Posted by Audrey Lee on November 2, 2010
Kluster are proud to feature a series of awe-inspiring designers selling wares at the Finders Keepers Spring/Summer Markets at Sydney’s CarriageWorks this December.
In Melbourne-based designer, Anika Cook’s label, The Gently Unfurling Sneak fashion meets art meets quirky in the most organic of ways. Her diverse collection ranges from wooden accessories to printed fabric, printed canvases and paper cuts. Anika tells us more about her designing days and her upcoming stall at FKSSM.
Covered: Starting out after uni, from Melbourne to Brisbane, absurdity and surrealism, a new range in August 2011.
Audrey Lee: Tell us a little about your design background. When did you first decide to venture down the path of producer of creative wares?
Anika Cook: I studied Creative Arts at uni but found it more fun to make strange little things in my own time - things that I didn't have to explain in reference to historical and cultural contexts! I started selling a few tees at a local design market to cover the cost of some screen printing equipment I'd bought, and just kinda kept going. Those early markets were my training ground, and I eventually branched out into accessories, other clothing and small artworks. Now I run The Gently Unfurling Sneak as a small business and also do some freelance web and design work.
AL: What can visitors expect from your stall at The Finders Keepers Spring/Summer Markets this December? Is this your first Finders Keepers stall?
AC: Looking around my studio at the moment, they can expect a mess! But I probably will have cleaned up by the market, where I'll be bringing a whole bunch of printed clothing for men and women, little wooden accessories and some brand new artworks, some printed on canvas, some paper cuts in frames, some prints. It'll be my second FK stall, I'm also doing the Brisbane market in November – very exciting! I'm from Melbourne so it's nice to travel around and see other cities and the awesome design goodies they have.
AL: Is there a common theme or focus in your designs and are they influenced by your personal style?
AC: I find that I just design things that I love – I couldn't really do it any other way. I'm very much influenced by absurdity and surrealism (too much Goodies watching as a child) so everything I make has to be a little amusing. I use a lot of old books and vintage illustrations in combination with my own drawing, which is tremendous fun, and I'm particularly fond of bright colours, stripes and surprises.
AL: What can we expect from you, post Finders Keepers Sydney Markets?
AC: I'm hoping that you'll see me at more Finders Keepers markets next year! I'm also planning to expand my range of prints and artworks, and a new range of clothing will be out August 2011. Hurrah!
finders keepers, spring/summer markets, the gently unfurling sneak, anika cook, carriageworks