THE FELT SHOP BY LUCY SPARROW
This past August, an abandoned storefront in East London was transformed into a temporary art installation.
Cornershop, the brainchild of fiber artist, Lucy Sparrow, is a fun take on consumerism where the shelves are stocked with every traditional shop item you could think of: cash register, magazine rack, newspapers, ice box, biscuit isle, lady items, beer, crisps - my personal favorite ‘the oyster card’ (think public transportation pass).
You’re waiting for the fun part right? The items were hand-stitched by Sparrow and her assistant. The undertaking took 8 months and they blew through 984 square feet of felt. Sparrow describes corner shops as a “slice of life…The exhibition encourages people to take a closer look at the everyday.”
All the items were available for purchase in the store and online, during that time Sparrow offered a variety of sewing workshops, designed to engage the local community in public art. In a interview with The Guardian, Sparrow openly expressed her fear of selling out the shop…”Obviously it would be nice to sell it all on opening night, but I have this fear of having to make it all again,” she said. “I don’t think I can go though that. It might actually break me.”
As well as £1,000 of sponsorship money from Swizzels sweets, the project was funded by a Kickstarter campaign, which raised £10,500, and £8,000 of Arts Council funding.
The project is closed now, but you can still browse the items online.
For more photos of the project read on here.
photos via Sew Your Soul and Fashion For Lunch
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