Introduction Thursday; Meet Louie Rivers- tattooer, artist, model.

Last time I've introduced you to K. Selfridge- the NY Brooklyn photographer. I have shared with you the interview I have done with her and some of her work.
I'm thinking of making this a 'thing' now. Every second Thursday, I will introduce you to a new person. Artists, musicians, tattooists, photographers, models, etc.

I don't know if you'll like the idea but I would. Anyway, I'm being a bit 'arsy' today, so let me just introduce you to a very talented tattooer Louie, so you can read something worthwhile!

How do you describe your style?

-     ‘I'm not really sure, I wear whatever I want & always have done - if I had to explain then maybe somewhere between Danzig & ice cube. I call it 'the dark prince'’ (Louie clearly states that the last part is a joke).

What music do you listen to?

-     ‘I listen to a lot of music, If I had to pick a few to get an idea I'd say - geto boys, alkaline trio, smoking popes, Beirut, trapped under ice, souls of mischief & anything by jeff mangum.. To name very few. Don't try & fill in the blanks!’
How did you get into tattooing?-     ‘I got into tattooing when I realised I was incapable of living a 'normal' 9-5 life. I was getting pretty heavily tattooed at the time & I just thought 'I can draw a tattoo design & make it look like a tattoo I would get' I had faith in myself & took my time to find a decent apprenticeship. It's been very natural.’
  What inspires your artwork?

-     ‘I'm hugely inspired by artists such as bert Grimm, Dietzel, dan santoro, bert krak.. The list goes on. As far as reference, I'm interested in zodiac, cult symbols, old advertising, animal heads & collections suchas 'craphound'’
 What was the most recent cool place you’ve visited?

-     ‘I've been pretty settled since I recently lost my passport. But usually I tour with a band called The Computers so we get to visit a lot of great places, I couldn't pin point a memory.. Maybe touring with Alexisonfire, big shows, good people, good times! Either that or taking a piss with jared Leto? He was wearing a White dress. I can't decide.’

Here are some photos of some of Louie's work and the man himself! Enjoy.

Inspiration triggers.

A bit of something different. Photo inspiration.
All the chocolate objects is a project of Maison Martin Margiela.
Something different to normal but opens up your mind to all the creative options there...
The other photos are from a random magazine. Ordinary inspiration triggers. 

Meet Kimi Selfridge aka TAN CAMERA. New York young photographer.

I have recently found a new amazing photographer on Instagram while going through some model's followers. I have noticed a really cool, polaroid photo on a profile picture, so I've decided to check it out.

I was not disappointed. I was so happy that I've found another great artist to add to my 'favorite' list.

I decided to contact Kimi and ask her three questions about her and her art work. I'm more than happy to share this interview with you all and hope you like her work as much as I do.

1. how did you start being recognized by others?

 Social media has been a great tool to help expose my artwork (photography/mixed media collage/styling).

2. what do you think of your own style?

 I love thrift shopping, and have a huge collection of vintage. I'm mostly influenced by the late '70s, early '80s, and mid '90s. 

3. when did you start knowing what your real style is and who you really are?

 When I moved to New York (in 2007), I was exposed to so many different types of people and styles, and I felt the freedom to explore my own identity.

Check out Kimi's website and her other online stuff :

http://www.tancamera.com/
http://tancamera.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/TanCamera
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimes/collections/72157627817954479/
http://instagram.com/tancamera
http://tancamera.tumblr.com/
https://twitter.com/tancamera

My fave songs of Jan 2013.

So, I always hunt for cool stuff. To be always original and always different. That's what's cool about! You always need to stand out and not follow the rules. It's complicated as you kind of have to follow 'the trends' but find your own way to do that.

One rule - Be yourself.

Most people are other people.  Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.  ~Oscar Wilde, De Profundis, 1905


My January faves:

1. Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes 

2. Haim- Forever 

3. Sarah Jaffe - Clementine 

Beautify A Space

My most recent styling project is 'beautify a space' and 'the cool hunting diary'. So, let me tell you about the space one.
This project is to make you realize how many people's emotions you can change and how much you could make their days feel better by just beautifying a space. It can be just decorated to make it look beautiful or it can have a cause, like a reason.
So there's this thing that's been on in the world for a long time now called Guerrilla Gardening. I'm totally up for it. I mean, I love making stuff beautiful and I LOVE gardening! The whole thing about it is that you make something beautiful over night or when people aren't around and then they get to see it the next day. It's something that just appears out of nowhere and nobody knows how and when! It's so mysterious!
We have been give a project like that! It didn't have to be gardening but anything to do with the current 'cool stuff' and somehow connected with fashion (duh, fashion degree).

I have decided to go the Japanese Street Style way and decorate a bus stop, a pavement and a random brick wall in cute Japanese stuff that is currently cool at the moment! There were positive reactions to the whole 'spread the love' style of the bus stop which made me really happy too!

A day out in Manchester, cool hunting.

Yesterday I went to Manchester with my little sister (14) to go dentist's and shop! Shopping went well and we found lots of cool things in the shops! Afflecks was the most coolest place to find unique stuff in there. I mainly searched for weird, funky stuff that would be different to everyone else's. Stuff that I could also use in styling for my shoots! So maybe I should stop rambling on and show you my day in photos!

Liverpool Biennial Project - The End of Semester 1 Final Fashion Show

The coat which I've made (the blue grey one) has finally made it to the final show! I have finally found a model, sorted the hair, make-up and the styling. Jesus, it was so hard to do the styling! I could not fit anything to it, except from black clothes! All black! Well, the theme was dark so I didn't mind. I like black anyway. I was quite nervous for the show, but everything went fine. The model looked great and she made my coat look good too!
I have taken some photos back stage and I've recorded a video of the FULL show! So, anyone from my course - you can check out your outfit on the video and see it again! It went quick but it was good!

Okay, I'll stop talking about how good it was and maybe just post some photos and the video now!

My model's ready to go! Hair and make-up - simple and classy!

My model ready to go!

Student's umbrella she has made!Gorgeous!

Students waiting to go in and watch their show!

One of the models/students putting the show outfit on!

Models waiting !

Models waiting in a line! 

Models waiting !

The coolest shoes! The bottoms were done with  drawing pins!

'Cool' photo in the disabled toilets! Oh yeah!

Smileee!

My friends waiting for the show to start!