Out & About: Pick Me Up 2012

 Pick Me Up, one of our favourite creative exhibitions of the year, returns for it's third and biggest show to date in just under a month!

"Pick Me Up, the UK’s first annual contemporary graphic art fair and festival, celebrating graphic arts in all its forms, returns for its biggest edition yet this spring. A selection of the most exciting graphic art collectives and galleries will move into the Embankment Galleries to create unique spaces and installations, including Nelly Duff, the London gallery that represents among others Barak Obama’s favourite street artist Ben Eine and the fine line drawings of Jessica Albarn, sister to Blur’s Damon Albarn.
With a lively events programme ranging from a children’s illustration weekend to a portrait booth with Guardian regulars Modern Toss, workshops on comics and cartooning from Pick Me Up favourites NoBrow and SelfMadeHero and a Paper Toy Workshop with Creative Review magazine. New this year will be the Events Space, dedicated to workshops, live music, spoken word and live drawing with a bar open every evening."

We're really excited about Peepshow's residence throughout the exhibition, one of the collectives we really look up to and aspire to be like. They're giving a talk on Monday 26th March at 6,30pm as part of it, and we'll definitely be checking that out. Other events to look out for during Pick Me Up is a talk from the AOI called 'What You Need to Know' which sounds like it'll be really interesting, covering things such as self promotion, pricing and licensing your artwork, how copyright protects your work and the best way to approach potential clients.

There's also loads of events going on which we don't want to miss, with Paper making workshops, Show & Tell, Portfolio Reviews... so much good stuff!

The Crayons will all be heading down there hopefully as a big collective outing together to check out all the work - watch this space!

Tea & Crayons Heart :: Nail Art

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

They speak for themselves really don't they? Awesome.

Out & About: Rumble in the Jumble, Sunday 26th Feb 2012

We've just been told about this and it sounds amazing - we'll be there for sure!

Dawn Porter is teaming up with a host of celebrities to bring you Rumble in the Jumble, ‘A gigantic jumble sale raising quids for a brilliant cause’.

Join Dawn Porter, Gemma Cairney, Cherry Healey and Caroline Flack on Sunday 26th February 2012 at St Pancras Old Church, Pancras Road, London NW1 1UL (nearest tube Kings Cross) for the chance to renew your wardrobe and make a difference to women living in poverty worldwide.

For just £2 entry, and bringing at least one bag of your own jumble, you can join Kate Nash, Sara Cox, Gizzi Erskine, Grace Woodward and Brigitte Aphrodite, trading in your jumble for some new eco-chic. Any jumble remaining will be donated to Oxfam.

Dawn wrote ‘We are going to raise LOADS of money for Oxfam to help women around the world. So bring your jumble, buy some jumble, have a jumble…LET’S JUMBLE!!’. She also urged readers who can’t make the fantastic jumble event to host their own.

For more information, why not check out Dawn’s website or view and share the event flyer? You can also view the Facebook event.

Does anyone know who designed the fanastic flyer? It's amazing. Bright colours? Shoes? We love a lot. Hope to see you there crayonettes!!

Rach L xx

YCC WEEKLY SCORE FEATURING TEA & CRAYONS

read our lovely interview by the even lovelier Young Creative Council <3

What a week! It's been a busy one! Last week I mean, haha, this week is set to be even busier for us crayons! And our collective, sort of late Valentine's present if you will, was our lovely feature by the fab-u-lous Young Creative Council! Thanks to them lovelies for our wonderful feature and letting the world have a little peek at our loveable collective, also massive thanks to awesome crayonette Rachel L for her massive contribution to the article. (We love you Rach!) Also, definitely check our all the other Weekly Score features, amazing work featured and the YCC's other awesomeness, including their live briefs, which are great for all you fellow creatives!

Tea & Crayons Heart :: Skulls

Perhaps a little dark for the Crayons? Nah! Skulls are in, and they're set to stay for quite some time...

1

2

3

4

5

6

T&C Inspired: Ella Kirk

Hi crayonettes! 

Had a good week? Glad it's the weekend? We are, and we've got some lovely visual treats from our friend Ella, textile designer and illustrator, all the way in sunny Canada.  We love her intricate and quirky illustrations, she enjoy's an occasional robot and a mixtape and we love it.

Designing under the alias Milk Milk Lemonade you might've seen Ella's funky and colourful scarves adorning the rails of Topshop Oxford Street. 

Name: 

Ella Kirk

Where are you from: 

I'm from a teeny town in the countryside in Derbyshire, England but I've lived in Vancouver, Canada for the past year and a bit.

 

Tell us a little bit about your work: 

I studied 'surface pattern design' at Leeds College of Art and Design and like to create patterns and illustrations mainly for fashion textiles under the design name 'Milk Milk Lemonade'. I like to draw animals, robots, household items and insects and love to mash up unexpected item combinations to create quirky and interesting compositions. I also love to use a bit of typography wherever I can.

What’s your favourite tea:

My favourite tea is English Breakfast, or if I'm feeling fancy I'll go for a strawberry and kiwi blend.

Links:

Web: www.ellakirk.co.uk

Shop: society6.com/milkmilklemonade

FRIDAY FIX: FRUITY

images: we heart it

I've been wishing for summer time, fruit smoothies, sunshine, sun dresses and ice lollies. So I've been experimenting and getting creative with nail art, bright colours and obviously pinterest, WAH nails and weheartit are fab for inspiration. One of the cutest designs I came across was fruit, little watermelons, strawberries, apples, oranges- you name it, super cute &hearts; Also things I found really sweet were apple print dresses, fruit print jackets & the famous strawberry tattoo that Katy Perry has &hearts; Is anyone else longing for summer time? 

Out & About: Shipshape Illustration and Design Forum, 15th April

Tea & Crayons are super excited about this: Shipshape Studios are hosting an Illustration and Design Forum on 15th April 2012 - with our very own Rachel L taking part! The event is now being held at The Brook Green Hotel, which is a 5 minute walk from Hammersmith tube station. It's also easily reached from Goldhawk Road and Shepherd's Bush stations.

"A panel discussion and networking event on careers in the design and illustration industry, with Emma Block, Alice Potter and Rachel Lewis.

During this intimate event, the panel will discuss careers in illustration and design, and will cover crucial aspects such as social networking and marketing yourself. There will be a Q&A session where you will have the chance to ask any questions about careers in the creative industry.  

The artists will be exhibiting a selection of their work and it will be available to buy. Refreshments will be available to purchase."

Tickets are £15 if you buy before 15th March, and as well as talking about our own careers to date, answering questions and generally discussing starting out in a creative career, we'll also all be selling prints of our work on the day, and Emma Block will be selling and signing copies of her amazing book, Tea & Cake. (Which we wholeheartedly approve of. Of course.)

This is the first time you'll be able to purchase archival prints of Rachel's work, which is super exciting. All of the panel members have followed slightly different career paths since graduating and it will be great to hear about the different options that are there for aspiring illustrators, and hopefully each panel member can give really varied and interesting insights into how they've got where they are today. It's going to be a great day and we hope to see as many of you there as possible!

BUY TICKETS HERE: http://illustrationdesign.eventbrite.co.uk/?discount=RACHELTALKS&ebtv=C

Tea & Crayons Heart :: A Good Book

A late 'Tea and Crayons Heart' this week guys. How are we all? Today I finished reading the book 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov. A classic if ever I read one. I'm not going to go into the story, all I'll say is that if you haven't read it you must. If you have read it, you'll know what I mean. 
I love a good fiction based around love of some sort - not your stereotypical chick-lit, but something classic and beautiful. Inspired by this, for this week's 'heart' I wanted to share a few books I've read over the recent years and thoroughly enjoyed. Have you read any of these? And if so, did you enjoy them?

Bah to the kindle. A paperback you can bend, fold, crease, and turn the pages of is the only one for me. I hope whatever my next purchase is lives up to my high expectations. Any recommendations guys? I'd love to hear them.

This Week, We Love...

Well, with Valentine's Day just around the corner, love is everywhere. And as some of you may have heard, I got engaged on Wednesday!! So I'm feeling extra smiley this week! I thought this all seemed like a good opportunity to do a 'This Week, We Love...' on the theme of love!

Amazing personilised chocolate (from the chocolate shop I work in, Gorvett & Stone. Not at all biased!)

T&C Inspired: Kerri-Ann Hulme

Hi loves! Hope you're all having a good week.

We invited T&C friend Kerri-Ann Hulme this week to share her wonderfully delicate and beautiful pencil drawings with us. We're adoring the little caspian seal she created for creature mag's endangered animal project and her hand drawn type 'We could be kings and queens'. Kerri-Ann shares alot of the same inspirations through fairytales and story telling as us crayons which is probably why we love her work so much :)

Name: 

Hello, my name is Kerri-Ann Hulme.

Where are you from: 

I'm from a small town called Widnes in Cheshire.

 

Tell us a little bit about your work: 

I would describe my work as whimsical, which reflects on childhood themes. I am particularly interested in children's books and hope to one day write and illustrate my own story. I love painting with acrylics on a large scale or drawing true to life portraits doing tone and shading with pencils. I'm currently just starting a few personal projects and sorting out my portfolio as it's a new year and time for brand new work. Also, I am one third of the collective Pencils, Paper, Scissors and we have just sent our first collaborative project to the printers and are expecting it back any day now. It is a circus themed colouring book and we are so excited to share it with everyone.

Who, what and/or where inspires you: 

I am inspired by many things including fairytales, magic, animals and people. The golden age illustrators such as Arthur Rackham, Kay Nielsen and Harry Clarke have been one of my main inspirations since I first decided I wanted to illustrate because I find myself getting lost in their pictures as they are so full of beautiful detail. I have recently discovered two amazing book illustrators, the work of Inga Moore (she illustrated The Secret Garden) and Jill Barklem (author and illustrator of the Brambly Hedge children's books), if you love children's books as much as me they are definitely ones to look out for.

What’s your favourite tea:

I don't like tea! :( (It always surprises us when people don't like tea)

Links:

Blog: goodnight-neverland.blogspot.com

Website: www.kerriannhulme.co.uk 

Twitter: @kerriannhulme

Collective: pencils paper scissors collective

♥

FRIDAY FIX: SWEET TREATS

fancy filigree number 6 by VINTAGE CONFECTIONS

 custard cream screen printed cushions by WHATNIKKIMADE

vintage teapot by NORTHSTAR VINTAGE

neon pink letter tote by FIELDGUIDED

sweet by I'M YOUR PRESENT

As it's nearing Valentine's day and the little local shops and cafes are covered with a sprinkling of red and pink hearts, Lana del Rey is on repeat and our lovely Abby is more loved up than ever! (see her darling twitter feed) I thought it would be rather sweet to share some of the sweetest treats I've spotted on etsy. I started off with a sort of tea and biscuits theme, how amazing are the custard cream cushions? You could host tea parties with the cutest tea pot I've ever seen! Perfect perspex (well acrylic) words to brighten up any dress, for all of you with dates to attend! Pastel coloured candy numbers (and letters, too! Sweetie initials for your sweetheart? You'll be straight in the good books!) I hear these are perfect wedding favours/ place settings as well! *wink wink* And finally, a darling tote bag with my favourite colour (PINK) neon lettering, such a fab place to store keepsakes, sweets, wild flowers you've picked!

I am a few days early on this post but it might inspire you over the weekend for all your sweetheart finishing touches for the perfect Valentine's day! Have a lovely one darlings!

♥