Boom Town for Crack Magazine

Friday night and I’m sat outside Milton Keynes train station, it rains as I watch as festival goers arrive and leave, I pick them out easily amongst the sea of trackies and 90’s emo kids. Concrete and glass surrounds, two and a half hours pass and finally a transit van comes hurtling around into the car park and into the bus lane. My suitcase is thrown in the back; a rum and ginger (heavy on the rum) is thrust in my hand and we’re off.


The festival; Boomtown Fair, the location; a field in the grounds of a classical show house built in the 1600’s, now home to Stowe School and a garden centre. We enter through an impressively long drive and there’s an obelisk in the distance. We’re ushered into park behind the Lion’s Den (reggae tent). In the van behind are Tom and Luke from Wales soon to be our wingmen for the weekend. Already a culture has been established, we trade cider for mushrooms and water for, well, other stuff. It’s a good trade and seals our friendship.

We are led into the night, I adopt the customary Friday night policy of getting totally obliterated sans supper, after my losing my mind in a dance tent post The Wurzels, I spend daybreak dry retching in the woods. Wide-eyed and belly aching we head back into town to explore the realities of daylight; failing to recover the brand new coat gifted to Lucy a day ago, she winces.

You can read more of my write up for Crack magazine by clicking here.

Time for tea, now who would like a vagina cake?

Deep in the dungeon of Maiden the famed gift shop on Shoreditch High Street,
sits a room full of devilish sweet stuff waiting to be devoured.

Only if you are 18+ can you enter and experience the 666 sugar filled delights on offer.

Be quick though, the pop up store will be gone once the bewitching hour is through (Sunday 31st),
this may be the only chance to purchase the vagina cake of your dreams.





I was down at the venue last night and was blown away by the effort put into the decor, thick red plastic draping, similar to an abattoir, not that I’ve been to an abattoir and metal cages. A lot of love has been put into the shop fit, very excited about the launch this evening; it's going to be a fun party. I shall report back with photographs.

Fright Night!

Emma and I arrived at Staines train station under a pelting sky, with hailstones raining down on us, laughing we ran for cover. The bus pulls up and the disability ramp isn’t working, we have a celebrity disabled unable to embark, she was on Location, Location apparently (according to Emma), hers was the biggest budget they had to spend 1.5M, she did have a fancy electronic wheelchair so I didn’t question it. Much procrastination, 20 minutes later the expensive and rather heavy wheelchair is lifted on the bus just as another bus arrive and were off. Tickets in hand we sail in, joining the queue jump ticket queue, pole (front) position for Stealth, Nemesis and Saw fast track tickets in hand, we’re off.


Stealth 0-80mph in under 2 seconds

Emma post Stealth

Tidal Wave, we abstained from the water rides, boring I know


Style Spotting




Five rollercoaster’s, four horror mazes, two sneaky push ins, one burger king and half a tub of fizzy sweets later I feel amazing, it’s dark, there are chav’s everywhere, some with fake blood, I feel thirteen. What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday, my insides and neck hurt but it was worth it. On route home we pause by the fruit and vegetable stall at Liverpool Street a vague attempt to undo the neglect we stock up on pears and pomegranates.


Grease - inspiration to many

The Sunday Air Fair doesn’t run on a Sunday,




located at P3 - the underground aircraft hanger linked to Westminster University - it features the work of 60 artists, from 20 young galleries from around the world. On at the same time as Freize it’s free to get in. I wandered around the vast vertical space absorbing all on offer, mostly quality accessible stuff, although a few were too obscure for my art school learnings. I delighted in the closeness of the works, each gallery bringing something new and fresh, Lemoncello, schleicher+lange, luettgenmeijer, were particularly exciting.












Man at work



With £50 artist made cocktails on offer....................................................

Make no bones about it late nights at the Tate are busy, but if you can zone out and focus on the work in front out you then it’s worth it. Art in the evening is a treat, beats going to the pub, in fact it fills the time between going home and going to the pub, which is better. We snacked at Wasabi and I tasted my first eel sushi, I don’t like eel, it scares me, the spicy salmon was rather good though.



Fortunately for me my friend had a Tate pass we waltzed to the front of the exhibition, no timed entry. 11 rooms dedicated to one man work, Paul Gauguin’s art reflects his dramatic life, bright colours, dark ladies, nudity and morbid fascination. Controversially ahead of the time, (1850’s to 1900’s) unabashed by preconceived notions of decency. He travelled extensively migrating over Europe with his family, whom he later ditched and his career as a banker to pursue his passion as a painter. This journey took him to distant places, Martinique, Tahiti, yet Gauguin was experienced at such jaunts having lived in Peru as a small boy. These environments play a huge role in the content and style of his work.



Gauguin returned to his homeland spending time in Brittany and Paris where he was inspired to paint idyllic Breton landscapes. Gauguin was reportedly involved in an argument, which leads to Van Gogh visiting a prostitute and famously chopping his ear off. A large exhibition, with an engaging back story, the appendices that contextualise Gauguin’s work are particularly strong. Photographs of exotic women barely clothed, diaries, maps charting his mammoth journeys and his research, sketches, which showed the development of an image into a million pound painting. He was known for his alcoholism, bouts of depression and fixation with the native women. Gauguin died penniless, syphilis ridden on route to prison, far away from his family.

Craig Lawrence 4 Machine A

It's about time Craig Lawrence launched a capsule range, it gives us mere mortals a possibility of owning one of his designs. However at £600 a pop I sense it will be a while before I can stretch to something.


CRop top and knitted trousers

Please Topshop, H&M, some forward thinking but not to expensive store, take note and sign him up for a collaboration, it makes perfect sense. For the time being I will just have to content myself with attending the launch of Craig Lawrence for Machine A. The shop is located on Berwick Street, Oxford Street end and showcases the work of edgy designers. It was very serious with lots of tall women in black with black lipstick, save the VIP window that is, which had a hot dancing boy and a drag queen providing entertainment.



The delightful Zaiba Jabbar was there to capture the moment in all it's spirit

Sunflower Seeds at Tate - let the dust settle

Alas the seeds installation by Chinese artist

Ai Weiwei 

make sure you click on the link which takes you through to the wiki page, his life is interesting and should be explored.

is still out of bounds at the Tate for fear of dust inhalation, we did get to hold them in our hands though. It's a shame that's as far as the sunflower seed experience went, they would feel great under my feet, an artistic massage. Each seed was individually painted, I spotted an albino one, which was great, all for diversity. It's a real shame the seeds have proved hazardous, perhaps a solution can be reached, it piece loses it's essence, when you omit the sensory/interactive element.


Ai Wei Wei

My life has been a little hectic of late, going out Tuesday through to Monday is never a good thing when you're trying to hold down a job and be productive creatively. However that said it's been a good few weeks and the distractions of partying and the new people I've met have been worth it. I was hoping to back date my posts but i've given up playing catch up. instead they can just run as they are, real time and totally out of sync.

Oh and my new boss, he uses lol in emails and wears black polo necks.

 

Artists impression not actual boss

Birthday Boobies

Post Makin's opening we went to meet Millie for her birthday, interestingly it was at Brown's, yes the strip joint. Naively I thought that strippers didn't actually strip, like take their panties off until you actually pay them at least £20 for a private dance. Hmm I was wrong, they take everything off and lift their legs and show you everything, oh my. I momentarily felt like a prude. I got to see everything for £1 in a pint glass. Happy Birthday Millie. She looked fabulous in a Craig Lawrence dress. We went to Alibi for boggling on the tables not before witnessing an almighty smash up on the Kingsland Road, dark.


Alas this is the only picture we were allowed to take in Brown's - no photographs

Unsuspecting opening

The shop opened to a full house with salmon on rye, beer and fizz. A high proportion of the turnout arrived adorned with plants in pots ready to flourish; decoration for the newly painted white interior. Once a kitchen, the space now neatly housed a generous shop floor, complete with changing room (old bathroom space), imginative clothing rails and modest desk, minimal and yet resoundingly chic.


My trailing ivy has found a new home


Mohson and Sam chewing the proverbial phat

Entertainment was provided by Raoul, muse, model and musician, he perfomed tracks featured on the ep which accompanies Makin's look book for this season.


Raoul in action

An evening on Kate

It began with the arrival of Jessica; she had come to visit on route from Bristol to Berlin. It was wonderful to have her for the night. We ate supper and headed into town first stop the opening of Kate Spade's pop up store on Henrietta Street. The recently vacated language school in the heart of Covent Garden had been lavishly converted to reflect Kate's tastes and style, a kind of home from home. The concept being all the things Kate loves, decked out with retro styling, four poster bed, vintage furniture and picture booth, this was a quality operation. To drink, champagne, Tom Collins and long island iced teas; to eat mini hamburgers, mini pastrami sandwiches and mini rib type things - no vegetarian, fortunately I’d already eaten. We wandered up the white wooden staircase into the upstairs front, where The Like were performing, an LA all girl outfit with looks totally in keeping with the brand. Post performance they wandered around and chatted, the atmosphere was welcoming, relaxed and friendly. I met up with my friend Kyson who had helped with the project, he was on form. V.V.Brown who seems to be doing well in the US, was up next with a dj set. Each room had a different theme to it, handbags were displayed on a feature wall using vintage hooks, jewellery on the first, although slightly obscured by the crowd watching the band, the back room had a chilled vibe to it with folk perched on the bed. I want to come back and have a good rummage around; there was lots of details to discover.

Jessica and Sarah get acquainted

Kyson very kindly rescued us from the toilet queue and took us up four flights of stairs to the top of the wonderful building.

The Like (my picture didn't turn out very well, need to invest in a new camera - again)

Great flooring

VV Brown looking great with her hair down

Kyson styling it

After saying our goodbyes and picking up two friends we headed to the Kate Moross for Firetrap party on Seven Dials just a short albeit cobbled walk away. In complete contrast the party was akin to walking into a rave with Major Lazers blaring out of the speakers, no canapés on offer and true house party style they had run out of mixers - vodka, rum and tequila were on offer. The goodie bags were randomly packed containing watches, knitted arm cuffs and snoods.


I think I'd began to loose momentum photographically at this point, Ophelia and fellow fur hat appreciator... just before we headed out of the door.

It was almost too much after the civilised offering at Kate Spade, we had a few drinks and decided to join up with friends back East ending our night at the Spurstow Arms, turning left out of London Fields Station I discovered a wonderful bakery with three men working fastidiously, I intend to return and buy bread at some point.


Elliot and Stella, "We'll have none of your fashion bullshit here" it's good to have friends that keep you grounded.

Baking boys, the bread looked good.