The Cornershop

This afternoon I went to The Cornershop. Wait! Before you close the tab and go back to watching ice bucket videos, hear me out. This wasn't just any old corner shop, this one was made out of felt. Yep, felt. Every single item, even down to the till.

It's an installation by artist Lucy Sparrow, on Wellington Row in Bethnal Green. Everything is hand sewn from felt and it took her seven months to make the 4,000 items.

That's Lucy, doing some gluing.

Look how happy all that fruit and veg is. It must be nice to be made out of felt.

There's absolutely everything you would expect to find in a corner shop, from chocolate to paracetamol, baked beans to top shelf magazines.

Everything is for sale, so you can take something squishy home with you (well, you can order it and it'll arrive in October. Yes, I may have bought a few things. We were out of tea!). 

It certainly makes you think, about consumerism and the state of community spirit and such, but mostly I was awed by the amount of time and effort that has been put into the project. Lucy has been blogging about her endeavour, at thecornershopblog.com, and her dedication is seriously impressive. It's only open until Sunday, but I'm looking forward to seeing what she does next.