Amy Meets Nicholas Hardy 

Amy catches up with Nicholas in the Northern Quarter for a chat!

Born and bread in Manchester it has taken the people behind Factory 311 nearly 15 months to develop the agency into what it is today; with sheer determination and extreme passion Factory 311 is now one of the most successful up and coming  creative agencies in the north and I was lucky enough to get the '311' with agency director Nicholas Hardy.   

Q.How did Factory 311 begin? 

A.The agency was created in November of last year after a really successful European tour with Belin, our main Street Artist.When we returned we started to get featured in magazines, which created a lot of attention. After, some really famous names from the Graffiti scene started to make contact asking for representation it made sense to start work on forming the agency. 

Q.How did you decide on the name?

A.Coming up with the name was the most difficult as we wanted to something that was strong but still represented our Urban edge.Loads of names got put on the list but the word that really stuck out from the rest was "FACTORY" which to us means ‘creation’ - bringing different elements together to make something unique The 311, well it was my apartment number in Smithfield! 311 will always be special as everything was created there. 

Q.What are your future plans for the fashion sector at Factory 311?

A.Fashion has always been one of our main focuses and I have always felt that we could offer something special and unique with our style and diversity.After a while people were commenting that even though we used street art as our base we were not really true urban we were more urban sexy! I began to approach different companies such as Ed Hardy and they loved what we proposed. We have now completed a huge Ed Hardy mural and personal portrait for Christian Audigier. Also our photographer Lionel Deluy still does most of the international campaigns so we get all the really cool images to work with. So getting back to the question... what are your future plans for the Fashion sector? We are going to try and SMASH IT with something fresh and exciting! Watch this space!  

Q.Tell me more about working with Lionel Deluy, how did it happen?

A.Back in ‘07 we were trying to make contact with Kat Von D, and eventually got through to them after they took notice of a proposal we sent. Upon doing some more research we came across Kat’s photographer, Lionel Deluy. We thought his style and flare really suited what we were about and so we contacted him. I never ever thought in a million years that such a well respected photographer like him would ever reply, but how wrong was I!After making contact we have worked many times together and even took a trip out to L.A. to stay with him! He has become a dear and very close friend and has been a huge inspiration and it’s because of Lionel we move to London. It just goes to show that if you have a dream or a vision you must follow every aspect of it, even if it feels silly or out of reach! 

Q.What is it that you will miss most about Manchester?

A.The Rain? Ha-ha no! I will really miss my studio / shop and everyone from the art surgery who have helped me out so much!Also the Northern Quarter! I love the NQ and of course all my friends who have supported me!  

Check out the gallery and http://www.factory311.com/index2.htm for more information.

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