Banksy has announced he will open his first ever homewares showroom in Croydon, London.
The store is called “GrossDomesticProduct™” and has many items in the showroom window display.
According to the artist’s announcement, it sells a variety of things, including art, homewares and “disappointment.”
All of the products available are made by a small group of people using recycled material. There is limited inventory and it will not all ship immediately.
GrossDomesticProduct is the result of legal action. Banksy alleges Full Color Black, a greeting cards company, is attempting to steal his brand name and trademark by selling greeting cards featuring his street art.
Lawyers advised the artist to sell his own merchandise to avoid having other people sell items under his trademark, under EU law.
The greeting card company says that it takes photos of the public graffiti and street art and sells it to small companies and private vendors. They claim they do not fringe upon Banksy’s rights and do not use his trademark or his brand name.
Merchandise at the new showroom, which patrons will be able to register for a chance to purchase, includes a ‘diabetes riddled corpse of Tony the Tiger.’ Banksy says he feels the rug will make a great conversation piece, highlighting £7.8 million a year is spent on under teeth extractions in children in the UK.
Many items available for sale will critique major social issues, such as forced human migration, animal welfare, fast fashion, the climate crisis and a state under surveillance.
The Croydon showroom will only be display the merchandise for two weeks. The store will not actually open its doors; all sales will be via the new website (opening soon) through a lottery system.
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