Each month we pick three things that have inspired us. From art, design and branding, to food, drink and beyond… Welcome to the May edition.
1. Mr Doodle! Museum Mayhem
Mr Doodle is famed for his black and white graphic style used to create quirky creatures and anthropomorphic forms. He describes his use of ink pens and spray paint to adorn anything and everything as “graffiti spaghetti”. Inspired by a selection of his personal sketchbooks, a new exhibition at the Holburne Museum in Bath (home to Lady Danbury for the Bridgerton fans), sees his work fill the gallery, spread across walls and even projected on to the building. Some of the Collabs’ team visited the exhibition this month.
Annabelle writes:
I loved how Mr Doodle consumes a whole space and the fact that it didn’t just stay inside the museum, but also spilled out into the city to draw people in.
Rather uniquely, as well as presenting sketchbooks and pieces of his work, the exhibition included specially created doodles that replace real life objects dotted around the museum. It felt like a treasure hunt to find them and made it really engaging.
I get the impression that Mr Doodle’s work is a real extension of his personality – it’s eclectic and playful. I also thought it was a brave and worthwhile move for the Holburne to allow the fabric of the building to become a canvas.
The exhibition runs until 1st September – book tickets here.
2. Montblanc x Wes Anderson
We are big fans of Wes Anderson, so his recent short film to celebrate the centenary of Montblanc’s iconic ‘Meisterstück’ pen caught our eye this month.
With classic Wes Anderson styling, colour palette and quirks, the three-minute film is part of a wider campaign which includes stills, a pop-up store in LA made from much of the set from the shoot, and an exhibition in Montblanc’s home city, Hamburg. There is also a limited edition pen, designed and named by Anderson – apparently, to the surprise of the Montblanc team, he arrived on the first day of the shoot with a prototype in hand! The ‘Schreiberling’, which means, ‘scribbler’ is featured in the film and is being made into a limited edition to be released later this year. There are only 1,969 available, corresponding to Anderson’s year of birth.
Unusually, as well as writing and directing the film, it also features Anderson in front of the camera alongside his regular collaborators, Rupert Friend and Jason Schwartzman. The rest of the campaign photography was captured by Charlie Gray.
The campaign oozes charm and tiny, often left-field details. Kudos to the Montblanc team for giving Anderson the creative freedom to do his thing. It works beautifully!
3. Aagrah - Indian recipes perfected in Bradford
From seven restaurants in Yorkshire to national distribution in 364 Tesco stores, the rise of Aagrah foods is inspiring. The founder, Mohammed Sabir, started selling kebabs from a cart in Bradford before realising the appetite for Indian cuisine was on the rise. Now a family run business with a product range that spans poppadoms, chutneys and naan breads, through to seasoning mixes and authentic spice pastes, the future is looking bright for the brand.
It's very recent redesign perfectly balances the rich authenticity of the brand with the bold and exciting flavours that the recipes embody. Featuring a charming elephant who is shown in a variety of poses across the range, the result is an eye-catching and interesting on-shelf display with a fun and engaging brand world. We’re looking forward to seeing how the brand progresses.
