Marilyn Monroe

I love embracing the ethos of Hopkinsons with its eclectic mix of clothing, furniture and household items. Though the most interesting part is meeting the customers and buyers then finding all about the purchases made!

The items sold within the store often have interesting origins and I love to find out the stories behind them. After a shipment arrived from the USA we set about pricing these unusual items; some were easy to recognise, such as the PEZ dispensers and anything relating to Coca Cola, where others were rather unique. We unwrapped a divine whisky miniature of a ceramic book with a bikini clad bombshell on the ‘cover’ and discovered it was part of a series of ten – how gorgeous would that library display be?

And I must admit getting rather excited over a Bettie Page comic and a Wonder Woman mirror as these are two very iconic ladies!

So you can imagine my delight at finding a gentleman’s watch with an illustration of Marilyn Monroe and her signature on the face. Though her features are instantly identifiable I was very keen to find out more about the piece. But not being a guru on collectables where would I start?

So I set about hunting down the photo used for the image; however she is one popular lady! There are literally millions of photographs cataloguing her film career and personal life not forgetting all the incredible images captured off screen. Hmmm this wasn’t an easy task I’d undertaken!

I narrowed my search to source facial images only and sifted through many pages until finding one titled ‘Marilyn Chanel’ ah ha this was more like it! Though the image was rather dark, and had been cropped to show only her face, it did match my watch image but I didn’t feel it quite captured the moment.

Changing my search again I stumbled across the full sized photo. Yes indeed our USA purchase turned out to be created from a beautiful image of Marilyn holding a bottle of her trademark Chanel No5 whilst applying the perfume to her décolletage.

The image was taken in 1955 by Ed Feingersh, a photojournalist, who spent four days with Marilyn in New York. Click here to read the full story and see more of these stunning photos.

Marilyn Monroe Watch - £125 by Vintage Reclaimed

We’ve created our own homage to this unforgettable movie star – using the photo in a classic black & white frame with the watch draped over it so you can see the inspiration for the piece.

Mimi x

Picasso Prints

A duo of sublime Picasso sketch prints were in stock at the Hopkinson Art centre a few weeks ago and I have to admit I found them most interesting. Vintage interiors have exploded on to the design scene in the last few years, taking over from the futurist and minimalist trends of the early twenty first century. Today’s vogue encapsulates shabby chic, floral patterns and vintage collectables. Everywhere I look I see designers trying to recreate the retro ambience.

A key piece in the recreation of the vintage look is the use of vintage art. Prints can form the gateway to building a collection and discovering a personal style without breaking the bank. Throughout my University years I was the owner of a “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” print which hung proudly on my wardrobe door. It may not have been the most individual artistic statement, but the iconic vintage image put me in the epicentre of the vintage phenomenon.

Returning back to my opening subject of Picasso’s sketches, these prints had got me thinking. In the economic situation as it is and the abundance of prints available at reasonable prices, what was the market outlook for the original vintage artwork? In a world where art is a luxury are there still buyers and is purchasing originals still a good investment?

It would appear that there is a thriving market for original pieces of art. If we just look at the Christies Auction of Picasso’s “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust” in New York on 2010, the piece sold for a staggering $106,482,500. In addition, Picasso’s Ceramic s “The Madoura Collection” sold only two months ago in June 2012 for more than four times the pre-sales expectations. Therefore, it would appear that vintage artwork is the perfect way not only to keep your house in vogue but also could prove to be a real investment opportunity.

Written by Victoria Hall