Hi Laura! What is your creative process? How did you create your piece/s for GULLIBLE?

I am a printmaker predominantly, but I also illustrate, draw, collage and paint too! My Gullible print is screen printed, my favourite process. It is printed in two layers, the first being a colour blend to get more colours in there! The positives for the screen were hand drawn from my sketches. 

What or who is your biggest creative influences?

My biggest inspiration is nature and birds in particular. I love the textures and colours found in nature and interpret these through my work. There are no specific creative influences on my work, but I'm a fan of both traditional folky style printmaking and bold mid-century prints. 

If you weren’t a creative, what would your ideal job be?

That's a tough one! As a kid I wanted to be an archaeologist or a geologist, both of which would allow me to embrace my nerdiness. I love history and rocks. Or maybe a rock star ha ha! (I do play in a band?!) 

GULLS…love them, hate them, terrified of them..?!

I think they're beautiful, so slick and handsome! But I have to admit, they're pretty intimidating if you're eating chips at the seaside 😅

Hello, please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about yourself!

Hi, I’m Carrie, freelance brand designer and illustrator based in Worthing! I love building brands and illustrating for them. 

What is your creative process? How did you create your piece/s for GULLIBLE?

I work digitally and these pieces were created in Procreate.

 What or who is your biggest creative influences?

Growing up it was probably old computer games that shaped things a lot for me! I don’t come from an arty family or anything but nowadays I admire illustrators like Abby Lossing, Christopher De Lorenzo, Vincent Mahe and many others! I love Matisse and Lowry too in terms of more classic artists.

If you weren’t a creative, what would your ideal job be?

Games tester? Tough question haha

 GULLS…love them, hate them, terrified of them..?!

Healthy respect for them, wouldn’t tussle with one. The babies are cute (and huge)

Thanks Carrie! ❤️💛💚💙

Shop Carrie's Worthing Gulls print HERE.

Shop Carrie's A5 Gull prints HERE.

Visit Carrie's website HERE.

Hello, please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about yourself!

My name is Marleigh and I’m a queer illustrator from south east London! I’m a big lover of colour and it shows in my work.

Hello! I initially began writing this blogpost back in March 2020 thinking it would be a good thing to do in the run up to our Summer 2020 pop up shop. Well! That pop up didn't actually happen (no prizes for guessing why!) so I thought I'd wait until we had completed our 2021 pop up instead (juuuuuuust incase!)

We first popped up at Colonnade House - Worthing's Creative Hub - back in 2017 for one week. It was the first time we'd ever done a solo pop up shop and it was both a huge confidence boost and a steep learning curve! We loved it though and returned that same year for another week for 'hello DODO Winterland'. The following summer in 2018 we went full out and popped up for three whole weeks which was amazing but very tiring on top of keeping our online shops running! This time we went for what we think is the sweet spot of two weeks....still hard work but gives lots of people the chance to come and visit. Here's our Top Ten Tips for running a pop up shop for anyone who's thinking of going for it...some of these tips were pre-covid times (remember those?) so I'll add what adjustments we made this time around.

We definitely left it later than we usually would this time around as we weren't 100% sure it would go ahead. Usually if a pop up was in July/August though we'd start mentioning it in the early part of the year, not loads but every now and then bringing it up - sharing photos from our previous pop ups, just a gentle reminder to people who visited us before but also to introduce new people in our audience to this cool thing that we do! In the few months leading up to the pop up we begin to share more and more, giving sneak peeks of all the exciting new things we have planned for it and sharing the story of us making it happen.

If like us you're planning a pop up in someone else's space, be it council run or an empty shop - it's important that you spend the time to crunch the figures to work out roughly what you'd need/like to make money wise to make the project worthwhile. What's the fee for renting the space? Are there any unexpected costs such as needing to buy a licence to play music or do you need your own Public Liability Insurance? (We get ours annually through A-N membership) What budget do you need for kitting out the space? Rails? Props? Window decals? Flyers? Perhaps some things you might be able to borrow? Our main outlay for our initial pop up was colourful clothes rails, a million hangers (in our brand colours) and  MOST importantly, a huge cardboard cut out of our DODO mascot! We knew that these would all be things we used again though so they weren't a one time investment. This time around we had all of those things already and our main outlay (other than stock) was having a bunch of our professional product photos blown up big. Again, these are something that we will use again in the future. If the costs all seems like a lot of money could you collaborate with one or maybe more artists/designers to make the project more affordable? (and possibly more fun!)

If possible we'd definitely recommend visiting the space you're going to be popping up in more than once - or if that's not possible, at least getting a floor plan with measurements and photos of the space. We're lucky that Colonnade House is local to us and specialises in being a space for local artists and designers to show their work. We've seen the space being used for fully kitted out pop ups, minimal art exhibitions, a workshop space, a cinema....all sorts! If you're not familiar with your space here's some points to possibly consider: Is there a hanging system for the walls or can you bang in nails? Where do customers enter and exit? Is there a clear route people walk around the space, taking in to account wheelchairs and buggies? What are the windows like and how best can they be used to attract passers by? What's the lighting like in the space? Is any furniture supplied or is it completely blank? Are you able to paint the space? Is there wifi for card machines and using social media? How can you make the space something people want to share? In our first pop up our giant DODO cardboard cut out was part of a sort of DIY photobooth to encourage people to share our event on social media. This time around for us things were QUITE different as a couple of months before our pop up a van had driven through the main window of Colonnade House. This meant that the main window was completely blocked off and the access to the main gallery space was a little trickier (thank goodness they have two doors though!). This was a good exercise in being flexible and open minded for us, we flipped the entire room layout so that when people entered the space felt normal and spacious and most important SHOPPABLE and it actually worked really well.

Yep, we're on Tip Four and we still haven't opened yet! It seems obvious but as with any event you have to share the sh*t out of it. If you want any local newspapers or magazines to feature your event they'll have print deadlines so contact them early and supply a concise press release that gives them all the info they need plus a folder of hi-res images. Take flyers to other local businesses, networking events, see if local coffee shops or bars will put up posters for you (we did much less of this this time around but picked some really good places to have flyers). And then of course online promotion! Share it on instagram, on stories, create a facebook event and invite the entire World, share it to relevant facebook groups (when allowed), talk about it on twitter using local hashtags, tell your mailing list ALL about it. If you're starting to feel uncomfortable and like you're boring people I can guarantee you're still not talking about it enough!! And remember, not everyone who follows you sees all your posts. Share what you're doing, where you're flyering, WHY this pop up is totally unmissable and what exclusive stuff people will find if they visit you. 

If you're reading this blogpost then I assume you're some sort of designer/maker/artist/indie business and so a pop up shop for you can be personal and tell your story. You're not there to compete with High Street stores, you're there to connect with people! For us, we design and screenprint all of our clothing ourselves from our tiny garden print studio in Worthing...so when we pop up in Worthing we can talk to customers about that. Other than talking to customers though, is there a way to shout about who you are and why you do what you do in the space? On the window? In an installation? A video? Could you have some of your creative tools there or even be able to create things in the space itself? This is hello DODO's 10th year so we created a bio that told our story and had that professionally printed big on the wall. Had we had more time and budget we'd have made a brand video that we'd have had playing in the space as not everyone spends the time to read a bio and it's great for people to be able to actually see our making process. Something for next time!

Woohoo your pop up is finally open! HIGH FIVE. Our pop ups always open on a Tuesday (after a full day of setting up the day before) which is not usually a super busy day on the high street but we also make sure it's in the school summer holidays. Could your first customers get a freebie or some kind of perk for being first in line? Are you having a launch party? We didn't do one this time around (eurgh...covid!!) but at our launch parties in the past we've done goodie bags for the first customers to buy something and had drinks and snacks from local indie businesses. We call them a launch party rather than a private view...as they're not very private! They're a good opportunity to invite local press, potential clients or stockists etc though...and just all your friends and family!

Even if your pop up is in prime position, you can't just rely solely on footfall, you need to keep shouting from the rooftops that you're there and you're only temporary so if people snooze they'll lose! Keep updating your facebook event with any interesting pop up news and  maybe give a little tour on instagram stories. Something we've done before which was a LOT of fun was we designed some "DODO Dollars" (hello DODO £1 off vouchers) which we left in places around town (cinemas, cafes, bars, the museum, library etc). We'd show on Instagram stories a clue as to where we'd left them and so it was fun game for locals to go off and find them. Are there any local bloggers/influencers/magazines/newspapers you could reach out to?

Another way to create some fun hype and get people through the door is to either hold workshops or events within your pop up. In the past we've done badge making workshops as our pop up is popular with kids in the school holidays and the workshop also allows their parents to possibly do a bit of shopping whilst their kids are occupied. Is there a relevant workshop you could run that's easy to do and would appeal to your market? Or possibly a new product launch within the timeframe of the pop up? Or some live music? A book signing? A film screening? A talk? A fashion show? Having extra things to talk to your audience about is great!

We've already mentioned but having exclusives at your pop up is a fantastic way of getting people excited...yourself included! A pop up is a great way of launching new designs, new styles, new colours etc and seeing how people react to them. Keep them exclusive to the pop up whilst you're open and it'll make it all the more exciting for visitors. In our Summer 2018 pop up we released the "Rainbow Rail" - an entire rail of sweatshirts in every colour, including many that we didn't usually stock. For our pop up this time round we had LOTS of new exclusive pieces such as an entire rail of tie dye pieces ("The DODO Dyed!"), lots of samples and special colour ways, enamel mugs, postcards and more! We also launched our handprinted vintage sister label 'Long Live The DODO' at the pop up so there were tonnes of things that weren't available anywhere else.

You bloody did it! Pat yourself on the back! Putting yourself out there and promoting a pop up is FULL ON. If you have an ounce of energy left, get any leftover stock/new things that aren't online in your shop - likely they'll be customers that don't live locally who are excited to finally nab it after all of your sharing online. If you were in a venue that's continually hosting events then leave some business cards with them as there's always at least one person who comes back to buy something after you've closed. Check your final figures against the money you spent on the pop up...hopefully do a happy dance! If you didn't make as much money as you'd hoped, don't fret, you will have encouraged lots of future online orders, gained new customers and you'll have so much content from the space (take a million photos whilst you're open!) Do a post to thank everyone for visiting or following along and nudge them to sign up to your newsletter to be the first to hear about what you do next. Then order a takeaway and put your feet up, you deserve it!!!

Here we are with Squeegee Club Interview Vol. 2 and we're so SO chuffed that the wonderful Jane Foster agreed to chat all things screen printing with us! We have been avid fans and Instagram followers of Jane since we started our own screen printing journey all those years ago. Like us she is a huge fan of Dick Bruna (the creator of Miffy) and bold, simply, playful design. She also has the most beautiful studio ever! So grab a cuppa and enjoy, then head to Jane's links at the bottom of the interview!

Hi Jane! Please tell us a bit about yourself and how you first got in to screen printing?

My first introduction to screen printing was when I was a teenager at secondary school. I had a really cool Art teacher called Mrs Bruce who had thick black eye liner, thick black hair and was an amazing artist. I loved her style, she was very kind and she believed in me. (which always helps!) I wasn’t great at ‘life drawing’ or sketching with charcoal but I absolutely loved the technique of screen printing as I loved the flat bold colours you could create on paper and fabric. She let me have my own table by the window to print on during lunch breaks and she also let me listen to my own music through my little Walkman. (I’m showing my age!) She had a long roll of cotton fabric in the Art Cupboard (I still remember that wonderful cupboard today!) and let me screen print my own curtains using cut out paper stencils.*Little did I know that it would then be 20 years later that I would then discover the love of screen printing again!

You have a very distinct bold style, where do you get your inspiration and influences from?

Thank you! I’ve always loved bold primary colours as I was born in 1970. My parents had quite funky taste - my Mum shopped in Habitat on Tottenham Court Road and I rememberer a wonderful bright green sofa with chrome arms! She liked Marimekko fabrics which I also grew up loving. She also loved simple Danish design with no frills. 

Like us, a lot of your screen printed work is one colour. What makes you want to work this way?

Perhaps in the beginning it was because I used to hand cut the stencils myself and it was much easier printing in one colour! I also love the simplicity of one colour and the challenge of trying to make an image work just using one colour.

We are very envious of your studio! Please tell us a bit about it and how the space has developed over time!

Thank you so much! We chose to buy the quirky house we live in because it had a wide garden that we could build a studio in. This was honestly the main criteria! I felt I needed to work from home but have a degree of separation to the house. My clever partner Jim built the studio around seven years ago using insulated panels which we then clad and painted black (being inspired by Derek Jarman’s studio in Dungeness). It’s almost 29m square and had to be this size as at that time, I was needing an area to screen print, an area to sew and an area for my office. It’s changed a lot over the past 7 years as I’m now illustrating much more  - I have lots of shelves of vintage children’s books that I collect, shelves of my own published children’s books and lots of plan chests full of my drawings as I still create everything my hand in the old fashioned way!

In the past you have used both paper stencils for printing and designs burnt to screen, do you prefer one method over the other?

I like the detail you can get from printing fine line illustrations burnt to a screen but I also love how creating a paper stencil can give you a unique not so ‘perfect’ line which can only happen with scissors. Using scissors can also encourage you to play more with shapes and you often get unexpected suprises!

What would you say is the best thing about screen printing?

I love the simple physical act of pulling ink down a screen and then lifting the screen off the fabric to see a result! It never stops being pleasing, especially when the print is precise and neat! *I also adore creating products such as toys, cushions and purses from the fabric - seeing how it can be used in a three dimensional way.

And the worst?

The costly mistakes! Those times when for whatever the reason (albeit the ink is drying on the screen as it’s too humid ….etc.) mistakes are made. It can be so frustrating!

What would be your top tip for anyone wanting to try screen printing?

Go for it! Take an evening class (when Lockdown finishes)  - I re-discovered screen printing 20 years later when I found out I was living round the corner from a print studio in Brighton! It felt like ‘coming home’! I was a full time music teacher at the time but managed to book ‘drop in’ sessions in the evenings so I could print like crazy!

What is your ultimate dream for your business?

To create a balance between working on projects / books that I love whilst also having time to be with my family and to enjoy life.* I’ve just finished working on my first two Picture Books so would love to work on more to create a series. I’d love to create a whole brand around a character or set of characters (a bit like Dick Bruna with his character ‘Miffy’) that could be Licensed, animated and give joy to children and parents all around the world.

Lastly, please tell us about your squeegee! Do you have more than one?

Yes, I’ve lots and yes, I do have a favourite! I’ve a mixture of sizes  - my favourite is a medium sized aluminium one with rubber - covered in ink. The weight and feel of it is just right for me.

We decided to write a little blog post about our A/W kids collection 'Are We Nearly There Yet?' because...well..in the bonkers upside down kinda year that was 2020 it feels a bit like a triumph and those should DEFINITELY be celebrated! Also, it's kind of a different way of working for us. Let me explain!

How It Started

In our usual way of working we would come up with some designs for adult clothing, organise some photography (whether by us or a professional) and once they've launched we would wait to see which designs were popular and might also work for kids sizes. With this collection however we started off with kids in mind from the beginning. We had been chatting to the brilliant Hannah of In The Den Photography about doing an A/W shoot after she had done a summer one for us during lockdown with her own kids. We got a date in the diary for a weekend in September that she would be visiting family down South and that became a deadline for shooting...at that point we had no idea what we were shooting! Oh and we also put out a callout for models..with only a vague idea of what the collection theme might be. The thing with us and deadlines is we work way better as they become dangerously close! Two weeks before the shoot we were getting ready to go and visit my family in Wales for the first time since March when they suddenly went in to local lockdown. Instead of moping around we decided we had better crack on and get this collection designed! We knew that we wanted to create a really empowering, inspiring and playful collection for kids and we became really obsessed with adventure themes, retro camping aesthetic and American 1960's Scouting...basically Moonrise Kingdom vibes! Luckily Hannah was VERY onboard with this entire theme and whilst Jam and I created the collection we had a beautiful joint Pinterest board on the go with her.

Design Time

'Scenic Route Society' was a design idea we'd had doodled in our sketchbooks for a couple of years with adults in mind. We had tried working it up but had never been completely happy with the execution though and it wasn't until we combined it with our inspirations for this collection that it fell in to place. The only other design that already existed was 'Bear With Me' which is actually one of our first ever hello DODO designs! Sometimes revisiting old work and improving on it is really fun though, in this case just a few little tweaks to simplify the style. 'Early Bird' and 'It's The Little Things That Count' were the designs that we had the most trouble with and pushed us right up to the deadline of the shoot....they almost didn’t make the cut...so of course those two have proved to be two of the most popular ones!

The Models

We had never done a callout for kids to model before and we weren't entirely sure if we would get many takers with the unsettling state of the World. Yeah, we were wrong...our inbox WENT WILD. We literally could not believe how many emails we got!!! Some were from people we already knew but most were complete strangers and all of them were full of photos of gorgeous kids with brilliant names and little stories about their personalities. We closed the callout pretty quickly as we were totally overwhelmed and choosing was near impossible! Luckily photographing loads of kids is Hannah's dream job and she agreed to us having basically as many as we could squeeze in to the day (in carefully planned time slots for covid safety of course).

Hats by Wild Things, Skirt by Lily & Giraffe

Location Location - Cuckmere Haven

Once the design process was underway and we were deep in to our adventure themed inspiration, we turned our thoughts to where in Sussex we could shoot. We knew we needed one really dramatic, wild location worthy of being an English version of Moonrise Kingdom. And one that was the polar opposite, fun, bright and colourful but also easily accessible should any of our models or their family require that. I had a brainwave! Our wonderful friend Sophie of We Are Mountain (and also shop owner at Inspired Worthing) has a beautiful cottage overlooking Cuckmere Haven that has been in her family for many years (her Great Grandfather was the last coastguard there). It's such a special place and the view of the Seven Sisters, the sea, the sky paired with the gorgeous red doored cottage...every time I'm there I find it hard to believe that it really exists. It was the perfect location for 'Are We Nearly There Yet?' and we feel so so so lucky that we got to shoot there. It was lucky timing too as they had just finished filming Worzel Gummidge there! Sophie's sister Lucy also brought her gorgeous kids Jack and Maisie (below) to model for us too which just made it even more special! This incredible and iconic view is at serious risk of being lost forever though, the sea defences desperately need to be restored to protect the cottages - check out the charity Cuckmere Haven SOS for all the details and also to read lots of incredible facts about the history of Cuckmere Haven. From smugglers to WWII to Idris Elba, it’s SO interesting!

Jam positions our doll's house on the beach...as you do!

Elsie nailing the shot wearing some gorgeous Mint Cake Club leggings

Mylah brought ALL the energy to our shoot! We loved this outfit with our Take A Hike sweatshirt, Lily & Giraffe skirt and her own leopard print leggings.

Location Location - Eastbourne

For our second shoot we didn't need to look much further along the coast as we chose to shoot outside the Towner Gallery which is a feast of colour. We wanted this shoot to be bold, fun and simple and the only props we used were some cardboard protest-esque signs that we painted ourselves with some slogan ideas from the kids. It was so cold and windy but the kids were absolute pros and brought ALL the high energy poses and every one of them nailed it literally within minutes. 

Hannah, Jam and pugs shelter from the cold wind outside the Towner Gallery

The wonderful Audrey wearing our Flower Power sweatshirt and leggings by Curious Moon. Audrey is a modelling pro and nailed her poses in a few minutes!

Mimi rocking more incredible handmade leggings by Curious Moon

Bloomin' Heck

Looking back on it now, it feels slightly bonkers that we pulled it off...we organised not one but two outdoors shoots. Across the two days we had 20 kids from 10 families and all organised in to one hour slots to be nice and covid safe (and organising people is NOT my strong point!), we sourced all sorts of props from a boot sale and facebook marketplace, we designed, burnt the screens, printed and finished everything in the correct sizes for each kid (that's after decided what each one would wear!) AND organised 4 other indie businesses who sent us items to feature in the shoot too. All of that in a couple of weeks timeframe whilst stressing about lockdown happening, the weather potentially being terrible AND a poorly pug. PHEW. I feel like I need a lie down after listing all that!! We hope you enjoyed hearing a bit about how this collection and photoshoots came together. A HUGE thank you to Hannah for capturing this collection so beautifully and also of course a massive thank you to our models Maisie, Jack, Elsie, Oliver, Mylah, Milo, Isla, Archie, Caspian, Marley, Rufus, Emlyn, Iris, Audrey, Rex, Willow, Mimi, Oliver, Ravi and Maya and all of their parents and guardians! ALSO thank you to Wild Things, Lily & Giraffe, Mint Cake Club and Curious Moon for working with us!

We’re so excited for more kids stuff in 2021 and more fun photoshoots with In The Den Photography!

All model photos © Copyright In the Den Photography www.inthedenphotography.com

It's time for hello KIDDO Vol 2! What's that? It's our blog series that features amazing independent makers and designers who create beautiful things for small people! Since our last update we have managed to fit in a bonkers amount of work and had the most magical photo shoot with our kidswear photographer In The Den Photography for our 'Are We Nearly There Yet?' collection. I think the collection and the photoshoot BTS might deserve it's own blog post so I'll just pop in two of our favourites photos here. Now on to our selection of brilliant indies!

Iselie Hand Crafted

Just along the coast from us in Seaford is the lovely Sophie of Iselie Hand Crafted, named after her two daughters Isobel and Amelie. I met Sophie at a Christmas market a couple of years ago and instantly fell in love with her beautifully handmade velvet cat purses and adorable bunnies! I can tell you, they are even more exquisite and velvetty soft in real life! I remember asking myself if I could rock a little cat purse but as it would likely only get filled with rolls of poo bags it seemed FAR too special for that! Everything that Sophie makes would make such gorgeous gifts and stocking fillers for little ones though.

Etsy shop: www.iseliehandcrafted.etsy.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/iseliehandcrafted

HAH

HAH is run by the absolutely wonderful sunshine-y Siobhan who I have had the pleasure of hanging out with on more than one occasion (back in ye ol' days of creative meet ups!) HAH - Handmade At Home - started out with peg bags but has flourished in to an incredible "full of beans" brand creating everything from kids clothing, stationery, mugs, jewellery and MORE. Everything Siobhan creates is colourful, bold, clever and fun (you can see why we are huge fans!) and you couldn't find a lovelier brand to support.

Website: www.hahonline.co.uk

Instagram: www.instagram.com/hahonline

 Bethan Woollvin

I'm very excited to include Sheffield based children's author and illustrator Bethan Woollvin in this instalment of hello KIDDO! I've been a huge fan of Bethan's illustrations for years (eagle eyed Worthing folks might have also spotted them in Found Shop & Studio). Bethan has illustrated her own versions of fairytales (with a cheeky twist!) such as Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel and Rapunzel and has now released her own original illustrated book I Can Catch a Monster. The story features a fiery, rebellious young girl called Bo who is on a mission to catch herself a monster! There are so many beautiful details in Bethan's illustrations and the colours are just delicious - I'd say they are just as perfect for kids and big kids (we definitely need to get ourselves a copy pronto).

Website: www.bethanwoollvin.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/bethanwoollvin

I Can Catch a Monster by Bethan Woollvin, published by Two Hoots. Photos by Danielle Maibaum

Emily Spikings

I am brand new to Emily Spikings work after stumbling across her on instagram and I am utterly OBSESSED with her gorgeous colourful retro inspired work! From cards and prints to cushions, mobiles, plushies and even temporary tattoos...Emily's work is just pure utter joy! Again, I am totally eyeing up lots of things for myself because I am basically a child. Emily works from her home in Nottingham and has two young kids who inspire her playful style. If you don't already then I highly recommend following Emily on Instagram for pure joyful nostalgic feels. How cool are those mobiles??

Etsy shop: www.EmilySpikings.etsy.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/emily_spikings_design

Cubbkids

I have been swooning over fellow Brighton Etsy Team member Cubbkids for a very long time. Laura's brand is for kids and adults with a love of adventure, nostalgic camping feels and vintage scouting. Sound familiar? It pretty much sums up our exact inspirations for our latest collection 'Are We Nearly There Yet?' and Laura has also just worked with the brilliant In The Den Photography on these gorgeous photographs too. Laura makes many of her products by hand and they can include personalised touches too, from embroidered patches to ponchos, camping blankets and pennant flags. Everything about Cubbkids is totally magical and inspiring, real heirloom pieces to be treasured and enjoyed forever.

Website: www.cubbkids.co.uk

Instagram: www.instagram.com/cubbkids

Red Hand Gang

If you've ever fallen down a rabbit hole of looking at gorgeous kid's bedroom decor on Instagram or Pinterest before I can guarantee that you have stumbled across the work of Abi from Red Hand Gang! The most famous of Red Hand Gang's products are the beautiful screen printed clothes hangers featuring super cute and simplistic faces with different hair styles and colours and even the occasional famous face. Recently Abi has also released these GORGEOUS screen printed animal cushions - honestly they are made of magic and I don't know how she does it. Lots of Red Hand Gang pieces can also be personalised to add that extra special touch for a gift. It doesn't get lovelier than that!

Website: www.redhandgang.co.uk

Instagram: www.instagram.com/myredhandgang

I hope you enjoyed hello KIDDO Vol 2! I'm really enjoying pulling together some of my absolute favourites for these posts and basically curating my dream hello KIDDO pop up shop (seriously, maybe one day?!) We've also started a new hashtag over on Instagram #IndieKidsClub which is for any indie makers, illustrators, authors, artists etc who create work for kids - so if that's you please feel free to use it on your relevant posts OR if you're interested in supporting and discovering those kind of indies then hop on over to Instagram and check it out and give the hashtag a follow! Until next time!

Let’s talk about kids stuff! Over the last couple of months we have working really hard to totally relaunch our kids and baby t-shirts. We’ve done kids clothes for quite a few years now but we’ve always been frustrated with the dull colours that ethically made kids stuff comes in...beige?! No ta. So we were very excited to discover a new ethical brand to work with for baby tees (in the cutest colours!) and then our existing kids t-shirt supplier bucked up their ideas too (piiiink! And yellow! At last!) But then we had all these cute designs and colours but - thanks to lockdown - no way of making the inclusive kids photo shoot of our dreams a reality. Luckily for us, we work with the brilliant Hannah from In The Den Photography and she takes the most magical photos of her three little rascals. Her beautiful photos of her family shared on instagram were my favourite thing to look at during lockdown as they felt so safe and calming. Also..look out for our A/W shoot plans with In The Den Photography and model call out soon! But that’s enough wittering on from me! I’ve put together this post featuring some other incredible indies who make beautiful things for kiddos. I think this might become a bit of an ongoing series because we are basically big kids and I was in my element picking these....imagine a hello KIDDO pop up shop featuring this lot one day!! 😍

Nelly’s Treasures 

Helen’s work is just utterly magical! She was the first person I thought of to feature and we have bits of her work around our house (you definitely don’t need kids to appreciate them!) Birds and bears are basically our “thing” and these crop up regularly in Helen’s work as well as the sun, moon and rainbows. I’m currently obsessed with her folk inspired garlands and that bear cushion 😍🐻 Check out her website here.

Mint Cake Club

Fellow West Sussex indie business Mint Cake Club is run my Aimee and how flipping cute are these kids leggings that she makes?! Aimee worked for years in couture and ended up running the atelier of a high end fashion house. Having her daughter in 2016 was the inspiration for starting our own kids wear label and now she creates these gorgeous gender neutral designs made from ethically sourced fabric and they’re also cloth nappy friendly. Imagine these teamed with hello DODO?! 😍

Clarke’s Closet

I spotted these BEAUTIFUL ragdolls made lovingly by hand by Jodi on Instagram....the outfits! The colours!! 🤩 Jodi started Clarke's Closet shortly after her daughter Clarke was born as she wanted her to see a representation of herself in the World. Jodi's Jamaican culture and heritage shines through the dolls, the fabrics are exquisite and the attention to detail is just perfect. These are real heirloom pieces to be treasured and enjoyed for many many years. Jodi has a wonderful vision for Clarke's Closet, to create future dolls that represent different ethnicities, sizes and disabilities so that any child could see themselves in them. 

Happy Stuff Studio

If vibrant colour and crazy bold prints is your thing then Victoria is your woman! How amazing would these square giclée prints look in a kids room?? They are just the right amount (as in a LOT) of bright and FUN! We particularly love them wormies!! Victoria is also one of my absolute instagram faves, she wears her heart on her (very bright and jazzy) sleeve and has a very enviable earring collection. Check out the Happy Stuff Studio website here.

House of Hooray

The name pretty much sums them up right?! Headed up by Gabrielle, House of Hooray is a three person team based in Yorkshire making these beautiful positive, colourful banners by hand. The triangular pennant flags are our absolute favourite, they have such a lovely nostalgic feel to them. Definitely something to be treasured and enjoyed forever!

Poppekins

Carla started Poppekins after creating a birth announcement for her baby daughter and after 20 years of working in the fashion industry, rediscovered her love of illustration. Since we've known Carla, Poppekins has grown and developed massively, now branching out in to colourful homewares and with a really bright and playful style that is instantly recognisable. Again, Poppekins is not just fun for the kiddos, we have a lovely chopping board for our kitchen!

The Pigeon’s Nest

We have been big fans of The Pigeon’s Nest for maaaaany years. I’m not sure you could find a kinder, funnier or as insanely good at multitasking and squeezing-the-most-out-of-every-available-time-slot indie business owner to follow. Also, her ‘Pigeon Portrays’ series on Instagram is just absolute GOLD. (Seriously, go check them out!) Rebecca makes lots of lovely lovely things including crocheted mermaids, blankets, unicorns, frogs as well as handmade Ikea high chair covers. We might not have much use for the latter personally, but our froggy has pride of place on our mantelpiece, silently judging our Netflix habits. 

Welcome to our first Squeegee Club blogpost! A few years ago we started using #SqueegeeClub on our Instagram posts and then when we got a bit braver we asked that other screen printers use it too - now there's over 4000 posts on the tag from screen printers all over the World! The dream would be to one day create a beautiful Squeegee Club book of amazing diverse printers but for now we're starting with an ongoing series of interviews here on our blog. We're very VERY excited that the wonderful Fiona Wilson has agreed to be our first guest!! We hope you enjoy the post and if you're not already following Fiona be sure to check her links out at the bottom. YAY!

Hi Fiona! Please tell us a bit about yourself and how you got in to screen printing?

I had a bit of a moment in my 30s where I left a job that was making me unhappy and went back to college to study art.  My degree was in Surface Design and Textiles and thats where the screen printing began.  I loved being in the print room at university - it was huge and we had super long print tables that meant I could really experiment with the process.

Where do you do your screen printing and what would a usual day look like for you?

I do my screen printing in my studio which is in an old building that used to be a Ginger Beer Factory - It's next to my house, so I can wander across the yard and up the stairs and into my space.  I feel very lucky to have this space so close.  A typical day in the studio usually begins with me switching on my music and the computer -  I usually get screen printing straight away - so that I can do a layer of colour and leave it to dry whilst I check my emails and do a bit of admin, and then I can go back and get the next layer of colour on.  I might spend a bit of time developing some new ideas for products and designs, or I’ll be making up and packing orders and getting them in the post box.  No two days are the same, though I do tend to stick to a working day when its a studio day so I’ll be up and in the studio by 8am and finish about 6.  Studio days are Friday, Saturday and Sundays as I work teaching in university Monday - Thursday.  So I do tend to do some work in the evenings too when I need to.  I don’t work every day though - I do have some days off, but I love being in my studio so it can be hard to leave it. 

You have a very distinct bright and bold style, is it something you’ve always had or has it developed over time? 

I’ve always liked colour, but I used to do a lot of textile work initially working with print and embroidery, but I have moved much more to working on paper and wood over the last 8 years.  I do like a face and a character and I have been drawing people in some shape or form since I went back to art college and pattern has always been in my work too.

We love the characters that you create in your work, do you base them on real people (and animals)? 

I’m so glad you like them  - they do seem to make people smile, which is one of the reasons I like making my work.  A lot of the characters do resemble some of my family members, but they actually began from working within simple shapes, so circles, squares, semi circles.  A few years ago I embarked on a years long project doing a print or collage a day - I had so may patterned and coloured papers that I started cutting and assembling pieces playing with placing papers and funny characters started to emerge.   I have a lot of work from this project and I use these now as a starting point for new pieces.

As well as paper you often screen print on to wood, can you tell us a bit about these pieces and the process of bringing them to life?

Growing up I had a lot of wooden toys and still collect a few now - and these have inspired my more three dimensional and wooden pieces. I had a wooden block jigsaw when I was young with paperer pictures on all the sides that you swapped around to make different pictures - and its this that started my Mix and Match people.  I have a wood working area in the studio with a bandsaw, drill and sander, so I can cut and play with the shapes and work I suppose a bit like I do with paper collage, sometimes an off cut from one piece of wood can spark an idea for something new.  I like the idea of having playful ornaments and things that are lovely to pick up and swap around.  

Who are your biggest design inspirations?

Ooo so many but I do love a lot of the Marimekko designers for their block colours and playful patterns.  I also love the screen prints of Sister Corita Kent and her art department rules are something that I think everyone should read.

What is the best thing about running a creative business for you?

I love making and the fact that people seem to like and want to buy what I make is fantastic.  I love meeting people whether its at  art fairs or through social media or the workshops I run, its a great community to be part of.

And the worst? 

Never enough hours in the day to do all the things I would like to do.

What’s your ultimate dream for your business? 

To be able to keep doing it, I cannot imagine ever stopping - I’ll be screen printing when I am on old lady.

What would be your best piece of advice for someone wanting to start screen printing?

I would definitely recommend going on a workshop to learn the basics - although it can look easy it does take some practice and some kit, so its best to try it out and see if you really love it before you invest in equipment.  

If you could only print in one colour for the rest of your life what would it be?!

Oh this is such a mean question :D - I’m not sure I can answer  that - can I have two colours?  Probably Neon pink and black or maybe neon orange and black - no I can't decide its too hard.  I love colour - I can't imagine only being allowed to use one!

Lastly, do you have a favourite squeegee? :o)

I do have a little squeegee that I cut off the end of a bigger one that is super handy for printing my smaller pieces.  Plus it fits very nicely in my apron pocket.

A huge thank you to Fiona for speaking with us!

Follow her gorgeous Instagram account

Visit her online shop

Hey friends! It’s a funny old time eh? And although it’s an incredible tool for keeping us all together, the internet has also been a crazy noisy place these last few weeks too. Is everyone now live on Instagram 24/7?! If you’re just managing to get up in the morning (getting dressed is definitely optional) then you’re doing a GREAT JOB. We’ve lost our creative mojo a bit which is frustrating after only just getting it back after a slow first two months of the year! We did create a FREE STUFF section on our website for games and colouring pages though - perfect if you want to waste some time, entertain the kids or do something creative but stress free.

We’ve also contributed to the wonderful Together Gallery’s first project ‘Colour Full’ which features free colouring pages from LOADS of amazing artists. You can visit the website here and find our Le Château page here. Let us know if you colour it in!

Some other cool colouring pages and crafty free stuff from artists we love:

The brilliant Supermundane (we had a beer with him once, totally star struck!) is uploading a colouring page every day for 36 days - each page links together to eventually create one giant picture - GENIUS!

We spotted some VERY cute free colouring pages from Beautiful Days! Check them all out here.

One of our faves Pete Cromer has created some fun free printables including games and colouring pages featuring his lovely Australian animal designs.

Missing colourful architecture? Design you own Camille Walala! Head to her website here to download.

Here’s a clever one from another of our faves Viktorija Illustration - customisable colouring - draw your own hair and clothes! Find it here.

Lastly, Karen Mabon has two gorgeous colouring sheets (birds and cats!) and you can enter to win a silky prize by sharing your completed colouring!

AND if you would like a whole bank of things to entertain the kids or yourself, our pal Leona from Indie Roller has compiled a HUGE list of crafts and colouring from indie businesses - view the list here!

AND feel free to say “bugger all that!” and stick Netflix on instead if you prefer!!! 😂😂😂👌

Lots of love!