Publisher channels previous life as architect to earn prestigious awards nominations
Allistair Burt is the architect of his own success as the Hole In My Pocket founder and illustrator has picked up two finalists’ places in the Cultural Enterprises Awards.
Having taken time out from his often-daft greeting card designs for works harking back to his previous life as a project architect, the bespoke range Allistair created for the reopening of Glasgow’s Burrell Collection, following its £68.25million redevelopment, is up for Best Range against the National Trust’s Sylva Stools and the Migration Museum’s Migrant Makers Market.
Hole In My Pocket is also up for Best Supplier, alongside Heritage Digital and King & McGraw, while the Burrell Collection’s shop where his products retail is in the Best Shop category with Beamish Museum’s Jubilee Confectioners, and the shop at The Courtauld Gallery.
“I’m delighted to be nominated for two awards,” Allistair said, “and it’s great the shop has also been shortlisted. I created an architectural illustration of the building, and also drew Mr and Mrs Burrell who first formed the collection. These were then applied to a range of 14 products including their bestselling range of greeting cards.
“For best supplier to the industry I’ve also been shortlisted for our own range of in-house wholesale greeting cards and the bespoke work we’ve made for various museums and galleries.”
All the finalists in the 12 categories will be on display at awards organiser The Association For Cultural Enterprises’ conference and trade show in Harrogate over Thursday and Friday next week, 9-10 March, where attendees can vote for their favourite in the People’s Choice Award, and all winners will be announced at the gala dinner.
The judges said this year’s awards were “brilliant entries, such high quality, all at the top of their game” and one added: “Hole In My Pocket create work with a lopsided and utterly uncynical charm that makes delighted children out of the most serious of grown-ups.”
Allistair set up his company after graduating as an architect and worked on a vast range of projects from major art exhibitions, illustration projects, short films, storytelling machines and travelling around Scotland with an air-hostess trolley.
After 15 years as a project architect he hung up his hard hat to concentrate on full-time illustration, developing his ranges of greeting cards and gifts, while also collaborating with museums, galleries and other cultural institutions to develop bespoke product ranges either to complement their core collections or to support temporary exhibitions and projects.
Top: Allistair’s architect’s eye has earned two finalists’ nominations
