The Very Peculiar Adventures of Doodle and Scribble - Ken Dunn

You may have noticed us mention on our last post that we have a new resident at F6.Studios, talented artist Kate Dunn. Well it turns out the apple doesn't fall far from the tree as her father, Ken Dunn, is a talented illustrator. His stories follow adorable characters Doodle and Scribble who are brought to life by lightning, and most are said to be inspired by 'barking mad events which actually happened'...just check out how lush his illustrations are!

Recently Kate took to Tynemouth market to sell some of her Dad's limited edition merchandise for Christmas. We particularly love the little tote bags of Whizbanger...

We'll be interviewing Kate herself sometime in the New Year so keep your eyes peeled! In the meantime here's a fab Santa illustration to get you into the Christmas spirit...

To check out more of Ken's work take a look at his website at http://kenneth-dunn.com. Products are also available to buy at http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=doodle+and+scribble+perculiar - MK

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and New Year from F6.Studios!

XXX

Christmas market at The Stand

So on Saturday we set up again for our 2nd Christmas market. This time at The Stand Comedy Club. It was a great venue and we had a bit more footfall at this one. We were even briefly entertained with some live music, although it was a teeny bit loud for us (they were on the stage next to Chris). 

For this one we had another addition to the table from last time. Kate Dunn (artist, currently working on a commission, tell you more about that later) brought along some of her photographs. These included some beautiful double exposures using old skool real film.    

It was a pretty good day overall but the highlight was selling some Christmas cards to Ben Crompton from Game of Thrones. Just thought I'd throw that in there, not that we're bragging....much.Any slightly obsessive fans out there - do you want buy some Christmas cards as touched by Ben Crompton? Let us know. LB

The Stand Comedy Club

31 High Bridge, Newcastle

http://www.thestand.co.uk/

F6.Studios Collaboration

One of the great things about F6.Studios is that we have a fantastic mix of creative types including designers, artists, printmakers and photographers, all with their area of specialism and able to help each-other out with their knowledge. Every now and again, an exciting collaboration comes along from our residents, and last Sunday there was a 1930's vintage-inspired shoot involving designers Bad Kitty Corsets (Kelly Jane Lamb), Melanie Kyles (yours truly), photographers Michael Gordon Photography (Michael McGuire) and Lucie Cox, as well as our model Millie Parker. The shoot was set at local hidden jem 'No.28' which is just in the entrance to the Grainger Market and provided the perfect backdrop with it's eclectic mix of seats, vine leaves, flowers and fairy lights. Not ones to waste the experience, we ordered some of their delicious potato skins (only £1.50!) and a couple of on-duty cocktails! 

Setting up at No.28

Setting up at No.28

Nom!

Here are some sneaky behind the scenes shots of the photo-shoot...

Behind the scenes

More behind the scenes

And here are some of the final shots!

Millie 1

Millie 2

Millie 3

For more on our residents, here are some more links:

Bad Kitty Corsets (corset designer)

Website - http://badkittycorsets.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bad-Kitty-Corsets/141445286435?ref=br_tf

Twitter - https://twitter.com/BadKittyCorsets

Melanie Kyles (accessories designer)

Etsy - https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MelanieKyles?ref=si_shop
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melanie-Kyles/524600184271171
Twitter - https://twitter.com/MelanieKyles

Michael Gordon Photography (photographer)

Website - http://michaelgordonphotography.virb.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/100feettall

Twitter - https://twitter.com/MrMexico

Lucie Cox (assistant photographer)

Email - Lucie_CA11@lycos.com


And if your in town check out the venue...

No.28. 27-29 Nelson St, Newcastle
http://www.no28.co.uk/ 

MK

F6.Studio's at Mr Kringle's Handmade and Vintage Emporium

Had you walked into F6.Studios any time in the past week, you would have found a handful of busy, caffeine fuelled designer-makers running around covered in threads, preparing for this weekend. The reason behind this is that yesterday was our first Christmas market. Mr. Kringle's Handmade and Vintage Emporium held at Castlegate. As well as our own table, other stalls included the charming Gentlemen Prefer Blades (traditional shaving gear from Al's Music Boutique) and Gladrags (up-cycled goods). Also there were people selling cool sock monkeys, bows, vintage clothes and furniture!

Items on our stall included Helen Rafferty's organic hard-working body scrub, super-soft hand-woven neck-warmers by Lydia Bayly, hand-made bespoke collars by Melanie Kyles, hand-painted bespoke caps by Stu Murray-Borbjerg and unique leather tissue holders by Tiago Galvan. Keeping with the festive spirit, we also sold some hand-made christmas cards and held a 'mulled wine taste-off' using Jamie Oliver and Delia Smith's recipes.

Needless to say that the cold weather and festive spirit made our mulled wine very popular. Whilst Delia's mulled wine was quite dry and mild, and Jamie's more sweet and definitely stronger. There was obviously a clear winner......Well done Jamie! 

As well as Mr Kringle's, we also have other Christmas markets coming up. The next one at The Stand Comedy Club on the 7th Dec. We're looking forward to it. 

If you like what you see or are looking for a specific gift made to order for that special someone (friend, partner, Mam, next door's cat etc.) pop along and say hello! Most of what we are selling is not available online yet so this really is a fantastic opportunity to buy a unique and personal gift, just in time for Christmas.  - MK

G.L.A.M.O.R. by U R ART

Last night we paid a trip next door on the sixth floor of Commercial Union House to watch 'G.L.A.M.O.U,R', the debut production of U R ART (directed and produced by Pete Stevens). The performance is part of a campaign to raise awareness of mental health and challenge the stigma that surrounds it. We particularly loved the refreshing representations of four iconic women, Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, Marylin Monroe, Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf, and watching them exchange vodka and dark humoured conversations in  the setting of  a psychiatric's  waiting room.

The production was genuinely entertaining and extremely well written (by Holly Dalton), and our own reality is challenged as the dynamics of the story twist and turn. It highlights the complexity of those suffering from mental illness and exposes the irony of 'one solution fits all' procedures and absurd waiting times often experienced by patients.Though the subject matter is a sensitive one and something which will affect up to one in four of us, the cast deliver a humorous, witty and touching performance with a strong message that puts a fresh spin on the usual portrayal of mental health.

You can still catch G.L.A.M.O.U.R. on Floor Six of Commercial Union House (opposite Tyneside Cinema) tonight and tomorrow night at 7.30pm. Tickets are on the door and cost only £4!

Get on your 'GLADRAGS' at NUSU!

As a part of Newcastle University's annual RAG (raising and giving) week, an up and coming event we're really looking forward to seeing is 'GLADRAGS', a fashion show held at the student union which features both high-street and local designers, including Chateau Boutique, Deep, Lancelot Knight, Love Niche and Melanie Kyles.

After it's great debut last year, which raised over £2000 for Teenage Cancer Trust, this year's event is in aid of the Association for International Cancer Research, and aims to raise even more through ticket sales and an AMAZING raffle! Tickets cost only a tenner and will get you a seat at the event and also a free pair of 'SMARTY PANTS' (which we will be proudly wearing over our other smarty pants...). 

We caught up with some of the GLADRAGS team earlier today to find out more about this fabulous event...

F6.Studio: Hello and thanks very much for squeezing us in for an interview, we appreciate the time, you must be so busy! So are you's excited for tomorrow?

Annelise: We're excited, I think more on the day when it all comes together, so we're going to do lots of runs in the morning, I think by the end of the day which will be run run run I want all the costume changes and runway changes to be so quick, we need to kind of time it so that everyone knows how long they've got, everyone's going to be switching into different clothes tomorrow and just perfecting everything...by the end of tomorrow I should feel calm, that's the aim of the game!

Elinor: I think tomorrow will be stressful, but once it's out the way, hopefully, then we can get excited for it!

F6: I'm sure you will! So what can we expect this year from GLADRAGS?

A: This year from GLADRAGS, new and improved GLADRAGS, 

Danielle: ...more fashion lines, better goodie bags, incredible raffle prizes

A: Yeah really good raffle prizes! I'm genuinely going to buy so many raffle tickets...

D: I want them all!

F6: So what's in the raffle?

E: We've got a table for two and a bottle of wine at Fat Buddah, a satchel worth £120 from Lancelot Knight...

A: ...15 cocktails from Jalou and cocktail masterclass from Jamjar...there's loads but we'll leave some surprises!

D: Everyone's been so generous I think if we'd gone round all the local restaurants and stuff...

A: ...everone's prepared to give something...

D: ...and everyone pretty much has, which I don't think we were expecting but we've got some really good prizes.

F6: It's amazing that people have been so generous, obviously it's for charity and last years GLADRAGS raised over £2000...

A: We're hoping to raise more than that... 

E: We sold out last year and we had 200 chairs, this year we have 300 chairs, so hopefully...

F6: Bigger and better?

E: Yeah definitely.

A: I mean last year most of our tickets sold in the few days before the show there was a sudden mad panic, we've already sold quite a lot but by next week we're going to be looking at full capacity.

F6: It'll be really exciting to see it, can't believe it's already less than a week away. Good luck with the dress rehearsals tomorrow and we'll see you at the show on Thursday!


If you're interested in getting on your fancy pants, support some local designers and earn some brownie points, tickets for GLADRAGS can still be purchased at Newcastle University's Student Union reception desk! 

To find out more about RAG Week, check out these links:

Website: http://www.nusu.co.uk/rag

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NUSUrag

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NUSUrag

Girls on Top "Colours" - Preview at Tower Art Gallery

'Tower Art Gallery are proud to announce 'COLOURS' the first all female, graffiti exhibition in Newcastle featuring artwork from CHOCK, LUNA, LYNS, BUBS, NEONITA, PIXIE, CANDIE and REZNIK, known collectively as 'Girls On Top'.

Girls On Top crew, was formed in 2000, by Chock and Ned from Manchester, UK. At the time, there were very few girls painting graffiti. Their main goal was to unite and encourage other girls to paint, whilst having fun. 

Chock states that, "As a crew, travel and meeting new people is really important to us". Girls On Top, clearly make a priority of travel and it shows, with graffiti paintings already notched up throughout Europe, China, Russia, the United States, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

The latest exhibition from the female collective, opens for viewing on Friday, 1st of November, at the Tower Art Gallery. Girls On Top, will explore their individual and collective love of COLOURS!'

Opening preview of 'COLOURS' starts tonight at Tower Art Gallery, 7-10pm.

Tower Art Gallery

Stepney Road,

Newcastle Upon Tyne.

NE2 1TZ 

Preview after-party up until 1am at The Tanners

The Tanners, 
1 Byker Bridge,
NE1 2NS


Come along and show your support for these inspiring lasses, girl power has never looked so colourful!


For more on the exhibition and the Tower Art Gallery, check out their website at 'http://www.towerartgallery.com', where we sourced this information from.

To find out more about Girls On Top and the artists themselves, here are some more links:

Website: http://www.girlsontopcrew.co.uk

Blog: http://girlsontopcrew.blogspot.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GirlsOnTopCrew

Northern Design Festival - A Cup of Attaya

As a part of the North East annual Northern Design Festival, I decided to head down to B&D Studios to check out one of the current exhibitions, 'A Cup of Attaya'. I'd previously met company founder Lalya Gaye last week, where I misleadingly whacked her bouncy strawberries on the wall (I felt rather sheepish when I realised they weren't actually to be whacked...), but today, warmly welcomed me with a cup of delicious West-African Attaya tea and Swedish chocolate biscuits, I spoke to her to find out what Attaya Projects is really about.

After about a decade of moving between research, teaching and freelance work, Lalya discovered how much she loved the installation aspect of digital media arts. She set up 'Attaya Projects' (named after the delicious West-African tea) as a platform for like minded digital creatives to network and showcase their works. The company also offers consultation for the designers and workshops to those interested in learning more about digital media arts. Lalya's own work is inspired by the connection between physical and digital, and she has worked with sound, fabric, steel and urban space including trees.

'A Cup of Attaya' is a showcase of some of the work created by Attaya Projects, and includes electronic textiles by Teresa Alme, and a top secret (well bit of a secret) project with local designer Bettina Nissen involving a 3D printer and a ukulele...

On Thursday 17th Oct you can take part in an interactive live text stream with Andrew Wilson. Just pop into B&D Studios, say hello to Andrew and have a read of the instructions, then wander around Newcastle and text him whatever curiosities you may come across. As there are numerous mime artists, buskers and street musicians etc on Northumberland Street nowadays, including the infamous 'funky bassist' who dropped in to say hello during our chat, there is sure to be enough goings on to keep a lively and engaging stream...if you need any more persuading, there will also be free cake!

All photos copyright at Attaya Projects

To find out more, check out these links:

Website: http://www.attayaprojects.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AttayaProjects

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/attayaprojects/

Twitter: @AttayaProjects

Written by Melanie Kyles.

Make and Mend Market

Last Saturday we took a wander down to the Make and Mend Market at Grainger Market. It's on every month and alternates between Grainger and The Star and Shadow Cinema (Ouseburn). It always worth a look in as it's a complete mix of talented local artists and craftsmen. Here's some of our favourites. 

First up is one of our F6 members (not that we're biased) Chris Folwell AKA Dabble Dabble.

  

Chris is a Newcastle based freelance illustrator and print maker. He can be found at many a local market selling his handmade silk screen limited edition prints. He's also happy to work on local or community based projects. Have a read about his work here http://dabble-dabble.tumblr.com/ (go on they're truely brilliant) or chat to him on twitter @Dabble_Dabble

 

Nigel Maughan, The man behind 'March Hare Cartoons'. Now these aren't just your average Zines they range from 'Granny Sooker and her talking Verruca' to 'Lassie, the adventures of a border sheep farmers wife'. Alternative and funny. Guaranteed to raise a giggle.   

http://march-hare-cartoons.webs.com/ 
kkandkskomix@hotmail.com 

Then there was 'What Mammy Made Next'. Taking recycling and upcycling as their inspiration two mums take on the craft world making vintage themed items for around the home. We loved the paper brooches and rings. 

http://whatmammymadenext.blogspot.co.uk/

whatmammymadenext@hotmail.co.uk

  

Purple Magpie - These guys use polymer clay to create cute novelty jewellery. They're also known for manipulating the odd record or two into a funky clock or decorative bowl. 

https://www.facebook.com/purplemagpiecreations

http://www.etsy.com/shop/purplemagpie

    

Tin Can Sally - These beautiful pieces are handmade from pop cans. She upcycles something seen as an everyday item, transforming it into stunning unique statement       jewellery. 

https://www.facebook.com/TinCanSally

tincansallyjewellery@hotmail.com

 

Ben Holland - Ben is an artist and illustrator. He creates unbelievably fine detailed drawings using pen and ink. Have a look through his work and your sure to recognise more then a few local buildings. Amazing.

http://www.lowmoonoverhightown.com/ 
@LMOHT

Jessica Catherine - These pieces are absolutely beautiful handmade ceramics. She sells a range of products from jewellery, homeware and gifts. If you ask nicely she may even customize an item especially. 

http://jessica-catherine.com/

jessicacatherinecreates@gmail.com

 

Last but most definitely not least, the Make and Mend organising Queen - Brittany Coxon. This wonderful market is all thanks to Brit who took over as organiser. BUT not only does she do that, she also sells her handmade greetings cards. We had some on display at our Late Shows event back in May and they practically sold out. The Wonder Woman card being a particular hit. Fun, quirky and worth the money.

http://britthub.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/BrittHub


If you like what you see check out the next one - Sat 2nd November (Grainger again)
We recommend it. 
http://makeandmendmarket.co.uk/ 
@makemend