Tag Archives: Ministry of Found

Ministry of Found RIP

18 May

So…that’s it.

It’s been an emotional (and sometimes stressful!) journey. It’s been like a surreal dream from thinking up the initial idea of starting my own pop up shop, to seeing it actually come to life. Not to mention working with some of my 90s music idols and organising a celeb-studded launch night. Madness!

Thanks to everyone who has helped along the way. There are so many people to name, but special thanks go to the guys at Yell for supporting the venture from the start and all the experts who offered their pearls of wisdom – Savannah Miller from Twenty8Twelve, Lee Lapthorne at On|Off, Taryn Ross from Urban Junkies, Aysun and Morag at Selfridges and Dan Thompson from the Empty Shops Network. The team at Mixmag have been great supporters of Ministry of Found too and their help in getting the word out was invaluable in making it a success.

But most of all I want to say a huge thanks to everyone who took the time to read the blog and leave positive comments, all of you who came down to the Ministry of Found and visited/bid on my eBay auction. It’s been such an amazing experience and I’ve learnt so much. Plus, it’s all been in aid of some worthy causes: Centrepoint, Oxfam and the Jamie Oliver Foundation.

Keep an eye out for my next venture, whatever that may be. Thinking about it, the shed could do with a clear-out…

Going once, going twice…

13 May

It’s the final few days of my vinyl auction and I’m finding myself religiously checking the eBay page for more bids and watchers – can’t imagine what I’m going to be like in the closing seconds on Sunday evening!

Thanks to everyone who has already taken a look at my lots and especially those who have already bid. Remember, 100% of the proceeds are going to Yell’s charity partner, Centrepoint – the charity for homeless young people – so it’s all in aid of a great cause.

The most popular vinyl bundle so far includes Infidus, Illegal Rave, Speedy J and the 90s classic ‘Step On’  by the Happy Mondays. Bez was my hero back in the day!

There’s still time to pick up an absolute steal (these lots are valued at £600 each), so take a look now or you’ll kick yourself!

Bid at http://shop.ebay.co.uk/auction-for-a-cause/m.html

We’ll start the bidding at….

6 May

If you saw my post yesterday, you’ll know that I’m auctioning off the leftover vinyls from Ministry of Found on eBay, with 100% of the proceeds going to one of Yell’s Trusted Places charity partners, Centrepoint – the charity for homeless young people.

I’m thrilled to say the auction is now live! You can get bidding at http://shop.ebay.co.uk/auction-for-a-cause/m.html

There are 12 different lots up for grabs, each with over 200 vinyls (12-inch), including rare and collectable records. Each lot has been valued at a hefty £600 quid, but bids start at just £40 so you’ve got a great chance of walking away with a great deal.

The auction will end on the 15th May. Happy bidding!

And the total is…

14 Apr

I’ve been massively busy in the last week packing up Ministry of Found and sorting out all of the loose ends. But the part which has really made it all worthwhile is totalling up the amount raised from the sale of my old vinyls.

I’m so proud to say we raised a total of nearly £800, all of which I’m dividing up amongst the charities we chose to support for this event – Oxfam, Jamie Oliver Foundation and Centre Point.

So, not only did all my dusty vinyls go to some new homes (and finally make some much-needed room in the attic!), but it has also benefited worthwhile causes.

Once again, I want to thank everyone for coming down to Ministry of Found and making it such a huge success.

Ministry of Found Dance & Music Exchange

4 Apr

It all happened so fast! The Ministry of Found Dance & Music Exchange! The opening night was a wicked start to the pop-up shop – it’s been a brilliant couple of months – I have learnt so much from everyone that has helped me so massive thanks to you all (hopefully I managed to thank most of you in person by the end of ‘that’ night…) and a massive thanks to my buddies at Yell for helping to make it all possible.

The best bit was when 808 State found one of their own records missing from their collection – was a bit of a Day V Lately moment. Oh and when Utah Saints played I felt like I’d never left the 90s (thought my dry ice was a nice touch!) It was a right celeb bash, check out some of my favorite pics below:

 

But as you all know the real fun started on Friday and carried on through to Saturday. Thanks to everyone that came in and bought a record – all the money went to some great causes and the dance lessons went down a storm!

I’ll post an update on money made tomorrow – spent Sunday taking everything down, made me start thinking about my next project…

Coming together nicely

31 Mar

Yesterday was the first day I got into my Ministry of Found venue down on Brick Lane. I was putting  up a few fake walls, shelves for my vinyl, laying new floor, putting posters up, putting up my sign. It’s a bit of a work in progress, but I’m quite excited about it all now and so wanted to share a few photos of how it’s looking.

I’ve also made another video all about my plans for the Yell videos page, which I’ll post soon, so keep your eyes peeled for more updates…

All in the name of charity

30 Mar

I reckon I’ve got quite a few gems in my soon-to-be-sold record collection that I think might fetch more than a few pennies when I open for business. So, I have decided to use the proceeds from all of my sales to raise a little money for charity.

For every purchase made at the Ministry of Found Dance and Music Exchange, customers will be asked to drop a token into a fishbowl of their choice, each representing a Yell charity partner. These will be Oxfam, Jamie Oliver Foundation and Centre Point.

I don’t want to give too much away about what to expect from my record collection as I want people to come and make their own discoveries, but here’s a little taster of some rare records you can buy or exchange:

  • Global Method – Vibe Tribe EP (Orbital Good Life Remix)
  • New World Corporation 003 – Untitled
  • Rabbit in the Moon – Deeper
  • Kleptomania – Morf
  • Narc – Small Hours EP
  • Lifeline – In Control
  • The Criminal Minds – Autonomy EP

And a few more mainstream titles:

  • The Prodigy – Experience
  • Leftfield – Leftism
  • The Aphex Twin – Diheridoo
  • Underworld – Born Slippy
  • Stardust – Music Sounds Better With You
  • 808 State – Quadrastate

And that barely scratches the surface – I’ll have a good couple of thousand records in the collection.  I’ve only got limited stock of course, so hurry down before I sell out.

So even more reasons to come down to the store on Friday and Saturday!

For more information on what else is happening at the shop, see my previous post.

So, exactly what is happening down at Ministry of Found?

29 Mar

Not long to go now until I open the doors to my pop-up shop, so I wanted to let you all know in a little bit more detail exactly what is going on and when. Here’s the line-up over the two days. Not bad is it?

Friday 1st April:

11am Store opens!

11.30 Q&A session with the legendary Utah Saints

12.30 90s dance lesson with a professional choreographer (show us your big fish little fish – please book in advance)

13.30 Live DJ sessions – ask whatever you want about learning how to DJ

16.00 Q&A session with Dan Thompson (good advice about opening your own pop-up)

17.00 90s dance lesson with a professional choreographer (please book in advance)

18.00 Store closes

 

Saturday 2nd April:

11am Store opens!

11.30 90s dance lesson with a professional choreographer (please book in advance)

12.30 Q&A session with Hacienda legend Graeme Park

14.00 Q&A session with Hacienda legend Graeme Park (in case you’re late for the 12.30 session)

15.00 Q&A session with Dan Thompson (good advice about opening your own pop-up)

16.30 90s dance lesson with a professional choreographer (please book in advance)

18.00 Store closes

 

Remember, if you want to book into one of the dance classes, just email me at found@dayvlately.com with the word DANCE in the subject line.

You can also try your new dance moves by featuring in your very own music video of Pulse and Thunder, by my mate Day V Lately.  Or just grab a coffee and browse my soon-to-be sold record collection, with all proceeds going to charity.

Hope to see you there!

Win Tickets to my Ministry of Found Launch Party

25 Mar

So as mentioned earlier this week, I’m having an all-singing, all-dancing launch party for my store on Thursday 31st March, and as a thank you for anyone who may have been following my progress on here, I have a pair of tickets up for grabs!

In my opinion, these are the hottest tickets in town thanks to performances from some of my heroes, 808 State DJs and Utah Saints! There will be loads of other things happening on the night too; my mate Emma will be bringing some of her dancer friends along to show-off the 90s dance routine she’s going to be teaching at the store, and I’m going to be opening the shop for business exclusively for two hours only for guests at the party.

All you need to do is email found@dayvlately.com and put GIMME TICKETS in the subject line. No need to pay or sign up for anything. Just make sure you put a phone number and mailing address on there so I can let you know if you’ve won and send you your tickets. With timings so tight, I’ll only be able to accept entries from the UK and Northern Ireland – wouldn’t want the tickets not arriving in time! There’s going to be booze too, so you’ll have to be 18 or over and you might need photo ID if you’re lucky enough to be baby faced and wrinkle-free.

Presuming I get more than one entry, I’ll select a winner at random on Monday 28th March at 10am. I’m pretty manic at the moment so I won’t be around to check my emails after 8pm on Sunday 27thMarch, so anyone that sends an e mail after that time won’t be counted, sorry guys.

To make it fair, I can’t accept entries from anyone who works at Yell or my mates (I’ll get you an autograph from Utah Saints to make up for it!). My decision is final – I’ve always wanted to say that!

I’m afraid the prize stops at tickets – you’ll have to pay for your own travel to the event. Don’t let that stop you entering though, I promise it’ll be worth the train fair.

Hope to see you there!

Launching in Style – with Utah Saints and 808 State DJs!

23 Mar

As if I don’t have enough on my plate already, I’ve decided to hold a launch event for the store! I’ve got the venue for the whole week while I set up, so why not take advantage of it? Plus those mates of mine in PR keep banging on about how it’ll be a good opportunity to get some press down there to see what I’ve got on offer.

The party will be on Thursday night before the store opens and will hopefully result in lots of coverage the next day so I get plenty of people down to buy my records on Friday and Saturday. More importantly, the party is my way of saying thanks to everyone who has been helping me along the way. My old mate Day V Lately will be down there on the night, but much more exciting than that (sorry Day V), I have booked performances from 90s legends Utah Saints and 808 State DJs. I literally can’t wait.

As I said in one of my posts below, Utah Saints are also going to be sticking around to do a Q&A session on the Friday as well – keep your eyes peeled over the next few days for timings, plus some more announcements about the line-up over the two days in-store. It’s going to be immense!

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