Yang grew up in China and came to London about 10 years ago. John Gallaino her biggest inspiration and studied at Central saint Martins College of Art and Design. She also interned at his Paris studio a few years later. Her own label is now in it’s third season and the passion of my work is to finding the balance between art and fashion.

David studied English with Film at King’s College London. He’s worked with companies such as Punchdrunk Theatre, The Globe and Gideon Reeling in roles from Actor to Stage Manager. His directing credits include Where Soldiers Sleep (Landguard Fort), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (The Seckford Theatre), The Holiday Cycle (Shunt) and The Gem (Bestival). David is proud to be a Co-Founder of The Heritage Arts Company and regularly produces work in that capacity. David has spent the last year setting up a workshop in Suffolk to help him realise larger, more ambitious productions.

Anna Ledwich was born in Melbourne, Australia. After gaining a degree in Creative Writing at Melbourne University Anna moved to London to train as an actor at Rose Bruford College. For the past five years Anna has worked as an assistant, associate director and director for a number of London based and regional theatres. Anna was Associate Director at Theatre503 where she directed a number of UK premieres of international new writing. In 2010 Anna was offered the Gate/Headlong New Directions Award to direct her own adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s LULU at the Gate Theatre.

Jacob is a director and photographer. He has directed numerous music videos for bands such as Yuck and The More Assured and his video for Gideon Conn’s new single was released last October. Jacub has directed a number of experimental short films and the latest, Armstrong, will be debuting at festivals this year. In addition he has photographed leading bands and solo artists for NME magazine, his personal photographic work includes 88 Days which was exhibited at the Orange Dot gallery in Bloomsbury, London.

What is the world’s most beautiful invention?

As a natural creation? The mountains. They know time and patience. We can learn a lot from the mountains. As a human creation? The manual toothbrush. It demonstrates beauty in simplicity, economy of design and functionality. We can learn a lot from the toothbrush.

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‘I am one of many, I am one of few, I am an individual, just like you.’

Zoe Sherwood is a designer and creator born and raised in South London. Graduating from Central St Martins in 2010 with a degree in Fashion Design Womenswear her collection ‘Understated Glamour’ includes her unique hair ornaments ‘La Folie du Ciel’.

Zoe is fascinated by the way in which people live their lives with each of us having our own unique story. Her work is a portrayal of her story, becoming a visual interpretation of her life; the places, people and cultures she encounters and surrounds herself with.

After creating her initial range of hair ornaments 2009 saw Zoe enter Liberty of London’s Best of British designers competition and launched her first collection of hair ornaments under her own name both in store and on the Liberty website.

Born and bred in Sheffield in the last few days of the 1970s, Rachel spent most of her childhood begging her parents for a perm, a shell-suit and a global hyper-colour t-shirt. Suppression of such childhood dreams is probably the driving force behind her, er… drive.
Rachel is a film editor and writer represented by United Agents. As an editor she has cut award-winning features, shorts and animations. She is currently co-writing an adaptation of a novel with Nick Whitfield (‘Skeletons’ 2010), developed by Forward Films and EM Media and has a feature script in development as part of the ‘She Writes’ scheme.

If you could claim to have created any piece of work, what would it be and why?

‘The Love Tapes’ by Wendy Clarke. A 30-year project where a video booth is placed in random spaces like a supermarket or a car-park and anyone who enters can speak for three minutes about love, and then choose either to erase or exhibit the tape.

Her solo career began on the underground anti-folk circuit in 2005 at legendary antifolk venue, the Sidewalk Cafe, in New York. In 2006 she was featured on the Smalltown America Public Broadcast compilation CD and the Antifolk UK CD, with her track ‘This Is A Song About Horses’. This culminated in airplay by Steve Lamacq on BBC Radio 2 and a slot at the Smalltown America charity event. Leila began to move away from antifolk into a more experimental realm of music. Her debut E.P, ‘Songs For The Quietness’ was released and received favourable reviews from the blogging critics.

Who are your cultural heroes? Who would be your ideal mentor and why?

I have many cultural and aesthetic influences. Czech writer Milan Kundera, with his ability to infuse his poetic writing with political and social commentary by way of satire, is genius. I particularly like the existentialist elements to his writing, and I consider existentialism to be very important to my music.

Mustapha Kseibati studied graphic design at London College of Printing going on to complete a BA in Multi Media Production at Reading College of Arts and Design. Soon after, he was offered an internship over at MTV in Camden helping produce content for the networks various channels. During his time there, Mustapha began to direct music promos for various artists.

In 2009 Mustapha won funding from B3 Media’s Blank Slate, part of the UK Film Council’s Digital Shorts Fund, to direct a short film he wrote and submitted. ‘Big Tingz’ premiered at Bristol’s Encounters Film Festival in 2009 and was also screened at the London Short Film Festival in 2010 as part of the UK Film Council’s Digital Generation ‘Best of Shorts; selection. It was also selected as one of ten shorts showcased on the UK Film Council’s 2009 ‘Life is Short’ DVD featuring “Outstanding short films from emerging UK Filmmakers”.

Mustapha has just completed ‘Skateboards and Spandex’, his second B3 Media/ UK Film Council digital short film. He is currently working on some comedy Virals and developing his debut feature film.

Bola is a playwright who graduated from the young writers programme at the Royal Court in 2007. Her play GONE TOO FAR! was selected to be performed as part of the Young Writer Festival and was performed at the Royal Court Theatre (Upstairs) in February 2007. In 2008 the play won the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliated Theatre. Bola was also nominated for the Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright of the Year in 2008. In 2010 she was nominated for Women of Future Award and nominated for Red Magazine Hot Women to Watch. Her writing has been presented by the Royal Court Theatre, ATC, Tiata Fahodzi, Hampstead Theatre, Soho Theatre, Young Vic and Talawa to name a few.

What have you been working on recently?

Just recently wrote a script for a music video by a new artist called Marli Harwood a good friend of mine. It was directed by Destiny Ekaragha. The song is called Billy and is a spoof of Prince William and Kate’s relationship. What if they lived on an estate.

If you could claim to have created any piece of work, what would it be and why?

I wish I wrote Slumdog Millionaire. I love that film and the way it tackles the story of poverty in a light hearted way. I love the truth it shows and I strive to do that will all my work. I stay truthful to the world I’m creating.

Steven Emmanuel (Born North Wales, 1982) is an artist living and working in Nurenberg. He graduated from the University of Brighton in 2005 and with an MA from the Royal College of Art in 2010.

Brief description of your current work and process

I engage with art itself as a subject matter to attempt to understand the physical and philosophical ingredients of contemporary art. I often think of art as an autopoietic machine that self-creates and continually perpetuates. The artist being the protagonist and operator of this machine, taking things apart and putting them back together again in a new way, re-mediating reality and re-configuring things in order to sustain itself.

Process, contradictions and storytelling dictate the direction of my practice and each piece of work that I make is in conversation with the last and attempts to look forward and question something new to discuss with the next.