Otago Polytechnic fashion design student Samuel Thorpe
sorts stock in the temporary shop he and fellow design
students built from cardboard, glue and cable ties. Photo
by Jane Dawber.
Take a group of young people, give them some cardboard,
glue and cable ties and tell them to build a shop.
Being Otago Polytechnic design students, the result is a
whole lot funkier than a primary school craft project.
The first and second-year students were also responsible for
designing and producing the fittings, branding and packaging
for Opop Shop, an outlet set up to sell students' work at the
polytechnic's design exhibition in the former Wickliffe Press
building in Albany St.
The exhibition opened to the public yesterday and closes on
Sunday.
Among the goods for sale are jewellery, posters, greeting
cards, fridge magnets, wallets, clothing and books.
Using cardboard meant the shop was cheap to build and
completely recyclable, tutor Lisa Richardson said yesterday.
"We found the cardboard, which had been wrapped around bags
of stock food, at the recycling centre in Fryatt St. It will
go back to the recycling centre in a week."
The exhibition features the work of third-year fashion
design, product design, communication design and interior
design students.
This year, for the first time, it was decided to involve
about 20 first and second-year students in a project to test
their creative, time-management and teamwork skills, Miss
Richardson said.
Working in two teams, they had just three weeks to create the
shop and its fittings.
The shop contents sold so well at the invitation-only opening
of the exhibition on Tuesday night, some items sold out and
had to be restocked yesterday, Miss Richardson said.
The shop itself had also been a talking point.
"It's been such a success, I think we will do the same
project [with another group of students] next year.
"It also gives students an incentive if they know they have
somewhere to sell their work," she said.
Students received the proceeds from the sale of their work,
she said.
- allison.rudd@odt.co.nz
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