An Interview with Red Gate Arts

As you know, I love a small company fuelled by the passions of dedicated and lovely people, which leads me to introduce to you Kate and Ruth of Red Gate Arts. Kate and Ruth are sisters who have been committed to growing a small seed of an idea into a full-time business and have found themselves going from strength to strength, with their work featured at the South Bank.

Printing vintage-style posters, the sisters draw inspiration from their own lives in the pretty village in which they live, their love for times gone-by and the Kentish towns that surround them, as well as working on bespoke pieces.

 Incorporating all the elements of their lives and interests, they have produced a series of fantastic, classic-style images, which they sell at small markets throughout Kent, pop-up shops and online.

(They're also responsible for my ever-changing  blog banner)

Shall we talk to Ruth and Kate and get to know a little more about them?

Where are you from?

We both live at Red Gate Shaw (the inspiration behind our name!) in a little village near to Canterbury. It used to be a fruit farm many years ago and still shows signs of its past through the old bramley apple orchard in the centre of the property.

Why did you decide to open Red Gate Arts?

We decided to start Red Gate Arts because we both felt the need to do something creative for ourselves. As far back as we can remember there has always been some sort of art project taking up the living room table so it seemed logical to try and do something more productive with our ideas.

Why are you different?

A lot of people have a great appreciation for classic vintage design, but rarely do you see new ideas and artwork authentically created using those methods and styles. We like to think our work brings elements of classic design into the current era in a way that few people are doing.

What's your fave thing or place to do/go in Canterbury?

We love to view Canterbury from up by the University on my way to see a classic film at the Gulbenkian. It’s by far the best place to sit and appreciate the beauty of the city, and feels especially poignant after just having soaked up the delights of a film like ‘A Canterbury Tale’ or ‘Casablanca’ – They show some real gems at the Gulbenkian. 

One event we look forward to every year is the traditional carol singing on Christmas eve with the Archbishop of Canterbury perched a-top an open roofed double decker bus, dressed up to the nines in all his glad rags. Hundreds of residents gather, packed in like cattle, to sing the same old carols in the freezing cold, half of which you don’t know the lyrics to. Some 9yr old kid from the Choir usually sings a painfully timid and out of tune solo rendition of ‘silent night’ and everyone claps and cheers enthusiastically and thinks to themselves, ‘thank god I didn’t have to do that’. It’s great. A real feeling of community and Christmas spirit, and afterwards you rush to the nearest pub to regain the feeling in your toes with many a glass of mulled wine!

Describe Red Gate Arts in three words

Old, New, Timeless.

Kate and Ruth have kindly offered one lucky reader of the Cafe Cat a poster of their choice.

Be sure to enter the competition telling us which poster you'd love to win from their Etsy shop and why.

RED GATE ARTS ETSY

My personal fave is the cat and city skyline - recognise it from anywhere?

a Rafflecopter giveaway