When I got in touch with Blondey to help me engage the children at Shine Merton into skateboarding last year, that visit inspired Blondey for an idea he had been working on with Skateboarder/Artists Mark Gonzales. That idea developed into a collaboration with Shine Merton, asking the children to colour and customise a drawing by Mark. Fifty template drawings were handed out to each child in Shine's art classes. As the paper touched their hands, each child brought Mark's drawing to life and their imagination was set in motion.
Of the 40 drawings submitted to Blondey, only 8 would be chosen to be transformed into limited-edition silk scarves, which will be sold exclusively through his label, Thames. Additionally, a special box set of all the selected scarves, each signed by Mark Gonzales, will be auctioned off on the Thames website with 50% of the profits going to Shine Merton.
After carefully selecting his favorite 8 artworks, Blondey paid a special visit to Shine Merton, bringing along his Thames skateboard crew. He wanted to personally share the exciting news with the chosen children showing them their designs beautifully finalised into 100% silk scarves. Each child received their customised scarf directly from Blondey, a unique piece, not yet in production and truly one of a kind in the world. The moment was filled with pride and excitement as the children saw their creativity transformed into art.
I am so happy to be able to bring people like Blondey to Shine Merton and deeply grateful to Kristina Burton for trusting me to create these unique experiences for the children; opportunities they might never encounter in their everyday lives. Managing this project with Blondey has been an absolute joy, from watching his ideas take shape to witnessing the creative magic come alive for the children in Mitcham and the positive impact for Shine Merton.
For more information you can download the press release here:
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