London - ‘Projekt Mkt’ Vintage Poster Market brings the UK’s top vintage poster dealers to Hackney for a sustainable Xmas shopping treat

The UK’s first ever vintage poster market returns as a 3-day pop-up at MKII in Clapton on 12-14th November 2021. Get ready to fall in love with this soulful and sustainable art medium. Entry is £3, Under 16s go free, four-legged friends (dogs) welcome.

For anybody with a love of mid-century pop culture, interiors, art and graphic design, this event offers a rare opportunity to shop thousands of original vintage posters under one roof.

The curated event brings together ten leading independent vintage poster dealers - each with their own distinct specialism and collection - in a quirky industrial warehouse space in East London.

The interconnecting spaces of MKII, an old dairy building, will be transformed into an art hunter’s paradise, with tables, racks and walls brimming with bold graphic prints from the twentieth century.

“Why fork out for mass produced wall art, when you could spend (less) on a rare original poster with retro charm, graphic impact and intrinsic value.”

Find iconic pop, rock and film classics alongside Soviet era Communist posters, quirky French factory health & safety posters, and the bold wry wit of the Polish School of Posters. With prices starting from £20 for a lovingly sourced vintage treasure to £2000+ for iconic and rare collector’s pieces, there will be plenty for every budget.

All posters are authentic originals, which gives them a unique character and appeal. Digital printing just can’t compete with the charming imperfection of offset lithography on beautiful matte paper, with its rich vibrant colours. Even the posters’ flaws have their own appeal for the stories they tell.

“An art print will brighten up a tired space and make a soulless rental feel like home”

Run by Annie Sparks, Chaleureuse specialises in vintage French graphics including vintage advertising posters, educational posters, ephemera and maps. She stocks a wonderful range of bright and joyfully illustrated vintage French health and safety posters, designed for use in factories.

Cool Walls is run by two buddies - Bafta award-winning TV director Adam Kaleta and Christian Stevenson (aka DJ BBQ). The pair are film, music and skate fanatics and offer a fun and accessible range of vintage posters for film, music posters and other ‘cool stuff’. If they love it, they sell it.

An utterly charming mid-century poster collector with a passion for Soviet-era posters. “Alongside the Russian posters, I have also collected Czech, Yugoslav, Hungarian, Polish, US and UK posters of the same period, but it is the posters of the post-Stalinist Khrushchev years (1953-1964) that I find most beautiful and compelling”.

Kiki started dealing in the 1970s, mostly in French art nouveau posters. After buying a vast collection of British railway posters (from the 1920s-1950s) Kiki’s focus moved to British posters including the Railway, Underground and Empire Marketing Board. She was a regular exhibitor on the US Poster Fair circuit, the Vieux Papers Fair in Paris and London fairs such as Works on Paper. She can now be found at the occasional London fair including the Ephemera Society Fair and Etc. Book & Ephemera Fairs. Kiki’s current collection spans 1900-1970s. She has a passion for acquiring entire collections and pieces when she sees them.

Embrace the swinging sixties with Nick Reed; a passionate film buff with a penchant for wonderfully psychedelic poster art from the 1960s and 1970s. His eclectic collection also includes posters covering music, festivals and fashion. "I started collecting & selling posters about 15 years ago. I trained as a graphic designer & worked as a cartoonist & illustrator back in the 1980's + 90's so the design element of the posters I have is very relevant - great graphics & typography are important & I try to make a point of name-checking of all the designers, illustrators & photographers involved. More recently I've been concentrating on 'psychedelic' posters from the late 1960's & earlier 70's so I have some great music related stuff from here & the USA".

Surprisingly none of the co-founders are called Orson, or Welles for that matter, but are actually husband and wife duo Robin and Rachel Yacoubian. Robin’s a self-confessed film nut and has been collecting movie posters for over 25 years, Rachel is as passionate about interior design. Together they strive to offer the finest film posters from the furthest reaches of the World. They showcase a finely curated, design-led collection, highlighting the most creative artwork for popular titles and rare, hard-to-find classics. Aside from selling posters from their own collection they work with collectors, property developers and interior designers to source the perfect posters for any remit and budget, be it big, bold and beautiful or classic, cool and contemporary.

Projekt 26 is run by Projekt Mkt founders Harriet and Sylwia - a British/Polish duo. This is the only UK poster store dedicated to the Polish School of Posters - a hugely influential and unique graphic design movement from the post-war period when Poland was under Communist rule. Expect highly original, bold, colourful designs, bursting with soul and meaning, by Poland’s best 20th century artists. Along with a selection of vintage Polish art, fashion and design magazines by the same artists and limited edition reprints of some of the rarest and most popular designs, printed in Poland with full authorisation from artists and their families.

Tomkinson Churcher was launched in 2016 by ex Christie’s directors Sophie Churcher and Nicolette Tomkinson. Their credentials show - this pair have an incredible eye for sourcing travel, advertising and exhibition posters with strong graphic impact. Sophie’s particular passion is for London Underground posters and Nicolette’s for skiing posters. They have a range of beautiful, rare and collectible pieces. For Projekt Mkt they have curated a selection of rare original David Hockney exhibition posters.The posters present a wonderful opportunity for Hockney fans and young collectors to have a graphic work by the artist on their wall.

Run by Karen Lansdown - Travel on Paper has been dealing in original vintage travel posters for over 20 years. Based in her studio in Camberwell, Karen has an extensive and beautifully curated range of mid-century airline, railway, coach, Olympic and sailing posters. Prices are affordable for collectors just starting out and there are also specialist pieces for those looking to add to an established collection.

A vintage poster has a timeless appeal and is a thing of joy. Vintage art is a wonderful way to add instant personality and style to a home. What’s more, if you move, your art moves with you.

“You can connect to a period, a product, a place, an artist, a style, or it can work with the color scheme of your home”

Vintage posters have the magical ability to connect with us on a personal level.

Beyond the instant impact of the graphics, there are so many other elements to relate to too. Whether that’s discovering a poster features your favourite film, actor, band or place, or that it’s by an artist you love - it’s always possible to find a vintage poster which means something extra special to you.

As vintage posters were printed in strict runs for display purposes, the originals do not survive in huge numbers. Any which remain in circulation have been lovingly rescued along the way. This means some designs are now very rare and collectible. So, not only will a vintage poster cheer your wall, it could also be a great investment.

But, as every good poster dealer will tell you, it’s always best to just follow your heart.

[Free press tickets available - just drop us a line with your details hello@projekt26.com.]

High res images available here or contact us directly if you’d like any more images, quotes or info.

Press release sent by the organisers: