Designers and Makers Month

At Hopkinson we love supporting local talented creatives. With 16 studio spaces within the building we hold a number of individual small businesses, the majority of which are creatively led. To celebrate this we will be blogging about as many designers and makers as possible throughout October !

 We are kicking off with a little bit of background information about the beautiful Paper dress which is currently adorning our window. Created by NCN foundation student Lauren Bell-brown, this piece has already attracted a lot of attention; she created this incredible dress at A-level stage and has very kindly lent it to us for the duration of October.

Here is a little about Lauren's Inspiration;

'Old papers, maps, books and stamps have always thoroughly intrigued me.

They are a thing of beauty, each telling a story of their own, whether it be personally written as a letter or a poem, or whether it be the telling of a fictional or non- fictional story in a newspaper or book.

These papers, decades old, are so much more beautiful in their aged, weathered and loved form. They are artworks in themselves.

Equally inspired by costume and fashion from period dramas and copies of 1950's Vogue magazine, I have been charmed and enchanted by the elegant female form adorned with layered, netted skirts, pinched in bodices and attention to detail.

My love of ephemera and needlework techniques, including tapestry, cross stitch, decoupage, lace, free machine and quilling alongside my love of fashion have all inspired my 'Paper Dress.'

Everything has been deconstructed to be reconstructed into something redefined and tangible.'

Hopkinson by night!

Hopkinson by day!

If you have any queries for Lauren about this dress, please e- mail her at lauren.bell-brown@ntlworld.com

On the other hand if you are an artist, designer or maker and are interested in selling your work at Hopkinson, renting studio space or displaying within the window, contact us at 

hopkinson21@live.co.uk

Inspred by this creation? Visit us at 21 Station Street, Nottingham, for a host of vintage ephemera. From musical sheets to discarded photographs, old apothecary labels and 1930's newspapers Hopkinson is a treasure trove for any aspiring designer. 

(further information regarding selling space and studio rental is available on our website)

Wish List

All available in store
at  Hopkinson Vintage, Antiques and Arts Centre

White Lucite Handled Parasol - £24 by Adore Chic Alors
Claret Braid Detail Dress- £21.99 by Miss Molly May

Vintage Copenhagen Glass Tooth  Necklace - £20 by Vintage Reclaimed 

Rust 60's Coat With Piping Detail - £34.99  by Miss Molly May

Khaki Suede Military Jacket - £24.99 by Miss Molly May
 Sheer Vintage Lace Shorts -  £12 by YBK *SOLD*

Lace up Vintage Boots - £12 by Sweet Jean Vintage

Scallop Edge Leather Shorts - £25 by YBK
60's Hand Tailored White Linen Shirt - £20 by Adore Chic Alors

Victorian Black Beaded Shoulder Cape - £199 by Adore Chic Alors

Flat Patent  Black Versace Courts Shoes - £65 by Vintage Reclaimed

Stylish Shoppers

A tribute to all our fabulously stylish shoppers, here are a few of our favourites!

                                                                           

Although this lady did tell me her play suit was vintage, she refused to reveal her polka dot shoe source!! Serious shoe envy........                                                                              

Apologies to the uber stylish gentleman who I did photograph, but managed to forget to put in the memory card, (cringe) hopefully the next time you pop in you will still be sensationally dressed and I will have had enough coffee! More fashionable delights next week folks!

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