If you've been in to the shop recently, you may have noticed that we're pretty busy at the moment. So busy in fact, that it's 10pm on our second birthday and I've only just got around to blogging about it. Apologies if you weren't paying attention to social media and missed the great offer we ran today to say thanks for the support over the last two years (if you're reading this before midnight UK time, you can still cash in).
To mark our second birthday we've produced two limited edition prints (just 25 of each), on 300gsm recycled A3 board (shown above). One features the statement Choose Adventure, Embrace Failure, Defy Impossible, which was the original starting point and motivation for PROVIDE, and the other features the artwork from our Electric tee, including the silhouette of our Custard Factory home and the year of this anniversary. Come down to the shop and get one before they're all gone!
It's been a fun day in the shop with plenty of people passing through to say Happy Birthday, bringing with them cake, cards, alcohol and other gifts, which has us all in the party mood ready for what's shaping up to be a pretty huge weekend in Digbeth.
First up is our in-store exhibition of Imbue's 9 new mini screen prints on Friday. From 6-9pm in the shop, you can come and get your hands on one of his limited edition artworks for the ridiculously low price of just £10 - Imbue is really into breaking down barriers and conventions in the art world, and the unusually low pricing of his work for this exhibition means that long-time admirers of his art who may not previously have been able to afford it, will be able to take home a piece at a fraction of its usual price. We've also got a limited edition T-shirt featuring one of the graphics from the show, which will be revealed on the day.
Imbue's exhibition leads nicely onto City of Colours, Birmingham's first major street art festival. All day Saturday, all around Digbeth and the Custard Factory, artists from around the world will transform the streets into an open air gallery. You can find out all the information you need about the festival here. Running alongside City of Colours is Sneaks and Peaks, Birmingham's biggest celebration of sneakers, streetwear and urban culture where many of our friends including Dark Circle and Sola will be in attendance. It's really exciting to see so much happening in Digbeth this weekend, and we're looking forward to meeting all of you who are traveling to Birmingham especially for the festivities.
As part of City of Colours this Saturday we're hosting a film screening of Style Wars - the original and probably the most important documentary about graffiti and Hip Hop culture ever. Pre-sale tickets have already sold out, but there will be a small number of (free) spaces available on the door, on a first come first served basis. Find out more on the Facebook event page here.
Finally, to round off a busy weekend, right after the Style Wars screening, we'd recommend heading over to Boxxed on Floodgate Street for the Grand Final of Secret Walls, the live illustration battle series that we support. After making it through a number of preliminary battles, Joel Millerchip will face Trou in a 90 minute battle of pen and ink. The winner will take home a cash prize and a host of goodies from the sponsors, including a nice big package of PROVIDE clothing.
If you're not in Digbeth this weekend, you'd better be doing something incredible. It's going to be good!