We
are massive fans of Urban Cross Stitch and after 6 months of stalking Phil
Davison the founder, he has now given in and agreed to give us an interview.
Here’s Phil’s 10 minutes on the Couch.
Tell
us about Urban Cross Stitch?
Firstly, I am flattered by The Couch’s enthusiasm for my
work. It is an honour to be featured on your site; thank you. Urban Cross
Stitch is all about “urbanising” the classic craft of cross-stitching.
It is a revival of the traditional art form from a twee pastime to a more modern
graphic medium. The Urban Cross Stitch kits are inspired by street art and
popular culture, and contain everything required to create contemporary, hand
crafted cross stitch pieces.
What
makes Urban Cross Stitch different from any other cross stitch company?
Urban Cross Stitch appeals to a broader selection of
individuals, from the cross stitch skeptic, who adjusts his views after
appreciating our alternative designs; to the staunch traditional stitcher in
search of a challenge. It is true that we have a strong fan base of younger
stitchers who want to create pieces that they can proudly display, pieces that
make a statement and reflect the progression of modern art and our communities.
But there has also been increased interest from the more experienced stitchers
who are drawn to our more intricate creations/designs.
What do you love about cross stitch?
I love that something so simple can bring about such rich
results. Cross stitching is very therapeutic. It takes you away from the
stresses of everyday life, and at the end of it you have a piece of art to be
proud of.
Dare I ask, where do you get your inspiration from?
Libby Purves from Radio 4’s Midweek described me as "the Hitchcock of cross stitch"
because I sometimes draw inspiration from my deepest, darkest thoughts. But
generally, I am inspired by life, but whatever is happening around me. For
example, I am presently working on a few pieces inspired by all things British,
in celebration of the Queens jubilee.
Which has been your most popular pattern?
This may come as a surprise, but our most popular pattern
is the mini “bollocks” design. It caused more than a few raised eyebrows when
it was released in 2008, but it has since become a regular (vulgar) visitor to
our order books as it seems to have been embraced by the majority of our fans.
I think it is the combination of the juxtaposition of the traditional cross
stitch border with the somewhat offensive text that results in this particular
design being a cross stitch cult classic. It is also a very simple design to
stitch up and even the most inexperienced stitcher can craft it within an hour
or two.
Have
your patterns caused controversy?
It would be an affront if they didn’t! However, the
controversy is never profound and is always short-lived, as people appreciate a
bit of humour; which is precisely what the so-called controversial pieces aim
to achieve.
What’s
the deal with Blue Moon?
Blue Moon is an American beer, which has recently been
introduced to the European market. The Beer is uniquely flavoured, handcrafted,
or as they say, artfully crafted. As it is not your usual run-of-the-mill beer,
they wanted a unique, non-conformist artist to promote it. And who better to do
so than Urban Cross Stitch!
We
heard you are bringing out some new designs, what should we expect?
You can expect even more “controversy”. But in different
forms: there is a new T-shirt kit range with which you can stitch up your own
wearable Urban Cross Stitch projects, these range from graffiti slogans to
bloody stitched stab wounds, as seen in our recently released book, Twisted
Stitches..
The Couch is getting an exclusive preview of our
2012-inspired pieces. This is such a huge year for Great Britain, with the
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics, that I have created a few designs to
commemorate the occasions. These designs will be revealed to the general public
very shortly.
There are also a few more exciting projects in the
pipeline, so watch this space…..
They
sound cool where can we buy?
All
our products can be purchased directly from our website
www.urban-cross-stitch.com
Oh
we’re due for a work day out, do you have any more Urban Cross Stitch events
coming up?
In
the past two years various projects and commitments, such as releasing the
Twisted Stitches book, the Blue Moon campaign and a smattering of festival
appearances have taken up a lot of my time which has led to a backlog of new
design ideas and sketches. This has resulted in me not having much spare time
to release new designs for our loyal fans; so I am currently trying to make a
dent in that backlog and get a few new kits ready for all those itching for a
stitch of something new and interesting... Unfortunately this has had a knock
on effect and has delayed planning the next of our now infamous Cupcakes!
Cocktails! & Cross Stitch! events. But I can assure you that they haven’t
gone away, they are just presently on hold.
Ummmmm….
Are you going to come to South London too? If not, we defo need to collaborate
and bring something to the south Londoners…
Being
based in East London as we are, we have tended to stick to our own turf for
events in the past, but during the Blue Moon events we were invited to various
locations around London to entertain the masses with our cross stitching craft.
On these travels we did a few events south of the river which were awesome and
it really opened our eyes to the variety of great bars and venues all across
London.
We
would definitely be up for collaborating on a few events south of the river,
especially with the benefit of Craft Clubs local venue knowledge, so any
suggestions or ideas are very welcome.
Could
you describe Urban X Stitch in 3 words?
Unorthodox,
revolutionary fun!
Finally
do you have a joke or funny story to share?
I
would think that most of my stories probably are not suitable for public
consumption, but I will say that the last cross stitch joke I heard had me in
stitches.
Click on the box and check out Phil's book
Website: www.urban-cross-stitch.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/urbanxstitch
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