Preparing the exhibition space

Preparing the exhibition space involved a lot of hard work from all staff and students. We started by removing old work from the classroom and moving as much exhibition work from the room as we could to avoid it getting damaged.

Then we had to stack up all tables, chairs and units against the walls around the room. We then covered the outside walls of the room with wooden boards that were drilled together.

The joins in the boards were then covered with gum strip and all boards were sanded down and any holes were filled.

Once all the boards were up and prepared, we started to paint. We painted all boards and walls with white paint.

Once all the paint was dry, the space was emptied of anything left and the floors were cleaned.

We were then able to bring our work into the exhibition space and begin to put our work up and display ready for the exhibition.

Final Evaluation

Survey responses

The survey I made had a huge impact on the work I created for this project.

The following images show the questions asked and the responses from the public.

The collected responses from this question became the reason behind my work being 50s inspired, as the majority of people chose 50’s as the answer to this question.

As the highest response to this question was dresses this inspired the dresses within my display.

As a lot of the responses from the public with this question were that they would like to see more vintage in Blackburn, this become my idea for creating my work within a shop to get people in the community back into the spirit of shopping vintage.

This question gave me an interesting view on how people felt about vintage and also began my journey into meeting with the rummage rescuers staff who very kindly agreed to let me use there own shop to display my work.

 

Feedback from work in the shop

Once I had put my work up in the shop window at rummage rescuers, I set up a meeting with the manager of the shops Liz Crook to discuss my work.  (29th April 12.00)

We discussed ways that doing the display could get the attention of the public and get my name known for doing the work and also further work I could do for them.

We decided creating business cards to put into the shop would be a good idea to get my name out in the public and also by adding my blog link to the cards I could show how much time and work went into making the display and how the work progressed from an initial idea into the final piece of work.

To create the business cards I used a website called http://www.banana-print.co.uk/ where I was able to use a business card design software to make a template for my business card. (http://www.banana-print.co.uk/product_design_customize.php?pid=1&tempid=1070&type=S)

I decided on the above design because I felt the simplicity and subtle tones of the design complemented my display work and gave a vintage feel. The cost of the business cards was £6.99 for 100 cards.

When I returned to the Rummage Rescuers shop to drop off my business cards I also left a notebook in the shop for customers to write feedback on my work if they wished to. The staff in the shop told me there had been a lot of interest in my work and people asking questions so I felt this was a great way to document peoples views on my display.

I began with writing a short note in the front of the notebook to explain who had made the work and a blog link, and also explained that feedback was a vital part of my project and would be greatly appreciated.

The feedback I received was overwhelming and it gave a heart warming feeling to see how much people had enjoyed seeing my work. This made me feel like I had achieved what I had intended to do by putting my work in this particular shop. I had brought interest to vintage items and the shop and created a feeling of nostalgia with the vintage theme.

Liz has also asked me to create a dress similar to the ones in my display out of fabric for one of their other shops in mill hill. She would like me to use clothing from the shops that they have been unable to sell and recycle this to create the dress. I am extremely excited to be given this opportunity and intend to send out the message to people that anything can be made into something beautiful through recycling.  I am intending to start this piece after my deadline for the current project.

 

 

 

Display: From college to shop

I started experimenting with moving round items in my display at college to get a clearer idea of how I would like to display my work.

I decided to use the plinths to display work on in the shop as I felt this would look more professional and would also avoid the work getting damaged on the floor.

I asked a fellow student for help transporting my work from the college to the shop. We covered all the work in plastic to avoid the work being damaged. The above are photographs of me placing the work in the shop.

I am extremely pleased with the display and how well it works within the vintage shop. Putting the work in a vintage shop complements the work. I have given the staff in the shop a notebook for people to write feedback and comments in whilst the work is in the shop.

 

 

 

Vintage images

When I was researching 1950s window displays I came across an advert on Ebay for a small collection of 1950s window displays.

I took the opportunity to purchase these photographs and hoped to use them within my display.

I first put the images onto a board that I had painted to look like a photograph, using double sided tape. The idea behind this was to have photographs within a photograph.

I then used the boards to photograph images and make them bigger to cover my window board that I intend to use for the exhibition.

I used the images in a collage style, using tape to stick them on. I covered both the inside walls of my exhibition stand.

I really like the effect that this gives and also how it shows a range of different window displays from the 1950s. I am also pleased that I can show research of other shop window displays within my own display.

 

 

 

Exhibition display research

I decided to do some research on how I could display my work in the exhibition in a way that would show the work I had done was for a window display. I looked on Pinterest first to get a few ideas and found these images.

Pop up creative global agency. (2012). Why Pop-ups Are A Pop-Ular Choice. Available: http://www.popupcreative.co.uk/pop-up/. Last accessed 11/04/2017.

storewindows. (2013). Hermes . Available: https://twitter.com/storewindows. Last accessed 11/04/2017.

Annabel. (2011). By Appointment Only Design, at One Mayfair ~ A Glamorous Evening that Showcased the Best of the UK Wedding Industry…. Available: http://www.lovemydress.net/blog/2011/02/by-appointment-only-design-party-at-one-mayfair-feb-2011.html. Last accessed 11/04/2017.

 

Using these ideas as inspiration I created my own cardboard window display. using wood beams for support. I used black and white as using plain colours for the stand drew more attention to the work inside the display.

 

 

Rummage Rescuers shops

The above pictures are images of the two shops I have been offered to display my work in there windows. I have decided on the second shop as this shop sells vintage furniture which I feel is more fitting to the project I am doing. I also feel the space in the second shop is more suited to what I want to display.

Display Sign

When looking at signs to make for my project I first looked at what font I would like. I used Microsoft word and experimented with a range of different fonts.

I eventually decided on the following design using two different fonts.

I printed this design out and photocopied it to make it large enough for my signs.

I then traced the design. After painting my wood that I had cut and scratching into it with screwdrivers and sanding some parts to give an aged affect i then retraced my font onto the wood.

I then painted the letters using a black gloss. I drilled a hole in to the top corners of each sign and threaded string through these.

I am very pleased with how the signs have turned out. I found using the black gloss to paint the letters quite difficult as I struggled to keep the letters neat but the overall effect turned out well.

University Place

I am very pleased to have been accepted onto the BA HONS Fine Art degree course at Blackburn university centre. This was where I had hoped to go to and I cant wait to take advantage of this opportunity and get involved in the course.