Catch up!!

Russian Doll Vintage did a roaring trade at the Newport Road space a few weeks ago and the good news is that Alex Bloundele and her divine collection will be back in August!

Here's what you missed:

Interview with the fabulous Rachel Powell!

Who or what inspires your work?

My Mother - she is often right! (With her advice). She sits and knits laptop cases, makes corsages and stays up till 1am creating new ideas - always full of energy and sunshine and a passion for sewing and textiles. My Dad gets the job of fixing things for me and fitting sinks in the studio, etc. They are the best team and an amazing support!

What is your favourite piece in the space?

My hand-woven corset, made from recycled sari silk yarn and hand dyed banana yarn and organic silks - everyone is always so amazed when I tell them that it is all hand-woven and also what it's made from!

What are your hopes and dreams for the future?

To be happy in my work (like I am now), to be successful with my business and to inspire others. To be free to design as I wish and for my work to be appreciated within my industry.

If you were commissioned to create a piece of street-art, what would you do?

A great big piece of knitting or weaving! - that the public add to, as a little part of you goes into everything you make.

What's been your most memorable moment while in the unit?

Every single day in the shop as something new is always happening or someone new walks through the door with a fantastic story to tell! Realising how amazingly creative the people of Middlesbrough are!!!

If you could be in an exhibition with any artists or designers, dead or alive, who would you choose?

Vivienne Westwood, an eccentric and inspiring lady and I can imagine she has some crazy stories to tell! And Alexander McQueen - he was the designer who first inspired me and will be truly missed within the fashion world. He was a true showman who could create an amazing theme for the exhibition.

Interview with the lovely Miss Helen Stevens!

Who or what inspires your work?

Things inspire my own personal design work relate back to my childhood memories. My hazy memories of the travels and sights around the world with my dad, who was a Captain in the Navy. Also certain films that I seemed to obsess over like James Bond in the Roger Moore stage, the fashions, fabrics, interiors, textures, hues and colours that stood out to me. I love photography and spend hours looking online, I’m attracted to a certain and unusual use of filter and texture, and smudges of colour in images. I’m always inspired and excited by new trends within fashion, interiors, textiles, photography, but my nostalgic memories always weep through somehow through use of colour palette, certain fabrics and my style of print and pattern.

What is your favourite piece in the space?

As well as selling my own products in the pop-up shop I am occupying the space under my business name Designers Marketplace and representing many of my vendors from the markets I organise, so it’s hard to say!! My work is portfolio and textile work I have turned into sellable products, I have moved on a lot in style since I made most of my products.

My favourite part of the shop has got to be the area I have allocated to the ‘Portfolio Sell Off’ as it shows such a mixture of exciting work! I like how the area is keeping fresh with new people dropping portfolio work off regularly. I think it’s a very fun concept too, anyone is invited down to drop off dusty old portfolio work and we’ll sell it for them!

What are your hopes and dreams for the future?

It’s something very simple for me at the moment. My hopes are to get back into my designing seriously. I’ve missed it a lot recently as other things such as lecturing and running the Designers Marketplace have taken over my life in the past few years. I’m bursting with ideas and inspiration at the moment I can’t wait to start developing some of my ideas, I’m currently working some of my ideas, research and photography into a sketchbook which I’ll then begin to turn into prints and patterns for fashion, accessories and lifestyle collections.

If you were commissioned to create a piece of street-art, what would you do?

If I was commissioned to work on a large scale I would indulge massively...this would be a complete change for me, but it would still very much be based upon textiles, print and pattern. Something organic but very contemporary...nothing too serious, just experimental, gorgeous and fun.

What's been your most memorable moment while in the unit?

The crazies! This is a funny question. I’m just going to be honest and say all of the random characters who wander in off the street, I’ve met some very...interesting, folk. My ‘people’ skills have definitely developed! Although in the midst of all of their bizarreness they always seem to show a genuine interest in what the scheme is about. ‘People of the town’ really seem to appreciate the effort towards positive changes to the town centre. Obviously a lot of creative people visit the shop having an interest in the pop-up concept and also the products on sale. I’ve had some very inspiring and insightful conversations and met some great people I’d love to keep contact with for future collaborations. The shop had almost acted as a creative hub for activity, it’s been fun.

If you could be in an exhibition with any artists or designers, dead or alive, who would you choose?

I’m inspired and interested in so many artists, designers and photographers I couldn’t choose. Twombly , Tapies and Raschenburg are three of my favourite artists, although I wouldn’t want to do anything other than drool in a room full of their work. A collaboration or workshop with the artist Sabrina Ward Harrison would be very exciting, I love the way she holds no boundaries on experimentation of scale, collage, paint and drawing...very yummy and tactile indeed.