Welcome
We’re a little bit different here
About Charlotte Hamilton
I’m a a cross-disciplinary artist, specialising in illustration, screen printing and arts engagement. My work explores outsider communities, unconventional ways of creating and DIY practices. I work to empower people who feel like they don’t fit in, to express themselves in a way that feels good and supports their creativity and wellbeing. I graduated with a BA Fine Art (hons) from Central Saint Martins in 2016 and have since worked with various arts organisations and independently to support creative involvement and challenge the current structures and limitations of arts education and engagement.
recent Projects:
TOW Studio Artist Development Programme: May - December 2022
I was selected to be one of the first cohort of the artist development programme at The Old Waterworks Studios. This project focused on building a sustainable practice through skill development and the initiation of new screen printing workshops.
Metal Culture Artist Residency: July 2022
This month-long residency focused on research and development for a new programme of physical events and creative workshops, and culminated with a creative empowerment pilot event in collaboration with Agency of Creative Practice.
With Us, Creative Basildon: May - June 2022
Commissioned pop-up screen printing workshops which travelled around the borough of Basildon as community outreach activities to support Creative Basildon’s research and development.
Necromantic Magazine: Jan-December 2021
I was published in all four issues of Necromantic magazine, writing about a range of witchcraft-related topics including magic for mental health, vision boards and how-to guides.
Agency of Visible Women, Policy Making Exhibition: March 2020
A group exhibition by artist collective The Agency of Visible Women exploring policy making in Southend. ‘The works in this 2020 exhibition are created by women, femmes and non-binary people who have taken their policies where they’d like them to go. They might just be starting their thoughts, investigating an idea from all kinds of angles, but together,
these policies cover a lot of ground.’ - Exhibition Text, Ruth Jones
I am a self-confessed weirdo and former emo-kid and my love of alternative culture, music and fashion is a big part of my work. I am passionate about the openness of the art industry, community involvement and building supportive networks . I believe in the importance of creativity and artistic development in all stages of life and work to support that through my work.
I embrace collaboration and always welcome new connections and collaborative projects. I have experience of working with people of all ages in building creativity and self-expression through structured and drop-in workshops and events. I am particularly looking for work on projects that encourage that creativity through all stages of life. I am available for workshop delivery and facilitation, guest speaker positions and podcasts.
My areas of expertise include screen printing, creative expression, creativity for mental health, fashion customisation, creative business, tarot and witchcraft.
For more information on my experience, you can view my CV here.
If you’d like to work together, please drop me an email at charlotte@sugarstormstudio.com.
The Story of Sugar Storm Studio
Sugar Storm Studio (originally named Sugar Storm Clothing) was founded in 2017, when I was newly out of art school and having a minor identity crisis. I found a new confidence in expressing myself through alternative fashion, began illustrating t-shirt designs and then taught myself to screen print in an extremely DIY way. I built an alternative fashion brand that celebrated weirdness, with spooky illustrations printed onto sustainable products. Through this business I ran photoshoots, sold in high street shops, participated in exhibitions, was featured on blogs and podcasts and received business support from The Princes Trust. It also opened the doors to finding new ways to empower people and encourage creativity. I moved away from running a product-focus business in 2022, but it’s incredibly important to the foundation of Sugar Storm and my creative practice.
ALL THOSE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU AN INDIVIDUAL, THAT MAKE YOU ‘WEIRD’, HOLD ONTO THEM tightly.
CELEBRATE YOUR WEIRDNESS, SHOW OFF EXACTLY WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU LOVE. LET YOUR FREAK FLAG FLY.
Sugar Storm has evolved with me as I’ve learnt, failed, experimented, struggled balancing working three jobs and running a business, supported my mental health, (and not supported my mental health) but at the heart of it has always been a love of the alternative, an encouragement of self-expression and a desire to be a little bit different.
I created Sugar Storm as a call to arms, to encourage you to choose differently. Choose the things that feel like you, choose clothes that make you feel good the moment you put them on and every time after that, choose companies who are transparent, who support the things you support, choose yourself over and over again. Sugar Storm celebrates DIY, self-expression, unconventional living and embracing the things that make you unique. All those things that were at the heart of the business in the very beginning continue to shape the work I do.
Over the course of 2022, and in large part due to the TOW development project and Metal residency for allowing the space to do so, I began to refocus and rebuild Sugar Storm Studio. This meant moving away from fashion and exploring new possibilities for my art practice, workshops, tarot and physical events. In 2023 I am focusing on creating new independent art projects and developing new ways to nurture creativity and empower unconventional individuals.
Want to work together? Get in touch!