Artisan of the Week, Paul Vincett of Stitches and Glue

I'm so excited to be sharing the work of this weeks artisan with you. Ever since I was very small I have loved cuddly creatures and puppets. I had a hug collection of them all over my bedroom. String puppets, glove puppets, and cuddly bears, moose, humpty dumpties, dogs, horses... you name it and I probably had it. Lots were handmade by relatives or me, most were hand repaired due to wear and tear of me hugging them so much. Each one had a different voice and character in my head and I loved them all as if they were living and breathing creatures. This weeks artisan is a creator of monsters and more. He has followed the dream I was talked out of at school. I'll let him explain more about his life and loves. Let me introduce you to Paul Vincent of Stitched and Glue.

1. Could you please introduce us to who you are and what you do?
My name is Paul Vincett, aka Stitches and Glue and I am a freelance puppet/prop/costume designer and maker and 3-dimensional illustrator based in London England. I left University a couple of years ago with a degree in illustration. I’ve always been influenced by and had a fascination with mythological stories, fairy tales, the supernatural and native art from other cultures, which is the driving force behind a lot of my work and its inspiration. My ongoing project has been Monster Workshop. A kind of Battersea Dogs home for my monsters, drawing on the concept of people adopting monsters from neglectful backgrounds, I see them as works of art, separating them from the usual mass produced, made in china toys. Alongside this I have worked on several west end theatre projects along with making props and costumes for television shows.

2. What led you to take up your craft?
I don’t doubt that my Nan played a massive part in me being creative in this way as I have fond memories from a young age of making dragons and knight helmets from random stuff. It’s something that has stayed with me through school and college. On some level it feels like I’m keeping her memory alive through each thing that I make. Being crafty has always been a part of my life, so trying to work out some kind of career from it is my only option as I couldn’t imagine being satisfied and fulfilled doing anything else.

3. Which part of your work do you most enjoy?
Although I enjoy all aspects of what I do, I get a great buzz from new ideas and the making. I really enjoy developing a character on paper and seeing it through to a tactile end result that can be made to move and talk, in the puppets case anyway. Making short films of my puppets is also a load of fun. It’s a lot of work even though the end result is quite amateur; it’s a great end to the process.

4. Which part do you find hardest?
I think the hardest thing for me is trying to juggle my time between projects. I get new ideas all the time, which I get really excited about, but this generally, happens when I’m half way through something else. It’s also a constant battle to self promote and get the actual work done as well as making sure I earn a living through freelancing.

5. Where do you hope to be in 1 year’s time?
That’s a tricky one. I’ve got high hopes for the upcoming year, with lots of things planned. I’d love for Stitches and Glue to take off, so I could do it full time and really follow through with my ideas, at the moment it’s like I'm only scratching at the surface of possibilities. I’d really like to make a short puppet film again and possibly a stop frame animation, that would be awesome. I’m also hoping to put a few books together and to feature in more shows as well as putting my own together….. All in good time though!

6. What is the best advice you have ever been given?
I’m not sure about the best advice, but one thing that has always stuck in my mind was being told by a tutor at Uni to ‘just have fun with it’, when I was stressing about grades and stuff and since then that’s all it’s been about.

7. Name other artisans sites/shops would you recommend are worth a visit?
Holly Stanway – A Little Stranger
Spooky Daddy toy company
Clutter Magazine
Thomas Whetnall
Plastic and Plush
Toycyte

8. What is your favourite sandwich filling?
Hmmmm… got to be a steak and cheese subway melt, mmmm!

Thank you Paul for joining in with our blog. I love your monsters so much. I may have to re-home one or two, or three, or four, or... Jon's giving me one of those looks. When we get around to building our recycled tyre house we'll have to build a special wing just for monsters! Readers if you too are enamoured with Paul's beautiful creations you can follow his news blog and workshop blog to see what's new and the process of how each monster comes to life.

Written by Lynne of Hyperloop Hoops and PiratePixieCrew