Up With The Lark And

In this episode we are joined by Jess Wheeler. Jess is a designer and artist based in North Wales. She works across a variety of disciplines from set to homeware design and her cross disciplinary approach has a unified, nostalgic, nature driven narrative.

I greatly admire not just the pieces that Jess creates but also her route and methods. In fact a bronze rhubarb from her collection was the first purchase I made for my own studio before I even had a desk. She seems to have an unquenchable thirst for experimentation, for new materials, contexts and stories.

One of the aspects I think is most distinct about Jess is that she has begun, developed and expanded her own workshop deep in the wilds of Wales. It is a workshop of ideas. It is a place of trial and error. It is a place of learning. It is filled with people with new skills and those with hard-won expertise. It is noisy production and natural beauty. It is rugged and raw and suspiciously photogenic.

We are lucky enough today to hear more of Jess’ adventures in creativity, how she came to the current chapter of lighting across brass, bronze and plaster, life in Wales, the influence of the natural world, the people around her and what the future holds.

Jess Wheeler: www.jesswheeler.com

It is too easy to throw up our hands in despair at the state of the world. And yet there are many of you acting to make a change. Not only that, you are doing it ever so stylishly. Each of you should be applauded.

For quite some time, I have wanted to adjust the format of the podcast. To mix in with the one to one interviews, some more ‘round the table’ discussions. I want to hear different views and outlooks, about contrasting ideas and a breadth of industries. I am delighted that this is the first of such a discussion and my guests far exceeded my expectations. This is a wonderful conversation with Sophie Platts, founder of Floks, and Ruth Alice Rands, founder of Herd.

Each of these fantastic women has has a great story to share, a fantastic attitude to the planet, to change and to running a business. I hope that their company names will give you a clue on the topic. Today, we are going to Reimagine Wool. In this episode, we are going to discuss a the re-imagining of the wool industry. A fascinating topic alone but also one that whatever industry you are in, there are insights to share and lessons to learn. We hear about each of their relationships with wool, the enterprises they have begun, highs and lows and what they hope that the future holds.

I am quite certain that you will walk away uplifted, encouraged and, I hope, a little bit challenged to act on the changes that you want to see in your field, industry, arena. We all have the ability to bring about change and you couldn’t ask for two better role models that Sophie and Ruth.

www.floks.co.uk
www.herdwear.co

There is an audible sigh of exhaustion, of weariness, of disturbed momentum, of deep uncertainty. So in this collection of conversations, we are going to discuss ideas, approaches and temperaments that could act as an antidote for those of us working in the arts and creative industries.

If you have found yourself retreating, becoming overly cautious or risk averse, then this is the episode for you. Francesca Strange, founder of The Proof, is brutally honest about running a business and taking calculated risks, searching for balance, facing failure and the future. There’s no sugar coating here.

The Proof are a bakery based in East London who, simply put ‘will bring pudding’. Francesca is a self-taught cook and baker who has blended an Italian background, a sweet tooth and gumption in spades to create a business full of energy and joy. A nod to style but its heart in substance, The Proof delivers the puddings we know and love with a dollop of doings things well on the side. And if you manage to get to the end of this episode without a craving for profiteroles, I will be quite surprised.

We are going to hear about the unexpected beginnings in lockdown, opening the bakery in Dalston, building a team, their current kickstarter campaign and their vision and plans for the future. Here’s a clue. It involves candy floss.

It is true that many enterprises begin with someone unable to find what they are looking for, so they make it themselves and Nights By Wilder is a delightful example of this. It was born out of founder Elizabeth’s stylish eye for nightwear for her children. Stylish is quite the word here, Nights By Wilder is highly memorable from its fabrics and silhouettes to its charm and its whimsy. Children’s attire is a crowded & noisy marketplace so it’s no mean feet to find yourself distinctive, celebrated & instantly recognisable.

In this episode, we hear about the early days of the business, the development of the aesthetic, the importance of originality, seeking out experts, building a business as well as a brand and keeping curiosity, kindness and confidence alive.

Nights By Wilder - www.nightsbywilder.com

Welcome to the latest episode of Up With The Lark And. In this latest collection of conversations, I hope to offer some small antidote to the pervasive sense of weariness, exhaustion and uncertainty. My guests offer attitudes, approaches and temperaments that I hope should offer ideas, energy and confidence. Our guest is Julian Parmiter, one of the founders of Create Academy. Create Academy offers online learning across interior design, floristry, food, drink and craft. It is warm, embracing, joyful, excellent. The list of those sharing their expertise is a moorish pick and mix of talented and engaging individuals including Rita Konig, Dan Pearson, Edward Bulmer and Jess Wheeler.

It would be so easy to dismiss creativity in times of economic uncertainty and when the world appears to be on fire. But in my view, the quest for new ideas, beauty and connection really do hold their value. It’s vital that we remain curious and are disciplined at learning new things and that we focus on experience over just transactions. Create Academy offers just that.

Simply, Create Academy acknowledges that human need to create. In this episode we get to discover more about its inner workings. I ask how the founders met, how the business began, how it works, the selection of talent, the practicalities of working as a partnership and their plans for the future.

Create Academy: www.createacademy.com

It feels that within the creative industries there is an audible sigh of exhaustion, of weariness, of disturbed momentum, of uncertainty. So, in this collection of conversations, we are going to discuss ideas, approaches and temperaments that could act an antidote to this. I have approached those who have reimagined an industry, a material, an approach to doing things as I hope that this will bring some energy, fresh ideas and confidence to the fore.

Today’s guest is just the caffeine fix we all need and certainly has their own way of doing things. We are going to hear the story of Fitzcaraldo Editions as told by its founder, Jacques Testard. Fitzcarraldo Editions is an independent publisher specialising in contemporary fiction and long form essays. They focus on ambitious, imaginative and innovative writing, both in translation and in English.

It is a story drawn out of tradition, necessity and imagination. To my mind their independence is truly cherished, they have an intellectual confidence and an eye on longevity, an energetic approach to the commercial side of things and a linguistic rhythm all their own.

We find out about the importance of the written word, the early days of the business, the impact of a bilingual founder, the world of publishing today, balancing editorial drive and commercial necessity, moments of great celebration and what the future holds.

Fitzcarraldo Editions: www.fitzcarraldoeditions.com

In this episode we face up to a complex, emotive and sadly ubiquitous challenge: copying. To my mind this is a heady mix of principle and pragmatism, the creative life and commercial reality. The fact is that copying is an inherent part of the pursuit of creativity. Imitation is how we learn and we are all searching for inspiration hoping to excavate our way to something extraordinary and, frankly, something saleable. And yet we require limits, restrictions and processes to marshal true originality and commercial investment to safety.

When faced with a copycat, I often hear the argument that the legal route is too expensive, too unpredictable, too time consuming and frankly out of touch with reality. It can feel that Intellectual Property laws are outdated thanks to a limited number of financially buoyant litigious creatives bringing case law up to date. Given that feeling, many turn to trial by instagram, calling people out, despair, shutting up shop or just quietly soldier on.

Today’s guest offers an enlightening alternative. Sarah Watson, founder of Balineum, is passionate about bathrooms. At Balineum they aspire to bring impeccable style to every bathroom with a particular flair for celebrating classic designs forms and colours. I simply did not know how captivating tiles could be!

Sarah has vision and energy in spades and I am absolutely delighted that she is joining to discuss this tricky topic. It’s a great shame for Sarah that she has experienced copying both flagrant and frequent, but it is a little bit wonderful for the rest of us. This is because Sarah has harnessed her experience, growing knowledge and ability to blend principle and pragmatism to open up the conversation on this topic. She has set up The Plucky Fund to support others facing similar challenges. It is a very special project indeed and in this episode Sarah shares her plans and ideas to shift the culture around copying.

Sarah Watson - Balineum: www.balineum.co.uk
You can contact Sarah here: [email protected]
Read More About The Plucky Fund here: www.balineum.co.uk/pages/dealing-with-product-copies

Welcome to Episode 62 and a rather special follow up episode. Back in November 2020, I had the pleasure of speaking with Alexandra Dauley and Sophie Ashby co-founders of United in Design. United in Design is a charitable project working to tackle the lack of diversity in the design industries.

The conversation that we had was honest and moving. It was focused on practical action. It was about hope. And today we see hope realised in that we are joined by Christine Omorere and Roshu Shreshtha. They are both former United in Design apprentices.

They have recently worked on a very special project with Bernie de la Cuona, of de la Cuona, for the WOW!House at the Design Centre. We hear all about their backgrounds and the United in Design apprenticeship, how the collaboration with de la Cuona came about, the WOW!House and their plans for the future.

Tickets to the WOW!House: www.dcch.co.uk/wowhouse/
United in Design: www.unitedindesign.com
de la Cuona: www.delecuona.com

Welcome to Episode 61 and a topic I am delighted to be discussing - how to build on success. Too often preoccupied with what could go wrong, we rarely openly discuss “what could go right”? How does success impact us? Does it offer freedom or pressure? How do we sustain it?

Far from an air of arrogance, for me building on success is the antidote to a burnout culture that celebrates one hit wonders and unsustainable creative and business practices. Taking the long view, building something that lasts, shifting away from feast and famine, fads and fashion makes sense to me.

To explore this I am delighted to be joined by artist Christabel Blackburn. She is a London-based painter whose work and process I have admired from a distance. We find out about her work, winning Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year, how her sense of success has changed and developed, how she has built on that accolade, her latest exhibition at Alex Eagle and what the future holds.

Christabel Blackburn: www.christabelblackburn.com
Alex Eagle: https://alexeagle.com/collections/christabel-blackburn

In this spring-time cluster of episodes, I look to the great outdoors, to gardens, garden design, landscaping and all things green and, in particular, that great institution Chelsea Flower Show. The show is a place to luxuriate in the great garden renaissance of the 2020s and to explore current themes, preoccupations and narratives.

For this episode, we are joined by garden designer and writer Tabi Jackson-Gee. She writes for a plethora of publications and I particularly enjoy her articles for the FT and House & Garden which explore varied and intriguing subjects which can also be found within her own garden design.

Of late, these have included ‘the darling buds of decay’, garden lighting which supports rather than disrupts or confuses wildlife, the extraordinary naming of flowers, as well as practical concepts of using salvaged materials, planting for colour and finding the perfect garden fence.

Her gardens are locally minded, sensitive to and conscious of surroundings, they tell stories and are a delight to be in.

All this equips her to steer us through the great maze of Chelsea Flower Show. Tabi tells us about her own experiences of Chelsea, how the show is evolving over time, who to look out for this year, the themes of rewinding, mental health and the planet and what she is most looking forward to seeing.