ART: Sparrow Mart

This evening my husband and I stopped by Sparrow Mart, a unique art installation at The Standard Hotel DTLA. British artist Lucy Sparrow works almost exclusively in felt and makes what are essentially hand-painted felt plushies. She and a small crew of crafters in her studio hand-made 31,000 items that are replicas of things you would find in a typical southern California market, and stocked an entire market. Plushy condiments, plushy candy bars, plushy cigarettes, a deli case, a seafood counter with little plushy clams, scallops, and salmon filets, plushy sushi. There's a full-size felt ATM spitting out a felt receipt and felt money. The detail is delightful. It's so whimsical and so inventive, you can't help but smile in amazement. These items are all actually on sale, and there are market baskets and a check-out counter. We saw people loading up their baskets. This unique art exhibit will be on display through the end of August, or until the shelves are empty, whichever comes first!