Interview with our highlight artist 'Fan Club'
11th Jul 2023
We had a chat with new artist Fan club to find out more about their musical masterpieces.
Why not take a trip down memory lane with Bob Dylan, Elvis, The Mama's and Papa's and more.
We adore this totally eclectic minimalist style and we have 'more than a feeling' that our new spotlight artist 'Fan club' will be a real hit. Read on to find out more.
Tell us a bit about yourself, who are you and what do you do?
Hey, We’re Johanna and Felicity the sisters and creators behind Fanclub. Born in 2015 from a love of retro graphics. We opened a vintage shop (Thrift Store) in Nottingham in 2013 after university. Over time our concept evolved focusing on playful art prints, slogan tees, homeware and baby grows, all filled with nostalgic soul.
What inspires your art?
our roots run deep into old boxes of vinyl. Inspired by 60s and 70s movements, muses, poets and punks. We are the designers, the packers and the shippers..we encourage our customers to roam through life like a rolling stone! We’re were born from a feeling and are here for the future
Music crops up a lot in your work, do you feel that music and art are important for us?
We grew up with lots of music being played, from Motown and early rock n roll to 70s folk and 80s New Romantic. We continue to be fascinated and inspired by different counter cultures, how they dressed, where they hung out and how they’ve shaped the modern world. Music and art can make us feel safe in time of uncertainty, there’s something comforting about blasting Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde LP, or Fleetwood Mac’s Rumour’s album, even if we weren’t quite there to appreciate them the first time round. It almost makes the whole thing more illusive and mysterious. We think both art and music go hand in hand with self expression, they give you a feeling, allow you to escape and can take you right back to a memory or moment in time.
What’s your favourite song?
What we have on repeat can change all the time and from genre to genre. We religiously love listening to pop master with Ken Bruce! (it’s like a morning ritual). In terms of work Influence David Bowie as an artist and visionary was like no other. If we had to say what one of our all time faves were it would probably be - Johanna: Pink Floyd Wish you were here. Felicity: The Cars Just what I needed - but don't hold us to that as its likely to change tomorrow!
What got you interested in creating art?
After buying vintage tees for a few years, we were always on the hunt for the perfect graphics and would often fight over whose style it was more and therefor who would be allowed to keep it! We also have always had a love for retro signs, nostalgic fonts and 60s/70s advertisements and band posters, from then it’s just developed and grown into us designing our own art.
How would you describe your style?
As we’re inspired by nostalgic music and movements, this is reflected in our designs. We also take a lot of inspiration from past art movements such as Bauhaus. Playful retro colour palettes feature a lot throughout our collections.
Sustainability is a big thing for you, how does that interact with your artwork?
As a small independent we always look at ways to make our brand sustainable. We ensure we do everything we can to zero % to very little plastic packaging, printing on demand to minimise waste and printing on eco friendly certified paper. As our business moves forward we are researching ways we can expand our sustainability, we also try and create timeless pieces that will last a lifetime with Giclèe printing (which makes the art not fade over time).
Have you got any exciting upcoming projects?
We are keen to constantly expand the homeware side of fanclub it’s something we are both passionate about, more art is always on the cards.
As just the two of you are operating your whole business, how does that affect your relationship with your artwork? Has it created more pressure or do you feel more in tune?
Being sisters and being in business with each other for a decade now, we have learnt our strengths and manage our workflow really well. We are both in tune with our brand aesthetic and designs, so much so we often design very similar things separately only to show each other and realise we have the same thing! Its mad! We don’t like to put pressure on our designs we let each other create in there own space and at their own pace, when we have spoken about upcoming designs we might brainstorm words, lyrics and colour palettes together which always keeps us on the same page.
What is your fave piece of art you’ve made?
Oooooo its always a hard one to answer, our fan favourite would have to be our Let All The Children Boogie print which went down so well we transferred the art onto a baby grow! We go through phases depending on our own house trends. Felicity likes our more playful indie design whereas Johanna often flocks to the museum style French designs, which is nice as it allows us to design and create for a wide audience.
Our 3 faves by Fan Club