PLAAY STUDIO
PLAAY STUDIO is focused on the playful exploration of collaborative design and creativity. The foundation of the week long project in Hay Studios is the making of a clothing collection between Amelia Pemberton and Amelia Melbourne (hence the two A’s in PLAAY)
Working alongside are invited artists, crafts people, photographers and film makers. Creating their own inspired works in their particular medium. Taking inspiration from anything they find while at their time in the studio. It could be from the communal experience of the project or visual elements such as colour forms or shapes being creating within the collection as it grows over the week. Or even the beautiful studio with it’s greenery surroundings. The project is completely open to each individuals take of their experience.
The PLAAY STUDIO collection is based on the playful and enjoyable experience we have with wearing and combining colours and shapes in clothing. Creating a mix garments that are accessible to anyone for their individual interpretation. The aim is to take the seriousness out of cloth making, turning the design and manufacture chore into a enjoyable shared experience with a honest and fun outlook.
Exhibited at:
Hay Studio - Cornwall -20th Sept 2014
Espressini - Falmouth - 3rd October 2014
Ottowin shop - Bristol - 30th Nov 2019
PLAAY STUDIO - HAY STUDIO -CORNWALL - DAIRY - 2014
DAY 1: Arrived at the studio after a windy journey through the countryside in North Cornwall. We set up the studio for the creatives to get started. Illustrator Rachael Jenkins and fine artist Christabel Forbes arrived and got busy straight away. While Milly and Amelia started making the collection from green oversized trousers to bright orange sweaters and foam coats.
The space has a great atmosphere of no distractions, surrounded by the greenery everyone is working hard and feeling inspired!
DAY 2: More people arrived today! Illustrator Rosa James, film maker Chloe Pemberton, Graphic illustrator Barbara Ryan, fashion designers Sophie Molyneux and Catie Palmer and Artist Bear Hardy. It is drizzly outside but the studio is buzzing with people and ideas! The PLAAY collection is growing its colours and textures as our illustrators are drawing the works in progress and interpreting the PLAAY collection garments. Milly has been busy on the knitting machine and Amelia is churning out the garments on the sewing machine.
We cooked a big chilli in the evening and had a life drawing session where everyone took turns modeling the garments.
Settled down watching Ratatouille on the projector and had a slumber party in the studio loft.
DAY 3: Everyone has settled into the studio, an early start with a big communal breakfast and everyone is cracking on. Fashion photographer Rae Marie Payne joined us in the afternoon and started photographing the garments around the estate. Bear has been working tirelessly on his large line painting and Christabel has made her own loom and is weaving a beautiful tapestry. Rosa has been running between being the studios model and drawing her small postcard illustrations. Barbara’s washing line of life size drawings of clothing is coming together. Sophie and Catie cooked the gang a yummy chickpea curry, then after Milly set up the communal abstraction process where everyone lined up and started painting on each others backs then onto paper, a messy but fun game.
Late in the evening Chloe was making a promo film for the PLAAY collection with dancing Rosa in the dark with a flashing torch. Catie, Sophie and Rae were making colorful crop tees till everyone else went to bed…
DAY 4: Carrying on with our work and plotting ideas for how everything should be displayed in the exhibition. Catie finished her yummy hat and Sophie finished a blue coat with little green triangles. Milly, Barbara and Chloe set up a simple set design for the collection film, taking turns one ran in spontaneously chose some clothes got undressed and dressed up in the collection. In editing Chloe sped up the footage and you see the all the PLAAY gang interpreting the collection in one short film.
In the evening we were treated to Seamus Carey playing the piano to a couple of silent films starring Buster Keaton and invited.
After everyone dressed up in the collection again and had a good game of musical statues and aerobics dancing!
DAY 5: LAST DAY !
Everyone was finishing off their projects and adding the finishing touches to the collection. Presenting their work ready for the exhibition. It all started to come together and by the end you could visually see the running theme, the exhibition viewing was fun and un serious, just as we hoped. It was a small but lovely gathering in which we all sat down to Sue’s amazing Pop Up Supper in the centre of the studio and celebrated. It was nice to relax and enjoy of all of our hard work.
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