Coralie, 2010

There are a couple of new pieces in my Portfolio if you fancy a peak.

These prints will be available in both A4 and A5 sizes. Just need to nip them down to the Created in Birmingham shop tomorrow!

What struck me when I arrived is that it wasn't all about the usual suspects; curious shoppers ambled in to see what this was all about, too. And busy it was - with sales made on the first night.

Smile have curated part of the wall on the right hand side as you walk in, and I love it. It's typographical loveliness - bold and Brummie. I really liked Joe Rogers' little Colourbox postcard books which were tucked neatly in the prints/mags/books/CD stand and Pete Ashton's framed TTV photos were boldly beautiful. Actually, let's be sensible - there was a rather overwhelming amount of lovely stuff there.

My 'CC' piece was up on the wall. It was quite a surreal but warming moment to see her perched up there, peering out at the shoppers in one of Europe's busiest shopping centres. It reminded me that all the hard work is worth it. I felt excited, lucky and humbled all at the same time. I forgot to thank Chris Unitt for giving me the chance to be part of this, so I'm doing it now :)

From an idea to fruition. Doesn't take endless talk. It takes people. The Created in Birmingham Shop is the epitome of this. So, how was the first night for the people running the joint? I'll let them tell you....

Created in Birmingham shop opening night from Katchooo on Vimeo.

Now, for the shameless self promotion: I'll have some work on sale in the shop!

To celebrate the opening of the Created in Birmingham shop, with some amount of blood, sweat and tears (literally, at times!) I've created a number of Special Edition hand-finished prints which will be available to purchase from visit the Bullring's newest addition. These prints will only be available to buy from the shop itself. Here they are ready to be packed up and whizzed over tomorrow morning:

As an additional curve-ball, I'm releasing a time-limited A4 version of Purewater. A3 limited edition prints have been available through my external printers for a wee while. The A4 versions will only be produced for the duration of time that the shop exists, which could be anything from 6 weeks to 6 months, after which they will not be released again. Grab your chance to pick up one of these if it tickles your fancy!

There will be a wide range of local creative talent represented in the store, and it's the only shop of its kind in the Bullring, if not the whole of Birmingham city centre. Don't miss your chance to catch some really fantastic work as well as some of the events that Mr Unitt and the team will be hosting over the coming weeks.

Update: CC will also be on sale:

I ended up worked with 2 reference images of Sussan, and then brought the long, lustrous locks along to the party.

Images courtesy of Sussan Zeck

The final image is an A4 giclee print - the original piece was created in pencil and then colour was added digitally. The benefit of this for Sussan is that she receives not only the giclee but also the original drawing - two for the price of one!

 Sussan Zeck, private commission, 2010

If you'd like to talk to me about commissioning a private piece, please contact me so we can discuss your requirements.

A Little Bird Told Me, 2010

Available on Etsy as a Limited Edition print of 10.

Paperchase may buy in their artwork from external companies, so may or may not have been aware of the origin of elements the design used in the designs mentioned above. Alternatively, they may use their own in-house designers/artworkers. I don't know where the artwork used on the products actually originated. However, somebody somewhere is accountable for this. That person is the one who created the artwork that was subsequently used on the products.

Sadly, this isn't the first instance of this sort of behaviour occuring. Seemingly, the advantage lies with the big boys who benefit from receiving revenue from products sold and feel fairly safe in the knowledge that the artists whose work may have been plagiarised are unlikely to have the financial means to take them on for breach of copyright. What this also results in is treating their customers like idiots, with a 'who cares as long as we get their money?' attitude. So the big boys win and the losers are the artist from whom the work has been plagiarised who loses royalties and recognition, and the customers who are unwittingly duped into buying an often second rate design.

Pete Ashton also noted on Twitter that this isn't a new problem:

The transparency that the internet provides is the sort of thing that PR machines of companies like Paperchase probably dread. But it does give empowerment back to the consumer to make a choice about their purchase decisions based on the background of a product. The problem is that we only get to make this choice after the damage has been done.

The most unlikely outcome is that Hidden Eloise will be compensated for the alleged use of her design. At best, maybe an acknowledgement of the problem and withdrawal of the product line by Paperchase will happen. At worst, they ignore the problem and feel smug that it's unlikely that legal action will be brought against them and that this storm in a teacup will soon be old news. So, when that happens do we all revert to being treated like mugs again and watch instances of this happen with other artists and other companies in the future? Sadly, the answer to this is probably.

A little scribble from this afternoon. Warmed up the pencil a little in Photoshop and added a smidgen of colour! Why is it called CC? Look closer ;)

Released as an A5 print on Etsy.

An enigmatic bride, an even more enigmatic groom. Or perhaps it's not the groom; perhaps it's her father, her brother or her lover....