew that you wanted to be an artist - and what were your first steps in the field?

Thank you for inviting me. What a great blog!

I wonder if I ever really thought about it like that—when I "knew". Seems like I've just done it all my life as entertainment or to make a gift for someone. It was more like a hobby and I think that freed me to explore it in an on-again-off-again, just-cuz-it-feels-good kind of way. It was a diversion from writing which I took way too seriously and consequently had to give up, at least temporarily. As an art minor in college, with a focus on printmaking, I unexpectedly learned how to draw (at least my doodly version of it!). I think that was the beginning of taking it more seriously—eventually I took a pen to a canvas and started drawing on it. Once you find what works for you you're home free. I still try not to take it too seriously!

Your art feels to me very bold and symbolic. Especially your figure & portrait paintings are filled with energy and emotions. What do you seek to explore and depict through your creations?

I can't say I use symbolism intentionally—at least I don't usually choose any symbols. I'm all about depicting a moment in time and all the aesthetic, emotional, ironic and symbolic details that belong to that moment by chance. I feel so much more at home with the Imagist, Red Wheelbarrow school than with the classic this-means-that tradition. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy symbolism—I do, but in my own work it's usually a random comparison that happens to exist, not my own commentary.

I guess that's my comment: symbols mean nothing in nature—only what we bring to them through a long history of agreed-upon meanings.

Talk to us about your Dogeater series.

It looks like a series maybe because I'm blogging parts of it as I finish but it's one piece—a 24 x 36 wood panel with a graphic short story depicted on it in panel form, like a comic book or graphic novel. I'd wanted to write a graphic novel since a friend introduced me to Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth. I didn't want to go off in a different direction, though, so it made sense to try it on canvas. I ended up putting it on wood so I could include plenty of collage and carving with the linoleum cutter—stuff it with physical, visual details.

Here's the story: My ex-husband, a writer, emailed me a story about our divorce that was, strangely enough, just NOT how it went down. Without getting into whose fault anything was, let me just say that in his version, I am a raging, pitiless Fruma Sarah and he is a hero who rescues dogs. And this may be the case, for all I know, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it probably isn't.

I think what it became from what it was is pretty interesting and kind of hilarious so I'm telling my version. I'm trying to be—or trying to try to be—as honest as possible.

From what I see, you tend to use mixed media such as acrylics, markers and collage often in your pieces. Can you explain your inclination towards this technique?

I get bored doing one thing for too long so I'm always wanting to change it up and try new media. Why these particular media? Sometimes practical reasons. Acrylics over oil because my studio is also my bedroom and I have two cats, so, no turpentine! Marker because I love the drawing as part of the finished piece, not just a guideline that gets lost underneath. Collage works so well to bring depth to the image. I love the transformative nature of it—a small bit of a photo from the newspaper can be so stunning, disorienting and grounding at the same time. A bunch of them together create an overall texture of controlled chaos—impressionistic, like a glimpse or the memory of a glimpse of the real world.

My most recent discovery is working down into layers of paint be removing it with q-tips dipped in acetone. It works really well with reclaimed paintings—old paintings found at yard sales—to bring out bits of the original image. You get all kinds of interesting stuff that you would never come up with otherwise!

What feeds your need for creation? How do you deal with inspiration? What are the first steps you take when you start a new project?

I look forward all week to free time on the weekends to paint—the time to forget about everything serious and important and just have fun. When I finally get that time I'm more than ready to go. For inspiration I might look at artists I like, or my own photos for reference if I'm thinking of doing a landscape or cityscape. How I start varies depending on what I'm going to work on but most often it involves painting a canvas black, choosing a photo, and drawing what I see in the photo onto the canvas in black marker. I do it freehand but I use a grid as a guideline to keep the perspective from creeping way off. I fill in with paint using sponge brushes or q-tips. I'm not a big fan of bristle brushes except to apply things like gold leaf adhesive.

Which was the latest art exhibition you visited and what were your impressions?

I was in New York a couple of weeks ago and visited the Guggenheim (a Cubism perspective that bored me to distraction—never did like Cubism) and the Whitney, a hodgepodge of bad art that was unfortunately not even spectacularly bad, just middle-of-the-road bad: again, boring. I love seeing bad art in New York! It reminds me that the ability to decide what is good art is a fallacy belonging to no one and everyone. Oh, also the Rembrandt show at the Frick. Made me feel all classy and studious and cool, but distanced, not inspired to pick up a pen. What does that for me is new stuff, experimental and different—good and bad.

"Boaters" - experimenting with wire on canvas

Are there any other art forms you feel connected to and/or influenced by?

Great writing and music are two of my favorite things in life. I don't create in those categories (except for a little writing for Dogeater and more like it in the future). I like it that way! I'm free to enjoy it more fully I think. I also enjoy photography. My own photos are usually for reference but if you take enough of 'em you get a few lucky good ones!

What are your feelings when you finish an art piece? Is there a particular painting you really feel connected to?

I'm always happy to finish a painting and move it out of here! Sometimes there's a twinge I'm going to miss certain paintings but I'm happy they're going to people who enjoy them. I feel connected to a lot of them but if I had to pick one I'd say Dogeater, because it feels so uniquely mine, and of course it's so personal. It feels like a breakthrough and milestone for me because it brings together everything I've learned in printmaking, drawing, and painting, and writing. It feels like all the years I spent working on those things have led to this moment, this new thing.

Can you mention your top 5 favorite artists?

Right now I'd say Van Gogh, Klimt, Michael Flohr, Robert Crumb, and Banksy. If you haven't seen Crumb or Exit Through the Gift Shop (about Banksy are two of the most fascinating documentaries I've ever seen.

Share one of your favorite art places online.

I have to mention these guys at Art One (http://www.artonegalleryinc.com/). WHAT a great venue for new artists. Kraig has maintained this space for 14+ years, as a MARVELOUS place for new, local, and student art. A TRUE advocate of inspiration and democratic access to art. This is the gallery I've sold most of my paintings in in the last three years. Kraig and the people who work with him deserve some kudos, seriously. Kraig distrusts the net thing; the guys who work for him are much younger and they see it. Trying to rope Kraig in. He's worth it, I swear.

What colors would you use if you were to paint your self portrait? Where do you see yourself 10 years from now.

I guess I would use a lot of blues and greens because I use a lot of them in my painting. I think I'm slightly color blind in that part of the spectrum so it seems appropriate. I know myself pretty well but there is always unknown territory. Otherwise, what a bore! Ten years from now I'd like to be painting full time, not just on the weekends.

And last but not least, is there something we should look forward to? Your future plans?

Definitely more graphic novels!

LINKS: […]

Site: http://stephaniebucholz.com/
Blog: http://stephaniebucholz.com/engineroom/

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Interview with artist Emily Claire Ballou

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 09:21:41 -0800

Emily Claire Ballou, artist, interior stylist and photographer, has managed to succeed a quite challenging task:
to decorate a truly beautiful and inspiring space, with a creative touch, inspired by her love for Japanese culture.

The outcome I absolutely adore and I’m very happy to feature an interview with her on EC.

Enjoy!

[All images courtesy of Emily Claire Ballou]

Hello Emily Claire and welcome to EyeCandies. You are our first interviewee in the field of interior design. Do tell us how your fascination with decorating began?

Hello! Thank you so much for featuring me on your blog!

As a child, I always loved the idea that you could personalize your living space to reflect your interests and style. I find it fascinating to see how other people live and what treasures they choose to display. It really wasn’t until I moved into an apartment after I got married that I discovered my passion for interior design. I decorated my apartment before I started staging, so that didn’t influence this particular design. However, I have learned a great deal from my current position. Whenever I walk into any home or decorated space, my mind immediately starts buzzing as to what I could do to fix, stage, or improve the area.

You have done exceptional work in decorating your home. What was the most challenging part and your main inspirations and influences?

The most challenging part was probably our newlywed budget, but this also made it fun to hunt for the right pieces. I had to search all over Craig’s List, the flea market, and thrift stores in order to find items that I thought had good design, shape, and quality. It was important to me to take a box without any architectural interest and make it into a home. My main inspiration was Japanese design, especially for the bedroom. I wanted the apartment to feel serene and uncluttered. It was very freeing to part with excess personal items. I feel such a sense of calmness while at home because I know there isn’t an intimidating pile of junk hiding under my bed or in my closets. I also adore the clean lines in Scandinavian design and I hope to incorporate more of this influence over time.

You currently work in an interior design and home staging company. What would you say are your most fulfilling and creative tasks?

I love to help people “move on” with their lives. It is gratifying when we get a positive reaction from clients who are shocked with the transformation of their personal space. We just finished staging a house last week and while I was photographing the finished project the owner walked in with the realtor. She was literally screaming she was so happy. I felt like I was on HGTV revealing her home to her! Another fulfilling moment is when we complete an incredible transformation at the end of the day. While we do a lot of million dollar homes that are rather “cookie cutter”, my favorite projects are the older homes that need a lot of updating. I love a challenge and these houses have both charm and character that is not often found in the brand new homes. These also have the best “before and after” reveals.

Blogs are currently quite influential in the fields of arts, crafts and design. What are your views concerning online media?

I think blogs are a fabulous resource and I take advantage of them daily. They have inspired people to be much more creative and to share ideas publicly. You can receive constructive criticism and input on your own work from people who are honest because they don’t know you personally. Many are exercising their creativity through Etsy, which is a useful international resource for online crafting, vintage, and handmade items. There are so many wonderful blogs and websites out there that I get inspiration from. With that being said, there is still nothing like a magazine or a book to me. There is something about the experience of turning the physical pages and being able to look back at your favorite images or putting them up on an inspiration board.

What would you say are the latest trends in interior design and what are your favorite blogs / sites for inspiration?

Trends seem to come and go so quickly. I believe it is best to apply the foundation of good design rather than being current with all the latest fads. I ascribe to classic design that has stood the test of time. Bold, graphic wallpaper on a feature wall is in right now but wallpaper seems to bounce in and out of style, so keep this in mind. I also think it is best to save trends for accessories or something that you can easily switch out once it is considered passé.

Some of my favorite blogs:
Design Sponge
Oh, Hello Friend
Centsational Girl

They all have very talented and creative ladies behind them!

What advice would you give a person who asked you for tips in renewing or redecorating their space? What should we keep in mind?

Tackle your clutter first. It makes it much easier to plan a space.
Shop around your home and consider either re-purposing items or giving new life to something you haven’t used in a while.
Don’t be afraid to move your furniture around. Sometimes people are too comfortable with what is familiar. Change things up a little and you could be surprised what will work.
Only display items that you truly love and cherish. You will be happier with your space in the long run.
Don’t be afraid to switch out accessories seasonally (decorative pillows, throws, vases, table settings, linens, florals, etc.) This will keep you from getting bored.
Color and paint are the easiest way to transform a room. Purchase MULTIPLE small paint samples before you tackle a space. The color on that small sample paper often looks quite different when on an entire wall. Paint a 2’x2’ square and observe it throughout the day and through different forms of light. This will save you the expense of common painting mistakes. Use hues that resonate with you.
If you come across a particular item that really speaks to you while you are out and about shopping, go ahead and buy it if it is within your budget. A single item can truly complete or transform a room.
While there are plenty of rules people love to follow with interior design, it is most important that you create a space that makes you happy and reflects your personality and taste.

Give us an overview of your latest creative project.

I have a lot of fun photo shoots planned for the future focusing on vignettes, so come back and see!

Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now?

I would love to be a photo stylist that takes an initial idea and turns it into reality. I also want to continue my own work and create images that give me artistic satisfaction.

And last but not least, is there something we should look forward to? Feel free to add anything else you want us to know.

I want to expand on my subjects and I hope to provide more recipes on the blog.

Anyone can decorate their home. While there are rules that make visual and practical sense in interior design, there really is no right or wrong when decorating your own home. As long as you are content with the final product, that is what truly matters.

Thank you so much for interviewing me. It truly is an honor because I love your blog so much!

EclaireArt


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Interview with artist Julia Boersma

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 09:21:45 -0800

"Humble Beginning"

Julia Boersma – “mad artistic scientist”, fascinator of biological structures, forms and aspects of life, digital art creator, experimenter of her fascinations, conveying digital art into fusions of photography, sculpture, collage illustrations, software and many more. She is a final year student of Artez Fine Art Institute believing in self – development. Being involved in the fresh digital art field, Julia depicts her impressive visions through metaphysical illustrations that search mystery of life. She is an artist searching for the answers revealed by few or none. I had a great chance to exchange thoughts via the virtual world and to explore just the tip of the iceberg of the mind and soul of this unique person.

Julia, how could you describe yourself as the creator of your work?

A friend of mine once called me “mad artistic scientist” and I think that’s strangely accurate.

Did you graduate from an art school or are you a self-taught artist?

Actually I’m still a student. I’m on my final year at the Artez (www.artez.nl) Fine Art Institute.

The word self-taught is a bit dubious when you put it in contrast with an art school based education. Even when you are attending an art school, you still teach yourself. Since art is an everlasting study, the idea is to teach the students on how to teach themselves.

Could you tell me about your inspirations that highly influence your artistic work?

I had always been fascinated visually by the microscopic world and biology. When my father died last year I was confronted with a conflict between the concept of consciousness and the physical self. This sharpened my senses to an emotional baggage making me aware of our own biology that can be brought to the table. Such emotional kick initialized my fascination towards biology related to Metaphysical problems like the mind/ body problem.

Even though I am an atheist and the questions I ask myself can be seen as very different from those that depict religious views I often look at religious arts. I do this because we do have one fundamental thing in common. We both include our metaphysical views on life in our work. A lot of the examples of western religious art were funded by the church. But we should not forget the fact that what they depicted was actually believed by the artists themselves.

"Fanart"

Are there any sources of your inspiration like books, movies, music, etc.?

One of the books that have inspired me intellectually is “The art instinct” By Dennis Dutton. I have always trouble wording how artistic creation would fit into the evolutionary context of the human being but this book explains it in clear and elegant manner.

I’m fascinated by the more modern cultural history of the bizarre by which I mean series like the Xfiles. To me, the arts always had a sense of shaking ones concept of reality that corresponds well with this.

How about your own piece? As far as I am concerned you wrote your own book. Could you tell me something about that?

About two years ago I self published a book called the “Visual Hypotheses”. It was a visual exploration of the most popular edges of science.

"Visual Hypotheses"

Which fields of art are strongly connected with your presentations?

I think we are on the verge of a new field of art; a primarily digital one that functions on social networks.

Consider that a constant aspect of being an artist is not just making art but wanting to show it to people. Once I did a small test to see how many people I could reach with a digital work inside of 5 minutes. I posted it on 7 Facebook groups and counted that this could reach over 100.000 people with an interest in the arts.

Until recently the digital form was almost always second to the physical one. For example the printed photo was more important than the original digital file. I suspect that this will change places within this new field. The digital file will take priority over any physical form it might temporarily take such as prints or multimedia installations.

I suspect that the financial aspect of this new field is going to have to be very different as well. This is why I’ve started experimenting with different ways to enable people to support the arts and /or artist that they appreciate. I was inspired by the way freeware software functions so I put an option on my blog to donate one euro or an amount of your choice. I think an option to buy portfolio e-Books and slideshow screensavers might be the next step.

My mentors often tell me I’m working in a field that has not been invented yet. This might well be but when I look at how fast this field has developed in the last 5 years I have absolutely no worries about that. And I’m far from alone in this position.

"Perception"

What message would you like to depict through your works?

I want to point out how bizarre reality can feel; in particular the reality of being human.

What techniques do you use that genuinely express your message?

I guess it would count as mixed media. Generally speaking I use the computer.

I combine my photos, drawings, collages and virtual 3D work, using a wide range of software such as Photoshop, Sketchbook, Zbrush and Blender.

"Contemplation"

Could you tell me about the idea – experiment that lies behind your blog, presenting your works of art without background information or conceptual theory?

When you look at an artwork and someone tells you how you are supposed to interpret it you lose the ability to enjoy your own interpretation. And as an artist you lose the honest and objective interpretation and feedback the viewer might have. So to test how and what my work communicates I purposely left out background and conceptual information on my blog.

"Brain out of the vat"

In your opinion what characteristics should a good art school have?

The most common problem I hear is that the arts by nature really do not fit very well inside an educational system because of its innovative nature. So the most crucial aspect I can think of for an art school is its capability to adapt.

How do you perceive the future of digital art which is still a fresh field of creativity?

I suspect that the future of digital art is very much linked to the developments in online social networking.

The online social networks will continue to give outsiders the ability to follow an artist. The best thing about being a very online orientated artist is that even if you make very specific work that only relates to 0.01% of all people they will be able find you. Of course the software will keep getting more and more user friendly. And I can imagine some new interfaces getting on the creative playing field. Just look at the development in the game industry. The Kinect from the Xbox and all the WII toys are perfect for creative expression.

From your observation who is the recipient of your work?

My audience mainly consist of people that in some way have experienced a conflict between the body and the mind. I don't have a specific audience in mind when I make my work. But I think the people who relate to me personally and intellectually the most will be most likely to appreciate my work.

"Cognition Storm"

Could you tell me about your future plans and projects?

My plans for the rest of this school year are graduating this summer and publishing a new book with an eye on the mind/ body problem.

I will take one school year off before starting my post graduate study. In that year I plan to do a couple of exhibitions including a duo exhibition with Surya de Wit. And I might start working on a book about the Ethology of arts if I could find some biology students to help me.

Many thanks to Julia for her patience and creative participation on the EyeCandies Blog

Images: Courtesy of Julia Boersma

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Interview with artist Kostas Rossidis

Sun, 06 Mar 2011 07:33:59 -0800

Kostas Rossidis I’ve known for a long time now. Haven’t yet met in person but started talking through MySpace and managed to keep in touch since.

I don’t think I’m capable of selecting the right words in order to describe his talent and artwork - not to mention his witty & cool personality.

His surreal and dark creations manage to draw you in and have a strong visual impact. Every tiny detail is perfectly drawn and it's more than evident that plenty of thought and technique go into his pieces.

I’m very happy and proud to host and present you one of my favorite artists:

Hello Kosta it’s a pleasure to have you in EyeCandies. How did your passion for art begin and what were your first inspirations / motivations?

Hello EyeCandies the pleasure is all mine! My passion for art came in a very small age as I was constantly drawing whenever and wherever I could (or couldn't as my mother was always cleaning up walls and my bedroom door haha). As for my inspirations, they are everywhere: people I love or the things I’m thinking at the time, anything that makes you think or feel something (good or bad) can be an inspiration box ready to be opened.

Your surreal pieces are mind blowing! What do you wish to convey through your art and how would you describe your style in general?

I don't think myself as a kind of artist that constantly wants to convey some ideas through his art. I create paintings that are based on my feelings or thoughts at the time being with no “secret” meanings - most of them are just my way to see things or feelings. If I should describe my style I would say that I'm a macabre - surreal artist cause of my not so “happy” for some people paintings and illustrations.

Your drawing skills are absolutely amazing, can you share some tips / advice on photorealism?

Photorealism for me is something that can be learned and with practice made perfect. My tip is to always look for the details cause that's the thing that makes a painting unique. I use an A4 paper with a rectangular hole in it to focus deeply in some parts of the picture and concentrate on the details. You look weird and funny holding that piece of torn paper in front of you but it works for me.

If you were to choose a favorite artist with whom you would collaborate on a project who would it be and why?

Oh this is a very long catalogue of artists … But I would definitely enjoy to draw with a small child ! Their creations are so unique and pure that can't be reached from an adult-minded artist. Isn't that what art is all about ? To express your feelings and thoughts on a piece of paper or in notes with no restrictions at all? Children do this all the time and I hate when parents try to guide them to do the “correct” drawing, use the “correct” color for the sky or something like that.

How do you see the art scene evolving in Greece? Which in your opinion are the appropriate venues for an artist to promote his work?

I see that many incredible young artists come out every day but living in this country doesn't make it easy for them to follow their dream or promote their work at all … I would suggest they participate in some group art exhibitions, use the internet, and depending on what city they live in, find some bar-cafe-galleries where they can present their personal work.

When you’re not drawing, painting or sketching, what we can find you doing?

There is not something specific I do … I always try to learn about new things, I hang out with my closest friends, watching movies, and try to have fun in every way I can.

Talk to us about your latest project: concept, creative procedure

Unfortunately with my military obligations (which just ended) I didn’t have enough time to work on a project but I had a lot of time to think about new ideas. I want to find 3 more artists of any kind, take a 2m x 4m piece of canvas and do a collaboration with them just for the fun of it and post it in the middle of a city. Do a small exhibition based on a concept that came to me these days - having to do with surreal styled images taken from the holy bible.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now?

I have absolutely no idea. But I wish I have found a job as a free hand drawing teacher or a TV spot concept writer in an advertisement company.

Use a link (image, video, audio, anything) that mostly describes your mood right now.

I must say this one cause that’s the thing we must all do … evolve !

Is there anything we should look forward to? Also, feel free to add anything you wish.

Well you are going to see much more of me in the future because I can’t even think about stopping to draw. I would like to add only one thing: there can not be an ugly piece of art, only different from our taste and point of view. Thanks a lot for this lovely conversation EyeCandies and Aphrodite I wish you the best and I'm sure you will do the best ! Share the love.

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Interview with designer Katerina Karoussos

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 10:28:23 -0800

Katerina Karoussos – milliner - one of the last in Greece maintaining the tradition of hats’ craftsmanship; passionate for elegance, femininity, theatre! As a creative designer she follows the motto: “Mode and elegance is not a privilege but a personal right” and she is always looking for woman’s unique personality and style in her creations. We were invited to her magical atelier which had an enchanting vibe and elegance to talk with Katerina Karoussos about her great experience, creative fascinations and deep insights into the tradition and future of millinery craft.

Katerina, could you tell me about your first fascination with hats?

I always had my own unique and extraordinary style. I have been wearing hats which were integral element of my image. I was getting dressed in radical and much outstanding way than other people; my own costumes were inspired by movies and other fascinations but I never followed trends. I really dislike them.

I have manual skills and usually I was sewing my own clothes; I was wearing hats and gloves made by myself. Hats and accessories were always inseparable parts of garment to complete my image. Most of the hats suit me so that I can wear many types of hats. They are such kind of accessory that can change completely the whole look. They are my great passion.

What is the story - how did you become a milliner?

When I started working as the assistant for famous Greek designer Loukia I had the opportunity to visit many Greek hat makers but it was difficult to get to know a lot about craftsmanship. So I decided to learn how to create hats. I went to New York to study millinery craft on Fashion Institute of Technology. Thus I can say that I create hats all my life with over 30 years of working in the profession.

I am specialized in millinery but my interest about design was always extensive. I have continually expanded my passion with designing clothes , accessories, wedding and christening garment, theatrical outfits.

Personally as a designer I really like both classic chic looks and theatrical outfits because both of them are in some way timeless.

What is your opinion about fast fashion and mass production and its influence into the millinery craft?

Recently I have the impression that many clothes are overpriced and the quality of raw materials is getting gradually low because of very few fabrics, the way of work and idea itself that is worthy. The industries produce clothes under the trend tendencies just for one season. As we know fashion always make circle and there are many returns. Now we can wear everything and still we will be in fashion. That is the paradox of fashion.

Before WW II no one could go out without the hat outside, not only women but also men. It was an indispensable element of clothing, a dress code of those times. The hats were gone for good when all the hairdos started a new era. The millinery craft was completely faded after that time. Nowadays very few people still continue the tradition of hat making. I’m probably one of the last milliners in Greece. Mass production of hats forces out the craftsmanship which is very bad. Such situation links with lower quality.

So maybe at this point we could remind people about the traditional value of craftsmanship?

We have to know that every kind of handmade design whenever it is a garment or hat and is tailored to your personality and taste always will have more value than any trend. That is my opinion, because I am aware of the habit that is aimed for consuming and buying things without care how long it will last.

How do you perceive the future of millinery craft?

First of all I have to say how it was in the past. I used to buy some raw materials with very good quality from many places like Paris, London and in Greece. But for now I cannot find them any longer. I have been working in the profession for over 30 years. I have observed especially in the last 10 years that the quality of raw materials is gradually getting lower year by year. I cannot predict where will lead us the future. Sometimes I feel like “the Last of the Mohicans”. Of course the hats will never disappear because of the mass production. But the tradition of millinery craft is unknown for me. I hope for young people to continue the tradition. We have to know that craft, all the hand made items will be always of great value and timeless.

Apart from hats creations you design numerous different products including theatrical costumes.

Yes, I really enjoy designing theatrical outfits because I can go wide with my ideas. To be truth, I started Drama School to be an actress. My family traditions were deeply rooted in the theatre. I grew up at home where theatre was a great part of it. I really like the concept of theatrical profession, stage performance, but I couldn’t see myself as a socialite in the theatrical circles. I am an individualist in my work and I prefer to be well - known for what I design than any other reasons. To be creative it‘s more important for me.

From your observations you don’t have the impression that artistic world is proceeding in strange direction?

I am not sure in what direction it should go but I think that there are still some people that know the real meaning of art, fashion and they have passion for what they create. And we always should have a hope for good things to come.

We can observe through the media that the level is lowering. It doesn’t happen only in Greece but everywhere. It’s becoming universal issue.

We can see how times are changing. Before the centuries there was a power of monarchy that was putting pressure on aestheticism in artistic circles. Actors, painters, musicians, composers – they all created with high level of aestheticism. Nowadays it is a mix of everything - clothing, make–up, image - and not always in good taste.

What do you think about the expression “Fashions fade style is eternal”?

I really believe in that. The style should be timeless and unique.

What should be the real style of woman?

First of all there is no style that can suit to all women. Every woman is different in both her silhouette and personality. She has to find her own style accentuating her values and cover drawbacks of the silhouette. For example the woman with body structure that has shorter legs should not wear low waist pants. They will emphasize this disadvantage and woman won’t look good in it. Women have to know that they should pick the items that will fit her taste and she will look good in it. Otherwise it is not fashion. The bad thing about fashion is to follow the trends without thinking. The desire to copy the models is misleading while most of the women have different physique. Every woman should learn what looks good on her body and select the clothes that will suit her.

Could you tell me about your vision of woman?

My vision of woman is how I present them through my collections

("Côte d' Azur"; "Wanderings"; “Once upon a time”)

Elegant, classic, chic and feminine.

What is your attitude towards trends?

I don’t really like trendy things. I prefer clothes that you can buy or make by yourself, wear them even many years after and they will still look good on you. I prefer the clothes to be simple, apart from theatrical outfits. Simplicity can make you to be creative with accessories like hats, gloves and bags experimenting in different ways and always look fabulous.

How could you describe yourself as a designer, creator?

I always want to design a dress that will be tailored to woman’s taste and personality. I would rather create something a bit different than the samples that I have, to put small changes, to be creative with the form, shape, styles. I prefer to customize the clothing to the needs of women.

My great desire is to create the things that I’m really good in. We are not perfect, we have talents that make us creative and things that we are not strong enough. We cannot be good in everything.

How about your inspirations? What makes you really inspired to create?

I can be inspired by everything - movies, streets, shapes. Travelling is a great source of inspiration. I have seen lots of movies and I am highly inspired by but I don’t have any specific movie that is my most favourite. I like movies with special vibe, colours and images.

I always believe that the place is highly motivating for creativity. Do you have such places that you really feel creative?

I used to live and work in New York which I really like. New York is a city with great pace. But I think that country I could live easily is Italy. I really like the vibe of Italian cities and villages. They have special atmosphere, delicious food and great weather that is very fascinating for me.

Many thanks to Katerina Karoussos for her creative participation and interesting talk to EyeCandies.

Images courtesy of Katerina Karoussos

LINKS: […]

www.katerinakaroussos.gr


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Coco Pit

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 06:38:05 -0800

Coco Pit is a French designer, graphic artist and fashion illustrator. As a Fine Art graduate of the Paris-VIII University she started successful collaborations in communication consulting for leading French fashion designers and Couture houses. This experience gave her a great opportunity to focus on fashion and continue her interests in art.

After moving to London she set up her own company called getConfused specializing in creative and technology consultancy. Nowadays, Coco is a hard-working and enthusiastic artist dividing her precious time between illustration works and trend reports for diverse fashion magazines such as Elle, Vogue, and Muse and her expanding business Forget Me Not including magical scarves, cushions and turbans.

I had a great telephone conversation with Coco speaking about her artistic work, inspirations and experience in the fashion industry.

Forget Me Not summer beach towels
Photo: Babette Pauthier

Coco, you are a graduate of Fine Arts in Paris, fashion illustrator, graphic artist, you are leading your own company getConfused. Could you tell me on which subjects of art you are mostly focused in your work?

I do everything in the same area of art, although many of my projects are focused on different details but the final results are very universal for me, leading to the same aim. For example I can design a scarf, work on web design, make illustrations but always it will lead to the area of my interest. I make different things because in my belief change is good and inspiring. I enjoy such a situation.

Photo: Courtesy of Forget Me Not

After your studies you started your career as a communication consultant for French leading fashion designers and couture houses. What could you say about such a great experience?

I started working in a press site, in press offices, working with designers, organization of fashion shows. I was engaged in many different operations like castings, preparation of the shows and dealing with the press. Such experience demands lots of communication and public relation skills in the fashion environment. Later it turned out to be very helpful for my further actions in setting up my own brand. I could say it’s a good start, but always you need to do more and more.

Photo: Courtesy of Forget Me Not

So, there is always some kind of motivation ahead?

Yes, definitely. I love change which allows me to expand my interest in design the same as to return to the roots like ceramics (which was my case of art studies), working with the object. Lately we plan to go to Paris to work on some projects but mostly to be focused on designs.

Forget Me Not scarf
Shell Print

What is your opinion about the strong fusion between fashion and art appearing nowadays in fashion ads, editorials, videos, designs?

It is a thin frontier – a delicate line between fashion, design and art which is very easy to overpass the borders, to go in other ways. You can observe work of numerous fashion photographers who make photo shoots for famous fashion magazines,their editorials are very artistic.

Don’t you have the impression that sometimes art and fashion become somehow synonyms?

I think in art we may find more philosophical and spiritual meanings, while fashion is more concerned on beauty and good looking. Fashion is a form of art as well but in my own opinion it goes in only one line. Art may justify itself with the message left behind that can sometimes vary from the fashion industry.

As the fashion illustrator for the leading magazines and ad campaigns how do you combine art with fashion?

Fashion magazines are my main source of inspirations. As an illustrator I have to admit that it takes lots of effort to design a composition of images. Usually I draw all the elements separately and then I make montage as a final result.

I feel highly inspired with the work of the fashion photographers like Steven Meisel, Sølve Sundsbø, Camila Arkans and many more. They are so different in their outstanding styles that I really admire. The style of the particular photographer is very important and plays crucial part as the idea left behind. Another significant thing is the connection of the photographer with the model. Me, as a fashion illustrator I don’t have it when I draw. Thus, it is very important for me to catch the best moment in the photo shoot and attempt to expose it in the best possible way on the illustrations. (Forget Me Not Scarves for Spring Summer collection, Photo: Babette Pauthier)

Photo: Courtesy of Forget Me Not

An illustrator knows how to select or emphasize a particular feature in the image. How do you translate the mood, atmosphere, emotions in your works?

There are so many possibilities. In comparison with photography, an illustrator may have more freedom working with his tools without a team around him; he is alone in his work. Personally, I think it’s great to have such liberty in free choice.

Could you outline the story of your own business Forget Me Not? What were the main reasons to found it?

My friend with whom I worked in the office saw my works which he really liked. He suggested to me the idea of scarf’s design. He said that my illustrations could be an amazing theme. I decided to set up my own company but that time I wasn’t aware how absorbing it can be. It demands lots of work not only for the concept and design, but also for the production procedure: like distribution and press.

What it means to be a creative mind of Forget Me Not? Tell me about the inspirations influencing your work.

As the creative mind mostly I focus on the design of my compositions – which from the beginning I try to build with simplicity. However the more I am involved in such a process, the more complex it becomes at the end.

I derive my main inspirations from esotery, astrological influences. Everything can be magical like a unique visual universe. I feel really inspired from fin-de-siècle novels and fairy tales like Alice in Wonderland.

There are so many inspirations surrounding me. I want to create some edgy theme but it can alter as the result. However, mainly I feel inspired with everything mystical and magic. I have observed that with all that communication and mass media message, people loose this mystery and magic. That is why I really like my ideas transferred into images and compositions. If you go to some scarf rooms you may notice completely different colours and compositions than those I tried to use in my designs. I wanted to make something different and unique; not so much towards commercial direction, but closer to art, to make others perceive what I really want to show in my work.

It is really a good moment for me to speak about my work for Forget Me Not. I can clearly see the things that I didn’t notice and I couldn’t imagine before; making some conclusions and further predictions.

Forget Me Not Scarves

What could you say about your latest collection for Spring/Summer?

It is purely inspired by the Caribbean theme – taken from the historic plot when Conquistadors arrived to this exotic area, finding bright and vivid colours, shells and parrot images.

I have noticed that this collection is more focused on images than graphics than your previous designs of Forget Me Not.

Yes, recently I tried to work on two separate lines – one more graphical while another is centred more on illustrations. It is because I think it can complete somehow and find the feedback in people’s tastes.

What techniques and technology had to be used to make such a stunning effect of digital prints on silk fabrics?

Firstly, when I create my designs, I use traditional techniques like hand – drawing. Then I make a scanning process and finally it goes for digital printing. It involves lots of different techniques in digital printing. I have to say that the production is very consuming but later it transfers into great quality.

Forget Me Not scarves

Apart from being a designer, you have also set up your own creative and technology consultancy company getConfused. What are the main aims and philosophy of your company?

I set up this company with my boyfriend who is an amazing web developer. The getConfused project has quite an extensive content including fashion, music, consulting and communication, design, website development and much more. Thomas is focused on website and technical issues while I am responsible for communication and fashion industry aspects. It seems to be two different areas, but in the same time we are fulfilling our aims.

I would like to ask you about another project that you are involved in –Antimonide

This is a fashion blog that I built up together with my friend. We have created this platform in order to promote young and talented designers. We have also launched a new boutique on the site and slowly the number of designers is growing, a fact that makes me very happy. But for sure I need more time with the amount of activities that I am involved in already.

Paris and London – these two cities play an important part for your work? Could you explain this significant meaning?

These two cities are very different places from each other. It’s quite confusing for me because when I’m in London I long for Paris. But when I am in Paris I really miss London. I have worked more in London while for Paris I have special feeling.

What could you say about the differences of these two places as capital cities of fashion?

London is the place that is definitely open for young designers. You will find lots of support there, help and encouragement for young artists. I am really grateful about this fact. Paris has great tradition and heritage of fashion, but it can be more challenging for newcomers.

Your profession involves lots of travelling. Which country has the most striking and inspiring culture in your opinion?

Since I moved to London, it is really difficult to say where I could live next. For me it’s hard to find the city to live in. But when I travel for my projects I feel very enthusiastic exploring many new and interesting things during my journeys. For example, Australia is very interesting place for me, whenever we think about weather, the landscapes and people.

I really enjoyed my trip to Mexico where I gave some courses for students. I have also nice memories from my journey to Japan. In general, it is very inspiring how different people and cultures you can meet, and it also connects with differences in creativity, which is amazing.

Special thanks to Coco Pit for her creative participation and interesting conversation.

Images thanks to the courtesy of Coco Pit and the getConfused team.

LINKS: […]

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Anke Schuhardt

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 08:49:52 -0800

Anke Schuhardt, the cool “press fairy” of Herznote Publishing talks to us about fashion, social media and of course the team’s latest inspiring project entitled “CIRCUS” that focuses in the fashion industry and is implemented with the contribution of bloggers from around the world. Creativity and challenges are Anke’s forte – so let’s hear her out:

Hello Anke and welcome to EyeCandies! Give us a brief description of your background and your interests.

Hello Aphrodite! Well, I’m from Darmstadt, a city close to Frankfurt in Germany. It’s my hometown and I will finish studying Online Journalism this summer. We founded Herznote Publishing a year ago. However, we had other journalistic projects before, so we already had lots of experience. When I’m not working I like to do pretty normal stuff: reading books and magazines, listening to music, going to concerts, watching series and meeting friends. However, I also like stuff that is not that normal – I love piercings and tattoos, corsets and everything that's red and pink – like my hair.

Tell us about the concept of CIRCUS – the first blogger bookazine published by Herznote and your contribution in the making of.

CIRCUS is the first of it’s kind, it’s the perfect symbiosis of a book and a magazine: a high-quality product with lasting content presented in an appropriate layout. The bookazine’s timeless quality fulfils the requirements for a sustainable publishing work. It is a statement against escalating waste-paper production on the media market, you won't throw away, you just have to read it again and again.

I’m Advertising and Marketing Director of CIRCUS, that means I am responsible for sponsoring, ads, collaborations etc. But in general you can say that we’ve all been involved in all the processes while producing the bookazine. I contributed to the concept, I was in contact with authors, I read articles, just like all the others.

Herznote - CIRCUS team

The first issue is about Fashion. Can you give us a sneak peak of what one can find in the book and what makes it special?

It was very important for all of us that we show the fashion industry from a new perspective. We’ve all been reading fashion blogs for a long time, but we didn’t want to produce another exchangeable fashion magazine. We decided to let international fashion bloggers do what they can do best: write about fashion. But nothing is just re-printed, everything is exclusively written or produced for CIRCUS.

You won’t find shopping tips or what’s in and out. Instead you can read background articles about the fashion industry, for example about a man with a wool fetish, a blind woman with a great sense of style, interviews with models who don’t consider their selves as models and so much more. Every article is written in the authors mother tongue and translated into English or German.

What are your views on online social media?

Honestly, I can’t remember how I lived before online social media. I’m an addict; I’m online almost 24 hours a day. I love to read blogs, to discover pictures on tumblr, find interesting stories or just to chat with friends on facebook. It’s great to stay in contact with people from all over the world that easily. Without the online social media CIRCUS wouldn’t have been possible. Almost all contributors are bloggers and we just need these social media tools to work with them, it’s great that it’s you can simply talk to an author from South Africa, from Greece or the US with skype. However, it also means that you don’t have a 9 to 5 work structure any more. To me this means more motivation though. When you’re really into your job, or in our case your own company, you don’t care about regular working hours and you will work longer than 9 to 5 anyway. I’m not annoyed when a blogger sends me an e-mail or starts a skype conversation when it’s late in the evening – I think it’s great that you can always be in contact with each other.

Where do you seek for inspiration in your daily life and what is your favorite part of the city you live in?

I seek for inspiration in my daily life especially when I travel. I spent New Years Eve in Dublin and I loved to walk around the city and to explore it my own way, without a map or a tourist guide. I always take too many pictures, particularly of street art and things you would hardly notice. And of course I seek for inspiration online, I have hundreds of blogs in my feed reader and I love tumblr, I blog and re-blog pictures a few times a day. And there’s so much inspiration on websites like we heart it or fffound.

What I like about my hometown: I enjoy going for a stroll in the forest next to my house and of course I love the secret lake, a lake more or less only the CIRCUS staff knows. It’s so peaceful when no one’s there – I can’t wait until it gets warmer. :)

Use a link that expresses your current mood (image, video, anything)

I love the colourful doors in Dublin and at the moment I wish I’d be there.

Share your fav top five blogs

That is so hard to decide! I have favourite blogs in different areas, like fashion, music, tattoos&piercings, veganism etc. But I try to name a few:

Funny, interesting and smart articles not only about fashion: Bangs and a Bun http://bangsandabun.com/

To keep yourself informed about the fashion industry (german): Les Mads http://www.lesmads.de/

About everything – news, music, love … even about topics you would never have thought of. I especially love “I did it for Science”: http://www.nerve.com/

Secrets from people all over the world, hilarious and sometimes sad too: http://www.postsecret.com/

Vegan cooking, best recipes ever (german): http://www.veganguerilla.de/

Feel free to add anything else! Thank you for participating :)

Thank you so much for having me :)

LINKS: […]

http://circus-bookazine.com/en/
My Tumblr: http://papilia.tumblr.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/circusbookazine
Twitter: http://twitter.com/circusproject

EMAIL: anke.schuhardt@herznote.com

P.S.: CIRCUS Bookazine will be hosted on this Sunday's Giveaway (23/01)! So make sure to drop by & enter. Herznote will be also offering a discount for EyeCandies readers. Stay tuned!


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Dimitris Strepkos

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 07:19:29 -0800

Dimitris Strepkos – creative persona, imaginative fashion designer, one half of dynamic duo of Avant-garde fashion brand: “Celebrity Skin” formed with Eleni Barla, art director and fashion editor, fashion teacher, stage designer, theatre passionate… Known for his bright optimistic personality and broad charming smile, Dimitris is a man of passions for art, fashion and Avant-garde.

I had the chance to meet him personally on the Eve of New Year’s Eve, in one of these artistically climatic coffees on the way to Plaka, in the heart of Athens to have a great talk about his passions, inspirations and experiences …

Dimitris could you outline your rich experience. Did you always know that fashion will be your future destination?

I started working as a stylist assistant when I was 15 years old. Then I studied Fashion Stage design & Fashion Styling in London's school of Fashion. I have been working many years as the costume designer. After stage designing I became a stylist which is easier to transform. When you are creator it’s more difficult to take creations from other people and make them beautiful. Apart from being a stylist, I was making video clips, editorials, catalogues, commercials and everything of such stuff. I was creating costumes for the theatres simultaneously with other projects.

Celebrity Skin
Eleni Barla & Dimitris Strepkos

But always it was my great desire to create my own clothes. Two years ago I had a meeting with Eleni Barla, that time she was my assistant for 5 years. I told her about my plans concerning new fashion brand “Celebrity Skin”, and that I would like to create a duo with her in this project. It was a very challenging step, we worked very hard and with no budget on our first collection. We entitled it: “Tim Burton’s Impossible Nightmare”, because one of my passions is cinema. We didn’t expect such great success. All that we wanted was to create clothes that give personality.

Avant Garde is the flagship label of your fashion brand “Celebrity Skin”. Could you tell me about the philosophy and vision of “Celebrity Skin”?

“Celebrity Skin” existing for 18 months, has been very successful, it’s like a fashion industry helping everyone to feel that he or she is special. “Dare to Wear” is our main philosophy, clothes that we treat like our second skin. I like to meet people with something special that catch my attention – this irresistible charm. I want them to wear my clothes and feel very special.

For my photo shoots I am creating my own visions, magic and I like skinny models to present them. But in real life I would like to transform my visions into my clients who are normal size or plus size, and I like it. I don’t want them to be skinny wearing my clothes. I want them to feel nice in my clothes just as they are.

We are working with many professionals – photographers, stylists, make-up artists and many more. Many magazines use our clothes in their editorials. Celebrities wear our clothes – factors we consider big success but we don’t consider ourselves a big brand; some steps have been taken and time will show.

Immaculate
Clothes - Hats: CelebritySkin
Photographer: Nikol Bartzoka
Make-up - Hair: Mathew Alatsatianos

How do you create the concept of “Celebrity Skin” collections?

It is like a process. First of all I have to create the title. This is my indicator of every further step. The second is music. I am listening to different kind of music in my Ipod looking for inspirations. I select it; I have to be in “that” mood for designing because I am also involved in numerous projects apart from creating a collection for “Celebrity Skin”. But, when I hear the music, it inspires me to create the collection, whenever I am, in Munich, Athens or anywhere else.

If I have a title, the music, and my small sketchbook - I am able to create my ideas.

Could you tell me about the inspirations for your collections? What ideas are hidden behind the titles?

I love to have the complexity of my titles because I am not a simple person.

I’m always looking for my identity in my work. Not just to show off but to catch attention, to show my point of view, to breathe freely.

“Tim Burton’s Impossible Nightmare” was our first collection that we got two awards on Athens’ Xclusive Designers Week – Best New Designer and Best Catwalk. We entitled it like that because of our passion for Tim Burton movies, the classical suspense of Hitchcock and Hollywood glamour icons such as Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo.

Tim Burton’s Impossible Nightmare
Photographer: G. Kaplanidis

“Immortal Extravaganza”, our second collection I found very difficult. It was the most tiring collection of all, I have to say. The task was difficult mostly due to the large number of the outfits, hats & accessories. We used difficult techniques of sewing from London with little time for preparation. It was a challenging experiment for us; it went well but I would never take such a step again. Immortal Extravaganza made us aware about a very important issue – it gave us bad publicity giving the power to the rumour that you can adore the clothes but the clothes are not wearable.

Immortal Extravaganza
Photographer: Panagiotis Parissis
Clothes: CelebritySkin
Make-up: Danai Tselou

The previous experience gave us a lesson – we will be avant-garde, but we will skip the Extravaganza’s part and we will focus more on technique; something to wear but with our DNA design. This collection allowed us to breathe – people could trust us to wear it. We named it “Desireless Humanoid” as an ironic expression, because I observed a very strange and striking problem. We have forgotten to be people with desires and I wanted the title to remind it . We have desires; it’s nice to have feelings whether positive or negative; we should never be a humanoid – a creature without feelings. We don’t have to be perfect. Imperfections can be considered as our precious values. I love imperfection both in people and in my clothes. When I take the clean material, I like to scratch it a bit because I want my clothes to be alive, to be worn. I don’t want to create perfect clothes, just ironed and nobody wears them. My goal is to create wearable clothes and to feel that is yours for years like a part of personality. You will notice that most of my clothes are loose – so one can breath in them.

Desireless Humanoid
Photographer: C. Karantzolas
Clothes: Celebrity Skin
Make up Hair: K. Kontogiorgou
Model: Natalia

“Cemeterial Purity”– can seem weird but I took my inspiration from funerals because it is the only time and place I see people with bare feelings. And I don’t mean the feeling of pain and loss that nobody wants to experience. I mean these genuine feelings when people are real. On a funeral you see that people have feelings and that is beautiful. That is why I found some kind of purity in cemeteries and that’s how the title came. I like when people are real, whenever they are laughing or feeling sorrow, whenever they are moody or gloomy.

Cemeterial Purity
Photographer: Nectarios Papazacharias
Clothes: Celebrity Skin
Make up/hair: Marina Koutsoumba
Model: Julia
Location: Chin up studio

About the oncoming collection “Dramatic Discipline”, we will have lots of drama in this collection. We will put a pressure on strict structure and design that’s why we call it discipline. The collection will be based on black, grey and nude colours. As the collection for winter, which is my favourite season of the year, it gives us more opportunity for creation and experimentation. So far, we have created about 5 looks for the oncoming collection. We are preparing some photo shoots, and promotion material. We will celebrate our 2 years of existence in the fashion industry. We will also include a fashion movie to the show which will last for about 5 minutes. Its main aim will be the extension of the subject for the show. We plan to invite models, actresses and celebrities to the film. We will have the mix of photo shoots plus the movie. My intention is to give some strong message through both the movie and the show, treating them as a performance.

Your fashion shows are exceptional; they differ from typical catwalks…

We want to create fashion shows like a performance starting with the logo – made like from an old typewriter, then a small intro with music to give you feelings and models–divas going out together with the music for the whole show. I dislike the idea of a typical fashion show. My intention is not just to show the clothes. When you see the catwalk, the stage design, the make up, I want you - as the observer to have feelings; it’s dramatic, it’s funny, it’s hilarious, it’s strange… even if you don’t like it. Many people after my fashion shows have told me that they were strong.

That is why I invited five Greek celebrities to participate in the catwalk of my latest show “Cemeterial Purity”. Celebrities being on the public eye catch lots of bad interest. I wanted to picture them in a more different way than the usual way we see them in glossy magazines or television shows. My intention was to emphasize some of their vices and virtues as something very interesting to show.

Nature Still
Photographer: Nikol Bartzoka
Clothes: Celebrity Skin
Make up: Costantinos Bez
Hair: Mathew Alatsatianos

You are also a teacher at fashion schools. What could you say about your teaching experience?

I have been teaching at fashion schools for 11 years. I have had many students that I cooperate with & work on many projects up to the present - like Eleni Barla – currently my partner in “Celebrity Skin”, Christina Skarpeli and many more that have won awards in fashion competitions. I am very proud of their success.

According to you, what is the most important factor while working on any project?

I believe in teamwork. Every project that I am involved in it's not only my work; it’s always a great team standing behind – models, photographers, make-up artists. Everyone involved in it contributes a lot. It’s like a chain. All my shootings it’s not me, not you, it’s the teamwork which I respect. “Celebrity Skin” would be nothing without the contribution of great and talented people.

Let’s focus on photo shoots. How is your attitude to such kind of teamwork as photo sessions?

I have been working on photo shoots for 20 years so far and always with the same energy. I’m always involved into every single photo shoot; I come first and leave last. I am always collaborating with photographers, setting the concept, selecting photos, speaking with models in order to guide theme express some feelings ranging from anger to euphoria. Art is the state of lots of expressions and I am asking models to give me more. I’m treating them like my muses. I really enjoy it. I prefer to work with female models because of their complexity. They can make great magic with thousands of poses. Men are the opposition with their simplicity.

I’m always creating the concept for my editorials. The whole idea that is very important to follow and process in the particular photo shoot. If you see my work, every photo shoot tells a story, gives you feelings. I am not interestied in just showing a beautiful body, a nice face and so on. My intention is to arouse the interest of the viewers. I want to create it like a small theatrical play. This also applies to “Celebrity Skin” shows.

Location: ZAPEIO, Athens, Greece
Photographer: Anna Roussos
Clothes: CELEBRITY SKIN
Make up/hair: Danai Tselou
Model: Natalia

Considering your experience as a stage designer what does theatre mean to you?

Theatre is a magical place that I couldn’t live without. It is the most difficult state of art which has a lot of expression, passion and demands - loads of work that I really love. I see the bodies, I see the expressions. It’s like you create a reality.

If I could choose the one thing in my life, it would be creating costumes for theatre. If I couldn’t do only that, I could also create editorials for magazines which I really enjoy. Even now, I have my own theatre in Patra, MHXANH TEXNHS (ART MACHINE) which I lead together with my brother, Christos.

Tell me about your work as a costume designer in theatre. Do you have any favourite plays or stories that you have designed costumes for?

I have worked on many classical performances like Shakespeare plays and Chekhov whom I adore as a writer. My favourite theatrical play that I designed costumes for was a story called “MUD”. There was a very good chemistry in this project.

Is there any other city, apart from Athens, that you would like to live, work, create?

There is only one city – New York … I adore New York.

Even if I've been to many places. I still choose New York. For me it’s a place to live and create. Whenever I’m listening to Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind” it gives me a nice chill. This is the place with great energy.

Bois de mystere
Photographer: Christos Karantzolas
Clothes: CelebritySkin
Make up and Hair: Morfee
Model: Ramone
Photo assistant: Kostis Fokas

As a stylist, your work is related with the trends. Could you tell me your own opinion about trendsetting nowadays?

I believe in mix and match style to create your own vision. I never follow the trends. I have to say that I dislike the form of trends presented nowadays. I believe in personal style – that is the trend. Such times came that you can be the trendsetter – opening your closet and choosing a different style for every day. The most important thing for me is comfort. I believe simplicity is the key. Personally I don’t spend lots of money on clothes, I like to wear simple but smart. I just combine the elements to look interesting.

The term “fashion victim”… how do you consider that?

I love fashion people, I hate fashion victims. You should never be a victim of anything, whether we are speaking about addictions, bad habits or inability of free mind. I want you to speak up your opinion. For example, you don’t like my clothes? OK…it’s nice to have your own judgement. Not everyone has to be perfect, and to be confirmed with his perfection.

A great example could be Alexander McQueen; he was very talented and innovative, but not always acceptable.

When I released my first collection, it was a very challenging task. For some people it was difficult to understand what I was up to. Presently I receive better understanding. Eventually more people read my message more clearly. It’s still difficult, but I love to create clothes and images.

Bett.E.Noir
Photographer: Nectarios Papazacharias
Clothes: Celebrity Skin / Cemeterial Purity Collection
Make up/hair: Marina Koutsoumba
Model: Julia
Location: Chin up studio

There is a wide spreading wave entering the fashion stage: fashion bloggers. What do you think about them?

First, of all I respect fashion bloggers; I embrace them in all my kindness and invite them on the first rows of my fashion shows. I like to browse through the blogs, see their content, their point of view, find something fresh. I have some fashion bloggers that I really admire like Alecca Rox, life full of fashion, fashion algorithms, smells like fashion, go stylish, and many more.

I am also an owner of a blog; it gives me lots of fun, but because of lack of time I don’t update it very often.

Do you think that fashion blogs can somehow replace fashion magazines?

No. They will virtually have power; they will virtually have art and advertising. They are the new trend, but it’s difficult to replace magazines.

It’s a fresh and new form of power and information that I completely admire. It’s really nice to know big fashion bloggers. Of course not all blogs are perfect; there are blogs that I dislike, I see some kind of arrogance from them.

How do you reflect the power of the internet nowadays?

Internet is very powerful, especially Facebook, YouTube, My Space. They are new sources of information, they give long-lived view; the number of people checking my fashion on the internet is double the number of people who personally attend my shows.

In Denial
Photographer: P.Hatzianastasiou
Concept, Clothes: Celebrity Skin
Make up: Danae Tselou
Model: Nikie, VN models
Location, Acropoli, Athens, Greece

What do you think about fashion becoming widespread? What kind of changes it can bring?

Fashion has always been changing. Before years we had only few designers having the most influential position, dictating new trends. Now we have such kind of fashion that people dictate you, they give you the aim, what you need. It’s nice to have this cooperation, an exchange of preferences.

While considering your experience in fashion industry what was the most challenging for you?

I’m trying to set my own mark - significance. I’m not the best designer, I am aware of that, but whatever I do, create, design, I do my best. All of our designs have a specific technique – the fusion of pattern and moulage; we combine them together and as a result it’s very difficult to duplicate our designs. Although I have noticed many designers have attempted to do so. It’s very strange for me because fashion has great space. Even if some of my students attempt to copy, I’m telling them to show me themselves in their designs, show what they really like, not what I like.

You consider yourself as an image maker, whether you are a stylist, a stage designer, a fashion designer…

Every kind of work I've been involved in has to do with images. I cannot do anything else since I was 5 years old. As a small boy I was decorating my room, creating gifts for my friends. All my life is creating.

Special thanks to Dimitris Strepkos for his creative participation and interesting talk to EyeCandies.

Images: Courtesy of Dimitris Strepkos.

LINKS: […]

Celebrity Skin
Dimitris Strepkos Blog


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Christina Skarpeli

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 12:45:13 -0800

Christina Skarpeli
Best New Designer on Athens Xclusive Designers Week,
October 2010, Athens -Greece

Christina Skarpeli – multitalented artist, fashion designer, fashion stylist and editor, art and fashion columnist, fashion blogger, and many more. She debuted as a designer on Athens Xclusive Designers Week with her first collection “ARTificial UtOpIa” for Scarp by Christina Skarpeli. Her second collectiongave her a great success winning the award of the Best New Designer on AXDW and a fashion show in Monaco. As the lucky one, I have attended her winning show “Sloth in Euphoria”. I was completely bewitched with the whole performance.

In her blog in the description note she wrote that “after her preparation for qualifying examinations for the School of Fine Arts, the fashion world won her over”. Or maybe she is going to win over the fashion world?

Welcome Christina! It‘s a great pleasure having you on Eye Candies. First of all, I would like to congratulate you Best New Designer Award on AXDW. How do you feel as the Best New Designer in Greece? Was it a great challenge for you as a fresh blood to take part in such a competition?

Nice to meet you my lovely Eye Candies! I want to thank you for your hospitality and your kind words!!! I feel really proud because my labours were rewarded and very happy because this award has given me impetus for my course in fashion.

Of course it was a great challenge for me. It was a really difficult competition because all designers who took part in AXDW were just great!

Winning collection “Sloth In Euphoria”
Skarp by Christina Skarpeli
Best New Designer
Athens Xclusive Designers Week
October 24th, 2010, Athens, Greece

How did you become a fashion designer? What made your hidden passion evolve?

When I was eight, I started painting, and a few years later I started to create jewellery, accessories and interior decorations. At that time I was trying to accomplish some of my clothing ideas, transforming my clothes and "inventing" various techniques to implement them. My puberty was the most important age in my subsequent choices of my life…

Illustrations by Christina Skarpeli

You are a fashion designer, stylist, editor, columnist, blogger, and artist… Did I forget to add anything? :) Does it mean that one field of fashion is not enough? How do you bring all these things together?

The fashion industry is more than enough but I can not dedicate myself to a single piece of work. I think people are made for much more. Personally, I try to externalize my feelings with more than one way, either through my creations, or through writing for fashion or through my fashion illustrations. Essentially, everything in my life revolves around the fashion which is my passion, for sure.

What influences you the most as a fashion designer?

Everything works as inspiration. Each frame “drops” in front of you and every emotion you perceive. The main source of inspiration for me is the movement of expressionism that really touches me.

Your fashion shows are not just typical catwalks – They are like an artistic performance – video representing some story, selected music that gives special vibe, futuristic designs, fine fabrics and distinctive accessories. How do you create the vision of your fashion shows?

Mainly, my inspiration comes from the movement of Expressionism, as I said before. Style and generally the picture that we choose to be are emotions and for this reason in each show that I present, I want to give a more theatrical and romantic feeling, linking together many arts as the video art, photography, music, supporting my viewpoint.

I would like to ask about the meanings of both titles of the shows? They are like encoded letters into a secret cipher: “Artificial Utopia”, “Sloth in Euphoria”. What is hidden behind these names?

Under the title “ARTificial UtOpIa" hides the false feeling behind a beautiful picture and the hard work of people to look perfect.

“ARTificial UtOpIa”
Fall/Winter 2010-2011
Athens Xclusive Designers Week
Photography by Patricia Munster

About the s/s11 collection, titled "Sloth In Euphoria" I wanted to emphasize the summer feelings and the love for the nature, almost pagan ...because here, in Greece, apparently not many are particularly fond of nature, if you consider how many forests have been burned in recent years...

“Sloth In Euphoria”
Spring/Summer 2011
Athens Xclusive Designers Week
Photography by Patricia Munster

Who do you see as the receiver of your fashion? How could you describe the woman and man who wear Scarp by Christina Skarpeli?

Spunky, independent, experimental and emotional.

How about your style? How could you define Christina Skarpeli’s own style?

Romantic Avant Garde

Could you tell us about your future plans? As far as I am concerned you are preparing your new collection for Athens Xclusive Designers Week and Jeansation in Monaco. Do you also have other projects ahead?

I cannot reveal everything for once, but I can tell you that just I start preparing the costumes for a new and absolutely strong film...

Thank you very much Christina for your time and participation! Feel free if you like to add anything else.

It was my pleasure dear! Thank u so much! Kisses!!!

LINKS: […]
http://christinaskarpeli.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=290963738138


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