the bloom house

Han is exhibiting at the Omlettry here in Austin:

Mark is currently off touring the UK with his beautiful songs and launching his The Soar Before EP.

The songs are brutally beautiful and obsessively-finely crafted. My particular favourite is Albatross which renders me speechless pretty much every time I listen to it whole-earedly. Here it is:

Albatross

If you are over that way and would like to catch a show, here are the remaining dates:

22-Nov-10 Cambridge Junction
24-Nov-10 Oxford O2 Academy
25-Nov-10 Bournemouth O2 Academy
26-Nov-10 Bristol O2 Academy
27-Nov-10 Leeds O2 Academy
29-Nov-10 SheffieldO2 Academy2
30-Nov-10 Glasgow O2 ABC
01-Dec-10 Newcastle O2 Academy
03-Dec-10 Manchester Academy 2
04-Dec-10 Birmingham HMV Institute

The production of the EP was very much a Bloom House production; Han did the illustration, Amy the design, Derek the photography and Jen, Fran, Derek, Amy and Paul provided some fine, ah ah ah ah ah ah ah backing vocals.

Here is the finished EP cover:

And last but not least, here is a wee video of some of the preparation that went into fundraising for the tour. Mark ran a campaign on Pledge Music where people could pre-order the EP and also bid on a number of other items, such as hand-made EPs and even private gigs! It’s been a busy busy couple of months getting ready but it’s hugely rewarding to send Mark off soaring and touring, he is in his element!

Han has an exhibition in a local coffee shop. If you’re in the area, drop by, their coffee is great.

This week, Han’s On A Park Bench featured Steve, the man behind Camp America. Camp America is “cheap-hop, lap-pop, beep-bop” music. That should explain everything nicely.

Maybe best to just watch and see:

This week, we have been delighted to have Kerstin visiting from Berlin.

Kerstin is a successful author, publisher and life-coach and one of those people who holds so much wisdom that when they share, you sit up.
 


 

We asked Kerstin to share with us from her experience of managing and stragising successfully. She taught us a great exercise for setting goals and finding ways to get your brain to think more freely and creatively, outside of all the obstacles that might daunt you when you’re at the start of a project.

It was a rich evening and brilliant to be able to exchange with an international visitor. Some of our late-summer fug-headedness definitely lifted and boy, we really needed that!

You can find out more about Kerstin at her website: www.kerstinhack.de
Her books are currently only available auf Deutsch but an English translation is definitely part of the plan and so watch this space.

It’s been a quiet week here at the Bloom; most of the studio holders are scattered across America, escaping the heat, finding new inspiration and re-connecting with loved ones.

Last week it was Han’s birthday and that turned into an art event all of its own. We sampled many art forms in one night– short film, music, story-telling podcasts. Here we are reading poetry around the table:

And while everyone is off, climbing new mountains, it is also nice to sing a song of home. This week’s On A Park Bench features Michael who has the finest coffee houses in the city and is one of the best people to ponder with once the sun goes down and we can finally open our eyes.

Here is Andy, who lives upstairs at the Bloom, playing My Funny Valentine for the On A Park Bench series.

A combination of technological advances, eureka moments and pure alchemy have resulted in Han creating zines of her short stories. They will be available for sale at her Etsy store. More to follow very soon!