Factory311
Encyclopedia
FACTORY311 is a creative agency specialising in visual production and image licensing based in London
. They produce visual solutions and license fashion
, beauty
, illustration
, celebrity
, music
and sport
photography
.
, Miami, Palma
, and Ibiza
which exposed him to urban culture. He later settled in Marbella where he taught himself how to use photoshop and started designing flyers for Head Kandi Ibiza. After 5 years in Marbella
, Hardy returned to Manchester
and joined the team at Creative Spark agency before deciding to start his own agency. FACTORY311 began in Hardy’s apartment in the Manchester’s Northern Quarter - Smithfield's 311 - with just a computer.
from LA Ink
who commissioned a mural for the wall of her High Voltage Tattoo studio in Los Angeles
.
Whilst in Los Angeles
Hardy met celebrity photographer Lionel Deluy
who became the first photographer to be signed to the agency. After getting involved with LA based illustrator Soem One, Hardy along with his growing team of creatives began to create fantasy murals mixing Deluy’s photography with Soem’s illustrations. The collaborations sparked interest from Warner Brothers and Wiz Khalifa
who had a mural painted by Belin. In 2009, FACTORY311 along with Lionel Deluy worked together on the Evolution exhibition at De La Barracuda on Melrose Avenue
. The exhibition included photographs of Dita Von Teese
, Gary Oldman
, Katy Perry
, Ice Cube
, The Game and David Lynch
. The success of the exhibition resulted in magazine requests and works for Ed Hardy and Chris Brown.
Hardy returned to Manchester after the Evolution Exhibition and decided to move to London starting in Camden
North London. The London agency started by designing flyers for local businesses until gaining contracts from major brands like Manchester United, JD Sports
, Cosmopolitan
and Company Magazine. The agency then moved to Studio9 in London Fields where they shared an office space with Happy Kitchen. FACTORY311 eventually settled in their current studios in Bethnal Green and have since worked on advertising campaigns for Umbro’s World Cup shirts, Adam Lambert
's Glam Nation Tour, Art of Motion for Red Bull
Arsenal F.C player, Arsenal 360, Arsenal World and classics.
After opening the London office in 2010 the agency now includes an image licensing department which has syndicated images to international publications such as Vanity Fair
Italia, Harpers Bazaar, Cosmopolitan
UK, Marie Claire
Russia, Glamour
Italia and ES magazine as well as Nike
and Fiona Paxton. FACTORY311 photographers have also featured on Vogue Italia
's photo vogue website.
The image licensing archive currently covers fashion, beauty, illustration, celebrity, music and sport photography for print publication and digital media.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. They produce visual solutions and license fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
, beauty
Beauty
Beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology, social psychology, and culture...
, illustration
Illustration
An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically.- Early history :The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric...
, celebrity
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
.
History
FACTORY311 was founded by Creative Director Nicholas Hardy in 2005. FACTORY311 was originally dedicated to street art and photography, pioneering the work of spanish graffiti artist Belin. Hardy started his career in marketing and promotions which allowed him to travel across the world to places like DubaiDubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, Miami, Palma
Palma
Palma, La Palma, Palmas, or Las Palmas may refer to:- Africa :* Palma, Mozambique, city* La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, Spain* Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, city and capital of Canary Islands, Spain...
, and Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
which exposed him to urban culture. He later settled in Marbella where he taught himself how to use photoshop and started designing flyers for Head Kandi Ibiza. After 5 years in Marbella
Marbella
Marbella is a town in Andalusia, Spain. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, in the province of Málaga, beneath the La Concha mountain. In 2000 the city had 98,823 inhabitants, in 2004, 116,234, in 2010 approximately 135,000....
, Hardy returned to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and joined the team at Creative Spark agency before deciding to start his own agency. FACTORY311 began in Hardy’s apartment in the Manchester’s Northern Quarter - Smithfield's 311 - with just a computer.
The Agency
The first artist to be represented by FACTORY311 was spanish graffiti artist Belin who created a series of murals for the Bread and Butter project in Barcelona in collaboration with FACTORY311. After Belin graffiti artists Tassel, SatOne, Rabodiga, Mhrywan and Otes joined together to form the dream team of mural artists. The dream team caught the eye of Kat Von DKat Von D
Katherine Drachenberg , known professionally as Kat Von D and who has given her name as Katherine von Drachenberg in two German interviews is an American tattoo artist and television personality...
from LA Ink
LA Ink
LA Ink is an American reality show on TLC that follows the events of the High Voltage Tattoo tattoo studios in Los Angeles, California...
who commissioned a mural for the wall of her High Voltage Tattoo studio in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Whilst in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
Hardy met celebrity photographer Lionel Deluy
Lionel Deluy
Lionel Deluy is a French fashion photographer, celebrity photographer and music photographer .-Work:Deluy's work has appeared in every major national and international magazine such as Photo, ELLE, Pavement, FLAUNT, Rouge, The Source, VIBE, WIRED, Black and White, Vogue, and GQ Japan...
who became the first photographer to be signed to the agency. After getting involved with LA based illustrator Soem One, Hardy along with his growing team of creatives began to create fantasy murals mixing Deluy’s photography with Soem’s illustrations. The collaborations sparked interest from Warner Brothers and Wiz Khalifa
Wiz Khalifa
Cameron Jibril Thomaz , better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa , is an American rapper. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007...
who had a mural painted by Belin. In 2009, FACTORY311 along with Lionel Deluy worked together on the Evolution exhibition at De La Barracuda on Melrose Avenue
Melrose Avenue
Melrose Avenue is an internationally renowned shopping, dining and entertainment destination in Los Angeles that starts from Santa Monica Boulevard at the border between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood and ends at Lucille Avenue in Silver Lake...
. The exhibition included photographs of Dita Von Teese
Dita Von Teese
Dita Von Teese is an American burlesque dancer, model, costume designer, author and actress.-Early life:...
, Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman
Gary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, voice actor, filmmaker and musician.A member of the 1980s Brit Pack, Oldman came to prominence via starring roles in British films Meantime , Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears , with his performance in the latter bringing him his first BAFTA Award...
, Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
, Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
, The Game and David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
. The success of the exhibition resulted in magazine requests and works for Ed Hardy and Chris Brown.
Hardy returned to Manchester after the Evolution Exhibition and decided to move to London starting in Camden
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
North London. The London agency started by designing flyers for local businesses until gaining contracts from major brands like Manchester United, JD Sports
JD Sports
JD Sports Fashion plc, more commonly known as just JD, is a sports-fashion retail company based in Bury, Greater Manchester, England with shops throughout the United Kingdom and with one in Ireland...
, Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
and Company Magazine. The agency then moved to Studio9 in London Fields where they shared an office space with Happy Kitchen. FACTORY311 eventually settled in their current studios in Bethnal Green and have since worked on advertising campaigns for Umbro’s World Cup shirts, Adam Lambert
Adam Lambert
Adam Mitchel Lambert is an American singer, songwriter, and actor from San Diego, California. In May 2009, he finished as the runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol...
's Glam Nation Tour, Art of Motion for Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
Arsenal F.C player, Arsenal 360, Arsenal World and classics.
After opening the London office in 2010 the agency now includes an image licensing department which has syndicated images to international publications such as Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
Italia, Harpers Bazaar, Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
UK, Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
Russia, Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
Italia and ES magazine as well as Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
and Fiona Paxton. FACTORY311 photographers have also featured on Vogue Italia
Vogue Italia
Vogue Italia is the Italian edition of Vogue magazine. Owned by Condé Nast International, it is the least commercial of all editions of Vogue magazine and has been called the top fashion magazine in the world....
's photo vogue website.
The image licensing archive currently covers fashion, beauty, illustration, celebrity, music and sport photography for print publication and digital media.