MEET THE PARTNERS

Drop 3: Tummy Ache

Introducing Tummy Ache, the slow fashion brand and magazine encouraging honest conversations about mental health. 

Anna Morrissey - the illustrator, writer and founder behind Tummy Ache - created the brand to celebrate slowing down and dismantling societal expectations.

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  • Anna, what can we say. We're obsessed with Tummy Ache. What was the inspiration?

    "Tummy Ache grew out of my own personal struggle with my mental health, and my need to create in order to calm down. The t-shirts were pieces I began embroidering for myself in order to broach the topic of what I had been going through to the people around me. The embroidered emblems of pain and sadness were a less daunting way of bridging the gap between what was going on inside my mind, and explaining it to the world I had become so isolated from. 
    My friends all wanted their own emotional uniforms when I started wearing mine, and we began to have unexpected conversations about what everyone was silently dealing with. The brand has grown out of this desire to open up emotional conversations through clothing and art."

  • We can't get enough of your staple Tummy Ache Sleep Set. What is your favourite piece right now?

    "I love the new vests. I feel they really reflect my personal style at the moment, while also staying true to the style of the brand. They’re sexy, boyish, and sensitive."

  • Tummy Ache is almost 5. What challenges have you faced as an independent brand during this journey?

    "Being an independent brand is very rewarding because it’s so hands on, but it’s a lot of work. I’m so emotionally invested in every stage of the process, that sometimes it’s hard to separate myself from the brand. 
    Funding is always the hardest part. I have lots of ideas, but everything is very expensive when you’re dedicated to creating it in a sustainable and conscious way."

  • What does collaboration mean to you in the small business world?

    "Collaboration is community. I’ve met so many amazing creatives through collaborations within the small business world. It’s quite radical to share audiences and help each other - collaboration across businesses goes against the neoliberal model of work and individual success. It’s communal, and I think it’s the key to ensuring small businesses continue to thrive within a capitalism that seems to want business monoculture."

  • Let's talk about you designs. Tell us about the choice of messages and illustrations embroidered onto them.

    "It’s really important to me that the messaging isn’t overly sentimental or prescriptive. I want those wearing my pieces to feel that they can project their own experience onto their garments. The designs are lifted from my notebooks, which are packed with emotional drawings - almost like visual diary entries. Whichever emotions are resonating with me the most strongly, or with those around me, I tend to include in the collections. There’s a lot of humour ingrained in the designs which is also important. Humour is a great avenue to conversation and openness."

  • Let's wrap this up... Do you have any funny or memorable underwear stories you can share?

    "Hmmm. Weirdly nothing springs to mind. Sometimes if I'm feeling really depressed I don’t wear any underwear when I walk down the street, it helps me feel alive again."
    INSPIRED? EXPLORE TUMMY ACHE (AND DROP US YOUR EMAIL BELOW FOR AN EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT) 

Drop 2: Interlude Wellness Centre

Meet the brand founded by Roses Gabor - the singer-songwriter behind the bangers ‘Pharaohs’ with SBTRKT and Gorillaz’s platinum-selling 'DARE'.

Not only a music icon, her brand is making waves in the UK culture scene with its events, run clubs, recipes and effortlessly drippy apparel line.

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  • Roses, where to begin... tell us about Interlude Wellness Centre. What was the inspiration and how have you found the journey?

    "I felt connected to personal development since my teens. I always paid attention to how food, things, places and people made me feel. The books I bought were either fantasy, or related to human consciousness and metaphysics. I started sharing things on socials and people would contact me saying how I inspired them. Small things, but it would happen enough for me to become aware of how important my sharing was.

    The pandemic really kicked things into play I guess and one of my close friends made me a logo. After that everything else fell into alignment. I've always been into design and quality, so the apparel line was inevitable. I had been attending soundbaths in LA so purchased a  beautiful Universal Love set of Crystal Alchemy bowls and began holding sound spaces and retreats. The journey has been a rollercoaster of learnings!"

  • From your stellar music career, what song had the biggest impact on you and why?

    "If I’m honest I couldn’t really say. Different songs mean different things to me at different times in my life for very different reasons."

  • You're an all-round creative spanning music, health, events and fashion. How do you find time to balance it all and find your own balance?

    "I work out most days. I love barre, suspension fitness, reformer and most sports. I practice meditation and mindfulness whether that's 60 minutes on a mat or 10 minutes in the sauna. I have bouts where I run a decent amount but currently my IWC run clubs have amalgamated into 30 minutes movement a day.
    I think movement is really important for me to shift stagnant energy, and although all of the above can be spiritual, I love Jivamukti for bringing me back to my heart and that creates balance.  How I balance the work-load lol - thats by Gods grace and to-do lists!"

  • Talk to us about the vision behind your designs and the messages 'Do not disturb' and 'Self check-in'...

    "I wanted to keep this set elegant, sexy and still playful. 'Do not disturb' has always been about giving your self a moment of quiet, while 'self check in' is our brand ethos.

    I think as a society we are in a better place overall with identifying imbalances in our lives. There are names for things we didn’t have the words or language for before, so the 'self check- in' for me is self-explanatory but it can also can be used in a multitude of ways."

  • If you could give one piece of wellness advice to THE CHEEK community what would it be?

    "Everything is operating at a particular frequency. When we understand this we suddenly become aware of everything that is not a vibrational match to what we want or even need.
    This applies to everything from the relationships we attract and cultivate, to the food we eat. I think the practise of meditation or simply giving ourself quiet moments can give us a deeper clarity, but also hone our skills of discernment in our daily lives."

  • What is your personal favourite Interlude Wellness Centre item? 

    "I really LOVE everything I make. Thats a super hard question for me. I use the holdall every day, the 'Super Well' collection is top tier (socks, joggers, hoodies) and the Ivory hoodie is a particular fave. But then you have our signature 'Crystal Tee' that's 100% a no-brainer and bestseller."
    INSPIRED? EXPLORE IWC 

Drop 1: KJP

Named after her initials, KJP is Katherine Jean Plumb's vibrant brand.

A collection of prints, home and lifestyle products that will make anyone visiting you say - "Wow where did you get that?" - the brand is an embodiment of her love (and wild talent) for textiles, pattern design, and colour.

  • Oh, HEY KJP! Let's get into it. What was the inspiration behind your brand?

    "I never know where to start with this one! The short-ish story is, I went to university and fell in love with screen printing and pattern design, but realised I didn’t want to work for a big brand and never get any real credit for my designs. I kept printing and creating as a little side project after graduating (without any real plan) and then eventually things took off! To be honest I still don’t know exactly where this is all going, but basically I want to make nice things for peoples' homes and do it as responsibly as possible."

  • We see independence as an act of resistance. What challenges do you face as an independent brand?

    "Buckle up, we might be here a while… Starting out is hard because you don’t have any credibility really, so why would a customer spend their money on a brand that isn’t tried and tested? And then when you do *make it*, you’re suddenly being ripped off and copied by big brands (and also small designers who jump on the trend), so you don’t really know what to do next in case that gets copied too, and of course the majority of people only want the cheapest version, not the original.

    We’ve been so spoiled by fast fashion brands (which also applies to homewares) offering us knock-off products for so cheap, that everything else seems expensive and overpriced. I’ve seen so many small stores and artists/designers close their businesses lately because it’s been a tough couple of years financially, but I really wish more people would adopt the mindset of ‘buy less but buy better’. If all the small brands get pushed out of business, who will all the big brands have left to copy?"

  • If you had to choose... what's your favourite KJP item right now?

    "I feel like this answer could change as regularly as my underwear (which I hope goes without me saying is everyday), but right now it might be the ruffled pillow in Athena print? It could just be because it’s sat in front of me as I answer this, but I really like the combination of the graphic pattern in the ruffled grandma-style shape!"

  • So, what does underwear mean to you?

    "Obviously we all wear it pretty much every day so it’s a necessity, but I always appreciate finding a good, everyday style that feels nice to wear and is nice to look it. And then I also love getting something a bit more cheek-y every now and then too…"


    You know we like cheeky! What's your roguest pair?

    "Oh gosh I feel like I basically always wear the same ones for some reason, I don’t know why I have so many? I have a pair that I remember buying the day I met my now-husband almost 11 years ago (RIP to the matching bra that was somehow easier to abandon), and I don’t know why I still have them because I barely wore them back then and I think it would take some kind of emergency for me to pull them out now… High-rise, pastel yellow, sheer and very soft from COS for those wondering!"

  • What are you most excited about in the world of KJP this year?

    "Well first of all I’m very excited about this collaboration! But I’m also excited to continue expanding my product selection and bring out some brand new things. I’ve had a couple of slower years where I prioritised processing some things in my personal life and couldn’t focus on work properly, but it feels good to finally be excited about designing and creating again."

  • We're so thrilled (and a bit intimidated) to be partnering with you. Why is collaboration so important in the small business world?

    "Opportunities! Collaborations can offer so much, whether it’s a new way of working or a new audience, you can learn so much from working together, especially if it’s on something that’s out of your comfort zone or regular programming.
    I know I wouldn’t have grown as quickly if I wasn’t given the chance to work with a much bigger fashion brand a few years ago and, even though in hindsight I was massively underpaid and naively taken advantage of, I still learned a LOT - even if it did result in almost every high street brand and beyond ripping off my designs…"
    INSPIRED? SHOP KJP