Happy Mistakes
Ever been happy about a Fuck up? We are going to set out to convince you that maybe that big mishap could be the best thing that ever happened to you. When things go wrong, it’s hard to pull yourself together and look on the Brightside, we get it. But sometimes, those Oops moments could have been what needed to happen all along, something really great might just come out of it, it might be a broken heart, a line in the wrong place or you accidentally invented a new food phenomenon when you were trying for an omelette. At Oaf we are no strangers to Happy Mistakes, and can definitely say a lot of our wins and successes were from an epic fail or something that went a bit wrong, we don’t fear fails we embrace them, learn and understand what happened then evolve and move forward. What suckers want to get it right all the time? We reached out to ask some of our creative talented friends to ask about their best turned out mishaps and calamities, and there are some beauts, from getting sweaty over Rhianna, having to do a last minute set change up so that the first lady of Turkey swerved jokes about wanking and how missing the last bus gave you a song.
[Grace Campbell - Comedian] To start, can you tell us your most cringeworthy ‘Oops’ moment?
I mean, honestly, my life has been peppered with Oops moments. When I was a child everyone called me Disgrace because everything I did was followed with an ‘Oops!’ Oops I dropped my plate of fish and chips! Oops I crashed my bike into a BMW! Oops I lost the dog. And then as an adult I still, I have made many mistakes. My favourite and most memorable was the time that I was asked to do a set at a women’s health summit in Turkey, and I was asked to write a set about women’s health. I presumed this meant I could write about wanking. When I got there the organiser told me an hour before my set that I couldn’t do a set about wanking because the first lady of Turkey was there, and it was 11am so ‘A bit early for wanking.' I had an hour to re write my set, and it was a very haphazard Oops moment. But it did pay off. The first Lady of Turkey loved my poem ‘Looking my Vagina in the Eye.'
Can you remember a time when something going wrong was actually the best thing that could have happened??
I remember a few years ago, I was dating a really useless guy. He was dull in a wannabe spiritual way, and I was obsessed with him. Anyway he dumped me out of the blue. Him rejecting me completely broke my heart at first but it was the best thing that ever could have happened. I think heartbreak can actually be a great time to break down who you are and evolve into the next version of yourself. After that heartbreak I evolved into the better version of me. This version of me started doing stand up, which changed my life, and the guy is still dull, and no longer in my life.
How do you use mistakes to your advantage when it comes to your work?
I think making mistakes in work is great because it forces you to really learn. I am not hugely interested in football but I like imagining what is said in the dressing room at half time in a football match. The manager will come in, raging, telling the players what mistakes they made in the first half, swearing and shouting at them about how they can’t make the same mistake again. I agree with that. I think mistakes are a great way to learn, just don’t make the same mistake twice. Know what I mean? Because then it becomes a pattern, and shows you didn’t learn. Like I used to be really bad at taking criticism because I literally thought I was perfect. Then I made a mistake that wouldn’t have happened had I listened to peoples feedback. Ever since then I’ve become very good at taking other peoples advice… If its good advice. Don’t take advice just for the sake of it.
Have you ever had any ‘Oops’ moments on stage when performing?
Well stand-up comedy is a constant period of Oops moments. The only way you know whether or not a joke isn’t going to land is by trying it. So if it doesn’t work it’s like oops, that didn’t work, and then you move on, you change it or just throw it in the bin. But my favourite proper Oops moment on stage was once when I started talking to a guy in the audience who I’d once ignored a message from on Tinder. And he told me that. It was more Oops I did it Again than Oops.
[Arlo Parks -Singer, songwriter] To start, can you tell us your most cringeworthy ‘Oops’ moment?
Running (at full pelt) into glass at a shopping centre and getting a concussion in front of my crush
In your career, can you tell us a time when a mistake you made ended up inspiring your creativity & music?
I accidentally missed the last bus home after a party, my phone was dead, I only had my notebook to hand and I wrote the poem that inspired my song second guessing.
What lessons have you learned from your failures/mistakes?
That they are an opportunity to learn about myself, develop resilience and can sometimes birth beautiful moments.
How do you recover from an ‘Oops’ moment?
Accept it, learn from it, move on
[Dominic Grizzelle - Celebrity Stylist] To start, can you tell us your most cringeworthy ‘Oops’ moment?
Aww man it has to be meeting Rihanna and my hands were soaked with sweat, I was to embarrassed to shake her hand so I ended up hugging her like we were family and as off putting as it was it was so worth it 😂
Can you tell us a story of when a mistake became something great?
Probably while doing DIYs the worst mistakes can be the biggest blessings, a ripped hole in your jeans can be the new IT distressed jeans.
Creatively, do you think it’s important to make mistakes?
Definitely I’m a firm believer in where there is trial and error there is opportunity.
How do you use mistakes / accidents to your advantage when creating a look?
An accident to you can look like something purposeful to others. Whether it be an awkward pose or an ill fitting piece of clothing, with confidence you can make a mistake look epic
