First on the agenda was a visit to John Dilnot’s Open Studio which coincides with the Brighton and Hove Artist’s Open Houses weekend. We took a look at where it all happens and got the opportunity to see some of John’s new work and managed to get our hands on a few prints from his new edition titled Birds in Flight- a fabulous two colour screen print and an absolute steal at £36. We also picked up a few pieces from his older range of work including, unseasonably, his Winter Buds Print and the Bad Apples print, both of which are limited edition giclée prints.

We left Brighton behind with our loot and tootled on down to Hove (actually) to visit the cousins and get a bit of sea air, run along the beach and enjoying a classic Cornetto on the promenade. Capt. Hilts the JRT had a fabulous time.

If you missed John Dilnot’s open studio last weekend, there is still  the opportunity to visit him this weekend.

John Dilnot Open Studio

19th & 20th May 11am – 5pm

Studio A, Level 2 New England House, New England Street, Brighton BN1 4GH

Wuon Gean-Ho, 24th April 2012

We are pleased to announce that this coming May, we will be hosting our second solo show of work by artist and printmaker, Wuon Gean-Ho in our Ludlow space. Wuon Gean makes rich glowing prints and artist books with a fantastical narrative exploring the borderline between beauty and beast, and the energy shifts between life and sleep, and sleep and death. She is an instructor in Japanese woodblock technique and teaches in East London Printmakers and the Sitka Center for Arts and Ecology. With work in the collections of Aberystwyth University, the Crow”s Shadow Institute of Arts and the Victoria & Albert Museum, Wuon Gean also has a wealth of exhibitions and residencies behind her- both national and international.

From the 5th May, we will be exhibiting a selection of Wuon Gean’s old and new works on paper and in book and animation format.

5th – 26th May 2012

Private View:

4th May 6- 8pm

Material

131 Corve Street

Ludlow

Shropshire SY8 2PG

For more information, please email us or to find out more about the work of Wuon Gean, you can visit her website.

From next week at our London store, our counter will be blooming as we will be receiving regular deliveries of flowers from our good friends at Jamjar. Based in Kennington, South London, Jamjar is the brainchild of Take 2 Model Director Melissa Richardson and i-D designer Jocelyn Lloyd. They offer bespoke floral designs in an eclectic choice of beautiful vases and jam jars and deliver to London’s leading fashion houses and design agencies on a weekly basis. Their clients receive market fresh flowers bought in the early hours every Monday morning especially designed to suit their workspace.

Find out more by visiting the Jamjar website

As spring arrives and whilst the daffodils are blooming, now may be a good opportunity to feed yourself with some gardening wisdom and this new addition to our shelves could do for you just The Plant Journal is served as a collective of interviews and articles exploring the relationship between creative people with plants. Each issue has a botanical section that focuses on a specific plant.
As a curious observer of ordinary plants and other greenery, the magazine presents a monographic on a specific plant and brings together photographers, illustrators, designers, musicians, writers and visual artists, both established and emerging, from all over the world, to share with The Plant Journal their perceptions and experiences around plants.

In this second issue it is devoted to Monstera Deliciosa which includes details on cultivation and care, as well as personal stories and a series of illustrations in relation to this plant. Also within this issue Peter Veenstra, a young landscape designer, asks the master, Piet Oudolf, about his history and future expectations of his garden design work. Plus Ignacio Somovilla investigates a brief cinematographic cartography of the garden as a moral metaphor of which the film Mon Oncle produced by Jacques Tati is described. Extra articles include recipes for soups, tips and tricks on cultivating plants with summaries on useful gardening tools. 

Available to purchase now in Ludlow and London

After starting his business venture in late 2010, Louis Vincent has emerged into the design world under his own appellation, Primitive Press. While only just finishing his degree at London College of Communication, Primitive Press has had a fast flowing first year in industry creating beautifully arranged screen-printed designs for apparel and home wares. You may be familiar with the pronounced Navajo inspired style, this teamed with his graphic design background it is no wonder his designs have been well received.

Last summer I was lucky enough to spend a day shadowing Louis around his flat come studio when he was producing his limited edition tote bags that were his first product to be sold at MATERIAL. Now we have an array of prints too that can also be purchased online from us.

Since then Primitive Press has had some recognition from mentions in Living etc Magazine, to online stock listing with New Found Original not only has it been an extremely successful year and also an inspiring one too.

November 2011 also saw Primitive Press’ debut at one of the UK’s leading trade fairs, Brighton’s MADE. It being the most successful one date Louis certainly picked the best time to emerge.

Six months on and still working primarily out of his North London flat off a DIY printing bench and the Workshop block at LCC, Louis has just not only featured in the latest issue of Wrap Magazine, but has designed the cover work with his signature geometric style. You can purchase the magazine through us but also keep your eyes peeled for this issue and the special limited edition copies with a hand printed cover.

More recently, Louis’ designs have been re imagined in large scale with a screen-printed repeat after winning a design brief in his second year back in May. This has now been upholstered on a sofa in two colour variations which you’ll be able to see as well as perch on very soon at LCC. We look forward to the grand unveiling…

words Maria Gimlik

primitivepress.wordpress.com

Marcus Walters’ exhibition at Material will soon be drawing to an end but, the good news is, we have extended it by a week. Yes, that’s right, the show will now run until 8th MARCH. For those of you who haven’t had a chance to see it, we have uploaded images of a selection of some of the works. All pieces are unique and available to buy. Please feel free to contact us for more inquiries / to view a price list…

About Marcus

Created by printing layers of drawing, collage and hand cut typography on top of each other, the trademarks of Marcus’ work are simple graphic shapes, vibrant colours and optimistic sentiments and as these images build up and collide they provide new shapes, colours and forms. The relationships between these elements create alternative narratives, sometimes juxtaposing. The resulting images are non- linear, multi-layered compositions that are enduring and unique.

Marcus’s artwork has a direct link to his career as a commercial illustrator and designer. As co-founder of design studio New Future Graphic he has produced work for Levis, BBC & Amnesty International, amongst others. Marcus’s illustration work has been commissioned by Honda, Uniqlo, Innocent Smoothies, New York Times and Monocle magazine.
Website: www.marcuswalters.com

New to our London store…

The drawer started life as a result of the widespread use of the chest or coffer in Medieval Europe. It was introduced as a more practical solution to storage to the simple chest and, from there, it’s popularity grew and the design developed.

As discovered over time, one draw back of the drawer is that it so often outlives the chest or carcass within which it lives and, as with so many things, it is rendered useless.

Now, the geneious that is Bird & Wolfe, have created a practical and beautifully designed solution with these fabulous stackable drawer units which will add style and panache to any space. Created utilising restored antique drawers, the stackable carcasses are hand painted and finished with solid brass fittings and can be created to stack in countless ways.

These unique modular units can be made to order in a multitude of shapes and arrangements or the units can be purchased individually. For more information, you can contact us or come and see drawers in our London store or visit the Bird & Wolfe website.

Unleashing itself in a brand new part of the gallery- no longer residing behind the eine ‘E’ but rather sitting behind the ‘D’ (of the shutters)  with a brand new shop front and a whole new layout, we celebrated the move in style by relaunching with Pernod Absinthe Cocktails and Unplanned Magic, an exhibition of screen prints by Marcus Walters including some collaborations with friend and contemporary Kate Gibb.

Marcus Walters is one of the UK’s foremost screen print artists and illustrators and will be exhibiting as part of the store’s February re launch. Unplanned Magic, originally a combined exhibition with Kate Gibb spread over two venues in Ludlow, features a multitude of Marcus Walters’ latest screen printed artworks. Marcus uses screen printing to create artworks as well as working as a commercial illustrator. He works across a variety of media including collage, drawing and screen printing, much of Marcus Walters’ artwork is created by hand resulting in images that are simple and enduring. Previously he has produced commercial work for Honda, Citroen & Innocent Smoothies amongst others and his editorial work has been commissioned by magazines and newspapers worldwide including the New York Times and Monocle. He has also provided illustrations for clothing brands Howies and Uniqlo

The fabulous turn out of people (including some of Material’s favourite people such as i-D magazine, Bird & Wolfe, Rob Ryan, Charlotte Vallance, to name but a few among many many lovely types) on this cold February evening soon forgot the freezing cold temperatures outside once presented on arrival with a delectable cocktail provided by Pernod Absinthe – The original Absinthe and artist’s favourite. With the Classic French Ritual and their signature cocktail The Green Beast, guests had the opportunity to Louche their own Absinthe before proceeding to enjoy it’s aniseed infusions.

If you missed the launch and would like to come and see Marcus’ work, there is still time. We also have a great selection of new artists and products on show/ to buy including beautifully designed stackable drawer units by Bird & Wolfe and fabulous hand printed items by Katy Goutefangea. Plus we have a programme of great events and exhibitions to sink your teeth into throughout the coming year.

Unplanned Magic

Material, 1-3 Rivington Street, London, EC2A 3DT
9 February – 3 March 2012,

Open: Monday – Friday 11am-7pm / Saturday 11am- 6pm

Material Gallery are now stocking a selection of Katy’s notebooks, penny purses, pencil pouches and patterned bunting all having varied soft colouring and alluring geometric patterns. More information about Katy’s products can be found at www.katygoutefangea.com

What’s more… we are currently in cahoots with Katy about regular Saturday bookbinding and letterpress workshops at out London store. Click the link on the right hand side of the page to sign up to our newsletter and keep up to date on any developments.

We have lots of new and exciting products to tell you about and a few things planned for the launch, including an exhibition of the work of illustrator Marcus Walters. More information to come very soon. Well, as soon as we have something good inside to photograph!