Visual Narratives: Research Summary

Here is a recap of everything I have researched so far:

• Buttons as therapy (touching them)
• Buttons as gifts (charmstring)
• Inheritance / keepsakes

• Collecting buttons

• Proudly exhibiting collection

• Counting buttons

• Meditating with buttons

• Organising and sorting buttons

• Playing with buttons

• Buttons are memories

• Charity (Pearly Kings and Queens of London)

• Meeting new people / making connections and friends

• Arts and crafts with buttons

• Sleeping with button under pillow (good luck token)

Reflection
I feel slightly at a crossroads as there are 3 books that I seem to want to make here - a book about the benefits of buttons, a book about the fear of buttons and exploring phobias, and a book about the Pearly Kings and Queens of London. Which would be more interesting to read? Which do I have more extensive research on to inform my illustrations and content?

After some thought, the Pearly Kings and Queens of London is the definite route I want to explore with a picture book. They have such a striking aesthetic, ties to historic Britain, they are relatively unknown in today's multicultural London and represent things that are important to me - family, locality, heritage and charity. The prospect of creating this picture book excites me greatly and I'm now anticipating the New Year!

Visual Narratives: Interview with John Knowles

• How long have you been a Pearly King?

I have been a Pearly King for nearly 30 years now, though I'm not a member of any of the official organisations. I'm friendly with Doreen Golding who is the Chair of the Pearly Guild so do feel 'proper' in a way... She is the Pearly Queen of the Old Kent Road.

• Did you design your costume yourself? What does it represent or mean to you?
No, I was given my uniform by Beryl, a Pearly Queen with 5 children, none of whom wanted to carry on the tradition. She knew I could play music and liked the look of the uniform, so she asked me to wear it - and I have ever since. Each symbol has a meaning but there are diverse interpretations... The horseshoe is, of course, for luck - or perhaps someone in the family was a farrier? The 8 spoked wheels could represent time, the wheel of the year as a cycle, of a clock, of motion or maybe a wheel of fortune? 'Cockney Pride' on my trousers is my favourite part, as I am very proud to be a Londoner!

• Do Pearly Kings and Queens tend to make their own clothing?
Traditionally they did back in the day but now they are handed down through families, friends and societies to carry on the tradition.

• Do you know how many buttons are on your outfit?
Including my hat and shoes, I think there must be around 6,000 on my full suit.

• What interested you in becoming a Pearly King?

I was working at the Cockney Pride pub in Piccadilly as a musician in the early '80s, and back in those days the Pearly Kings and Queens used to come in entirely clothed in their uniform! This would not happen today, I dare say. I was amazed straight away. I am a world expert is Cockney rhyming slang so got to know some of the Pearlies very well.

• Do you do a lot for charity? As well as being in a band what else do you do to raise money?
I'm very proud to do my bit and do what I can when I can. Whenever I have free time I volunteer... I play a lot of gigs, visit care homes and do presentations at local schools. I teach the children Cockney Rhyming slang, the history of the Pearlies and a play called 'Henry and His Friends' about Henry Croft. I occasionally collect on the street for MSF the international medical charity. The Pearly way is to always help others. I've been in my band 'Pearly King & Queen' for 25 years and perform solo, with the Pearly Queen Terri as a duo, or with my full band. What you see is what you get - real music!

• Have you ever come across people with a fear of buttons who are frightened of your dress?
I have met one chap who was absolutely terrified at a gig I was playing when I was collecting for a charity. He had to leave! I felt terrible and apologised to him when I was out of my outfit but he said it was something he had had all of his life.

• Why do you think the tradition of Pearly Kings and Queens is important?
It is part of our British heritage, ingrained in our history, and has a rightful place in a multicultural Britain. We are professional entertainers who make money to give to charity, and our living, from our appearances. I love our work and how it brings people together from all walks of life. No two days are the same and I get to meet all kinds of different people because of my outfit.

• Do you find the heritage and history of Pearlies is being forgotten in a modern world? 
Few Londoners know the history nowadays but some have a vague idea of what it's about. People used to know a lot more about who we were back in the day but as they have aged along with us it is slowly fading in the minds of the population. I do like to give presentations and meet with schools to teach the children about our history and while the tradition is diminishing it is far from forgotten.

Visual Language: 3D Craft & Lens

Object as image. Illustration is 'strategic image-making used within the context of visual communication to convey an idea'. Drawing and painting are only one aspect of communicating pictures.

• Can costume be illustration?

• Can model making be illustration?

Can performance be illustration?

Can art direction be illustration?

Can visual merchandising be illustration?

• Can set design be illustration?

I believe they all can be. There is still an element of vision and craftsmanship. It doesn't matter as long as it's an image and it tells a story... Photography can become another tool at my disposal used to capture my ideas within a frame. Along with photography, craft and making are essential. How can craft imbue new meaning into materials in order to function as components of a piece of illustration?

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Favourite Presentation Pieces:

Polly Becker

This is so charming! From what I can gather, it shows a family made up of their favourite objects or objects that represent them, along with their face. Cameras, a xylophone and a tiny violin for the children - representing youthful, innocent fun through music and exploration. Coloured thread and a needle for the mother, a quintessential and stereotypical pastime using feminine doll legs in a dainty pose, and the dad with his hammer showing the strength in his arms. Men do DIY and are strong! The simple background against the mountain of objects works particularly well and I like the idea of using found or treasured objects. This could be something to consider in my own 3D illustration?

Jean Jullien

I feel that this is so clever - turning 2D illustrations into 3D objects just from cutting and folding a few key body parts! The elongated limbs are quirky and charming, adding a sense of personality to these odd-balls, and their colours are fun and vibrant! Paper cut is such a simple but successful technique in its form and functionality, giving a sense of craftsmanship and the hand-made, and is something I am slowly falling in love with. I'm even considering using it in my Visual Narratives picture book! 

Owen Gildersleeve

Paper cut again, adding a sense of simple but bold colour, shape and movement. This truly looks like a box of tricks or a present that flourishes when opened! The central composition, with the tablet device, turned slightly on its' side adds an element of the off-beat and the unconventional.

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Christmas Task: 3D Illustration

Where do I take my photo? How do I take my photo? I need to consider quality of camera, lighting, arrangement and composition. I have a very good camera which I got for Christmas last year, a Canon DSLR 1200D with a few different lenses, and a Daylight lamp which emits bright white light that I used to do my illustrative work. I want to be able to incorporate a big sense of crafting and a labour of love.

How do I achieve this? Paper cut is a good option, as seen from the presentation examples, but crafting makes me think of felting, needlework... I knit and crochet so this could be an option? I don't have a big stash of colours anymore so will need to stock up. I could crochet the 'mutant' features and stick them onto myself for the final piece?

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Initial thoughts and ideas:

• Myself as an alien? Tentacles? Spots? Pizza monster?

• Myself with exaggerated features? Big lips? Crazy hair?

• A silly hat? A mustache? BEARD? I have always wanted a big, ginger beard like a viking!

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Inspiration:

• I'm not the biggest fan of Drake (actually, I dislike him. A lot. Seriously, what is he saying in his songs? All the words blur into one mashed-up sentence? He sounds half-assed? Where is the emotion? WHAT IS GOING ON?). However, I do like this album cover and remember it popping up everywhere a few years ago. A simple painted side-profile against a cloudy background is simple and memorable, easy to identify through a tiny thumbnail. It reminds me of the old Windows wallpaper... Nostalgia! Looking back to the past?

• With it being the festive season, I make it a ritual to watch A Muppet's Christmas Carol at least 4 times. My favourite character has to be the Ghost of Christmas Present - "come closer, and get to know me better, man!" He is so jolly, full of love and admiration for life and is everything I aspire to be in personality and approachability. Plus, his beard is awesome!! He will be my influence during this project.

...And many outtakes!

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Successes:

• A really fun and playful idea driven by my love of crating and the hand-made.

• Referencing a successful album and film gives a sense of nostalgia and consideration of ideas that have worked in the past.

• Taking many shots at different heights, angles and locations in my room - not just settling for the first shot. Going through, refining and selecting the most successful image that works well within the frame.

• Building a make-shift lighting and tripod unit using my office chair balanced on my bed with my Daylight lamp sitting on the seat, my camera attached with tape underneath the lamp. How's that for crafting?!

What could be improved?

• Using a tripod! If I had more time I would certainly retake this again... (I initially wanted to book out a tripod the day before we go back after Christmas break... but I have so much Visual Narratives work to do!)

• The colours didn't come out exactly as they were away from the lens, which may have a lot to do with the white balance. As I can't see to read the information on the screen, I just use the Creative Auto setting which automatically adjusts the lighting, white balance, flash, etc. depending on the situation. I may need to learn more about my DSLR and the number of times I need to press a certain button or option to change the settings... which will prove difficult to remember everything!

Visual Narratives: Sketchbook Development

In response to my visit to Duttons for Buttons, my observational drawings and interviews with customers and the shop worker, I made a start on some sketchbook development. I fear I have been getting caught up in the research angle too much and neglecting my own visual responses to what I have been finding out. I find researching a lot of fun though and feel like a detective of sorts! I have found out so many new and interesting things about buttons thanks to my solid foundation of research so far.

I wanted to experiment with different ways of drawing buttons using different materials such as ink, pen, pencil and charcoal to capture the mystery, individuality and wonder of buttons and also depict how they were arranged in the button room. The sensory idea didn't work out too well - I closed by eyes and laid out some buttons on my table and drew loosely while feeling the buttons and thinking about my experience in the button room. When I opened my eyes it just looked like a child's drawing! Using a combination of dry brush and ink and a very watered down ink with a wet brush was much more effective in giving the buttons an almost ethereal and dream-like status.

I also wanted to sketch out some ideas of how I would interpret people's interactions with buttons whether good or bad. I pushed some of the ideas and motifs further, which I learned from the Visual Skills module to be very mindful of, but feel I need to do more work in my sketchbook.

Visual Narratives: Pearly-Inspired Celebrities

While searching for Pearly Kings and Queens I came across these interesting inspired outfits worn by celebrities - Gwen Stefani, Kylie Minogue (at the Queen's 90th Birthday Celebration), The White Stripes, Nicola Roberts and John Galliano. I thought it was something worth noting and blogging about for visual research, so I can look at their outfits for ideas for my picture book alongside official Pearly outfits. It's also quite intriguing to see how Pearly aesthetics have influenced pop stars, musicians and fashion designers!

Visual Narratives: Project Proposal

• Please list all of the research you have carried out so far:

• Trip research:

- Visit to Duttons for Buttons in Ilkley

Interview with shop worker and 2 customers

- Photo of the button room

- Observational sketches

- Rubbings of buttons and the outside shop

- Purchased ephemera (buttons, canvas bag, cards)

- Sound map of the shop bell and customers talking

• Online Research:

- Psychology of collecting / surrounding ourselves with tokens, totems, souvenirs

- History of the button and interesting facts (biggest button collection, oldest button, largest button, etc.)

- Phobia of buttons (koumpounophobia) and causes - failure to do up buttons, hair getting trapped in buttons)

- Questions to a sufferer of button phobia

- Button groups on Facebook

- Questions to button group owner on Facebook

- Button Societies

- Duttons for Buttons history

- Research into object therapy and how buttons can be therapeutic / comforting

• Library Research:

- The Complete Button Book by Lillian Smith Albert and Kathryn Kent

- The Button Maker by Sarah Beaman

• Which of these research activities have you found the most useful and which were the most challenging? Why?

- I found visiting the button room in Duttons for Buttons really useful, so that I could understand first-hand that feeling of power and awe by being surrounded by so many buttons. The sheer amount of them was overwhelming and an experience I could only feel by undertaking my trip.
- Frottage rubbings of buttons gave a different visual representation, rather than just photos or sketches, that I found most interesting.
- Purchasing physical buttons that I can hold to understand why people find them therapeutic, healing and soothing has helped on a tactile level of understanding.
- Talking to people and learning of their individual experiences of obsession, indifference or fear of buttons and the origins of that has helped to shape my work.

• What is your intent for this project? Having full creative freedom over the content and image making, how do you want your work to function? Is it funny? Melancholy? Diagrammatic? Persuasive? Ambiguous?
- My intentions for my picture book is to highlight aspects of human interaction with objects, all through a colourful, charming and playful way - with beautiful yet simple illustrations akin to the work of Louise Lockhart and Ben Javens. I enjoy their storytelling through blocks of colour and shape with a textural aspect through digital or risographic alteration.

• Please describe the idea / theme central to your project (currently) and how this has been informed by your research? This doesn't need to be definite or detailed.
Through the research I have collected so far, my central ideas are leaning towards 'buttons for good'. I'm unsure of whether the overall subject matter will pertain to either the positive feeling that buttons give people through societies, groups, gifts, keepsakes, memories, etc. or through Pearly Kings and Queens - but the core of the project is there; buttons that make a positive change. These ideas have been informed through an extensive, flexible and open-minded approach - willing to uncover new things throughout the entire research process rather than stick to the first line of enquiry for an easier solution. Interviews, sketches and online research have provided me with a solid foundation.

Visual Narratives: Pearly Kings and Queens

Basics

After being very fascinated by the Pearly King and Queen featured in the This Morning video, I decided to have a browse around and find out more! From Wikipedia: "Pearly Kings and Queens, known as Pearlies, are an organised charitable tradition of working class culture in London, England. The practice of wearing clothes decorated with a so-called pearl, actually mother-of-pearl buttons, originated in the 19th century. It is first associated with Henry Croft, an orphan street sweeper, who collected money for charity. At the time London costermongers (street traders) were in the habit of wearing trousers decorated at the seams with pearl buttons that had been found by market traders. Croft adapted this to create a pearly suit to draw attention to himself and aid his fundraising activities. In 1911 an organised pearly society was formed in Finchley, London."

Websites
Looking further afield from Wikipedia, I have found a whole heap of websites dedicated to the charities of the Pearly Kings and Queens. Again, Henry Croft is mentioned - who must be the father of the Pearly tradition. They are registered charities and show who is the Pearly King and Queen for each borough of London. Many seem to have been awarded MBE and OBE awards by the Queen herself for their services to charity in London.

• Pearly Society
• The Pearlies
• Pearly Kings and Queens Guild

Videos
On YouTube I had a bit more luck with uncovering what the Pearlies do.



An interesting reply on this video from a YouTube user had me thinking... "I fear these traditions will be lost." I had no idea who the Pearlies were before my research and I feel this will be the same for many people. It is a shame as they seemed to have such a huge influence back in 'the day'.

Pearlies seem to incorporate Cockney Rhyming Slang and traditional London songs such as "Roll Out Your Barrel", "Sling Yer Hook" and "The Lambeth Walk" at pubs, clubs, weddings and events to raise money for charity.

I find this old footage from 1926 of the Pearlies, their donkeys and carts very charming. Is this vintage aesthetic and traditional viewpoint something I want to incorporate into my work? How do I combine this with collage, cut paper and mark making?

Images
Some really interesting images from the above websites, rather than Google images:

Their outfits are incredible! I wonder who designs them - are they hand-made by each pearly? Do they have someone who makes them? Why each one is different? Are any outfits the same? What do the emblems mean? I'm seeing a lot of horseshoes, bells, swirls, flowers, hearts, etc. Why are they chosen?

Books

I have visited Wikipedia, YouTube and Google images as my first port of call - and I do realise that in a project that focuses on alternate research methods - but I'm having a hard time finding any books in the college library, on Amazon, Wordery, the Book Depository, Waterstones, Kindle, and so on.

Reflection
After some basic researching online, I have managed to uncover that the Pearlies have big charitable ties and have been going since the late 1800's - inspired by a chap called Henry croft. 

Next Steps

As this is all very basic information, I need to branch out and try to get in touch with a few Pearly Kings and Queens somehow. Their first-hand experiences will be invaluable to my line of enquiry should I choose to focus my book on the Pearlies! I am very excited by my find though, the aesthetic are so strong and the idea of being selfless and charitable is something that appeals to me a lot as someone who has worked tirelessly with organisations such as Henshaws, RNIB, Guide Dogs and action for Blind People. I think my project is now starting to take shape!

Visual Narratives: Hot Dog Book

Using the foundation of research I have created so far, I wanted to build on my original hot dog book and this time use colour and a cut paper collage aesthetic. Heavily influenced by my visual language sessions of mark making, texture and collage, I wanted to use a different approach to image making rather than just drawing with a fine liner pen. I really love the lo-fi, DIY and hand-made qualities of this hot dog book. I think the colour palette suits this quite well, I wanted something neutral and soothing rather than colourful and attention-grabbing, to represent the serene feeling that buttons can give people. Not sure if the colour scheme works entirely well though? Are these warm shades of grey too moody? Do they evoke the feeling of completeness and happiness? Would muted pastels have worked better?

Visual Language: Life Drawing Classes

• With discovering a newfound joy to observational drawing thanks to the Visual Language sessions, and the ability to unpick visual components each week, I signed up to the life drawing classes here at LCA to employ all of the new things I have been learning!

• One of my transformative moments during this first term has been the session on line quality - and how different tools can produce different variations when speed, pressure and thoughts / emotions come into play to effect the outcome. Using graphite stick and an ink brush pen were my favourite discoveries because of the aesthetic they bring; textured contours and outlines to an illustration that can vary depending on implication and motion. This really allows for light and shadow to be implied in the more inkier or drier areas. I liked using the contrast of the softer graphite with the harsher, more deliberate ink brush pen.

• I struggle with observational drawing because of my severe visual impairment, with only 8% central vision in my left eye - like looking down a tunnel - and only light perception in my right. I was made to feel very welcome at the life drawing sessions, people were very supportive of me and respectful of my Guide Dog, allowing me to get as close as possible to the models so I can see them in my field of useful vision. Photographs aren't allowed, which is completely understandable, so I couldn't use my trusty iPad! Because of how welcoming the sessions were I really began to settle, letting go of my setbacks and hardships and relax when drawing - just like everyone else - producing some work I am very proud of.

• Self-realisation of my own boundaries and limitations, and giving them the finger - giving things a bloody good go - shows my determination to become a better artist, designer, illustrator, practitioner and a better person. I can only compete with myself, attempting to become a better me, and not letting my disability get the better of me, as it has all of my life, has been key to my current happiness and feeling of self-worth.

• Observational drawing is something I really want to continue into the New Year and new term as it is so beneficial to draw, think and look on location - figuring out how an illustration can tell a narrative and what parts to omit or include, telling an interesting story of your individual journey. I have enjoyed the Visual Narratives module because of the observational drawing opportunities; having the ability to sit and draw buttons in Duttons for Buttons, and the people of Ilkley, to convey my trip there instead of just picture-perfect photographs.

Visual Narratives: Group Crit and Feedback

This morning I presented my findings, interviews, sketches, fact cards and ephemera to my peers. My presentation went really well with the amount of research I'd brought and explaining the journey I had taken so far in my research. Feedback was very positive and my peer group noted that the fact cards were a great addition, containing interesting facts and statistics.

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Tutorial Record Sheet
Issues discussed at the tutorial:
Hobbies, knitting, yard, 'world of wool', psychology of collecting, value, memories, toy collecting, miniatures, buttons, button shop, grape-shaped buttons, bears from old clothes and buttons, Duttons for Buttons has over 12,000 buttons, button fairies, placing hands in tub of buttons for therapy purposes, tactile and relieving stress, button groups on social media, void of buttons, button room, symbols of childhood and family, 1 in 75,000 people have a fear of buttons, phobias, portfolio of buttons.

Tutor / Peer action:
Great breadth of research, observational sketches, purchased and collected items (button card, photographs, buttons, library books, canvas bag, 3 interviews with lots of facts and experiences). Well prepared and interesting presentation.

Student action:
Continued research into buttons, keeping an open mind to any new information and sparks of inspiration, continued sketches.

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Reflection
While I didn't find the group crit too beneficial in terms of new suggestions or inspirations from others' projects, it was still good to see everything physical that I have gathered so far in front of me and to share with everyone the fun I've had exploring the world of buttons so far. My tutor and I both agree that exploring the benefits of buttons further would make an interesting picture book with some interesting visuals - so my next steps are to continue researching into people's experiences until I feel satisfied there is enough content for a picture book. I may want to explore media and materials research over Christmas alongside further research.

Visual Narratives: Button Fear on This Morning

I have come across this interesting interview on YouTube from This Morning, back in 2012, where therapists work with a young father to help him get over his immense button phobia.

"They make me feel sick. Just the thought of them. This phobia is really affecting my life. I just can't stand them... they make me feel weird. It's all I think about. I think it's silly! It obviously really affects me but I know it's silly. It affects the type I job I have, where I live, how I live, everything. I'd like to work in an office and earn a decent wage, but then I'd have to wear a shirt and I can't.

If I've got my t-shirt over my mouth and my nose then I can breathe when I'm around buttons. It's just the way it is. Little everyday things can be so stressful at times. If my daughter has a cardigan on I can't touch her. If the Speakman's can fix me, that would mean the world to me. I was about 5 when I realised I first had the phobia. I couldn't have them in my eye-line. I kept it to myself.

I tried to explain to my mum when I was 10 and she shrugged it off. Nobody would really listen or understand.  I was in a caravan with my family when I was 9 or 10 and my nana had a shirt with them on - I couldn't finish my Rice Krispies and was being shouted at for not eating my breakfast. But I couldn't. I call them Henry's, rather than buttons, because the word makes me sick. I'm a barman and if someone comes in wearing buttons I won't look at them, I'll look away and wipe my mouth. I have a ritual I go through where I cough and wipe my mouth. I have a feeling of contamination when I see or hear buttons."

Something I found the most interesting from this video though, was the couple at the end who were completely covered in buttons! Philip Schofield referred to them as a Pearly King and Queen... I will need to enquire further into this as it seems fascinating and like such a great find! What is a Pearly King and Queen? What do they do? Why are they covered entirely in buttons!!?

Visual Narratives: Koumpounophobia

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Koumpounophobia is the phobia of buttons

A few words from Coraline author Neil Gaiman:

"I often think that the greatest of human inventions is the humble button. Thousands of years ago we walked around with clothes that fell down or flapped open, garments that were entirely buttonless. The inventor of the button, whose name now, alas, has been lost to us, deserves to be acclaimed. Koumpounophobia is the word for fear of buttons. It's not a word that gets used a lot because it's not very common. What is there to be frightened of? After all, it is just a small piece of bone or plastic. Holes are drilled into it to allow a needle and thread to go through the holes and for the button to be attached the something. Like a coat... look! Buttons...

People who are scared of buttons must live terrible lives. Buttons are everywhere after all. Why, some people even make dolls, cute little dolls that gladden the hearts of children using buttons for eyes. Who would be scared of them? Oh, button-eyed things... they take us back to our childhoods. They make us happy. Except for a tiny handful of koumpounophobes. And that's irrational, isn't it? To be scared of buttons?"

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The comments section of this YouTube video is filled with people's personal experiences with buttons, mostly negative, and how Gaiman's video - even book and movie Coraline - have triggered their fear.

"As a Koumpounophobe watching this, it's almost like scratching your nails down a chalkboard when he picks them up, or they clank with the sides jar. I would describe it as a fear, more of a disgusted feeling when we have to touch them or, even just see them around. Since they are used in everyday life, after a while you just have to accept the fact that they are there. Life IS hard, but we have to everyday face it."

"I can't wear anything with them on, I can't type or say the word and it makes me feel sick just hearing him say the word."

"I used to have really bad Koumpounophobia as a kid but I thought I had largely gone away until I watched Coraline. That movie really triggered me"

"I finally have a name for this! Thanks, Mr. Gaiman! The only buttons I tolerate are metal ones on my jeans. I only wear shirts and other pants (trousers) with buttons when I absolutely have to. Polo shirts are slightly better than dress shirts. I never wear boxers because of the buttons. I don't like hugging or kissing someone with buttons on their shirts. But the worst has gotta be buttons not attached to anything, like extras in a coat pocket or ones laying on a table. And if loose buttons still have traces of thread on them... shudders"

"I am so happy I'm not alone in this. All my friends/family laugh at my fear and tell me to get over it, but I can't. Buttons are disgusting. Ugh, especially the ones with the holes in them..., be it the ones on coats, flanno/polo/dress shirts. I remember back in high school I was so tempted to alter my winter uniform shirt to include a zipper instead of having to touch the buttons, sadly, I was held back by my lack of sewing knowledge :("

"Wow, i always thought i was alone in my distaste towards buttons, but the comment section proved me wrong. I'm glad, that means i am not weird because of this."

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Famous Koumpounophobes include Steve Jobs, Poppy Delevingne and Fearne Cotton

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Reflection
I myself have terrible globophobia - a phobia of balloons - in relation to latex balloons. I can't deal with the sound they make when the balloons bump into or rub against each other - not to mention when they are popped! I am completely fine with foil balloons as they pose no threat of making a terrible bang when they are deflated. It stems from a childhood trauma when my grandad inflated a balloon twice the size of me, and as a young girl whose severe visual impairment was undiagnosed at the time, I had to touch it to understand what it was as I couldn't see it properly. He popped it there and then in front of me and I have not been able to get over my fear since... I can completely understand where koumpounophobes are coming from in terms of their irrational thoughts and feelings towards an object that has effected them earlier in life.

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Next Steps
Are phobias something I want to explore more in this project, so that I can find out more about my own phobia? Could I juxtapose people's collecting of buttons / obsession with people's fear of buttons? I don't want to overcomplicate my picture book so this is something I will need to give some more thought to...

Visual Narratives: Button Societies and Groups

• When speaking with the American customer yesterday at Duttons for Buttons, she introduced me to Colorado Buttons and told me of the various button groups and societies she is part of. I wanted to look into this further as the idea of buttons bringing people together either for buying, selling, swapping or friendly competition is an interesting aspect that can be included in my project somehow...

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British Button Society
http://www.britishbuttonsociety.org/home-page

• The British Button Society has been running for 40 years, created n 1976 in London. There are over 180 members representing 13 countries and a journal, Button Lines, is printed 3 times a year. Membership ranges from £20 - £30 depending on your age and where you are located in the world. The British Button Society is located in Boston Spa, Wetherby, which isn't too far from Leeds... it may be worth a visit for my research?

" Our membership includes people with wide-ranging interests and button collectors in many fields. These include military, livery, hunt, sporting, police, yacht clubs, golf clubs, shipping and transport buttons. In dress buttons we have members who collect satsumas, mother of pearl, vegetable ivory, enamels, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, silver, glass, cut steel, horn, Dorset, paste, Bimini, Celluloid, Bakelite and flora, fauna and other picture buttons.

There is a wealth of history around buttons and their manufacture.  As a member you can attend meetings both local and national, take the opportunity to talk to fellow collectors and exchange ideas and information and receive our magazine."

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National Button Society
http://www.nationalbuttonsociety.org/Home.html

The National Button Society, located in America, was founded in October 1938 and has over 3,000 members from 39 states and 4 continents! Membership is open to those who wish to promote educational research and button exhibits, the publishing and dissemination of information about buttons, the preservation of the aesthetic and historical significance of buttons for future generations and those who collect buttons themselves.

"Households have long followed the practice of snipping buttons from clothing headed for the ragbag. Do you remember playing with your mother’s - or grandmother’s or great-grandmother’s - button box or jar or tin? The impulse to collect is a basic part of the human psyche, and buttons have been admired and collected for centuries.Button collecting was recognized as an organized hobby through the founding of the National Button Society in 1938."

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Buttons in Time: Directory of State Button Societies

http://www.buttonsintime.com/otherorgs1.htm

I happened across this director that links to societies based in Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado... There's an independent button society for practically every state!

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Facebook Groups
As well as official societies, there are also a number of groups on social media - particularly Facebook - that I have come across in my research. People share information they have found on a certain type of button, share photos of hauls of the buttons they have purchased from a seller or a shop, sell or swap with each other, share arts and crafts they have created with buttons and generally socialise and create friends with a similar interest of button collecting. There is a real sense of community and camaraderie within these groups.

• Button Central (9,010 Likes)
• National Button Society (2,172 Likes)
• Button Button Who's Got the Button (1,527 members)
• Revolutionary War Buttons, Plates and Accoutrements (1,495 members)
• American Military Buttons 1775 - 1865 (994 members)
• The Official Button Lovers Group (676 members)
• The Official Button Lovers Market Place (212 members)
• Livery Buttons and Badges (105 members)

I have included links to the group pages ad also wanted to share the sheer amount of members in these groups and societies... button collecting is a lot more popular than I first thought when this project was still in its' initial stages!

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Interview with Group Leader

I sent over a few questions to the group leader of 'Button Button Who's Got the Button', Luanne Oda, to find out why she created the group, her experiences with buttons, some of the members and posts she sees daily, and how the group has grown to over one and a half thousand members in under a year...

• When did you start the 'Button Button...' Facebook group?
I created the group on 31st May this year, just to give me something to do. I'm now a retired grandma who works from home selling buttons part-time, and like to feel proactive. I have enjoyed buttons for some time now and wanted to connect with others who felt the same. The group gives me a chance to learn new things about the rich history of button making and collecting, sell buttons from my home shop and swap buttons with other members.

• How long have you been collecting buttons?
Not as long as many of the other gals in the group, maybe 4 years or so. I love my collection though and hope it one day expands to be like some of our other members' collections - who live in an Aladdin's cave of buttons!

• How many buttons do you own?
My personal collection maybe around 400 - 500 buttons. Of course, I sell buttons so have THOUSANDS in the house! It's quite a feeling to be among so many beautiful little objects.

• What made you interested in button collecting?
I had a button swap on my business Facebook page and my business partner was a "true" collector & sent me some wonderful buttons. She also started my granddaughter with a small collection when she was a baby, she is turning 3 in January and has quite the collection already!

• Why do you collect buttons?
There's something so wonderfully charming about the different varieties of them. There are so many in the world made from different materials for different purposes and I try to collect as many as I can. I feel like I own a bit of history and a bit of someone's life! They are a necessity for clothes but they are also decorative and pretty or historical and valuable. Each button has its own story and tale to tell.

• Are there any special buttons in your collection and, if so, what makes them precious?
I mainly collect heart shaped & cherub buttons because I love hearts and Valentine's Day, but do have others. Those are my favourites though. I'm a loving and caring person and feel the heart represents me. Having a physical manifestation of that to pin to my clothes and wear is a special thing.

• Why do you think people like to collect and surround themselves with objects / totems / trophies?
I think it makes them feel good. With buttons in particular, many of the ladies either have their mum's or grandma's buttons and used to play with them. That's what drew them into buttons. A familiarity, a memory. My nana was a seamstress but I never remember seeing buttons at her house! I have a small jar of my mum's buttons but they are simple modern buttons, nothing old or valuable. But they belonged to her and she kept adding to them until she passed on, and that makes them invaluable to me.

• How do you engage with your collection? (Sit with them, hold them and reminisce? Organise them in a certain way (i.e.: from colour, shape, pattern, size)?
I like to look at them and display them in decorative bowls or dishes by characteristic. I sometimes like to pour them out or put my hands into a big tub of them when I'm feeling down or stressed. My hands are old now. I have arthritis and my first few nodules have appeared, so putting my hands in buttons takes that age away and I feel young again - I feel ageless. I have a great time with my granddaughter looking through her small collection. She has learned colours, shapes, names of items, and how to count with buttons. I am going to try to include a video of her scooping her buttons with a little shovel. I hope it works. She loves touching her buttons, scooping them with her hands and rubbing them on her arms and face. They have helped her to learn and grow so quickly. As well as being educational and teaching a young child, I hope to be able to keep these buttons for when she's older and she can have a piece of our past and bonding sessions together.

 • Do you have any interesting stories related to buttons?
Well that I started the 'Buttons Buttons Who's Got The Button' group on Facebook and in a short time have a nice following of over a thousand members! I've sold quite a number of buttons and have orders to package and send each day from my home in New York. The ladies in the group are all so sweet and have made friends with each other also. Such a nice group! A few members have met up who are local together and have made lifelong friendships just through buttons. I find that incredible! I receive so many wonderful messages from people who have joined the group, have bought my buttons or swapped with me and it is just lovely to have such a tool to connect with people this way. I am truly thankful for Facebook and for buttons too!

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Reflection

• Just from a chance meeting yesterday at Duttons for Buttons, I have unearthed a plethora of button societies and groups across the world, from London to Australia, bringing people together through their love of buttons. I have joined some of the Facebook groups and shared my project proposal with button enthusiasts - which has been met with such positivity and excitement! The images of people's collections will no doubt influence my work somehow...

• I need to be mindful not to get bogged down with too much research and information... I need to try and stay focused on the simple things. That's not to say that I need to slack off from researching as this subject matter is interesting to me. I think the thing I will be taking away from today's exploration into societies and groups is that button collecting is a very popular and series thing that brings together big groups of people - allowing them to collect and connect. 

Visual Narratives: Trip to Ilkley's Duttons for Buttons

Train Journey

• I booked my journey online and opted for digital tickets rather than physical ones. Being severely sight-impaired means that I lose things easily and having an extra, little papery, thing to worry about can only spell trouble! While this means I don't have an extra piece of ephemera for Monday's group crit and feedback session, I do enjoy the digital illustration attached with my tickets of a female passenger showing her tickets to the ticket conductor! It has a simple colour scheme matching the corporate colours and uses basic vector motifs to effectively convey the story.

• As a disabled passenger, I have to book assistance with Network Rail so that they can ensure I am on the right platform, put on the correct train and in the seat that works best for me and my Guide Dog (enough leg room, close to the doors, etc). The team at Leeds are always really helpful and assisted me a lot last year during the Access to HE course, so I know them well - but there was no assistance at all at Ilkley! Thankfully the train driver spotted me and helped me off the platform and outside the station. I couldn't get over how empty the train was - Tami and I practically travelled the whole journey ourselves!

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Interviews

Shop Worker:


Customer #1


Customer #2


Customer #2 very kindly took my e-mail address to send along some of her photographs of the grape buttons that she enjoys collecting. She sent me so many photos of the pieces from her collection - and all I could think was, "Wow! This lady really likes grapes!"

It was wonderful to talk with this lady and really understand her passion for button collecting, propelled by the loss of her husband and featuring the motif from her childhood. The presence of buttons in her life allows her to go out to button societies and fairs, meet like-minded people and build her collection - rather than stay indoors and mourn. This shows me that, again, buttons are memories and keepsakes and even give people a purpose when / if they need it.

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Photos

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Sensory Reactions

There was something undeniably powerful about being surrounded by so many buttons in such a small room! I felt small and insignificant among a huge treasure trove of metal, wood and plastic discs... There was a particular smell in the button room that I can distinctly recall even as I'm in my own bedroom typing away on my blog!

• See: Rows and columns of buttons, from ceiling to floor, organised in varying shapes and sizes, hue and colour. Felt like I was standing inside a mood board!

• Hear: Mostly silence, with the quiet din of traffic and electricity from the ceiling lights. The tinkle of the door bell occasionally as a customer entered the shop. Reminded me of a library. The occasional snore from Tami as she slept under the chair in the button room.

• Smell: There was a very distinctive musty smell in the shop that, again, reminded me of a library. Smelled like the past preserved in a shop. Probably caused by the vintage and antique buttons made of metal that have oxidised over the years.

• Feel: Friendly, welcoming and peaceful atmosphere created by the lovely shop worker. I felt overwhelmed in the button room surrounded by the sheer mountain of buttons! A sense of insignificance. Even morality - these buttons will live on. But it had an almost spiritual, sacred and mystical presence about it; like I was in a church of buttons or at an altar / shrine.

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Observational Sketches
• After my visit to Duttons for Buttons, I went to Betty's Tea Room for lunch and made a few more observational sketches of food and people. It was nice to escape the cold weather again as my phone told me it was now 2 degrees outside! Good job I had my scarf and gloves with me!

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Sound Map

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Rubbings / Frottage

Rubbings of buttons, a canvas bag decorated with buttons and the outside brickwork of the shop itself.

These are quite abstract and textural and give the buttons a completely different representation which I find interesting. Textures is something I'd like to play a lot with when it comes to creating the illustrations for my picture book and I can draw inspiration from these rubbings...

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Reflection
• The day didn't go exactly as planned as I finished a lot earlier than I anticipated, the weather was freezing cold and Tami was fed up of walking up and down the same main road while I took photographs and sketched. Most of the time she can do really well but I think as this was a new place that we've never been to before she didn't know where she was guiding me and to what end!... I was relying heavily on my phone for directions to the button shop, to Betty's tea room and back to the train station which is a very scary thing when you can barely see! If it wasn't for technology and for my Guide Dog, I wouldn't have even been in the town I was in and that is something that keeps me humble and grateful.

• Physically visiting somewhere has really highlighted the impact it can have on your research - your senses, memories, emotions towards a project - rather than just looking in books and going on the internet. I now need to process and filter through my research and decide where I want to go next.

• Going forward in my project, I now want to explore the aforementioned button societies and how people interact with buttons.