A new day....

This is me watching the election last night in my Obama t shirt...I slept in it actually...and I'm wearing it today too, so if you come by the shop don't get too close!!!

The boys came and got into bed this morning and watched his speech to America before getting ready for school. It is such a great result for the USA but also I think for the world...my sister's in Kenya and his being half Kenyan means they take his success very much to their hearts.

The end of the Republican era is so much a cause for celebration and a President to look up to and admire feels such a novelty....and good riddance to that lunatic, Palin! It could've all gone sooooo wrong!

Wednesday 5th November 2008....where were you?

Madame x

I'm still in shock....

......at this amazing painting that Ron English sent over from America to Elms Lesters yesterday!

English is a modern pop-artist. He came to fame through pirating existing billboards, creating public artworks that inspired Shepard Fairey - one of our favourites, see previous Obey posts - amongst others. If you want to find out more go to his website here.

What's really fascinating is he uses his son and daughter as the subjects in his paintings.....
"People sometimes comment on the fact that I don't carry pictures of my kids in my wallet. I don't have to. Everywhere I go, there they are. On gallery walls in London or Japan, on billboards in Spain or New York, on movie screens in Indiana, Ohio or wherever I happen to be traveling. Since birth, they have been the subject of my art, be it paintings, billboards or whatever form my art takes at any given moment. Their participation involved weekly photo shoots that provided me with the raw material for the next week's work. Most recently, I have collected selected paintings of my kids, created over the last 10 years for a new book from 9mm Press titled Son of Pop. It's sort of an oddball family album. My children, Zephyr, 11 and Mars, 8, have been very patient with their artistic dad over the years. While I found posing for relatives' snapshots in my own childhood annoying and pointless, I can only imagine how my kids have felt, having had to dress up as Shriners, clowns or Kiss Kids for their whole lives. I always assumed they were having as much fun as me. It never occurred to me to ask them what they thought. "
...and now here he's done a painting of our kids! I'm speechless!!!!

Madame xx

You need to know....

...about some of the new spring summer stuff we have, especially my ladies overseas who keep asking for an update. So in the interests of keeping you all informed, Emma and I did possibly the fastest photo shoot anyone has EVER done, in the shop yesterday. We started outside but got rained off pretty quickly so got cosy on the floor...

First up we have the new Obey t shirts...

One of my favourites is the little girl playing with a grenade.

Disco ball is great and the t shirt is a lovely shape with a shirt bottom

"Peace" which you might have seen flyposted around the eastend around the time of Shepard Fairey's exhibition.

Femme Fatale is one of those lovely Obey faded t's which feel like you've had them for years, super cool graphics....

Proud Parents is classic Fairey, he did an enormous piece based on this at the Truman Brewery.

Lurid. Lovely.

Eighties logo on stripes, on the softest cotton tee.

Haven't got around to photographing the jewelry yet but it's already been popular, rings in the shape of sunglasses, skeleton key lucky necklaces, lockets and the like....

Madame x

Andre's back!

I'm very pleased to report that Obey is now instore!! Wait 'til you see the jewelry! The t shirts are, as usual, the best, softest cotton AND bearing the art of Shepard Fairey, who's prints might be out of the league of some of you, but at £35 for a t shirt, you can take your art for a walk instead of hiding it indoors. Anyone new to my blog or indeed who hasn't heard of Obey or Fairey might want to scroll down the left hand side and find all related blogs so you know what I'm banging on about...at the very least you've got to watch my "Obey Women" film which features madame's ladies in a lot of the new styles we now have instore.
Also, go and visit our friends at Obey http://www.obeyclothing.co.uk/ for more info.

Here are a few shots taken on the day of the shoot...




Madame xx

Director's Cut!

This is the full-length version of the trailer I posted last week! Don't madame's girls look H.O.T?! I felt priveleged to be involved in a small way with Andre the Giant's London takeover. Seems like Shepard Fairey didn't sleep much, in fact Andre and Zapatista women are now staring out from many a location, some defy human involvement, I heard Shepard telling of a near-death mission last week where the bricks he was using to scale a wall started sliding out and he realised why there were only a couple of ancient tags to keep Andre company!

Go to the exhibition if you get a chance...it's only someone with BALLS who could be like "yeah, sure, I'll fill this space the size of a CAR PARK with my art, no problem...." I think most would feel intimidated by the enormity of such a quest! Not Shepard Fairy! You can't buy anything as it's all sold pretty much but go and be inspired to follow your dream people.....

Anyhoo, the ladies:

Thanks so much to Simon, Gordon, Roams and Furlong for a great week and to Shepard for letting me lurk about with my camera pre-show, what a long way Obey has come since I was handed a pile of stickers back in 1991 on Denmark Street.....

madame x

For future presentation....

I haven't finished editing my movie but I decided to do a trailer and finish it over the weekend.....! What a week! Obey asked me to art direct a shoot of their spring/summer 08 womenswear with my "girls" which we did on Tuesday and then I got to take a peek at the work in progress of Shepard Fairey's Nineteeneightyfouria show at the Truman Brewery AND I went to the preview last night...the gallery space is IMMENSE, the show is AMAZING and there's not many artists who could make such a dramatic impression on a place of that scale. Seriously people, you have got to go to this show...i'll tell you more later but i'm just about to run out of the door to go to the official opening...as I said, here's a preview:


madame x

Keep 'em peeled!

As promised I'm doing a running-Fairey-blog! There's a palpaple sense of anticipation about the upcoming Shepard Fairey exhibition at the Truman Brewery which opens next Friday! My Obey-fan ladies have been coming out of the woodwork to get themselves kitted out for the opening night!

Here's some work-in-progress pics.....keep your eyes open around town, there may be some street art appearing....and the one-off pieces Fairey is working on for the show are looking amazing.


So get some art on your t-shirt! Haven't had time to do a proper movie but here's me, Lisa and Ima Doll slipping into a few hoodies on Saturday...


madame x

Countdown.....

Can't believe it's almost November already!!! And yes, Guy Fawkes night is exciting - especially since I plan to go to Lewes near Brighton with my sister because they know how to burn an effigy there!! In fact, as you can see from these pictures, in my family we've already started the Halloween celebrations, my friend Laurence threw a voodoo Halloween party on Sunday which was fantastic!!





But I digress....the OTHER reason to get excited is Shepard Fairey's exhibition at the Truman Brewery starting 2nd November which you have GOT to go to!!!

I've been banging on about Fairey and Obey on this blog for quite some time now. You probably know his work but didn't realise who was behind it. You've probably seen Andre the Giant all over the world in sticker form or on billboards or on t shirts and wondered who made them or what they meant....or some of the more thought provoking layered pieces that look like peeling Soviet revolutionary posters. You may have even bought a "Make Art Not War" t shirt from this very shop just because you liked the sentiment and thought nothing more of it.....now is the time to brush up on your Fairey! Here's a little clip of the artist talking about his work:

Anyway, his first solo show in London is a date for the diary...there's so much more to tell so check the blog for regular updates on the Obey phenomenan!

Madame x

The Art Blog....

What an exciting day for madame!

There was a spring in my step this morning on my way to work as I was DYING to see my new Obey installation in the dressing room!!!!! As my bad luck would have it I was over in the office with Emma doing those pesky VAT returns when Simon from Obey turned up to surprise me with his paste bucket, Andre the Giant and wallpaper!!!! (I know his tricks, he figured I'd be on his case with my camera, documenting his progress every step of the way - AND HE'D BE RIGHT!!! He's a bit like me, i.e.camera-shy!)

Here's just a detail, but the best thing about it is that it's on the inside of the dressing room door so is a treat for those who enter there to try on the delights we have on offer! I thought we needed a figure in there, just for scale you understand, never let it be said that I'm self-obsessed!

Cos clearly I'm NOT, just wanted you to see how thrilled I am - A big thankyou to Obey!!!!!

Talking of art, has it escaped your notice that there's art history being made next door upstairs at Maison Bertaux??!! Matthew Buckham's show has only been open since 28th March but what a HIT!!!
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/blogon/emerging_artist_of_the_week/Tania has transformed into art agent extraordinaire, whisking the great and good of the acting and art-worlds around the upstairs tearoom, only to leave a coffee and pastry later proud owners of a painting from art's next big thing! Sorry to name-drop but you know Turner prizewinner Jeremy Deller? Well he bought this one:

Bernard Hill and Duncan Roy (director of the remake of Dorian Grey) have bought and I saw Ralph Fiennes having a butchers yesterday, whether it was at the art or the other goodies on offer I'm not sure....!!

Teach Your Children is my favourite.
How wonderful, not only is Maison Bertaux now a boutique, it's an art gallery as well!
(Enquiries re Matthew's work to Tania Wade 07985 395079)

So you can feed your mind, your tummy and your insatiable shopping habit all under one roof!!! Doesn't get much better than that does it? See you soon friends,

madame xxx

Part 2: Obey history, Obey future....

So now to what else I've been up to this week....I went out to vist with Simon and Gordon at the Obey HQ which is a log cabin by the side of a lake (!) in a secret location! Seriously it was pretty amazing, Simon even warned me against high heels, and if you know me that's quite an extreme request! "A bit boggy" he said so I decided against suede stilettos and plumped for the eley kishimoto converse which've seen many a boggy patch....
Now, if you've been paying attention to the blog I've told you about Shepard Fairey before....he of the Obey and Andre the Giant phenomenon, which began in the late 80's on a whim to make a sticker and is now HUGE! In fact, you've probably seen his artwork even if you didn't know who the artist was, here's just a few of the pictures i've taken over the years of Obey sightings in New York....



We've been selling the women's Obey here in the cake shop, and i went to look at AW 07, imagine if this was the view out of your office window btw.....

There's a little white aeroplane in the middle of the picture taking off but you can't hear a thing, it's so ridiculously idyllic there! And a farm next door!!! Whatever next!

I was loving the collection OMG there's tattoed ladies, Obey wallpaper prints, leopard lined hoodies and the most cooolest jewelry you've ever seen, not to mention jeans to rival Cheap Monday....I've already got mine on order, yipeeee!!
This is Simon who's in charge....
....who gave up trying to dodge my camera!
And Gordon, who didn't mind at all, look how busy he is!

In the summer they go wakeboarding at lunchtime for goodness sake and hang out at the clubhouse....this is surely living! When I got back to my soho basement with no discernable fresh air and pored over the amazing book of Shepard's work "Supply and Demand"- which i'll let you have a look at if you come down to the cake shop - i thought I need to get out more, but at least i'm going to the seaside for my mum's birthday this weekend, AND my sister's back from the Philippines, AND I'm going to see Eagles of Death Metal in Southsea!!!!! Wooooo Hooooo!!! Anyway this is me enjoying the book back in Soho, I think this is going to be a big year for Fairey and you heard it here first........madame xxxx

OBEY - PEACE!!!

Shepard Fairey from Obey has been in London recently and he did this piece in Soho next to the Windmill Club which is so great, I always associate Obey sightings with New York but i love having one of his pieces just round the corner here now. It's wierd because it must've been about 1991 when someone first gave me an Andre the Giant sticker, i was hanging around a studio on Denmark St with Rokeby, i think just smoking weed which shows you it must've been ages ago cos i hate the stuff now, and another guy i met who was american had this little pile of stickers and he gave me some to spread the word....it was just this really compelling image in black and white, quite crudely done, but i thought it was great, and becuase i used to spend alot of time in New York then, i started seeing his artwork every time i went, and always had my picture taken next to it and looked out for his art pieces which got ever huger as the time went on.....I'll try to dig out some of the pictures to post up here. Anyway, when Simon from Obey offered us to sell the t-shirts i was super-thrilled and this is just a little history lesson way of telling you that on Friday we'll be getting some new Obey t's for Shop at Maison Bertaux, i'm trying to get some of the men's too but they're a bit scarce we might have to wait til early next year...sorry boys, but anyway i'll let you know on friday what we've got - CAN'T WAIT!!!! pippa xxxxx