looklikelove: Unlucky for some...

On a leafy street in SE15, set half-way between the grittiness of Peckham, and the affluence of East Dulwich, we set about opening our very first pop-up exhibition on Friday 13th...

We were slightly dubious about the already over-used term of 'pop-up', but in our case it pretty much summed up the two week showcase we had planned, and although one of the biggest storms hit the streets of South London literally an hour before we opened the doors, we couldn't have asked for a better turn-out.

We were joined by five of the six designers, who were on-hand to talk about their work, and celebrate the launch following a good few months of preparation and meetings.

Of course none of this would have been possible without the support of TheHouseWith, offering us the use of their perfectly proportioned space. A former photographer's studio, it has been the blank canvas we have been looking for to show off the curated collection of new designers.

New illustrations by Kayleigh Hadley and CM Carter sit opposite each other towards the rear of the shop, and create a rebellious angst-ridden teenagers bedroom style to the space.

Silver jagged offerings from Roisin Connolly and Michael Carroll segment the exhibition, and act as a natural pause point before the bold and bright work from Ben Phe and Sandy Powell which add a punchy blast of colour towards the front.

There was also time for Ben to add our very own over-the-door sign in his signature style, with CM Carter adding her illustrations not only to the window, but to our open/closed sign as well. This was a true collaboration from all involved, making it all the more special for us.

For this first exhibition, we wanted to offer a range of works and specialisms to highlight the cross-section of talent that exists across the country, and from the response from Friday night's launch, everyone was as excited as we were to bring these six new designers to the fore...