The Cornershop - a felt project by Lucy Sparrow

I have been following Lucy Sparrow on twitter (@sewyoursoul) for a while now and have watched with interest as she posted photos of items she had been busy sewing, finding vacant premises and sourcing shop fittings. The Cornershop is an installation in Hoxton, where all the produce (and the till!) within the store has been painstakingly stitched from felt. I love working with felt myself so I knew this shop was going to be right up my street!

I took the overground to Hoxton last week to check it out for myself and I wasn't disappointed. The attention to detail is fantastic and the wide range of products made brought a smile to face - tinned sardines, oven chips and even KY Jelly! I spent ages circling the shop as I kept finding more and more to look at.

Lucy was behind the counter, happily chatting to all the customers and visitors. It's been very busy since it opened on August 1 and while I was there some German tourists came in because they'd seen the shop on German TV!

All the items in the Cornershop are for sale (in the shop and online), and many products have already sold out. Lucy said that although she knew that some would be very popular (Marmite for instance) she was also surprised at which other items were selling (Digestives, and Lucky Strike cigarettes) She is getting a very interesting insight into which brands we hold dear to our hearts.

I was particularly taken with many of the more unexpected everyday products such as the Domestos bleach bottles, the Bodyform sanitary towels, and the cat litter! Because they are less iconic than some of the other items I found them much more endearing and humorous. Lucy's work obviously has huge references to Andy Warhol, Claus Oldenberg and other Pop artists, but because it is an installation where people come and visit, and meet and chat just like a real shop, there is another layer to it. The friendly accessibility of both the shop, and the art itself means there is a lovely community feel, as well as it being quite absurd too!

I bought a couple of items myself - a box of Nurofen and a pack of Johnson's Baby Wipes - but there really was almost too much to choose from. See the photos below...

Better still, get yourself down to Hoxton to visit the shop in person if you can. It is open every day from 10am - 7pm until 31 August. There is talk of it travelling down to Brighton after this month so keep your eyes peeled. It's well worth a trip!