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The Retro from Scratch Blog
June 2025
Brentwood Art Trail 2025: From Skip Finds to Magical Creations
I’m so excited to be part of this year’s Brentwood Art Trail, running throughout June 2025. This vibrant celebration of local creativity showcases work from talented artists across the borough — and I’m thrilled to be one of them!
The Art Trail features 80 artists and the art work is displayed in various businesses and locations in Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone. Pick up a map in any of the venues with the Brentwood Art Trail sticker in the window!
For this year’s trail, I’ve created three unique pieces of book art, all made from a rescued Harry Potter book I found in a skip. (Yes, really!) As well as turning this book into a notebook I have been able to create numerous pieces of art from one book, and hope that I encourage others to look at waste materials in a different light and get creative with them too!
The Whomping Willow Collage
This piece is layered with hand-cut paper and full of movement and mystery. The frame? Also rescued — found abandoned on the side of the road during a dog walk.
Iris Paper Folding
I used iris folding techniques to create a silhouette of the Hogwarts castle — a paper-folding method that builds intricate designs from scraps. I'll be teaching you this technique to make a colourful butterfly on my craft workshop at 7 Crown Street, in Brentwood on July 6.
Quilled Floral Heart
I originally tried quilling as a little girl when my nan bought me a quilling kit - full of beautiful coloured papers. Book paper is quite different but very effective - and I'll be teaching you how to make this smaller piece at my craft workshop on June 22 at 7 Crown Street, just off Brentwood High Street. Tap the image below for more details.
You can see all three pieces in person during the Brentwood Art Trail, on display at the wonderful Nest Creperie on Brentwood High Street - be sure to pop in and grab a coffee or a crepe until June 29.
Throughout the Brentwood Art Trail, I’m also running a series of craft workshops in Brentwood, where you can learn how to transform recycled books into beautiful creations of your own. Whether you’re a complete beginner or a seasoned crafter, these sessions are all about creativity, community, and sustainability.
To book just tap the image below.
And some free workshops... tap the image to book!
Want to say hello in person? I’ll be at the Brentwood Pop-Up Gallery in the Baytree Shopping Centre on:
Monday, June 24 and Thursday, June 27
I’ll have a selection of my handmade recycled notebooks available to browse and buy — perfect gifts for stationery lovers, journallers, or anyone who wants something a little different.
I can't wait to see you!
Becky