CREATIVE STRATEGY: 10 CONTACTS

1. Sam S - BA Reps

I met Sam at Hanburry, I interviewed him and got his email. I plan to contact Sam when I have my portfolio ready and more where I want it as at the moment I'm in the middle of a few projects and want to contact some people once I feel my work is at a place I'm happier with. The illustrators that BA represents all really inspire me and I could see my work applied to similar projects. This company also focuses on installations and 

2. Ben C - Central Illustration Agency

I met Ben at Hanburry, I interviewed him and got his email. I plan to contact him when I have my portfolio ready and more where I want it as at the moment I'm in the middle of a few projects and want to contact some people once I feel my work is at a place I'm happier with. I think CIA has a really impressive collection of illustrators on their books and I think their focus on moving image and advertising would suit me as I'd love to push into these kind of projects.

3. Chloe M - Plum Pudding Agency

I met Sam at Hanburry, I interviewed him and got his email. I plan to contact Sam when I have my portfolio ready and more where I want it as at the moment I'm in the middle of a few projects and want to contact some people once I feel my work is at a place I'm happier with. I will approach Chloe with more character based work as PP is a children's publishing focused agency (e.g. my book from second year).

4. Sam A- No Brow 

I met - at Hanburry, I spoke to him after his panel and gave him my postcard. I plan to contact - when I have my portfolio ready and more where I want it as at the moment I'm in the middle of a few projects and want to contact some people once I feel my work is at a place I'm happier with. I'm always blown away by No Brow's books and would love to work on a project with them, especially since some of my favourite books (Wolves of Currumpaw) are published by them. I think publications would be an excellent place for my practice, maybe not right now. I do not feel my visual language is where I want it to be just yet and to illustrate a book (full picture book or just spot illustration) I'd like it to be slightly more refined. I plan to keep in touch with No Brow anyway, in hopes of something coming along later.

5. Ruby B - It's Nice That

I met Ruby at Hanburry, I love It's Nice That and know that it's a great way to get your work in front of a lot of important people. I also plan to submit to the INT Graduates. 

6. Penny L - The Brand Directoress

John put me in contact with Penny. I contacted her and a few others when I was trying to promote my exhibition for International Women's Day and was looking for Leeds (and England) based female creatives who might be interested in the event and the work, and might be helpful for me to speak to. I'm always looking to tap into the community of women in the creative industry as I feel that a lot of my work comes from my experience as a women and is about women's stories and voices. 

7. Bobbi G - Illustrator

I contacted Bobbi to be part of my exhibition. We emailed a lot about the exhibition and International Women's Day, and she was a wonderful person to talk to about my work and my events. I really admire her work and as a fellow recent graduate of LAU, doing really well in Leeds creatively, I think she will be an excellent contact to have and to keep in touch with. I will be seeing her soon to give back her work, I may talk to her about graduating and ask if she has any advice. 

8. Kaya A - BBC Radio Leeds

I spoke to Kaya as part of the promotion for my Female Gaze exhibition. She set up a slot for me on BBC Radio Leeds Backstage to talk about International Women's Day and my exhibition. This was a really great experience and I will keep in contact with Kaya as the radio is definitely an interesting platform to speak on. 

9. Eve W - Ladies Wine and Design

I spoke to Eve of Ladies, Wine and Design after Penny Lee recommended her as a helpful contact. I emailed her to tell her about my international women's day exhibition, and from then we discussed her role at LWD and the possibility of me organising one of their events for them at my current workplace. LWD run events that encourage creative women to come and network, as well as listening to inspiring talks and discussions by successful working women.

10. Matt N - Senior Art Director at Ogilvy

I spoke to Matt briefly at Hanburry and got his email. Ogilvy is such a exciting company, and I'm quite interested in creative ad as it seems very fast paced and exhilarating to work on those kind of projects. I plan to contact Matt around the time of D&AD when I have a portfolio ready and could ask if he'll be attending. I plan to ask a variety of contacts if they'll be attending our end of year show or D&AD as these events are great opportunities to share your work and to invite contacts as a way of showing off your newer projects.