New talent: Wilma Harju

 

 

You know that feeling you get when you discover a new young talent? Whether it’s a designer you haven’t come across before, or a new blogger that gets you so excited your toes curl and you can’t sit still. I’ve been getting that a lot recently- I swear there’s been such an influx of talented people at the moment it’s hard to keep up!
I generally put it down to social media- what better way of getting your work out there when you’re still unknown… I have a lot to thank blogger, instagram and twitter for, both in terms of my own work and for finding others.

One of my recent discoveries is 16 year old Wilma, art textile student from Sweden. I was introduced to her beautiful delicate illustrations via instagram; her style is something I haven’t really come across before, and her hand is already so developed and unique for someone so young. Plus, not only is she hella talented she’s also extremely sweet and agreed to let me interview her about her work.

H: You have a really unique style of drawing, how did you get started?

W: Thank you very much!

Well, I have drawn and painted my whole life and I’ve used different techniques and drawn in different ways all the time, however it wasn’t until a year ago I found my own ‘style’. I don’t really know how I ended up drawing the way I do, but I’ve never been much good at drawing realistically with right proportions etc, so I guess that’s why I started out with a more abstract and I guess ‘weird’ style of drawing.

H: Why exactly do you draw?

W: Well, I think I draw because it appeals to me and satisfies me

H: Your characters always have a mysterious presence about them. I’m not sure whether this is intentional, but I sense a feeling of melancholy around some of them. Are these pople of you imagination, or are they based around people you know?

W: I‘ve always been drawn to people with different- some might say weird- appareances, and I’m not particularly attracted to the typically ‘beautiful’. Maybe this is because I’ve always felt weird and different myself, and I guess why my drawings depict quite odd looking characters.

Most of my drawings are created from imagination. I start with an eye, then a nose, mouth and so on… You noticed that some of them looked melancholy, and I’d say that’s probably right. I draw what I feel and take inspiration from my own emotions. I’m not a very happy person, and I often end up with quite sad looking drawings.

 

H: What inspired you, and what drives you to create?

W: Everything and nothing inspires me. I don’t really know what drives me to create, but I always want to create something all the time. Sometimes I even have to force myself to create, but when I do it usually just turns out crap..

H: The majority of your work is created in black pen, is there a reason for this? Are there any other mediums you’d want to experiment with?

W: The reason I use black fine liners isn’t particularly deep, I just like it. Before I found the pleasure of a black pen I was in a wate rcolour period and painted in it all the time. That was before I started to draw the way I do now. I think a simple black pen fits my style best. Since I go to art school, I experiment with different methods all the time and really enjoy it! However, when I get to choose exactly what I want to draw with, it usually ends up with my dear black pen.

H: As you’re still studying, is illustration/art something you’re considering furthering throughout your career. If so, how do you want your work to be recognized? What do you want to be known for?

W: I love what I do and that’s why I do to art/ textile school, and would absolutely love to have a future career in it, but I’m always doubting myself and thinking I’m not good enough. I also hate thinking about the future, it scared the hell outta me! For the moment though I’m just thinking about starting up a little webshop where I can sell my stuff- not only illustrations, but I make jewelry and other things too.

One thing I’m sure of is that I’m always going to continue to create things. It might sound like a cliché, but what kind of life would you have if you stopped doing the things you love?

H: Are you ever stuck for inspiration, and how do you overcome any creative blocks you may face?

W: I often run out of ideas and inspiration and when I do, I just put the pen away for a while. I hate those moments but it never turns out well when I force myself to do something, so even if I don’t want to face the fact that “right now I can’t create something good”, I know I have to.

H: And finally, could you try and sum yourself in three words?

W: Absent, strong (mentally) and shy

Wilma was such a joy to interview- I know for a fact that answering questions about your own work isn’t easy. You tie so much emotion to your work that explaining it to an outsider is one of the hardest things to do, but she managed it so well, and it feels so good to have so much more insight into her work.

I also know exactly how it feels to think you’re not good enough- I don’t know why this happens so often with creative people- but we all do it. I can say now though that Wilma has unbelievable talent, and no matter what she chooses to do in the future I’ll always be excited to see what she does next. Until then though, I’ll continue to wait in anticipation for her new illustration snaps…
You can see more of Wilma's work on her Instagram or check out her Photography blog.

 

Interior N°1 Elinkicken

Minimal interior design- heavenly. This beautiful home in particular belongs to Elin Go follow her instagram now if you don't already (Elinkicken), it's absolutely to die for

Hannah
x

Amy Revier

I came across Amy Revier’s work through one of my favourite London stores- Hostem. Her hand-weaved one of a kind creations define everything I stand for in terms of production. Her non-seasonal collections are created using handspun Japanese yarn, and every piece is lovingly made by hand in her London weaving cottage. I love the idea that no two garments are the same, and that each piece reflects the patience and dedication that comes with the hand-woven process.

 

I love clothes that disguise the body and the process of creating an almost genderless physique- all those soft layers of protective wool cocooning the curves of the body. The use of textures and simplicity of cut within her collections takes my breath away, and being a textile graduate browsing through her studio outtakes just makes me ache to get back to creating.

 

Sigh. Soon.

P.s can you imagine one of those coats flung over something simple and monochrome-

Yes yes yes yes yes

All images from Amy Revier's website

Whitewash

 

 

I’ve been meaning to share my love of photographer Nicholas Alan Cope for a little while now. Showing a completely different side to the LA we know, Cope focuses on the contrast between the sunlit bright whites and darkest shadows of Los Angeles’ urban architecture.

“This kind of light makes decision easier. More black and white. Good vs bad, pure vs impure, aspiration vs collapse. Determined grim optimism vs self-indulgent despair.”

Monochrome seems so necessary right now.

Precision

Piece D’anarchive
Piece
Rarity-edited designs-emotional trail
Archive
French creation-formal craftsmanship-understatement
Anarchie
Material clashes- upside down codes- cool chaos

 I’m still a relatively new fan of knitwear duo Deborah and Priscilla Royer (AKA Piece D’anarchive and am still finding myself swooning over their s/s 14 “chapter 05” collection

I wasn’t aware of Piece D’anarchive before this season, but it’s hardly surprising this collection caught my eye. Being someone who appreciates both street wear and sportswear but struggles to fit them around my chaotic “awkward clumpy witch” wardrobe, this collection felt like a breath of fresh air.

“Chapter 05” pretty much sums up everything that excites me about fashion. Obsessive attention to detail, simplistic shapes, monochrome layering, unisex styling, structured grids, clashing textures, SQUARES and shit loads of lasercutting/devore- not to mention those insane platforms! Mmmm

What I love most however is how they’ve included those obvious street inspired elements (baseball caps, nikes/converse), while successfully keeping that all important minimal pared back and high quality feel,  Plus it’s almost entirely monochrome. Need I say more?

Shades of silence

Waiting for my hair to grow whilst covering my roots has never been so appealing. Fortunately for me I'm a hat person, (I have an incredibly vast collection of which I actually only ever wear about three), so bad hair days are easily disguised..
I came across these wide-brimmed beauties by shades of silence~ they really remind me of that beautiful charred version by Aleksandr Manamis (but actually within my budget). It amazes me how something as simple as a hat can turn a relatively dull outfit into a "holyshitthatlooksinsaaanee" kinda outfit.

Yea you know what I mean. Anyway, what do you think? Do you hat? Or don't you hat? 

 Twitter~Instagram~Tumblr

Hibernation

I haven't blogged in what feels like a century, and for once I only have one excuse- I have no life, and therefore nothing worth blogging about.

Depressing but kinda true. 5am starts and being in bed by 10pm doesn't really give me an awful lot of time to do anything that exciting, and at the moment my days are centred around comfort food and trying to keep warm.
So forgive me for having a pretty boring existence but to be honest I'm kind of revelling in this whole hibernation thing. Any excuse to stay inside and not have to see anyone suits me just fine.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago a had a slight identity crisis/mini breakdown and decided I loved unicorns and glitter (after having donated any form of pretty clothing to my sister)...bad timing... As a result, I challenged myself to go shopping- the only rule being I wasn't allowed to buy anything black. At all.
Surprisingly I found it really easy to pick out clothes I wouldn't usually wear- pleated skirts, pastel fluffy jumpers and a loottt of chiffon, however the end result wasn't exactly how I imagined and I ended up wanting to vomit at my reflection. 
And the only think I bought that day was an oversized black T-shirt. 
Oh well. I tried.

Moral of the story here being, always wear black. The end. 

Here's me in a new scarf- exciting. Also I managed to rescue my green contacts that I thought were past rescuing-- a little soak in contact solution and they're back to normal!

And here- have a hastily thrown together collage of tumblr inspiration (and a subtle love confession to Grimes)...

P.s you'll be pleased to know I have real life plans over the next few weeks (including being in the same room as Heechul next saturday- uuhhh yeaa)! So I may actually have something to write about. Yey.