If you have not watched one of the videos I posted here, please check them out so you have a better idea of what I am discussing in detail here.
For those who are not familiar with Harry Potter or Flourish & Blotts, here is some quick background:
"They bought Harry’s school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all." — Description of Flourish and Blotts
When I first decided to turn Sam's Study into F&B, I thought I would just make a few HP-specific books and change the colors. However, once I got started, I became more and more committed to the details, which were not easy to find! Because F&B is not a main part of the books or movies, there is very little on the Internet about it. As a result, I had to put to use the few photos I was able to locate.
I used these as the main references for the exterior:
Here is a comparison of my work in progress:
and some shots of the final exterior:
I spent a lot of time working on the window display, which is based on the second HP book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, when:
"In August of 1992, famous wizard author Gilderoy Lockhart held a book signing at the shop and used it as an opportunity to announce his taking of the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that year. In an effort to gain more publicity, he dragged Harry Potter into the spotlight against his will and gifted Harry a complete set of his books."
I created books by Lockhart and then built the window display:
the inside of the window:
For the interior, I only had a few photos and the following description:
"Flourish and Blotts was filled to the brim with books. Shelves upon shelves lined the walls, from ceiling to floor. The books were of all sizes and different varieties. In fact, there were so many books that various signs were posted throughout the shop, as a means of helping customers find what they needed. The front windows usually contained displays of gold-embossed spellbooks the size of paving slabs."
here are comparison photos:
One fun addition that I made was to include the Monster Book of Monsters - and have it locked up with chains!
"The Monster Book of Monsters ... tore itself apart and bit the manager when he tried to get a copy off the shelf." Book 3: Prisoner of Azkaban
"Harry got a surprise as he looked in at the bookshop window. Instead of the usual display of gold-embossed spellbooks the size of paving slabs, there was a large iron cage behind the glass that held about a hundred copies of The Monster Book of Monsters. Torn pages were flying everywhere as the books grappled with each other, locked together in furious wrestling matches and snapping aggressively." Copies of The Monster Book of Monsters fighting each other in Flourish and Blotts
And I loved this photo that I found online:
This is what I created to capture all of the above:
I used an old necklace to create the chains (and also for the hanging signs throughout the final build).
Finally, here are some photos of the completed interior:
Don't forget to check out the videos of this build here!
Thanks for reading!
Comments