Before the Stella Cinema has it's amazing facelift, it had this beautiful, stuck in the past facade. The old Stella Cinema was built in 1923 and was a cinema your nanny and granda would remember going to in their youth. It has large letters, a stand out front for the cinema titles, like you would see in an american theatre, and would once light up.

It has now been revamped to this blast from the past 1920's style theatre, inside and out.

I decided to do a piece of the old Stella cinema before it got its facelift as an homage to the past and to keep the old building alive. And then when the new one opened decided that it would be nice to create that too as a comparison but also because it’s so beautiful, magical and it creates this experience that you’ll remember forever.

We went to the new Stella Theatre to see Star Wars and it did not disappoint (both the movie and the theatre). The entrance was beautifully tiled with an ‘S’ right in the middle of the main hallway floor, which lead onto the 1920’s style bar. A real popcorn machine caught my eye which is amazing to see, rather than the premade bags of popcorn they load in, in other cinemas.

The other amazing part is that you can order hot food and they’ll bring it down to you as you’re watching the film (unreal) and amazing alcoholic drinks. When we got to our seats, we had an armchair each with a table in the middle, and a footstool for your feet!!

The whole experience is one to remember and I couldn’t help being reminded of the scene in ‘Annie’ when she’s whisked to the cinema and shown to her seat. It was one of those magical moments.

The new Stella Theatre

Jess :)

I was asked to have a table at this years Hunt & Gather 'The Love Shack' at Dublin Pride in Merrion Square. I was so excited and a little nervous as it was going to be my first festival/event where I would be selling my prints. I wanted my table to stand out on the day while also looking pinteresty and cute. I was thinking fairy lights, glitter signs, and vintagey boxes. I made a lettering banner for the table saying "Treat Yo Self" using silvery starry card I had from the Art and Hobby shop and attached them with pink darning thread from Hickeys.

As this was my first event I had a lot of little things I needed to pick up such as frames to display some prints in, paper bags so people didn't have to carry their prints home, cards to go with each print incase they wanted to buy more online later, getting the actual prints ready, and so much more. I wanted my table to stand out but I also wanted it to look fun! I got most of my supplies in Evans Art Supplies such as the cellophane sleeves, backing paper, paper bags, etc. as they always have a good supply, it's cheap enough and so handy as it's in Dublin city centre. I also got my prints printed in Aungier Print as i've been going there for years now and it's always a great service and you always get such a high quality print.

I really liked how my table turned out in the end. It was very windy on the day so I had to improves with some rocks nearby, which turned out okay, though it wasn't the prettiest. (I'm going to create pretty weight for the next time.)

The entertainment that was on in 'The Love Shack' for the day was great, such as Morning Gloryville rave/pillow fights, Pettycash poetry readings (so moving!) and lots of amazing musical performances! It was a great day and amazing to see everyone enjoying themselves!

I also wanted to say a huge thank you to the ladies at Hunt & Gather for giving me the opportunity and experience to sell my prints somewhere and get a feel for setting up a table. It was great being able to see people's reactions to my work first hand.

Looking forward to selling my stuff at the next market/festival thang.
Jess x

The Stella Theatre: Past & Present

Dublin Pride - My first stall