Sunday 16 February 2014

From the beginning.....

Hello everyone,

Thanks for calling past my very own little bit of the InterWEB.  Please make yourself at home, grab a cup of tea or maybe even a coffee, and enjoy yourself.


Ok so why am I starting a blog?
As some of you are well aware I run a small company called SplodgeAway and have had some great successes and some pretty big failures, I have made friends, enemies and friends which turned out to be enemies, I have also met all kinds of people some great some no so great, things are pretty good at the moment though...   :)

I have decided that people don't know the real Tom, I have spent too much time developing new products and designs and not enough time doing things I enjoy like, Art, writing, Crafts, Sculpture, Woodwork and other things that make me tick.

I'm not saying that this blog is everyone's cup of tea, maybe you don't want to know me, that's fine too...

I am hoping that if people understand me and see how I tick, then they will come to trust me and become more than just a customer number in an automated website, they will become my friend.

Me and my beautiful baby Holly-Ann....  She lights up my life more than she will ever know...


Ok so lets start the ball rolling with my physical appearance and a few questions at this moment...


Name: Tom Johnson

Age: 35 yes I know I look older, I've had a hard paper round....

Weight: Around 12 Stone

Height: 5 foot 7 inches, I am vertically challenged

Sexual Preference: Heterosexual, sorry guys... :p

Partner: Susan

Left or Right Handed: Left of course.....

Children: Holly-Ann

Favourite Colour: Electric Blue

Favourite Food: Corn on the Cob, Peri Peri Chicken, Steamed Veg, Nando's

Favourite Possession of the Moment: My Helle Laminated Steel Survival Knife Susan got me for Christmas.

Favourite Smell: Fresh Coffee, Fresh Flowers

What Can I Play: Guitar, Bass Guitar, I was even in a band called Breed but I will tell you all about that later.

Favourite Books: The Art of Deception, The Art of Intrusion by Kevin D Mitnick

Current Goals: Grow my company, work with other crafting companies, Travel from Lands End to John O'Groats on a solar powered recycled home made vehicle, launch some new products, but more importantly try to enjoy things a little more and not get stressed.

Situations I Like: Doing something nice, and making people happy, overcoming a fear.  I also like a good debate and don't take things personal....

Situations I Dislike: Closed minds, dishonest people, people who copy and take the glory.

Religion: Well I do believe in "A God" but what he, she or it is, I don't know, so I don't think I can be put in a box.

Things that get me ANGRY!!: Vindictiveness, stupidity that hurts people, some politics, war and any form of intimidation, oh and I don't like people treating other people like they are stupid or being condescending to them, everybody is equal....

What style of music?: Well that's a tough one, I have a very wide taste in music from Death Metal all the way through to Classical, I think the best way is to list a few of my musical inspirations.

Rage Against The Machine, Greenday, Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, David Guetta, Calvin Harris Tiny Tempah, Prodigy, Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Metallica, Some cheesy pop.... and even a bit of country....  I was blessed with a super wide taste, I think most music is self expression and therfore art so I lap it up as much as I can.....


Who is your favourite artist: I like a bit of work from Banksy and Damien Hurst but I also like older artists like William Holman Hunt. Actually I am pretty fond of most of the art from The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.  I think it is artwork at the peak of human skill.  I quite like installation art and would love to have my own exhibition of Sculpture and Installation Art some day.  I have some interesting Ideas.

Glass Half Full or Glass Half Empty: Glass vessel with liquid H2O in it......

Logic or Passion: I'm passionate when I should be logical and logical when I should be passionate.

Fiction or None Fiction: None Fiction

Favourite Film: They Live

They Live 1988 - Directed By John Carpenter  Starring: Roddy Piper


Favourite Crafting Technique: Splodging of course!

Favourite Crafting Companies Other Than SplodgeAway: Indigo Blu, Ranger...

Favourite Car: VW Golf R32
I would rather have this than a Ferrari....


Favourite TV Show: Breaking Bad

Most Embarrassing Moment: Sobbing my heart out when Holly was born.....

Most Proud Moment: Holly being born on the 2nd February 2013 at 11am born 8lbs 5oz.

I could have been a surgeon...  Digging the shoes!!


Dog or Cat: Dog, we have two, Ben and Gizmo, thanks must go to Jacqui Paterson Vets who treat Ben when he had Parvo and managed to keep him alive, THANK YOU FOREVER! Although he is a little sod now so thanks must go out for that too... lol ;)
My Dog Ben....

About Tom:

Well where do I start?  Probably at the beginning would be a good place to initiate our little article.  Ok, correct me if I am wrong mother, I was a bit to young to remember....

The height of fashion....


I was born Thomas Paul Daniel Johnson, yes thought I better get that one out of the way first, probably the most embarrassing two middle names in existence.  I wasn't a particularly large baby but I was surprisingly good looking and apparently I slept well.

Told you I was good looking.... lol


When I was growing up I was given a little point and press camera and mastered that very quickly, by about 3 I was given a fully manual SLR 35mm film camera, I mastered it very quickly and started taking some shots.  My mother was friends with a lovely lady called Irene Reddish.



 Irene was an AMAZING artists who trained at the Royal College or Arts and held a BA and MA and RCA and had more letters after her name than the alphabet.  Irene and my mother noticed that I was getting pretty good so they trained me to develop my own images in a dark room.  I enjoyed this immensely and continued to develop my skills.  I also attended creative workshops in Clay, Screen Printing, Junk Art, Altered Art and more.

They worked me so hard I couldn't stay awake...
When I hit 7 years old I was ready to create my own exhibition in Photography.  An application was made to Northern Arts Council who funded and marketed my exhibition.

As you can see, I never stropped.... EVER!

After a year the exhibition was ready and hung at the Buddle Arts Centre in Wallsend.  This attracted a large amount of media coverage and I was on TV a number of times including TV AM and a number of news channels.  I also had a documentary made about me and was interviewed by Koo Stark, yes the one that made a naughty film and was dating royalty.  The exhibition travelled around for a while.  



The media stated I was a child prodigy and was going to be the next David Bailey.  The TV cameras and press were everywhere and so was the paparazzi, they even visited me at school, it got a bit much.  After a while I rebelled against what once my love and decided not to do photography any more....

Young Tom
WANTS YOU TO VISIT AGAIN!!!



The story continues next post.............


30 comments:

  1. I'm looking forward to following your blog xxxx Sharon Goodley

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  2. I love this. And think it's good to know about the real you.
    You are certainly a man of many talents, and I can say the photos are fab xx

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  3. Great post Tom. I love your sense of humour. I hope you werent put ff photography forever!

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  4. Good at all things arty AND a great writer! Funny and to the point. Looking forward to your next post x

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  5. loving it look forward to part two x my favs after splodgeaway is also indigo blu and ranger and i'm also a lefty xxxx

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  6. Oh Tom this did make me smile...Thank you for sharing about you....I would share about me to but you would fall asleep by the third line ...xxx Love the product keep up the good work you and Suz both xxx to Holly

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  7. Thank you for sharing. Lovely photos.

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  8. Great to hear the story about the man behind THE Mat ;-) Hugs to you all n hurry up with post 2 pls xxx

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  9. Wow! What a fabulous first blog Tom I'm loving it.Cant wait for the second one to really get to know the man behind the one and only splodgemat. (Did meet you once when I came upto the shop with Rae delivering her samples for the telly). Take care now and don't please don't leave it too long before we get to read part two. X

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  10. Fantastic first bit. Hope you keep it going.

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  11. Wonderfully written... you look so like the little boy in the baked bean advert... adorable... looking forward to the next installment. Keep safe BDx

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  12. brilliant as ever son looking forward to your next post love you xx

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  13. Thank you for sharing Tom, I can't wait to read more, it's great to know more about the "SplodgeAway" man ;) xx

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  14. Great read to start my morning with a smile. Look forward to the next installment x

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  15. Great first blog. Looking forward to the next chunk of the story. Love your splodge at!!

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  16. Tom.... I pleased you feel the need to share the real 'you' with all of us... brave too! Interesting post with a very entertaining style... not always easy to pull that off when we are talking about ourselves.
    What a fabulous journey so far. Fascinating read that I suspect will be your "Catharsis", Of course, not all is revealed, although some extra details are there to 'see' if you look deeper into this first post. ... I'll read on with interest. Always knew you were a very special fella. xx

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  17. fantastic and brave blog. Welcome to the blogging. It can be very cathartic puying into words what is deep inside you. I look forward to reading more.
    I love using my splodge mat almost every day. Keep up the good work.

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  18. Really enjoyed reading your insight into the man behind the Splodge Away company, and look forward to more info and more goodies .

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  19. Really good to meet you Tom! I made some strong connections with much of what you revealed except that I don't think we'll ever snuggle up and watch a film together! :-) x

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  20. Thank you ll for your wonderful responses, I didn't think anyone would be interested... lol There's no turning back now.... hehehe

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  21. Brilliant Tom wish more people would be as honest as you. Good to meet the real man behind the " masks " Lorraine :)

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  22. Welcome to wonderful world of blogging. What a fabulous first post, will look forward to the next one. x

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  23. Enjoyed reading this, Tom, can 'hear' your lovely Geordie accent saying the words! You are off to a flying start, keep up the good work! Best wishes from another left-handed fan of all things IndigoBlu and Ranger, whose baby also weighed 8lb 5oz at birth!

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  24. Wye Aye......you're a great guy. We love you. Thoroughly enjoyed. A good Read,...xx

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  25. can hardly wait for the next instalment. loving the moody photo's

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  26. Really enjoyed that, can't wait for the next installment. Loved the photos and look forward to seeing more.

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  27. Tom and Susan (and Holly of course), Will definitley be following your blog. My friend and I love your products (faithful to our Splodge mats and stencils!) and welook forward to getting to know you better.
    Janet and Bea

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  28. Havent read it all yet Tom. Think I will need a few more hours.lolx but Have to say I just love though sulky huffy pictures of you as a little boy. x

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