By Charlotte Quigley and Georgia Leggott
Whether it’s through music, art, culture, or people – as creatives, there is nothing better than finding new inspiration, especially when it comes straight from the heart of the North East. We’ve recently been lucky enough to check out two amazing local exhibitions – the Adidas X End Clothing exhibition and the Electrik Sheep x Baltic Takeover. We also joined in on Rob Mayhew’s Nabs talk which was really interesting.
Adidas x End exhibition
We kicked off our journey of creative inspiration with a short trip to the ‘Originals Newcastle’ exhibition, presented by Adidas Spezial, hosted in Newcastle. The exhibition covered decades of storytelling, from archived, limited edition concept pairs and classics like the 1982 OG Samba to some of the most interesting pairs with signatures from Pharrell, Snoop Dogg, Stormzy, and many more. To see all of this in one room – what’s not to love for creative and design enthusiasts?
Walking through 100’s of pairs of sneakers, we truly immersed ourselves into an understanding of the decades of continued care. We learned that Adidas creates a narrative that is expressed by each unique pair. And it’s the subtle attention to detail that makes every single one tell a real story. Adidas have, and are still, executing this so well. From the beginning to the end of the exhibition, it was clear that their ideas for design come down to telling a story about the emerging culture behind each shoe, and that’s what really matters. It is important as creatives to remember how inspiring it is to embrace storytelling, be curious about design and use this as a huge role in creativity. It’s the story and culture connecting purpose and personality that really sells. What an exhibition. Totally Soled.
Electrik Sheep Exhibition
We heard there was another big exhibition which could spark a journey for inspiration, so with a quick walk over the Millennium Bridge, we went to the ‘Electrik Sheep x Baltic Exhibition’ opening night! Hosted by local artists such as Mul, Penfold, and many more, this was the perfect place for everyone and anyone to immerse themselves in proper local creativity, curated by local artists.
We joined a long and growing queue outside the Baltic, filled with even more avid fans and creatives waiting to view the exhibition. On arrival, we were met with the pure passion of creativity, from the people who were there, to the amazing work on the walls. There were many different styles of street art on display, like unreal graffiti murals on walls and vans, and custom craft beer cans; all of which covered various amazing styles of art from multiple different artists. We felt incredibly energized to see so many other creatives sharing a passion, finding inspiration, enjoying the work and taking it all in, all on one floor. What a buzz the ‘Electric Sheep x Baltic Exhibition’ was!
Another moment of inspiration for the month came from Rob Mayhew’s Nabs talk, an industry leader and social media star! We heard all about his journey turning his comedy career into a whole new passion on Tiktok with relatable agency sketches. He also gave a cheeky plug to Rowing Blazers, the brand responsible for his iconic jumper collection. It was great to listen in with a coffee over lunch and feel inspired by the career and fashion choices of a modern day industry icon.
November has been packed with creative inspiration. It’s been fantastic to listen to great talks, see all these amazing exhibitions and artists all in the space of only a couple of weeks. Lets see what 2024 has in store…
