Meet the Creatives of Bristol: Interview with Lost Minds Productions
Posted on: 02 Oct 2018In our Meet the Creatives of Bristol series, we scout the city for locals who work in a variety of creative fields. Whether they are at the early stage of their career, or are well-established, they represent the artistic city that Bristol is; vibrant, diverse and inspiring.
In this edition, we chat to a very unique brand called Lost Minds Productions. A collective of Bristol-based artists and musicians, who in recent years have built up a name for themselves here in the city and nationwide. Lost Minds clothing and accessories is at an exciting point, albeit an early one; the brand is breaking into the underground streetwear scene, with more and more people appreciating the creation of garms on a smaller scale by originative designers.
The underbelly of their work encapsulates the feeling of renegade youth; 'Lost' in reality and channeling the 'Minds' creative expression by celebrating multimedia in all its expansive art forms. Every design is nothing short of hard and the Lost Minds style is unmissable- stamped by their trademark bunny logo.
Tell us about who you are and what you create?
Lost Minds is a multi-platform brand and collective that reaches out to the world using variations of art including fashion, illustration, graphic design, photography and music. Our most commonly recognised form of design and exposure has been through the clothing and accessories we produce.
Tell us about how you create your work... the design and manufacturing process?
We work closely with specific manufacturers, some of whom have helped us since our first ever item launch. Our main manufacturer is Bristol based and works alongside us showing us different quality items, materials and printing and embroidery methods to help us get the perfect outcome for what we aim to release. For other products and accessories such as jewellery, stickers and furniture we source different suppliers and creators who specialise solely in that department.
Are the designs always a collaborative effort?
The designs are always a collaborative effort and decision yet a lot of them are variations of pre-existing logos we have used before. We are consistently hitting the drawing board and have loads of new designs ready for the future - alot being based off of our main emblem/logo - The Bunny.
How did you come up with the logo?
It was a simple case of sketching different ideas together thinking what would work best as the next release. The script text was chosen that way and then followed by the bunny a few more releases down the line, it just happened to stick and we’ve been using it on the vast majority of our products in someway ever since. When drawing it, we just felt to put our own twist on the commonly seen Playboy logo - giving it the sense of the Playboy Bunny slightly gone off the rails or better yet - Lost its Mind- it is often branded the Gully Bunny.
What was your path into the making of the brand? Was Bristol’s creative scene an influence?
Although we now exist as a small team it was originally founded by one member before moving to Bristol, it was there he connected with the now existing team. We always worked together on art and design and always labelled it under Lost Minds - that was our team name since the beginning and we always had the intention of progressing it to the platform it currently stands. It wasn’t until a couple years after this that we began putting a greater amount of our focus further into the clothing than just the art that we had been creating as a collective and as individuals.
Talk a little about the link between the garms and your music, what is the meaning behind it?
We are a multi-platform collective always aiming to experiment throughout all different variations of art including illustration, graphic design, music, photography, fashion. We are constantly creating and developing multi-purpose designs, continuing to push our creativity further as a team and throughout other artistic fields. The title ‘Lost Minds’ has been considered to have various meanings. The more popular term is to lose yourself within the passion and love you have for the art it is that you do. Surround yourself within it. Fill your head with ideas and lose your mind within creation and manipulation of your own art forms whatever they may be.
Tell us about the overall style of the brand, how would you describe the aesthetic?
It is commonly classed as a streetwear brand, which is very agreeable from the aesthetic of our releases so far. However we continue to push ourselves into different areas, currently working on jewellery and furniture for future releases. As previously mentioned we want it to be a multi-platform brand - not just known for clothing but all forms of art contributed by both our team and our supporters.
Describe the brand in 3 words?
Welcome To Wonderland.
Do you think there are enough resources and spaces in Bristol for creatives?
We believe so. As far as the clothing goes we get it all created in Bristol. We’ve sourced some items overseas (such as jewellery and particular style garments) but thats not to say that there isn't somewhere for that in Bristol -it’s just the way it panned out for us.
Who/what inspires you on the daily?
Everything. Literally. As an artist and designer aiming to constantly release and impress new audiences you take almost everything into account - what makes people tick, what people like, what they hate, what colours look good against others, the list goes on and on. I think any creative would agree with that no matter what their pursuit in the art/design/creative world is.
Where has your work been shared so far/who has been seen wearing the garms?
Beside the music videos our items have been featured in, there is a huge amount of photographs compiled into a scrolling collage on our website - lostmindsproductions.com Visitors will see faces they may know or recognise wether its artists big in the music scene, tattoo world or the modelling industry. We keep this feature as up to date as possible and consider it a key element towards our exposure.
How do you go about promoting your brand? How important is Instagram in this?
Social media is massively important in this day and age, particularly Instagram. I guess it's just because of the current generation we live in and of course the aim of the site is to always view or find something new. As a brand it helps give a further insight into current cultures and enables us to plan ahead in to what's going to go down popular with those who support or even just discover us through a random photo of ours that is on Instagram. Wether it be the colour of something they like, or the logo or even the fabric. It keeps a brand in the loop of its supporters just as much as it keeps the supporters in touch with the brand - and we constantly get those who show support involved as they really do mean everything to us. Regardless that we would still be doing this, it's humbling to see the interest and enthusiasm thats been shown to us.
What are your main goals with the brand for the next few years?
Keep expanding and pushing ourselves further into the limelight. We want to be known all over the world - and we will. We wont stop till we get there.
Anything else you’d like to share?
THE FUTURE IS L O S TO THE T. LOOK OUT FOR BIG BIG BIG THINGS COMING FROM US. Collaborations with other well known brands and artists are pending that we feel people are really going to love and expand our own horizons. Nothing but love for everyone whose been with us so far, this is only the beginning...
Where can we find you?
INSTAGRAM - @LOSTMINDSPRODUCTIONS
FACEBOOK - Lost Minds
Article by:
Hannah recently graduated with a degree in English with Writing. She is an avid writer, freelancer and creative. She is currently writing her first full-length novel and a collection of poetry. Always out and about in Bristol's music scene, she attends music events on a weekly basis.
