FACT: Barnardo's Charity Shop.

During this project I’ve made the decision to volunteer at a charity shop. With charity shopping already being a passion of mine, I think this project will coincide perfectly as I get to record what happens behind the scenes.

The charity shop I am volunteering for is Barnardo’s every Sunday. I will store all accounts in my sketchbook, depicting the history in which the clothes came from. When people come to hand clothes in, I will not shy away from making conversation whilst asking why they are bringing the clothes here. I will record the type of people that come in; young, old, rich or poor, illustrating the variety. As well as this I will be asking the other volunteers why they’re doing this, whether they have full time jobs also or perhaps they are students like me. I also aim to ask the manager what triumphs and what struggles she’s had with the shop.

The zine will have a friendly vibe, illustrating the shop’s atmosphere. The aim is to not only create something good but to advertise, not only Barnardo’s, but charity shops as a whole. The image I have for the zine consists of a variety of people and characters I will come across during my time there, along with the range of clothes, books and other goods you acquire for cheap whilst helping a charity.

Barnardo’s is a children’s charity, helping 100,000’s each year. They focus on children from all over the UK that are going (or have gone) tough ordeals such as neglect and exploitation. “We work towards his (Barnardo) dream by reaching and helping children who have been sexually exploited, young people leaving the care system, children with a parent in prison and families struggling to cope. And we find loving adoptive homes and foster placements for children in care.” (Barnardo’s Website)

Overall I will be creating a zine illustrating how brilliant charity shops are, whilst focussing on what the money can do for Barnardo’s. Creating a zine with one half focussing on the clothes and the workers, the other half focussing on the progression of a child’s life, then the last being a poster on the other side. 

Week 1: Planning & Reference

I have a strong image in my mind of what I want to create. Caz and the other employees at the shop are lovely and I want to portray that in my zine. The characters are going to be stick men, I enjoy that style and I think it reflects the charity being for children. It's going to be simple.

Barnardo's Adverts. 

All of Barnardo's poster adverts involve photographs and factual reading. Most are obviously actors, however they evoke emotion. More so perhaps than a cartoon or animation as we can relate to a photograph. 

Week 2: Research

This week I'm focusing on research. I will be in the shop asking questions and learning about the history of Barnardo's as well as observational drawing.

Q + A with Caz the Store Manager 

Q. Why did you decide to work here?

A. To help. I've always liked [Barnardos] and the model of the charity. It's not as corporate. 

Q. What's the strangest thing someone has handed in? 

A. Pornographic books and magazines (meanwhile, a volunteer pulls out magnesium sulfate out of a bin bag) .. oh and I guess we can put Magnesium Sulfate down as well!

Q. How long have you worked here? 

A. 1 year here, but I have worked for other charities such as British Heart Foundation and Shelter.

Q. What does the charity mean to you?

A. It's all to do with the children, to give underprivileged children a better start. We want to make more profits so the charity can do more.

Q. What do you get from working here? 

A. A headache! No, I like doing good. No matter how stressful, no matter what, we're helping.

 

 

 

Week 3: Experiments

Messing around with different styles.

Photo + drawing 

 

 

Obviously this isn't child friendly!

Week 4: Dummy book

These drawings are to be digitally added into the timeline that will be at the back of the zine.

Week 5: The Final Zine