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“You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” 

– Morpheus, The Matrix 

Neo risked everything by choosing to confront whatever lay outside the boundaries of his comfort zone and was all the better for it. Every day in our careers, we are faced with similar decisions—do we choose to act conservatively for definite success or do we risk it all on the chance that we could break new ground and increase our business output?

It is easy to find ourselves in the shadow of the hulking mountain that is risk or, more accurately, the fear of failure when that risk does not pay off. Workplace wellness schemes might suggest snacking on a mango and cardamom bliss ball, or, perhaps, saluting the sun. Yet with fear this big, raw snacks and salutations will not cut it.

Here are our top five adrenaline-inducing ways to develop some grit so that you can feel the fear and do it anyway, reaping the rewards of risk-taking both at work and in everyday life.

1. SLACKLINING

Born in the 1980s in Yosemite National Park when two young men decided that tightrope walking was passé, slacklining, also known as highlining or slacking, is as much a test of balance as it is of mind power and endurance. Picture a strap, as wide as the bridge of your foot, tied between two trees. With each step the ‘line’, slack—as the name describes—will sink and swing. Throw a canyon in the middle of the two trees and you’re set! You may even like to do a couple of ollies once you reach the middle—tricking—or just strike a downward dog for a bit of hovering zen.

Where: Rock climbing gyms, local parks and beyond! Our picks: Brooklyn Boulders & White Spider Climbing

Insta Motivation: @slacklarsen | @slackland_story

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2. DEEP WATER SOLOING

Remember the dream about falling off a cliff into the ocean? Tackle your fear in reality with this popular climbing activity, also known as Psicobloc (psycho bouldering). Climbers, equipped only with bouldering shoes, scale sea cliffs as high up as they dare. Once their limit is reached, they steal a glance at the water below to check for jellyfish, look at the horizon and jump, sailing through the air and into the blue below.

Where: All around the world! Highlights: Lan Ha Bay (Vietnam) & Cova del Diablo (Spain)

Insta Motivation: @psicocomp

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3. AERIAL ARTS 

This fusion of art and strength, which began as early as the Minoan-Ancient Greek era, is experiencing a renaissance in gyms worldwide. Silks, pole, and trapeze give you wings. If you are struggling to see the big picture—flying through the air is sure to give you a new perspective. Master footlocks, drops and hip keys, and exercise your confidence and creativity.

Where: Numerous gyms. Our picks: Gymbox & Aerial Arts NYC

Insta Motivation: @cdignes

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4. TECTONIC PLATE PLUNGE

There is no better way to meditate than snorkeling or scuba diving between two continents: bright green troll hair algae swaying below your feet and (if you are lucky) the Northern Lights above you. The Silfra Fissure, located in Iceland’s Thingvellir Lake, in Þingvellir National Park is the gap between the continents of North America and Eurasia. The water is filtered through porous underground lava, sometimes for 100 years before seeping into the lake, meaning that the crack boasts unrivaled water visibility (100m plus). An immersion here will humble and quieten your inner monologue, allowing for deep reflection—a relief from the frenetic buzz of nine-to-five.

Where: Iceland

Insta Motivation: @dive.is

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5. EXTREME IRONING

Extreme ironing is an extreme sport in which people take ironing boards to remote locations and iron items of clothing. Proudly announcing this to the office on Monday could elicit some giggles but success in this sport (officially recognized in 1999) demands skill, strength and more than a little bit of moxie. Pinned as combining “the danger and excitement of an ‘extreme’ sport with the satisfaction of a well pressed shirt”, extreme ironing takes work-life balance to the next level. Also brilliant for a team under stress; grab your whole accounts squad and take on the Guinness World Record for most people extreme ironing underwater—currently 173.

Where: Anywhere you like – from your own backyard to the bottom of the ocean.

Insta Motivation: Too counterculture to have a solid Instagram presence…yet.

P.S: All the activities described are extreme sports and should be treated as such. Safety precautions should always be taken and beginners should only attempt in the presence of trained professionals.  

The post Want to Develop More Grit? Here Are the Top 5 Extreme Activities You Should Try appeared first on The Urban Watch Magazine.

Hollie Fraser is a Book Fairy. In 2012 she began dropping books on the London Underground to make people fall in love with reading again, inspiring Rosy Kehdi to do the same on the New York Subway. The women now run the not-for-profit organisation, Books on the Subway (BOTS) together, with Books on the Underground (BOTU) safely in the hands of Cordelia Oxley.

With seven Books On… iterations around the world so far, celebrity collaborations and potential plans to launch a female empowerment platform, the Book Fairies are an inspirational lot. We caught up with Rosy and Hollie to hear about how they are managing to turn the daily commute into a literary scavenger hunt.

The goal of BOTS and BOTU is to get more people reading, do you think that you are achieving this?

We’d like to think so! A lot of people who have picked up the books posted back to us about how they’ve enjoyed the read, or that the book was just what they needed during a rough patch they’re going through. By making books more accessible to people, we’re hoping that our mission is working. Not everyone can afford buying books, and not everyone goes to the public library. This is an easy way to reach masses, and reignite the love of reading in people.

How do you choose the books to drop, is there specific criteria they must meet?

We currently drop all books that are donated to us. We decided that since we live in such a diverse city we wanted to leave books that appeal to all. We don’t want to be the ones who limit what New Yorkers read! But we do try and avoid that are controversial (religious, political) and any books that are too specific (medical, business etc.).

Is there a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes on? How do you cope with juggling this and your full time jobs?

There’s lots of emails and scheduling and even more actual Book Dropping!! We also try to keep track of people posting about us and comments on our social channels, and aim to reply to most.

We just do it around work, so we end up emailing a lot of evening and weekends too! Sometimes it feels like a second full-time job, but we love it, so it doesn’t feel like work!

What was the largest obstacle that you had to overcome to launch this organisation and how did you tackle it?

Probably the sheer massiveness of the subway! We felt that we were only targeting a small section, and not able to reach people in areas we don’t frequently visit so we’ve recruited some volunteers to help us out with our Book Drops. They’re all over the city, from the Bronx to Coney Island and Queens. We now reach more people and [they] allow us to drop even more books (and lift some weigh off our shoulders and backs! — quite literally!)

How do you feel about e-readers and the impact that they are having on physical books?

There is no denying that e-readers are much more convenient for many people, and we think people should use whatever medium they think will help them read more. That’s what matters after all. We have both dabbled in e-readers and audiobooks, but ultimately, we didn’t feel like they matched the experience of reading a physical book. And nothing, NOTHING, beats the feeling of browsing a bookstore, and picking your next read!

The organisation has received a huge amount of publicity recently from your collaborations with Emma Watson and Anna Kendrick – that must have been exciting! Can you tell us about how these came to pass?

Cordelia, from Books on the Underground reached out to do the partnership with Emma Watson’s Our Shared Shelf book club and they wanted to get involved, as did Emma herself. So that was absolutely fantastic and we had the pleasure of having Emma in NY as a Book Fairy for the day too. The Anna Kendrick partnership, Rosy and myself organized. She had a sell-out book tour taking place in NY and we knew loads of her fans would be in town, so we thought why not give them copies on the day, if they can’t get into the book signing. So she signed a few copies and we were able to drop them on the subway.

Do you have any advice that you could give to entrepreneurs interested in starting a non-profit?

Have a clear mission and a vision. It’s very easy to get distracted with all the opportunities and ways to grow the project. But by sticking to what we truly believe in, we can leverage the opportunities that come our way and make them work for what we want to stand for and be about.

What are your top three favourite books?

R: I don’t know why this is always such a hard question for me! I can’t really pick! Here are some of my favourites:

• Harry Potter Series – J.K. Rowling
• Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
• The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini

H: Me too, it’s such a hard question! I love so many books, but these just really stand out for me as the books I recommend to ALL of my friends:

• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
• The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

—

• Not in London or New York? Books On are also in Washington DC (Books On The Metro), Melbourne (Books On The Rail), Montreal (Livres Dans Le Métro) and Toronto (Books On The Transit) with a Boston organisation set to launch shortly (Books On The T)
• For clues on the latest Book Drops, follow Books On The Subway on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
• To find out more about the program or to submit a book you can contact Rosy and Hollie at bookssubway@gmail.com

Graphics thanks to Hollie and Rosy.

The post Subterranean Fairy Dust: An interview with the founders of Books On The Subway appeared first on The Urban Watch Magazine.

1. Two words: Free. Holiday.

Today rest costs and often the easier choice is to not rest at all. Without the need to pay for accommodation and meals, WWOOFing puts urban escape firmly back on the can-do list. There is a minor subscription fee but membership lasts for a year and is a small price to pay for the insight that you gain

2. Urban Wild

Forty-six years ago, London-based secretary Sue Coppard decided that the peak of the typical office worker’s interaction with the environment was a non-committal chewing of a sorry looking sprig of overcooked broccoli. She held a weekend trial at a Bio-dynamic farm in Sussex and city-lovers have been unleashing their wild side ever since.

3. Farm-to-Table

Not only is the food free, it is real. No high fructose corn syrup here. Eat how you were meant to, with organic vegetables straight out of the garden and meat from animals that have not spent their lives crippled in a factory (there are farms that maintain a purely vegetarian existence too).

4. To get more followers

Ditch playing the Instagram copycat. Every WWOOFing experience is an authentic, inimitable one.

5. To explore a new country from within

Bypass queues, fanny packs and tacky keyrings and get up close to the real country, connect with the people and go for a stroll in their gumboots. Discover what a place is truly about.

6. To upskill your CV

Farm work is a vast umbrella of skills that go beyond hammering and planting (although both are excellent abilities) and will enrich your capacity in the office. Unconvinced? Explain to us how getting every single cow in the heard milked before lunchtime is not a demonstration of exceptional management and organisational skills.

7. To walk the walk

The world (except for the White House) is becoming more and more eco-conscious but how often do people get beyond recycling? Lip service will not save the planet but tangible action-making steps will. Go play Leo DiCaprio, earn your green guts and expand your ability to affect meaningful change for the Earth.

8. To expand your mind

Michelangelo, claimed to still be learning. If the sculpturer behind the iconic David has more to understand, we do too. Wander into the forest and discover a world that you never knew existed.

9. To rebel

Dare to step outside the concrete jungle, if only for a week. Relinquish your grip on wifi (or is it the other way around?) and disconnect. Abandon emails and travel to places that txt cannot touch for a fresh perspective and a virtual cleanse.

10. To K-O creative block

Just as body language communicates what we want to say, moving our hands can express thought. Hands-on work is thought to be able to break through mental fog and help us to organize our thoughts through creating a physical representation of our thinking, particularly when the work is creative. What’s more, blue sky thinking with the actual sky over your head is definitely going to be more productive.

11. To de-stress

Not all yoga requires a yoga mat. The repetitive actions and routines that are required to build a wall, fetch water from a well or even baking bread are meditation in themself and has been proven to help reduce anxiety, depression and other metropolitan ailments. The empathy developed from caring for animals, too, has been proven to be a powerful de-stressor and happiness booster.

12. To have the best time EVER

Fancy living in your own little cottage in The Middle of French Nowhere? How about a peasant commune in Voronez, Russia, a nomadic ranch in Mongolia, or mucking in at the bottom of the world in New Zealand? WWOOFing is available in over a hundred locations around the world. Add a whole bunch of vibrant, diverse people who are united by their love of the outdoors and you are sure to have a wicked vacation.

For more information, visit WWOOFing International.

Graphics: Courtesy of Bells Design via Gratisography

The post 12 Reasons Why You Need to WWOOF appeared first on The Urban Watch Magazine.

Pick up the nearest object to you. Chances are, what you are holding is a jigsaw puzzle of pieces made all around the world. Take an iPhone: software – North Carolina; radio frequency – Oregon; audio chip – Texas; gorilla glass – California; minerals required to create colour screens, vibration units, circuitry, chipsets and batteries – Mongolia; dram & flash memory – Korea and Taiwan; gyroscope – France and Italy; assembly – China…

Overseas production is great when you want a mass produced product (and you don’t care about the environmental cost), but what happens when you only want ten? Local production is dead. In its place are multi-national chains that are a costly barrier to makers who are just starting out. Herein lies the problem which Mayku co-founders Alex Smilanksy and Benjamin Redford are on a mission to solve.

“Mayku” is part “maker” and part homage to a love for sleek Japanese design. The hardware startup is determined to put the power of making back into the hands of the little guys with a curious little device called a Formbox. The world’s first desktop factory, able to be powered by any household vacuum cleaner, uses plastic sheets to create a mould of, say, a banana, that can then be used to rapidly create a small yellow army, which can, in turn, be combined to create a state-of-the-art banana chandelier. Any material – chocolate, wax, silicone, plaster, water – can be used to create a collection using the FormBox.

Mayku is leveling the playing field. By providing easier access to manufacturing (and with plans for an online how-to library of products), they say “physically making things will be as simple as making toast.”

Products will be able to be made and re-made at minimal environmental cost and production time (typically drawn out due to shipping) will be significantly reduced. Mayku is already one step ahead as the Formbox, itself, has a smaller carbon footprint than the average laptop. Now the focus is on creating a machine that recycles the plastic sheets to keep the environmental impact low. In the interim, Mayku is working towards using biodegradable plastics and educating landfills on how to most effectively recycle the sheets.

Market saturation is an undeniable consequence of the FormBox, but Mayku has a refreshing perspective when it comes to competition.  

“The definition of creativity has changed due to the ability to re-make things,” Smilanksy told CreativeMornings/London at his talk at the Goldsmith Centre last October. From competition, comes constant improvement and unique ideas and we will see the industry continuing to evolve.

The Formbox is sold out through July 2017 but Mayku are currently accepting pre-orders for a Spring/Summer 2017 delivery ($399 + $30 shipping fee to all countries).

The post Mayku: a factory that fits on your kitchen table appeared first on The Urban Watch Magazine.

Neon will never die in Gods [sic.] Own Junkyard. More wonderland than warehouse, gigantic disco balls hang between numerous clever and downright saucy signs that offer a glimpse into a collection that began over 50 years ago with a man named Dick Bracey.

The lights first fired up in 1958 behind the doors of Electro Signs, a business specializing in fairground and circus lettering. It was not long until Dick’s son, the late Chris Bracey, joined his father’s fluorescent line of work – clearly, neon flows through Bracey blood.

In the early 70s, [Chris] Bracey was after something more – carnivals were not the neon pinnacle. So he got his foot in the door of a very different, but no less riské scene – the heart of Soho. His clientele, including the infamous Kray brothers, were now as red lit as the signs themselves but it was only a matter of time before Bracey would seek to push the envelope further.

In 1998, American light artist, Bruce Nauman, was exhibiting at the Hayward Gallery on London’s Southbank. Neon featured heavily and Bracey realized the potential of neon to illuminate more than just sex in Soho. He began to salvage and restore film signs and experiment with materials such as gold leaf and radioactive krypton gas. The result was “Sodom and Gomorrah mixed with art” and the world could not get enough.

The works are available for hire and purchase although Bracey was renowned for once turning down a £30,000 offer for his “God Save the Queen” – each piece of artwork is a new love that he would have rather kept. While the price tag may be more than a little steep for the average punter, you can offer up your own things for a customized neon resurrection. Anything goes – from smashed car doors to wheelbarrows. Delightfully, neon has no limit.

Sadly, Chris Bracey passed away due to prostate cancer in 2014. His glowing legacy, however, carried forward by his wife, Linda, and two of his three sons, Matthew and Marcus, shines on.

This year is the third time that Gods Own Junkyard has returned to where it all began – the Soho Streets, the very soul of neon. The kick ass collection, in collaboration with art gallery, Lights of Soho, is called ‘Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.’ Adding depth to the usual commercial festive displays, the exhibition pieces are a vivid finger to the dystopia of 2016.

Need to know

Exhibition: ‘Always Look On the Bright Side Of Life’: Lights of Soho, 35 Brewer Street, London

• Until January 23rd, 2017
• Opening Hours: 10am-6pm for public; after 6pm members’ only

Gods Own Junkyard: Unit 12, Ravenswood Industrial Estate, Shernhall Street, London E17 9HQ

• Opening Hours: Friday & Saturday 11am-9pm, Sunday 11am-6pm
• Grab a bite to eat at The Rolling Scones Café found within the enclave

If you would like to make a donation to Prostate Cancer UK on behalf of Chris Bracey, you can do so here.

All photos are courtesy of Gods Own Junkyard

The post Neon Sparks Fly in Soho appeared first on The Urban Watch Magazine.

At Camden Lock Market, take a left after the freshly squeezed orange juice stand and you will find the best (and possibly the tiniest) cookie bar in London and the World, Cookies & Scream.

Two teenagers are behind the bar. One, a girl with blue hair and tattoos from her forearms to her fingertips, and the other a pallid boy with thick black hair casually spiked out. They create the punk-goth vibe as much as the hand-chalked skulls that decorate the menu.

Picture stacks upon stacks of cookies and a really good-looking selection of cakes, brownies, pies and doughnuts (the full range is available at their larger Holloway Road location.) You can get your cookie or donut fix in an  ice cream sandwich form!

All products are free of gluten, wheat and refined sugar and nothing contains animal products. So that’s no butter, no eggs, no real chocolate and, what’s more, everything is low fat… not that you would notice.

Vegan never looked so sinful.

Deciding what to get is going to be the hardest decision of your life. Fortunately, you can always come back another day to pick up whatever you couldn’t fit in. You need a slice of their Cookie Pie in your life. It’s a thick-as-f#*k cookie that oozes melted choc and peanut butter. So. Freaking. Delicious.

And then there’s the TO DIE FOR cherry-almond blondie (do get it heated) and a tonne of Scream Shakes that are so wonderful that you will want to take them intravenously. Their old school vanilla comes highly recommended.

Note that their products do contain nuts and soya so, sadly, you might have to give this place a miss if you have allergies.

Insider Tip: For a change from the ubiquitous underground and busses, you may like to take a canal boat from Little Venice to Camden Lock. It takes 55 minutes and costs around £8.50 depending on which company you go with. Timetables can vary according to seasons so be sure to look it up before you go. 

Cookies & Scream, £

Locations:

The Market Hall, Camden Lock Place, NW1 8AF

10-5pm daily*

130 Holloway Road, N78JE

10.30-7pm daily, Saturday 10-8pm*

*Check their instagram for updated opening hours.

http://www.cookiesandscream.com/

The post Cookies & Scream: Vegan Never Looked so Sinful appeared first on The Urban Watch Magazine.

“All sorrows are less with bread,” claimed Cervantes in the 1500s. Our obsession with the Chelsea (area in southwest London) bun and New York bagel prove that more than five hundred years later, Cervantes is still right… but which snack is a bite above the rest? Let’s take a deeper look.

Chelsea buns can be traced back to the 1700s, to the Old Chelsea Bun House bakery where 50,000 people, Hanoverian royalty among them, turned up to queue for the first baker’s dozen. The buns, often paired with hot cross buns to celebrate Easter, quickly achieved cult status with a following to match. A strong police force was required to keep the Good Friday queues calm; the buns themselves were sold out of shutters in the side of the bakery lest riots ensued.

While Chelsea buns have been whipping crowds into a frenzy since their inception, bagels have also charmed the masses for decades. Bagels made such an impression that in the early 1900s, a select group of people decided that they liked them so much that they would, effectively, put a ring on it.

Cue the International Beigel [sic] Bakers’ Union. For years, bagel production in New York was tightly controlled by this bagel monopoly. An exclusive society, only sons of the original members were allowed to join the fold; wannabe bagel-bakers were threatened with broken legs if it appeared they were going to be baking their own bagels on the sly.

What about the bun and bagel of today? Both, in fact, are bastardized versions of their ancestors; the two have been super-sized and reinvented in crazy flavors at the behest of hangry Instagrammers, outraging bagel and bun purists alike. A blogger even called for government action, proclaiming, “This kind of perversity should be prohibited by law.”

One of the most controversial elements in this bread-ataclysm came out of Lender’s Bagel Factory. They opted to steam rather than hand-roll and boil the dough, managing to double if not triple the output of their traditionalist neighbors. The resulting “roll with a hole,” however, lacks the iconic chewiness of its predecessor, a loss that Mimi Sheraton, former New York Times’ restaurant critic, finds to be “completely deplorable.” We wonder what Sheraton would have to say about the rainbow bagel deviants that ‘broke’ Instagram this past year.

Bagels may prove more popular online but the Chelsea bun is no less revered. Since its inception, it quickly became a literary muse, popping up in the works of Charles Dickens, Anne Manning and Lewis Carroll. In the 1700s, a local poet even wrote an ode to the humble Chelsea:

Fragrant as honey and sweeter in taste!

As flaky and white as if baked by the light,

As the flesh of an infant soft, doughy and slight.

            – Anon.

Candid, artistic and not just a little disturbing (“flesh of an infant”?!) this poem is the icing on the proverbial Chelsea bun.

So, let’s review. The Chelsea bun wins the tale of the origins because the fact that Chelsea buns caused actual bun fights is too good to go unrewarded. The bagel also gets a point, however, for having a history that enabled a Beyoncé reference. And so we arrive at a tie but there can be only one winner and when it comes down to the wire, nothing beats a bagel in our books, not even the poetic creations of sheer bun-induced madness. Roll on bagels! We salute you.

Edited by Ivy Joseph & Demi Vitkute

The post New York Bagel or Chelsea Bun? appeared first on The Urban Watch Magazine.

The man on the ground sees nothing but the wooden plank in front of him. It rests on a block, like a sea-saw. He takes a deep breath and a bead of sweat rolls down his temple. As he breathes out, his gaze lifts.

The audience follow his line of sight. There are two other men, standing on top of a large box eyeing up the other end of the sea-saw.

Suddenly, the audience understands. The man on the ground slaps his sides with his hands just once; this must be the signal. The two men on top of the box leap off.

The impact when they hit the sea-saw sends the man on the ground up into the air like a skyrocket. No one can believe it as he begins to backflip. Once… twice… and then he is caught by the other performers, on a large crash mat. The audience breathes again.

Every night at 8_PM, people pack into a big tent in Siem Reap to watch 90 minutes of circus arts with a distinctly Cambodian edge.

Acrobatics, silks, fire; it is all here. There is even a hand-balancing duo of deities; proof that acro-yoga has reached the heavens.

Nine different stories are performed on rotation. All are based on Cambodian folklore and explore big picture issues from rejection and manipulation to war, romance, and the pursuit of happiness.

Whether the performers are playing Double Dutch with the fiery skipping rope of Satan, fusing break dancing with the traditional Cambodian dance style, Apsara, or just having a ball, it is impressive.

Yet, it is not the high level of skill of the artists that sets the circus apart from others, nor is it the fact that you can turn up early and pick up your own set of skills from the stars themselves in the celebrated circus workshops.

The point of difference at Phare is the artists themselves. All performers come from challenging social and economic backgrounds. The circus is just one of the initiatives run by non-profit Cambodian association, Phare Ponleu Selpak (PPS) or, “The Brightness of Arts.” At its heart is the aim to teach local children to rise above poverty and empower them to build a better future through art therapy as well as free access to social support and public schooling. Over one and a half thousand students have become involved in the organization since it began back in 1994.

Phare has conservation on its mind too. Even the smallest opportunities have been taken to reduce the carbon footprint; you would never guess that the cheery lamps dotted around in the courtyard are upcycled plastic bottles.

Watching the artists pull off gravity-defying feats is all the more poignant in the knowledge that they could just as easily have been sold into the merciless sex trade that plagues Cambodia. Instead, they are empowered, have pride and skill, and literally soar above the rest. The success of the show speaks for itself; it is an essential activity for every visitor to Cambodia.

Good to know

Tickets are sold in three tiers and cost from US$18-35 adults or US$10-18 for children (ages 5-11). For more package options, including dinner and circus workshops, see here.

If you would like to donate to Phare, you can find all the details here.

The post The Brightness of Arts: Empowering Cambodian Children to Fight Poverty appeared first on The Urban Watch Magazine.

Lora Zombie is a force of nature. Her signature grunge aesthetic, bright colors and penchant for unicorns culminate in effervescent works that both delight and challenge contemporary perspectives of society and the world.

The self-taught artist (born in 1990 Voronezh, Russia) burst into the urban art scene through fan art forums, social media and artistic platform, DeviantArt, in the late 2000s. Intrigued by the interaction between music and art, as well as nature, cartoons, and the creative talent behind famed band Gorillaz, Jamie Hewlett and The Zombie Flesh Eaters (the inspiration behind her surname, her true identity being top secret), Lora describes her creative process as a chaotic energy akin to being surrounded by music.

Ever-creative, Lora works closely with Eyes On Walls and is constantly involved in different collaborations (Lollapalooza Berlin, Urban Nation, Warner Bros and Blackmilk Clothing to name a few) while working on limited edition pieces for her own brand, Hero Time which launched in July, 2015. In a world of Brexit and the Trump-ocalypse, Lora is a well-needed breath of fresh air, with a splash of unicorns for good measure.

We spoke to Lora about her upcoming London show (12 November, 2016), True Colors, which will exhibit 50+ new paintings and is free to attend – a testament to her desire that her work remain accessible and available to everyone.

In a world of Brexit and the Trump-ocalypse, Lora is a well-needed breath of fresh air, with a splash of unicorns for good measure.

Bold, whimsical colors are a theme in your art, why did you decide to name this particular show True Colors?

Everybody shows their true color, whether it is infinite kindness or all consuming ego, that is what the world is about today. These colors come from within us.

Which piece in True Colors most represents your inspiration right now?

“Fragile World” and “Easy Mind Floating Soul.” I feel so free and happy but I know how fragile the world is, I need to look after it.

What is the one thing in your studio that you cannot live without?

Pencil 0.7mm

If you could paint with just three colors (without mixing to make new ones) for the rest of your life, which three would you pick and why?

White, baby blue and pink. They make everything feel like cotton candy.

What does the color blue mean to you?

I just love it.

How many hours per week do you spend painting?

I am constantly painting or creating inside my head. When I travel, I draw in a sketchbook.

Why do you paint unicorns?

I love them. That’s the main reason I do anything. I love it.

Why the pill motif?

More vitamins.

What is the biggest disaster that has happened in your life and how did you overcome it?

No disasters in my life. I thank the universe for this, and for the tests and experience it gives me.

What do you love most in the world?

Nature

True Colors attendees will have the opportunity to meet Lora and purchase her limited edition prints with gift bags, free with any purchase, going to the first to arrive. In the days following her exhibition, Lora will be turning the streets of London awash with her bubbly painting in the days following her exhibition. Keep an eye on her Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for details.

True Colors details

Saturday 12^th November, 7-10pm; @ Arch 6, Crucifix Lane, London Bridge, SE1 3JW. Free entry.

Any remaining limited edition prints will be available to purchase at Eyesonwalls.com once the show has concluded.

All images used are courtesy of Lora Zombie 

The post The True Colors of Lora Zombie appeared first on The Urban Watch Magazine.

1. Get your freak on and down an insect

Join The Colony | Artesian, London | £18-

Absolut Elyx, wheat, almond, juniper, bergamot

2. Party on the ceiling with the Mad Hatter’s top hat

The Mad Hatter | Barts, London | Serves 4-6 | £90

Russian Standard vodka, spiced berries & apple, topped with prosecco

3. Knock back a beaver

Here’s Buddy | Beaver Lodge, London | $12

Beaver Moonshine and apricot liqueur, cranberry juice, passionfruit juice

4. Go loco for a coco-nut

Coconut | ZZ’s Clam Bar, NYC | $20

Trinidadian rum, Acacia honey, smoked cinnamon

5. Get jingled on a jam jar

The Godfather Sour | The Shop NW10, London | £8

Rebel Yell bourbon, amaretto agave, lime juice, orange bitters

6. Sip from a sweetheart

Vera Lynn | Cahoots, London | ~£10

Tanqueray No.TEN gin, ginger wine, apple juice, elderflower cordial, pear purée, fresh lime

7. Misbehave with a poptail

Poppy Horror | Adventure Bar Convent Garden, London | Serves 5-8 | £22-59

Eristoff vodka, blackcurrant liqueur, fresh lemon juice, sugar, prosecco, lipstick, handcuffs

8. Intrigue with a brass pineapple

Pineapple | ZZ’s Clam Bar, NYC | $20

American gin, house limoncello, chamomile

9. Get horsed on a horse head

Horse Head | Bunga Bunga, London | Serves 3 | £55

Don Julio Blanco tequila, Ratafia black cherry liqueur, cranberry juice

10. Make sparks fly with a light bulb

Flower | The Standing Room, NYC | $12

Dry gin, lavender, elderflower, cranberry

11. Take a swig from a flaming skull…

Flaming Zombie | The Escapologist, London | £11.50

Bacardi Oro, dark rum, triple sec, fresh lemon juice, mango, passion fruit, pineapple juice, over-proof rum

12. …or a gloriously pink one

Disco Skull | Simmons, London | Serves 4 | £35

Malibu, apple juice, cold brew Earl Grey tea, fresh lime juice, raspberries, lime wedges, sugar syrup

13. Be all class with a Chemex coffee maker

Tahitian Coffee | Slowly Shirley, NYC | Serves 2 | $35

Plantation Barbados rum, Campo de Encnato pisco, house falernum, honey, guava, passion fruit, orange, lime, cold brew coffee

14. Get spiritual with a porcelain Buddha

Cardamom | ZZ’s Clam Bar, NYC | $20

Gin, vanilla, VEP Chartreuse

15. Enjoy a tipple from an Italian

Supermario Monti | Bunga Bunga, London | £12

Fresh cucumber muddled with Hendrick’s gin, mixed with elderflower cordial, apple juice, 7UP

16. Put away a can or two

Jamo & Ginger Cha-Chunker | Genuine Liquorette, NYC | $10.10+tax

Jameson irish whiskey, ginger ale, bitters, lemon

Photo credit: Genuine Liquorette

17. Mystify with an alcoholic capsicum

Cucumber | The Standing Room, NYC | $12

Spicy tequila, cucumber, lime, bell pepper

Photo credit: @pierangeliwit

18. Pick a vintage hit with a raspberry-kissed teacup

Bikini Martini | Simmons, London | £9

Vodka, Chambord raspberry liqueur, pineapple juice

19. Have a cereal-sly good night with a milk bottle

American Cereal Killer | The Clocktower’s Gold Bar, NYC |$16

Michter’s bourbon, cheerios milk, Madagascan vanilla syrup, Angostura bitters

20. Defeat Jaws

The Shark’s Eye | Mother Of Pearl, NYC | $15

Passion fruit, lemon, maraschino, curacao, bourbon, Tiki bitters

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