Ideas Man

A true tale of sheer ruddy persistence.

Sheridan Simove wittily unfolds a number of his creative endeavors, detailing the rock bottom lows, knock backs, and often successes of bringing to life his eureka moments.
With a stand out chapter detailing his endeavors as a thirty something masquerading as a midlands schoolboy, baggy trousers and all, the book is an inspirational read, guaranteed to leave you feeling creative.

Simove undoubtedly proves “action is the foundational key to all success”.

To find out more about the book and a number of Simove's other ventures visit his Talent Shed.

The Illustrated Ape Arrives!

Just the other day we saw the release of our editorial debut, The Illustrated Ape "Photographers of the Urban Apocalypse" issue. As our first step into the world of magazine art-direction, it's been an absolutely amazing process. The editors, Mike Sims & Christian Pattison, gave us total freedom with the issue. + Given the opportunity to commission photographers of our choice, we were able to meet some great people – whose help we are eternally grateful for!

For those of you that aren't familiar with the publication, it's a creative showcase of "fiction, poetry, pictures, and pop." Better still, there's an About Ape section on the website where a more thorough picture is painted.


A sneak peak

Whilst our issue explores photography, Ape has previously been solely illustration based. Though our somewhat abstract headers borrow a lot from the illustrative nature of the magazine's past. On that note, we also ran a feature whereby we asked illustrators to create a photographic self portrait. So, hopefully the issue's transition to photography isn't too revolutionary.

From buttered bottoms to Ape 'tart cards', we tried to have a bit of fun with the mag, though as the "Photographers of the Urban Apocalypse" theme would suggest, the humour can be a bit dark in places. But anyway, we'd love for you to check it out – It was lots of fun to make, so hopefully it's fun to read!





If you're passing a Borders, Magma, or perhaps a Modern Tate - you should be able to see the mag (There's a full list of stockists on the site). Alternatively you might even want to purchase something online/ from the ape back-catalogue, try the Ape Shop if so.

"Photographers of the Urban Apocalypse" preview – Click to enlarge:

I Love Family Living

Who would have thought James & Joe would be making family life in Sweden that little bit sweater. The absolutely lovely Swedish magazine "Family Living" loved our T-Shirt so much they did a little feature on it. If you are lucky enough to speak Swedish and would like to see a large version on the page CLICK HERE.

The very kind and beautiful Isabelle Halling contacted us about the T-Shirt a little while back and asked about adding it to her regular column. Not only does Isabelle write for "Family Living", host a interior decorating show on TV, and write an online blog, she has also recently become a mother. Well done Isabelle. As soon as we have baby Tees made one will be flying your way.

Illustration Magazine

This Spring we've been featured in everyones favourite Illustration Magazine called 'Illustration Magazine'. Here's a scan...



The magazine has a focus on famous illustrators of the past, though, as shown with us, they are keen to explore newer material too. They said: "We wanted to explore children’s book illustrators alongside those who work on adult novels and classics - or even political manifestos and train timetables. We wanted to consider the humorous, the serious, the sinister and the surreal."

Thanks for having us 'Illustration Magazine.' Look forward to seeing you again soon : )

T-Subscribe

"Subscribing to T-post is a lot like having a subscription to a magazine but instead of receiving magazines in your mailbox - you receive T- shirts. Every six weeks we design a t-shirt based on a current news item and print the shirt's topic on the inside. You may not always hear about your T-post's story from traditional news media but in our opinion, you should have".

Brilliant.

Tummy troubles

Picked up Penguins' "The Culture of the Abdomen" yesterday, the title & cover illustrations reminded me of the special relationship I've got with my stomach. Maybe, just maybe, I've been a little too peckish since Christmas. The look of disgust on James' face when I ask for 'thirds' assures me I should probably slow down.

Fortunately, the book contains some valuable information on how I can get my stomach back to the glory days of 2002. First published in 1924, the '57 edition I've got isn't shy of it's success: "This book has been responsible for the restoration of waistline and bowel function in so many thousands of individuals during the last few years." Will I be one of them? Well, with photo plates a' plenty - the book gives many helpful tips...



I was refreshed by the above, an honest role model. Look at him, he's not afraid of weight gain (or age). He's willing to give tips on how to lose it, but he's not exactly Adonis, he's one of us*. Compared to today's 'culture of the abdomen' it all seems very dated...



*Sorry to bracket you, however taut your abs may be, as 'one of us'. Was just a way of bringing us closer, reader and writer united in a nostalgia for the stomach that was.

Elephant by David Grant

If James was called Richard and Joe called Judy, and we had a book club, David Grant would be the first author we would make an instant millionaire. His Book Elephant is a truly brilliant read, "the novel is hilarious, compelling and despicable".
Elephant is also in a list of 100 books chosen for the Spread the Word promotion for World Book Day and its needs your vote!
To find out More about the book and the promotion click HERE

Design your own Penguin

Design your own Penguin book cover, what a great idea for a really personal gift.
Above are a few people who have done one and sent to Penguin.
They have a small gallery of covers created by bands, but they are a bit arsey, thought these where better..
Website link.