Trader Profile-Twofold Print Studio

We’re starting to think about the big ‘C’ that’s only 60 days away (yikes!) so for a truly awesome, memorable gift for anyone who’s into music, pop art and glorious technicolour look no further than Phoebe Phillips’ Twofold Print Studio where you’ll find hand printed creations to suit a variety of budgets. We recently spoke to Phoebe to find out what inspired her to begin Twofold Print Studio.

Tell us a bit about you and your business…

I decided to become self-employed around 5 years ago now. After working as a graphic designer in London and hating being sat behind a screen all day I moved back to the West Country and got a job in a record shop whilst deciding what I wanted to do next.

I wanted to be able to be my own boss and use my hands. I invested my savings into buying and making very basic screen-printing equipment with the intention of printing music merchandise for touring bands, setting up Twofold Print from out the back of my parents’ house.

When covid hit, the work wasn’t coming in, so I decided to start printing posters of my own work and sticking them up on Etsy just to see if anyone would take any interest – and start a little side hustle. From there it just grew into a full time job.

Where do you get your inspiration – what motivates you to do what you do?

I believe a lot of my inspiration has been from growing up around a creative family. Mum started as an illustrator, Dad was a graphic designer and Gramps was a painter. My Gramps looked after me a lot as a child and gave me complete freedom to express myself in his studio, even if that meant 3-year-old-me painting over the top of a piece he had been working on for a year. Yikes!

My grandparents were a part of the 60s London art scene, being close friends with Peter Blake – they had a lot of his work displayed around the house. My Gramps was a collector of all sorts interesting things that covered the house. One of the main things was his tin toy collection which is now a huge part of my inspiration as I’ve now been taking those objects and have given them a new lease of life in the form of screen prints.

I’ve always been creative. A big part of my life has been working as a musician from my teenage years till now. I definitely take my love of music and put that into my work. I think it’s important to love your job, I couldn’t stand the thought of having a 9-5 job which I just did for the money. I would rather be happy, with something I love doing.

Why did you choose to come and trade at The Frome Independent?

I had visited the market a few times over the years when I lived in Bradford on Avon. I always thought how great it was to see all the creatives in a small town. So a big part of me moving to Frome was because of the market!

What do you like about market trading – why not just sell online or through retail outlets?

It’s always to do with meeting the customers. It’s nice to put faces to the people who are interested in your work. I’ve also made some great friends who are other stall holders.

Tell us about your own favourite or best-selling product. How much work goes into creating it, why do you think this is your strongest product?

I think it’s probably my ‘Rainbow Rocket’. It’s by far my most challenging print to make, to date. The idea started from a commission I had for a piece called ‘Cosmo’. I have a collection of old comics that I took as inspiration, and I love that 70s style of illustration and colour. It’s A1 in size so it’s pretty big, with 8 colours – which mean eight silk screens are used. What’s tricky when printing on large paper is putting down larger amounts of ink makes the paper want to warp slightly as it dries, making every layer after that hard to register/line up to the design. I normally have a slight hesitation when finishing my print, wondering if I’ve made the right design choices, but with this one it was an instant love.

What is your favourite Frome shop, or stall to visit at The Frome Independent?

Food wise, I always treat myself to Baklava from Baklavaty – the ladies there are lovely and the food is delicious! I have a few other favourite makers stalls: El’s & Co., Stephanie Geyl’s Pottery, Laura Holden’s cushions, Hannah Brown’s botanical artwork, I could go on!

And finally, some quick-fire questions…

Favourite book?

I don’t know if I have a favourite, but I’m reading Bob Mortimer’s autobiography right now and it’s hilarious.

Describe your dream day off.

Playing my records with my friends in a pub garden on a sunny day with my cats whilst eating cheese. Is that possible?

What are you listening to right now?

Oooh well, I tend to listen to a lot of podcasts whilst I work. Big fan of true crime, shows like ‘MFM / My Favorite Murder’, ‘Let’s Not Meet’, ‘Dateline’. And more uplifting shows like ‘The Great Women Artists’, ‘Bald and the Beautiful’ with Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamo, and Bob Mortimer and Andy Dawson’s ‘Athletico Mince’.

What are you cooking / eating / drinking at the moment?

I wouldn’t say I was the greatest cook… Marmite on toast for dinner and a Lilley’s mango cider *chef’s kiss*

Well, that sounds simply delicious to us! Check out Phoebe’s stall on Market Place amongst the other Designer Makers at The Frome Independent on Sunday 6th November and Sunday 4th December – and if you miss our last 2 markets of 2022 you can find Phoebe online here!