Own a piece of Hollywood!

I came across an exciting find while exploring the Portland Saturday Market recently: bags and accessories made from prints of 35 mm Hollywood films! The distributors are obliged to destroy the film after the movie has finished its run so Julie Lewis, founder of Deja Bags had the amazingly simple idea of asking for the films, which she cuts into strips (and thereby abides by copyright laws) and converts into unique and practical collector’s items. Lewis uses films made in the late 1980’s and onwards as they are polyester, which is more durable than the earlier acetate or celluloid film. The bags and accessories are sewn together by a women’s fair-wage cooperative in the Philippines. 


Each piece is a mix of different Hollywood movies, though some of the handbags are made exclusively from one popular feature film,such as Twilight or Slumdog Millionaire. Accessories include large tote bags, purses, clutches, belts, ties and lampshades.



Not being into accessories I chose a lampshade; the perfect way to view the film frames on a daily basis! There are 24 film frames per second in a standard feature film, so not every strip has a recognisable shot from a movie so I studied a few before choosing one that seems to be made entirely from the Nicolas Cage movie Ghost Rider – though frankly just owning any authentic Hollywood film reel is pretty thrilling, whether you can recognize a scene or not!



I don't have a lamp yet - a trip to Ikea is required, but I think you get can get the idea...    
    


The Black Hawk helicopters land in the football stadium to the dramatic music of The Ride of the Valkyries.

So - for family and friends who are reading this - my favourite Hollywood movies from the late 80's onwards are are Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Dead Poet's Society, Beetlejuice, Steel Magnolias, the Back to the Future movies, Rainman....oh dear - there are so many!  But there's only a limited supply - Julie estimates that there are  just two or three year's worth of stock left. One day soon there will only be digital movies - and unique collectibles commemorating the final years of  35mm film. 


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