GET 2 KNOW: ๐ฒiLL๐๐
Super fun packed blog
Self-proclaimed Cool Girl on the Computer ๐ฉ๐ปโ Willem has a PACKED blog for us all!! Explore their random camera roll pics, read how they found a t-shirt that has Nicki, Pitbull & Trey Songz on it, and have a peek at what theyโre researching atm! + + Keep scrolling to see the ceramic pig she will NOT trust in her house.
โฅ Who are you?
Iโm Willem, Iโm 23, I use they/them/she, I live in Bristol but Iโm from Gloucester originally, I mainly like to design stuff on the computer but I am working in 2 education places atm as well, I like paranormal stuff, cartoons, zines & animals.
โฅ Whatโs something youโd love to learn how to do?
Make DJ Mixes! I like to think I have pretty decent music taste & the ability to curate stuff, also I want to use that dumb airhorn sound effect lol,ย but music software looks to me like it might as well be the cockpit of a plane so idk if thatโs gonna happen any time soon.
โฅ Give us some inspoโฆ
One of my favourite websites and where I find a lot of project inspo is Internet Archive! You can find a ton of collections of really obscure documents, scanned magazines and zines, imagery and footage on there to download on nearly every subject. Most recently Iโve been looking into pulp, horror and porn magazines from the 70s 80s and 90s while researching for a clothing project! Iโll link below some internet archive content worth looking into.
https://archive.org/details/trashpulp - pulp magazines that have scandal and exploitation cinema as subjects
https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Billy+Tinney%22 - Tattoo Magazine issues from the early 2000s!
https://archive.org/details/UK_Escort_Cards_Artwork_Only - British Escort Cards from the 70s, 80s and 90s that have illustrations
โฅ Star sign?ย
Sagittarius Sun Libra Rising, I think this is right? The astrology website I used for the rising sign was very confusing and kept trying to make me buy stuff!
โฅ Last movie you cried to?
Everything Everywhere all at once! Like 3 times lol. At the bit at the start where Waymond sees that happy elderly couple and looks destroyed, the bit with the rocks obviously, and when Joy & Evelyn are talking outside the Laundromat near the end.
โฅCamera roll pics of your choice
A lighter with a cat on, A postcard in Edinburgh, A meme I made to tell my friend that I got prescribed antidepressants, My dog, Standing Stones and sheep in Avebury during the Summer Solstice and a Cat at Bag of Nails in Bristol.
โฅ Something random you wanna write about or tell peopleโฆ
Ok this might not be in the spirit of the question but it is interesting and weird! I keep seeing this one ceramic pig ornament! In almost every charity shop, antique shop or car boot I've been to so far this year I have seen this pig in a nappy, it's so ugly too! Apparently he was a free item given to NatWest customers in the 80s. What does he want from me? Iโve decided the next one I see Iโll buy to see if it breaks the curse, though I don't trust him in my house.
โ OK, what are you naming your new Piggie?
Hmmmm, let's go with Desmond.
โฅ One of your favorite second-hand finds?
CLOTHING: I found this T-shirt promoting a really niche Christmas concert event for a hip-hop radio station circa 2008, which had Nicki Minaj, Pitbull & Trey Songz at it. Weirdly I got this in a Thrift store in Barcelona in 2019, I think it was 5 Euros? I would love to know how this shirt managed to make its way to Spain 11 years later.
THING: Cat-Astrophe! It's basically reverse Jenga but with lil plastic cats! I got it for ยฃ2 in a red cross shop in Cheltenham and it genuinely is very fun! I donโt really have the attention span for long board games so this works for me.
โฅ Book recommendationsโฆ
โ Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung
โ Art is Magic by Jeremy Deller
โ Seconds by Bryan Lee OโMalley
โ Not a book but imma recommend it anyway - Bee & PuppyCat!
โฅ Photographer/artist/creative you love
My favorite smaller known creative who has become one of my fave artists ever - Laura Bowels! @laura_bowels_3 Their work is just amazing, I featured one of their pieces in a zine I made last year which I was so gassed about!ย
โฅ Something youโre researching atm?
Iโve been looking into some of the niche folklore and weird stories local to my hometown! Some specific things Iโve read about are Devil's Chimney, which is a rock formation at the top of Leckhampton Hill in Cheltenham which has been eroded into a tall thin spire and has local legend attached to it that the devil sat on top of it and threw stones at people going to church every Sunday, and the ongoing phenomenon of sightings of big black cats in Gloucester, which there are many many articles about on the local news website with amazing titles.
โ Extra Special Question: Do you think growing up in such a historic county like Gloucestershire has influenced your interest in the paranormal, myths and legends?
I think when I was younger I underestimated and underappreciated how much weird significant history and traditions there are associated with Gloucestershire, because it was so present? Like I never really questioned things like cheese rolling, which to describe to someone who's never heard of it makes you realise how wild it is. But it definitely influenced my interest in paranormal stuff subconsciously, and now I really want to create a project where I explore in depth some of the history and weird stories Iโve always been aware of, as well as more recent ones!
A huge thanks to Willem for their fun answers<3 Check out their amazing work below. โ We recommend their Mythworld zine in collaboration with @ilktree. โ
@XX_willem_fox_XX @chernobylstraydogs https://willem-fox.squarespace.com/
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