Once we had finished the design stage of the Newstead Live Project, we moved onto the creating and sourcing stage. We split our group into two where Grace and Laini developed hat making concepts, Emma and I began charity shopping to find items to dress our set.
Charity shopping:
Each group within the course received a generous £50 budget for their respective projects. Our group went on to use this for sourcing our 'found objects' that we will eventually use for set dressing. Some of the charity shops we explored and purchased from included:
Oxfam
British Heart Foundation
My Sight
White Rose
Emmanuel House Charity Shop
Some of the objects we founded included teacups, picture frames, hats, sewing materials, a trunk, a suit jacket, lampshades etc. Emma-Louise and I thought these items would be most beneficial to our project and best fit the theme of the Mad Hatter's hat making workshop narrative.
The approach of incorporating found objects alongside model making means that the Mad Hatter's workshop installation will appear more put together incorporating a sense of realism and illustration as well as allowing us to make our work fit within the time period. Not only this but it also allows for a more sustainable approach as we are outsourcing and re-using second hand materials. However we did visit the high-street store of Primark in order to buy fairy lights in the shapes of flowers and warm toned lights to add a warm and inviting atmosphere into the Mad Hatter's lair to make it seem more homely. These are all battery operated for easy use.
Finding materials around Nottingham Trent University:
The day after sourcing objects and materials from charity shops, we decided to source materials from around NTU and the different buildings as this is not only cost effective but also allows us to make connections to different departments and explore what the other buildings and art courses have to offer.
- Costume
-> Hats (With thanks to Sharon Bainbridge)
-> Various fabrics, buttons, feathers (For the creation of hats and the sprawling of millinery décor across the room)
-> Two pairs of shoes (male and female) for placement against the fireplace
- Hat stands and a male foam mannequin head
- Fashion
-> One full-sized mannequin torso (with added hat-hook)
Kerry:
- vintage sewing machine
- wooden hat and umbrella stand
Making hats and 2D sewing tools:
As a group we have decided to digitally draw sewing tools e.g. scissors, needles, plyers etc to ensure the health and safety of the younger audience when walking and looking round. Laini and Grace have also made prop hats to display around the workshop to make it look as though The Mad Hatter is in the process of making them.
Shops to take note of for future reference in potential projects:
- Hopkinson (Vintage Store, near to the Nottingham Train Station)
- Theatre Royal
- Auction Houses and Car Boot Sales (Many thanks to the employees of the Emmanuel House Charity Shop for providing information on the Cattle market/Arthur Johnson & Son Auction House)
Other items left to find may include:
fabric roll holder box
red LED lights for fireplace
safety pins
needles
tape measure
batteries
Our next step for our group project is to complete a:
plan
Sketchup drawing
finishing all 2D tools
photocopy all of our drawings to display in the set to make it look like the Mad Hatter is working on new designs
filing receipts
inventory list
instructions of how to construct the set together
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