JANUARY: KICKING IT IN LONDON

FEBRUARY & MARCH: ON TOUR WITH LORDS OF ACID

APRIL: NYC RECORDING WITH ANGELSPIT

MAY: BERLIN ADVENTURES

JUNE: LONDON… WORKING… WORKING… WORKING…

JULY: LONDON WORKING & PARTYING IN EQUAL MEASURES

AUGUST: ANGELSPIT EUROPEAN TOUR

I hope you enjoyed some of my silly adventures… Part two coming tomorrow…

Hello my lovelies!

It’s been far too long since I updated my diary. I’ve been around the world and back a couple of times, played lots of rock and roll shows with Angelspit on the All the Rage tour with Blood on the Dancefloor and New Years Day, met tonnes of fans, made lots of friends and just had a non stop insane adventure across the USA.

I literally took thousands of photos over the last couple of months which I plan to blog about properly but I thought I’d put some of my favourites up until I have a free moment to write a detailed tour diary. I hope you enjoy!

My life in London has been a complete contrast to my tour life as I’ve been working on A is for Arsenic non stop and been chained to my desk 20 hours a day. However I’m so excited that Taxidermia is finally out and I can start working on my next range.

One of the fun things I managed to get out of the house for was to go to the Bizarre Winter X-mas ball with my friends. We all dressed up in latex outfits and had a spectacularly fun time!

Thanks for reading my sweet hearts and I can’t wait to share the rest of the photos with you! I hope to be posting more regularly now that I have a high speed internet connection (woo!). Also…. please follow me on instagram and tumblr for more ’round the clock glimpses into my world.

It’s been a long time coming but I’m so thrilled to finally be able release my latest collection for A is for Arsenic London entitled Taxidermia- a modern re-imagining of Victorian mourning jewellery and apparel.

I hope you enjoy the imagery behind the collection and the stunning lookbook photographs taken by the prodigious Melissa Jenkins. I feel so lucky to be able to collaborate with such a fine team of creatives in London and luckily I know that this is just the beginning!… I feel like I’m just getting started!

ABOUT THE COLLECTION

Taxidermia: a graphic world of dark Victoriana, memento mori and macabre taxidermy. Featuring vicious yet elegant designs with a nod to the past, Taxidermia is a thoroughly contemporary art jewellery and apparel collection created and constructed in London.

Using glossy black and clear perspex, crystals and black heavy metal chain, the bold jewellery is dually dramatic and delicate with a hint of dark romanticism. With swarming flies a visual motif of the collection, the monochromatic graphic prints are a beautifully grotesque statement, bound to satisfy your morbid curiosity.

Each Taxidermia jewellery piece is fabricated by hand in London and limited to an edition of 40 with particular attention being placed on quality presentation and packaging.

The collection is available for a limited time from aisforarsenic.com

For press enquiries and interview requests contact: press@aisforarsenic.com

For sales enquires please contact: amelia@aisforarsenic.com

TAXIDERMIA LOOKBOOK CREDITS

All jewellery and apparel by A is for Arsenic London
Photography: Melissa Jenkins
Models: Sohui & Nina Kate
Hair: Ceri Cushen
Makeup: Kirka Verinen
Art Direction & Styling: Amelia Arsenic

Special thanks to all of my creative team who brought my crazy vision to life. Heart you all and can’t wait to work with you all again!

THE LOOKBOOK

I’ll be blogging a few times this week about my collaboration with Illamasqua about how the Weimar eyelashes were developed as well as a couple of product reviews of some of the gorgeous colors featured in the Theatre of the Nameless range.

Here’s a quick snap of my look for the event launch.

Still getting used to the green hair! Not sure yet if the green + red combo is too X-mas pixie? But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

A photo of the glamorous model wearing the ‘Weimar’ lashes with the bruised yet warm colour palette of the range. She’s also rocking the Kontrol lipstick.

The model is wearing the auburn blended version of the lash and I am wearing the all black sample version (not available).

A blurry close up photo of my nails. I’m wearing the new ‘kink’ colour. Also I’m drinking a fantastic rot/schwarze/gelb coloured ‘Weimar’ inspired cocktail from LVPO where the event was held.

These are the burnt auburn coloured eyelashes I developed. The lighting doesn’t show how many types of blended hair colours we used to create the final lash but I’ll post detail photos tomorrow!

Look mum! I designed those!

James from Stylenoir magazine hung out with me and looked fabulous.

So much fun to play with all of the new products that night.

Me and David Horne, the amazing brain behind product development at Illamasqua. He is a true artist! He’s even wearing Beguile on his blazer. His speech about the development of the range was very inspiring and I feel very lucky to be able to work with him.

Celebratory drinks at Garlic and Shots after the launch.

I feel so excited to finally be able to write about my first collaboration with Illamasqua and I’m literally beaming as I write this! We are already working on wonderful new products for future ranges and I can not be more thrilled about my involvement with this fantastic brand.

Stay tuned this week for more Illamasqua Theatre of the Nameless related posts (and also the launch of the next A if for Arsenic jewellery range entitled ‘Taxidermia’.

A little while back (actually some time last year!) I had the pleasure of having a creative play party with some of my favourite New Yorkers to shoot some promo photographs for my upcoming jewellery line. Steve Prue is such an enthusiastic photographer to shoot with and so much fun to be around, that even though the weather was sweltering the time went so quickly (and we managed to get some kick arse shots!)

The lovely Kristin Jackson was the hair stylist for the shoot. She is one of the most stylish people I know and has some of the coolest tattoos around (an entire Barbie sleeve!) and also happens to be a ridiculously talented hair designer. If you are in the USA you should try and catch her on the current hit show Hair Battle Spectacular on Oxygen.

For the shoot I was loaned an absolutely AMAZING corset by the inimitable designer Veritee Hill. If you’re on the lookout for a beautifully crafted custom corset she has some of the nicest and most creative offerings out there. Lastly I was loaned some super comfortable and well made latex opera gloves by Lady Lucie to complete the look.

All jewellery featured in this shoot was designed by myself and is a part of one of my upcoming A is for Arsenic ranges that will be available in the near future in a range of custom colours and studs.

Photography by Steve Prue www.teamrockstarimages.com

Hair by Kristin Jackson www.kristinjacksonhair.com

Spiky Corset by Veritee Hill www.veriteehill.com

MUA & Styling by Amelia Arsenic (me!) www.destroyx.com

Makeup provided by Miss X Aesthetic Labs (www.miss-x.net) and Sugarpill (www.sugarpill.net)

Latex gloves by Lady Lucie www.ladylucie.com

All jewellery by A is for Arsenic London www.aisforarsenic.com

Recently I had the pleasure of designing the visual identity and portfolio website for UK based taxidermy artist Bonnie Wood. I’ve been a great admirer of Bonnie’s accessories for the past couple of years so I was delighted when she asked me to design her blog and articulate her visual identity. We happen to both share a love of momento mori and vanitas imagery so I knew that I would be the right designer for her brand.

The final design outcome for the blog layout.

Inspirational Mood Board images

So that I could better understand Bonnie’s vision for her brand, I asked her to send me inspirational mood board images. From this I could see what kind of aesthetic and conceptual direction she wanted for her brand. While we were developing the brief, I knew that the outcome would be quite unique as Bonnie wanted to combine quite a few disparate visual concepts such as bright joyful colours, imagery of death and the natural world and religious iconography. The challenge would be to unify the opposing elements of the dark imagery (such as animal skulls and decaying wallpaper) with the bright images of the natural world (such as flowers and mushrooms).

Inspirational mood board images from Bonnie’s favourite artists.

Bonnie’s taxidermy art & accessories

Obviously too it was important to visually reference Bonnie’s actual artworks and creations, so I drew much inspiration from her galleries of previous work. In particular I loved how she juxtaposes typically beautiful materials like flowers and ribbons with macabre elements such as road kill, animal skulls and insects.

A few images of Bonnie’s past work featured in fashion photoshoots.

Reference images generated for the illustrations

I then did some of my own visual research and image generation inspired by the mood boards. I had to collect quite a lot of reference and source material before I could create the illustrations as I knew I wanted to create a hyperreal collage style inspired in part by Pierre et Gilles (a shared favourite artist of both Bonnie & myself).

Victorian engravings, distressed wallpaper I photographed, religious iconography and skulls from the Bone Church in Kutná Hora, Prague.

Landing page illustration

For the landing page Bonnie wanted me to use her ‘Mater Dolorosa’ self portrait as a basis for the illustration. I enshrined the portrait with natural and macabre imagery, creating iconography unique to Bonnie’s artistic practice. Overall, Bonnie wanted to have a contemporary feel to her site (not a nostalgic one), so I opted to use a clean sans serif font for the logotype to tie the graphic style to the present.

Final Blog & Portfolio Outcome

The hyperreal vanitas style was continued through the blog header illustration and throughout the site graphics as I again collaged opposing visual elements to reflect Bonnie’s unique aesthetic.

I am very thrilled with the outcome of the project as I felt I had to really push myself creatively to fulfill the needs of my client. Thanks so much to Bonnie for the opportunity to collaborate and share this project with you all. Please check out Bonnie’s site to read about what amazing projects she’s currently working on and to find out more about her art.

Greetings from Europe! I’ve just come home from the last Angelspit tour which was full of adventures, sleepless nights and great shows! I thought I’d share a selection of some of the tour photographs I came home with. Enjoy!

Flyer image of the tour featuring our lovely new members.

July 30th - Utrecht, The Netherlands at Summer Darkness

Luggage, leberwurst (nom nom…), miffy and the perfect hotel meal (bread, brie, mini salad, wine & vodka).

Crazy packed show at Summer Darkness. Love playing this festival!

Our cheerful backstage area.

Valerie and I had to show this guy how to make jaeger bombs. Weird!

Val and I at the VNV concert. Representing.

Picturesque Holland and shoe shopping at Heathrow.

A typical breakfast of croquettes in the Netherlands. Tasty stuff!

I love icecream! (*squeal*) and a picture of me with the lomo ‘diana’ camera I borrowed off my boy.

Bikes everywhere! I LOVE this red vintage one and hope to find one that looks similar for when I buy my first bike.

I love the retro looking design of the food automats in the Netherlands.

August 2nd - Budapest, Hungary at Dürer Kert

The architecture in sunny Budapest is so beautiful.

I was so sad to find the ‘ice cream banned’ sign in the ladies restroom at the venue. WHY GOD WHY!

The atmospheric corridors in the backstage area of the venue. So cool!

Zoog, Matty and I before the show.

Amazing crowd in Budapest. People came from Croatia and Vienna to see us. <3 you all!

There was a shark in the backstage toilet. Weird!

Our sunny and pretty hostel which featured a wading pool.

Day off in London

Mandatory band vodka shots at the Vodka Revolution Bar in London. I got one that tasted like copper (?)

We then ate at the most amazing Garlic & Shots (a garlic and vampire themed restaurant). Highly recommended!

August 5th - UK: Sheffield, Corporation

I always love playing this venue in Sheffield. Even if they can’t spell our name.

Presenting ANGLESPIT!

YAY! It was my birthday that day!

Amazing hot and sweaty crowd in Sheffield.

Messy backstage area.

August 6th - UK: London, Electrowerkz

Steak and Ale pie. Nom nom.

Matty warming up backstage.

Lovely London support band!

INSANE crowd in London. You guys never disappoint!

Stay tuned for the second installment of my diary featuring our shows up north, in Scotland and Ireland.

Who are you?

I’m Amelia Arsenic performer and designer hailing from Sydney Australia, now living between NYC and London. I’m primarily a designer specialising in accessory design, makeup product development and typography. I’m the founder of A is for Arsenic London, a multidisciplinary fashion brand which releases capsule collections of limited edition makeup products, art prints, apparel and jewellery. I’m also one half of industrial cyberpunk band Angelspit and we spend over half of each year touring and bringing our noise to freaks around the world.

Any odd or obscure bands/artists you’d like to recommend?

Huoratron - If you like your electronic music hard and glitchy, you can’t miss Finnish act Huoratron. Aku Raski is well known for his remixes, but his solo project is dark game boy music at its best. The video for his hit ‘$$ Troopers’ marries his signature 8bit sound and video game aesthetic to perfection. Recently he released an EP called ‘Prevenge’ which will warrant repeated listening at high volumes.

Kvelertak - If you can imagine black metal vs. rock and roll, then you have Kvelertak. From Stavanger Norway this heavy as hell metal band deliver their own merciless brand of ‘black and roll’ with savage Norwegian lyrics. Their self titled debut album is both catchy yet ear bleedingly heavy in the best possible way.

Kap Bambino - This French electronic music duo from Bordeaux are simply off the chart! I saw them open up for Atari Teenage Riot and the lead singer Caroline Martial’s performance was simply badass with her thrashy stage persona and bleached blonde hair. (I also developed a big girl crush on her as a result). A heady mix of electro and metal

Baal (Japan) - Female fronted cyberpunk band from Tokyo. Although I don’t understand their Japanese lyrics, Baal’s music is genuinely terrifying regardless and they are one of the most brutal bands I’ve ever seen perform. These grimy tattooed horror punks represent the best of Japan’s current industrial scene.

Otto Von Shirach - The first time I saw Otto Von Shirach he was opening up for Skinny Puppy in Berlin wearing a blue leotard with his underpants on the outside and a bandit robber mask. His act is a strange mix of breakcore / speedcore / IDM and is ridiculously entertaining and sonically intense. My favourite album of his is ‘Spine Serpents from Sperm Island’ which includes classics like ‘Satanic Unicorn Orgy’ and ‘Sliced Doves on Cocaine’ (a cover of Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry’). Notable exploits include an appearance on Modeselektor’s ‘Happy Birthday’ album and his work with Skinny Puppy.

Atari Teenage Riot - I’m sure everyone has heard of Atari Teenage Riot, but their new album which is out in June is monumental and had to be mentioned. I can guarantee it will rip your head open. Featuring the inimitable Alec Empire, Nic Endo and the fantastic new edition of CX KiDTRONiK- the album entitled ‘This is Hyperreal?’ lyrically deals with themes of hacker activism and freedom of information on the internet. It’s refreshing to hear that they still have something very potent to say while also delivering exceedingly powerful music with super pounding riffs, fat synths and mind numbingly intense beats.

Skrillex - I hope I am preaching to the converted here as I extoll the virtues of Skrillex, a mental combination of dark, dirty, complex and heavy electro house with demonic dubstep breakdowns. Having released an EP with an album in the works Skrillex (or Sonny Moore) is one to watch having recently completed collaborations with Korn and Benny Benassi.

What are three things that inspire you?

• Screen printed gig posters: Recently, I’ve been really inspired by screen printed show posters from the website Gigposters.com. I spend a lot of time trawling through their archives because I love how much attention and effort many designers and illustrators put into show posters (particuarly in the punk scene) and it’s inspired me to get back into silkscreen printing. As a result I’m spending so much more time on show posters and limited edition art prints because I want the events to be remembered in years to come as the posters hang on peoples walls instead of being simply forgotten as a facebook events.
• Living in big cities and travelling: I’ve been living and working between London and NYC and everywhere in between for the past couple of years and I’ve found that travelling totally broadens your horizons creatively as you are forced to intake large amounts of new visual information, meet new people and take in their stories and experience new environments and languages. It’s impossible not to find that inspiring and I totally encourage everyone to step out of their comfort zones and into the unknown.
• Berlin: I just came back from Berlin last week and felt totally re-energised creatively. It is a city that lives and breathes art and it is impossible not to be inspired by that kind of environment. The electronic music scene of New Berlin is always experimental and is constantly re-inventing itself. I’ve never visited a more creative city that’s always on the cusp of something new in the art scene.

One thing that pisses you off

One thing that really pisses me off is when I have too many ideas and not enough time to realise them all. It’s super annoying when someone does something similar before I get the chance to put my own idea out there first!

Tell me one amazing make-up tip, one hot fashion tip, and one hot website tip that readers wouldn’t have heard of before.

• Makeup tip: As a performer, I always get asked how I get my makeup to stay on, even though it can get pretty wild and hot up onstage. The best tip I can give is to invest in an eyemakeup primer, like ‘Two Faced Shadow Insurance’ which goes on before you apply your eye makeup. I can guarantee your eyeshadow will not budge, even if your band mate hits you in the eye with a microphone stand.
• Fashion tip: Wear what makes you confident and happy. Don’t feel confined by current trends and wear whatever makes you smile. Wear sequins to breakfast, ridiculously high glittery pumps to the supermarket and accessorise your heart out. Fashion shouldn’t be reserved for special occasions - it should be a big part of every day life!
• Hot blog/website tip:If you like food and fashion, Luxirare is the webzine for you. Every week a new exploration in food and fashion is beautifully photographed and presented.I also stalk designer Zana Bayne’s blog, a cool mix of NYC party pictures, design inspiration and process pictures of her designs.Lastly Stylenoir online magazine has been consistently presenting some pretty badass editorial photoshoots and keeping us informed about the darker side of fashion.

I hope you enjoyed reading some of these interview excerpts. Please buy the magazine if you can as it’s still one of the only alternative magazines in print in the UK at the moment!

Vincent Hyde vs. Amelia Arsenic (photograph by Anna Swiczeniuk)

A IS FOR ARSENIC HQ: This week, I spent all of my time working at home designing my brains out. In the photograph above, you can see one of the walls of my room decorated with strictly red, black and white objects and art.

NEW ANGELSPIT ARTWORK: I spent the majority of my week finalising the album artwork for the next Angelspit record to be released in October. Even though I had a stupidly tight deadline, I thought it would be a good idea to hand paint all of the lyrics for the booklet and track-listing. Needless to say I didn’t get much sleep this week!

A IS FOR ARSENIC LIFT OFF: I was so incredibly excited to finally be able to release my new A is for Arsenic line this week. I spent much of my spare time making swing tags, dispatching orders and lugging things to the post office. I can’t wait to see you guys in my clothes and with my art up on your walls!

GOOD TIMES AT SONISPHERE: I had a pretty rad time at Sonisphere last weekend. My boy was playing with the Wildhearts so I tagged along for a good time. Despite the rain I had a total blast, hung out with new and old friends and drank far too much. It felt great to be away from the computer for a couple of hours too!

The rider backstage was so skillfully arranged I thought it warranted a photo.

So my lovely readers… what did you get up to this week? I wanna hear all about it!

One of the most exciting aspects of the new A is for Arsenic line for me personally has been to produce a range of limited hand pulled silk screened posters featuring some of my favourite Crime & Punishment designs. For someone that is normally stuck behind a computer screen for over 10 hours a day, I relish any chance I get that allows me to be a little more ‘hands on’ with my work.

Screen printing at university was my absolute favourite subject to take and I’ve been itching to do a range of limited edition posters for a while. So I asked my screen printing extraordinare friend Simon (an extremely talented illustrator and designer!) to help me print a run of my ‘ballgag’ and ‘murder’ designs. Simon works as a technician at the amazing Print Club London, which is a space in East London where designers can print their own work.

The advantage of screen printing is that you can print onto a variety of paper stocks using a wide range of pigments which can really enhance your designs. I was so excited to be able to print on metallic silver mirror card and use gold pigment for some of the prints (which would normally be quite costly for regular offset printing). Although it can be very challenging printing on these unusual materials (e.g. it’s super hard printing on the silver mirror card), it’s such a fun and rewarding experience to see the image materialise in front of you. It’s also a very satisfying experience to be able to have a physical connection to the materials and colours instead of simply sending a file off for print as I normally would.

Gold pigment print on black paper

Black and white print on silver mirror card

White print on black paper

Black and white print on grey paper

Behind the Scenes Photos at Print Club

Thanks so much to the uber talented Simon for being a fantastic printer and friend, helping me bring my designs to life. YAY!