Lisa Read

http://www.inkyflamingo.co.uk

My family home is in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. I moved to Southampton to complete an Art Foundation course followed by a three-year Textile Degree at Farnham Art College, after which I worked as a print designer in London for 2 years, giving me a more rounded understanding of the textile industry.

Wanting an adventure, I spent the summer of 92 working with young children in the Catskill Mountains in New York, as part of the Camp America summer camp program, before travelling the East coast of America. Several years working in retail funded a year-long backpacking trip through Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Returning to London, I started working for Marks and Spencer, where I’d stay for the next 22 years in a variety of roles. I started as a merchandiser but soon returned to my passion as a textile designer progressing to senior textile designer within a few years.

Working for M&S as a textile designer was my dream job. I worked creatively every day with textiles, following the latest lifestyle, product, and colour trends. I travelled the world as part of a team visiting textile fairs, shopping for inspiration, and working closely with factories to deliver beautiful product for the seasonal ranges.

In 2020, the impact of COVID meant I was furloughed for seven weeks and by the end of the year, the M&S design team was reduced by half resulting in my redundancy.

In that time, my younger sister asked if I’d like to illustrate a story that she was writing for her two young sons. Redundancy allowed me to focus on illustrating the book while also giving me the time to learn about the book publishing industry. From hand-painting the watercolour illustrations, to book layout design, to learning about print and production techniques.

I sourced a UK print house as sustainability is very important to us both, and we printed the books in the UK to keep their carbon footprint low, using FCS certified paper and vegetable inks.

In 2021 Frederick the Fox was rolling off the presses! Having learned a lot about production, marketing and distribution, we published our second book, Maximus the Mouse in 2023.

Both books are beautiful rhyming stories of friendship, brought to life with colourful hand painted watercolour illustrations perfect for children up to six years old.

I work at my small kitchen table in Chiswick and enjoy painting and experimenting with my trusty set of watercolours. If I’m not painting, I’m using my MacBook Pro to digitize artwork or to stay in touch with current retail partners and to contact new potential partners, set up book readings, craft sessions, or market stalls.

Illustrating Maximus the Mouse planted the seed for me to explore other products using both my existing and new artwork. This summer I produced a range of animal alphabet prints that I’m selling through select retail partners. Each design is beautifully hand painted with watercolours then Giclee printed onto a high quality art paper using fade resist inks. Perfect for adding a personal touch to any nursery, child's bedroom or playroom . Or if you're looking for something smaller each print has been developed as a greetings card.

Future plans include product personalisation within the Inky Flamingo range.

Babs Gorniak

https://www.kamiyaphotos.co.uk/work

I graduated from HNC Photography at Morley College. I have been interested in photography since I was a teenager and it remains my passion to this day. My work has traditionally focused on photos of family, friends and everyday life. Today I create colorful portraits, mostly of food. I like to experiment with textures and shapes, creating compositions that harmonize with colors. I also love trying out different types of photography and digital manipulation! Each one helps me to keep developing my skills and find new ways to express my artistic vision. My goal is to attract the viewer's eye through visually appealing forms of the photographed subject.

Vivien Phelan

https://www.ceramicandglass.co.uk

I was a local district nurse for many years,following retirement, I obtained a degree in ceramic and glass .I have enjoyed making many animals & figures sinces. My claim to fame is that during lockdown I appeared on BBC1 show
" Home is where the art is" series 2 episode 11. The commission was for a personalised piece of the person and all the things she likes in her life. Find out more at my website: www.ceramicandglass.co.uk

Carl Gabriel

Carl Gabriel: from mas band to museum

London-based Carnival artist Carl Gabriel has achieved international renown for his large-scale sculptures, lovingly handcrafted through the disappearing art of traditional wire bending. These have been exhibited at the British Library, the Science Museum in London, Ohio State University. Carl's greatest inspiration came through childhood experiences of Carnival in Trinidad.

Frankie McAllister

https://www.frankiemcallister.com

Frankie McAllister is a London based photographer from Northern Ireland. Her practice sits on the fringes between fine art landscape and documentary photography, with a particular interest in altered landscapes and the influence of man on nature, most recently including constructed landscapes and abstracted realities.

Beata Maria Kolodynska

https://www.facebook.com/BeataMariaKolodynska

I am an artist passionate about many fields of art, but I mainly deal with oil painting and creating copper jewelry. My inspiration is nature, through the world of plants, animals and landscapes. In my works, I sometimes like to refer to impressionistic lights and colors, and sometimes I want to create decorative fairy-tale worlds. When creating jewelry, I am inspired by the raw patterns of primitive old cultures.

Karc

https://karcart.co

Karc (born on 06.07.1994) earned her Master's degree in sculpture from Gdansk's Academy of Fine Arts in May 2019. After graduation, she relocated to Alaska and later to New York, experiencing life in both a remote village near glaciers with real threats of bears and lynxes, and the vibrant urban jungle of New York City. In December 2019, she volunteered in Eastern Ukraine, helping people living in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict zone.
Amidst the pandemic, she moved to London and began decorating the city with abstract graffiti compositions, contributing to the rare representation of women in street art.

ATM

ATM Twitter account

Recently named one of the UK?s most influential conservationists by BBC Wildlife Magazine, ATM has been at work on the lane reminding us of the population decline of some of Britain?s most important pollinators ? moths and beetles.

Martin Lau

http://www.martinlau.net

Martin's practice reflects a lifelong fascination with a non-dualistic conception of the world, which both feeds and is informed by his interest in Buddhism, where states considered to be binary opposites can co-exist in the same time and place. The heightened sense of reality as encountered in dreams and moments of clarity is at the core of his work. His pursuit of photography, video and timbre-based electronic music can be traced back to his school days.

Photomontage and music has been the basis of much of his recent practice, but he employs whichever medium he finds most appropriate for a given project, and works include sculpture, assemblage, and chocolates moulded from his own body. He performs and records under the name "Flooded Access", and in the audio/visual project "on&off"

Charlie King

I’m a sculptor and tattoo artist, very interested in line, form and composition. I’m inspired by mid 20th century artists and a big fan of industrial art. I like working with reliefs to explore boundaries between painting and sculpture. I post my work @charlieking2000 on Instagram!