Today we have the wonderful Madeline Rogers of Mibo fame with us. Mibo is a surface pattern design studio, which has produced consistantly original printed home-wares.
Borne out of a notable lack of interesting lighting on the market, Madeline’s clean, modern designs saw speedy recognition, with the likes of Habitat, The Conran Shop and Heals all stocking Mibo within what seemed like minutes. Since then Mibo has expanded its range to include wallpapers, textiles, ceramics and paper goods.
Madeline shares a day with us at her studio in sunny Hove, and gives us a peek of her 2010 calender fresh off the press! The calender and Christmas creatures can be found at Mibo Studio and all other products at Mibo.
7.30am. I start the day with a cup of tea and then a shower. After a quick porridge breakfast I scoot off to the lovely printers at Blow Up to pick up the draft prints of the new 2010 Mibo Calendar… Pretty pleased with the results, a couple of tweaks and then I will be ready to launch them on the site.
Then it’s a refreshing cycle ride along the seafront [past the beautifully restored bandstand] to my mini warehouse/studio in Hove.
It’s a lovely unit within an old mews and even though there are quite a few of these in this part of town, often even seasoned delivery guys come along saying they had never been to this one before. In the mews we have carpenters, graphic designers, music producers, metalworkers and journalists. Everyone gets on handsomely and there is a very friendly atmosphere.
The first job of the day is to check that there is still a good supply of peanuts in the bird feeder outside my window. I love watching them munch away just a couple of metres from where I sit [albeit through a window]. After a quick chat to David and Jackie from PR-Girl who share the space I crack on with packing up the online orders that have come in overnight.
I’m having a bit of a studio clear out at the moment and have uncovered some interesting bits including about a zillion print outs of designs that I have never put into production… so I spend an hour making them into gift tags with a view to having some on sale at the Christmas Open House that I host every year. Slightly in two minds whether to let them go actually – even though I have all the designs on the computer it’s so nice seeing them all together in the flesh – like a little graphic diary of the previous few years.
Lunchtime: I have a date to check out the new Brighton Beyond Retro store with my friend Emma. I try on a yellow check coat which is nice, but a touch too big.
On the vintage trip I quickly sneak into my favourite antiques place and covet this chic little 50s sideboard. Would look nice in my kitchen…
After a quick lunch [a tasty bean soup from the local deli] I decide to work at my deskspace at the print studio that I share with a few buddies. I find that I think more clearly when I’m not surrounded by lots of stock & paperwork, and today it’s time to get my PR head on.
I have some new little Christmas decorations in the pipeline and need to get them famous. I’ve taken some photos already and so spend a few hours putting together a press release to send to my short lead press contacts. Some days the words come – some days they don’t. Today is the latter, so I delay the task by making everyone in the studio a cup of tea.
The decorations I am writing about are these cute make-at-home Christmas Creatures – A partridge, polar bear, reindeer, robin and a new species I’ve invented, the ‘Chris-mouse’!
6.30pm I finally finish the press release, mail it out to some key contacts then sign off for the day and pedal up the ridiculously steep hill from the studio to my house.I am in such a low gear that, to my total embarrassment, I notice a couple of pedestrians overtaking me. Undeterred I struggle over the final hump and arrive home exactly at the same time as my boyfriend Dan, who if he’s true to this morning’s promise, will be making us mushroom risotto tonight.
Yay Mibo!
London Nights
‘Valentiny’ from Mibo!
