MIXITUP.CO.NZ'S CHRISTINE YOUNG

'I'M NOT TELLING READERS TO WEAR IT. I'M JUST PUTTING IDEAS OUT THERE"

CHRISTINE YOUNG RUNS THE AUCKLAND BASED FASHION, BEAUTY AND MUSIC WEBSITE MIXITUP.CO.NZ
ME:HOW LONG HAS MIXITUP BEEN IN EXISTENCE?
CHRISTINE YOUNG:Coming up to its 5th Anniversary this August 09…
ME: WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START A WEBSITE?
CHRISTINE YOUNG:I thought of the idea when I couldn’t sleep one night (which was a regular occurrence in 2004 for me!) I am kinda geeky (I used to be a TV Editor), knew my way around a computer and of course loved fashion and beauty, so the idea was born. There wasn’t anyone doing what I wanted to do at the time – which was focus on how to look good on the cheap – which was the site’s original ethos. I guess in 2004 a lot of woman out there still thought that it took a lot of cash to look good. Oh how things have changed…
ME:DESCRIBE YOUR WEBSITE...
CHRISTINE YOUNG: Really in a nutshell, the website is me. I only put on what I would wear myself, beauty products I like and music that I listen to. It’s really important to me that I stay that way as it sets me apart from all the other fashion websites out there. I don’t want a site just full of re-hashed press releases and social photos. Good writing is also important; I am a stickler when it comes to grammar! I am also very fussy about the look/style and layout of my site. I have two great writers who have a good understanding of what I want and keep with the image I want Mix It Up to have. My site has grown and changed a lot over the years. I now include things that cost more than I used to, my current obsession is Twilight, so I recently did a Vampire-themed spread, which was extremely enjoyable to work on!

ME: MIXITUP HAS A FRIENDLY PERSONAL RESPONSE TO FASHION, BEAUTY AND MUSIC. NO FASHION FASCISM IN REGARDS TO TELLING PEOPLE WHAT TO WEAR?
CHRISTINE YOUNG:Yes…and that has always been on purpose. I can’t stand these ‘what’s hot & what’s not’ & ‘up & down’ columns. I mean, really, whose business is it to tell you what’s cool and what’s not?! Not mine that’s for sure. I only put on my site what I like & find interesting, I’m not telling readers to wear it, I’m just putting ideas out there and if people like them and take inspiration from them – then I am happy.

ME: ORIGINALLY THE WEBSITE WAS ABOUT A MORE BUDGET ORIENTATED APPROACH TO FASHION AND BEAUTY. HAS THAT CHANGED?

CHRISTINE YOUNG:Yes, as I mentioned above – times have changed, only a few years back it was possible to walk into a vintage store and come out with some amazing, original 1950’s dresses for $60 each! Sadly, but also on a positive note, lots of people have cottoned onto vintage & cheaper ways to look good. Woman that would have never visited a chain store, now do and are actually proud to get a bargain. If something looks great on you, it now doesn’t matter if you got it from Karen Walker or Supre. So I guess I have grown with the idea that people are buying their clothes high and low end now, so the site is in line with that.

ME:YOUR FAVOURITE LABELS/STORES AND BEAUTY BRANDS?
CHRISTINE YOUNG: I have a very weak spot for my friend, Lara Parker’s store in Newmarket. She almost does two looks when she designs – a colourful, fun girl and then a darker, slightly gothic woman. I love the latter! I also like MADE, down on Customs Street, for all those preppy French labels – Lacoste, A.P.C and of course British label, Luella Bartley. I have a few things from Meadowlark Jewellery on my wish list - I am obsessed with what they do! I’m always on the lookout for a new, soft, well-cut t-shirt – I like the brand Somebody by Natalie Wood. Lee’s high rise jeans have been a staple for a few years too. My wardrobe has always been nearly all vintage, right now I’m trying to introduce some new clothes in there! I just brought two new winter coats from Ruby. I guess I am one of those ‘classic with a twist’ girls.

As far beauty & skincare goes I am a bit of a product slut. I’m always trying new things that hit my desk. I like Clarins skincare – it just seems to suit my skin. Prevage eye & night creams are amazing. I like M.A.C foundations & powders, Revlon & NARS lipsticks, L’Oreal do great mascaras and my saviour, Lucas’ Papaw Ointment for everything! I feel extremely spoilt as far as all the lovely things I get sent to try (and write about).

ME: WHERE IS THE WEBSITE GOING?
CHRISTINE YOUNG: The site has spent the last few years being quite ‘underground’, which in some ways I like as it’s like a little secret or a club for those who like what I write about. But obviously your site has to have lots of visitors to make money! So my website is in the process of being exposed to a lot more readers now – since I became one of flossie.com’s publishers. Where do I want my site to go? I want to be able to write all day, every day – which is what I love – and not have to work a full time job on the side, which is what I do now.

ANDREW TIDBALL.

"... BASICALLY I GET TO MAKE A LIVING FROM LISTENING TO MUSIC"

ANDREW TIDBALL RUNS AUCKLAND BASED MUSIC WEBSITE CHEESEONTOAST.CO.NZ, HE ALSO DJS, PRESENTS RADIO SHOWS(FLEET FM AND GEORGE FM) AND CO HOSTS "EAVESDROP" ON ALTERNATE WEDNESDAY NIGHTS AT THE WINE CELLAR, ON K ROAD.

ME: WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE YOU WERE "CHEESE ON TOAST HEAD HONCHO GUY?

ANDREW TIDBALL:I was a team manager of 12 staff at a government department working my way to an early grave doing a job I hated, actually.

ME:WHY THE NAME "CHEESE ON TOAST"?

ANDREW TIDBALL:It actually comes from a line in Witness by Roots Manuva "I sit here more contented then most eating my cheese on toast" but also just simply, I wanted a name that didn't really mean anything but was something easy for people to remember and everyone loves some cheese on toast after they get home from a late night at a gig don't they?

ME: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE WHAT "CHEESE ON TOAST" IS?

ANDREW TIDBALL:I dunno, fundamentally it *is* just a website. But I get jokingly stroppy when people mistakenly call it a blog. No disrespect to blogs;(ME: GLAD YOU ADDED THAT!) there are some really good ones. But Cheese on Toast is not a blog. Somehow I seem to have become almost synonymous with the website, so things that I do now, seem to be branded Cheese on Toast as well - which is great. I'm really proud of the site and being able to use it as a vehicle to do some really awesome stuff, like recently putting on that gig for Amnesty International and raising $6300 for them! That was pretty cool.

ME: YOU DJ AS WELL...

ANDREW TIDBALL: I do a residency at Cassette which is kinda targeted at the 'travelers community' - which I'd say some people might think is not very 'cool' or whatever, but I really enjoy it - its' good fun.For me club DJing and, say radio DJing are quite different kettle of fish. DJing at a club or a party, for me, is all about getting people to dance. It's perhaps a cliche, but truly, watching someone dance to their favorite song is one of the best things in the world - and when DJing a club and party and you bust out a track and you can hear an audible whoop of approval - that's freaking awesome. Also, obviously, there is a great satisfaction when someone comes up and asks you the name of a track you were playing that they hadn't heard before - like you're managing to spread the love of new music with people.I co-run QUAY STREET SOCIAL CLUB with my dear friend Bex and we both have a DJ ethos of "bringing the mofo'ing party" - music, when DJed at a club should, I think, be principally about having fun - so yeah, in that environment it's about playing fun party tunes - one's you love, or didn't know you loved till just then!I like to mix up styles and genres in a DJ set - like little journeys, taking you from old-school rave a la The Prodigy to the latest track from, oh I dunno, La Roux, to some hip hop, to The Strokes to James Brown and back again. I'll even drop Lady Gaga if the mood is right! I co-run a 'sit-down and appreciate new music club night' called The Eavesdrop too - which is really awesome for sharing new music. My favorite story from Eavesdrop is the time when this couple came along quite randomly and had no idea what they had come to, and perhaps seemed a little skeptical of us - let's just say that they seemed fairly conservative, but they gave it a shot. Anyway, they won a prize (we give prizes away of what you're listening to) of a copy of a Sigur Ros album. They came back the following fortnight with the widest smiles and thanked my friend and I for the prize and introducing them to Sigur Ros - they said that they had spent all week tracking down everything they could by Sigur Ros and that the music 'had changed their lives'. That was incredible. I'll never forget that and how happy that made me.

ME: BEST THING ABOUT RUNNING CHEESE ON TOAST?

ANDREW TIDBALL:It's an absolute honor to be doing it every day and to be making a living from it (albeit, perhaps to some people, a modest one). I can say that, basically, I get to make a living from listening to music. Everyone says you should make a career doing something you love, but really, how many people are that fortunate. I consider myself very fortunate to be doing this. The best thing is the amazing, wonderfully talented people that I get to meet and hang out with. Also, I love the commute to work, my front room is my office.

ME: MOST TEDIOUS THING ABOUT RUNNING CHEESE ON TOAST?

ANDREW TIDBALL: Hahah... umm probably the paperwork.

ME: MUSICAL STUFF YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO, IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS?

ANDREW TIDBALL:That's actually a hard question to answer, I like the surprises mostly. I like discovering a new band right on my doorstep who are totally incredibly and I would have never predicted would exist. Or clicking a link and jumping to another and the suddenly before you know it, you're listening to something amazing. I look forward to the next six days more than the next six months, in that regard! But that said, I have some exciting things planned for the following six months - including releasing a new 7" record with two local bands on each one (one side each) - one a month for the next six months. Oh, and there's some exciting rumors of upcoming tours and maybe even festivals heading our way. In that regard I think Auckland's incredible - we get some really amazing and interesting acts playing here more and more these days - and because of our relatively small size, we get to see them in pretty intimate venues - we're very lucky like that.

'CROSSOVER' AN ARTISTIC FACTORY

"WE WANT TO EXPERIMENT, PRODUCE, SHARE AND SHOWCASE OUR ART"

FIFI CHEUNG IS ONE OF THE MAIN INSTIGATORS IN "CROSSOVER" AN ARTS COLLECTIVE TO HELP EMERGING ARTIST IN A VARIETY OF DISCIPLINES.

INTIAL IDEA

FIFI CHEUNG:Initially I was planning to go overseas after I graduated,(Fifi has a degree in photography from Whitecliffe College) simply because of the lack of chance in NZ. But I had been thinking about running an artist space for more than a year and I thought why don't I grow this bigger. Instead of leaving why don't I stay here and do something good..

THE REAL WORLD AFTER GRADUATION

FIFI CHEUNG:After graduating you have more freedom to explore and less restrictions by university standards. There is also the real world of making art and making money. It gives you power and inspiration. But there needs to be a bridge or platform for artists after graduation who are struggling with a minimal lack of opportunities. We want to build that platform for creative people.

POST MODERNISM = CROSS DISCIPLINES

FIFI CHEUNG:Art and post modernism is more than one discipline its a crossover, that is where "Crossover" kicks in. We want to attract people from a mixture of disciplines- fine arts, fashion designers, jewellers, photographers, poets etc.

GATHER THE POWER

FIFI CHEUNG:NZ has a lack of support for emerging artist. The funding tends to be for more established artist. So emerging artist are competing not only within their group but also with the established artist. We want to gather people and gather the power for a higher chance of funding and help people share costs. Its also makes things fun and interesting - a learning experience. Rather than sitting at home doing nothing, people can follow their passion!

We are officially registered. We also have a great team of support, especially from established artists- NZ artists are very down to earth and are very approachable.

Our website (http://www.facebook.com/1;http://www.crossover.org.nz) is coming soon and we have a board to support and decide a set of rules. As we need to differentiate between good potential creative people and filter away from the bull shit artist. That way we can draw attention to quality NZ art at an international level.

NETWORKING TO HELP ONE ANOTHER.

FIFI CHEUNG:We have artist from Papau New Guinea and especially China. We want the opportunity to start an international exchange with new artists. To enrich and share our own experiences and keep everybody updated.

... Also to find interesting new experiment's and to create a complete package of arts practices. Have the opportunity for artist from different disciplines to meet one another, for example poets to meet photographers etc. Its all about networking to help each other out. Sharing rental costs and equipment with a sense of security. We want the artist that we help, to move on and return to guide the newbies to the next level.

CORE VALUE

FIFI CHEUNG:We have found our space and are waiting for approval by the Auckland City Council. We need to be in central Auckland in the roots of the gallery district. The space that we have found is right by the train station in Newmarket. We want to create interesting displays that will attract lots of foot traffic. We are less business focused. Our core is to create an arts practise.

LYNSAY RAINE: THEORETICAL BLING

"I WANT TO PUSH THE IDEA OF WHAT YOU CLASSIFY AS JEWELLERY"

LYNSAY RAINE IS A BELFAST BORN JEWELLER. LAST YEAR LYNSAY GRADUATED FROM UNITECH AND HER WORK WAS SELECTED TO APPEAR IN OBJECT SPACE GALLERY'S "BEST OF" EXHIBITION. WHICH SHOWCASES THE BEST WORK OF GRAD DESIGN STUDENTS.
BACKGROUND
LYNSAY RAINE: I started a metal craft degree in Belfast, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted to do. So I traveled for 8 - 9 months, came to NZ, worked, got my residency and cross credited my degree at Uni Tech.
... I like the Uni Tech course because of the open approach to mixed media and cross disciplines. Rather than working purely in silver or whatever, having freedom from tradition.
ME: YOUR DEGREE WORK?
LYNSAY RAINE:I was looking at performance pieces and devices that needed to be stimulated by the human body in order to function. I made a glass bubble with a bubble blower at the end of it. I got the best feedback from that and I enjoyed making it. I wanted to move on from there and started work on the "suggestive apparatus" - there is some suggestion of function and some suggestion of form but you aren't too sure what its all about.
But the main basis of my work was the idea of devices that encapsulate human breath - looking at an action that we take for granted and looking at how to preserve it. Making these artifacts that neither historical nor science fiction and ambiguous and suggestive in their appearance.
ME: YOU CREATE JEWELLERY THAT ISN'T WEARABLE...
LYNSAY RAINE: I like the idea of pushing around the idea of what jewellery is. I'm interested in the angle of jewellery being some kind of added value to you, that relates to the body. Like amulets, charms or even medical bracelets. Then there are the extensions to the human body, like for example a person smoking a pipe. I want to push the idea of what you classify as jewellery - things that are extensions of the body.
ME: WHATS YOUR FUTURE PLANS FOR YOUR WORK?
LYNSAY RAINE: I could do a bread and butter range of jewellery just to keep me going. But I've resisted that because I don't want to get distracted. I want to keep pushing my ideas that I started at Uni Tech. Continuing that body of work and delving deeper into the use of the human body as inspiration.
.... So, I'm not intending to make money from my jewellery work over the next year, ha ha! But maybe once I've got to a certain point then maybe I can refine those ideas.
But at the moment I don't want to limit what I do, to make money.

"...I THOUGHT GUYS NEED SOME SEXY UNDIES!"

MORGAN WILLIAMS RUN'S "NUDEL", A CHRISTCHURCH BASED MEN'S UNDERWEAR COMPANY.

ME: WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO START A MEN'S UNDERWEAR COMPANY?

MORGAN WILLIAMS: I had the idea in about 2000, and it's been on the back of my my mind ever since. I've been drawing in my sketch pad all that time, putting it away for months then bringing it back out and rekindling the dream. My new year's resolution last year was to finish everything I've ever started (which is quite a lot) and Nüdel was on the top of the list. My company is called Stratum Clothing Ltd. and I guess the actual reason I started it was because I thought guys need some sexy undies! Girls have SO much to choose from whereas fellas do not. Then I researched female shoppers - because I believed marketing my gruds to guys would be a mistake - and it turned out females make basically the majority of consumer purchase decisions. Guys don't care so much if they have nice undies, they don't have to be present when they're purchased, girls have more of an idea of what size they wear, at the end of the day it all comes back to the girl - they want their guy looking good.
ME: NUDEL IS QUITE NEW, ISN'T IT?
MORGAN WILLIAMS: I developed them all last year and got them in stores (see website www,nudel.co.nz, for stockists) one week before Christmas. They were really well received, but some people took a little convincing when it came to my marketing approach - selling guys undies in women's stores.
ME: "MEN'S PACKAGING" CHEEKY PUN, WHO CAME UP WITH THAT?
MORGAN WILLIAMS:I came up with Nüdel men's packaging the pun - originally I was going to call them Bambu but then Jockey released a bamboo fiber garment and it all became a little too close for comfort, so to speak. It's all a little tongue in cheek really, the wording, the logo (there are subtle references to the male anatomy) and of course the undies/noodle box - both cool types of packaging.
ME:YOUR BLOG ENTRIES (NUDELMENSPACKAGING.BLOGSPOT)SHOW YOU PRINITING, IRONING AND ALSO MENTIONS THAT YOU DO THE ACCOUNTS...
MORGAN WILLIAMS:Yeah I do the printing and ironing haha, and daily day to day running - chasing up money, sending them everywhere, whoring them out to new shops. They're cut here in Christchurch, then they come back to me for printing then I take them to another place for assembly then back to me again for packaging then they're off to the shops. Printing is fairly time consuming but there's something quite therapeutic about it too, it's good to get really hands on with the product. I manage my band, produce a radio breakfast show as well act and do voicings mostly for radio, so I'm keeping pretty busy!
ME: ANY ARTIST THAT YOU PERSONALLY, WOULD LIKE TO SEE CONTRIBUTE WORK?

MORGAN WILLIAMS: As far as finding the artists go, yeah if I see something I like the look of, I'll hunt them down and see if they're keen. It's not too hard, as there as SO many talented people around, it constantly blows my mind. This year though I'll be producing even smaller runs than 250 with some celeb art on them which will be auctioned off at the big Nüdel launch in Auckland at the end of this year.

PHOTO: KRISTIAN FRIRES

"I'D LIKE TO THINK THAT ELEMENTS OF MY PERSONAL WORK LEAK INTO MY PROFESSIONAL WORK... THEY INEVITABLY DO I THINK."

CONOR CLARK IS A NEW ZEALAND PHOTOGRAPHER, BASED IN AUCKLAND, WHOSE WORK ENCOMPASSES BOTH COMMERCIAL AND ARTISTIC REALMS. WWW.CONORCLARKE .CO.NZ

ME: DID YOU DECIDE PRETTY MUCH AT ART SCHOOL, THAT YOU WANTED TO WORK AS COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER, OR WAS IT A LONGER PROCESS?

CONOR CLARKE:No I didn't. I went to art school to be a painter and learnt photography as a means of documenting my paintings. I quickly found that I could use the photographic medium to realise my ideas much better than I could with paint. I enjoyed the process of collecting images and making 'paintings' or constructions out of these collected photographs, as opposed to painting them from scratch. In terms of commercial photography, this is something I kind of fell into by starting to photograph my flatmates' band, and then their friends bands and so on, etc. that's how I got into live music photography, then events and portraiture (which is my preferred area).

ME: WHICH ARTISTS, PHOTOGRAPHERS DO YOU ADMIRE?

CONOR CLARKE: ohhh lots...a mix or artists, photographer and both: but the first ones that come to mind, and are therefore probably my favourites are Patricia Piccinini, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Jae Hoon Lee, Fiona Connor, Fiona Amundsen, Loretta Lux, Yvonne Todd.

ME: HOW DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN YOUR COMMERCIAL AND ART PHOTOGRAPHY?

CONOR CLARKE: Commercial photography generates the money I need to live, and to make my personal work. It is generally always commissioned, and almost always shot digitally (whereas all personal work is shot on 6x7 film). The personal stuff is what I'm passionate about. Things I'm interested in, things that I research and collect. Almost always symmetrical, and ordered. Interests are: colonialism, the need for order and therefore disorder, front yards, topiary, formal gardens, roses, the need for maintenance, the culture of collecting, labelling, symmetry, competitiveness and pride, all things that are normalising.... I'd like to think that elements of my personal work leak into my portrait work...they inevitably do I think.

ME: YOUR COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY FOCUSES ON PEOPLE AND PORTRAITS AND IN YOU ART WORK (FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN) THERE IS NO ONE!INTENTIONAL?

CONOR CLARKE:Actually not all that intentional...sometimes there are people in the backgrounds of some of my personal images...if they walk in, etc. I enjoy photographing people a whole lot, but I find in my personal work I prefer to be more subtle in my approach, and find that using images of people say too much. Their clothes, their expression, the style of their hair, their make-up, etc. I guess they say too much about perhaps their upbringing, their class, social status, the time it was shot, etc. I prefer to photograph evidence of people, for example a photograph of someone's front yard says a whole lot to me about who they are as a person, or as a family. It would kind of ruin it for me if I were to actually put the people in the shot.

ME:I KNOW THAT YOU ARE A MUSIC FAN AND YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR "RIP IT UP" MAGAZINE, IS THERE YOUR FAVOURITE AREA OF COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY?

CONOR CLARKE:Like I said earlier...the music thing is something I just fell into. I do enjoy it, and meeting lots of interesting people is pretty great. I guess the problem always comes back to the fact that there's not a lot of money floating around in the music industry so you end up working very cheaply. You do it for the love, and for the learning experience more than anything. My fav. area though is anything portrait. I love shoots that have an idea, theme or narrative involved, otherwise it's just a photo.

'THE FLANEUR IS ABOUT CAPTURING PEOPLE THAT I FIND AESTHETICALLY INTERESTING AND INSPIRING"

LYDIA COWPERTWAITE IS AN AUCKLAND PHOTOGRAPHER AND CREATER OF WWW.THEFLANEUR.ORG/. A STREET FASHION BLOG

... IN CASE YOU ARE WONDERING, fLANEUR IS A FRENCH WORD, WHICH FROM THE VERB FLANER, MEANING "TO STROLL' lYDIA DESCRIBES HERSELF AS "A VOYEURISTIC STROLLER ARMED WITH A CAMERA."
ME: WHAT IS YOUR EDUCATION/BACKGROUND?

lYDIA COWPERTWAIT:I did a degree in Fine Art at Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University. I am also close to completing a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Sociology.

ME: OTHER WORK AS A FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER?

LYDIA COWPERTWAIT:I freelance as a photographer and photography assistant. I have worked for a wide range of publications, nationally and internationally.

ME: ARE YOU ALWAYS ARMED WITH A CAMERA FOR THE FLANEUR, OR IS IT ABIT MORE PREMEDIATED?

LYDIA COWPERTWAITE:I aim to always take my camera where ever I go and to photograph people I find aesthetically interesting. My photographs are never premeditated.

ME: IS YOUR WORK ON THE fLANEUR YOUR PERSONAL INTERPRETATION OF FASHION?

LYDIA COWPERTWAITE:Ha!Good question. I think it would be too simple for me to say The Flaneur is my interpretation of fashion, as I find fashion a complex subject. The Flaneur is about capturing people that I find aesthetically interesting and inspiring.

ME: WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN TERMS OF STYLE, WHEN PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE, FOR THE fLANEUR?

LYDIA COWPERTWAITE:I like photographing people who look quirky or beautiful in some way. A lot of people say that Auckland is not a stylish city but I think our city is full of interesting looking people who celebrate self expression.

ME: WHOSE STYLE DO YOU ADMIRE?

LYDIA COWPERTWAITE: So many people! A recent inspiration the late Isabella Blow.