GOING UNDERGROUND!

Happy Birthday to the 'tube'!

 On the 9th Jan 1863 the worlds first underground railway journey started off from Paddingtion station. Now the system transports over 1000 million passengers each year and over the 150 years, 263 stations have been added.  

I personally have a fondness for the tube, especially the design of the map. I've spent hours and hours down those dark tunnels, whilst commuting back from all the various jobs I have had over the years in London, staring at that map, calculating the minutes between each station and how long I'd have left before I was home, good times miss it (a little)! In celebration I've put together these cool reinterpretations of the iconic underground map that Harry Beck created back in 1933.

Google doodle

Created by Antoine+Manuel

twisted tube map by Francisco Dans

animals on the underground by paul middlewick

poster for the tate gallery by david booth, 1986. 

untitled artwork by david shrigley for the cover of the london underground pocket tube map, 2005

London Underground by Scott Coleman

This year the Underground will present a program that will include 'major high profile British Artist' bringing artworks into every station on the Tube network, hope I get to be back in London sometime soon, traveling on the tube checking out some Art! 

Cheers 

M

BOBBY HILLSON

When I was studying A Level Art at college my teacher gave me a book to study of illustrations for Biba Fashion Boutique. I love that book and admired the fashion illustrations so much I was tempted to steal it from my teacher (I was young and silly), who I had never really got on that well with. The issue being she ALWAYS wanted to listen to Morrissey and I thought it was just too melancholy for an Art class, I would change the music every time she left the room. She did not appreciate that and I think we were just very different people and butted heads on lots of subjects. But, by my second year of A Level Art, I matured, it suddenly it become very real to me that I wanted to study fashion and textiles at University and I needed my teacher, Sue, to help me get there. I started to respect and admirer her knowledge and her exsentric side. In hindsight I'm glad I didn't pinch that book and now and then I like to listen to a little Morrissey.

With the ease of the internet and a photographic memory (well, for a few things), I found the illustrations I drooled over back in the mid 90's as an aspiring designer.

The illustrator - Bobby Hillson

Back in the 1960's they didn't let photographers into catwalk shows, they used illustrators like Bobby!
Bobby Hillson's career included working for a variety of Condé Nast publications including Vogue, she later work for a couple of British news papers and she was present at Coco Chanels comeback show in the mid 50's.

Biba Girls 

London Collection, John Cavangh, The Observer 1965

1968

The blog Mrs Textiles helped me find these wonderful images of Bobby's work.

CATALINA ESTRADA

Catalina Estrada is my obsession this week of her outstanding creativity!

Her work, which extends to Art, fashion, accessories, advertising and of course these amazing wallpapers, is simple breathtaking.  

JOSEF FRANK

I adore Josef Frank's designs, the crispness of the colours and the complexity of the details! Beautiful and timeless designs. 







Svenskt Tenn web site for Josef Frank's fabrics, cushions and other accessories.

Josef Frank - Austrian – Swedish artist, architect, textile-designer who created concepts of modern houses, interior and patterns. Together with Oscar Strnad he created Vienna School Of Architecture. He died on 8th January 1967 in age 82 years in Stockholm. Even though he is dead, his designs are still alive. Colourful and supertemporal. They were created around 1920 – 1960.

STELLA JEAN

I could have posted so many images of Stella's designs but I had to stop some where.

stella jean

Beautiful 

SANDERSON

You'll always find inspiration from a company that has been producing textiles for 152 years! 

Sanderson