Christmas 2012 - December events

I was fortunate enough to be in India for Diwali with my family (more on that later),  but I'm super excited to be back in London for the start of the Christmas festivities, starting this weekend. 

The first one is the We Make London Christmas event at Battersea Arts Centre on Saturday, December 1st. There will be screen printing workshops (run by Mr. Wingate) and Christmas Carols and Jonna Saarinen and I will be at the Jonna X Kangan stand, selling one-off screen printed cushions and lots more.... we also have a fantastic bargain bin selling end of season stock and samples!

11am - 5pm, Free Entry

On Sunday December 2nd, I will be joining my talented friends at the lovely sewing cafe, Sew Over It in Clapham North to sell my wares along with theirs. Lisa Comfort (dressed as Santa) will be running Christmas decorations craft workshops and serving mince pies... what's not to love.

12 - 4pm, Free Entry

Nothing But Navy returns to London from December 5 - December 24 at 40 Berwick Street. Some of my exclusive navy cushions are up for grabs!

Designers/Makers will set up base at Southbank Centre from December 14 - December 16 featuring 

50 UK design and craft practitioners as well as workshops by Zombie Collective, Wrap Magazine, Mel made this, Shake the Dust, Garudio Studio and us - Jonna X Kangan. 

Make crafty elves and felt Christmas decorations with Jonna and me on Saturday, Dec 15 from 1-3pm,

and finish your Christmas shopping after at our Jonna X Kangan stall. 

12 - 8pm, Free Entry

 Our final Christmas appearance will be at Bust Christmas Craftacular on Sunday, December 16 at York Hall, Bethnal Green. 

Shop. Craft. Dance. Make Merry - they say, and we will with Rob Ryan, Jimbobart, James Brown and many more...

12 - 6pm, Admission: £2

Hope to see you there! 

If you can't make it, you can shop online here and I will lovingly post your presents out for you.... :)

Last shipping dates for the UK: Tuesday December 18th

Last shipping dates for Europe: Tuesday December 11th

Last shipping dates for ROW: Wednesday December 5th

Jonna X Kangan

Jonna x Kangan, now on sale at Supermarket Sarah

I've been working on a collaboration with my friend and textile designer, Jonna Saarinen for a while now and I'm pleased to say that we launched our first collection this week on Supermarket Sarah. Head over to Sarah's website for some of the goodies we have hand screen printed. We are selling a range of products that vary from cushions to teatowels, bunting to cocktail sticks - something for everyone!

The highlight of my recent honeymoon to Kerala was most definitely the moment I looked out of the taxi and spotted a truck park! Oh yes. (Sorry to my new husband) This wasn't any truck park, this was a mega psychedelic day-glow truck, spotted while on our way to Allapuzah having landed at Cochin airport barely 30 minutes prior. This is going to be a great holiday, I thought to myself. 

Kerala really did not disappoint and spotting a truck evoked the same enthusiasm EVERY time. Being the truck lover that I am, this was right up my alley. I asked the taxi driver to pull over for 'only 2 minutes' and jumped out with my camera, leaving Oli in charge of keeping an eye on the luggage and engaging the taxi driver in casual chit chat (i.e buying me more time, so he wouldn't realise I'd been snapping away for at least 30 minutes!)

I came across some friendly faces, others not so friendly (spying on a bunch of drivers playing cards, whilst squatting on the other side of a truck to get an interesting photo didn't go down well I have to say)

The paintwork on these trucks is markedly different from the ones I have seen up north in Punjab, Delhi and Rajasthan; specifically the motifs, text and colour sensibility. I didn't spot one painted eagle upon any truck down south whereas in Punjab they are omnipresent and the neon colours are very distinctive. 

There is great emphasis on the name in the front of the truck using very large and bold fonts. I presume most of them are the names of the truck owners, whereas others are more generic like Bright, Global, Christ. My favourite is 'Global'... universal terms these may be, but these trucks could only really be at home on the roads of Kerala. 

Floral patterns that are interspersed with phrases like 'God's own country', 'Prayer is Power', 'Time and Tide wait for no one', constantly remind you that this part of the country is predominantly Christian and has been since the first Portuguese settlers in the 15th Century. 

Oli pointed out how these trucks remind him of Martin Sharp's paintings... particularly the cover of Cream's album, Disraeli Gears. I thought this was such an excellent reference, and also quite an unusual one. I wonder if the painted trucks of India were an inspiration for his work. The scale of the motifs, the layout and the neon colours all bear resemblance to Martin's work (or vice versa) but what I love is the third dimension, the wood carved details and the simpler interiors of the cabins in which they sit (unfortunately I don't have any photos of the driver's cabin)

  

                                                             

For anyone who'd like their own Keralan style hand painted truck, I took down a number :)

PS - I forgot to mention, I got to sit in one of these.

 Manju Cinema, Ludhiana (1945-present)

I have wanted to photograph and document for some time, the old cinemas of Ludhiana. Driving past them week after week, I look at the buildings around them being demolished and new developments coming up and I dread to think what will become of these unloved and unappreciated beauties. They are survivors in a city that is changing, where their historical significance is completely lost on everyone and it seems like it is only a matter of time before they fall prey to some developer who will want to build yet another mall in the city.

With the coming of the PVR and Wave Cinemas, I am sad to say that even I haven't been to any of these to watch a film in a long time. Due to the lack of an audience, the only films they do screen are often along the lines of 'Pyaar ka Karz', 'Masti Express' and 'Husn Bewafa'. Some of these cinemas are not even operational anymore and have been derelict for a few years. The last time I went to an old cinema was in 1995 to watch 'Akele Hum, Akele Tum' with my friends on my 11th birthday. We booked a box, and during the interval my mum sent us snacks and cake. Gosh, how times have changed! You were able to do that in those days, today your snacks are taken away by security before you enter the cinema and you're forced to spend of overpriced popcorn and sweets.

What I liked about these cinemas is that they were 1 screen halls with the 4 standard shows a day, the 10:00am, 1:00pm, 4:00pm and the 7:00pm. You didn't have to check the papers for odd timings and you weren't spoilt for choice. Today, despite the 20 screen multiplexes, the luxurious velvet seats, our cinemas lack soul. They are run off the mill multiplexes that could be anywhere in the world. You could be in any city and have the exact same cinema going experience, which is incredibly sad.

These old cinemas didn't follow a standard tried and tested template of a chain cinema and each one was unique. The attention to detail, the architecture, the hand painted posters, the signage, even the railings and the mini ticket office where someone would sell tickets from a tiny little window were what gave them their own individual character and personality.

I wish someone adopts these great buildings and gives them a new purpose. They could be cultural centres or museums, concert halls or auditoriums! So many possibilities.

 

'Pyaar ka Karz' at Manju Cinema

 I like the oval wheeled windows and hourglass features on the side of Preet Palace, but one of the best features is the Punjabi sign on the front of the building in the exact same font as the English sign.

Preet Palace, Ludhiana

The 'Preet Palace' sign in Punjabi 

Chand cinema, Ludhiana - Jalandhar Highway

 

 

The oldest cinema in Ludhiana - Raikhy Theatre opened it's doors in 1933. Unfortunately, the only films they show here now are b grade Bollywood movies. 

'Husn Bewafa' at Raikhy Theatre, Ludhiana 

Below are photos I took last year on a trip to Lucknow. Some beautiful hindi fonts and very well maintained cinema buildings as compared to the ones in Ludhiana.

'Masti Express' showing at Sahu Cinema, Lucknow

 

 

Umrao cinema, Lucknow

 Tulsi cinema, Lucknow

Novelty Cinema, Lucknow