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A new FloridaRAMA ‘shop’ to be made entirely of felt
British artist Lucy Sparrow’s works are deeply felt.
A new exhibit at FloridaRAMA will feature the work of British artist Lucy Sparrow. It’s a pop-up, interactive art emporium, called Lucy Sparrow’s Quick Shop, and it debuts Friday at that whimsical, walk-through gallery inside The Factory St. Pete.
Sparrow’s art needs to be seen to be believed. More to the point, it has to be felt.
Indeed, everything inside the Quick Shop – approximately 13,000 items, large and small – is actually made of felt.
For over a decade, the native of Bath, England has been on the cutting edge of fabric art.
FloridaRAMA staff has only offered clues as to what’ll be in there, saying only that it will include “Sparrow’s interpretation of a uniquely Florida ‘everything’ store.” And that it’s all for sale.
Sparrow designs every piece herself, and her five-member staff does the stuffing and stitching.
She was 4 years old when her mother taught her to sew, and bought her felt to make her own toys. “I was instantly obsessed with making replicas of objects,” Sparrow told an interviewer. “I knew from when I was tiny that I wanted to be an artist.”
She debut in 2014 with an exhibit called The Cornershop in London’s East End. All 4,000 items in the shop, all covered in stitched felt, were for sale with prices starting at £1 (about $2) for a lottery ticket, and Sparrow herself handling the cash register. “I couldn’t believe there were queues around the block,” she said. “I sold the shop 40 times over.”
In Soho, she created a felt “sex shop” called titled Madame Roxy’s Erotic Emporium (early in her career, Sparrow had briefly danced in a gentleman’s club, and Roxy was her stage name).
Then there was Lucy’s Delicatessen, at New York’s Rockefeller Center; and a fully-stocked pharmacy, The Bourdon Street Chemist, at a London Gallery.
In 2022, Sparrow created a pop-up market at Water Street Tampa. With 50,000 handmade felt replicas of real groceries, Tampa Fresh Foods included more than 50,000 items, from canned goods to loaves of Cuban bread. Her 3,000-square-foot pop-up became a viral sensation.
Between August and September of this year she operated The Bourdon Street Chippy in a Mayfair gallery. It was a felt reproduction of a classic English fish and chip shop, comprising more than 65,000 pieces, with virtually every detail, from battered cod and chunky chips to curry sauce, pickled eggs and fizzy drinks, entirely handmade from felt.
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parrow has “felt” her way through installations in Paris, New York, Miami, Los Angeles and even Bangkok. She created and hosted The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Lunch, at Buckingham Palace, in 2022.
“Her work thrives on the tension between nostalgia and absurdity,” writes Artlyst, “inviting viewers into a world where the ordinary becomes uncanny.”
Admission to Lucy Sparrow’s Quick Shop is free with paid admission to FloridaRAMA (find tickets and other information at this link).
Lucy Sparrow will be in attendance, at FloridaRAMA, Nov. 25, 26 and 28.
Darren Ginn
November 22, 2025at3:19 pm
If this is felt made from animals, it’s not cool.
The majority of people are unaware of the facts regarding exploitation.
The cruelty in felt production stems from both animal welfare concerns in traditional methods and the historical use of toxic chemicals. While some felt is still made from animal fibers, leading to ethical concerns about the treatment of animals in the wool industry, a historic cruel practice involved a toxic process called “carroting” to make felt hats using mercury nitrate on animal skins.
Modern production can utilize alternative, non-animal materials that are more environmentally friendly, and animal welfare in the wool industry is a subject of ongoing debate, with some critics calling it inherently exploitative.
Historical cruelty: “Carroting”
Toxic process: For a period, producing high-quality felt hats involved a chemical process called “carroting” on animal skins, such as rabbit or hare.
Mercury poisoning: The animals’ skins were treated with a dilute solution of mercuric nitrate, a toxic mercury compound.
Worker health: The fumes from this process were highly toxic, leading to widespread mercury poisoning among hat makers, which is believed to be the origin of the phrase “mad as a hatter”.
Modern ethical concerns
Animal welfare: Traditional felt can be made from animal fibers, such as wool, which raises concerns about the treatment of animals in the modern wool industry.
Exploitative practices: Some critics argue that the industry’s focus on profit can lead to violence and exploitation of animals.
Alternatives
Modern materials: Today, there are many alternative materials available that can provide similar qualities to animal fur without the associated cruelty, such as various faux furs made from recycled, biodegradable, or plant-based materials.
Environmental friendliness: These modern alternatives can be more environmentally friendly than the faux furs of the past.