Here’s what the first half of my summer has looked like. It’s involved a lot of travelling outside the borders of Brighton, beaches, cycling, painting, eating ice cream and in pubs (the only safe bet to go with a dog).

Hastings:

Brighton (paddle round the pier festival):

(Owl & the Pussycat <3)

(giant plastic-bag swan)

Seaford:

Beachy Head:

Other stuff:

My dad bought me a Polaroid Pogo Two recently. Polaroid have been trying to push this as a digital version of their instant cameras since they ceased production of film, when really it’s a digital camera with a built in sticker printer, and there’s more to instant film than just the idea that you can hold the print in your hand straight away. So even though it’ll never be any kind of replacement (& I’d much prefer the production of some fully functional film for my SX-70), it’s fun in it’s own right for completely different purposes. I’ve been using it to quickly illustrate things in my diary & I’ve got some plans to do a bit of sticky public art.

Pros:

• Easy to use.
• There’s plenty of pre-set modes for different situations to help your photos come out a bit better.
• Some fun (even if a bit cheesy) settings, like colour tints and borders.
• It’s fairly small and light (285g).
• The prints are pretty cheap, if you buy the largest packs available (90) they work out at less than 15p each.
• You can use it to print out any digital image taken with any camera as long as you transfer it over to the camera and rename the file so it recognises it – the one of the dachshund in the above was done this way.
• It can double as a web-cam.

Cons:

• The internal memory is rather small, I find it fills up after about 4 photos, but it does take SD cards.
• Because there’s no viewfinder, only the screen to guide you when taking photos, it’s hard to see what you’re doing in harsh sunlight.
• The camera isn’t great quality (it reminds me of the first digital one I had – about 8 years ago), but it doesn’t really need to be for the size and purpose of the prints – you just won’t want to use it for anything you want to upload online or print larger. I’m not really used to not being able to have any control over things like focussing any more either so I have to make myself let go a little when using this.
• I’m uncertain as to how long the prints will last without fading – I couldn’t find any real numbers on this just some speculative ones that weren’t exactly high.

ps. Was this interesting to anyone? Should I write more things like this or just keep posting pictures?

Here’s a bunch more zines I’ve liked lately.

Handmaiden’s Voyage by Jen Williams (issue 1). Fun activities and craft zine with some great illustrations. I really wish more people made zines in this area.

The Gospel of Screenprinting by Brad Wenner. It’s true to the title, this guide is really in depth but easy to digest. It goes into various options, depending on how much you’re wanting to pay to start with and what you want to print. The cover is screenprinted too, which is obviously a nice bonus.

Girl Photographer by Eleanor Jane (various issues). I’d already picked up issue 2 from the first
Brighton Zine Fest and started reading her blog after that (where she posts lots more lovely photos, shares interesting links & has recently done some great articles on how to become a freelance photographer). Through a trade and seeing her at the London Zine Symposium I acquired the rest of them and they haven’t disappointed. They’re all in colour and she completely makes use of that, and reading about her adventures cannot fail to give you a good dose of wanderlust. She’s not planning on making any more so I suggest you snap up at least one copy before they go.

Lost and Found by Katie Haegele and Helen Entwisle. This is one of those zines that ticks all the boxes for me – the stories are interesting to read, I love the illustration and it’s been beautifully put together. The cover is screenprinted, the spine machine sewn and all the page corners rounded. Yum.

Today a copy of Pictorial Webster’s: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities was brought to me by Mr postman. It’s a visual reference guide with 1500+ 19th century engravings. The book itself is beautiful – as well as the contents. If you like vintage illustrations and imagery this is a must.

I know my posting has been a bit sparse of late. I’ve been busy preparing stock for the shop/fairs and hunting for a part-time second job. Here’s a few little things I’ve been meaning to update with:

♥ I’m now using Tumblr. Let me know if you have one too!

♥ I’ve also made a formspring account if you’d like to ask me anything.

♥ Dilys Treacle did a great write up of the fair I did in Sheffield a couple of months ago, Hello Amber and 365 zines have both reviewed one of my zines each, and Hello Bee and The Brighton Collective have written a bit about my work (ps. thank you).

Last week I was in the north-east and we took a drive out onto the moors, stopping off in a village cafe for some scones.

The winners for my giveaway have been picked! Apologies for the slight wait, I didn’t have chance to post before I went away for a week. The three winners should e-mail me at vickeh (!at) gmail (dot) com with your address, and your prize will be sent out asap. To everyone else who entered, I’m working out a way to say thank you at the moment that I’m sure I’ll post about soon.

Third place:

Second place:

Annnnd first place:

That’s my space above.

While I was at my mum’s house I came across a tub of loads of novelty rubbers (or erasers, to avoid confusion for Americans). Apparently she bought them at a car boot sale years ago. There’s some really odd ones in here that just make my think “WHY!?”. I do love the stationary ones above though (the peg actually works like a normal one), the little record further down, and the detail in the cute wee pack of matches at the bottom.

Here’s some photos I took of the place where I do most of my work, back in January. It’s a little different now (and a whole lot lighter!) but I thought people might like to see them anyway.

There are 3 different sets of prizes to be won. If you would like to enter just comment with your choice of print (see prints on offer here). Entries are open till April 26th, and winners will be drawn randomly from something hat shaped. International entries are also welcome!

For extra entries, you can:
- Become a fan on facebook
- Tweet, blog, or otherwise promote the giveaway

(Leave a comment telling me you’ve done any of these! You will get one extra entry for each)

First Prize:
♥ A 8×8 polaroid print of your choice
♥ A copy of each of my zines
♥ Some badges, magnets and stickers
♥ A set of 6 postcards
♥ & a felt moustache brooch and some sugary treats.

Second Prize:
♥ A 5×5 polaroid print of your choice
♥ Moustache and heart badges

Third Prize:
♥ A set of 6 postcards