HEDZ Creative Open Day Success!

As you may have read in This article on The Birmingham Press website, Furore PR recently organised an educational creative arts workshop day hosted by the fabulous creative arts and design organisation, Hedz.



Held on Monday 21st March, at Zellig; Birmingham’s newest creative hub for arts and culture, the event brought together schools and children from across the Midlands to participate in a range of engaging workshops teaching creative drawing, aerosol art, oil painting and DJing (hosted by three times world champion, DJ Switch!)     



Aerosol Art workshop with Hedz' Stuart Styles and tutor Stephen White

 Over the past ten years, Hedz have become leaders of youth engagement workshops for art and creation in education across Central England. They work with schools and colleges, helping to educate young people through the creative outlets of art and music. Not only have Hedz founders created a diverse range of inspirational workshops that engage young people in artistic development, but they also illustrate the importance of community values and team-work, through fun creative activities.

The creative open day event featured tutorials from Hedz founders Miles Hesketh and Stuart Styles, alongside fellow aerosol artist Stephen White and inspiring demonstrations from the regions most creative individuals, including Popbang Colour artist, Ian Cook. Ian has become famous for the artwork recently shown on ITV’s Daybreak which is done using a remote control car ran across the canvases- a novel method that produces amazing results!



Popbang- Ian with some of his unique work

Ian Cook from Popbang colour explaining his unique artistic methods

Voiceover artist Marc Silk, who you'd recognise as the voice of Scooby Doo, Johnny Bravo and US Bob the Builder also taught the children how to do authentic Scooby Doo sounds!  You can't say the day wasn't varied!
 
The workshops held at the creative open day weren't just about having fun- they encouraged children to work together, expand on their social and teamwork skills, whilst giving them the opportunity to gain new abilities in areas that they would not necessarily be exposed to in a traditional classroom setting.
 
 

 
The event received local support from Costco who provided food for the school children and staff that attended, including an amazing feed-the-five-thousand iced sponge cake- a Furore PR fave! Also a massive thanks to the Custard Factory's Zellig who provided the perfect creative space for the workshops to take place.
 
Specialist Crafts, the UK’s biggest supplier to education, sponsored the event providing all the art supplies used on the day, so the children had a huge range of canvases, paper, pencils and art supplies to get creative with, and also a massive shout out to photographer Jack Gibbs is in order for all his fantastic images.

The creative day also allowed schools to gain access to industry professionals who understand the benefits of working with young people to improve their prospects within education and employment.
When asked about their thoughts on the event, Miles and Stuart, the Hedz maestros said “We were very excited to be able to extend our current service, thus engaging various groups of young people who may not have previously interacted, and uniting them in a common creative cause.”

You can find Hedz on Facebook, Twitter (Hedz_Art_Music) or sign up to their newsletter via the Hedz website: http://www.hedz.ltd.uk/

Hedz Ltd- More than your Average..

Hedz Ltd is a creative arts and design organisation with a difference. They thrive on stimulating creativity through tuition and workshops but using cool art forms like graffiti, breakdancing, DJing and clothing customisation.

Aerosol art has not always been considered a legitimate art form, but with prominent graffiti artists like Banksy storming the nation the times are a-changing! Birmingham’s street art scene is fizzing with talent, from the award-winning spiritual aerosol artist, Mohammed Ali (a.k.a Aerosolarabic) to those battling at Secret Wars and the work showcased in shops like Kings Heath’s ‘In A City Arts’ and the Custard Factory’s ‘Bench 504’ . You only need to have a wander round Digbeth’s Eastside to see that the street-art scene is quietly booming. Aerosol art has gained a huge following but it has become much more than street graffiti, and is being used in novel new ways to benefit communities.

Miles Hesketh has turned his passion for street-art into a successful career, co-founding Hedz Ltd alongside Stuart Styles in 2003 while still a Birmingham University student. Then the focus was on event management and promotion; they launched Birmingham's award-winning and legendary hip-hop music night, 'Heducation' at rave-worthy venues including the Custard factory, the Rainbow and the HMV Institute.

In the ten years since its birth, Hedz has grown into a creative arts and design organisation with its finger in many creative pies. They run youth engagement workshops on everything from aerosol art to breakdancing, DJ-ing and clothing customisation; encouraging children to tap into their creativity in cool ways that appeal to the street-savvy kids of today. Their projects have included collaborative murals, transforming vandalised bus shelters and even skate ramps.
 

 

 

Their ethos is that learning doesn’t have to be academic, and Hedz are one of a number of organisations working with schools to promote creativity and change people’s perceptions of aerosol art. However, Hedz are also a successful commercial venture, as they often produce commissioned artwork and marketing material for local and national brands that need a little extra pizzazz. From the Custard Factory’s weekly Flea Market mural to a customised charity pair of jeans for the Bull Ring Bull in Birmingham, they’ve also worked with multi-national companies; creating bespoke artwork for Virgin’s first-class lounges, designing murals for the set of a Walkers Crisps advertisement and even customising clothing for Britain’s Got Talent!

Miles has a varied creative background; from graphic design to DJ-ing to teaching music and art. His advice for others looking to start a business from something they love? “If you’re passionate about something, you can turn it into a fulfilling career. Just believe in what you do, seek good advice, research the market, your competitors and where there are gaps. A dream is only a dream if you don’t have a plan."
For further information visit http://www.hedz.ltd.uk/, or find them on Facebook or Twitter!

New Posts over at Koreesa Blog

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Harvey Nic's SS11 Fashion Show

Furore PR girls Stacey, Nicola and Steph (L-R) hit the fabulous Harvey Nichols Spring Summer 2011 fashion show this week, and thought we'd share their takes on the new season trends with all you Furore Style fans!

Champagne in hand we were led to the VIP front-row seats right by the red-carpeted catwalk, where we found our goodie bags (including two bottles of Harvey Nichols wine- yay vino!)

The event was introduced by store manager Kevin Breese as a live DJ played some cool tracks. Then the models (male and female as the Birmingham Harvey Nic's caters well for both) showcased each new season trend.

Kevin Breese- Store Manager

First up- 70's Glamour

A huge trend for SS11 harks back to the time of free love and hippy chic. These flared jeans were a key player, often teamed with tailored shirts, and the models' huge crimped hair as done by celebrity stylist Royston Blythe channelled the 70s vibe effortlessly. Flashes of red sole were the order of the day (Mr. Louboutin you genius) as were chunky wedges- great with the flare.



J Brand Love Story Bell Bottom Jeans, £210



Next up, the delicious male models (more on them later!) showcased Trailer Trash and  Summer Rock- - mixed distressed denims with stud detailing were worn with white Converse or Toms slip-ons and casual T-shirts were paired with nude trousers and shorts. Coloured hoodies were an easy-to wear take on male colour blocking- another huge trend for SS11.

The colourful variety of Liquorice Allsorts was the theme of the next trend.

This was colour block at it's best- vibrant jewel-toned dresses like this blue Paul Smith number...  are an easy way to hit the nail on the head, but the trend can also be done using brightly coloured accessories (see our other blog post on the Vogue and Selfridges SS11 Trend report here...)

Paul Smith SS11



Jimmy Choo SS11

Swimwear and Beachwear was the theme of the next collection- Bare Necessities and Beach Bums. Cue hot semi-naked male models and sashaying bikini-clad ladies which caused a bit of a stir in the audience! For obvious reasons it was difficult to focus on their clothing, but bright colours, clean whites and flirty ruffles were the basics, plus quirky trilbys, floaty katfans and stunning floral cover-ups.





Desert Queen saw a distinct colour pallate of khaki, camel, nude and beige plus animal prints and stacked bangles. Think fashionista on safari and you've got it! A sporty practicality came through from the vests, cropped cargo trousers and flattering draping, but the glam factor shone trough in killer heels and hot sunglasses. I personally loved these awesome Camilla Skovgaard sculpural heels...

The men looked sharp in Dolce & Gabbana's sleek SS11 colllection- think high-end sportswear with polished accents like metallic thread and the D&G metal logo to the left back pocket.

Next up- Florals. Always a winner for Spring/Summer, my personal favourite from the show was this glorious Roberto Cavalli silk dress, shown here at two different fashion shows- Milan and Birmingham...

The next two sections were Soft Tailoring for the boys- sharp dark suits and subtle texture softened with funky T-shirts, rolled-up sleeves and lighter trousers, and Clinical Elegance for the girls- white, white, white!

The final collection was Night Crawlers- men about town looking dark, delicious and dapper! Shiny pointed shoes and a sneaky bit of sparkle or decadent velvet added a shine to the dark palette.

All in all a great night (though no canapes this time- Selfridges you get a brownie point for that!) and we are looking forward to getting stuck in to the new season fashions!