I love how great it is to finally see The Corner Collective come to fruition as it opens its doors today for the first time. Expect well laid out design and expect to see special edition apparel as well as fab art that hangs neatly on the walls.
For those of you who haven’t been following the progress of The Corner Collective it is a shop where local artists can sell their work as well as studio space in the back. FarkFk and George from Pompey Banana Club took the lead on this venture towards the end of last year and if you look at the space they were presented with when they walked in you would be so surprised to see the transformation.
Original floorboards were salvaged to use for a wall feature and doing all the design and refurbishment in-house means you can really see a distinctive before and after! Speaking to FarkFK the co-founder of the project he said that although he knew this place needed a huge amount of work to get it to this point, the location offered so much scope with lots of space in the back for studios that he just rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
Bringing onboard Roo Abrook was a great idea as Roo’s work has only ever been available to buy online or at one of her exhibitions. Chatting to Roo before the launch she said that she loved that people will be able to access her work and be able to pop and see smaller pieces for sale as well as some large-scale work that Roo produces. When I had a look at the finished layout there were some fab choices to buy from prints to small canvas pieces.
The shop area has a cool vibe with a wall dedicated to large art, one side where you can buy spray cans, and then the back wall has limited edition work from both Pompey Banana Club and FarkFK. Looking through this section I loved the new FarkFK tees available for £30 and I think this is the first T-shirt that he has produced which is solely his own design. With a recognisable seagull on the back, I see this piece of clothing selling out quickly!
George from Pompey Banana Club has a new limited edition print that has a reflective look and really looks the part in the shop area. He has really expanded his product range from when he first started which includes, coasters, stickers, tees, and even beach towels! His Pompey tees are a huge hit in the community with slogans like ‘Cushty’ and ‘Dinlo’.
Walking through the back to the studio part FarkFk managed to show me his work area and you can see he is going to enjoy developing new commissions and bespoke pieces for clients. His love of spray paint really lends itself to a space like that.
I arrived this morning to wish them all good luck and the windows look the part with smart apparel and visual stimulation. Bubble Head Barista is in there selling coffee today but he also has a stand and I think you will be able to buy his coffee in there when the shop opens. A cool vintage brand Actually Merlin Vintage is also going to have a stand in the shop and sells really rad vintage brands like Nike SB and Puma.
Wrapt Interiors are based at the back too and have a customer-friendly showroom where you can go and see their work which includes a huge range of options for vinyl wrapping. Even though they do commercial projects they can also transform walls, furniture, counters, tables, doors, petitions, and ceilings! But my favourite thing about Wrapt is that they always find time for creative mini-projects like working with Pompey Banana Club on their side tables and working with FarkFK on some of his limited edition pieces! This is why they fit perfectly into this collective.
The Southsea Decorating Company also has a cute little corner to work from. They are a local business that supports the community by having done lots of renovations in the immediate area. With the ethos they have it’s great they fit with the other folks there.
FarkFK said when chatting about the future “The Corner Collective allows me to utilise the relationships I have all over the world with different artists and currently I have quite a bit of work being sent over from other countries to hang in the shop. This means that local people will have access to some great artists but at affordable prices and have a great selection to choose from. Over time the Collective has the chance to adapt and change and that’s an exciting place to be.”
At the moment there is Pogo hanging on the walls alongside Roo Abrook, FarkFK and Pompey Banana Club but if you keep dropping by over time you will see different artists too. The first exhibition is planned for July which will be ‘Soak’ so look out for dates on that plus there is going to be a large mural that changes outside the shop on the big black wall which will be eye-catching from the road.
The thing I love the most about the Corner Collective is the way like-minded artists and creatives are supporting each other and I feel that shines through to the customers that walk through the door and see the quality of the work and product ranges for sale. Well done to the collective team for the hard work of pulling this off and I wish them lots of luck and success for the future.
The shop will be open in the week and on wknds so look at their socials for more details on that and make sure to drop in and support the artists that are there!
