Here at Slowdown Studio we love collaborating with emerging and established artists from across the globe. We recently had the opportunity to chat with Jake Hollings, the artist behind the new Maribou Throw Blanket. Jake is a designer and illustrator based in the UK, with an emphasis on analogue image making and print production. His projects are often centred around music, visual identity, pattern, textile design & self published works on paper.
1. Who do you think is the most exciting emerging creative in your city? (can be music, art, anything)
I would say my favourite creatives are generally outside of my field… I recently collaborated with a really cool floral design studio called Wildflower, ran independently by artist Hannah Price. She’s great, and amazing at what she does.
2. Where are your favourite places to go in your city?
I’m now based up in Newcastle, in the very north of England. It’s a great city, and fairly small in comparison to other cities I’ve lived in. The beauty of Newcastle is that it's a short drive from the Northumberland countryside up towards Edinburgh and just a 20 minute drive to the beach. The east end of the city is home to the creative district, and is where I spend a lot of my time. There is an abundance of artist studios, music venues, small art galleries, beautiful old pubs, independent bakeries and coffee shops. All in such a small area too. I love to drink coffee, and my favourite place to go would be Kiln. Kiln has always been a working pottery studio as well as a place to drink and eat lovely things. My favourite pub is The Free Trade, one of the oldest pubs in the city, with a cosy open fire and the best view of the river.
3. What advice would you give to a younger version of yourself when you were starting out in art?
Experiment as much as possible and meet as many people as possible. Also, don’t be so precious!
4. What are you listening to in your studio at the moment?
I love the new Mac Demarco record ‘Guitar’. Youth Lagoon’s new album is great too. I’m also currently listening to Sharon Van Etten, Adrianne Lenker (& Big Thief’s back catalogue), Dry Cleaning, Nabihah Iqbal, Julie Byrne, Geese and Sampha. But there’s always a big mix.
5. What inspired your design for this latest blanket design?
I like to create ‘warm up’ collages when I start my days in the studio. Ever since I started doing this, I feel freer, looser and instantly ready to go. You lose all the tension and expectation you put on yourself. This blanket design came out of one of my warm up collage sessions, and I loved the composition and the colours of the paper I chose - with as little contemplation as possible. It was uncontrived and organic - usually all of my favourite abstract pieces are made this way. Later, I scanned the shapes and added some digital colours and a few textures to make it tangible as a product.
6. What's your favorite way to slow down?
I love to go to the beach with my wife and my dog, grab a coffee and breath in the cold north sea air. I don’t think you can beat it. I feel so free and detached from everything when I’m next to the sea.
7. What's the most memorable book you've read in the last few years?
‘I Work Like a Gardener’ by one of my favourites, Joan Miro. I was bought this book as a gift a few years ago and I always go back to it for inspiration, really neat little book with a beautiful fabric cover. Also - I love comedy and I’m currently reading ‘The Long Shoe’ by Bob Mortimer (haha). Smiling and laughing whilst reading is great.
8. What has been the happiest/most rewarding moment of your art career?
I mean, this collaboration with Slowdown Studio has to be up there. I’ve been a fan ever since I first started seriously making commercial work (I think it was around 2015), so this is a special one in my portfolio for sure. Recently I’ve thought more about clothing, textiles and home wear as a means to translate my work in more tangible outputs, separate from works on paper which I am so familiar with. This feels like a step in that direction so therefore an important milestone for me.
9. How does living in your city influence your work? Is there anything about your city that has defined how or what you create?
My process is driven heavily by my love of print. I have a background in screen printing, and I love old photocopiers and printers. The unpredictability of print appeals to me, and way that the ink feels and looks once it’s absorbed into the paper, you can’t replicate that. I’ve often used photocopiers to drive the texture in my work, and still do, most of the time. In recent years I have become obsessed with Risograph printing. I started experimenting with it 10 years ago, making small print runs and zines. Today I still use it as an outlet for my ideas, and a process to create artwork to sell. Amazingly there’s 4 risograph printers in just one street in the east end of Newcastle where I work. I have pals who run their own studios, and I’ve gained so much knowledge from them since living in this city.
10. What are you most excited/looking forward to this year?
I’ve got a few fun projects in the pipeline which I’m excited to start. I’m also keen to explore more collaborative approaches this next year, getting some motion into my cut-outs will be fun. I have plans to release lots of new prints, some risograph and some screen prints!
Website: https://jakehollings.co.uk
Instagram: @Jake.hollings
