+1 Co-Op is a new project by Rob Lowe (aka Supermundane) with the simple aim of bringing together a bunch of like-minded designers and sharing some great work.
What inspired you to start the +1 Co-Op project? I can't remember exactly. It was one of those ideas that came to me at the start of the year. January always seems to be a bit slow and it gives me time to think of projects that I may or may not do. I asked some of my artist friends if they thought it was a good idea and they all did so I started emailing people. Like most people in my industry, I get asked a lot to do things for charities, or ad agencies doing things for charities or themed shows. Which are all nice to do, but I wanted to do something that was purely about sharing work with fellow artists, just for the fun of it.
Can you explain how it works?There are 63 artists involved, each person makes an edition of 64 (63 +1) prints and sends them to me. I'll then collated them all into boxes and send them back so they all get one of each of the 63 different prints. Number 64 of each edition is being sold individually to pay for the cost of posting these packs back all over the world. I didn't want this to be about money so I'm selling them all for a flat fee of £12 (+ postage) which is a bargain.
Why 63 artists, and how did you go about choosing them?
Originally it was going to be 100 artists. It was only when I was half way through emailing people that I did any maths and realised that it would mean me processing 10,100 prints. I panicked slightly and stopped inviting people. It just happened to settle at 63. Which is an odd number but I like the arbitrary reason for it. It has still involved people sending me over 4000 prints. When it came to picking people some I chose were friends, others were people who I didn't know but whose work I really liked. There's a good mixture from very well established people to others just starting out. It's a truly international list of people including artists from the USA, Canada, Japan, Iceland, Finland, Australia, all over Europe and the UK of course.
Any favourite pieces so far, and any surprises?
I can't really say which are my favourites can I? It's like asking a father which of his children is his favourite. A few people have done original drawings and paintings, which is amazing. As far as surprises go, Petra Börner made a ceramic piece. That was a surprise.
When this one has sold out, are you planning on doing volume II?
Not at the moment. It has been fun but it's taken up a lot of time organising it and it's not over yet. But we will see next year.
When can people get their hands on the prints?
The plan is to have everything on sale at 8pm on 18 May. I guess there will be a bit of a scramble as there is only one of each and they are very cheap. This will probably be the only time you'll get a chance to buy a James Jarvis original drawing for £12.
See a preview of the prints here and set your alarm for 7.55pm on Monday 18 May.
supermundane.com
