While on the Makerie's website I stumbled across one of their projects which was a series of birds made of paper and other found objects. Immediately I was drawn to them and needed to know more, so I emailed the ladies that make them:
1. Why were birds chosen as the main subject matter?
We never actually 'chose' birds; it started with a project we did for Falkiners' Papers (The Great Omar, where a peacock seemed like the best way to display their amazing range of papers), and since then we seem to keep coming back to them.. birds can convey a great sense of mood or narrative through their stature and colouring, the shapes and variety of their feathers is really important too. There's something about the methodical cutting and glueing of feathers as well that seems to have us hooked
2. How would you describe your process of making these birds?
As with most things we do, 'a lot of research, a lot of drawing and a lot of talking, some arguments and a lot of agreements' - we generally research the bird we need to make as exhaustively as we can, and then basically get stuck in. It's a fairly natural process for us, and although parts of it can be frustrating, the challenge is always worth it!
3.How long approximately does each one take?
The Great Omar took about 2-3 weeks in total, including the prototype (which we don't always make); a lot depends on the size of the birds and the complexity of their poses. We often spend more time working out 'which direction it should be looking' than actually making them! The Fabriano Collier parrot for instance took a week, but most of that time was spent trying to get the balance, the wings and the tail looking right (and angry)!
4. What other kinds of work do you do and which is your favourite?
At the moment we're open to all sorts of things; window displays, editorials and campaigns seem to be happening a lot, and we really enjoy them. Every project is different and we learn from each one; often the most difficult jobs end up teaching us the most (we learned a lot about patience from using fishing wire, for example...!). The challenge of reproducing objects in paper is always satisfying, but it seems like stylising things in a way of our own is ultimately the most fun.
5.What kind of schooling was undertaken before these projects?
We actually both studied Graphic Design :) We also realised fairly early on that we preferred making things rather than printing them, and we were lucky enough to be on a course that welcomed initiative and let us do things slightly differently. We only started working together on The Makerie about a year after uni though, when we realised we could actually make a living from doing what we enjoyed the most.
6. What advice do you have for aspiring designers?
Learn as much as you can from the business and keep the spirit you had as a student - it seems like the hardest thing when you 'go out into the real world', as people keep saying, is to maintain the enthusiasm and the spark that you have when you're studying. It's easy to get discouraged, but ultimately sticking at things really pays off! Oh, and if you're doing something no one else is, do it even more :)
Hope that helps! And best of luck with your course :)
All the best from London and Milan,
Julie & Joy
We never actually 'chose' birds; it started with a project we did for Falkiners' Papers (The Great Omar, where a peacock seemed like the best way to display their amazing range of papers), and since then we seem to keep coming back to them.. birds can convey a great sense of mood or narrative through their stature and colouring, the shapes and variety of their feathers is really important too. There's something about the methodical cutting and glueing of feathers as well that seems to have us hooked
2. How would you describe your process of making these birds?
As with most things we do, 'a lot of research, a lot of drawing and a lot of talking, some arguments and a lot of agreements' - we generally research the bird we need to make as exhaustively as we can, and then basically get stuck in. It's a fairly natural process for us, and although parts of it can be frustrating, the challenge is always worth it!
3.How long approximately does each one take?
The Great Omar took about 2-3 weeks in total, including the prototype (which we don't always make); a lot depends on the size of the birds and the complexity of their poses. We often spend more time working out 'which direction it should be looking' than actually making them! The Fabriano Collier parrot for instance took a week, but most of that time was spent trying to get the balance, the wings and the tail looking right (and angry)!
4. What other kinds of work do you do and which is your favourite?
At the moment we're open to all sorts of things; window displays, editorials and campaigns seem to be happening a lot, and we really enjoy them. Every project is different and we learn from each one; often the most difficult jobs end up teaching us the most (we learned a lot about patience from using fishing wire, for example...!). The challenge of reproducing objects in paper is always satisfying, but it seems like stylising things in a way of our own is ultimately the most fun.
5.What kind of schooling was undertaken before these projects?
We actually both studied Graphic Design :) We also realised fairly early on that we preferred making things rather than printing them, and we were lucky enough to be on a course that welcomed initiative and let us do things slightly differently. We only started working together on The Makerie about a year after uni though, when we realised we could actually make a living from doing what we enjoyed the most.
6. What advice do you have for aspiring designers?
Learn as much as you can from the business and keep the spirit you had as a student - it seems like the hardest thing when you 'go out into the real world', as people keep saying, is to maintain the enthusiasm and the spark that you have when you're studying. It's easy to get discouraged, but ultimately sticking at things really pays off! Oh, and if you're doing something no one else is, do it even more :)
Hope that helps! And best of luck with your course :)
All the best from London and Milan,
Julie & Joy
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