Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair

This year, the Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair will be celebrating their tenth anniversary on Sunday 9^th June at Brick Lane Yard Car Park between 12 noon and 6pm, with an entry cost of only £5.  This extravagant, eye popping event is a million miles away from any other kind of ‘car boot’ with a heap of work from renowned artists alongside fresh new talents, all selling their works at bargain prices from the boots of their cars.  In the past, lucky punters have picked up work from the likes of Gavin Turk, Sir Peter Blake and Emin International.  With over 70 pitches and prices ranging from £10-£1000 there is truly something for everybody.

But make sure you get there bright and early – some folk will even be camping the night before to get their hands on the best buys they can find.  And if the artwork doesn't catch your attention, there are plenty of fun activities to get involved with, such as a good old-fashioned game of pass the parcel, for example, when five parcels will be unwrapped layer by layer as the music stops until that lucky last person captures their own exclusive piece of art – and it could be you!  Alternatively there is a 70’s disco tent where you dance around a pile of covered up handbags until the music stops and you dive in and grab one to keep.  I have my eye on the Jimmy Choo: please be mine.  What’s even nicer is that profit from the money we visitors spend on entertainment will go to the ‘Just for Kids’ charity; so spending on having a good time has the added bonus of fulfilling a good deed for the day. 

When you’re all danced out you can grab yourself a drink or two and enjoy the entertainment, munching on your choice from a wide range of specialty food.  It’s going to be a great day for people of all ages and definitely one I’ll be dragging myself out of bed for.

Skateboard Hearts

Whilst working on a uni project I came across Ed Wilson’s skateboard hearts and thought they were definitely worth blogging about! 

These fabulous pieces of sculpture were made by Ed Wilson from old skateboard decks.  Ed used to own a skateboard shop in Falmouth, Cornwall.  I got in touch and asked him how they came about and how difficult they are to make;

  

 “The idea was derived from the necessity to create a display for Valentine’s Day in the skate shop I used to own. I had broken decks lying around from some of the local guys who skated and I initially intended to prime them in white paint and get some artist friends to create a series of artwork. As they were hanging around I had plenty of time to think about how they could be used. The curved ends lend themselves to the heart shape needed.  I'm always looking at how objects can be re-purposed or brought back to life and I enjoy doing it. Gives you a sense of achievement.  I'd like to say it was a long drawn out thoughtful process but laying the pieces of the board perpendicular to each other and tidying the ends was all the development that was needed. It was then a simple case of screwing them together.  They only took about 20 minutes to make.  I suppose coming across snapped decks is not that common but If you know any skateboarders, ask them if they have any old decks and have a go at making one yourself.”

These truly unique sculptures may have started life for display purposes but I think they are a lovely idea for a gift or home decoration – I might even be tempted to have a go myself! 

Take 5, Weekly Inspirations.

Five things that have inspired me this week:

//Photography by Lillie Cooper

Magma

Magma is on the same street and is one of four stores in London which sells artistic books, magazines, its own tee shirt designs and a few fun gift sets.

-  Started in 2000, this was their first shop- they now have four in London and a couple dotted further up north.

-  One of their stores, which focuses on products rather than books, is literally five stores down.

-  Magma started off as a book shop only.

-  They now commission illustrators and designers to produce items such as their graphic tees. These are suspended from the ceiling- almost like a product installation. They give their concepts to artists who then develop the designs, adding their own signature to the initial briefing.

-  Book sales are down thanks to competition from companies such as Amazon.

-  They have a really good line of fun, small gifts, which sell well and can’t be searched for on the web. 

-  They adjust their products seasonally and to follow current trends – featuring cycling and food at the moment! 

-  An architect has now designed all their stores. They wanted nothing pretentious in the design, preferring something that would encourage customer interaction. So their bookshelf is a metal ladder structure with wooden shelves attached and suspended- giving the feel that you can just throw the books on rather than preciously placing them! The interior of their shop five doors down is made entirely from cardboard! All their shop interiors are modular and can be dismantled in a few hours - practical and visually interesting!

-  They have had regular customers since they first opened, many from creative industries who ‘enjoy time to get away from the drawing boards and computer suites and to actually interact and browse with the books’. 

//Photography by Lillie Cooper

Super Superficial

Super Superficial sells printed tees, jumpers and sunglasses.  It was their interior which caught my interest – although it’s a small shop, they have used wood in their interior to create a clean and fresh backdrop to their artistic clothing.  It turns out the founder of the brand and shop is an architect and Super Superficial is inspired by Swedish architecture and the beautiful Scandinavian-style café Nordic Bakery in Golden Square, W1.  I was made welcome by a very pleasant shop assistant/illustrator who is one of the three people who run the business.  She filled me in with some background information –

80% of their printed artwork is from uk artists, who can all be found on their website http://supersuperficial.com.  Super Superficial use their website as a creative platform for these artists.

Their artwork is interesting and different - they try not to create anything too ‘branded’ so you won’t find their name simply splashed across the tee-shirt, instead each piece is like wearing an individual piece of art, particularly as they don’t mass produce any designs.

Their customer base ranges in age between 18-45 and is mainly male, although I’m sure I’m not the only female to buy into it - but then again I love oversized graphic tees!

The tone of the shop is set with cool non-offensive hip hop playing in the background.

They have started doing a small amount of sales to other countries, in particular Italy and Asia.

They are not too heavy on pr but do update a facebook and twitter page- something for us fans to follow!

Their sunglasses are great!  These iconic designs are made by Grafik Plastic and this is the only store in Europe to stock them.  They are made by hand and the company recently won a ‘red dot design award’ – so possibly one to watch out for! 

//Photography by Lillie Cooper

Take 5, Weekly Inspirations.

You never know what might turn up when you’re out and about on the streets of London – something can surprise, excite, amuse or alarm at any moment.  Here is the first of my weekly diary of ten (random) inspirational images – hope they inspire you too!

//Photography by Lillie Cooper