“Following the success of ‘Wonderland’, which was released in 2009, this August sees the release of ‘Bitten’, a new picture book for adults. Adapted from the well-known classic ‘Snow White’, the book follows the story of a mistress so desperate to keep her beauty she will do anything to save them, including harming her own family. But is she really the one to blame?

The book features an all star cast including cabaret star Joe Black, actress and New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts’ student Emily Marshall, fahion model Daniel Dewhirst, burlesque performer Lily Belle, Spirit Model Management’s Kristina Frenchum and alternative model Sally Parkinson. There will also be a launch exhibition at Iksentrik in Bath on Saturday 7th August which will run throughout the month of August.

The book retails at £18, however for a limited time only, you can pre-order the book at a sale price of £15 from Tigz Rice’s website

This competition is now closed.

To Enter…

You can win an exclusive copy of Bitten by just leaving a short comment below stating why you deserve to win and Tigz Rice will herself will choose her favourite.

The closing date for entries is Midnight GMT Monday 21st June, so get creative! Good luck!

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Oh my! What a competition we have for you! The unbelievably generous folk at Relentless NASS 2010 are letting us give away a pair of weekend tickets to the action sports / music festival. You and your bezzy mate can head down to Relentless NASS 2010 on the 9th – 11th July by answering the following easy question…

Question

What is Relentless?

For all info and clues visit: www.relentlessnass.com

This competition is now closed.

Just fill in your answer below

Closing date is Friday 11th June, so get your answers over to us thick and fast – we’ll pick a random winner and notify them by Saturday 12th June.

We’ll be covering the weekend too, so we’re just as excited and hope to see you there! Good luck!

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Having smashed the biggest clubs across the UK, including the legendary 
Ministry of Sound and Matter amongst others, the forward thinking youth brand Under The Radar is now proud to present its biggest party yet in the form of Under the Radar Summer Break!

Enter this competition and you and a mate can brace yourself for 5 days of rib rattling bass, sunsets and surf as thousands of students flock to Newquay’s silky white shores to see off the end of exams in style.

With the likes of Drum and Bass man of the moment Sub Focus (with MC ID), the mighty Pendulum, the true first lady of UK garage Ms Dynamite, bass loving grime pioneer Joker and Boy Better know heavyweights: grime boy Skepta and younger brother JME along with old favourite Shy FX already confirmed for the beach bonanza there’ll be no complaints from the bass heads! By day, you can surf, try your hand at zip wire-ing, coasteering or cliff hanging or simply lie back and catch some rays on the UTR private beach. So forget cheesy student holidays, as UTR Summer Break is the only place to celebrate this summer.

To Enter

Just leave a comment below telling us why you deserve to go to the Under The Radar Summer Break e.g.

“I’d love to go to Under The Radar Summer Break because I need my pumping summer bass fix and to get my surf on!”

We’ll choose our favourite from all the entries and the one winner will receive both tickets. Closing date is Wednesday 9th June, so get your entries in quick! Good luck and get creative!

*This competition is now closed*

Check out www.utrsummerbreak.com for more details.

Hold on a second WAIT! Important stuff!

Please note this is an 18+ event, so all entrants to the above competition must be 18 on or before the 27th June and must present a valid form of ID upon arrival.

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Ok, So here’s a neat little contest for all you budding creatives. Fenchurch are asking you all to go crazy and reinterpret their iconic logo, in return for a top top prize…

OFFICIAL DETAILS

Welcome to the Fenchurch Tee Fest!

Get those creative juices flowing: we are on the hunt to find fresh new talent to
join our creative world!

The Fenchurch Tee Fest is a competition to design a new tee to rock the upcoming festival season. All you need to do to enter is come up with an original, innovative way of interpreting our iconic logo. We’ve always handpicked the most respected freelance designers out there, and now we’re opening it up to the public. Go online and download the graphics pack and get involved!.

The Brief

Create a graphic incorporating the iconic Fenchurch logo using the summer festival season as a reference point.

The design can be produced in any medium, from photography to illustration so long as it incorporates the logo and is based on the summer festival theme. Interpret the theme in any way you like. Fun, mud, music, friends….you know the score.

The Prize

The winners will be announced on 11th June 2010. There will be one winner for the men’s Tee and one for the women’s, they will both receive a £200 prize as well as seeing their T-shirt design being produced and sold in stores and on www.fenchurch.com

For more details visit www.fenchurch.com/teefest for details.

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Last Month, Motion Skatepark in Bristol hosted a one of a kind event entitled “HogJam”. The one day event included A BMX jam including pro and amateur competitions, live graffiti, B-boys and DJ sets all day and night, not to mention a mouth watering Hog Roast!!

Our lovely Fran caught up with Mitch Yeates, who was the main instigator and chief organiser of HogJam.

How long have you been organizing Hogjam for?

I started organizing HogJam at the start of the month, a pretty tight deadline but we had the date set as it was Tom’s birthday. Which was also the inspiration for the name Hogjam.

How did you think the day went?

It went well, I was pleased with the turn out especially as it was my first event. I think the lack of time was a big issue in putting the event together not only for planning the event but also in letting people know it was happening. It was a great great learning experience and there a lot of things I feel I can do better next time.

What’s your background bike wise?

I’ve been riding BMX for about 10 years now. In 2005 I joined Simple BMX and I also ride for Duffs.

What are your plans for the future and hogfest?

We are holding the NASS Pre party at Motion so i will run a bmx contest on that day but it will probably have a new name.

To keep track of future events or to get in touch with Mitch, head on over to Motion Skatepark site

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Unless you’ve been living on planet zogg for the last 12 months, you’ll know that Jay Louis is the baddest 20yr old around! With his sweet street style on “What Up Gangstars” he’s put the G in gangstar blogging, bringing you the coolest happenings known to mankind. Jay tells it like it is about graphic design, freestyle battling, toy design, street wear, graffiti, skate and of course, girls.

And of course he’s a kind kind fellow too! So Jay and Always Thinkin’ have teamed up to present you an ultra badass, blogging mashup giveaway.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

Jay’s donated 2 tees and a sticker set, to one lucky person and we’ve matched him with one of our mega rare Always Thinkin’ tees and some badges!

So you’re thinking, what do I need to do? In the “comments” section below or on www.what-up-gangstars.com, complete the following sentence:
“What Up Gangstars and Always Thinkin’ combine together to create…”

Always Thinkin’ and Jay Louis will select the most original answers on each of our blogs to decide who to give the prizes to! The contest will end on Tuesday April 6th. Winners will be unveiled the next day.

Good luck and get creative!

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Peskimo are a multi-talented duo who always seem to get it ‘just right’ whatever they throw their hand at. Their subtle humour is always evident amongst the vivid colours and strong artwork often, which just shows that the two artists are really enjoying themselves and having a whole lot of fun! We caught up with the peskimoids themselves to chat about their current exhibition Tease Made with Chris Dickason, and their plans for 2010.

You have so many strings to your bow, with all the different projects you work on, whats new for this year?

We are really excited to try new things, and we started the year with a short screen printing course. As a result, we’ve set up a make shift screen print studio in our back room. The first fruits from this will be on show at our new exhibition and we hope to release more and more exclusive screen prints through our website throughout this year!

Your work is unique in its style. Who and what inspires you?

Everyday oddities and slips of the tongue inspire the content of our artwork. We always jot down funny sayings or overheard conversations that conjure up pictures, characters and scenarios in our heads, that’s how our Croc Monsieur picture came about. Visually, we are inspired by mid-century design and illustration, especially packaging design and characters from that era.

Peskimo - Croc Monsieur

Is there any piece of artwork you have looked at and wished it had been yours?

ooh, so many! Jeff Koons giant balloon dog, Takashi Murakami’s giant statues, all the Ghibli films!

What inspired you to team up with Chris Dickason for the Tease Made show?

We are good friends with Chris and have known him since our university days, it was over Christmas (possibly over drinks and a pizza) that we decided to do a joint show and the pieces have fallen into place a lot sooner than we thought.

Peskimo Tease Made Print

Who do you rate illustration wise. Anyone in particular you think us guys should be keeping an eye out for this year?

There are so many great artists popping up all the time! We like to support creativity in Bristol so we’re keeping an eye on what’s going on at the Here Gallery in Stokes Croft and tend to pop in there as often as we can to find out what’s going on!

Any new toy projects planned at present?

The news was just released in the past few days that we are going to be a part of the new designer series of Qee. Qee was one of the early platform figures that really brought vinyl toys to the masses. They used to release artist series every year, but this series is the first they have released for 4 years, so it is a joy to be included! We are also developing some more designs and ideas based on our Monster Burp figure from Crazy Label

Monster Burp - Glow in the Dark edition

Who have you most enjoyed collaborating with?

Because we collaborate as a pair on all our work, adding another person into the mix can sometimes be very confusing! We have collaborated with Chris Dickason on a new piece for the show which enabled us to work separately on the individual parts of the piece. We then brought it together and the result was better than any of us could have imagined! It’s nice to be a part of a piece of work that you want to study and keep reviewing because you notice new things every time!

You can follow Peskimo on Twitter

Buy lots of great things on the Peskimo Shop

Or hit them up on the Peskimo Site

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David Stowe is a man on a mission. With Vannen Art Watches he wants to take over the world with his awesome limited edition collections. Not only does he live for the brand he created, but he’s also 100% passionate about the artists he works with, making sure they get the recognition they deserve. Inspiring, yet understated and humble, ladies and gentlemen I present the man himself…

Hello! How’s it hanging?

Doing great. Thanks.

For those who need a little education, tell us briefly about the amazing Vannen Art Watches.

Vannen makes stylish, affordable, reliable, limited-edition wristwatches designed by some of today’s most intriguing artists from all over the world. Our watches feature designs ranging from fine art to street art and everything in between. Simply put, we make unique timepieces that are – in essence – functional collectibles that make an artistic statement without breaking the bank.

Let’s go back in time a bit… Why did you start Vannen?

It was a combination of a few things. The first reason being I hated my day job. It was that nightmare job you hear every designer talk about. It got to a point where I would say things to my boss like, “Hey do you want me to bounce this off the cleaning lady for approval? I think she might have some good notes on this layout.” And then there would be times where I would just yell out loud, “I hate everyone here!” I felt a piece of my soul dying every day. I was working with a bunch of idiots with no vision. When it got to point that I had to answer to three incompetent bosses in a row, I realized that I needed to get out and invest my time into my future and not someone else’s.

One day after work while sitting in traffic, I started to I think about my idea for artist watches. And as I sat there thinking through the logistics involved in starting a watch company it hit me. I could totally do it myself. And at that moment, right there on the 101 Freeway in North Hollywood, Vannen Art Watches was born.

As soon as I got home I told my girlfriend I was going to start Vannen and that in a year tops I’d be out of my day job. That night I stayed up for 24 hours straight fleshing out everything that would become the Vannen you know today and the Vannen you will know in the future. 

That day in traffic when it all came to fruition, I had a feeling that a new art watch company could be successful if it provided people with a real limited edition product that was affordable and quality driven. I also knew that if I put actual heart and soul into the brand – and made it accessible from a place of sincerity – that we’d have lots of support from everyone involved.

Another reason Vannen became a reality was because of an inner yearning I had to create a new a product that could cross barriers… gender, race, nationality, niche and market barriers of course.  I wanted Vannen to be a fun product that didn’t alienate anyone or itself.

And I think it’s working. It’s really exciting to see our collectors feel a part of something fresh and exciting again. And that’s what I set out to do from day one – to get people excited.

Give us some insight into a typical day for you.

The average day consists of waking up early, going for a walk, hitting the shower, making breakfast, heading in to the office, and receiving and responding to e-mail and phone calls. Then hopefully I have time for some lunch. After that, I work on projects until around 8 p.m. And depending on the evening, I’ll either go to an art show or just stay in and relax.

The artists you’ve commissioned so far such as Buff Monster, Brian Morris, Chris Ryniak, Damon Soule and Dirty Donny are all fantastic, but so different in style. What are your guidelines and considerations for choosing artists for each series?

There’s really no exact science to it except an attraction to the artists work. Every artist we approach has a style that we feel will translate into a great wristwatch. If there is any guideline it’s to select artists whose art speaks to all sorts of people from different walks of life.  Each of our artists has their own fan base who I hope will embrace a wristwatch, but I really aim to get the artwork out there to a whole new batch of people.

Last year you released a top notch seasonal package for Halloween and Christmas, and it seemed to be well received. Is that something you hope to do more often?

I love doing the packaging and coming up with fun stuff like we did on those two releases. This year we plan on doing some obscure, funny holiday watches along with some super limited edition watches for boutiques and brands we’re friends with. And rest assured all of those will have great packaging too.

What’s been the best moment of the Vannen Watches story so far?

Making Vannen a reality was the best moment by far. When starting a business you run into a lot obstacles and something like 95 percent of people who try fail. I have to say I’ve been really blessed to have so many incredibly nurturing people in my life who support the project.

The artists, the stores, the sites, the blogs, family, friends, etc. Everyone has been really amazing. The other special moments are when I get e-mails from random people telling me how much they love our watches. That always makes me feel really good.

What else is in the pipeline for Vannen? Where do you hope to take the brand?

Oh, we have some exciting stuff coming up. We’ve got a great watch coming out on March 27th with Alex Pardee that you can only get at the ZeroFriends boutique in NYC, and if it doesn’t sell-out that weekend, you can find it online that following Monday at ZeroFriends.com.

Zerofriends Watch (EXCLUSIVE sneak peak!)

Alex’s watch is super limited to only 40 pieces worldwide and each box is signed, numbered and customized by Alex. No two pieces of packaging are the same. You’ll find out what we mean when you see it next week. It also comes with a limited edition print that you can only get by purchasing the watch.

We’ve also got a watch coming out in the first week of April with Atticus Clothing and 1Louder. That watch is designed by Brian Ewing and will only be available through vannenwatches.com and 1louder.com.

Brian Ewing

The cool thing about that watch is that Atticus has their version and Vannen has a version. Each version is limited to only 50 pieces and the packaging is signed and numbered by Brian as well. Series 2 will be out at the end of April or early May and that features Bigfoot, Blaine Fontana, Thomas Han and Travis Lampe.

Bigfoot and Thomas Han

Blaine Fontana

Travis Lampe

And then after that we’ve got oversized / larger watches and smaller watches coming out around June. We’ll probably have some of the oversized watches out in time for San Diego Comic Con and then maybe a few surprise SDCC exclusives too. 

With such a time consuming company, you’re obviously a busy man. What do you do to take time out and get away from it all? Or don’t you?

I go for walks up Runyon Canyon with my girlfriend or with Buff Monster. That’s pretty much the only real time that I can pull my head out of Vannen and breathe. But the other 99 percent of the time I don’t get away from it at all. I eat, sleep and breathe Vannen Art Watches. Aside from the daily walk in the hills I might go out for an art show, rock show, movie, or whatever social event that happens to pop up. Everything else time-wise is dedicated to making Vannen grow. I love Vannen, so it’s totally worth every second of my time.

MUSIC

What music are you blasting out of Vannen HQ at the moment?

Lately I’ve been listening to Against Me!, Mariachi el Bronx, Dead to Me, None More Black, Baroness, Priestess, Off with Their Heads and a wide variety of other stuff both old and new.

Which artists / bands would you love to see sporting your watches?

Honestly I’m excited when I see anyone wearing them.  But if I had to pick any artist or band, I’d be stoked to see Robert Smith, Morrissey or David Bowie wearing a Vannen watch. I’d be stoked to see Tim Burton wearing one too.  I’d flip out for sure if I saw any of any of them wearing one.

DEBATE

What’s biting your brain and making you frustrated at the moment?

I’ve been a really upset at how big companies that put out artist-related products like designer vinyl and apparel are not paying their artists a proper royalty. It’s pretty ridiculous and insulting that these big companies take an artist – who is essentially a brand in their own right – and put out products designed by these artists and then in turn only pay that artist only a tiny fraction of a huge chunk of money that’s coming in. I’ve heard horror stories about it, but recently just saw it happen to an artist I know and it blew my mind.

So for anyone reading this please buy direct from artist-owned companies like ZeroFriends, Circus Posterus, Metroplastique, Rebel 8, Grass Hut and the rest of those artist-owned and operated business where your cash goes directly to the artist…

or buy products from reputable companies like us who pay their artists one of the highest royalty rates in the business. And it goes without saying that you should support independent retailers, galleries and websites who truly support the scene too.

Just make sure your money goes to the artist and the people who really support the community. Collectors should also commission their favorite artist for original art and custom pieces as well. In short just do your research and become a more informed collector. Make sure your cash really goes to the artist.

On a general note, what are you really stoked about?

I’m really excited about our upcoming line of oversized watches. I didn’t think I would be this stoked on them because I prefer the more minimal, standard size watches, but these big ones are really going to turn out great. I’m also looking forward to putting out more crossovers and exclusives. Those are always a blast and fun to work on.

If there was one thing in the world that you could change, what would it be?

More time in the day to get things done. That’s all I want… just more time.
Thanks for the interview David. Here is a gift for doing the interview!

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Who or what is Anyforty? How many are there working at the label?

AnyForty is a UK streetwear brand specialising in limited run artist collaboration tee’s. Financially AnyForty is me, myself and I but it’s way bigger than that, we’re a family and at the moment we run about 30 deep, it’s a solid group of talented mates ranging from photographers, designers, musicians, illustrators, skaters &mountain bikers from all over the UK, all repping the brand day in, day out! Couldn’t of done any of this without them all.

Where did the name come from?

The name comes from the area of Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne I grew up in, spent 22 years in the NE40 postcode and the north has a massive place of pride in my heart,made me the man i am today. When i moved to the South West i knew i wanted to start a brand up and wanted to come up with a original name that would pop up on google searches. Was playing with the NE40 thing and decided to switch it into word form, blam, job done, everyone loved it!!

How long has the brand been around?

The brand has just turned 2 this march. 2 Years Strong!

Who will you be collaborating with for your Spring/Summer ranges?

Unlike last years tee’s which saw AnyForty work with a lot of international artists our first drop of the year see’s us collaborate with a predominantly UK based range of artists, RichT, 45RPM, MegaMunden, Mr Bowlegs and Stephen Bonner all rep for the UK with some stunning designs, and our one international hook up is with good friend of ours and absolute illustrative beast Hydro 74.

What were your inspirations for S/S 10?

Sounds cheesy but i try not to follow trends or inspirations for these designs, just cook up stuff i know me and the family would love to wear. You can see from the varied illustrative styles we use we don’t follow any trends, just use people we like, fuck following trends, i want to set them!!

Favourite colourway of all time?

I think my personal favourite tee so far has been AnyForty X Waste, that was absolutely next level bat shit of a tee design, walk in any store in the world and you’ll not see stuff like Norm of Waste cooks up on tee’s, proper mental!

Any Forty 2009 Collection - Artist Series

Who inspires you?

I’m massively inspired by a few artists who’ve set there own one man brands up and have had great success with them, so cats like Benny Gold, Johnny Cupcakes, 123 Klan and of course Shepard Fairey with his Obey label.

Where are you stocked?

AnyForty is only 2 years old and it’s still a bit of a struggle getting stores to pick a relatively new brand up, but at the moment we’re stocked in the king of streetwear stores online Urban Industry and Focus Skateboard Store in Edinburgh & Glasgow, and we’re in talks with getting us in Fifty Fifty in Bristol and the dope Electrik Sheep in our home town Newcastle. Hoping to get more stores on board over the next year or so but i’m not in any rush, more than happy to sell direct from the AnyForty online store, even though the multiple post office visits a week get right on my nerves!!

What are the big trends gonna be street wear/skate wear wise this year?

Really don’t know and truthfully not bothered in the slightest, like i said we’re not following anyone with this brand, just trying to make our own path for others to come through and follow!

What are your plans for world domination this year?

AnyForty’s just gonna keep dropping unique tee’s from talented artists and see where this road takes us, if it’s to world domination, happy days, if not we’ve certainly given it our best shot and we’ll settle for dominating the South West and the North
East!

Any Forty Tees by Fresh to Death and McFaul

Who would you most like to see in an Anyforty t shirt?

This is a funny question, a year ago i’d of killed to see someone famous repping AnyForty, I sent many a free tee out to people in the music industry, DJ’s & MC’s I respected then never heard a peep back once they’d been posted. Think i’d rather 100 people bought and loved a AnyForty tee than 10,000 people who bought one because Dizzee Rascal or Kanye West wore one. 2 Years Strong now and ain’t no one getting shit for free again!

Alan Wardle is Head crayon & chief coin counter of AnyForty – The brand that’s hitting the streetwear
scene with a tin of Dulux to the dome!

You can follow AnyForty on Twitter

Visit the AnyForty online store

Or hit up their blog

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