London department store Selfridges has opened The Joke Shop, a "shoppable comedy store" that sells products including sneezing powder and has windows filled with whoopee cushions and slipping bananas.
Located in the corner store space on Selfridges' ground-floor level, The Joke Shop pop-up store was designed by the retailer's in-house team.
The shop sells a mix of playful toys and fashion items
"The Selfridges creative team travelled the country visiting local joke shops and found institutions that were rich in inspiration and personality," Weir told Dezeen.
"We used more found and vintage pieces than we might usually in the space and as a result, a customer asked me 'what did you use for the smell"'" she added. "The impression of a genuine joke shop was so strong that customers felt we had scented the space, which we hadn't." Artist Mel Brimfield created Slapstick Generators for the store
The Joke Shop also features the Slapstick Generator, an artwork by artist Mel Brimfield that appears ready to drop buckets of paints and anvils on visitors to the store.
A second Slapstick Generator outside the store threatens to release a boulder on the person at the Selfridges Concierge desk outside The Joke Shop, while a third sits in one of its windows.
One appears ready to drop a boulder
"I love the sheer scale of it, the detail of each mechanism and the sense of movement," Weir said of the Slapstick Generator.
A fake door, which...