One of the motivations behind our new strategy was to give me more time and space for creativity, writing and design. I also wanted to be in the office on days off without it feeling like ‘work’. So over Easter my office became – a studio!
I’ve got no DIY skills, so I’m super proud of the drop-leaf table that pops up to become a standing desk. Perfect for producing, printing and playing. The record boxes on the right of the photo are packed with stuff I’ve already produced and printed. Watch this space for when they go on sale: postcards, posters, books, pamphlets – can’t wait to get them out the door to you!
The record boxes are a good place to show off the collages I did in 2018, replicating punk LPs. (In this month’s newsletter I’m giving a prize to the first person to name the four LPs you see here!)
These were part of some presentations I did exploring punk leadership. The idea was originally based on realising that the 16 year-olds of 1976 were the charity leaders of today. It started as a bit of fun, but as time goes by I see more and more parallels between the punk and voluntary sector movements. Off the top of my head:
- Disaffected, tired of being exploited
- Turning anger into energy to change the status quo
- Outspoken, rebellious, misunderstood, feared
- Independent but increasingly co-opted into the mainstream
- Creative, DIY ethos from all the above – and being skint!
Changing the ‘office’ to a ‘studio’ and making space for creativity have given me a brilliant jolt of energy this week. It’s not that different – looking in the other direction the ‘office’ part is still there. But I’m coming with renewed energy, independence and DIY spirit. Sound familiar?
Run-out groove
- My idea of what punk is comes from US bands of the 1990s-2020s as much as UK bands of the 1970s (despite the picture above!)
- It’s not very punk to argue about what is and isn’t punk 🧷
- Let me know if you want a playlist (or sign up to the newsletter which always comes with a soundtrack!)