Name and location..
Adam Pritchett, based in the Lake District, England.
How long have you been making zines for?
I made the original version of Stitches in around 2015 and have released a Vol. 2 this year of revised works. I plan to make more next year with a focus around a recent project I ran for the month of October called, Stitchtober.
What do you like to create zines about?
My first one was designed to just be an amalgamation of images of embroidery work I had made, as an easily reproduced product that I could sell and archive of a snapshot of that time in my practice.
What is your favourite zine/comic/book?
I love all kinds of little art books and mini zines that I find at art fairs and comics events, one of my favourites is a small story about a witch that I bought at The Lakes International Comic Festival a few years ago and the author’s name escapes me. Finding little gems like that is the best feeling!
Tell us a bit more about your creative process..
I am generally a very impulsive maker, all of the embroidery work that I do is freehand, I don’t use patterns or transfer drawings onto the fabric before I begin. I work with air erasable pens and draw directly on the fabric, it means that each piece I make is very fluid, and prone to change. As with any form of textile art, as energetic as your beginning may be, the slow & methodical nature of sewing makes for a final design that is nothing like what you first imagined, and that is a dynamic that I so enjoy.
What does it feel like to have your zine in the London College of Fashion Library’s Special Collections?
It’s a wonderful feeling to think that something I have produced that is an archive of my artworks, is being preserved in such a prestigious collection!
What influenced Stitches?
Primarily my desire to collect, and preserve. As an artist I think you often have a very forward thinking point of view, and don’t like to look at old work because you see the place you were at that time, and you often see all the mistakes. But that can be such a useful tool for reflection, to be able to pick up a zine that you made and see on the pages the collection of your favourite pieces from that moment in time.
What one piece of advice would you give UAL students about zine making?
Make something that you are passionate about and that you want to see in the world. If you’re enthused about a subject, or an idea then no matter how you think it might be received, if you enjoy making it, and seeing it, then you’ve achieved something special
