So my idea for running a cafe at Mannakin will soon come to fruition!
We have some wonderful cakes and home made breads on the way and cups of tea and good strong coffee will be on the menu too!
More news soon, but will make the official announcement sooner rather than later via our newsletter – please click here to sign up!
Oh and if you use the Strava app – The Dummy Run is a timed segment that passes our gates – we intend to have a leader board in house!!
I am not a number.
In my African Art days I imported many items from different African countries.
Each product – if it was to form part of my catalogue needed a reference code.
I devised a simple way of giving the item a six figure code and I’m quite proud of that catalogue.
When it came to the mannequin collection – I kept my six figure method but couldn’t resist giving them names too. I think it’s my sense of humour!
So when you look at my website – yes they have SKU codes – but they quite rightly have names too.
It’s done well as clients giggle about it – it starts the conversation with a smile and it brings the dollies to life.
How do you catalogue your products and does it involve a sense of creativity and fun?
#productcodes #creativemind #creative #creativecoach #mannequins #brandidentity
My first blog, when I started working with the mannequins, I called the Dollywood Times. This is not because of our dear Dolly Parton, but because of the jobs they were getting on TV sets.
At one point I saw myself as their ‘agent’ and therefore my mission was to give them profiles, just like real actors.
Later, when this picture was taken, my team were doing ‘Acorn Antique’ style short films, in which we would cover an initial enquiry for mannequins and then fulfill the order. It was really good fun and they are still on my You Tube channel (mannakin.hq).
My yard now is an amazing location for shoots – described as a ‘photographers paradise’ and you can book in from as little as £10 an hour and we welcome camera clubs and schools / colleges too.
And anyone shooting a horror film – well the visual assault is very much that initial ‘wrong turn’ that is taken in such films, at night, in the rain, looking for a phone to use.
With the biggest feedback so far being ‘I don’t know when to stop taking photos’ from many visiting photographers, I personally guarantee that you would not leave disappointed.
#filmlocation #locationhire #mannequins #mannequinhire #photographers #artphotography #amateurphotography #creative
I’m known in the industry as the ‘Mannequin Lady’ in Lincolnshire who will rehome large quantities of mannequins. I’ve made this my mission over the last twelve years as the materials they are made of cannot be recycled and they do not decompose. We are known for renovation of existing stock and the sustainable and ethical ‘disposal’ of mannequins. Over the years I have kept over 20,000 out of landfill and out of the incinerator.
We ‘recycle’ them by renovating and putting back on your shop floor, or in the case of what we like to call ‘last years darlings’ by adding them to our hire catalogue or sell parts on to artists for upcycling into over 101 different uses. We currently have 25 on long term loan in an Ethnology museum in Switzerland. So it is possible that they can go on to lead very interesting lives and get good gigs too.
In the case of really damaged bits, we pass these on at Halloween, for garden decorations and as daft as it may sound – this is true recycling as the bits come out of peoples sheds year after year.
We are working as committed sustainable partners with several high street names, accepting new, used and damaged mannequins. We have signed up and in all cases have agreed upon confidentiality where requested.
So what to do now? It really is as easy as having a chat and booking your truck into our yard with Roz on 07757513584.
Further reading ::-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-nottinghamshire-48138682/dollywood-mannequin-recycling-tackles-throwaway-society
Last night I did an impromptu live broadcast on my Facebook page (Mannakin). Basically I called it ‘Live with wine and paintbrushes’.
The purpose? To eliminate my fears about my own self doubts in front of the camera but also to ask any viewers a question.
I already know from doing the escape game beta testing on Facebook that the lag is appalling and things you say are actually broadcast 30 odd seconds later. It’s like going back to dial up internet!
Anyway, the question I asked was – if you could spend an hour with me, learning something – what would that be?
The question that came up was ‘How do you live so fearlessly?’
In answer I don’t think I do, so it was a great experience to know how I come across. I’m a great advocate of ‘Just Do It’ and this certainly has been keeping me going all these years.
I’m going to do it again next week on Facebook as the chat and banter, enjoying a glass of wine whilst painting an old discarded mannequin was really good fun.
#justdoit #creative #facebooklive #livebroadcast #reinvention
I want to tell you about something about creative me. I can’t follow the crowd. I’m not even interested in being like others.
Whatever I have done in my life I have done it differently.
I’ve done all sorts of things in my career, from Estate Agency, to Horse Riding Instructor, Company Accountant and Marketing Ace for a major truck brand, not forgetting my years in retailing African Art.
Now I find myself living this incredible life with a yard full of dollies. I look at the mountain of piled up mannequins and it amuses me. To others it might look like a pile of old tosh, but to me…
Richard Wakefield is a photographer based in Oxford. He came along to Mannakin Mountain with model Amy on a cloudy day and did his thing. When he said he’d send some shots over for me to use and having known how that day was weather wise – I was totally amazed with the results.
This makes me smile – I love seeing the astounding visuals that come out of, what I remember as, a very cloudy day.
Every cloud has a silver lining. Wishing you all a great day ahead.
#photography #photographers #visual #mannequingraveyard
