Inside Bath artist's fully-stocked London chemist - where all the items are made of felt
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An artist from Bath has built a fully-stocked pharmacy filled with more than 15,000 items made entirely from felt.
Lucy Sparrow has created the Bourdon Street Chemist in London's Mayfair. The felt products fill the shelves and include painkillers, cold remedies and pregnancy tests.
Customers can even buy felt coronavirus tests, vaccines, face masks and hand sanitiser.
There are also Gillette razors, branded perfumes, Rimmel makeup, Durex condoms, cotton buds and plasters.
Sparrow, 34, originally from Bath, has spent a year making the items by hand with her team of staff. To make the experience even more realistic for customers, they can purchase the carefully made items from pharmacists dressed in white coats.
The chemist is part of Sparrow's National Felt Service (NFS), which she set up in 2017 after buying an old ambulance.
"When you come through the door of the Bourdon Street Chemist, you're immediately hit by the smell of TCP - a real medicinal smell, which is something I was really keen to capture," said the 34-year-old.
"The stock goes right up to the ceiling, it's quite oppressive when you come in because there's so many more products than probably would be in a real chemist.
"You can look around and if you would like to buy then pop it in your basket and come to the counter where you are given a felt prescription for what you need.
"I write down the medication, sign the prescription and then that is your receipt."
Sparrow's latest felt project follows several others, including a deli in New York and a newsagent in east London.
She works inside at a decommissioned ambulance station in Suffolk, that she bought in 2019 and converted into a studio and business headquarters.
The Bourdon Street Chemist, which is at the Lynsey Ingram Gallery, aims to highlight the part independent local chemists have played during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Chemists are so important," Sparrow said.
"For a while, along with food shops, they were the only shops that were allowed to open and became a real lifeline."
Sparrow carried out meticulous research before creating the products, visiting dozens of chemists to make sure the final product was realistic.
There are baby formulas, thermometers, headlice combs, toothbrushes, tissues, health information leaflets and greeting cards.
Behind the counter visitors can also find a host of prescription medications, including Prozac and Valium.
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