This week’s Londoner is Kate Higginson, Director of Print Club London in Dalston. If you like art, you’ll like this…
First up how long have you lived in London, where and why?
Im a Londoner born and bred. I grew up in Greenwich south east London, before moving to chelsea at 21 to go to Chelsea art school for my foundation. I did my degree at Central St Martins and moved to east London when I started there, I’ve been living in Mile End near Victoria Park ever since. I love it! I have a son and its perfect, we can go to the parks for him and have lunch at some of the best cafes London has to offer. The Pavillion in the park is our favourite. It’s nice still being east with a family as you don’t feel old! You can go to the gallery openings, we take our son, and enjoy the east London scene but it also offers a huge park and things for our son to do. Plus the childhood museum in Bethnal Green is one of the best places to take kids on a rainy day.
Tell us more about the Print Club?
Print Club is a members screen printing studio in Dalston. WE set up 7 years ago with the aim of providing workspace for people to rock up on their bike, and print till their arms get too achey! We provide all the equipment and machinery and members bring their own screens and ink. The studios are open 24 hours a day 365 days a year. And lots of members do work the nightshift! its always busy on a friday night around midnight with people working away and loud music to keep them going. Alongside providing space to work we sell the artists prints online in our gallery. We also curate exhibitions with institutions such as Somerset House and Film4 and our clients range from Soho House, Stella McCartney to Disney. We work with some really exciting brands and are lucky to be growing year on year.
Impressive! Who is your favourite print artist?
Old school would have to be Peter Blake, my dad has a few of his screen prints from his Alice in Wonderland Series and they always inspired me. I haven’t worked with Peter Blake yet but we work with his daughter Rose Blake who is equally as talented, hopefully one day I will get to work with Peter! A current print maker would be Joanna Ham who is one our members, she creates the most beautiful female fashion portraits using a photogram technique which is then screen printed.
Where are the best art galleries in London?
Cork Street is a great one. My Mother in law is a sculpter and exhibited there when i first met my husband (who is also our MD at Print Club, Fred Higginson and a printmaker MOL) and that was the first time i really noticed the galleries along it. The exhibitions change frequently and the work on show is always really different. Fred is a sculptor like his mum so we tend to gravitate towards sculpture exhibitions when we’ve seen too much screen print. It also encourages you to look at screen print in a different way too. A lot of Fred’s screen prints encompass an element of sculpture so its good to go and get inspired. Albermarle Street is great too. The galleries always look a little daunting and empty but its worth going in as the curators working have plenty of time and are always keen to give you a tour so you find that actually you learn more than if you go to the a big gallery. Oh and Hauser & Wirth, incredible space! its one of my favourites i think – its a short walk from Cork Street.
Finally what would your perfect day in London be?
Brekkie at the Wolsey, go early and get the eggs Benedict. Im a Benedict connoisseur and its the very best. Nip into Fortnums for a chocolate treat after then walk up Albermarle to a few galleries and maybe Dover Street. Shopping at Selfridges and then i walk back down Bond street to St James park, its so pretty and often quiet. Walk up the Mall and lunch at the ICA and a quick mosey around. Then walk into Trafalgar square. My dad told me the best bit of London trivia. As you walk through the arches at the end of the Mall on the left hand arch as you drive through look up and about 6ft off the ground is a brass nose on the right hand wall! its a copy of Nelsons nose apparently. I love it! Every time i walk past i smile, and I always tell friends that are visiting the city to find it. Its just stuck on the wall, so random. Finally dinner at J Sheekey. Don’t go to the restaurant, sit at the oyster bar. Fish pie is the thing to order. The young boys that work behind the bar are super friendly and often Londoners so tap them for info! I usually end up back east at Shoreditch house but if we fancy a really good cocktail the restaurant and bar at the Town Hall Bethnal Green does cocktails that are the best in the world!! And the bar is beautiful too.
Sounds like a cracking day to use! If you wanna check out the Print Club London hit up the website.