Organic evolution - “the sequence of events involved in the evolutionary development of a species”. Well you don’t get much more organic than this; over a roast dinner in The Star and Sailor as CUB was born. That CUB is CUBculture, who have taken over York Studios, 28 York Place, London Road and if you have passed by recently you have probably felt the good vibes and welcoming aura oozing out.
Still a CUB in it’s own right, Steph had been picking Fox’s (a friend of a friend) brains about screen printing t-shirts for Pride only a short memory away in Aug 2009! From that CUB was formed as a mixture of their names Steph Young / Fox Fisher. Since then the creativity has been flowing, with both in need of a studio, one became available upstairs at York Place studios and when the gallery downstairs became available and everything fell into place naturally.
Selling an eclectic mix of lovingly produced limited edition screen prints, oils and hand made art and wears, York Place is a hub of activity. “Fox and Steph play tunes, project visuals and hold regular parties and promotional events including the Golden Trolley Dash around town with the support of Kate Kamikaze and AMiTY to create awareness while generally updating the shop whilst doing graphic design and illustration for the masses.”
Steph’s work features burlesque women (with her newest edition becoming 3D with added feathers, lace and sequins), muscle men and sexy 1950’s original movie stars. Hand made one off frames with French poety and black and white photos form a time once remembered. Fox’s creations are a mixture of antique books, hand drawings, screen prints and finished with hand embroidery “to give them more soul”. Other contributing artists include Kate Kamikaze, Jack Nash, Rhys Wootton and not forgetting the god mother of screen prints – Jane Sampson.
Wanting to keep the quality high yet the art accessible to all that love art, the ‘Around-a-Pound’ was born, a specially made range of products from £1 to £10 max! Displayed in a gold shopping trolley with a giant pound coin, this shows the convivial nature York Studios now has. Items include moulded clay ‘friends’ (mine is named Ruby), ‘Artist-in-a-Box’ (including human hair) specially made by Kate Kamikaze and much more. A card stall has also been produced ranging form £2.50-£6. “Our aim to to not seclude any art lover from a gift, be it for themselves or a loved one”. A visit is recommended sooner rather than later with such affordable prices I predict these special pieces won’t be around for very long!
The launch party on March 27th looked a day of madness and mayhem with live mannequins and creepy clowns, but worry if you missed it as they are hoping to have events at least once a month. The next one being April 17th – an excuse for Steph to have a birthday party while also informing CUB’s loyal following of events during the May festival and their new soon to be online store! What more reason do you need for a party!
If you can’t wait that long there are lots of things happening over Easter including a Golden Trolley Dash on Friday 2nd April starting at 2.30pm from the North Laines and a 10% discount on art with a special flyer – look out for that trolley. If you would like to take part in the CUB Golden Trolley Dash please visit the CUB Gallery and they will arrange – anything goes (so long as it fits in a trolley!). May – June sees the gallery taken over by a ‘Swifty’ newsagents. CUBculture will be having a big presence with spaces upstairs and the online shop. The best part being that means an even bigger launch party again in June when Steph and Fox take over the Gallery full time for the foreseeable future – exciting times.
I’d suggest just popping in to say hi, have a chat with the friendly folk and take a look at the great work. I bet your first visit won’t be your last.
Visit blog (soon to be shop) online at ‘www.CUBculture.com’
Join the Facebook Group ‘York Place Studios’ for all the lastest events and updates.
Email ‘info@cubculture’ for info or to get involved 
Written by Lucy Popps
