Written by Nicky Getgood on Sunday, August 31st, 2008 ( One response )
Tags: Custard Factory, Fused Magazine, James Bourne, LTD Edition, Steve Rack, Sunday Flea
Today’s Sunday Flea at the Custard Factory had a different feel today thanks to LTD Edition artists selling their wares. By far the most eye-catching stall was Steve Rack’s pictured above. His cheerful pictures really brightened up the rainy day. More artists should work with wax crayons. And, because unlike some other affordable art fairs the work here was actually affordable, I managed to walk away with Mazy is a Daisy for a cool £5.00.
Also intriguing were these books on sale by James Bourne:
James bought the unopened letter on the cover in a car boot sale and, rather than opening it, created a series of work of what might lie inside. Possible contents range from the mundane to the hilarious to the heartbreaking. Apparently he’s still not opened it and is making more art around it. I really admire his willpower, I’d have had it open before I’d gotten home.
LTD Edition art sales seem to happen at the Sunday Flea on the last Sunday of the month.
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Written by Nicky Getgood on Sunday, August 31st, 2008 ( One response )
Tags: ACE dance and music, Andy Warhol, Custard Factory, Digbeth Residents Association, Filum Night, Ikon Eastside, inspiraculum, Irish Club, Irish Heritage Group, Len Lye, Melinda Schwakhofer, Paragon Hotel, Spotted Dog, Sunday Flea
It seems there’s no rest for the wicked. I’m only just back off holiday and already my week ahead is full to bursting. Here’s me diary:
- Monday – Time to get angry and shout loudly about street litter and the like at the Digbeth Residents’ Association meeting, 7pm at the Paragon Hotel.
- Tuesday – okay so there is some rest for the wicked. After a hard day’s work at ACE dance and music, I’ll get to spend the evening at home, which I’ll undoubtedly spend blogging.
- Wednesday – The Irish Heritage Group conduct their monthly meeting at The Irish Club. I keep intending to go to this and never make it, so now I’ll say I will on the internet to make it happen. I will, I will, I will. By the way, if you fancy becoming the Irish Heritage Group’s new Chief Executive, you’ve got until this Friday to hand your application in.
- Thursday – The preview of the new Andy Warhol exhibition at the Ikon Eastside The Eternal Now: Warhol and Film ‘63-’68 is at 7.00pm-9.00pm. The exhibition carries on until 19th October.
- Friday – Melinda Schwakhofer comes back to Birmingham to do Digbeth. Sounds like she fancies a visit to The Spotted Dog to check out John Tighe’s junk record-player collection.
- Saturday – back to Ikon Eastside for an evening of films by Len Lye: Individual Happiness Now.
- Sunday – Think me and Melinda may head down to Sunday Flea at the Custard Factory before exploring deepest, darkest Digbeth.
- Monday 8 Sept – Heading to The Spotted Dog at 8pm to talk Irish culture and Filum before watching a bit of high-brow telly.
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Written by Nicky Getgood on Sunday, July 6th, 2008 ( 2 responses )
Tags: Antonio Gould, CND West Midlands, Custard Factory, Dawes, Friends of the Earth, Gary Fisher, On Your Bike, One Earth Shop, Sprockets Cycles, Sunday Flea, The Electric Cinema, Warehouse Cafe, Wonderleague
The Warehouse photo by Rainer Ebert
Digbeth may be short on green leafy spaces but, like the rest of Birmingham, there is quick and easy access to the canals, so when I get a touch of the blues I can bike them away. My favourite route is a circular one, joining the Digbeth Branch Canal on Fazeley Street, carrying on into The Grand Union Canal until I hit under Spaggetti Junction. After a quick giggle at the ‘beach’ I turn back towards town on the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal, either re-joining the Digbeth Branch Canal when I hit Aston to end up where I started or carrying on into the city centre. Which is what I did Friday night to catch Blade Runner at my local cinema The Electric’s first showing on their new second screen.
Whilst I was in there some thug fiddled with my brakes so they faced the sky rather than the floor. Nice one. So yesterday morning I had to wheel it to the bike shop to be repaired.
On Your Bike on Bradford Street is the nearest, but I’ve found they can be a tad elitist. When I took my old boneshaker there for a service I got told by a rather dour Australian that my bike wasn’t worth spending any money on and I should just buy a new one, so it seems that unless you own quite a high-end mountain bike machine, they may not want to touch it. However Antonio, who owns a gorgeous Gary Fisher, assures me they’re very good.
Sprocket’s Cycles on Allison Street is a different story. They love doing up old battered bikes to sell secondhand and were always willing to tweak my old 70’s German town bike. So when I found myself after a newer model, I bought a shiny Dawes hybrid through them.
Sprocket’s is a tenant of the Friends of the Earth Warehouse, a gorgeous large red-brick building. It somehow seems idyllically back in time and whenever I go there I always feel like I’m in some middle England village rather than industrial Digbeth. The Warehouse is also home to CND West Midlands, whole food store the One Earth Shop and vegetarian restaurant the Warehouse Cafe.
The Warehouse Cafe is large, taking up the whole upper floor of The Warehouse. It has a very wholesome-hippy feel to it, with bare wooden floorboards and matching furniture, art to view and buy on the walls and copies of The Good News on the tables. Their food is quite simple but good and I can never resist a spot of lunch in there after dropping the bike off for fixing. I keep meaning to make Sunday lunch with all the trimmings there and perhaps one day I will.
But not today. Today I paid a visit to a rather drowned-out Sunday Flea market at The Custard Factory, walking away with a ‘vintage’ brolly to save me from the rain and a box of pretty cupcakes from Wonderleague for dinner. Not quite as healthy as The Warehouse Cafe’s organic fare, but tasty all the same.
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