“Objectif Lune”, Joe’s Store Window Display by Night, Friar Lane, Nottingham, 07/08/16.

Tags

Destination Moon, Hergé, Moon, Objectif Lune, rocket, scale model, Science fiction, shop window, Shop Window Displays., Tintin, window, window shopping., windows

Joe’s Store.

It‘s strange how something can become icon in a person’s mind. I have never read Hergé’s “Destination Moon“, but the image of the rocket on the cover has somehow lodged itself firmly in my brain to such an extent that I became very excited to see this shop window display as I was walking up Friar Lane, towards Nottingham Castle or, more accurately, the “Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem” public house. I suppose it is quite distinctive as far as rockets go, in the same way “The Mallard” or “Flying Scotsman” are distinctive looking steam locomotives, but, in design terms, it also helps that it is a model of a fictitious rocket and its form has not been compromised by the practicalities of space travel! Hergé’s “Destination Moon” was published in 1953, predating Nasa’s Apollo Program by 8 years and the Moon landings by 16 years.

Joe’s Store is well worth a visit [I retraced my steps back to the shop the next day]… if you’re fan of Tintin. 

“A Reet Good Yorkshire Shop”, Wool ‘n’ Stuff, 12 Cross Square, Wakefield, 24/08/16.

Tags

arts and crafts, buttons, crafts, Cross Square Wakefield, Roses, shop windows, Wakefield, White Rose, white rose of Yorkshire, window shopping., windows, Wool n Stuff, Yorkshire, Yorkshire dialect

Photo Archive: “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”,Blackwells Bookshop, Park Street, Bristol, 27/04/15.

Tags

Alice, Alice in Wonderland, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Book shops, Brillustration, Bristol, English Literature, flemingo, illustration, Lewis Carroll, Mad Hatter, Mad Hatter's tea party, Park Street Bristol, Pink, Queen of Hearts, tea party, tea., window, window shopping.

“It’s always time for tea“.

This depiction of the Hat Hatter’s tea party is by a Bristol based illustrator’s social group called Brillustration and I hope they are still cheering up the shop windows along Park Street, despite Blackwell’s Bookshop relocating since my last visit to Bristol [if this article in the Bristol Post is to be believed].

The Queen of Hearts – “OFF with their heads!”

I have never read “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll, but of course I’m aware of most of the key features of the plot and I have occasionally found myself, coincidently, following in the author’s footsteps [Lewis Carroll and I have the dodo from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in common for example].

I suppose that is what makes something iconic – when you get recognition with the bare minimum of effort!

Teddy Bears in Bathrobes, The Roman Baths, Bath, 28/04/15.

Tags

bath, bathing, bathrobes, bears, gift shop, soft toys, Teddy Bears, The Roman Baths Bath, toys, window shopping.

Sew ‘n’ Sew, Wool Haberdashery and Crafts, St. Nicholas Market, Saint Nicholas Street, Bristol, 27/04/15.

Tags

crafts, haberdashery, Knitting, Saint Nicholas Street Bristol, Sew n Sew Bristol, St Nicholas Market Bristol, window shopping., wool

Look at these charming knitted characters! I wonder if they represent the staff at Sew ‘n’ Sew? The shop had a “Back in 5 minutes” sign up in the window, so I couldn’t pop my head around the door to check. I can’t knit, but I greatly admire those who can and I love the idea of knitting as an arts and crafts medium, as opposed to a way of producing a functional item. I would recommend a trip to St. Nicholas Market in Bristol anyway, so while you’re there it would rude not to visit Sew ‘n’ Sew! If you can’t get down to Bristol, they do have a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sew-n-Sew.  

Photo Archive: “Small Worlds” by Simon Thomas, At-Bristol, Anchor Road, Bristol, August 2014.

Tags

"Small World" by Simon Thomas, anti-matter, At-Bristol, Bristol, Bristol Cathedral, Bristol Cathedral Choir School, cone, glass, Paul Dirac, public art, quantum theory, Reflections, sculpture, Simon Thomas, window shopping.

“…a dramatic cone which rises 18ft into the air”.

To quote from the At-Bristol website:

“This striking piece, sponsored by the Institute of Physics, commemorates the work of Paul Dirac, the Nobel Prize winning scientist/mathematician who was born in Bristol.

Paul Dirac is most famous for his contribution to the Quantum theory and his discovery of anti-matter“.

I don’t know anything about quantum theory or anti-matter, but I do like a dramatic cone. The building behind the sculpture is At-Bristol, which has “hundreds of hands-on exhibits to explore, live shows and a Planetarium“.  Reflected in the glass you can see the traffic on Anchor Road, Bristol Cathedral Choir School and the twin bell towers of Bristol Cathedral.

Photo Archive: The Secret Society of Vegans’ HQ, Caledonian Road, London, September 2013.

Tags

boutique, Caledonian Road London, London, secret, shopping, The Secret Society of Vegans, Vegan Boutique, Veganism, window shopping.

Photo Archive: Inclement Weather Over Battersea Power Station, King’s Road, London, September 2013.

Tags

Battersea Power station, clouds, dark, design, inclement weather, King's Road London, light, London, London landmarks, scale model, shoes, vintage fashion, Weather, window, window dressing, window shopping.

Photo Archive: Owl, The Grand Arcade. Leeds, 20/12/14.

Tags

Arcades, glass, Leeds, owl, painting, shop windows, The Grand Arcade, The Grand Arcade Leeds, window, window shopping.

Painted onto the window of an empty shop, located towards the Vicar Lane end of The Grand Arcade.

Photo Archive: The Workshop Window, The National Coal Mining Museum, Overton, near Wakefield, June 2011.

Tags

anvil, coal, darks, flat caps, light, metal work, National Coal Mining Museum, National Coal Mining Museum England, old photographs, Overton, Photography, sepia photograph, waistcoat, Wakefield, window shopping., workshop