Mass overproduction and its infringement on our love for the world.
As stated by the North London Waste Authority report from 2018/19, In the UK, 22 million pieces of furniture are thrown out annually- the majority of which fall, headfirst into the jaws of 540 landfills within the UK, as approximated by QCR recycling equipment.
Surrounded by turrets of waste, we seem to be constantly entranced into buying more, buying the next new thing, buying the ‘best’ new thing, buying right up till we are laid to rest, just for it to be buried under cheaper and cheaper replications of itself.
In a time of mass overproduction and over consumption, the same lifeless furniture is created and sold for the cheapest price, furniture that doesn’t last and is thrown away in the next decade.
Pieces with a sanctifying beauty, due to time, seem to captivate all people and this is especially prevalent in stores scattered around London, with antique books, clothes and furniture, wherein everyone seems to be able to connect with a world swept away by time.
“Every day is different! I love hunting for something special and, the restoration… seeing something that had lived one life, begin another” Sammie Kennedy
Sammie and Drew, the owners of curio corner, furniture artist and carpenter, embrace restoration, antiquities and up-cycling furniture and observe their store at a height of customers.
The process and experience of restoration and even speaking with customers seems to captivate all types of people.
After speaking with one of the owners- Sammie- she had stated that many people renovating homes, people with an interest in antiques, and interest in vintage and upcycled pieces all find themselves in Curio Corners.
Additionally antique stores offer style. Aesthetic. Fun.
Vibrant colours, walls filled with paintings and decorations of ducks, plates and cups all in theme with one another, statuettes for kitchens and living rooms, funky sculptures and more, all have their place in a store like this, tight nit in an appealing and harmonious chaos.
With a constant supply of stock and a promise that your items have been nurtured and taken care off, like many antique stores, the priority is in quality- quality of furniture, quality of communication and the community built around all of this.
Overall community seems to be the unifying factor of vintage and antique stores, something which the mass over production that we are experiencing in the 21st century miserably fails to replicate. It is a definitive promise of quality, style and longevity.
