PeripheryIssue 1

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Contents

Fashion on the streets of Birmingham

Inside the Custard Factory

Queen of all vintage

page 6

page 18

page 12

Editorial

If you are holding this magazine, you have made a choice

that few others make. At Periphery we are all for embracing

this difference. Find us on the verge, the outskirts, the

undercurrent. We are a different sort of different. We have

scoured the streets of Birmingham and have compiled a

collection of its unique and hard to find marvels within this

first issue. Whether it’s alternative fashion or unconventional

art, you will be embarking on a visual treat.

Enjoy, courtesy of your editors,

Harjit, Katie and Charlotte

PS. You can find our ident at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg2EAMvbjrc

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Heavy metalroyalty

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Born and bred in birmingham

A bit to the left... Tilt your head down... Okay, hold it there. No, it’s not working. Can someone put more colour on her cheeks! Darling, darling, you need to work with me here... I want perfection.”

Fashion on the streets of.

A bit to the left... Tilt your head down... Okay, hold it there. No, it’s not working. Can someone put more colour on her cheeks! Darling, darling, you need to work with me here... I want perfection.”

Do you want to hear more about the latest hottest fashion?

If so, you may need to look elsewhere, because Periphery is taking a step away from the artificial stage set of the cat-walk.

Instead, we have stepped onto the streets of Birmingham. Rather than hitting the mainstream shops to find people sifting through rows of du-plicated clothes, we have ventured out to seek the hidden gems within Birmingham. We have spoken to real people who express themselves through an unconventional, yet in-spiring dress sense. For these indi-viduals, fashion is more than some-thing purely superficial.

How people present themselves can communicate a lot about them as in-dividuals. The word individual here is interesting, as for many, their choice of clothing makes them anything but an in-dividual, as what they have picked out of their wardrobe is what so many others will have also put on. But there are some whose choices are more select. We found that when talking to these people, they seemed as interesting as their choice of clothing.

Fashion on the streets of.

Birmingham

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“I can’t really explain what I’m wearing, I like to think it surpasses being defined by a type of fashion. I guess I just wear what comes natu-rally. I don’t try to put things on to make me look cool, or at least conven-tionally attractive.”

“When I was a kid, I didn’t really care about what I wore, but now that I have more of an idea of who I am, I think my dress sense has become a lot more personal-ised.”

“I think more people should be themselves and not be afraid of looking different. How bor-ing would it be if we all had one uni-form that we had to wear? We live in a free country, so we should make the most of it!”

Voices from the streets of Birmingham.

It is refreshing to see people on the streets giving the face of fashion a

make-over!

Maybe the next time you pick up a supposedly popular brand-ed piece of clothing, you might question whether you really like it, as opposed to letting the brand talk for you. Does the fact that it’s advertised on bill boards make it more appealing, or does it take something away from it? Are you a walking model adver-

tising a company’s name without really knowng it?

Think Before You Label Yourself.

“ I d o n ’ t w a n t t o b e a

c o p y o f o t h e r g i r l s .

I s m i l e t o m y s e l f w h e n I s e e l o a d s o f g i r l s a l l w e a r i n g

s o m t h -i n g t h a t

I w o r e y e a r s

a g o , j u s t c u z i t ’ s s u d d e n l y i n ‘ f a s h -i o n . ’ I

r e c k o n t h e y n e e d r e a s s u r a n c e t o s e e i f

i t ’ s s a f e t o w e a r ,

b u t I j u s t w e a r w h a t I l i k e

t h e l o o k

o f . ”

Draw your own destiny

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Draw your own destiny

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Inside the custard factory

Inside the custard factory

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Once an old Custard Production Factory in Birmingham now stands a maze of artistic shops, such as the bead shop featured left, galleries, bars and restaurants.

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The Custard Factory is situated in Digbeth a short walk from Birmingham’s mainstream attraction, the Bullring. After the original Custard Factory become derelict in the early 1980’s, it was taken over in 1990 and fully restored to be opened to Birmingham’s young creative talents.

The Custard Factory is now home to a community of artists. Split into Phase 1 and Phase 2 the Custard Factory has something for everyone! The first Phase is home to a community of artists, small creative businesses, galleries and studios. The Custard Factory is open all day and night with cafes, bars, nightclubs and even a theatre.

Phase Two of the Custard Factory is the home to Zellig with 101 Studios, galleries and offices. It is one of the most unique places in Birmingham with a fine dining restaurant and skate board ramps under one roof, creating a unique community for everyone who visits.

Vandalism or Unconventional Art?

“Graffiti does nothing to enhance the look and feel of Birmingham. It is also illegal and excessive graffiti can significantly increase peoples’ fears of crime and violence.”

Well that’s not what we at Periphery and staff at Graffiti for Hire think. Graffiti for Hire is a store inside The Custard Factory that takes the illegal crime into a business, creating building sized masterpieces or small canvases for personal use. Graffiti for Hire is one of the main attractions in the Custard Factory. As well as selling their services and products they offer a weekly workshop. It seems Graffiti is becoming more of an art than illegal activity as Graffiti For Hire have worked on a lot of big commercial projects around Birmingham, including a piece at the Birmingham Bullring Market .Other stores in The Custard Factory include The Couture Company, Audio Affair, Hobgoblin Music, Unique Kids Footwear, Sara Preisler Jewellery, The Bench, The Gamer and many More.

In the heart of The Custard Factory is a water fountain surrounded by giant sculptures and brightly coloured walls unlike anywhere else seen in Birmingham. Surrounded by factories and scrap yards of Digbeth, the Custard Factory is the perfect escape for anyone looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of Birmingham city centre to find a culturally inspiring atmosphere. Whether you want to shop, dine, explore or simply be inspired, the Custard Factory has it all.

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The Q

ueen o

f all

vin

tage

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Bored with high street trends and want to try something a little differ-ent? Want to stand out from the crowd? Or sim-ply want to find a great bargain? There are a grow-ing number of vintage clothes shops sprouting up all over the country with a common mission – to get people interested in vintage. COW Vintage is no different. Situated in Digbeth, COW Vintage is a hotspot for students and people looking for vintage accessories and apparel.

“We want your look to be as unique as we are, which is why COW is proud to offer an eclectic shopping experience for everyone.”

But is vintage clothing worth the money and the time to find? After all, the clothes are second hand. We at Periphery decided to visit the shop in Digbeth to see what vintage shops are really about!

The décor in COW vintage was really different; you could easily see that from the moment you stepped over the threshold. They had clothes hanging from chains from the ceiling, which we really liked as we hadn’t seen anything like it in any high street shops. It is certainly far from the

the dingy, smelly little shop we had imagined. We were surrounded by granddad jumpers, leather jackets, old school tshirts, with none of us able to walk around without proclaim-ing ‘Oh I love this!’

One big problem I have had with most vintage shops in the past is that nothing is really organized, meaning that I have strug-gled to find anything I have liked. It’s usually a case of dresses over there, jumpers over there, shoes in a bin, handbags in a bucket, so within 10 minutes I would be hopelessly lost, sanity a distant memory. At Cow, the displays are beautifully and thoughtfully set out. With sections for practical-ly everything, (‘You want a patterned 80’s cardi? Right this way, madam, we have 10 on display!’) it is actu-ally a better shopping ex-perience than somewhere such as your local H & M. All the accessories are lovingly and tidily set out all around the shop, and are put near to things that complement them, mak-ing it easy for you to find a great outfit.

Price wise, most things are at a fraction of the price you would find them for on the high street, for

example a pair of leather boots we were all quite taken with were £15. Obvi-ously they do have more pricey items, but if you are buying a Barbour jacket for just £65, can you really complain?

So after our day’s shopping spree in COW, we con-cluded that the only thing you have to worry about with visiting this shop is the people that shop there. You will never be as well dressed and cool as them. You just won’t.

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