The Creative Collective - Introducing Mike Harvey

Each week at Platfform we are delving into the workspaces of a series of creative individuals, discovering their unique talents, and providing you with an exclusive insight into their journey. 

Watch this space..

Mike Harvey - Honest 

Image credit - Mike Harvey 

TAXI portrait '£3.06'

Last Tuesday myself and the editorial team at Platfform had the exciting opportunity to interview

Mike Harvey for the forth coming edition of the Vignette edition to be released in March 2015.

Mike, a self taught photographer from Swansea in South Wales who became a taxi driver for four years to fund his love of travel, hailed a small storm of media interest upon release of his TAXI photography project, which was taken over a six month period in 2010. The unusual but fascinating and powerful series of portraits that Harvey, now a teacher, took of his passengers explore the real communities behind people's assumptions, providing a snapshot in time of people's journeys and documenting a small snippet of welsh history and culture.

As Harvey's warm, reassuring welsh accent filled the room, the nerves of four excited but anxious Fashion Promotion students quickly dissipated, giving us an insight in to why so many of his passengers felt completely at ease and natural in opening up and relaxing in to conversation on their journey with him.

“It was a philosophical fair ground really. People would bring topics in to the cab with them, or it was a natural progression of the journey....there was no limit as to the inspiration that would start a conversation in a Taxi. Nothing was off bounds”

Harvey's natural interest and fascination in people started as a young child. Naturally inquisitive and wanting to understand people, he went on to study Human Geography in University, and began the profession of Taxi driving to fund his love of travel to places such as Egypt, Brazil, India and Nepal. Looking under the touristic facade at the culture and the real communities of these fascinating countries, he began to compare it to what he was witnessing at home in Neath and Swansea. His interest in the journeys and stories of his passengers fascinated him, and it became a natural progression to start documenting the journeys; and the TAXI photography project was born.

As the conversation progressed, the four of us became more drawn in to Harvey's compelling, unique story of his photography journey, his easy going and charming manner inviting us to ask questions off scope of the interview. There is something distinctive about a taxi that is synonymous with anonymity and comfort, that makes many of us leave our inhibitions at the curb and divulge our inner most thoughts, secrets and worries with free abandon, to what is, in essence, a total stranger. The spontaneity of the situation in which these characters are placed enables their photographs to exude authenticity and honesty - something Mike consistently reinforces.

“You do see so many different little social nuances.... there were so many inspiring moments being in the cab....it gives you a wider appreciation of things!”

What makes Harvey's portraits so poignant is his ability when the shutter goes down, to capture that visual representation of his passengers portraying a small part of their journey, making us attempt to breakdown our assumptions of a certain stereotype.

Harvey has learnt over the years to take photographs with the motivation to achieve something, rather than taking a photograph for the sake of preserving a frame that should be enjoyed through the eye. In todays social media obsessed society, photography can take on an element of delusion, detracting us from the moment and experience that really matters. “There's a sense of a modern day keeping up with the Jones” Harvey contemplates. “If you're to busy looking at others peoples drive, then you're not concentrating on your own journey”

Read our interview with Mike Harvey in the new edition of the Platfform magazine out end of March 

Visit Mike Harvey's website to see more of the TAXI photography project here

Words Angharad Selway 

The Vignette Edition

'We are the curious fly'

To be a 'fly on the wall' derives from the idea that events are seen candidly. The Vignette edition is motivated by appreciating what is candid, because 'candid' is truth, and truth is beauty. 

Taken by Eni Turkeshi 

'Obscurities of everyday life' 

The ability to overlook the mundane and repetitive aspects of everyday living and those people who conform to it, we at Platfform are intrigued by these obscure, unique details and the individuals that create them. 

Dora Maar 1936, Taken by Man Ray 

'Stolen snapshots'

Everyday we make new memories, we're taking stolen snapshots of everything thats happening around us. Feeding off our surroundings, and filtering it to make something creative out of what we've been given. 

'Lost' taken by Moey Hoque 

'Interpret the untold'

At Platfform magazine we peer beneath the surface of the obscure, the overlooked and unnoticed fragments of everyday life and seek to decipher the untold stories behind them. 

Taken by Elizabeth Haust

Platfform Pre Launch Event 2014 - The Review (05/03/14)

Photographs by Elliot Newton

“A successful night all round!” say the flushed editors as the evening draws to a close. Platfform Magazine 2014 has finally kicked off and the pre launch event was pulled off without the slightest trace of a hiccup. The evening included a selection of local DJ’s, singers and bands covering a selection of styles to suit everyone’s taste. The acoustic sets built up a chilled out ambient through out the evening finishing of the night with a house DJ set.

The cocktails and wine were flowing as the fashion students showcased a taste of what the magazine is going to be like. Talking to bloggers about the brand and how they could get involved with what out students are up to. Getting the Platfform brand talked about in the world of up and coming bloggers.

Little chocolates were placed around the room to add the indulgent touch, as who does love a chocolate or five to indulge in. Cococarvan provided the completely vegan chocolatier was created especially for the event and providing a great promotion for the starting up chocolate brand. “Chocolate gives off the happy hormone” as said by Jacques cop, and we completely agree.

Platfform 2014's wonderful editors Lorna Slessor (Left) & Elly Gann

Its safe to say that fashion students know how to pull off a very indulgent evening of music, cocktails and chocolate and promote the new issues of plattffom at the same time.


Make sure you check out posts from the Cardiff bloggers that were able to attend the party!

You can find the super stylish Nokhuthula's blog post here: crystalcosmicchic

And the wonderful Kelsie's post here: cutepandaa

Platfform PR Team

Platfform Pre Launch Event (26/02/14)

The Platfform team are organising a fabulous pre-launch party to celebrate the new edition of the magazine. As you may already know, the theme of this year's edition is Indulgence and we hope to through a party to fit.

Throughout the evening local singers, bands and DJS including Sau, Emma Redford, Kayleigh Fish, Jeris Spencer and Vera Von Clitz will be filling the space there incredible talents. The event is tailored to attract those involved in fashion, the arts and the creative industries. So if this sounds like you, get involved!

The Platfform pre-launch party will take place on Thursday, 27th February at Peppermint Bar in Cardiff from 7pm to 11pm. We promise to put on a vibrant party! 

“Cardiff fashion folk know how to party, so indulgence is the pefect magazine theme!” 

Patricia Brien

(Executive Producer)

Platfform PR Team

Platfform goes to London Fashion Week (21/02/14)

This week our deputy editors took to the streets of London town (AKA Somerset House), to gain some style-spiration from the glamorous, albeit eccentric, people visiting London for Fashion Week. It's pretty clear, from the snaps that they brought back, that here at Platfform we love the finer details. London Fashion Week showcases all kinds of designer, from the up-and-coming to the established. However the real show is the style that is found in the courtyard...

"London Fashion Week 2014…the most outrageous fashion devotees turn up outside Somerset House to show off their unique styles to, well, anyone that’s interested. 

Yes, we were stood at the sidelines a little in ore. Headwear of all shapes and sizes floated past us – giant pink trilbies to oversized sun hats (only at fashion week would you see these accessories in the midst of February). 

But there really is nothing like the atmosphere felt at LFW. A feeling that you really can be who ever you want to be and it’s completely allowed. Inspiring, yet slightly intimidating, London Fashion Week is defiantly a fashion students ultimate paradise."

Elly Gann & Lorna Slessor

(Deputy Editors)

Kitan - Cardiff's Hidden Gem (18/10/13)

So as Cardiff Fashion week approaches I thought it would be a good idea to delve into some of the city’s relatively un-known independent businesses. Although arcades seem to be filled to the brim with stunning boutiques and gorgeous vintage shops, there is one gem that has yet to be discovered by the fashion lovers of the city.

Kitan is a small (and when I say small I really mean it) business ran by Mai Yamazaki. Originally from Japan, Mai has lived in this country for over 10 years and is using her true passion and love for textiles to create beautiful one off pieces of clothing, jewellery and shoes. Based in a small studio on Mill Lane in Cardiff, the Kitan showroom/studio really is a diamond in the rough. Not only is Mai’s work room filled with beautiful textiles that she has gathered from her travels to Morocco, it is also adorned with some of her handcrafted designs. It is easy to think that there are many places that offer hand made designs in cities but after speaking to Mai it is clear to see that the reason behind her work is purely based on her love for creating beautiful garments.

Mai’s small work area surrounded by beads, buttons and inspiration for her designs.

Speaking of her designs, Mai says that the embroidery work on her garments is created from using cactus silk, something she discovered in Morocco and a thread that is used frequently with embroidery there. Latifa is Mai’s hand embroiderer and is responsible for creating some of the most breathtaking and also time consuming designs on the Kitan pieces. From taking the time to source the perfect fabrics and the perfect people to work with these fabrics, Mai and her small team use the highest standard of silk and linen all complimented with the use of delicate and precise embroidery.  The image below shows one piece in the collection, highlighting just how amazing the garments are. Mai also told of how she tries to make all of the items she designs different, whether that be with different trims or different colours. It is clear to see in her collection how much thought and time goes into her work.

Each part of these necklaces is woven from Cactus silk in variations of colours.

Although it was clear as soon as I met Mai that she was a genuine woman with a genuine passion for what she does, it was amazing to hear that she also works with a charity for disabled women. Al Kawter is an organisation in Marrakech that teaches women how to embroider and sew, they are paid an hourly wage and in Mai’s words “Enjoy what every woman enjoys, sewing and sitting and being able to laugh.” This admirable love for making other people happy was clear to see when Mai showed me a board that showed generations of families in Morocco and Marrakech sewing together, learning how to embroider and passing what they know down through generations of family members.

As our conversation came to a close it was easy to see that being surrounded by her beautiful creations means the world to Mai, as she is ready to fly back to Morocco tomorrow (she misses the hustle and bustle) she offered some advice “I think keeping positive is the most important thing, if you are positive people will be able to see that, you can do anything with being positive, I never thought I would do this and I just followed my instinct and it has worked out well…well enough for now.”

Take some time and contact Mai, she offers open studios to look around and you can easily email her via the Kitan website. Kitan is a down to earth and refreshing look into creative and one off fashion like no other I have seen before.

Mai also said that she herself wants the idea of women through the generations teaching each other how to create and how to love what they do to somehow find it’s way into British design. With an industry that is focused highly on making money, Mai’s aim is to have loyalty and love within the creation of the items she and her team make. It is the story and the meaning behind her brand that Mai is determined to uphold.

Lucy Ashley

www.kitansouk.co.uk

The Storm Before the... Storm (17/10/13)

During the run up to Cardiff Fashion Week the city becomes a hub of all things fashion. Although they may not be visible on every street corner, the hustle and bustle of organising shows, models and exhibitions is well and truly under way and today I have been a part of the set up of an exhibition taking place in the information centre for Fashion week in Royal Arcade.

This has been a multi-layered project. Each year, first year (‘freshers’) Fashion Promotion and Fashion Design students from University of South Wales collaborate to organise, promote and create garments for a showcase runway show in the Atrium campus. This year’s collaboration the Design students designed and created garments from newspaper, a wink to using recycled materials.

In their second incarnation, the garments have gone from catwalk to exhibition in the CFW Information Centre. A team curated by third year students, and installed by third, second and first years, are putting into practice their visual merchandising and promotion skills to create a centre that will be an important hub during fashion week.Today we visited the space in Royal Arcade to begin the set up for the centre. Having once been used as a cupcake shop, it is easy to imagine the blank canvas we had to work with. After four of us managed to carry around 30 paper dresses across town to the arcade we could start to throw around some ideas and start getting things in place.

With the inside of the shop needing an injection of life (and a good clean) the first day in was a mixture of playing Cinderella whilst mopping, polishing and making washing lines out of string whilst selecting some of the most amazing paper dresses, not to forget conceptualising how we want the space to be!The collection is set around the original Freshers’ show name of Pulp. With dresses being clipped up by pegs onto make shift washing lines and draped around the space for visitors to come inside and take a look at the creations whilst finding out all they want to know about Cardiff Fashion Week.

Lucy Ashley

E.L.F Cosmetics (16/10/13)

As Cardiff Fashion week gets ready for the big launch on Saturday, a group of models taking part in the catwalk shows marched their way around Cardiff showcasing some of the Fashion Design students’ designs. The lucky models got the chance to have their make up done in new make up store E.L.F that has recently opened in Royal Arcade in the centre of Cardiff.

E.L.F. is a chic collection of high quality make-up products at AMAZING prices. Here in sunny Wales it is brother and sister team Neil and Jo who run the brand from their head office in Swansea. I will hopefully be able to find out more about E.L.F. as the blogger launch is tomorrow and I will get to have a chat to the lovely owners (hopefully.) But for now I have some stunning photographs of the models being made lovely by the great make up artists in E.L.F.

Once all of the glamorous models were made up with lovely E.L.F products, you may have seen them make their way through Cardiff and Cardiff Bay. This was just small taste of what to expect with this years fashion week. Keep your eyes peeled on the Fashion Week blog for more information about E.L.F as it is set to be huge! You heard it here first.

Make sure in the mean time you visit www.eyeslipsface.co.uk and check out their products!

Images – Courtesy of E.L.F. Cosmetics

Lucy Ashley