Tag Archives: Mixmag

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…

Somewhere to sit

21 Mar

Only 11 days to go until I open the doors of Ministry of Found. Which means it’s only seven days until I can get into the shop and start doing it up! So I’d better start shopping… I’ve been so preoccupied sifting through Mixmag’s archive of 90s posters and flyers and hanging out at car boot sales searching for 90s bits and bobs to decorate the shop with, I’ve managed to fall behind in sourcing furniture and shop fittings. Whoops.

At least I know what sort of look I’m going for and I have an idea of where to get it all from. I don’t have a bottomless pot of cash, so plan on getting all the furniture from a mix of borrowing from friends, using some of my own stuff from home, hiring from prop houses and finding a few second hand bargains. Also, a prop hire company that has been recommended to me is Hip Props, who specialise in modern furniture. I’m waiting for some quotes to come through, but all being well, I’m hoping to furnish my shop with some of the pieces pictured below:

Ministry of Found Dance & Music Exchange is coming!

11 Mar

Wow. It’s all go. So I’ve sorted the location, I’ve got the holy grail of dance music, Mixmag, on board and now it’s out there in the public domain – Ministry of Found Dance & Music Exchange is coming to you!

Pretty mad to see it all come together and announced on the Yell Facebook page. There’s no backing out now. We’ll be open for business on 1st & 2nd April, 11am- 6pm at Dray Walk in Brick Lane, London, with a pretty impressive list of stuff going on both days (even if I do say so myself).

There’s going to be rave dancing lessons with Mixmag and a choreographer (TBC) where you can learn or ‘refresh on’ some of those legendary 90s dance moves such as ‘Little Fish, Big Fish’, ‘Heavy Shopping’.  I might have a go myself, although not sure anyone needs to see that…

The rare vinyl exchange is finally going to make some space in my attic. If you come along to the store you’ll be able to rifle through my old records and potentially dig out some rare finds.  Or you can exchange some of your own collection for another record which catches your eye (of the same value, of course! We’ve got some top notch vinyl experts on board who’ll be on hand for advice on how much they’re worth). All proceeds will go to charity, but I’m still trying to decide which.

But the icing on the cake and what I’m most excited about is managing to wrangle a visit to the store from my absolute idols, Utah Saints! They guys will be down on the Friday for a Q&A session – I’m going to have to restrain myself for this one, I am probably their biggest fan. Make sure you get down to the store sharpish if you want to see them, there’s only so much room within the shop and if everyone is as keen as me, the place will soon fill up!

Still finalising some more details and speaking to some more DJs. Watch this space for updates. In the meantime, you can find out how to book your free rave dancing lesson at www.facebook.com/yell or email found@davylately.com with DANCE in the subject line. Get in there quick as spaces are limited.

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