Competition Winners

You may have seen our monthly TAG TO WIN competitions on our LoveMe&Yu Facebook Fanpage Well here's some of our lucky winners - Dan Hall and Kim Stone who won our December and March competitions. With April around the corner we'll be launching another comp soon so make sure you've 'liked' our page and you'll be the first to hear about our monthly facebook competitions!!!!!

New Fabric Print

Today I had a first try at printing fabric with a complete all over print, normally when I print fabric I allow for space between each print (its easier and quicker) but this design requires the print to be aligned exactly to the one before to create complete covering. With the use of rulers taped to the screen it was actually alot easier than I thought it would be, and now to make dresses and shorts from the finished fabric.

Profile on..... Gary Brown, Photographer

You may have seen some rather fabulous photographs on our website / facebook / twitter and of course the blog. Well they are the work of the rather talented Gary Brown.


Gary Brown, in a backwards move, didn't pick up a camera until he graduated from university, then decided thats what he wanted to do. In a few years he has progressed to being one of the Norths premier music and nightlife photographers- covering events such as the Warehouse Project and Parklife Festival, gaining publications in Mixmag and DJ Mag, and reaching the final shortlist in The Guardian's 'Britain Is...' photography competition last year. However, when he can fit it in he likes to step into a studio.

"I love studio and fashion photography as its such a contrast to what I normally do. Music events are all about capturing the spontanaeity and energy of the event, and adapting to whatever light/space conditions are thrown at you. Fashion photography is about letting your mind run away with ideas- you can come up with nearly any concept imaginable and then, through careful control of lights, props and models, turn it into an image."

"When I was planning the Me & Yu shoot, as well as the 'regular' shots you would see on most clothing websites, I wanted to do something different, something which reflected the artistry and consideration that goes into everything Me & Yu create. I came up with a short storyboard of a boy and a girl, creating the world around them by simply drawing it out of nothingness- I wanted them to create themselves, construct a man made scene, become tired and bored of this and start again, creating a green and flowering utopia. From the final story, its possible to draw all kinds of connotations- from a biblical 'genesis' story, to one reflecting societies move towards a greener and more harmonious relationship with our planet- but in reality I just thought it would look really cool, and be fun to edit the final images."

We love the boldness and clarity in Gary's straight fashion photographs above. Having taken lots of photographs ourselves over the years, we can really appreciate the skill needed to retain the light tones and detail when editing and still ending up with a bright and bold image that represents our work so well.

The selection of images below are the ones created from Gary's original storyboard idea. They sum up 

the fact that everything we do at Me&Yu is hand-drawn, hand-made and hand-printed. And we're looking forward to using them in lookbooks and promotional material - every picture does tell a story!

Me & Yu Spring 2011 photoshoot 

Model - Emma Dixon and Andrew Nejad

Photographer - Gary Brown

Makeup - Bev Crawford

Bangers and Fash - extra Pics!!

These few pictures rollled up late from the fab Bangers and Fash event last week - but how great are they!!

If you want to know more about Bangers and Fash - have a look HERE. They're planning more fashion and music related events around the country so watch this space!

Me&Yu Zines

After a few years break (we've been lazy) we're bringing back the Me&Yu zine, those of you who remember the early days of Me&Yu will know about the little black and white zines we used to make featuring our random drawing/photos and articles.  The zine will now be an online publication allowing us to provide more content and full colour images and will incorporate look books and photoshoots as well as the usual nonsense. The zines can be viewed here, we've started with some photo publications we've produced recently and over the next few weeks we will be working on a brand new zine, we also hope to take all the original zines online very soon.

If you would like to contribute to future zines and publication please email gordon@meandyu.com with any ideas/examples.

Joey's Not a Sellout!!!

He does a good blog though - read it here!!!!!

Bangers & Fash Pics

Here's some pics from last nights Bangers & Fash event

Manchester Events - Awol Open Studios

Ever wondered what happens in artist studios or fancied getting one yourself? Or perhaps you;d like to be inspired by some of the regions talented artists, designers and Well now's your chance to see what goes on behind closed doors of a re-invented Manchester cotton mill.

AWOL Studios started in 2001 with just a few small artist Studios in Manchester. After steady growth AWOL Studios is one of the largest Studio groups in the UK, and still growing. Phil Walton, founder, has now joined forces with David French to quickly expand onto a new 6000 sq ft floor with 15 New Studios and a new flexible Gallery/exhibition space. 

Me&Yu became one of the first Awol / Hope Mill residents back in 2008, Our studio is open after 4-6pm, so if you get there early doors, it gives you the opportunity to meet Gordon and see how we print, sew and make lots of lovely things. 

AWOL Studios, 3rd, 4th + 5th Floors, Hope Mill, Pollard Street, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 7JA
Time: 4pm to 8pm
Entry: FREE
Other: Refreshments will be available

Manchester Events - Bangers and Fash!

So we're getting involved with this great little event thanks to Roxanne - who will be manning a little stall and spreading the word about Me&Yu. 


Bangers & Fash is a unique blend of Fashion, Art and Music that provides a platform for creative people to promote themselves. You will get the opportunity to see fashion from some of the cities best independent designers (including Me&Yu on the catwalk) Live music from some of the most enthralling emerging acts and sets from some of Manchester’s finest Club night DJ’s.

There's so much going on at this event - here's the full list!!!

STARSLINGER AND FNORD(Late of the Pier/ Durrr)
RICH REASON (HIT AND RUN)
DUTCH UNCLES (DJ SET)
SPECIAL GUEST TBC
MONEY (LIVE)
OLDBOY (EAT MY BEAT)
BEACH CULT

LIVE FASHION SHOW 10PM

THE MAIN BAR
Will be the greatest Village fete you have ever attended. 
Think bunting, tombola’s, test your strength, splat-the-rat, give-away’s and more..

The Deaf Institute, Manchester (WHOLE VENUE)
Thursday 24th March
8pm-late

£4 early bird
£5 advance
£6 on the door

Tickets available from TICKETLINE / THE DEAF INSTITUTE / TROF NQ / TROF FALLOWFIELD

Website changes....bear with us!

We've got a few technology issues - but it's a good thing - we've got an upgrade on the sofware we use for our web shop so we've got some cramming till we can get the best results.

In short, without boring you with IT we've got some new facilities on our Web Shop at www.meandyu.com but we'd like it to look a bit better with clearer photographs and decriptions so it might take us a couple of days to get the results we want.

New features include better sharing of products between your friends, a review facility and ability to ask us questions much more easily. In the meantime you can still CHECKOUT AS NORMAL and buy lots of lovely things, but if you have any problems or would like to offer some feedback / suggestions please email gordon@meandyu.com

Much love from the MeandyUniverse x Angie & Gordon

2 for £22 Now Online

Those of you that are regular visitors to our Afflecks store will know that we have an amazing offer on t-shirts and vests, well we've now made this offer available to our online customers as well!!!!! (it just took us a while to work out how to do it) click here to shop

Crystal Fighters gig at Ruby Lounge Friday 18th March

I haven't been to Ruby Lounge since it has been renovated and have to say I was very impressed. The layout proved great surroundings to watch Crystal Fighters whilst suffering mild cuts and bruises from the moshpit that ensued. Crystal Fighters, are a band of east london scenesters suffering from a mild pseudo-spanish identity crisis. The music is a curious mix of catchy mid-90s trance music keys and heavy nu-metal guitars - on this note, the said guitarist was indeed bare-chested (new age type). With a great stage presence their vocalist Sebastian Pringle transformed a stylized hip crowd from lounging muses in their headscarves and checked shirts, to moshing and screaming along to the lyrics within the first 5 minutes of their set. 
Self-styling themselves as 'emotronic', I can't imagine them in the top 40 (but who cares about that anymore anyway?) I'll be keeping a keen eye out for these guys on the festival circuit this summer... and I'll be ready with elastoplasts.

Roxanne

Review: Submarine Preview at the Cornerhouse

As part of our aim to provide a more varied and interesting blog we sent Roxanne off to the Cornerhouse to see the preview of Submarine, Richard Ayoade's first feature length film. Here's her thoughts: 
Both written and directed by the The It Crowd star, Ayoade knows how to use sarcastic, awkward, and twisted comedy, and he spreads them perfectly throughout the film. The theme is likely to resonate too; a young, bright, self-aware – but awkward, emotionally clumsy – teenage boy coming of age. The film is set in an 'imagined time and place' somewhere in a Welsh coastal town (Ayoade gently time-stamps the film with a passing reference to Crocodile Dundee, the odd mullet and the absence of mobile phones). It's the story of Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts), a misfit 15-year-old on a mission to lose both his virginity - to his no-nonsense, pyromaniac classmate Jordana (Yasmin Paige) - and prevent his parents' marriage from imploding. A bit of a fantasist, he's mildly unpopular kid who imagines the world would be devastated were he to die, and has a tendency to render memories of his limited romantic experiences as idealised Super-8 movie montages. He also wears a duffel coat, carries a briefcase and reads the dictionary for fun, traits that might make him sound face-punchingly contrived on paper, but seem true to the character on film. We watch Oliver as he directs his own version on the film in a juxaposed subjective reality, which gives the film a more thoughtful emotional twist to what would otherwise be classified as 'just another 'Wes Anderson' film'. With Alex Turner providing an excellent soundtrack, and the beautiful array of film-making techniques Ayoade gently deploys, primes directly into the collage-like nature of his protagonist's teenage brain while gently mocking genre conventions.

New Designs Online Now

We've added some new designs to the online shop check them out at www.meandyu.com

Manchester Events - Clique Photos

Last week we told you about Clique - and this week we're showing you some fab pictures of the night.

Looks like a fab night was had by all - fun fashion and good times - We Like!!!

All photography taken for Clique by Nathan Fox

We're Sending Love to Japan

If you like us, you have been traumatised by the dramatic events in Japan then spare some pennies and donate your loose change (or more) next time you're in Afflecks.

Carly at Carousel (previously Sausage Dog in Japan) has taken it upon herself to be the main collection point in Afflecks for this worthy cause. All monies donated will be passed on to the North West Japanese Society who have created a Disaster Relief Fund.

The first shop Carly opened in Afflecks was called I Love Kokeshi and although she's moved around the building a few times and had a few different names, Japanese Kokeshi Dolls are still one of the main products she sells at her now expanded and renovated shop on the second floor (Oldham Street side).

These beautiful hand-crafted dolls are a tradition stretching back many centuries. Made from Japanese Maple, the wood is matured for up to 5 years before it is carved and painted by hand. Whether creative (like the doll on the left) or traditional (like the dolls on the right) they are a truly beautiful product which is representative of Japan's rich artistic and cultural heritage.

If you want to know more about these dolls or have some pennies to spare for a worthy cause  - come and see Carly - she's a mind of information about all things Japanese - Carousel, Second Floor Afflecks.