Bum deal sends Darwen designer fly-ing high!

9:00pm Tuesday 13th May 2008

Comments (1)   Have your say »

A DESIGNER is heading for the top after celebrating a bum deal with jeans giant Levi's!

Chris Thornley's work was chosen to adorn the back pockets of a number of pairs of the famous 501 brand, which were auctioned off to raise money for AIDS charities.

And, although they were never sold in this country, the jeans, with a cartoon-style sausage dog motif with a skeleton, are a sought-after fasion statement in Belgium.

Chris's design company, Source Creative, Mill Street, Blackburn, have been producing letterheads, animations and websites for six years and recently won top prize at the Adobe Creative Awards in the Design Festival 2007 held in Singapore for his abstract picture of a light bulb.

Last year Chris, from Earnsdale Avenue, Darwen, had his work spotted by bosses at Levi's at an art gallery in Antwerp and they asked him to produce a design for the back pocket of their famous 501 jeans.

Chris, 36, along with 100 other international artists, customised the pocket for an exhibition, and a number of pairs of the jeans were then auctioned for.

He said: "Levi's have a big shop in Antwerp, and I believe that people are walking around the city with my design on their back pocket."

Chris said that the birth of his son, Owen, two years ago inspired him to throw himself into illustration after a period away. He then started entering competitions with his work, and has gained recognition in the art scene.

He said: "I hadn't been drawing for a long while and when my son was born I decided that I wanted to write stories for him and do drawings to go with them.

"So the work I have been doing has come out of that.

"I would describe it as based on children's storybook drawings with a twist. The twist is making them more aware, witty and commenting on issues like the environment."

The Source Creative team, consisting of six designers from East Lancashire, have also produced work for Blackburn College, Blackburn with Darwen Council and variety of bands including the Ting Tings and The Worlds Tallest People. One of their most recent projects has been a 10 minute animation for trainer producers Gola.

The company is now about to branch out into itsr own clothing and accessories.

Chris said: "We've won a few competitions for work on T-shirts and people seem to want them.

"So as long as it pays for itself and it's enjoyable, we'll be releasing limited edition prints on T-shirts and bags."

Chris, who did a foundation course in course in printing at Blackburn College and a typography degree at Cardiff University, said that the time was right for East Lancashire to keep its artistic talent rather than lose it to big cities.

He said: "When I was leaving school not many people knew what design was.

"You had to go to London or Manchester to get a job in design, but now technology and the internet has changed all that."