ABOUT WAYNE HEMINGWAY

Wayne Hemingway is a mass market home architect, author, presenter, art critic, father of four, digital radio fan and co-founder of Red or Dead.

Born in 1961 in the typical seaside town of Morecambe, Wayne's earliest memories are of his mum and nan dressing him up as Elvis, a Beatle or Tarzan and being paraded up and down Morecambe pier, or being held aloft in a wrestling ring by his Red Indian father, Billy Two Rivers. These early child-modelling stints went some way towards influencing the youth who was forever experimenting with styles and cultures and reinventing himself whenever the next big "thing" came along. After spending most of his childhood being "dragged" up in Blackburn, the young and multicultural Hemingway left school with 10 O'Levels and 4 A'Levels. In 1979 he went on to undertake another "inappropriate" move for a future fashion designer by gaining a BSc Degree in Geography at University College, London.

The move that sealed Wayne's fate was taken to fuel funds for the band that he then played in. One day he decided to empty his wardrobe and that of his childhood sweetheart (now wife Gerardine) and took the contents to sell on Camden Market. The realization that money could be made from fashion suddenly dawned. With Gerardine, Wayne built Red or Dead into a label that received global acclaim resulting in winning the prestigious British Fashion Council's Streetstyle Designer of the Year Award for an unprecedented 3 consecutive years in 1996,1997 and 1998. After 21 consecutive seasons on the catwalk at London Fashion Week, Wayne and Gerardine sold Red or Dead in a multi million cash sale.

After Red or Dead Wayne and Gerardine set up "hemingwaydesign", which specializes in affordable and social design. The largest project is the highly acclaimed and award winning Staiths South Bank, a 800 property mass market housing project on Tyneside for George Wimpey Homes where hemingwaydesign are involved from the master planning and architecture through to the landscaping and marketing of a groundbreaking project. Other housing projects include the regeneration of a large social housing scheme in North London, and a 2000 home scheme in the Thames Gateway. Hemingwaydesign's other recent projects have included the highly acclaimed new club for the Institute of Directors, carpets for Milliken, the 4 Walls range of wall coverings for Graham and Brown, technology and product design for Ewbank, and, of course, the Bug.

Wayne's other projects include TV writing and presenting, footwear for Gola, books, media writing and public speaking. He is the Chairman of Building for Life, a CABE funded organization that promotes excellence in the quality of design of new housing. He is involved in some major charity initiatives including devising and overseeing the relationship between The Princes Trust and the British Fashion Council, and playing a major fundraising role in the building of Britain's first purpose built youth cricket academy.

For more on the Hemingways' try:

www.hemingwaydesign.co.uk