CALENDERS FOR 2011 AVAILABLE AT MATERIAL

We have some fantastic calenders available this year at Material.

The first is the 2011 follow on from last years sell out by Marcus Walters it contains an eclectic mix of his hand crafted artwork, illustrating a 'make', 'do' or 'see' for each month. The 2011 calendar is an A4, spiral bound full colour print on cyclus offset paper and is available for £15 So if you were dreading getting to the end of the 2010 calender you can now look forward to starting the 2011.




The second of our wonderful calenders is a wall calender by Royal College of Art Graduate Page Tsou.

After having drawn 3,000 people’s faces, Page started to wonder why people always focus on the facial features rather than the back of the head. From that idea he developed this series of works: “Back of head”, which he has adapted into a calendar.

With this calendar he is also trying to change people’s view of Mondays and the weekends.Most people look forward to the coming of weekends, but are struck by depression when Monday comes. Even the Carpenters wrote a song about it: “Rainy days and Mondays always get me down”. However, if we change our view slightly, Mondays can be like any other day.

In this calendar, not only is he presenting this idea but more broadly, he is also reminding people to look at things from a different point of view.

Lithography Print
Edition of 365
Size: 70cm x 100 cm
Paper: 220 gm water color paper
£40

THE CIRCUS COMES TO (MATERIAL) TOWN

Fully illustrated throughout this substantial publication is not only a detailed insight into the history of the Circus but also compendium of inspiration for artists and designers alike.

During its heyday, the American circus was the largest show-biz industry the world had ever seen. From the mid-1800s to mid-1900s, traveling American circuses performed for audiences of up to 14,000 per show and crisscrossed the country on 20,000 miles of railroad in one season alone. The spectacle of death-defying daredevils and strapping super-heroes gripped the American imagination, outshining theater, comedy, and minstrel shows of the day, and ultimately paving the way for film and television. The circus offered young Americans the dream of adventure and reinvention. This book brings to life the grit and glamour of the circus phenomenon. Images include photographic gems by early circus photographers Frederick Whitman Glasier and Edward Kelty, many of the earliest color photographs ever taken of the circus from the 1940s and 1950s, iconic circus photographs by Mathew Brady or Cornell Capa, and little-known circus images by Stanley Kubrick and Charles and Ray Eames. For the first time, contemporary readers can experience the legend of the American circus in all its glory.

£44.99
544 pages
40.2 x 27 x 6 cm (big book!)

Available in store or via mail order.

NEW ARRIVAL: SEASONAL GUIDES

THE PERFECT GIFT FOR ANY ASPIRING CHEF OR RUN OF THE MILL FOODIE WHO ALREADY HAS ALL THE RECIPE BOOKS UNDER THE SUN... these hand printed tea towels by Stuart Gardiner provide month by month Seasonal Guides to British Fruit & Vegetables, Wild Foods, and Garden Flowers.

Alternatively, if they are a bit of a messy cook/ liability on the kitchen but you just can't drag them out, then you could opt for the seasonal guide apron instead.

100% unbleached organic cotton tea towels made in the UK £10
Handprinted six colour unbleached cotton apron £20

They are available in our Ludlow store only but we could always pop one in the post to you if you aren't near by.

THE LUDLOW STORE HAS MOVED TO...

For those of you unsure of where that is, the premises used to be Precious Earth and, before that, it was Country Mercantile and a long long time before that, it was Tortoise Shell Press. If you still aren't sure... it's opposite Myriad Organics and... well... to put it simply, next to Tesco.

This weekend we will be celebrating the move by offering every customer who spends over £50 a free Pantone mug whilst stocks last. Offer applies Saturday and Sunday and only in our Ludlow store. Hope to see you there...

SHADOW PLAY: Alchemy, Redolence & Enchantment

A three day Illustration Symposium organised by Cardiff School of Art and Design and- more specifically- our very own Amelia Johnstone, begins today.

If you are in that neck of the woods, I strongly reccommend that you hot foot it down to Cardiff for some Peculiar Pleasures, Storytelling and a Puppet Theatre among other fantastical features.

For more information visit thewebsite

Alternatively, find out more by reading the article about Amelia in the current issue of Varoom! on sale at Material.

TERRIFICALLY TERRIFYING & TRAUMATISING TEXTS TO GET YOUR TEETH INTO THIS HALLOWEEN

Le Gun Special Brew

Le Gun issue 1 was a sell out and, to our dismay, we all thought that was it but - NO! Available (once again) while stocks last is Le Gun no 1 Special Brew featuring an array of additional pages.

Le Gun Special Brew
Japanese edition
£24



Recipe for Murder

Allow yourself to be lured into the kitchen by the great gourmet- villains of popular literature, from Lady Macbeth, to the Marquis de Sade and Hannibal Lecter. Don't be afraid- if truth be told, their signature dishes are as scrumptious as they are easy to make so roll up your sleeves and light up the oven, it would be a crime to pass up such a diabolically delicious invitation!

Hardback, 144 pages
Illustrated throughout
£14.95


Drawings From the Gulag



A truly gruesome book, Drawings from the Gulag features over 130 drawings and texts by Danzig Baldaev – author of the acclaimed Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedias – and describes the history, horror and peculiarities of the Gulag system from its inception in 1918.

Baldaev's work as a prison guard allowed him to travel across the former USSR where he witnessed scenes of everyday life in the Gulag first-hand, chronicling this previously closed world from both sides of the wire. The drawings, made during the Communist period, form a devastating document, a haunting echo of the works of Varlam Shalamov and Alexandr Solzhenitsyn.

205x165 mm hardback
240 pages
£15.00

psst... also check out the Russian Criminal Tattoos Exhibition 30 October to 28 November 2010
4 Wilkes Street, London E1 6QF
Thursday to Sunday, 11am-6pm

ASHES 57 SHOW AT MATERIAL

After a manic phew days followed by a moment of recovery which usually entails my working at 50% rather than a hefty 200% (no rest for the wicked as they say), I have finally got round to putting up a few pics from the private view of our Ashes 57 exhibition which opened last week.

The exhibition is created in association with PUMA 365, curated by Gabrielle Stojolon and Fatsarazzi and designed to support and publicise emerging artist of various backgrounds and disciplines.

In this instance, the chosen artist was Ashes 57 takes her roots in the buzz and lights of cities, urban landscapes and the music that accompanies them. Inspired by New York’s early 80s cultural scene and Downtown81, the exhibition presents a series of black and white drawings that tell a fantastic journey through the 57 boroughs from Brooklyn to Manhattan, from Queens back to London.


Having previously worked with Shepard Fairey in his Los Angeles design studio, collaborating on a number of Obey projects, Ashes 57 is now art director of COOL’Eh Magazine, LAVA Collective and SWAMP. Ashes also produced posters and flyers for the legendary Dub War parties and she was invited by The Wu-Tang Clan to illustrate the cover of their 2009 album Enter the Dubstep.

The exhibition will run until 12th November so, for those of you who didn't make it in joining us with a bevvy at the private view, there is still time to hot foot it down to Kingly Court to check out the work and pick up an Ashes unlimited screen print- an absolute snip at £15, while stocks last.

Photographs courtesy of Fatsarazzi

Check out Ashes 57 website here