Brownstock Festival Review

This year, we saw Brownstock’s 10^th Birthday on Morris Farm, Essex. Starting off as a small family event of 150 people, the event is continuously growing year upon year. Starting with a tailor and 150 people, it has now grown to a massive 6,000 people and the Brown family plan on growing even more. Dizzee Rascal, De La Soul, Razorlight and P Money headlined the festival. This year was a complete sellout of 6,000 people and safe to say that it was its best year yet. It was BONKERS.

The site in terms of festivals is on the small side, which is great as the festival has a great boutique feel. You can walk from camping to the main stage within 5 minutes. This year, Brownsock hosted an even wider variety of music and entertainment which spread across 5 stages; The main stage The Tree House, The stumble in, Saddle saloon, The Tree House and finally,  The good shed. The Tree House featured bands, the good shed saw numerous DJ’s and the main stage was for the headliners and more established acts.

With so much variety of acts and entertainments, I have simply picked out my seven highlights.

The food,
Yeah may sound crazy but everyone deep down is a foodie and the food selection for a festival was great and wasn’t too pricey either. The Brown Family had their very own burger shack (made with their livestock from the Morris farm itself) and later on hosted an eating competition. For the 10^th birthday there was a gigantic birthday cake amongst the food. And even sushi, which I must say was delicious.

Dizzee Rascal

Starting the weekend with Dizzee on the Friday was great. He started off with his famous hit ‘here to china.’ Throughout his performance, Dizzee and his two friends did not fail to impress, preforming everyone’s favorites and even stopping to instagram a picture of the crowd.

http://www.essexchronicle.co.uk/Brownstock-Festival-2014-pictures-Dizzie-Rascal/story-22870319-detail/story.html

Longy
A small but brilliant essex bred band that pride themselves on being a gospel trash band with a rock and roll attitude. With Noel Gallagher-esque raspy vocals and a great trumpet I doubt the band will go unsigner much longer. Keep your eyes peeled for #whoislongy.

http://whoislongy.com/

Mak & Pasteman

A DJ duo- Matt and Craig have been breaking out across the house music scene since 2011. The two were on  Redlight’s label Lobster boy and Breach’s label Naked Naked. Having been so successful with their EP’s in the past few years the two have just started up their very own label- Materials, which brings their history of underground music together with their jungle and techno roots. Currently touring Australia and New Zealand, they are soon to release a new album alongside quite a few tracks so keep your eyes peeled.

Bipolar sunshine

Known by most for his recent single ‘Deckchairs on the moon’, or for being the vocals in the six-piece Kid British. Adio has a great stage presence, with his great voice and attitude, he got many tired Brownstocker’s back onto their feet on the Sunday evening. Having not long released his third EP, Adio is currently also working on his debut Album and is hoping to mix up the Manchester music scene.

The Good Shed

It was really more of a tent, but they certainly got the ‘good’ bit down to a t. This stage featured a great host of DJ’s such as Shy FX, Claude VonStroke, Doorly, Jack Beats and many more. And its great to have these acts doing B2B sets as it keeps the crowd going and allows you to see different DJ’s come together.
 Of the evening, the tent was so full, but in a good way. The music was great. Must have to say that Route 94, Sigma and P Money were not up to standards, but the rest of the acts without a doubt made up for it.

And finally, The Paint fight

Because, why not? It’s great fun, and no one is clean at a festival.

Run by the Brown family it is great to see that the festival still has its original roots still well in touch. Each year, the festival had organically grown as people return and more people become interested. Having been and experienced it, I can now understand why. It has a great ‘Vibe’ as Dizzee put it on twitter. The festival feels like you’re at a great family party but with talented acts rather than some dodgy karaoke. With a mix of up and coming acts running alongside big names, the festival is at such great value costing only £80. I would highly recommend it for groups or friends or even families. There is a funfair, food and great music which makes it a pretty cheap and fun filled weekend away with plenty to do and see.

 Buy your 2015 tickets here http://www.brownstock.co.uk/ Photo's copyright of Brownstock

Menswear Trend forecast by the EM|ME creative team

Working with a streetwear brand, we have collated and filtered relevant trends we saw fit our client's brand aesthetic. It's been a while so we thought we'd share it with you all. Happy looking!
For any forecasting work or trend documents please contact Melissa or Emily at info.emmecreative@gmail.com
View the Issu document HERE!

Deep Linking Apps and the End of the Web URL

Last week at the F8 conference Facebook set to target the problem we face everyday when using apps. Launching applinks.org the app tackles problems with linking apps through different platforms. 

This Month... Berlin Fashion week, Trade shows and New Trends

For the Foodies

We all feel like this in the new year, right?

With a shift of consumer behaviors, the demand for convenience, quality and luxury is forever being demanded within the food market to meet the fast moving workaholics that don’t tend to have time to stop to think about food. According to stylus, there has been a 30BN increase in the demand for convenience food (what a lot of food that is!)

A trend we have noticed at EM|ME creative is peoples want for healthy, nutritious food that is quick and easy. These neutraceuticals (food with added health benefits) are beginning to emerge everywhere, especially within the major ‘fitspo’ trend that has been growing over the past year. People are taking their health more seriously and fit is becoming the new thin.

One thing that caught our eye IQ superfood chocolate,ethically sourced and all organic, what else could we want? Well, how about added health benefits? IQ’s chocolate adds health benefitting ingredients within their chocolate to add a little something extra. Like the sound of them? Check out more here : http://www.iqchoc.com

We also love our sarnies so LivLife’s half carb bread is a must. It is impossible to deprive yourself of a cheeky late night sandwich: http://www.livlifefoods.co.uk. No need to cut out carbs, yay!

So, with the new year in tact, here’s to health and the brilliant new neutraceuticals to help us kick start our health for yet another year.

Happy New Year!

Hope you all had a lovely New Year! We've got some great stuff coming out in the next few days about things to do and see this year so keep an eye out!

Feeling Inspired: Thierry Boutemy

It's winter, the days short, the skies are grey, all the leaves on the trees are dead, the flowers are wilted and the only pretty things left to look at after Christmas is well lets be honest nothing! So on a pretty note, stay inspired and take a look at fashions favourite Belgium florist Thierry Boutemy..

Check out his website for more work  http://thierryboutemy.com/

Fashion Futures: 2014 the Year of Wearable Technology

Forbes states that 2014 will be the year of Wearable Technology, and they aren't wrong. 2013 has seen the start of what will be a massive trend.

Like the mobile phone, the beginning has seen unsightly design (Google Glass isn't that stylish.. yet) and really who wants to wear a Sony Smartwig? So I'm not really selling the whole wearable technology trend here. But my point is like mobiles they will become more refined, more stylish and elegant in design you just have to look at Apple, Samsung and Nokia etc today. 

Fashion is beginning to take notice of wearable technology designer Diane Von Furstenberg incorporated Google Glass into her catwalk shows earlier this year. This gives an  insight into behind the scenes of such designers and allowing the consumer to feel closer to the brand. 

Merry Christmas!

Great Video by V magazine… don't quite get why the girls have to be in underwear. Nevertheless.. the dancing is amazing.

Wearable Solar

Imagine having a coat that could charge your iPod or phone when you're in a crutial low battery situation.

Pauline van Dongen is currently working with numerous people to merge fashion with technology to create clothing that harnesses solar power. The seamless integration of wearable textiles is going to become part of our future lives. These commercial wearable have such a great opportunity for many great things to come.

Check out Pauline's website: http://paulinevandongen.nl

Street Art Spotting: London

So there's been a lot going on in the last month, it is the run up to Christmas anyway. Work has been crazy and I've been all over travelling a lot. At the end of November I made my way to London to of course do some work! But I did get the opportunity to take some snaps of some awesome street art in Brick Lane and Shoreditch. The streets were filled with art from the likes of Space Invader, Renzo and Mr Brainwash to name a few. 

If you're in London not just this time of the year but all year around East London is the place to go to find a collective of amazing street art!

Grab Your Coat

So it may be December, and you're having that dilemma you've bought a coat but when the UK winter kicks in you realise you're coat isn't quite warm enough.

So if you're like me and this always happens to you then here is the best picks of this winter's coats following this winter's trends.

The Parka

Look to: Topshop Unique, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger

STEAL - £50 Boohoo

SPLURGE - £95 Topshop

Punk it up

Look to: Saint Laurent, Moschino, Meadham Kirchoff and Louise Gray 

STEAL - £49.99 Pull & Bear, ASOS

SPLURGE - £229.90 Nasty Gal

The Boyfriend

Look to: Chanel, Marni, Christopher Kane, Max Mara and Richard Nicoll  

STEAL - £89 Topshop

SPLURGE - £155 Jonathan Saunders at Debenhams

Menswear Fabrics

Look to: Lanvin, Stella McCartney, Comme Des Garcons and Dolce and Gabbana

STEAL - £75 Next

SPLURGE - £129 Zara

Asco vs Geoffrey Farmer an International Exhibition

This month I reviewed a much bigger art exhibition opening. The Nottingham Contemporary is Nottingham's biggest art galleries and is internationally known. This autumn they opened their doors to two new exhibitions from across the globe and I got the chance to review it. Enjoy!

Asco and Geoffrey Farmer at the Nottingham Contemporary

The Lucky Jotter

In the midst of a very busy October, I became involved in writing an art review for an exhibition coming to Nottingham. I do often do art reviews on a freelancing basis for Platform magazine when I get the chance. The exhibition was only a week long showcase featuring a mix of artists. The Lucky Jotter's 5th exhibition opened at Jam Industries within the creative quarter of Nottingham. It has only recently opened it's doors to art after discovering it was once an art gallery. They have since launched The Wall, a project which encourages artists to increase their exposure by exhibiting their work on the wall space.

Personally I really loved the exhibition and the range of mediums used- it was well curated and continues to be a source of inspiration.

This is the article I wrote-

Curator and photographer Joseph Pegler states that “The Lucky Jotter is a mixed media art showcase aiming to promote and show the work of emerging artists” which is illustrated perfectly in the latest showcase in the series, The Lucky Jotter’s 5^th exhibition. Open for just a week 14-21 October and nestled within the heart of Hockley, Nottingham’s creative hub, Jam Industries’ the Wall project is proving to be a popular new exhibition space for emerging artists with The Lucky Jotter being one of its first exhibitions since opening its doors to art earlier this year.

Main wall of Jam Industries showing three artists.

With some of the art work sourced locally The Lucky Jotter’ 5^th exhibition showcases art from Nottingham Trent students and other work as far afield as Korea and the USA. This does not only demonstrate the international presence of Nottingham on the global art scene but also the nurturing of local talent.

The diverse showcase of handpicked art is inspirational; from illustration and photography to paint and collage, the mix of cultures is evident and creates a different sense of fascination with each artist’s work.

The beauty of the unexpected photograph against the perfection of a carefully choreographed series of images was something that really stood out. Sian Hall Davies’ abstract series Evolution was visually striking and the construction of the series perfectly depicted the idea of how life develops and changes. Joseph Pegler’s own photographic work featured at the exhibition. Having a brief chat with him about his photograph the story of how he accidently captured a moment prevailed. Whilst emerging from taking photographs underwater his camera took a photograph proving how these unplanned acts of art can create something beautiful and detailed.

Trent student Christopher Smith’s pen illustrations denoted the modern day urban landscape with repetitive lines. His meticulous eye to detail would grab any onlooker’s attention urging them to explore every fine line. On the other hand Lim Cheol-hee’s Stranger explores the rollercoaster world of emotions, whether it be meeting new people or being introduced to new environments. His style disfigures the face to express these emotions. He uses large brush strokes to stretch the face across the canvas, in a similar style to Francis Bacon’s series of self-portraits.

The exhibitions shares secrets to techniques and introduces you to new ways of thinking, Patrick Ballanger’s St Robin gives a detailed insight into each process he used in order to create the almost haunting image. Whereas Leo Yamz drives home the concept that humans and spirits aren’t separated, channelling his inspiration from Shamanism and trips to Africa. His prints are demonic, witching and trance like.

The range of mediums within this exhibition is captivating and truly inspiring and considering it is only a week long exhibition, this exhibition is one not to miss. The Lucky Jotter 5^th Exhibition runs until the 21 October.

- See more at: http://platform-online.net/2013/10/art-review-luck-jotters-5th-exhibition/#sthash.qHtD9J2y.dpuf

Pretty Dandy Flea Market

Not long after my adventure with Mandinga Arts, I done some work with the Pretty Dandy, a curated vintage, handmade and new design homeware company. They were organising a local flea market event and I got involved with the event organiser through one of my old lecturer Angi.

I got involved with the PR and events set up before the event and the design and visual creation the day before and the day of the event. We helped a lot on the day of the event, setting up stalls, cash handling and other general problem solving tasks throughout the day.

For the visual side we created a Pinterest board http://www.pinterest.com/prettydandy/pretty-dandy-flea-decorations/ to help give us inspiration for the decor of the event.

 This is the entrance of the warehouse before we decorated it.

This is the entrance after we decorated the entrance

We designed a backdrop for people to take photos in front of then upload to Instagram. All the decoration are handmade by us including the paper flowers. 

During the event

Me and Emma Sutherland, one of the other volunteers in front of the backdrop.

The day was a great success the atmosphere was buzzing and alive with people all day we met a lot of small business owners and made some really great contacts.

http://www.prettydandy.co.uk/