Collecting Coat of many pockets will bring fun to learning at The Box

Learning staff from The Box have joined forces with second-year BA (Hons) Costume Production & Associated Crafts students from Plymouth College of Art and local theatre company Stiltskin to create a unique outfit that will inspire and engage its audiences.

The eye-catching ‘Collecting Coat’ will be used to showcase the city’s collections with replica and original objects in its many pockets for early learners, families and adults to handle and get up close to.

Charlotte Gunn, The Box’s Learning Development Officer for families, worked on the design and production of the coat with Jacqueline Slade from Stiltskin Theatre Arts and students Tabitha Carter, Carol Climo-Crisp, Kay Isaac, Emily Furley, Jesse Welland-Hammond, Charlotte Tarrant and Pip Housam.

It’s inspired by the popular Quentin Blake book ‘Angelica Sprocket’s Pockets’, in which the central character has an overcoat of never-ending pockets filled with surprise objects.

The coat features motifs based on teapots from the city’s ceramic collections and sea creatures from the natural history collections, as well as a brightly coloured skirt inspired by an item of Chinese costume from the world cultures collections.

Now it’s been completed it will be used at a number of The Box’s events and learning sessions. Volunteers will also be trained up to use it.

Nicola Moyle, Head of Art, Heritage and Film said: “Collaborating with the BA (Hons) Costume Production students and Stiltskin has been a really creative and enjoyable process and we’re thrilled with the finished results. The ‘Collecting Coat’ brings our collections alive in a fun and unique way. It will enrich peoples’ experience of learning with us and hopefully encourage them to experiment with performance and storytelling too.”

Marie Dunaway, BA (Hons) Costume Production & Associated Crafts Programme Leader at Plymouth College of Art, said: “This is a project that will have a positive impact on local communities and the opportunity for students to hone their skills and practical experience, by working on a live brief with such an experienced costume designer, was invaluable.”

To find out more about The Box, its family events and learning activities visit www.theboxplymouth.com