Alfie Whiteman: A Few Of My Favourite Things

Moving from saving goals to telling stories, Somesuch director Alfie Whiteman has a pretty unique creative background.

A former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper, he now splits his time between filmmaking, photography and a steady curiosity for the people, places and cultures that shape everyday life, with work for Vibram FiveFingers, Baracuta, On and Paloma Wool alongside ongoing personal projects.

Here, he talks us through the objects that keep him company as he builds a world far removed from the pitch.

The Garden

Planting a new garden at the start of the year opened up a whole new side of creativity for me.

Watching it grow has been a reminder that you cannot rush things, nature takes its time.

I like sitting out there in the mornings and noticing the tiny changes, like the birches getting a bit taller, a fern unrolling or the jasmine making its way along the fence.

Focusing on those little moments is something I try to bring into my work as well.

The garden feels like my own mix of making and curating and it has become the perfect place to slow down and notice things.

I also like taking photographs out there that show these changes over time.

The Fridge

Aside from keeping all my sweet treats perfectly chilled, my fridge doubles as a magnetic display board.

I have covered it with some of my favourite photos, drawings, magnets from my travels and all sorts of miscellaneous bits like pamphlets that arrive through the letterbox.

There are also a couple of medals from European UEFA finals included.

The Cats

Out of everything I photograph, nothing comes close to the number of shots I have of my two little cats, Freddie and Lola.

Picking just one photo for this was honestly the hardest part.

I really think cats are misunderstood creatures and mine definitely prove it.

They are incredibly affectionate and make the best company, but they also know exactly when to give you space and when they want it too.

They know what they want and when to say no.

There is something in that attitude, and in their ability not to take life too seriously, that feels like a good reminder for how I want to live.

Maybe with a little less napping though.

The Lime Bike

Even though I grew up in London, I did not really learn my way around the city until I started cycling.

Before that, I would just walk into a tube station in one place and pop out somewhere completely different, with no real sense of how I had actually got there.

The Lime bike is by far my favourite way of getting around town.

I will usually choose it even if it ends up taking a bit longer.

There is something about cruising through the city on a bike that lets me drift into my own thoughts and ideas, usually with music playing its own little soundtrack in the background.

The Music

Most of my records and CDs are inherited.

Well, essentially raided from my parents’ collection, not all with their consent.

On quiet evenings, I love putting an album on and listening all the way through.

Music has always been a big source of inspiration and it is such a vital part of film.

There is really nothing better than when music and imagery fall into place together.

The Big Orange

I first found a big orange at a flea market, but I accidentally left it on the Overground on my way home.

I tried contacting TFL to see if it had made its way to lost and found, but deep down I knew it was too cool for anyone to hand in.

My heartbreak did not last too long.

For my birthday, my lovely girlfriend somehow managed to track down another identical big orange and it now sits proudly on my cabinet.

I think it was originally meant to be for ice, but I keep my collection of little knives inside it.

Orange is also a favourite colour of mine.

The Jeans Rail

One of the many things my friends make jokes about is my collection of jeans.

They have their own rail, ordered by fade.

It is admittedly slightly embarrassing, but they do show that despite a lot of chaos, I have some order in my life.

The Notebooks

I am terrible with tech.

I do have a laptop, of course, but I much prefer writing my ideas and thoughts in one of my little notebooks.

There is something comforting about knowing they will never run out of battery or slow down, no matter how much I fill them.

I have a box of all my finished journals and every now and then I look back through them and realise my ideas and thoughts were just as silly then as they are now.