This coming weekend (12-14) we have one of the most exciting events of our calendar - Markfield Road Festival. The outdoor space in front of our Tottenham studio and Unit3 will be full of benches and seats, the lads at the bar will be serving drinks from Friday to Sunday, the Tottenham store will be open as usual and Markfield Road itself will be populated by food stalls, DJ’s, perhaps even a bouncy castle. Its a street party, you get the vibe.
There’s loads of reasons to get down there this weekend, between the hospitality, the entertainment for kids and adults alike, the vibes, but most importantly, our dear Tom, manager of our Tottenham Studio, and indeed our longest standing employee, will be exhibiting some of his own artwork as part of the festival.
If you’ve ever been to our Tottenham store you’ll have likely met Tom, if you haven’t but have been to one of our events, you’ll have seen and heard him - he’s big, loud, lovely, funny, cuddly, and mad as a bucket of snakes. Lots to love. So it’ll amaze you to know that on top of all of that, he somehow finds the time between running one of our shops and constantly renovating/fixing that boat of his, to be a brilliant visual artist.
I asked Tom a few questions about his work and the upcoming exhibition to tease some excitement out of everyone reading this post, and to hopefully coax you into spending your weekend (& money) in Tottenham with us, drooling over the handywork of Mister Tom Forman.
Tom, what are you exhibiting at Markfield Road Festival this year?
It’s a collection of some of my newer pieces I have been working on this year, as well as a few older pieces too!
Amazing, sounds great! And how long have you been creating visual art for?
So I studied Illustration at The University of Brighton, but back in those days my work was a lot more figurative and narrative based, which I used to enjoy but it was the experimenting with texture and colour that I truly enjoyed.
It’s mad actually - it’s our 20 year reunion of The Illustration Class Of 2005 at the end of this month!
So then I went travelling for a year in 2015-2016, and it was then when I got back that I rekindled my passion for creating, and started being a lot more playful and experimental with my work. Just before becoming a barber!
How would you describe the style of your work?
My work is really about the process as much as the outcome. For me, it’s a kind of cathartic, meditative practice - sitting with the shapes, layering textures, colours and letting them evolve. I enjoy experimenting, trying out different pressures, grains, and colour combinations, and seeing how small changes can completely change the mood of a piece. I’m definitely not about chasing perfection, but about getting lost in the act of making, enjoying the rhythm of it, and letting each piece take on its own character as it develops. I mainly work on my iPad and using the Apple Pencil but I also love the process of playing around with geometric vectors and see where that takes me.
How on earth do you find the time to do all of this whilst running a barber shop?!
Back in January to March of this year we spent a lot of time doing long hours and working over weekend’s on our brand spanking new Tottenham studio space, and when we finished the work, I was aware of how much extra time I had on my hands and started using this extra time, even if it was just for an hour or so after work, I would play around and it became a lasting practice. Previously I felt like I would have to dedicate an entire day to get into the rhythm of creating. I’ve got better at grabbing a spare hour here or there and jumping into my practice.
Do you ever work on your art in the barber shop?
Yes sometimes, if I’m working physically on paper and need more desk space I will do it in the staff room in Tottenham where we have loads of big desks and space. But the majority of my work is done on my computer or drawing on my iPad & Apple Pencil.
What’s the dream with your work? More exhibitions like this? Anything bigger?
Yes way! I’d definitely like to continue having more exhibitions of my new work. I feel like I’m in a place now where I’m really excited about creating and feel like I’m in a creative time in my life!
Many people reading this will be aware you live on a narrowboat, is it beautifully decorated full of your artwork?
So funnily enough my boat is full of my work but it’s not hanging up! I only have artwork from other artists hanging up, I guess it’s a bit like a musician listening to their own music at home
He’s too humble. If you’ve read this far, get yourself down to Markfield Road festival this weekend, poke a head in and say hello to the barbers (you’ll see them sat outside Unit3 as the night goes on) and tell Tom his artwork deserves pride of place on his own mantlepiece.
