Just like us here at FTLOTN, the creator of A City By the Sea, Andrew wanted to develop a brand that celebrated the North East, something that he was- and very much still is- incredibly passionate about. The name ‘A City By the Sea’ relates to the proximity of the coast to the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, of course, making it a city by the sea. However, Andrew intended for his brand's name to have a deeper meaning. He envisions each of the smaller regions surrounding the big cities of the North East as having city-like qualities themselves. You don't have to look far to realise how each of these mini-cities speckled across the North East has elements that resemble those from a bigger city. There are places to eat and drink in abundance, independent and larger chain shops, theatres, cinemas and even festivals, really, what's not to love?
One of the things we love is that the drive behind ‘A City By The Sea’ is twofold, relating to Andrew’s desire to showcase the beauty of the North East coast and to his addiction to creating and designing. We spoke with Andrew to collect some extra information about the concept of A City By the Sea where he described himself as a 'dabbler in all kinds of media'. Andrew mentioned his career before the launch of A City By the Sea, explaining that 'there was always a creative itch that needed scratching'. That was, of course, until the birth of A City by the Sea.
Andrew works from home- yes even before the pandemic- but spends a lot of time out and about sitting in cafés and restaurants around the region on the hunt for fresh inspiration. As a proud inhabitant of Whitely Bay, Andrew often finds himself drifting towards coastal regions across the North, this can be seen in many of his prints which use gentle tones to depict the seaside.
In between café stops and trips to the post office, Andrew is an avid photographer and enjoys taking images of the local area. These photographs often end up being used as inspiration or as reference images for new poster designs and we know we find them a joy to see as they continue to inspire and remind us just how beautiful a region we live in.
As you know one of the things we love best about what we do is that we get to showcase the work of so many fabulous North East artists and their love for our wonderful region. We particularly love working with Andrew and seeing The dual identity of Newcastle as both an inland city and seaside getaway is perfectly captured in Andrew’s beautiful posters. Each poster is able to transport you to those sun-saturated days spent by the sea whether that be in Tyneside, Northumberland, Teeside, or further afield.
The prints all fit seamlessly together as they each follow a similar colour palette of pale pink, blue, yellow, cream and white. Such colours are comparable to the colours of the sky and sea at different times of day during the summer months. Just like us, you may want to build your collection of A City By the Sea prints to cover a range of your favourite areas in the North East. Whether you're looking for an Angel of the North or for a print of Blyth, you're sure to find something beautiful.
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