NEWS

It's been a hot second since my last post mentioning Sketchbook and their talented team well guess who's hopping aboard their team.

Yes me. Jaw hits floor. Okay have we composed ourselves ... now let's let out a whoop. I'll be writing for their first book and I'm so smiley faced to have the chance to work with the lovely Gem. How simply extra super that I bring you THAT interview (which thus far is our most popular post my miles) and then not long after I step into working on this far out project.

And to tantalise you I've seen the plans and samples for the book and by Jove it's nothing less than the hottest port of all things fabulous. You guys are gonna' go mental when it drops. Eek! So excited.

Until the next time people and hopefully it'll be sooner than you think - in fact in 3 hours time at the Design Museum for a Night with Sketchbook.

I got some other bits and bobs to tell you all about but my mum is dragging me to Lidl to buy peanut butter ...

See ya.

kiss.

NOTE TO SELF

Always ensure when you attend any event, whether it be a shoe weekend at Liberty that you brush hair, check make up and generally DO NOT look like a dishevelled mess. Bless the gorgeous girl who took the picture she was like this is great (cough, cough) heart of a saint that one.

If you wanna see the picture in question like Liberty on Bookface and enjoy/laugh at the horror of my faux pas. Be warned - it ain't pretty.

kiss.

SO ...

"There comes a point in your life when you realize who really matters, who never did, and who always will".

kiss.

GEMMA LUKER

After this post I got in touch with the lovely Gemma Luker of Sketchbook Magazine to give you one hot interview. And low and behold she was more than happy to give me some of her time to give us a lil peep. Thanks my South London sweetheart. Let's do it.

Chicken and Chips or Chicken Chow-Mien and Noodles?
Mmmm usually I would say chicken chow mein, especially if you are having dinner out but every now and then you have to get all ghetto and hit the cheap but brilliant chicken and chip shop! Gotta love a bit of Morleys!

What are the first 3 songs are on your iPod 'Most Played List'?
Gyptian – Hold yuh
Nicki Minaj – Your Love
The entire Lady Gaga album!! ( I know that’s cheating but hey!)

Everyone has a favourite something but that's so boring, what's your least favourite food, colour and song?
Least favourite food is easy can I have 2? Peas and bananas! I can't stand green food its like you are eating straight from B&Q garden center or something how can it taste nice? And bananas, well the smell says it all, makes me hurl!
Least favourite colour would have to be orange, because it clashes with my red hair!
And least favourite song would have to be anything by Hannah Montana – I can't stand her she sounds like she has something stuck up her nose! I wanna give her a big slap on the back to help her out poor gal!

If you could have unlimited store credit at any store where would you pick?
OMG could you please make this happen?!Mmmmm that’s hard because any girl would love to pick her favourite clothes shop right? But Im going to be smart and say John Lewis – I'd spend all day in their haberdashery department (I'm an avid knitter!), and I can pick up everything a girl needs in terms of clothes, jewellery, shoes etc, kit out my house and then hit Waitrose to fill up my belly with good food after all that shopping!

I've always wondered what an elephant's breathe smells like, what have you ever wondered?
I reckon it smells so wonderful and mysterious that if you could bottle it then it would make you as smart as they are, never forgetting a thing.

What inspires you on those days where everything feels really Jade Goody (i.e. crap)?
Everyone else. Sometimes you just don’t feel like working, or totally can't think of a solution to a brief, so I realised that taking time out isn’t actually a crime and can be a good thing. I'll surf the net and check out other illustrators’ work, or various websites hoping inspiration hits (and it usually does!) or go out and visit friends. Sometimes seeing what other people are up to helps. You can’t beat a good ole laugh with friends to get you in the mood to get on with things again (and a few bottles of wine doesn’t hurt either!).

Where would you like to be in 5 years times?
Having a steady stream of illustration work coming in so I could leave the part-time supermarket job and be a full-time illustrator! I am always looking on new things to do, and plan to start my own range of greeting cards, stationary pieces etc, so hope that these take off and people love to buy them!

My dream is to have a childrens book published, and set up my own magazine, im working towards these so if I complete them I will be a very happy bunny!

Illustration is such a wicked talent, when did you first find out you had the nack for it?
Cliche answer but I have always been ‘arty’, always with a crayon in my hand when I was younger, and my xmas list consisted entirely of ‘Get Set’ kits (remember them? You could get so many things to do, they were so wicked, do they still make them?).
It was only when I decided that I had had enough of doing ‘academic’ subjects after my GCSEs that I decided to do art for my A Level, and spent my entire 2 years painting! Then I hit my foundation, and as they say, the rest is history . . . .

We hear Sketchbook is where it's at, how cool is it to be working there?
Working as part of the Sketchbook team is really as cool as it sounds! I've followed them from the start, and seeing how they have expanded is amazing, nothing is impossible for them and no one is turned away for fear of missing a brilliant idea. Getting the email from Wafa (the Editor) asking me to come in with my portfolio was such a big thrill, that despite recovering from a leg injury I hobbled down to Carnaby Street to meet her on my crutches! It's a lot of hard work but totally worth it, each time we have an event they totally take off and seeing people respond so well to them is brilliant. It’s a great way to network, and gain experience and opportunities, I've had quite a few interesting jobs working via Sketchbook that I wouldn’t have gotten on my own, for example me and a fellow Sketchbook illustrator and friend Annie Driscoll are about to start work designing a massive fashion-inspired billboard for Carnaby Street! Big things will come from the Sketchbook team while everyone continues to work hard together and push boundaries, as well as being loved by our SketchBook mom Wafa!

Did you go to Uni and if so, what course did you study?
I did a foundation at Chelsea originally in fine art, but it was during this that a tutor directed me to illustration, embarrassingly at the time I didn’t even know what it was, let alone you could make a career from it! From there I went to Middlesex University and did a BA (Hons) Illustration degree, which was the best three years of my life. That course is the best in the country, the tutors are fantastic, the facilities are great and the opportunities rival any other course. I learnt so much there, and made some great friends, which equal some great collaborations! Although more hard work has happened since leaving uni, they don’t prepare you for dealing with the really awful clients you may get!

How would you describe your illustration style?
It has changed since I left uni! For the moment I'm queen of paper, my work consists of collaged materials mixed with found objects and/or photography, sometimes taking on a digital touch!

Apparently Digital work is now coming ‘out of fashion’ so to speak, as more people want to see more ‘traditional’ illustration which makes me very happy as I can provide that. Often there is nothing better than seeing something created by hand, no matter how good computers get (and they can really try!) they cant quite rival it.

Any advice for anyone wanting to get into illustration out there?
Keep working constantly and work hard. Your ‘style’ may not be the first thing you actually start doing (I started out as an oil painter!) and your way of working can change and get better the more you go along. Find what you like doing and keep at it, sometimes doing what you love really has to be more fulfilling than just doing something for the money (or lack of).
Once you know what you’re doing, I found building up a web presence vital. Start a blog, get your work online, follow other companies and their websites etc, that way when work comes up your ready to pounce! With all the social media these days it’s much easier to find out stuff and keep in touch with the community, so theres no excuse!

And lastly, if we want to get our hands on some of the Luker magic how can we get at you?
My website and blog would be the first port of call to check out what I do, with my contact details on there also or for any work, questions or hiring you can get at me via g.luker@hotmail.com!

Or you can find me at one of the Sketchbook events, the latest happening next Friday December 3rd at the Design museum, London (see our Facebook event page or the Sketchbook website for more details!).

Seriously how delicous is she. Love her and her work. I've known Gemma through that lovely cousin of mine Brends and remember being younger and going on day trips with Gem, Brends and the rest of her hot ass crew in Brixton town and it's so lush to see her going places. And trust me she is going to get there no worries. Question is will you be here to see it happen?

kiss.

LIBERTY SHOE WEEKEND

The retail experience that is Liberty is feeding our insatiable appetite for hot footwear with a whole weekend dedicated to shoes! With the slap from Jack Frost's sharp hand that has besieged us it's probably only Liberty that could heat us up with shoes, the freshest drag maestros and music spun by DJ Richard Sloan they way they did tonight.

And with all that to tempt me you know I was in the mix. And you know you have to as well. Get to planning your purchases here.

Firstly, props to Liberty for their serenely casual layout. Remember how I freak out when shopping? Well I didn't freak out once (not even a little bit). The whole store flows and the store assistants don't swamp you and do the hard sale - no, they smile, leave you to peruse and if and when you need assistance they're right there just like that. I'm not sure how it's done but by Jove it's magical.

But for now back to the shoes. Ah, the shoes. Kirkwoods. Westwoods. KG. Ash's. YES! I was in shoe heaven - and although I didn't make a purchase today (payday is seven days away), I've got my eyes on a pair of Kirkwood boots that'll make me starry eyed.

Talking of starry eyed - Jeanette, The Pearly Queen and Lavinia dropped by to whip us into a frenzy of laughter, shopping and joviality. Seriously, I need to find out why drag is called drag 'cos these ladies where just yummy and you really get the sense that they are excellent at entertaining and bringing some magic into your life. Definitely a talent. Definitely a fan.

Also - (my, this post is getting long but bare with me) I spied Louise Gray. Cue mouth dropping open and gasps of audible envy. Or at least from me who ogled her highlighter green leather jacket. I don't think I've wanted something so much (well maybe apart from the Kirkwoods). It made me smile, also just realised it inadvertently matched the drinks. My kinda fashion. Really, only she could evoke such awe from me. I really do love her designs. They're so aspirational, smile inducing and dare I say it happy. Her clothes make me happy. Her dress for Lulu & Co (see just why Lulu & Co are one of Matches Top 10 here). Happiness personified. .

I wish I could of said hello but I got so scared and I just hung around her like some sort of pervert or bad smell.

Talking of bad smell I stank real good when DJ Sloan announced he liked my hair, to which I answered thanks. But that's not the stinky part, let's keep going. He then proceeded to ask me where my shoes where from and in a classic mouth not engaging with brain moment I shouted out Primark. Dar-hude! What? That's like giving a vegan a double-cheeseburger wrapped in bacon. Wrong. I could of said anything. A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G. Just not Primark. Oh well better luck next time ay. Told you it stunk.

Next time I'll have my blue and black Kirkwood boots on though and I'll smell of only sweet roses.

Hopefully, I will have some wonderful news to share with you next week to do with Lulu and her wonderful crew. Seriously it could be amazing but if not I'll still delight you with tales of my shortcomings a la my Primark outburst.

For details of the weekend click me!

That's all folks.

kiss.

BFA

Vote for the person who you feel is a true British ambassador for fashion and style and the lovelies at BFC are drawing one entry to attend the actual awards. Yes rubbing shoulders with all that fashion magic.

HEAVY!

Now all you gorra do is decide who to vote for (any guesses for who I picked?).

Gets to voting here

Oh and how funking fit does Holly Fulton look at last years awards where she won the "Swarovski Emerging Talent Award for Accessories".

Easy sweetheart.

kiss.

WOTD

"BOOKY"

Pronounced: boo-key

Definition: Something isn't quite right.

AS IN - "That guy wanted me to meet him in some next alley, sounds a bit booky still"

kiss.

YES BRUH

Do I even need to tell you these are from WAH?

Love how the hand owner has accessorised her nail art with a three way gold ring.

Easy geezer!

kiss.