T he award-winning Makerie Studio, founded and run by Joyanne Horscroft and Julie Wilkinson, are behind the eye-catching pop-up windows that are featuring at Sotheby’s New Bond Street in the run up to Christmas. The creative workshop, which is based in New York and London, has created three unique three dimensional showpieces that are inspired by upcoming sales in London. We caught up with Makerie’s Joyanne Horscroft to find out more about the making of the windows…
SOTHEBY'S NEW BOND STREET WINDOW TWO CREATED BY MAKERIE STUDIO.
How long have you been creating this type of window display?
My partner Julie and I founded Makerie Studio back in 2011 and our first solo commercial project was a paper window display. We created flocks of birds for four Fabriano Boutiques in Europe and we’ve been designing lots of fun things, including window displays, ever since.
Tell us about the inspiration behind the windows you have designed for Sotheby’s?
The inspiration comes from the pieces on sale in the upcoming auctions. We wanted to showcase a few of the items to give people a taste of what’s going on inside. The idea of the big pop-up book was something that everyone loved from the beginning, so we built on and around that, weaving the theme of storytelling and curios into all the sets.
WINDOW TWO SKETCH DESIGNED BY MAKERIE STUDIO FOR SOTHEBYS NEW BOND STREET.
What are the themes for the windows?
The theme for window one is Russian Art & Music and Continental Books and Manuscripts so we have a Baba Yaga style clock surrounded by mini Fabergé eggs, sheet music and foliage. Window two is Old Masters Paintings and Medieval Manuscripts, for which there is a classic still life scene with ornate vessels and medieval manuscripts, and keeping watch are two silent butterflies, their wings calmly opening and closing. And week three is English Literature, Victorian & Jewels Week - this is our last week and will be the most wintery. There will be a magical bubbling fountain in a snow-laden parkland, with a stag and glittering snowflakes.
How long did it take you to come up with the designs for each of the windows?
We first started working on the windows at the beginning of October, but since then the designs have gone through a few different versions. Eventually the final looks only took a few hours to design. However, making them on the other hand…
SOTHEBY'S NEW BOND STREET WINDOW ONE CREATED BY MAKERIE STUDIO.
How long does it take to create the windows?
The initial window was the longest because we had to make the surrounding trees, tree stump and book. We wanted these to be something really pretty to look at in themselves as they were going to be the only things to stay the whole time; in total, that one took about 10 days. After that each set of pages took about three days to make, from creating the artwork to collaborating with the animatronic tech to finishing.
Which of the Sotheby’s designs is your personal favourite?
I’m going to be fair and say there are things that I love about each one - equally, there are things that niggle me about each one as well! We’re just glad not everyone notices the things that we notice! Saying that, I do now have the Russian Baba Yaga clock hanging in the studio… happily still telling the correct time.
SOTHEBY'S NEW BOND STREET WINDOW THREE CREATED BY MAKERIE STUDIO.
What other projects are you currently working on?
Unfortunately we can’t really tell you what we’re doing next. We’re very excited because here at the London studio it's a client we’ve wanted to work with for years, so we feel very lucky. Over in Makerie Studio New York, Julie is starting work on a pair of epic window displays ready for reveal in January - so even before Christmas is here, we’re looking forward to the New Year.
You can view the windows created by Makerie at Sotheby’s New Bond Street until 20 December.
