When we first caught wind of Lucy Sparrow’s felt bodega installation, 8 ‘Till Late, at the Standard Hotel in New York’s Meatpacking District, we were immediately intrigued. More than 9,000 felt items modeled after the inventory found in a beloved New York City institution, all up for sale? For this Home & Design editor, Sparrow was clearly after my own heart.
From candy bars to laundry detergent, deli meat cuts to feminine products, cigarette packs, and more (even the ATM machine and soda case are felted!), the installation sparked pure, unbridled joy among the city’s residents. So much so, in fact, that the Instagram-friendly exhibit was forced to shutter its doors early—nine days early!—after selling out its inventory, to disappointed would-be goers everywhere.
The artist with her wares:
The British artist first experienced viral popularity in London with a similar fully-functioning convenience store (The Cornershop), also chock-full of felted wares, a few years ago. Her plush New York project opened on June 5, with initial expectations to run through June 30.
A bodega cat!
While we will no longer be able to enjoy the full-on felted bodega experience in person, a selection of Sparrow’s work is still available for sale on her site, ranging from affordable Trident gum packs for £15 (approximately $19) to an entire wall of Streit’s matzo boxes for £3,200 (approximately $4,050).
We’re also throwing in a few of our favorite felted home items from the Food52 Shop because we can never get enough of the cozy material in our lives. Its comforting, down-to-earth texture is basically the design equivalent of a warm hug, and who wouldn’t want that?
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