Georgian Theatre Fundraiser T-shirts! 20% of the profits of our Georgian Theatre Products go back to Tees Music Alliance Charity
This T-shirt was part of a limited run during the first lockdown. Abby created it for the Tees Music Alliance as part of their fundraiser for the Georgian Theatre, one of our favourite music venues. From the start of our revamped online shop in May 2020, we now donate 20% of the profits from all the Georgian Theatre products on our webshop, including our giclee prints and postcards.
This T-shirt was part of a limited run during the first lockdown. Abby created it for the Tees Music Alliance as part of their fundraiser for the Georgian Theatre, one of our favourite music venues. Abby boldly re-imagined her illustration of the theatre as a line drawing, to create an amazing new t-shirt design depicting the iconic venue in all its glory. All proceeds went towards securing the future of the venue.
We hope to continue a supportive relationship with Tees Music Alliance, a charitable organisation operating for the benefit of musicians, their audiences, supporting industries and community groups.
From the start of our revamped online shop in May 2020, we now donate 20% of the profits from all the Georgian Theatre products on our webshop, including our giclee prints and postcards, to the Tees Music Alliance. As live music lovers, it's a small way of giving back!
Postcards and Postcrossers
As our wonderful stockists are sadly unable to sell our postcards at this time, we have made our postcards available on our website in batches of 4, 6, 8 and 12!
In our ever-digital age, let's consider the humble postcard for a moment- isn't there something selfless about them? Your grandmother had to live without the 'seen' notification we have grown so accustomed to, for better or for worse! What matters is letting someone know that you're thinking of them, and postcard is a perfect way to do just that. Besides, when was the last time you framed a Facebook message?
As our wonderful retailers Drake The Bookshop and Hartlepool Art Gallery are sadly unable to sell our postcards at this time, we have made our postcards available on our website in batches of 4, 6, 8 and 12! They are a great way of letting loved ones know you're thinking of them, and they're also ideal if you're looking for an affordable series of illustrations for your home, but you're running kind of short on wall space!
Postcards being delivered to Hartlepool Art Gallery
Postcards tell a story, and to illustrate this, we'd like to share one with you.
We were recently contacted by Markey, a resident of Seaton Carew. Enjoying a walk one morning, Markey spied a flash of coloured card skittering along the roadside, propelled by the wind. Curiosity got the better of him and, with a well-placed step, he was able to catch the curious item. It turned out to be an errant postcard; one of our Seaton Carew postcards to be precise- a little battered but no doubt quite relieved to have Markey come to its rescue.
But the plot thickens; Markey's hobby is Postcrossing, the act of sending a postcard off and receiving another back from a random person somewhere in the world. When he got in touch, we were happy to help him out with 20 more postcards- little pieces of Hartlepool to send out to Poland, Finland, Taiwan, the USA and Russia.
Whatever your plan for them might be, start your own postcard story today and check out our range.
Stockton & Darlington Railway Activity Pack
Stockton Council asked us to create a children’s activity pack for them to distribute to local schools, to educate and create engagement around the Anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.
On the 27th September 1825, 195 years ago, history was made; the dawn of the railway passenger age. Stockton Borough Council, Darlington Borough Council and a wide range of partner groups and organisations are combining forces to embark on a spectacular celebration for the Stockton Darlington Railway bicentenary in 2025.
Stockton Borough Council asked us to create a children’s activity pack for them to distribute to local schools, to educate and create engagement around the Anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, as well as supporting them in the production of an animated teaser video!
Bespoke activity packs are a brilliant, cost-effective way of creating engagement, and supporting whatever message or story you have to tell. We’ve developed several activity packs now alongside Stockton Borough Council council, to celebrate local events and history. All our activity packs are beautifully bespoke and help educate and entertain younger audiences. We happily covered the design and creation of the pack, as well as advising on some of the content and activities, but none of this would be possible without Stockton Borough Council’s passion for delivering outstanding and engaging content which champions local events and history.
The front cover design, featuring our illustration of the beloved Stockton Flyer sculpture.
We were delighted to be a part of such a creative brief, and it was great to see how passionate creatives from different backgrounds were brought together to create something special. As well as working with us to develop and design the activity pack, the council worked with writer and theatre-maker Ruth Mary Johnson on a beautiful intro for the pack...they even commissioned a unique, original soundtrack to be created by a group of exceptional emerging young musicians, via the Apollo Arts Young Music Leaders programme.
Activities in the pack ranged from a poetry competition to an engaging wordsearch, elegant paper-craft activity, and a stunning colouring-in sheet designed by our dear friend and local children's book illustrator Anjalee Burrows! We also included a ‘design a dream carriage’ competition, which we’ll be judging ourselves.
The intro page we designed, featuring a beautiful introduction by Ruth Mary Johnson.
Facts page, featuring our illustration of the clock at Darlington Railway Station.
Poetry competition, to be judged by Richard Drake of Drake The Bookshop!
The colouring-in sheet was designed in collaboration with local Illustrator, Anjalee Burrows.
A Wordsearch featuring Detective Locomo!
An activity encouraging participants to respond with a first memory of seeing or being on a train.
A paper craft activity featuring the wonderful Stockton Town Flyer on its plinth!
We had great fun delivering this project!
Perhaps an activity pack could be a great way to enhance your event, mark a celebration or engage your audience? We can work with you to develop a story or theme that fits perfectly, and seamlessly incorporate your brand and messaging.
Life Maps: A Map for Mel
Mel was looking to commission something uniquely meaningful to celebrate her Tin Wedding Anniversary, after being happily married for 10 Years to her husband, Pete…
Did you know that we can create a stunning illustrated map to celebrate your anniversary or wedding, with hand-drawn illustrations of the venues or special locations, featured on a beautiful graphic map of the area?
Mel was looking to commission something uniquely meaningful to celebrate her Tin Wedding Anniversary, after being happily married for 10 Years to her husband, Pete. Mel had spotted The Ale Trail map we created for Stockton-On-Tees, and wondered if we would be able to create a bespoke Wedding Anniversary Map for her. After chatting for a little while, we settled on the idea of creating an illustrated map of the North-East of England, featuring five locations of significance to Mel and her husband.
From Whitby Abbey (their brilliant wedding venue) to the front doors of the places they'd called home over the years, we drew each of these locations carefully from the reference photographs provided by Mel. We took extra care to try and capture the essence of each of these locations in our trademark style, before incorporating them into the overall composition.
“It is beautiful! I’m so glad I chose you...I can’t wait to show my husband!”
We always want our clients to be totally satisfied with any bespoke artwork we create for them, and that's why we always send a digital proof of the artwork for our clients to provide feedback on before printing. We were more than happy to tweak and refine Mel's Anniversary Map until she was 100% happy with the finished piece. The illustration was then printed as a one-of-a-kind Giclee, on Hahnemuhle German Etching archival paper, using fade-resistant inks. As with all our commissions, it was hand-signed and delivered first-class.
If you'd like us to create a stunning illustrated map to celebrate your anniversary, wedding, or another special moment in your life, why not get in touch for a chat?
SIRF at Home 2020
Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF) would usually be four days of live outdoor performance in the heart of Stockton-on-Tees. As 2020 is an exceptional year, SIRF wanted to create an exceptional solution, SIRF at Home...
Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF) would usually be four days of live outdoor performance in the heart of Stockton-on-Tees. As 2020 is an exceptional year, SIRF wanted to create an exceptional solution, SIRF at Home...
The intro page and first activity sheet we designed for the SIRF at Home Creative Pack.
We have so many fond memories of SIRF, (which is outstanding every year) so we were delighted to have this opportunity to produce the SIRF at Home Creative Pack for 2020. This year, audiences would be able to engage with SIRF in several ways from the comfort of their own homes, allowing people to be involved and get creative, following the activities and sharing with friends, family and neighbours.
For the look and feel of the pack, we wanted to put a fresh new spin on the exciting SIRF brand, implementing the colours in a new way. The front cover illustration depicts the iconic Stockton Town Flyer, a whimsical mechanical sculpture that rumbles to life at 1pm every day, rising from a plinth in Stockon High Street!
Activities we designed for the pack ranged from a fun salt dough modelling activity from 'Daemon or Doppelgänger', who have given millions of hours of fun and enjoyment to thousands of people of ages and abilities with their sculpting activities and performances- to Ear Trumpet, an activity by Gobbeldegook Theatre, helping people to discover the hidden music all around them such as planes, traffic and birds, to the hum of their refrigerator...all those sounds we usually take for granted!
We even got the opportunity to devise some activities for the pack ourselves, such as a crafting activity, wherein you get to build your own little Stockton Flyer standee! Perhaps one of our favourite elements of the pack was "Share a Thought", giving people to opportunity to reflect on their experience of 2020 so far, by writing and doodling their musings. These responses are to be compiled and anonymously displayed as part of a large piece at SIRF 2021.
A Postcard featuring the Stockton Town Flyer sculpture encourages people to dream of a place, real or imagined, and write the postcard out as if you are there right now! It was an absolute joy to have been able to support SIRF during this exceptional year, to celebrate and be an active participant in a festival that has created some of our very fondest memories with friends and family to date. We're really looking forward to SIRF at Home 2020, are you? See you next SIRF!
“Working with Abby+Owen has been brilliant!
At a time when communication and the way we all work has changed, Abby was flexible, personable and professional. The quality of the work produced was exceptional. The final product, whilst maintaining a stamp of their polished signature style, also represented our brand in a fresh, new and appropriate way - which is no easy task! Abby+Owen’s flexibility and ability to translate thoughts, text, images and initial vision to a final product can not be underestimated in this brief!
We couldn’t be happier with the outcome and we will certainly look forward to working with Abby+Owen again. I also wouldn’t hesitate to recommend working with them to colleagues and partners.”
Stockton Giclee Prints Available
Available to purchase on our webshop- six original giclee prints celebrating the Stockton Townships: Stockton, Billingham, Yarm, Thornaby, Ingleby Barwick and Norton.
Ever passionate about celebrating and championing the area, Stockton Borough Council got in touch. They envisaged six illustrations celebrating Stockton's Townships: Stockton, Billingham, Yarm, Thornaby, Ingleby Barwick and Norton. These illustrations were commissioned for them to gift to connections and business associates, but also to promote the Townships themselves.
The evocative "Family Group" statue, sculpted by Bainbridge Copnall, standing among scattered leaves in Billingham Town Centre.
Even in the process of producing these illustrations, we found ourselves looking at these local destinations of ours with fresh eyes. From the tranquillity of Norton duck pond to the quiet drama of Yarm Viaduct cast against an evening sky, to the evocative "Family Group" statue, in Billingham Town Centre...a testimony to art's ability to turn our gaze to the overlooked beauty in our local communities.
Yarm Viaduct cast against an evening sky.
Thornaby Town Hall.
The Old Mill, Ingelby Barwick
Norton green duck pond, on a tranquil late afternoon.
Signed Giclee prints of the illustrations are available on our shop, on beautiful Hahnemuhle fine art paper.