Painter Sophie Tea creates original artwork for Margate Charity Shop

The artist transformed an antique shire horse ornament as part of the ‘Charity Shop Friday’ project



Renowned British painter Sophie Tea is on a mission to raise the profile of local charity shops nationwide, wielding her paintbrush with purpose.

On Friday (24/01/25), Sophie visited Pilgrims Hospice and met the amazing team headed up by store manager Lil, in Margate, transforming an antique shire horse ornament.

Throughout the day, she dropped clues on her social media channels, leading to an eager crowd of buyers ready to snap up an original Sophie Tea at a fraction of the price.

Sophie has also visited Bristol, Worcester, London, Hertfordshire, Solihull, Exeter, Stroud and even Whistler, Canada - to name a few - over the past 25 weeks, transforming everything from a monopoly board, skis & antique clock, to a luxury dolls house, into a masterpiece.

Sophie is well underway with her new series, Charity Shop Friday - which has amassed over a million followers and over 150 million views - where she visits charity shops across the country, buys an item, paints it that day, and returns it for the same price. On the day, she drops breadcrumbs hinting at her location and fans scramble to discover her whereabouts in hopes of owning a Sophie Tea original.

Sophie's artwork has previously sold for up to £25,000, and in April this year, her show "Send Nudes Live" sold out at The London Palladium. Her following has grown to over a million people, captivated by Charity Shop Friday. Sophie aims to raise awareness about the importance of shopping locally and supporting second-hand stores through her series.

On Friday, she bagged a beautiful ceramic shire horse and after spending the day giving the horse the Sophie Tea touch, she returned to raffle it off to one lucky winner! Upon returning, the team were overjoyed with the extra traffic as around 45 people gathered to meet Sophie and try their luck at winning themselves this bespoke piece! Sophie also hung around to draw on over 60 items people had bought in store, contributing even more to a very successful day for the team.

Followers can submit their locations on Sophie's website, www.sophieteaart.com, for a chance to receive a visit from Sophie soon! Social media: @sophieteaart


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