Memo: it started on a skateboard

Not many people can say that their career started by printing onto skateboard decks. Helen, the person behind Memo, did precisely that.

Helen started Memo in 2006 during her degree when she began screen-printing onto skateboard decks and sold them in a local shop. She’d always been a collector and at the time was big on collecting old stationary and magazines from the 50s and 60s, graph paper and  Memo pads. In 2007 she graduated with a first class (BA Honours) degree in Visual Studies. Since then she has been collecting, drawing and screen-printing to build up a range of products. “I like every aspect of my work to be done by hand. Every product I design I then hand print onto locally sourced recycled card stocks.”

You can see this handmade quality on the tote bags, for example this Coffee is good for your brain tote or Owls mini tote bag look really funky and individual.

Helen’s work includes hand drawn and screen printed illustration, self-published magazines (such as lost and found zine), greeting cards, hand printed stationary, limited edition prints, tote bags and accessories. “I put together a collaborative zine called Ten Fingers involving the work of fellow artists and illustrators. I also teach a number of creative workshops including Zine Making and Screen Printing in and around Leeds.” Printing is fun and it is admirable that Helen is teaching a method so that people can make their own items personal to them.

Helen shed some light on what inspires her as a creative force: “In terms of inspiration, I get my fill of that from my various collections which include lots of mid-century kitsch typewriters, old stationary, 1950s wall pockets, animal ornaments, taxidermy, cowboy shirts… and being somewhere quiet in the great outdoors also works wonders.”

Memo is definitely all about being handmade and individual. Whether you want a piece for your wall, a birthday card or just a cute bag, head over to Memo for that perfect piece.

Jenny Rodgers

For more information, and to bag a piece click here