Christmas gift guide 2012

Most of the artists we've worked with have their own online shops, or have produced exclusive items for other stores. Here's our top ten pick of their wares, which we think would make fantastic gifts.

1. Tom Frost 'Waves Will Rise' screenprint £145
http://theboyfrost.bigcartel.com/

2. My Two Toms 'Who We Are...' LP £10
http://stitchstitchrecords.co.uk/stitches/who-we-were-and-what-we-meant-by-it/

3. Ben Newman 'Bento Bestiary' book, published by Nobrow £12
http://www.nobrow.net/2774

4. Nicholas Frith 'Red Deer' screenprint £18
http://www.etsy.com/shop/nicholasjohnfrith

5. Leah Duncan 2013 calendar US$32
http://www.etsy.com/shop/leahduncan

6. Marcus Oakley 'London' poster from Human Empire 12 Euro
http://www.humanempireshop.com/Poster/Plakate/Artprints/marcus-oakley-london-poster/

7. Gemma Correll t-shirt from Buy Olympia US$20
http://www.buyolympia.com/q/Item=gemma-correll-just-pour-the-coffee-in-shirt

8. Lizzy Stewart 'Toska' self published zine £6.50
http://www.bettyanddupree.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=41&product_id=168

9. Bjorn R Lie 'Log Cabins' giclee print £75
http://bjornlieillustration.bigcartel.com/

10. Eloise Renouf 'Trees' tea towel £10.95
http://www.etsy.com/shop/EloiseRenouf

My Two Toms & friends...

'My Two Toms' are Tom Cops and Tom Stubbs, who play instrumental songs inspired by traditional Appalachian folk music. Their 2010 American tour supporting Charlie Parr, was captured by Tom Cops' medium format camera, and produced our debut photobook 'Midwest'.

When not playing music, the other half of the eponymous duo, Tom Stubbs, is a partner in Somerset based Biggerhouse Films. On their first journey across the US in 2007, again supporting Charlie Parr, Stubbs took his video camera. The resulting film is a touching and humourous documentary of life on the road for touring musicians, surviving without the luxuries of hotels, private jets or a competent tour manager...

 

Play

My Two Toms released an LP on Bristol's Stitch-Stitch records, with guests musicians including Matt and Kate from Movietone/Crescent, and François (laterly of François & The Atlas Mountains). The LP is adorned with beautiful sleeve art by Norweigan illustrator Bjørn Lie. We have commissioned Bjørn to produce a collection of Christmas cards and wrapping paper for us, which we'll be releasing very shortly.

Tom Cops exhibition

Folks in Bristol will have an oppourtunity to see some of the photographs from Tom Cops 'Midwest' book exhibited at Cafe Grounded in Bedminster from 5th February until 25th March.


On the opening night, Tom's bluegrass band My Two Tom's will be performing live from 7.30pm.

The book documents the 2010 tour his band made around the American Midwest, supporting the acclaimed Minnesotan blues musician Charlie Parr. The images capture moments, people and places of small town USA.

Cafe Grounded, 66-68 Bedminster Parade, Bedminster, BS5 9HT

Tom Cops interview

The lovely people over at It's Nice That recently interviewed Tom Cops about his 'Midwest' photography, and the book we published, describing it as " a wonderful tribute to small town USA..."


You can read the full article, and see more of Tom's photos here

A Meditation on the Graveyards on the North

We're delighted that acclaimed blues musician Charlie Parr has written the foreword to our forthcoming “Midwest” photo book by Tom Cops.

Here's a brief extract:

"It's called The Big Empty up there, the northwest corner of Minnesota, and it's mostly true, but it's a beautiful landscape of pine forests, giving way to farms and little towns set in the prairies vastness....We played a show south of Livingston, at a hot springs saloon and had a good soak. Our B&B was located on land that had been the stronghold of a radical militia separatist reactionary right-wing Christian group.

Tom and I found a hill with an icon at the top, Mary I think, tall and laden with plastic flowers, surrounded by a couple park benches and a ring of little crosses. Tom photographed the place. I sat wondering what was buried underneath that hill, slightly scared of the place. The whole compound seemed a graveyard, but Mary wasn't the epicentre, the ominous gray pill-box that housed the machine gun was the marker that drew you in. "

The book will be launched on 27th October with an exhibition at the Here Gallery in Bristol, and also coincides with a two night residency from Charlie Parr at nearby Cube Microplex on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th November.

Tom Cops - Midwest, exhibition & book launch

Midwest is the first solo exhibition from photographer, musician and artist Tom Cops, showing medium format photographs of people and places in the American Midwest.

To accompany the exhibition, Betty & Dupree will be publishing a collection of these photographs, also titled Midwest. The book also includes a foreword by acclaimed Minnesotan blues musician Charlie Parr and watercolour chapter pages by Jerwood Drawing Prize nominated artist Aaron Sewards.


In August 2010, Tom travelled around the American Midwest for three weeks with his band My Two Toms playing as many inappropriate venues as possible. During the tour he attempted to photograph everyone he met, as well as the places he passed through. Looking for odd details in the landscape, his colour photographs tell the story of the small towns of Montana, Minnesota, North & South Dakota, Colorado and Wyoming, while his black & white portraits tell us about the people that live there.

"Tom led the people outside, one by one, to take a photo. He stopped them all; middle-aged bartenders, tourists, punk rockers, hippies, very old and very young, me, my mom, my daughter, my wife, my son, all of us got stopped in time by Tom’s camera, a kind of living graveyard." – Charlie Parr

The exhibition will take place at the Here Gallery in Bristol, UK.
108 Stokes Croft, BS1 3RU.

Preview; Thursday 27th October, 7.00 - 9.00pm.
The exhibition continues until 19th November, and also coincides with a two night residency from Charlie Parr at nearby Cube Microplex on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th November.

www.tomcops.com