“Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo” for Blacklog editorial #20. Photographed by Calypso Paoli, styled by Yasmine Ganley, models; Zach Robertson and Isaac Silva Looker at N Model Management, all clothing and jewellery supplied by Tango.

You only need to look over Maggie Harrsen’s images to get an idea of what kind of person she is. They’re beautiful, unpretentious, rich in emotion and sense of escape. Having just embarked on a new photographic project entitled ‘daybook‘, I got to have a few words with Maggie about her work which you can read below. Enjoy!

Hey Maggie! I am interested in where you grew up!?

In Bucks County, Pennsylvania – serene land with rivers, vast vegetation, animals, and an abundance of freedom to explore.

Tell us about your new project ‘daybook’ and the reasons on why you were wanting to separate this work.

daybook is a white space to create a flow of energy. A space to share my pictures and words in a more intimate way. To connect from day to day, creating a oneness with people who may otherwise be separated geographically. A place, above all, to reflect on the environment and mother earth.

Tell us about the process of leaving the city for the beach and what influences that has on your work.

It happened very organically to be honest, sort of following an intuition. I have always been in love with the sea – the movement, the tide, reflecting the flow of life and its impermanence. To me the coast resonates a deep love and simplicity. The ocean and the lifestyle of living near water influence me greatly, everyday the environment is expressing itself. The rhythm of life is very peaceful and my senses can be fully open. I believe it is the merging of my senses with my environment that affect me most.

There was one morning I woke very early, a day in June around the summer solstice, the sun radiant and with this light came the sound of rustling. It was a fawn grazing just a foot from my door. Moments like this one take place often here, this is what moves me. My photograph of the fawn (above) is one in a series of images I worked on this past summer named KANOA, a boys given name in Hawaiian meaning ‘the free one’. I will organize these pictures into a book this year.

I love the way your images embody a sense of freedom and escape. Can you tell us about this recent phrase on your tumblr ‘see sun, rain, earth, air, and love come together’ .

Thank you, these words are an expression of the interconnection between elements in nature. An idea that a living being can only be with the help of other living beings, all supporting each other, all equally essential. For example, a vegetable comes to be through the sun, rain, earth, air and love coming together. This is true for all living things, you and I too. My sensitivity is great towards the environment and emotions. I am individually aware and I try to capture this connection as a way to observe, study, reflect, and ultimately transport the viewer.

What cameras do you like to use every day?

I always use my Hasselblad.

What exciting new projects are happening for you this year?

I have started working on commissioned assignments, many of which will come out this Spring 2012. I really enjoy this type of project and the creative collaboration it involves.

On a more personal note, I head to Australia next month. Traveling and exploring is a great inspiration for me and I will surely work on a series of images here and a film too. These days I am following no set path. With this, my projects seem to take form naturally through the environments I experience and people I encounter.

Thank you Maggie!! xx

See more of Maggie Harrsen’s work here.

With a nostalgic look at her years growing up in the 90s, artist Julianna Sseruwagi-Nisbett re-creates beautiful images of her teen years through an obsession with the brand Moschino. Fitting carefully collected, vintage Moschino pieces onto iconic people that she feels portray the essence of her own youth, Julianna Sseruwagi-Nisbett applies a concept strong enough to take her out of a ‘styling’ gig and be put in amongst the worlds leading artists. I talked exclusively with Julianna about her journey back to her past, her upcoming projects and her love and loyalty towards the brand, Moschino.

-Tell us about your choice to use your styling abilities in a more arts focused environment rather than taking work in fashion magazines.

There are so many reasons why people wear clothes and particular styles, other than to follow trends. I felt it would be interesting to explore that aspect, rather than just focusing on the aesthetic as most fashion shoots do.

-Why moschino?

Moschino was huge in a significant period of my life. For me it is synonymous with nineties in London; jungle and garage raves, my first love, escapades in my first car all happened within this period. Of course there were other popular brands too, but pre 1995 Moschino still appeals to me and others now. There is something enduring about the aesthetic. This could be because Franco Moschino had an arts focused approach to his work; there was always a thought process behind his pieces whether he was promoting safe sex, or mocking the fashion industry .

-I love the idea of re capturing your youth and exploring your personal identification with a brand at that age within a new, modern image, re modelled on someone else. can you tell us about the process for this idea. Some of the memories? Do you think this idea will ever evolve around any other aspects that were as significant in your life growing up?

Thanks! I had been collected vintage Moschino pieces in charity shops for some time, and the items seemed to signify the nostalgia I was already feeling about that part of my life. The idea was to capture people in their natural environments wearing one piece of Moschino that fitted in comfortably with their style. This was important for me as I wanted to reflect how Moschino could and was still being worn today by a variety of people. Working class kids (like myself) wore patterned Moschino when we were younger, middle class kids wear them now for entirely different reasons. This hasn’t just happened with fashion, I have seen a lot of things that were in my inner city environment when I was younger, such as slang words, music and even locations, being used again now by middle class kids in a different context. I find this really interesting.

-Why did you choose to use well known/iconic people as your models in your work?

Having worked in music I knew many bands, artist, DJ’s etc, so using them represents who I was/am as much as friends or boyfriends. It is easy to go from Monday to Tuesday without really thinking about what connects the days together, and by using a variety of people I was able to in some way see the changes I had gone through in my life. Dominic Jones used to live in the infamous Toilet Factory (a squat in Peckham), with a band I used to manage called Ratty Rat Rat, and I grew up with Shaun Wright Phillips in Brockley. Both represent very different periods in my life, but I like the idea that actually they
sit quite comfortably together.

-You have worked with some wonderful photographers throughout your work, can you tell us why you believe in the method of collaboration. In a fashion sense this is usual but in an art scene perhaps not quite as often?

Although I am a competent photographer, I don’t want to have a defining photographic style which would limit my work. Using different people gives me the variety I need. I know exactly what I want to get from the image, and I pick the right person to do that for me.

-Any pro’s/cons being a woman in the arts industry?

I never think in terms of gender, race, sexuality etc anyway, so if I have encountered anything, unless it’s direct I wouldn’t have noticed! However I am aware that I exist in a period where it is good to be a women. Certainly in the arts, we hold our own and are respected in a way that wouldn’t have happened 100 years ago.

-Any influencers you like to refer to?

A big influence for me is Nietzsche. I probably mentally refer to him at least once a day! Particularly his idea that there is no truth, just one person’s perspective used to dominate another. I don’t apply it in any revolutionary sense, it just allows me the freedom to not measure what I do or think against social norms. If it feels right to me, that is sufficient.

-Tell us about the London scene you exist in. Fellow artists, spots you like to hang etc …

I spend a lot of time in South London. It’s full of preachers, rappers, artists, bands, eccentrics and drunks. There is this constant feeling everyone is trying to get in and out, like a tube station in rush hour. It just means there is always something interesting happening. I feel in London there is no place like it.

-I know you have a new project in the making right now, can you tell us about this and whats coming up next for you!?

The next project is all about exploring the idea of truth in advertising. I went to see Rene Margritte at Tate Liverpool, and I have been reading about consumerism by Jean Baudrillard which has influenced me quite a bit. Advertising relies upon us (the viewer) feeling disconnected from the ‘world’ depicted in the image. It makes me imagine a dog chasing it’s tail, unaware that he will never catch up with it, which is quite amusing. I don’t want to give too much away, but I will be previewing one piece at an Annin Arts exhibition at Saatchi Gallery on 14th October. Kalup Linzy will also be performing which I am very excited about! The finished work will be exhibited as part of a group show in 2012.

Anastazia @62 Models. Images by Yasmine Ganley

Our exclusive interview with the magical and artisan,  Thunderwing Press, makers of beautiful, hand-crafted paper goods…

-I’m interested in the name ‘Thunderwing Press’. Tell me about the choosing of your name!

One of the bands we love most is T.Rex, so we named ourselves in homage to Marc Bolan’s magical song, Thunderwing. We are also obsessed with the beauty of Native American design, so we felt that in a fantasy world, if Nic were to become an Indian chief, his name would be, Thunderwing.

-How did you guys fall in love with paper and press? What are your backgrounds, if any, in this field?

It’s beyond geeky to say this, but, we both eat, sleep and breathe design, as well as covet vintage paper ephemera, so it was totally in the stars for us to join forces. Nic graduated from the School of Visual Arts, and is now a professor of typography and graphic design there, as well as having been a designer and creative director at some of the most prestigious creative agencies in NYC (Grey, Chermayeff & Geismar, Publicis . . .), and I’m an author who published hand-collaged pop-culture driven fanzines at the age of 16, leading to my current life as a writer (I do much of the copy for our Thunderwing projects), with my most recent book being Vintage LA (HarperCollins, 2008).

As for how we fell in love with letterpress printing . . . Nic’s neighbor in D.C. (where he grew-up), had a pristine letterpress studio set up in his basement, so every year he could create the family Christmas card. As a kid, Nic would frequently stop by to hang out with this elderly gent, and felt quite intrigued by the press and all its tiny metal letters. So years later, as a gift for Nic’s college graduation, his parents and neighbor got together and presented him with our beautiful turn-of-the-century letterpress, along with all the bells and whistles. Years went by with the contents of the letterpress studio collecting dust in his parent’s basement, until 2006, when I first went to meet his family, and he showed me the gorgeous press. We looked at each other and felt a cosmic energy . . . knowing that this is what we were going to do with our lives.

-Tell me about where you live and how that affects your work creation day to day.

We live in a cottage/refinished barn on an historic property in Garrison, NY, which is a gorgeous neighborhood along the Hudson River, an hour and a 1/2 North of Manhattan. We lived in the city for a few years, but once you fall in love with letterpress machinery, as well as all the thousands of pieces of accoutrement you need to accompany it, you can no longer fit your collection in a small studio in Murray Hill. So we explored upstate, and when we arrived in Garrison, we fell in love with its old barns, spooky trees, varied architecture, rocky streams and awe-inspiring views. It’s also quite a mysterious place, as most of the houses are hidden from the road, reminding us of Coastal California hippie towns, which we also love. Our community is comprised of lovely creative people . . . painters, art directors, filmmakers, architects . . . so, when we first arrived and told people about our design studio, we were warmly welcomed . . . everyone threw dinner parties in our honor, and we are now the designer for our local historical society (The Putnam County Historical Society).

In terms of working in the woods . . . don’t hate, but, everyday feels like a fantasy black-light poster with rainbows and unicorns drinking from crystalline streams. It is that beautiful, and we pinch ourselves every time we take a break from our computers and walk outside to watch the fawns, chipmunks and butterflies frolicking in our garden. So we’re incredibly inspired daily by the nature that surrounds us, not to mention all the awesome vintage and antiquing in our county, which is where we find much of our typographic design inspiration.

-I enjoyed watching the video by Tim Ashton of your workspace. It is beautiful. Is this at your home? I think it is so important to create a specific vibe in your workspace. Tell us about how you decided to put it together.

In the video is our studio, which is in an old converted barn building, connected to our house by a wooden covered porch. Our living and working environment is completely integrated, though our studio space is decorated in a more turn-of-the-century vibe, in homage to when our Chandler & Price letterpress was manufactured. All of our printing accessories are pre-1950s (even our paper collection is comprised of beautiful stationery we find at estate sales), so the studio has a decadent, antique feel, with 1920s French toile paper on the walls, cast iron findings on the shelves, and leather-bound books strewn about. Our home is decorated in a more mid-century style, filled with Danish and Swedish decor from the ’60s-’70s, and we were lucky to find a cottage where almost every wall is a built-in bookshelf, since every time we step out the door, we seem to come home with books or records. We’ve found most of our vintage collections during road trips, so we’re surrounded with things we love that hold happy memories, and then let them harmonize in an organic way.

-I think its so charming that people who give a damn are doing everything in their power to take it back to basics and revive forms such as paper and pressing and re introduce the qualities and charm of these items into the clogged, internet-based society of today. Tell me about how this drives you!

Because we can have things so instantly and accomplish things so quickly, there is a resurging romance for engaging in a design process that is deep and meaningful. It’s an exciting time for people who really appreciate design that isn’t disposable, and who respond to the value of hand-crafted artisan products. Whether it’s cheese, wine, chocolate, denim or paper, simple things that are chosen properly, and cared for have a resonance for us and for our customers. Obsessions ebb and flow in culture as reactions to the current state of the world, but the pursuit of something real in an increasingly artificial and virtual environment seems to be taking hold of people’s emotions in a profound way.

-Where can we find your beautiful products?

We design custom projects for clients, but we also sell limited edition cards on Etsy, and through Hickoree’s Hard Goods (see links below). We are in the process of setting up our official online shop.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThunderwingPress

http://www.hickorees.com/brand/thunderwing-press/product/collezione-dante-letterpress-notecards-5-pack

-Best collaboration you have been involved in, and why?

We are currently working on a branding project we’re really inspired by . . . it’s for a NY-based company called The Memory House; who create exquisite biographical coffee table books for private clients that want to preserve a family member’s life story, or a year in their own lives. Along with these gorgeous personalized scrapbooks, clients also have the option of a high-end documentary film being made about the chosen subject. The first time we saw samples of what they were creating for people, we got teary . . . their work was really moving. We’ve designed their logotype, stationery, and elaborate hand-made packaging. We’re also designing their website, which is currently in development. http://www.thememoryhouse.com/

-Whats the best thing to do on the weekends?

Our favorite thing to do, is hop in our Chevy, with our Pug, Ali Baba, and head upstate for a weekend of antiquing and exploring. We collect rare books on design, architecture, art and photography, as well as decorative and useful things for our letterpress studio. One of our favorite obsessions is going into antique stores and finding printing equipment that had become a decorative household element at some point (like wall-hung curio cabinets that are actually intended to be used as letterpress type trays). Reclaiming things like this for the purpose of putting them back with their original friends, holds profound meaning for us.

‘Cream Pies $4.99′. Women by the pound. Collage by Yasmine Ganley. Images from AnOther magazine and supermarket pamphlets.

Some styling work I did with my beautiful friend and photographer Calypso Paoli with model Enna from Red11.

‘Iron Lady’ collage by Yasmine Ganley.  Everything America.

The first thing you notice upon walking into the Henrik Vibskov store is the smell of fresh wood; a telling sign of a new kid on the block, if you didn’t already know.

In addition to his Copenhagen and Oslo based stores, the Scandinavian designer opened his new boutique in Soho, NYC last Friday. The store carries Vibskov’s self titled label and a bunch of others including Cosmic Wonder, Stine Goya, Anntian and Ally Capellino.

The space is small, but not cramped – with a large store-front window splashing spring sunlight up the walls. Clothes hang from racks made by sturdy planks of bare wood, their corners painted apple-red and bound with thick white ropes. If you look up, de-constructed versions of these jut out from the walls, suspended above wooden shelves lined with leather satchels, knitted hats and paintbox-striped socks. Shoes are perched around the store like exotic birds; their cushioned bodies the color of tropical feathers and patent heels like bright, lacquered beaks.

The aforementioned smell combined with the wooden interior and fun, play-doh colored clothes make you feel like you’re inside a treehouse, except everything is made for wearing, not for playing.

What caught my eye on the boys side: a school-boy-blue blazer striped with traffic light-orange, a military jacket in a fresh spring-green army print, a waffle-ly sweatshirt the color of burnt biscuit, and the softest of summer cotton shorts in worn-in burgundy and pyjama blue.

The bold color palette mellowed slightly among the girls racks (although I did see some splotchy leggings adorned with rainbow tassels in the mix). Flimsy silk in the finest of spots made for pretty camisoles, while dresses in dove grey and sunny yellow had a utilitarian feel with draped panels and front zippers. My favorite: a sweater the color of handlebar streamers, perfect for playing in.

Words & Images by Amy Fraser

Henry Vibskov Boutique
456 Broome St
New York, NY 10013

henrikvibskovboutique.com

Read more of Amy’s work here

Can’t get enough of these books. Here’s a look at Amicus 1977.

Images taken by Yasmine Ganley