Christmas Last Posting Dates 2014

We have compiled a list of last posting dates for your Christmas orders. Please see the list below for our advised last orders. As ever, we would ask you to place your orders as soon as possible to ensure your parcel arrives in time (and that we don't sell out of anything!) and to advise you that these dates are just a guide. We cannot be held responsible for orders arriving late due to the postal service.

Please try to get your orders in by the following dates and times:

UK
Standard delivery - Friday 19th December 4pm
Express delivery - Monday 22nd 4pm

Western Europe (excluding Greece & Poland)
Airmail (by Royal Mail) - Friday 12th December 4pm

USA
Airmail (by Royal Mail) - Thursday 11th December 4pm

Canada, Poland
Airmail (by Royal Mail) - Monday 8th December 4pm

Cyprus, Eastern Europe, Greece
Airmail (by Royal Mail) - Sunday 7th December 2pm

Africa, Caribbean, Central & South America, Middle East
Airmail (by Royal Mail) - Thursday 4th December 4pm

Australia

Airmail (by Royal Mail) - Wednesday 3rd December 4pm

Asia, Far East (including Japan), New Zealand
Airmail (by Royal Mail) - Tuesday 2nd December 4pm

If you miss any of these dates...
If you are outside of the UK, we may be able to send your parcel by UPS. Please contact us for a quote as delivery speed and prices vary by country.

Please use these dates as a guide only and please feel free to contact us with any questions or queries about sending your orders. Please note that the time stated is UK time!

You can read Royal Mail recommended dates here. Don't forget we need time to process and pack your orders!

Greeting card image above is by Crispin Finn and is available here.

Soma is 10!

On the 6th June Soma turned the grand old age of 10. To mark this pretty remarkable achievement we created a limited edition box set of 10 prints by some of our favourite artists who we have worked with over the last 10 years.

The artists who created a print are Adam Bridgland & Lucy Gough, Graham Carter, Gemma Correll , Crispin Finn, HelloMarine, Alice Pattullo, Peskimo, Hazel Nicholls, Andy Smith and Spencer Wilson. 

All of the prints are available as singles for £30 each of the full set of 10 presented in a beautiful box for £275 here.

We had a very successful event on Saturday 7th in our shop and gallery space to launch the prints and to celebrate the anniversary. We had some amazing goodie bags with tape from Hazel Nicholls, Newspapers from Rob Ryan, badges, printed tea charts and posters from Peskimo and more contained in a printed cotton tote bag designed by Peskimo or Gemma Correll! There was a lucky dip with items generously donated by our amazing artists and other people we've worked with including Andy Smith, Peskimo, Graham Carter, Not Another Bill, No Place Like (To Dry For), Rob Ryan, Lesley Barnes and more!

You can view photos from the event on Flickr

View all the prints on our website here




Crispin Finn

Crispin Finn is a small, London based design partnership. Founded and run by Anna Fidalgo - a graphic designer and Roger Kelly - a fine artist, their shared love of screenprinting, stationery and vernacular design inspired them to collaborate and develop their trademark style. Working predominantly in red, white and blue, a restriction they initially set themselves in order to hand produce simple and affordable designs, the colour scheme has become part of the Crispin Finn identity.

View all work by Crispin Finn here



Andy Smith

Born and raised in Norfolk, Andy Smith studied illustration at the University of Brighton and the Royal College of Art, London. Graduating in 1998 he quickly established a client list of advertising, publishing and editorial clients including Orange, Mercedes, McDonalds, The Guardian, Expedia, Sony, Vodafone, Random House and Penguin Books, directing Run London, a commercial for Nike in 2000. He lives and works by the sea in Hastings, East Sussex.

View all work by Andy Smith here




Spencer Wilson

Spencer is a London based illustrator and co-founder of the illustration, design and animation company Peepshow Collective Ltd. He has been working to commission since 1998 in a world of neat piles of mess, coffee cups and ordered chaos. His work follows this theme with the creation of sketchy ideas and twisted thoughts, carried through into clean vectored, balanced images placed in dynamic flat colour compositions with the occasional introduction of texture.

View all work by Spencer Wilson here

Hazel Nicholls

Hazel Nicholls lives in South East London. 14 years ago she moved from Northern Ireland to attend Camberwell College of Arts. She left Camberwell with a degree in Illustration. Hazel loves Real Ale, the seaside, ten pin bowling and of course a good pun. Her work is mostly influenced by a longstanding love of cross stitch and an interest in old phrases. Her designs have found themselves on limited edition prints, ceramics, textiles, packaging and more recently a giant fibre glass egg (as part of the Faberge Big Egg Hunt, 2012). She learnt how to screenprint five years ago and I hasn’t looked back since.

View all work by Hazel Nicholls here





Graham Carter

Graham Carter is one of the most exciting illustrators currently working in the UK, and has worked at the forefront of his industry for the last 15 years. Graham's client list is extensive and he has enjoyed successful campaigns with Aviva, Bupa, Orange, Waterstones, Visa and Monster.co.uk. His illustrations can also be spotted in a wide variety of editorial publications such as The New Scientist, The Guardian and The Sunday Times.

View all work by Graham Carter here

HelloMarine

Marine was born in Paris, grew up in South of France and moved to Brighton to study Graphic Design. Now living and working in Brighton as an illustrator she divides her time between commissions for clients such as The Guardian, Penguin, Coca-Cola, TruThoughts, Amelia's Magazine, Jazeera Airways, and personal work that she exhibits regularly. Her work has been described as vivid, vibrant, sometimes retro or slightly surreal.

View all work by HelloMarine here





Alice Pattullo

Alice Pattullo is an illustrator and printmaker based in London. She graduated in 2010 with a First Class Honours in Illustration from Brighton University. Alice works predominantly in screen print producing limited edition prints for sale in various outlets across the UK and online. Research is at the heart of her practice and her work is often inspired by British folk tradition and superstition, 1930s American musicals and celebrity culture to name a few! She is inspired by mid-century design and strives to create a nostalgic aesthetic in her own work through colour choices and composition.

View all work by Alice here

Gemma Correll

Gemma Correll has qualifications in basic first aid, grade 5 flute and a first class degree in Illustration from the Norwich School of Art and Design (UK). These skills have enabled her to forge a career in freelance cartooning and illustration (and also help you out if you break your finger or something). She divides her time between commissioned work, producing illustrations for clients including The New York Times, TeNeues and Hallmark, and working on personal projects.

View all work by Gemma Correll here





Adam Bridgland & Lucy Gough

Born in 1979, Adam Bridgland studied printmaking at Norwich School of Art & Design and then studied at the Royal College of Art (MA Fine Art Printmaking). Since graduating in 2006, Bridgland has used a diverse range of materials and working methods to pursue an incisive and often witty exploration of distinctively British sentiments.

Lucy is currently living and working in Cambridgeshire and has been a practising artist since graduating from Norwich School of Art and Design in 2002. She has exhibited widely in the UK and Internationally as well as completing commissions for institutions including University College Hospital London and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Lucy’s prints use simple graphic lines and bold colour blocks.

View all work by Adam Bridgland here

View all work by Lucy Gough here





Peskimo

Peskimo is Jodie and David and they live in sunny Bristol in the south west of England. Their illustrations combine curious details and streamlined design with a generous pinch of nostalgia to create art that has won admirers far and wide. They find inspiration in cartoons, vintage graphic design and overhearing people in the post office queue. The pair has worked with a wide variety of clients including Sony, Barclays, BBC and Vodafone and has appeared in publications such as Monocle magazine and The Guardian. They hope one day to have their own ice cream van.

View all work by Peskimo here

The Current Exhibition is Now OPEN!

The Current opened in glorious sunshine last Saturday and was a great success. All the prints are now available to buy on our website. Originals and framed pieces can only be purchased in the gallery. The Current runs in our gallery space on the first floor until 28th June.

The Current, a group exhibition coinciding with the 10th Birthday of Soma Gallery, brings together the work of five contemporary graphic artists. Adam Bridgland, Matthew Green, Adam Hayes, Lucy Gough and Jessica Wilson have all exhibited widely throughout the UK and internationally and have completed major commissions for clients such as Nike, Uniqlo, the Guardian and You Tube. They are also held in a number of important collections like the Victoria and Albert and the British Musuem. The Current is an exciting, fresh and vibrant exhibition showcasing recent works, including a number specially launched for this show.

View all the work on our website here

View all photos on Flickr here

The Current Opens This Saturday!

New Mugs!

Two lovely new mugs from Nicholas John Frith and HelloWilson are now available on our website.

These microwave and dishwasher safe mugs join other mugs from the Beast in Show range including Tea and Bears also by Nicholas John Frith and Gemma Correll's Pugs Not Drugs mug.

The handy thing about an elephant barista is that he'll never forget your favourite blend. Let's just hope he doesn't crush you when he stampedes out of the door when he sees that little mouse! Simply put, if you're a coffee imbiber you can't do better than this awesome cup of joe.

The surprise picture at the bottom of this mug is some super-cute coffee beans and the phrase 'bean and gone'... get it?!? Ach, nobody's too cool for a good pun.

View all items by Nicholas John Frith at Soma Gallery here


You know what they say, many hands make light work and all that. Hopefully the highly decorated, super-helpful Octopus on this mug will give you a hand (or eight) with the housework whilst you sit down and put your feet up with a cuppa.

The surprise picture inside this mug is a tentacle that will creep up out of your tea whilst you're not looking!

View all ceramics on the Soma Gallery website here

Next Exhibition: The Current

Next Exhibition: The Current
Featuring Adam Bridgland, Jess Wilson, Adam Hayes, Lucy Gough and Matthew Green
Opens Saturday 17th May and runs until 28th June

Jess Wilson (image top)

Jess Wilson graduated in 2006 and has been living and working in London ever since. Graduating from university with a 1st degree honours in Graphic design she started straight away getting her illustration work out there. Jess has worked with top clients producing big jobs for magazines, clothing ranges, prints, books and packaging. As well as working with clients Jess tries to get involved in as many exhibitions as possible and carrying out self initiated projects.




Adam Hayes

Adam Hayes is a specialist in hand-rendered typography and intricate, intelligent illustration.

His prolific work style has generated an impressive portfolio that reflects an interest in vernacular lettering and a fascination with urban and natural landscapes.

Adam’s creative process see’s his simple pencil sketches transformed and refined into elaborate and optimistic illustration. Each project is concept-driven, allowing his work to grow and maintain a sense of energy and sophistication.

A graduate of the Royal College of Art, Adam has since established a diverse client base which welcomes collaboration with global companies, charitable organisations and small, local start-ups.




Adam Bridgland

Born in 1979, Adam Bridgland studied printmaking at Norwich School of Art & Design and then studied at the Royal College of Art (MA Fine Art Printmaking).

Since graduating in 2006, Bridgland has used a diverse range of materials and working methods to pursue an incisive and often witty exploration of distinctively British sentiments, externalising the underlying sense of loss and nostalgia that permeates our memories.

He has exhibited widely in the UK, America, Europe and Asia. The British Museum, the V&A, UBS, Boeing Asia and Debbie Harry are just some of the collectors of Adam's work. In July 2009 Adam was awarded his first major public art commission by Commissions East. He completed his second public art commission for SmartLIFE in Cambridge in November 2011.



Matthew Green

Matthew Green excels in producing beautifully hand-drawn illustrations, his signature style is often compared to wood-cut prints and etchings. Beyond this craftsmanship and at the heart of all of Matthew’s work lies an enormous sense of fun. He creates worlds and moments where fantasy can meet the most mundane; from a voyeuristic zebra who resides in an old wooden shed to a glamorous blue tit dining for one.



Lucy Gough

Lucy Gough studied Creative & Cultural Studies at Norwich School of Art and since graduating in 2002 has exhibited extensively throughout the UK and beyond.

Lucy’s most recent work draws inspiration from a variety of sources including architecture, industry and the solar system. The stylised representation of everyday objects and use of hand drawn type are recurrent themes in her artistic practice. The content of the text varies in its sentiment from poetic to purposeful to playfully ironic.

Andy Smith New Exhibition at Soma

Four Fonts Walk Into a Bar...
An Exhibition of Silkscreen Prints by Andy Smith
Opens Saturday 1st March 2014

Our new exhibition by Andy Smith is now open in our first floor gallery space. All the prints and items from the exhibition are available to view and purchase online.

The artwork of Andy Smith has at its core a sense of optimism and humour. This new collection of work by the award winning illustrator revels in this and explores the theme of popular jokes, one liners, gags and puns.

He presents a set of images which experiment with hand drawn typography and silkscreen printing that are bold, colourful and eye popping- his most colourful work yet.

Complementing the prints on paper are some of his popular, large, wooden printed signs, books and objects all signed and numbered by Andy.

Come along and find out what happened when those four fonts went into that bar!

View all the prints on our website here

View photos of the exhibition on Flickr here

Signed copies of 'I Like It. What Is It' poster book by Anthony Burrill

We have some signed copies of Anthony Burrill's new poster book, 'I Like It. What Is It' now available. Each book has been signed at the back by Anthony and he has included an extra large poster in with each! The books are available at £19.95 and are available on our site or in the gallery.

For our Bristol customers, we have a selection of frames available that fit the posters.

View the poster book here

View all work by Anthony Burrill here


I Like It. What Is It? is a collection of unique posters featuring catchy typographic slogans by designer Anthony Burrill. Simply pull out the detachable prints and display the bright statements on your wall.
Artfully designed and printed using special colours, these bespoke artworks will brighten up any room or workspace. Burrill's persuasive and upbeat style of graphic communication will appeal to design lovers from all walks of life.

Includes 30 pull-out posters, with details of the stories behind the designs on the back, and a page of witty stickers including 'This Way Down' and 'Sorry, We're Open!'

‘Burrill is a great designer because he makes you notice and appreciate truths that would otherwise remain dead and inert. His work has such resonance because it’s so true: we should all work hard and be nice.’ Alain de Botton

About the Author 
Anthony Burrill was born in Lancashire and studied Graphic Design at Leeds Polytechnic University. Following an MA at the Royal College of Art, London, he has created pieces for clients including Wallpaper*, The Economist and The Design Museum. His work is held in the permanent collections of the V&A Museum in London and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York.