Small Fry Events Archive

Have a look through the Small Fry Event Archives and get a feel of what we do, you can watch back selected events, and get inspired by our wonderful speakers and workshop hosts. Have a peek at the drawings and outcomes from our events on our collective Padlet.

MSoA | Small Fry’s Building Blocks of Freelance Illustration 23/2/24

We were back at @mcrschart yesterday with our Building Blocks of Freelance Illustration workshop for @iwa_mcrschart.

Featuring advice, tips & guidance around the topics of branding, business skills and finance, website, collaboration, clients, outreach, social media & more! Sharing our insights & experiences along the way.

If you’d like us to deliver this workshop live for your course, please get in touch at hello@smallfrycollective.com 💌

Small Fry Chats | Jacky Winter Gives You The Business 24/1/24

Lead Illustration Agent @clara.marcus from renowned Illustration & Artist Agency @jackywinter last month, do not worry. You can purchase the recording & resources here 💬. Clara shared some of the agency’s latest work and discussed the following questions below throughout her presentation, in addition to answering lots of the live participants amazing Q’s too! 🙌🏻

🍊 What does an illustration agency really do?
🍊 How can freelance illustrators market their work to clients?
🍊 What do agencies look for when signing new artists?
🍊 How can we educate clients on licensing + fair budgets?
🍊 What should we be looking for when reviewing a contract?

They also shared resources and tools the agency have developed for freelance illustrators such as their: Pricing calculator, Annual trend report, Licensing resources, Introducing Choreus their ad-hoc production service.

Small Fry Chats | Live Scribing with Scribble Inc 17/11/22

An interactive, chatty evening with Hannah Williams from Scribble Inc. A Small Fry X AOI Illustration meet-up. Hannah Williams is the director of Scribble Inc, a company that specialises in visual communication and event illustration. Information is understood 60,000 times faster as a visual compared to words alone and Hannah harnesses the power of visuals to quickly convey complex messages. Clients include AstraZeneca, DPD, Ignition Human Performance, Innocent, London Tech Week, NHS.

What are you about? 14/9/22

A workshop for creatives to nail down the dreaded About page with Small Fry Collective and Brand Warrior. When it comes to writing your About page, as creatives, it’s easy to shy away from it. Or fall asleep doing it! It’s time to change that in this productive and fun workshop. After all, your About page has the most amazing subject matter – you!

Small Fry Chats | Rubber Stamping with Stephen Fowler and GF-Smith 12/10/22

A cosy creative evening of chatting and rubber stamping with Stephen Fowler + GF Smith. This illustration meet-up was hosted by Small Fry x AOI at SEESAW. GF Smith delivered a talk going into the history of the renowned paper brand and how you can utilise their paper stock as an illustrator or creative. Next up, Stephen Fowler will delve into his practice, which will run into a workshop on how to make your own rubber stamp!

Small Fry Chats | Picture books with Ian Morris 7/9/22

Children’s book illustrator Ian Morris delved into his career, along with practical advice on how to get into the world of publishing. Ian Morris is a passionate Illustrator with an authentic illustrative voice. He spends time observing his charming hometown, Manchester. Ian was recognised by the AOI for their Top Ten Upcoming Image Makers. Recently, Ian has gained more recognition by being longlisted for the Klaus Flugge Prize 2022 for his debut picture book The Library Book (Thames & Hudson).

Small Fry’s Building Blocks of Freelance Illustration

This masterclass covers what it takes to run an illustration business. Suitable for those who are considering making the transition to freelance illustration, Maisy and Sarah will be sharing everything you need to consider when starting out - drawing from their own personal experiences and learning curves. All the bases will be covered, from what to include and how to present your portfolio/website, diversifying your income, part-time jobs, power of collaboration, contacting clients, essential business skills, how to manage your social media and scheduling, keeping on top of project deadlines and time management whilst staying mindful of your mental wellbeing + lot's more.

Derwent x Small Fry | Brand Collaboration 20/7/22

Small Fry Collective was delighted to collaborate with Derwent on an illustration workshop with a focus on their Chromaflow Pencils. The workshop consisted of a demonstration of the Chromaflow Pencil range and how the pencils can be utilised in different ways, with a focus on mixed media illustration. The Chromaflow Pencils were used alongside other products from the Derwent range, specially selected by Small Fry. This workshop is suitable for a range of abilities, whether you’re a beginner or an old hand wanting to develop your illustrative visual language, and explore the expansive range Derwent has to offer. You will pick up helpful illustration tips and tricks along the way, with the opportunity to ask questions in a supportive and friendly environment.

With the purchase of the workshop, customers were sent a 25% discount code to purchase Derwent materials.

Small Fry’s Illustration Portfolio Reviews 2022

Participants sent over their website to Small Fry + 3 things they were struggling with in their portfolio. We delivered personalised feedback via video which we pre-recorded alongside written action steps and resources students can implement going forward.

Small Fry Chats | Fran Meneses on navigating & coping with change 17/8/22

Small Fry welcomed Brooklyn-based Illustrator Fran Meneses to our latest edition of Small Fry Chats. Fran shared with Small Fry's Maisy and Sarah her personal journey as an artist and how to navigate recalibrating her career in times of change according to new interests and needs. The event also had a Q&A and some fun drawing prompts throughout led by Fran so participants can sketch along too which they added to Padlet.

Workshops and Courses with Elephant Academy 2022

Hosted numerous Small Fry branded workshops with Elephant Academy throughout 2022, all were hosted several times throughout the year with different groups of students

  • Hand-drawn Illustration & Digital editing hybrid course

  • Animation Workshop 

  • Virtual Museum Walk Workshop 

  • Introduction to Illustration with Gouache & Pastel Workshop 

  • Mixed-Media Illustration 6-Week Course

We had some wonderful feedback from our last 6-Week Illustration course from fabulous student @melissa.lakey "This course was so fun, challenging and inspiring! I looked forward to it each week. I loved learning about the different areas of illustration and I was inspired by all the examples Maisy and Sarah shared. The exercises and tasks pushed me to try out drawing things I never would have on my own, like maps, and to use techniques like collage in a new way. I learned a lot, but best of all I left each class feeling excited to do more illustration!"

Small Fry Chats and Draws | Festive Edition | Online Drawing Event 2022

Small Fry Chats and Draws: Festive Edition! We hosted a drawing workshop consisting of lots of fun prompts; from weird cracker gifts to festive fancy dress, food and music. Resulting in a wide range of quick drawing tasks for the audience to experiment with and test their skills. With discounted tickets for students.

Small Fry Chats | Springing Forward with Studio Called Jane 6/4/22

Small Fry hosted the Manchester @theaoi meet-up and invited A Studio Called Jane (@studiocalledjane) to talk about getting involved (again) in a post-pandemic world. An evening of conversation and creativity followed by a studio tour with Jane Bowyer around her shared space at @seesawspace hosted by @maisysummer & @swillistrations

Have lockdowns left you in low-power mode? Jane Bowyer will be discussing how the last two years have impacted her creative practice and invite you to reflect on your own experiences. Whether we’re springing back into action or dipping our toes in, how can we be there for one another as we emerge into the real world again?

British Council Project with Pustaka Pias 2022

Last year the wonderful @pustakapias asked @smallfrycollective to collaborate with them on a project to bring together illustrators from the UK & Indonesia. This cross-community collaboration between two countries was made possible by the support of the @britishcouncil program, Connections Through Culture fund. A book will be published in 2023 via Pustaka Pias with artwork from the illustrators involved in the project and the discussions they had on their respective cultures

What is your Brand Story? with brand specialist Nicola Mullen

'What is your Brand Story?' with Nicola Mullen, an event open to all was in partnership with @theaoi meet-up for Manchester. We explored with Nicola Mullen what branding means and why it matters to you as an illustrator ✏️. We got under the skin of what you have to offer as an illustrator, so you can understand your brand better and celebrate and articulate what you’re about in the best possible way. We’ll explore key questions about who you are, who you want to talk to, and what you want to say. By the end of the session, you’ll have a brand toolkit in your pocket to take away and help build and develop a story that is true to you.

Nicola is a brand specialist who has worked in marketing and communications in the arts and culture sector for the last twenty years. She has led brand development projects, which have shaped brand strategy for organisations, including MADE (Manchester’s culture and education partnership); Artistry Youth Dance London; Brighter Sound; Manchester City Council; Odd Arts; Arts Council England and Company Chameleon. Branding Assets/Presentation by Small Fry Collective.

Elephant Academy Summer Series 2021 | Student Outcomes

We had a great few months of making and creating during a 3-month series of workshops and day courses with Elephant Academy and Winsor and Newton. Here are some of the outcomes and progress shots from the series!

Elephant Academy Summer Series 2021 | Inky August

We’re so proud of this lineup of wonderful illustrators we curated for our Summer Illustration takeover with Elephant Academy. Our second month in Augusts is Ink and Drawing.

What participants got that signed up:

Elephant Academy Summer Series 2021 | Pastels + Gouache | September

We’re so proud of this lineup of wonderful illustrators we curated for our Summer Illustration takeover with Elephant Academy. Our third month in September is Pastels and Gouache.

What participants got that signed up:

Elephant Academy Summer Series 2021 | Watercolour July

We’re so proud of this lineup of wonderful illustrators we curated for our Summer Illustration takeover with Elephant Academy. Our first month in July is watercolour.

What participants got that signed up:

Our tutors lead weekly creative and fun Zoom workshops exploring different types of illustration. The workshops took participants step by step through using the W&N materials to make a creation. The workshops taught techniques & fun approaches to using the tools at hand, whilst also exploring interesting themes, theory & history.

Elephant Kiosk x Small Fry Prints

Excited to announce our wonderful @smallfrycollective print collab with @_elephantart. Off the back of the workshop series we did with Elephant Academy over the Summer, we worked with Elephant Kiosk to curate a print range of Posters + Limited Editions with our workshop hosts.

Prints by:

@maisysummer

@isobel_platt

@swillistrations

@molly.fairhurst

@lucia.vinti

@molly.russon

Signed Limited Edition Giclée Print + Posters in a mix of A4-A2 Sizes.

Introducing | Elephant Academy Summer Series

3 months of evening workshops and day courses hosted by Small Fry with Elephant Academy and Winsor and Newton. Course themes include; editorial illustration, people, fashion illustration, illustrative type, museum mark making, urban sketching, pattern & feels, animal puppets, illustrating movement & inky mark making & character design.

12 evening workshops and day courses with a range of creatives and tutors across:

Watercolour | July

Ink and Drawing | August

Gouache and Pastels | September

Small Fry Chats | Multi-Disciplinary Raissa Pardini 18/11/21

Small Fry and Chats with the wonderful multi-disciplinary designer @raissa_pardini. Raissa will be taking us on a journey throughout her process and projects and sharing all the funky typography. We'll also end on a Q&A, so have a beverage of choice at the ready - it's going to be a good'un!

Raissa Pardini is an Italian-born, UK based visual artist who works with typography. She is a multi-disciplinary designer specialised in digital typography, graphic design and brand focus. She has worked for many music artists, labels, art and culture projects around the world. She has curved her design passion between Milan, Berlin, London and finally Glasgow, where she lives. Her work has just been added to the V&A permanent collection. She mixes old-school typography and colourful details with a contemporary eye and critique. Clients include: New York Times, Apple, Adobe, V&A, WeTransfer, WePresent, Dr. Martens, Vevo, Fred Perry, The Standard Hotel, Nadia Lee Cohen, IDEA, Ashe.

The University of Manchester | Drawing Workshop

Two drawing workshops at The University of Manchester's Samuel Alexander building with a mix of BA to PhD students across a wide array of courses such as science and history - Fabulous playful drawings! 

Small Fry Chats and Draws with Fran Meneses 8/4/21

Fran Meneses joined Small Fry Chats & Draws on Thursday 8th April 7-9pm UK on Zoom. Fran spoke about what inspires her practice and keeps her motivated, working as an illustrator in New York during the lockdown, and her journey and projects. The event also had some fun drawing prompts throughout so participants can sketch along too, and finished with a Q&A. See the Small Fry Padlet here.

“My name is Francisca, but everybody calls me Fran. I was born and raised in Chile, a beautiful country by the end of South America. This is why I have an accent and my English grammar is not so good. I studied graphic design, but I've been drawing since I was 3 years old. In 2013 my husband Ed and I made this crazy decision of selling everything we owned, pack one suitcase each, and moving (with our two fat cats Hamburguesa and Cereal) to Europe, in search of our dream city/place to live.

We've been living all over the world since then: Cologne, Berlin, London, Hastings, and in 2018 we moved to New York City. Right now I'm working on my new graphic novel alongside Ed (he's a writer!), and sharing illustrations on Instagram or filming videos for my youtube channel. In 2019 I launched my new online shop We Are Nice Humans where I sell second-hand t-shirts and dope stationery!”

200+ Attendees from across the globe!

Manchester Metropolitan University | RISE Workshops

Ran two Zoom digital drawing workshops as part of @manmetrise at Manchester Metropolitan University for students across all courses and disciplines. Collaborate Drawing + Narrative and Memory Museum Walk

Small Fry Chats with Dan Woodger 4/3/21

We had the amazing @danwoodger host a talk & drawing workshop. He took us on a journey through his process and projects, including his dream project of creating a Jurassic Park-inspired indent for MTV! Dan also gave some drawing prompts out throughout his talk so participants sketch along too.

Dan is an illustrator & animation director living and working in Kingston Upon Thames, London. He creates colourful, playful, character-based work designed to brighten your day and make you smile. Inspired by a childhood diet of 90's cartoons his work is an invitation to never grow up & to always find humour in the stupid world around us. Select clients include, Google, The New York Times, GQ, The Washington Post. 

Dan Woodger "It was such an enjoyable evening, and perhaps the most natural, warm, relaxed atmosphere I’ve had on any Zoom call during the pandemic, it almost felt like we were down the pub! The stories and drawings people shared made my day and remind me what is so special about the illustration community”.

Cardiff Degree Show

We had a lovely time doing a Chat and Draw event for Cardiff’s illustration course @csadillo as part of their degree show activities! @maisysummer and @swillistrations did a mix of activities and questions to spark drawings and nostalgia ☁️!

Such as doodling a portrait of the first person you met on your course, favourite first-year student meals, & location drawing around Cardiff hot spots such as Chippy Lane 🍟. We also mixed in some challenges like illustrating Welsh slang & making still life’s from various collected items. Here’s a mix of our prompts made for the session. It was great to celebrate with you, thanks for inviting us  @chaunce_c_illustration and @lucyrowlandillustration.

Small Fry Chats | Goes Online | Who you Zoomin? 23/7/20

We hosted (and sold out!) a series of talks on Zoom, to raise money for Mind Manchester Charity following our #whoyouzoomin challenge!

  • Illustrator @wend.ywong talks to us about balancing work & play, lockdown art, her journey to finding her style through reimagining the alphabet and much more. And how lovely was her opening slide?

  • Colourful creative duo @yukfunwow took us on a tour of their colourful career so far and showed some of their favourite books, showing their influence from things like Traditional Japanese Packaging, Chinese clay sculptures and Polish Paper cutting.

  • Illustrator, Educator & Song Man @nicholasillustration walked us through his visually rich childhood in The Seychelles, a chain of islands in the Indian Ocean, where his parents were park rangers & doing conservation work on Cousin Island. His small window into western culture was a VHS store on the main island. He talked about the island having a luminescence in his memory, & this glow has informed his work ever since. 

  • Director, Designer, Animator & Illustrator @beegrandinetti  began the talk with a short reel of her own gorgeous work (not to be missed) but wanted to take the time to talk about Panimation and the power of community within the creative industry.  Panimation is a multi-platform community started by Bee, @hedvigahlberg & @linnfritz .

    It started as after-work drinks, acknowledging and validating their experiences within the workplace. It was at one of those pub encounters, that the first ideas of Panimation were born. They have had clients from adobe, google creative lab and animation studios using the directory to source animators & directors. She closed her talk with tips for change including one that lots of us are guilty of... avoid using weak language on your social media platforms! 

Small Fry Chats | Blended Practice: Design x Illustration

Having a background in both illustration and graphic design has been very helpful for us as hosts when putting on and running these SF events. We dig in and explore this blending of practices by inviting three wonderful speakers to talk on this theme, as part of 'Small Fry Chats'...

➡️ Designer + Illustrator @hanvalentine
➡️ Designer + Visual Artist @lucyharmonygrimes
➡️ Designer & Curator of @fressshmagazine host to @lwdmcr Katie Jones

The speakers range from curating and commissioning illustrators and graphic designers, involving illustrative methods in their design practice, or having a completely blended practice! Blended Practice Summary

Christmas Event | Tis’ the Season 2B Jolly 17/12/20

Tis the Season 2B Jolly! Interactive drawing event, studio tour and talk by 2B x Small Fry in partnership with the AOI. 

2B Or Not 2B (@2bmcr) started in the summer of 2018. We are two sisters who returned from living in London to our hometown of Manchester, UK. Elsa is the oldest by 2 years and 2 months but Sarah is just as good. We knew from experience that the world can be a tough and scary place so we thought, you know what? This will be much better if we face these things together.

We both have a love for illustration and storytelling. As kids we would make up so much stuff, read books together and laugh at our own ridiculously silly jokes. We try and inject this energy, this joyful familiarity into our work. We hope our illustrations make you smile, make you feel accounted for and hopefully, make your day a little better.

Who you Zoomin’? | Drawing Challenge | Mind Manchester 29/6/20

We have been thinking of ways to connect with you all and wanted to see what you are up to in the great indoors. So, we challenge you to send in a drawing of your video calls. From your zoom yoga class and online life drawing classes to live streams, birthdays, gigs, quizzes, work meetings & uni lectures. Whether you’re Zooming, house partying, skyping, Facetiming, Facebook videoing it all counts and we’d love to see it! 👀
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You can do this as a single illustration, a series of illustrations such as a comic strip, or even into animation/GIF! Please post your outcome on your Instagram with a little background story to your call, tag us, and nominate 3 friends to do the same! & we’ll share them over on our grid! Alongside your entry, a donation of £3 to Mind Manchester would be very much welcomed.

Small Fry The RE-Fry 7/12/19

Small Fry, The Re-Fry was at Foundation Coffee House on Lever Street, ‪on Saturday 7th December 2019‬. A meet-up comprising of prints, talks, music and interactive workshops. 

Print fair + Workshops (Easy Peel Studio) + Music (LRDS) (3-7PM) 

Small Fry Chats hosted by Derek Brazell (7-10PM)

Drinks + Music + Visual Projection Workshop (James Dickinson) (10pm+)

Talks: Thomas Harnett O’Meara , Jane Bowyer , Derek Brazell (also our host from the @Aoi) Caroline Dowsett Nicola Fernandes 

Small Fry x Hatch | Cabinet of Curiosities -cancelled-

Small Fry is doing a pop-up at @hatchmcr ! We want to curate an immersive space with your curious artwork within it. Tell us your weird and wonderful ideas. It could be a project you’re currently working on, or you could pitch an idea for how to develop it further and we’ll help support this where possible. Think large prints, wooden cutouts, ceramics, animations, objects, textiles, and more! These artworks will be displayed at Hatch on the 15th May, with an exciting launch to celebrate the artworks!

Traditionally, Cabinet of Curiosities, also known as ‘wonder rooms’, were small collections of extraordinary objects. They told stories about the wonders and oddities of the world. We want the pop-up to capture this spirit, displaying your stories & discoveries. Think of everything and anything! DETAILS: *Please note the call-out is only open to Manchester School of Art Students & Alumni!*

International Women’s Day | Pankhurst Centre 8/3/20

We loved running this workshop at the @thepankhurst on Sunday for International Women’s Day, which was followed by @shechoirmcr & talk & Q&A by @bowyerjane & @helenlouiseantro on the First in the Fight book!


The stamps we had created in preparation for the workshop were inspired by the women in the FITF book! Participants in the workshop then used them in exciting ways to create banners they could take home with them. Some also mixed this up with some embroidery. lots of playful (messy!) fun had by all ages.

Creative Futures Talk | MMU | 6/2/20

Talk at Manchester School of Art as part of their Creative Futures program on our individual practices, and joint practice as Small Fry.

Small Fry | Goodstock | The Beginning 1/6/18

Small Fry's first event was an interdisciplinary print fair, hosted at Goodstock, Oxford Road, Manchester. We had live music from local artists & DJs, live art, and work ranging from MSoA Graphic design, Illustration, 3D design, and Photography students.