#FCCreators: In conversation with design duo, Abi and Rupert Meats

Author Editor - May 06, 2022 - 3 minute read

Community

In 2020, we launched our Community Connection campaign – a global initiative where we swapped French for ‘Community’, supporting, and celebrating our local and wider communities.

As a branch of our Community Connection campaign, for spring summer we’re celebrating and putting the spotlight on creative talents, artists and inspiring individuals, forming our community of #FCCreators.

Created for you. Designed by our creators.

This season, we've teamed up with our #FCCreators to create exclusive one-of-a-kind pieces, designed in collaboration with our creator and artist community.

Our next #FCCreator collaboration comes from London based design duo and illustrators, Rupert and Abi Meats - aka RUDE. We caught up with the duo to discuss the story of Rude Studios, their artwork style and influences, plus their creative process behind their '100% French' illustration that adorns one of our SS22 t-shirts.

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Abi and Rupert, tell us a little bit about yourself…

We have a passion for print, mark making and hand drawn fonts. Abi heads up mural commissions and animation work and looks after our Art & Coffee Shop 'Everyday Sunshine'.

Rupert draws and creates original artwork for the shop and for commissions. We work out of our screen print studio in Stoke Newington, London.

How did you both get into illustration and design?

Abi studied Graphic Design at Preston and Rupert studied illustration at St. Martins and then Newcastle.

What’s the story behind the formation of Rude Studios?

We met at a corporate Graphic Design studio in West London, Abi was there for a couple of years but Rupert only lasted 9 months. Rupert worked in a pub and set up RUDE as a screen printed T-Shirt label. Initially called RU (Rupert) DESIGN which then got shortened to RUDE.

How would you describe your style of artwork and illustration?

Bold yet naïve and very colourful. We LOVE colour!

Can you tell us a little bit about your creative process and story behind your ‘100% French’ t-shirt design?

We’re screen printers at heart, and love layers of colour. As we started out doing T-shirts we jump at any T-Shirt collaboration Now that we have a shop we’re always putting new T-shirt collections in the window.

Last summer's collection was spotted and we were invited to work with French Connection. We love the phrase '100% French', especially in the post Brexit world we live in.

Shop the 100% French Organic Tank Top

Your slogans, like ‘Everyday Sunshine’, celebrate optimism and colourful expression – how important is it to you to weave these kinds of messages into your work?

Really important, we’re RUDE but not rude! In fact we’re totally the opposite.

We love positivity and colour. Through our work if we can make people smile then we're happy with what we do.

Who/what are your biggest influences/inspirations and why?

We love artists like David Hockney, who have such a particular hand writing and creative Style. If you can create a style as an artist that is uniquely yours.

You were recently commissioned to paint the walls of your local school in Hackney - how else do you contribute to your local community?

We opened a gallery and coffee shop in December 2020 right in the middle of lockdown. Coffee is served through a sunny hatch and now people come into the gallery and buy our work.

The shop has become a local hub, where people come and hang out in the sun. It’s enriched the local community and we couldn’t be happier as we love our little bit of north east London.

What advice do you have for any aspiring artists?

You just have to stick with it, if it’s what you love and if it’s your passion then you have to stay true to it and it will flourish.

What’s next for you? Any future plans?

We need to find some staff for the shop so that we get more time in the studio. We have an agent in Japan and we plan to do a trip over there later this year.