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!

New exhibitions are being planned for Jan / Feb /March as well as music events with amazing peoples such as Mara Carlyle, The Collectors – plus more, so much more that I have to go and try finish organising! Stay tuned for more info as it follows, or signup to our mailing list to be kept up to date with all the happenings!

Pip pip.

So – cider, cake, shopping, free wrapping. I think that we can all agree 4 ingredients for a somewhat Festive Friday. Looking forward to seeing you here.

So – here is some help. We have put together a few gift ideas that you can purchase from us that will suit a range of budgets and manners of interest.

Where available items are linked to versions online – otherwise, if you cannot make it to either of our emporiums please do not hesitate to contact us…

Gifts under £10 – Cheap doesn’t have to be… well, cheap...

1. Soop Rings: build a menagerie on your own hands, layer them or have them on their own. Think sisters and weird aunties (or weirder uncles) £7 each / 2. Butterflies aren’t the only beauties of the order Lepitoptera, The Book of Moths by John Dilnot £9.50 / 3. the V&A patterns books series reveals the V&A’s spectacular and extensive pattern collections. Each title in the series includes a free CD of high resolution images £7.99 each / 4. A homage to the flip-top cigarette pack Tank Books bring you tales to take your breath away by authors of great stature £6.99 each/5. Silkscreen printed gift wrap by LucyAnne £3 each or 5 for £10. Strictly speaking not a gift, but you may well need this. And, whilst we are on the subject, we also offer a gift wrapping service (ask in store /before buying online)

Gifts under £25

1.Re working classical and contemporary pieces with an expanding orchestration Mara Carlyle’s Floreat was featured in the Sunday Times top 20 Albums of 2011 last weekend so it’s a dead cert for the new music lover, £10 / 2. Pin on some gin! This miniature enamel Gin Bottle Brooch is inspired by art duo Gilbert & George by Tatty Devine £15.00 / 3. Tamasyn Gambell’s books are bound in over printed reclaimed scarves, who needs an ipad when you can carry around one of these £17 each / 4. For the over analytical friend, the Ink Blot Test is the perfect demonstration that personality is no the preserve of experts £13.99 / 5. Got a vintage enthusiast in the family? The Brinkley Girls is a beautiful overview of the art of Nell Brinkley from 1920s flapper comics to her romantic illustrations of the 1930s, £21.99

Gifts under £50

1. Back by popular demand (because we need reminding), Drink More Gin Poster by Robert Rubbish, could be perfect for that gin soaked family member £50 available in pink and black / 2. Fabulous new limited edition Sahel Prints by Primitive Press, £25 each, just because! / 3.It’s an old favourite and the spirit of Hunter Thompson lives on with The Curse of Lono, £34.99 / 4. Keep the kids quiet with these printed rubber wood blocks by Millergoodman, Shapemakers – £32 / 5. Empty space on the coffee table? This beautifully bound collection of Japanese woodblock prints, Hiroshige, One Hundred Fanous Views of Edo – £27.99 should certainly fill the void.

Gifts under £150

This section is simply pictures for your walls and one hell of a coffee table book. We all need a little luxury. 1. Spirited Away print by Marcus Walters £75 / 2. Diego Rivera The Complete Murals £135 / 3. He Rides Above It silkscreen print by Chase and Wonder £60 (“She” version also available) / 4. Beetles silkscreen print by John Dilnot £110 / 5. Josephine silkscreen print by Maureen Valfort £60 / 6. A new edition of an old favourite Bear on Bike silkscreen print by Nick Morley £80

Stuck for time during the day to buy those special gifts for loved ones? Material have several late night openings in the run up to Christmas and if you come in brandishing one of our festive moose flyers, we will give you 10% off your purchase…

LUDLOW open late Thursday 15th of December

we will be open until 8pm for a bit of late night shopping. Join us for a slice of homemade festive Stollen whilst you browse our store and experience our festive cheer.

LONDON open later than late Friday 16th of December

w will be open until 9pm where we will warm your cockles with a splash of mulled cider and some festive treats whilst you shop

for more information, email us at info@materialmaterial,com

With Christmas officially upon us, the lovely people who produced the original Guide have stepped up again and arranged toe produce a festive edition of the guide with more people included such as Ally Capellino, Shelf, YCN, plus a few more…

The PDF is now available for download only (download here), and promises to help you find all of the best bits of the area, whether you are looking for shopping, seeing, eating… or just enjoying. We look forward to seeing you around this season, and hopefully will share a glass of cheer with you (don’t miss our late night Mulled Cider experience on the 16th) to celebrate all things festive.

Become the sommelier of your own kitchen with these comprehensive and beautifully designed guides to pairing wine with food on a tea towel.

Stuart Gardiner’s new addition follows on from the popular seasonal food guide tea towels. This informative kitchen accessory expresses the perfect wine to accompany various dishes whether it’s meat, seafood or vegetables. If you’re a wine connoisseur or looking into developing your taste buds, the easy to read grid will marry together a to-dine-for experience.

Available in red and white wine versions, these organic cotton tea towels cover 68 popular wines, with each one rated against 56 different food entries – that’s 3808 possible combos covered!  Pairings are rated as excellent, good and best avoided so you’ll never make a food faux-pas.

What’s more, a fundamental explanation into the grape varieties, acidity and the mouth-puckering compounds of each selected wine with foods grouped into 7 categories: Meat & Poultry, Seafood, Flavours & Herbs, Taste, International Dishes, Vegs & Vegetarian, and Dairy. This guide will soon set you on the road to gaining expert knowledge of pairing fine wine and fine dining. A delightful treat. Cheers!

For further images or to buy online, go to our shop

We are pleased to announce an exhibition of new work by Marcus Walters at Material, Ludlow, running in conjunction with and exhibition of new work by Kate Gibb ( friend and contemporary) at Black Bough

Marcus Walters and Kate Gibb are two of the UK’s foremost screen print artists and illustrators. Unplanned Magic is the title of one combined exhibition held at 2 venues in Ludlow. The collaborative nature of this exhibition has arisen through the friendship of the 2 artists and of the 2 venues.

Marcus Walters will be showing work at Material, 131 Corve Street and Kate Gibb will be exhibiting at Black Bough, 2 Market Street – they will be making some works in collaboration and these will be shown in both venues. The exhibitions both open on October 7th and run until November 5th.

Both Walters and Gibb are artists that use screen print in their practice and who both carry out commercial illustration as well as creating artworks. Working 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. Kate Gibb’s has produced iconic art work for the music and fashion industries; she made a number of cover works for the Chemical Brothers, Suede and Kate Nash, has illustrated campaigns for Dries Van Noten and has made work for Stüssy.

For more information, contact us.