Art | Pok

Sustainable interior design is one of the biggest trends on the internet right now and shows no sign of slowing down. Best friends, housemates, and business partners, Deanne Jopling and Denisa Kreitzer have been reviving beaten-up furniture with a touch of their artistry, getting well behind a movement which provides a viable alternative to an industry guilty of encouraging overconsumption. With a basecamp in Leeds, the couple have built a relationship with the community, enabling them to give back to those who make such ventures possible. We met up to discuss @DOUBLEDEECOR and all things interior.

There are certain practices and factors that will make furniture sustainable. Sustainability can come from a product being recycled, crafted from materials with a previous life and given new from as a piece of furniture. Denisa outlines this process “We start looking mainly on Facebook market place. We’re part of a few online groups that give stuff away for free or friends sometimes find something, even just stuff we find in the street can work. When we’ve sourced the item then we have a think about how to paint it; inspiration comes from looking around, online, in design books we’ve got, or sometimes it just comes to us, then we paint!”

Deanne: “We collect paints from Seagulls Reuse in Leeds and places like this. It’s all recycled paint. We try to make everything that we do reused and recycled so there’s not as much of an impact on the planet. It’s a lot cheaper as well hahaha.”

For DOUBLE DEECOR this method of up-cycling items works well, they can gather the pieces for free or at a significantly cheaper price, this always has a positive knock on effect for customers: “we want everything to be affordable for people, especially in these times. We do commissions for people if they message us with what they want. It has been really fun for someone to say they want a piece in a specific style or to have a specific design on. It makes it really interesting, and we love doing them. It breaks us away from our comfort zone, which is great. We source the furniture ourselves or they can send some to us. Then one of us works on something at a time, always kinda collaborating with ideas you know, bouncing stuff back and forward.” One potential commission piece in the works is a park bench design for the Leeds City Council. Awaiting the verdict on the competition, the bench would be a way for the twosome to have a lasting body of work in public and would provide the pair with the opportunity to give back to a community that has helped them get to the stage they are at today.

The style of their up-cycled range draws on the spirituality of nature. The bold lines and colours contrast the imperfections and darkness of the wood to create a piece with a story. Deanne uses her photography experience to compose photo shoots of the pieces, showcasing their work online through Instagram. She transforms the furniture further, giving photography a space for expression. Deanne tells us “This collaboration and learning process means that we teach each other, which is the best part about it. Working with a friend it really utilizes our skills and it’s really chilled out as well.” The attachment the pair expressed towards each piece is emphasised in its display. Ultimately, the photos could be taken on a Motorola flip in a back ally in Hyde Park and their furniture would still make its way into homes.

Many businesses, particularly independents, have suffered due to the Coronavirus. DOUBLE DEECOR was established prior to the blurry days of the first lockdown, holding strong concerns on how well their products would sell. Denisa highlights those initial reservations “We were like ah no, no one’s going to buy anything, everyone’s gonna be skint. Surprisingly, we’ve sold a few bits which is great! DOUBLE DEECOR gives us both a platform to put our artwork out. If people buy it then that’s an added bonus and if not we’ve got some really cool things in the house”. Deanne: “I think it’s really nice as well because people are really wanting to support local business’ and people have the time to look for their local business. Also from our standpoint, we’ve had loads more time to sit down together and actually plan, draw, and design the furniture.” A glance at their catalogue leaves people scrambling for their phone in search of the DOUBLE DEECOR Etsy page. The duo dream of a van to replace the struggling Toyota Yaris currently used to deliver and pick up furniture. A change that would open up the possibility of setting up shop at markets and car boot sales.

There is an identifiable fingerprint in the paint with DOUBLE DEECOR. The history of each piece embodies the character and charm of both Deanne and Denisa. The artists have pushed themselves to provide a product that inspires others, replenishes the resource pool we share as a society and having fun in the process. As horrible as the pandemic has been, it is also a blessing in disguise for a lot of people, giving them time to reflect and reassess their desires. Be sure to show some love to DOUBLE DEECOR through their socials and keep an eye out for any lonely furniture for them to save.

Dream Collab?

"Ian Snow. To have our furniture on their site would be amazing, they are all fair trade and reused furniture. Early on this was a big inspiration for us."

Artist’s people need to know about?

Deanne: "Heleena, she's a tattoo artist who also sells the most beautiful prints of her illustrations (@heleenatattoos on Instagram). Yvette Earl, she's a super talented illustrator from toon who mainly sells prints of iconic places around Newcastle (@yvetteearlillustration on Instagram). Julia Hariri too, she creates beautiful prints based on nude women, I would love to collaborate with her on some furniture (@juli.hariri on Instagram) and Lucas Rise, a huge inspiration to our work, he creates decorative furniture with unique patterns"

Denisa: "Depho, who is a Street artist, Tom Cutts and Natassia Wild are great tattoo artist. Julia Pomeroy is a crazy Painter. Also Emma Black, Alycia Rainaud and Melly, all of them are super talented."

If you were a biscuit what biscuit would you be and why

Denisa: "Bourbon, because they’re cheap, easy to get but they taste incredible…"

Deanne: "Not a fan of biscuits so Sensations, lime & coriander."

Animal Hybrid?

Denisa: "Body of a panther with colourful parrot wings and the brain of a dolphin."

Deanne: "Tail of a dolphin, wings of an eagle and the brain of a donkey."

Insta: https://tinyurl.com/y8u6qgld

Etsy: https://tinyurl.com/yalr85f2

PoK

21.12.20

Marnie Moody creates art that leads you into staring. The longer you stare the more gripped you become, leaving the viewer with a ‘Where’s Wally’ sense of visual stimulus. Her creativity is illustrated throughout each of these graphic-heavy pieces with a distinct style and theme crossing the borders of each piece. Marnie spilled some ink on what it’s like being a talented artist in this current climate and how she got to where she is now.

From growing up in Watford and studying fine art at college, followed by moving to Leeds and continuing her studies at a higher level, Marnie’s passion for art only strengthened. “I have been interested in art for as long as I can remember. I’ve still got some portraits that I did when I was like six. I was only really interested in music & art; the more ‘academic’ studies really didn’t interest me. I decided to pursue what I was passionate about and hoped that got me somewhere.”

Marnie dives into those moments that are often left unobserved or without awareness of our surroundings. This focus on the interactions of people and their personal moments are the themes that drive Marnie’s work, from a calm ride on the tube to a poolside moment of contemplation.

“People having moments of reflection, without sounding too cheesy, is what I try to capture. Not focusing on any particular person, it’s more a feeling or moment within someone’s life. It’s definitely more about the atmosphere or mood within a place; a situation opposed to the physical appearance of a person.” The pieces beg for multiple takes to really appreciate the entirety of the artwork. You are drawn into the person’s facial expressions and body language, helping to echo the wider interpretations of the piece.

“The process behind creating a piece with both personal and commission work is I first try and get as much detail as possible about what the piece is going to be or trying to be. After that, I will collect as many photos and pictures as possible for reference. Because I won’t base my art on one image, it’s multiple that all feed into it, I think this is the most challenging thing. Early on you have things like light or shadow to be thinking of. So I’ll make up a composition with all these sources beforehand and from there add bits of detail on the computer. It’s a lot of planning and editing even beforehand.”

Marnie’s style was not always like this, developing in her second year at Uni. Until this point, she would only create hand-drawn pieces. Feeling a bit lost for direction with work, as any great artist finds themselves at some point, she began to create more block colour silhouette drawings. With a bit of advice from her lecturer at the time mentioning that these drawings would translate well with more digital graphic art; Marnie’s new style was birthed. “I kind of thought about this but didn’t really act on it until I started getting cover commissions. In my first few I would draw them out, scan them in, and put them into an app on my phone to colour over them ahah. It wasn’t until I began to get a few more covers that I thought maybe I should start to learn on (adobe) illustrator. From then on I have just used Illustrator for my work.”

With social media now being the dominant way for many creatives to get their names out there, it has become crucial for reaching out to clients and securing commissions. Sites such as Instagram are (whether we like it or not) pivotal in doing this, with the ability to share an instant portfolio with the world. “All commissions I make are from other artists sharing my work. A lot of musicians will see that and a handful of them will reach out to me. So yeah, if it weren’t for social media then I definitely wouldn’t have as many, if any, commissions coming in. Through digital word of mouth, Marnie has reached out to plenty of artists and has been recognised by many. This relatively new form of free advertisement allows anyone and everyone to rub noses with each other no matter how experienced, talented or big belly’d.

For Marnie and many other artists working today, there is an incredible amount of resources for showcasing work to the general public and potential benefactors. This transcends to all forms of the arts but with this ability comes the chance of being buried in the endless abyss of the online stratosphere. It is shown in artists like Marnie who keep working and creating, that they are on a journey towards the recognition they want and deserve.

MARNIE MOODY X POK

DOUBLE DEECOR X POK

DOUBLE DEECOR X POK

DOUBLE DEECOR X POK

DOUBLE DEECOR X POK

DOUBLE DEECOR X POK

DOUBLE DEECOR X POK

Marnie Moody x pok