The Forgotten Library

Continuing with our designers and makers month I am pleased to share a little interview I had with the creator of Forgotten Library, Charlotte White. Charlotte's fantastic collection of books, cards and keyrings are carefully considered and make fantastic and unusual gifts. Using vintage train tickets and old adverts for her cards alongside re- fashioning classic books into quirky clocks, she breathes life back into old and forgotten objects. Read on to see some examples and hear all about how she started her creative journey!

     
What is the story behind 'The Forgotten Library,' where did the name come from?
 All the books and papers I use to make things from come from charity shops, second hand bookshops, car boot sales and the like and so have been abandoned by one or more previous owners on their path to me. The shelving that I started to gather these dusty tomes on soon looked like a disused library that could have stood untouched for many years and so The Forgotten Library seemed an appropriate name.    

What is your own personal dream for 'The Forgotten Library?'
 I would love to make it my full time work one day but for now it is enough to know that the Library has been open a year and books are finding new homes, whether they have been repurposed or simply rediscovered by their new owners.

How long have you been a designer/ maker? Whilst I’ve enjoyed creative pursuits all my life I suppose I could say designer/maker when I started putting the ideas I had for repurposing old books into practice in 2011 and creating a body of related work
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What is your all time favourite book?
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Do you ever feel too attached to books to sell them on or make them into clocks? (If so which books have you felt this with and why)
Yes, all the time.  I’m a natural hoarder and also find cutting a book is still difficult.  There is a natural resistance to damaging a book no matter how far the cover may already be hanging off!  Books that find their way onto my personal bookshelves usually have attractive illustrations, covers or something unusual about them such as a previous owners notes inside to make me feel I have to preserve them.  This month I bought a set of three books on British Myths & Legends with an image of Excalibur on the front that I thought would make lovely clocks. The books themselves didn’t appear to have ever been read and as I looked through the pages and spotted some myths I’m less familiar with I soon realised these weren’t going to make it to the clock stage and I have them sat on the shelf waiting for a time when I can sit down and read them.

What advice would you offer to budding designers and makers?
Keep creating and believe in yourself.  I have always felt I couldn’t do this because I didn’t study for a fine art degree or have formal training for a craft technique, but starting The Forgotten Library has been one of the best things I’ve ever done.

We are lucky to have a great collection of Charlotte's creations in store at Hopkinson, please visit her etsy shop to buy online or to see sources of her inspiration, including found materials and ephemera, visit her blog. Thanks for reading!

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)

Stylish Shoppers

 A great vintage jumper, I'm an absolute sucker for anything with ducks on it.

 Very simple, but some great contrasting piping detail on the lapel of this navy blazer, complete with a moleskin notebook.

Just a few of my favourites from the last week, stay tuned!

Comic books

Recently, I have gained a surprising interest in comic books.  As a child I was an avid reader of both The Dandy and The Beano. However, when it came to mystical creatures and super heroes, I think Banana Man (who frequented The Dandy) was as far as my interest went.

   However, whilst sorting through the comic book collections at Hopkinson’s, I really found myself drawn to the amazing two dimensional creations that covered the pages. Throughout history art has been used to depict battle scenes and tell stories and comics are doing exactly the same thing - only in parallel worlds. I was intrigued by the extent to which the artist is using and expanding their imagination. I consider myself a creative thinker, but I highly doubt I could invent my own unique world. I find these comics books quite astonishing and staggered at the dedication to explore outside the box

   I am by no means, a comic connoisseur. I have no knowledge of the stories or of the worth of comic books, perhaps this enables me to focus on the artistic brilliance of every page. The comic book community is thriving and expanding at a fast pace with the release of so many comic book films, the popularity of comic conventions and the infiltration of comic book humour into sitcoms such as The Big Bang Theory, the comic book is being exposed to a wider audience. Comic book imagery is most definitely in style, with most high street stores selling numerous products with comic book references on them. A piece of comic book inspired artwork would really be in keeping with not only the vintage trend but also the current comic book craze.

    If you are interested in experimenting with a different genre, the comics at Hopkinson’s would be a great starting place to collect some ideas. Just look at the work of Roy Lichtenstein in the 1960’s and you can see how use of two dimensional images are just as powerful as three dimensional.

Roy Lichenstein 'Ohhh ... Alright ...' 1964 www.npr.org

Written by Victoria Hall

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

Pick A Memory

Art isn’t always based on trying to create original images, one of my favourite types of art is to take something old and give it a new lease of life. There is definitely something exciting about transforming the trivial and outdated into an exquisite piece of expressive art.

   When I first laid eyes on the “Pick a memory” suitcase at Hopkinson’s I found the idea rather bizarre. Why on earth would you want a photograph of someone else’s life? Of people you don’t know? In places you don’t recognise? To an extent it even made me feel quite intrusive to be looking at images of brides beaming on their wedding days, grandparents with grandchildren, friends laughing together, as if I had no business viewing these images.

   However, as I thumbed through a few of the piles of photos I began to feel a different emotion. I had a great sense of intrigue and interest into trying to understand what the story of the image was. Of course I could only speculate as to the origins of the photograph but what I was sure of was that whoever had taken these pictures had captured a moment from their life and was now sharing it.  The owners of these images obviously had no use for them anymore, again the reasons are speculative, however, through the image finding its way into this exact suitcase at Hopkinson’s it would have a whole new lease of life.

Robert Rauschenberg, Untitled, 1955 www.curatedaily.com

   When you look at the work of artists of the 1950’s, for example, Rauschenberg, you can see how found images can be utilised within an artwork to create the most interesting of creations. If you’re an artist struggling to come up with a concept, I suggest a quick look through the “Pick a memory” suitcase as it is a great source of inspiration.  

Written by Victoria

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!