CHAOS MEETS: SOFT EDGES

Hello! My name is Gabriella Brown, also known as Soft Edges, also known as Rev Lon. I’m a freelance graphic designer originally from Naarm (Melbourne, Australia), now living in Lisbon, Portugal.

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Hmm, I always start my day with a big mug of filter coffee in bed… coffee in bed, write a list (almost a replica of the day before), stress out for a bit, then chuck on a mix in my headphones and start working. I’m most productive in the first few hours after waking up, before I eat. I've found that I always record the cleanest at-home DJ mixes during that time too, which leads me into your next question about my design journey.

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Designing posters came about pretty organically through DJing. A friend and I were running a little event series called Dancing Therapy. We were very green to DJing and very skint, so I decided I’d just make the posters instead of hiring someone else. It started with me cutting up vintage National Geographic mags and layering the images—lava, space, flowers, old computer ads. The night was based around Italo disco so I’d look for visuals with a retro-futurist vibe. Anyway, the love of design was birthed from there, but I didn’t really consider the possibility of it being a ‘real job’ until years later. I studied graphic design, finished my course and forced myself to make an artwork every day, just for fun. I’d post them to instagram and found myself in a strange little positive loop where I’d get some cool feedback from mates and be like, okay make the next one better and better. From there, people started dropping into my DMs for club posters, as I was a familiar face in the scene by then – and voila!

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I must say though, this creative bug has always been in me. As a kid I used to do things like paint big (ugly) murals on my wardrobe, colour coordinate my barbie’s clothes or just sit really quiet and draw for hours and hours. It’s funny looking back and realising like oh, all those little things you did in your spare time would eventually bring you here, art/design as a career! Hype. 

I will never get over the beauty of flowers… I can’t imagine how many I’ve drawn over the years. Nature just hands us these wild colour combinations and ethereal petal shapes—it’s beautiful. I get the same feeling about some deep-water sea creatures and coral formations, although sometimes they’re a bit rigid for me. I love drippy, droopy things too, like hanging fabric or melting wax. Recently, a friend accidentally spilled honey on the floor, and I spent a long time taking photos of it. I’m also really into street art, especially the super abstract anti-style stuff you find in places like Lisbon or Athens. Wandering around these cities is a circus for my eyes. Finally, of course, music, I simply revolve around it. Sounds reflect shapes, moods, colours, everything. The other day my partner described a tune as ‘earthworms tunnelling’, poster concept done. 

I actually haven't collaborated with any other clothing brands as of yet - you're the first, so thankyou! I'm currently working with a few dance music labels on some new merch which is super fun, but I'd really like to get my own little brand rolling again. Event flyers keep me busy on some tiny deadlines, so finding time has been tricky, but dipping back into streetwear has been on my mind forever. 

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Ooh god, anyone close to me will tell you that you are asking the wrong person. I’m nowhere near mastering it. In fact, I feel like I've only just gotten my soul back after a month-long burnout. I find it hard to carve out work hours; I just kind of roll with creative moods as they appear in front of me. I know that implementing some structure would be a huge help in tempering my stress levels—better than binge-watching old seasons of Top Chef, surely?

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I actually haven't thought about this too much. As I mentioned earlier, I’m super keen to get my little Soft Edges brand moving again. Some brands I really like are Pelvis, Extra Vitamins, Butter Sessions merch… Cold F33t airbrushed garments are literally works of art. I don’t know, since I’ve just moved to Lisbon, I’m keen to get to know the smaller local brands here. This city is hyper-creative, so I reckon there’s some cool DIY going on.

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I really enjoy designing flyers for a local event called Send/Return in Naarm. It's all about all-night B2B DJ sets instead of over stacked lineups (curse!). Working with just two DJs on the poster, I find it fun to try to capture their individual sound styles through abstract shapes, colours, layers and then clash them together.. it’s honestly like therapy for me, like painting. 

I also love personal projects, just for fun. Recently I made a prototype of this ‘ghost mountain’ tee that I’m super keen to print, I want to make plasticine ghost figurines to go with it or turn them into salt and pepper shakers, candles.. something like that. The ghostworld is my oyster.

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This is a tricky question… I’m just listing things in my head so I’ll say them out loud. Crispy m&m’s, mountain scapes, hiking in general, minimal & micro house, scouting silver jewellery at flea markets, drawing squiggles, orange wine, rocky beaches, making ambient tunes here and there, ticking things off my list, flowers, t’shirts that are bordering on hideous, lentil dahl, patterns on patterns, my sister, my partner, my mates, consuming art and making it.