January - BIZNIZ

So some of you may know that even though I usually refer to "we" and "us here at Covet!"... It's actually just me. The last year has been an absolute whirlwind, and a very steep learning curve. I've got some amazing contributors, and products that I'm proud of, but everything is evolving and constantly changing as I find the right formats and outlets for everything!

Even though I needed a break over Christmas, and it was amazing spending proper time with family, I was really excited to start the new year, and get back to it. I have NO business background at all. and I have spent the last week binge eating blog posts, listening to podcasts, reading advice on how to run a creative business and what on earth to do next!

I know that at the moment ever more increasing numbers of my friends are going freelance, and I thought that I might share some of the most useful things that I have read.

I guess it starts with the Creative Pep Talk podcast, recommended to me by Anna Beam. Sometimes you sit there on you own worrying, and it's nice to hear that someone else shares your worries, or can recommend a way to get out of those worries!

- One of my biggest problems with my day to day work is not knowing where to start, and I just end up with the world's longest to do list, and finish each day without feeling like I achieved anything!
The below are helping me to get O R G A N I S E D.

Francesca from Fall For DIY has an incredible blog, full of DIY projects and amazing ideas, and her Pinterest has folders full of advice too. With Fran's help, I have discovered Devan Danielle, whose blog is full of advice on branding, and business identity. And then there is Chloe Social, a social media manger and blogger, whose blog is full of advice and printable resources to help DIY businesses (like mine!) navigate social media.

by Regina is an AMAZING website. She has information on anything that you may need help with in your creative business, from "steps to starting your freelance business", to a "non-techie guide to SEO". It's a great, simple and VERY useful blog.

Another blog that I have discovered which also delivers information in short youtube videos (incase you get a bit swamped by pages and pages of text) is the Female Entrepreneur Association. They also provide downloadable printouts for you to get organised with, but also practical advice and plans to follow.


There's a billion resources that you can look at, and places to get advice from, but as someone who is scared of all this stuff, these have really helped me!

Aliyah Hussain

Continuing our (slightly drawn out!) series where you get to know our featured designers and makers a bit better!

This time is artist extraordinaire, Aliyah Hussain. An illustrator, painter, costume maker, flag maker and performance artist.  

What materials or processes are you interested in exploring next?

I’m really interested in working with wood. I’ve used it quite a lot in other projects but only really in one particular way and as more of a structural tool. But as I’m working with it, I’m discovering more and more properties to the material that I really like. Recently I’ve been starting to use it in a sculptural way, I got an awesome Japanese Ryoba saw for my birthday and it’s totally changed the way I work. Now I want more tools and bigger pieces of wood to work with.

What is the best part of being immersed in a community of artists and makers?

Sharing ideas, materials, processes, equipment and food.

Who are some of your favourite artists and makers?

My newest favourites are these guys -

Jonathan Baldock

Anne Harild

Tauba Auerback

Chyrum Lambert

What are you currently working on?

At the moment I’m in research mode, trying different things, experimenting with materials and figuring out ideas for a new body of work. It’s really nice to be working in the studio without the pressure of exhibitions or projects. Alongside this I’m working on a new range for Covet, which will be a series of hand embroidered pieces inspired by mathematical symbols and systems.

You can see more of Aliyah's work on her website, and also visit her pieces especially for Covet here.
Aliyah is based at Islington Mill in Salford.

Lulu Hankin - StudioUp

Our next maker that we want to tell you about is Lulu Hankin, designer and maker creating work under the name StudioUp. Lulu's work combines beautiful traditional textile manipulation, alongside more unconventional components such as copper piping. We wanted to know what is behind her contrasting use of materials.

  
What is the overriding theme or drive behind your work?
To combine these three aspects:
Geometric

Minimal
Texture

What draws you to work with interiors and furniture?
Being able to physically create something that when placed in a space can completely alter it.

What are you favourite materials to work with and why?
I’ve become really fond of copper pipe recently, the way it changes colour the more you handle it, aging quickly in front of you. The simplicity of only having a few types of fittings to work with which the dictate the shapes you can produce and design.

What materials or processes are you interested in exploring next?
I really want to start expanding into weaving & macramé so I can utilize more textures in my pieces. 

What is the best part of being immersed in a community of artists and makers?
Pushing me forward.

Who are some of your favourite artists and makers?
François Morellet is always at the top of my list, after seeing his reinstallations exhibit at the Centre Pompidou in 2011, I completely fell in love with his light instillations, geometric forms, the simplistic patterns and grids he creates and mainly the use of constraints & rules that he sets himself. Morellet’s work is probably the main influence for my own designs and work structure.
Also my pals over at London Cloth Company are a constant inspiration, they seem to be relentlessly creating & expanding, having spent some time with them last year I realized the magnitude of what they are doing & how important it is. They are basically rescuing & protecting textile history. Try and beat that!



You can see more of Lulu's work on our website.
StudioUp is based at Islington Mill in Salford.

Callum Higgins - Constructions by CSH and Manchester Custom Framing

As you may have noticed, Covet currently has 5 main additional contributors, whose work has been carefully curated and selected to go alongside our home brand of pieces. These contributors are highly skilled makers and doers and we want to tell you a bit about them!

First up is Callum Higgins, who actually features on the Covet site as two different enterprises - Constructions by CSH and also Manchester Custom Framing.

Callum's use of materials borders on the industrial, but his carefully revised use of mediums such as concrete and OSB means that his pieces are elegant and beautifully textured, and add a really interesting element to your home.

We asked Callum some questions and wanted to have a little look into his studio at Islington Mill in Salford...

When did you start working with concrete and what draws you to it as a material?
During my final year at uni I started exploring concrete as a new material within my artistic practice. During this process I experimented a lot with different forms, shapes and functions of the material, out of which developed the concrete tea light holders and hanging lights.

What inspires you to make work?
Without giving too much away the concrete hanging lights are made using a certain everyday object as the mould. These objects are all around us and whenever I see one in an interesting shape I start to picture the potential for a new light design.

What materials or processes are you interested in exploring next?

For the past year I have been working as a joiner which has improved my wood working skills a lot. I'm interested in exploring wood work further and putting these new skills to use. Plywood and OSB interest me much in the same way concrete has, the use of a material intended for raw construction and making something  more interesting out of it. I have a few designs for plywood and OSB large furniture pieces in working on at the moment. The use of these materials has bled through into the framing as well, inspiring me to make more interesting frames as well as the more traditional approach.

What is the best part of being immersed in a community of artists and makers?
There is a lot of support being based in a community of makers like Islington mill, lots of people to bounce your ideas of off and an already existing group of people that are likely to be interested in the thing you are producing.



To see Callum's pieces for Covet, visit our website. 
Keep your eyes peeled for info on our other designers and makers.

Introductions...

Hi!

So I thought that it was time to give a little bit of background and context to Covet, to explain a bit more about what it is and why it is...

At the moment, Covet is just me... Mariel, although there are select pieces on the website that are made by other artists and designers, the site and brand is run by me.

Inspired by the wealth of creativity and productivity of the independent artists and makers around me, I wanted to create a place where people can look at and buy pieces for every aspect of their home - for comfort, beauty and unique styling. Being based at Islington Mill in Salford means that I am surrounded by people whose work I genuinely want to fill my home with, and more specifically, the way that their aesthetics all work together is very important to me. I asked illustrators Aliyah Hussain and John Powell-Jones, textile printer and upholsterer StudioUp, framer Manchester Framing Company, and concrete fixtures maker Constructions by CSH, if they would be involved from the launch, and luckily they all loved the idea! I felt like my home ware pieces and their art work and furniture would go so perfectly well together to style a home, that Covet seemed to come together quite organically.

As for me, I have a background in 3D textiles, prop making, still life styling and costume, and the need for hand made processes in my work is incredibly strong. Recently I have been drawn to a lot of Melbourne based makers and designers, and it has unleashed a use of colour within my practice that I thought had died long ago. Creating unique textiles for the home feels like a really great place to explore texture and colour together, as it gives personality and warmth to the space in your life that is the most personal to you.

For the first Covet collection, I have started from scratch with just white fabric, dying and hand painting all of my fabric, and hand making all of the trims. I really love very textural and intriguing pieces, and I also place a high importance in the skills of craft and the hand made. Because of this, it is my intention that Covet will always have this tactility and care within the pieces and the designers that are chosen for the site too.

So. Our manifesto.
The most important things about Covet, that make it what it is.

• Curating textile products, interior design and artwork together - Covet helps you style your home, not just furnish it.
• Concentrating on sumptuous texture and intriguing designs.
• Focusing on the value and importance of craft and the hand made.
• Supporting and promoting the work of inventive independent makers and designers. 

So now, go and visit our website, where you will find illustrations, hand made frames, bespoke cushions, figurines, hand knitted throws, concrete light fittings and copper framed seating all sitting alongside one another, complementing each other.

You can also follow us on instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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We are currently looking for stockists, so if you would like to stock our products, please get in touch!