NFTUK: Sparking Connections, Fostering Growth
We've got a fire edition of NFTUK's latest news and highlights straight from the heart of our community! 🔥💥
Welcome to the third edition of our community newsletter, where we keep you up to date with all the exciting happenings in and around our ecosystem.
In this edition, you can expect to read about:
Recent and upcoming events with NFTUK that you won’t want to miss
An artist spotlight: toomuchlag talks about the story and creation of Le Anime
Success stories of our residents who have achieved great things
First meetup of the year
Our meetup on January 27th was an absolute blast! Despite the popular trend of dry January, we still managed to gather a fantastic group of people and have an amazing time together. We chose the King's Head as our venue because it's a casual and relaxed place that we all love to gather at for meetups. The atmosphere and people are what truly make an event special, not just the location. That night we had members from all over the UK and the world, including Birmingham, Leeds, Oxford, Manchester and internationally from Spain, LA, Brooklyn, Portugal and more!
It's incredible to see how our community is growing and reaching globally.
The energy was distinct from past ones, marked by a mature tone focused on growth and profound discussions. The gathering was attended as usual by creators, facilitators, curators, artists, and founders bringing attention to their upcoming ideas and projects. It was a beautiful night. We also shocased over 30 community artists.
Big shoutout to the talented artists Kyle Green and Jake Farmer for creating this month’s POAP. Have you claimed yours?
You see, the fun part with POAPs ( Proof of Attendance Protocol ) is that we can use it to airdrop or run a raffle and giveaway based on how many you’ve collected and we have some great plans this year, think of IRL experiences, tickets and merch… Sounds great right?
Artist Spotlight: Volume 1
We were thrilled to kick off our artist spotlight series by chatting with toomuchlag - a highly respected and renowned digital artist, and a cherished friend of NFTUK!
NFTUK: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background as an artist and how would you describe your artistic style?
I'm toomuchlag a swiss-italian multidisciplinary digital artist active on blockchain since 2020 and in crypto since 2017.
Always been a huge fan of anything that allowed me to dive into another universe filled with mysteries and quests, discoveries and exciting adventures.
My works are a fantasy journey, a futuristic blend of dystopian and celestial, with vibrant contrast colors painting a sometimes religious inspired universe of worlds and creatures.
A quick glance at my works will make it clear where inspiration comes from: adventure books, storytelling, fantasy and sci-fi movies and video games.
In short, I'm a creative nerd.
I've worked for corporates TV and advertising as a freelance for many years before pivoting full time into art and NFTs.
NFTUK: What upcoming projects or exhibitions do you have planned?
This year the focus is on my art and Le Anime edition, we have many updates coming. I'm exhibiting in Italy and I'm going to exhibit at NFT LA and NFT NYC again this year in multiple places but I'm really excited as I'm planning a solo show in a special city but have to keep everything secret for now!
Looking forward to add more exhibitions as I'm becoming a big fan of IRL exhibits. One of the best feelings is going to events with friends and collectors and seeing your art everywhere around you.
NFTUK: Are there any specific projects or pieces that hold a special significance to you?
Le Anime is my heart and soul, a community stemmed from an Open Edition launched in March 2021, it has now grown into an incredible dynamic edition for which we created a custom platform where NFTs can be merged and combined into powerful Heroes with customisable visuals.
Thanks to custom contracts Le Anime is a very unique edition where the owner has a lot of control of their NFTs and can constantly modify their character, adding power by accumulating experience or combining more NFTs from the collection into one.
The lore of the project revolves around my 1/1 pieces and editions and it's all connected. There are riddles telling secrets about the story in my pieces and I recently launched an illustrated comic with an italian artist (easywasy) that shows the journey of 3 heroes in the world of Le Anime.
We have so much more coming for this project and I'm super excited about it. I just launched a collaboration with the insanely talented artist Raf Grassetti, we have a trait by Andrea Chiampo and many more artists to be presented.
I'm also working on a physical but I don't want to say anything just yet.
Working my hardest to make 2023 a wild year for my art and NFTs in general.
NFTUK: Lastly, what advice would you give to aspiring artists?
Never give up. Make a plan and stick to it. It literally comes down to having a vision and wanting to add value to something, the space or your field of art etc. In NFTs there are many opportunities to grow as a person and artist and build something unique and far greater than one can imagine.
It's worth chasing your own vision even if it doesn't seem popular at first, you should build something you find unique and personal and find clever ways to present it to the world.
The hard part with everything these days is getting noticed, that's where you have to do the hard work of social interactions or be really clever about your "marketing" and placement.
Be authentic and unique, work hard and have fun.
We're grateful for toomuchlag taking the time to chat with us, and we can't wait to see what amazing creations he'll release in the coming months!
If you feel that you have ideas on partnerships that can grow the community, let us know, we are always eager to consider new ways, as long as they align with our values.
In our upcoming newsletters, we will shine a spotlight on startups and projects that are authentic and part of the ecosystem. If you're eager to share your work with the community, reach out to us and we'll be happy to help gm@nftuk.club
In other news:
In February 24-25, NFTUK is going to NFT Paris with 10 talented artists, curated by our amazing team.
We had an open call with Joyn and 911 art incredible submissions, so we are very thankful for all the artists that took their time to participate. We will be hosting more open calls in the upcoming months.Exciting news! We're diving deep into the world of merch and our team is working hard to bring you the best. We've been busy testing out samples and putting together a brand new online section that'll showcase our latest NFTUK essentials collection. Get ready, it's launching in just a few weeks!
We've teamed up with some seriously talented artists to give you an unforgettable experience.
NFTUK’s upcoming newsletter will shine a light on a talented female artist who brings a unique blend of bright, bold colors and a captivating, darker narrative to her art. We like to keep that a secret so make sure to check in two weeks.
Remember when in the previous newsletter editions we chatted about CR3W? The onchain career platform our team is working on?
Well, things are heating up! Our design and development phase is in full swing and we just had a fantastic team meeting and more workshops this week to propel our product forward. Our goal is to assist the Web3 communities and anyone eager to secure a job, as well as connect talented individuals with opportunities within the ecosystem. Our team, composed of skilled UXers and engineers, is focusing on creating an outstanding user experience and delivering exactly what you need.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates!
Two of our dedicated members shared their thoughts on how NFTUK has influenced their journey.
NFTUK’s members want to explore, understand, and play a part in defining how emerging technology will shape our culture in the years to come – I leave every meetup inspired. We chase after that glimpse of what tomorrow can look like, and that same drive brings us all together. To me NFTUK is much more than a monthly event/meetup. It is a community of friends and “digital explorers”. In a nutshell, NFTUK is the community I am very proud to be a part of!
Before NFTUK, I didn't know what people in web3 meant by "community". After my first event, it all clicked for me and I decided to go fulltime web3. Besides friendships, I've managed to find people to work with and even a mentor. Looking forward to reuniting with everyone in 2023!
-Mitko - Founder wensub.xyz
Our aim is to continually expand the culture and community by utilizing various methods such as in-person events, educational workshops, art exhibitions, networking, partnerships, and virtual interactions. With a promising year ahead, we are actively planning and preparing to do even more.
We invest a significant amount of time and enthusiasm into our work for the community, and we would be deeply grateful for any contributions if you appreciate our efforts and would like to aid in the growth of NFTUK