I hadn’t really considered visiting Vienna before this year, when I saw a picture on Instagram of the National Library at the State Hall and thought, yep, that’s the place for me. That library looks like it was taken straight out of Beauty & the Beast, and I need to go there.
At our monthly Harry Potter Discussion Group, we always come up with loads of brilliant theories and discussions centred around a particular theme in Harry Potter. I wanted to start to use some of this for my blog posts, because it’s always super interesting and I rarely share them!
Muggle Musings started in February of this year, and since then there have been so many brilliant insights and anecdotes I never would have thought of myself. I’ve already done a little highlights post about some of our more outrageous claims but I wanted to be more focused and show just how deep we delve into the books themselves!
26th June marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone! This is Part 2 of my two-part series of Harry Potter party inspiration from my birthday party! Below is all my Harry Potter Party food; to find out what I did for my invitations and decor click here! For more… read below!
I had a lot of ideas for Harry Potter party food and wanted to make sure that people knew what they were called! As with all aspects of my themed parties, everything was going to be a reference: from the food to the wall decor, the drinks to the games. First off I got some mini-metal keys, black ribbon and printed out some labels onto parchment style paper…
For most of my twenties, I’ve been hosting themed parties (Disney, Video Game Characters etc…) and so this year for my birthday I hosted a Harry Potter themed party!
Harry Potter is one of my favourite things ever and next week is the 20th anniversary of the publication of the first book! So in conjunction with this and my birthday party, I thought I’d do two posts about my Harry Potter Party Inspiration! Part one below is my Harry Potter Party Decorations and Invitations, followed by part 2 next week (June 24th) for food/drinks and games!
This weekend I visited the House of Mina Lima Exhibition in Soho. I went with a group of friends / fans of the books. I decided not to go too over the top and wear a costume or anything so I just went for a witchy dress, my Ravenclaw hoody and Head Girl badge… So not that much at all…
For those not familiar, Mina Lima is the graphic arts company responsible for the graphics within the Wizarding World. So that’s the book covers, the potion bottles, the icon signage… all the little details that helped to make the Harry Potter movies a true reflection of the world created by JK Rowling.
You, like me, may not realise the amount that these affect the overall tone of the movies and realise just how many graphics there were! The Harry Potter saga is full of amazing props over the course of the 8 films. The Mina Lima Exhibition filled two floors and with the release of the Fantastic Beasts movie, I also got to experience an entire 3rd floor of related print artwork.
The place looked as if the whole thing had been created separately and then mortared together. There were creaky floorboards, slanted stairs and ceilings; the whole thing was reminiscent of a creaky abandoned house, filled with iconic imagery and props.
The Daily Prophet. Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. HoneyDukes Sweets.
Hogwarts Acceptance Letters. Ministry Propaganda Posters.
Howlers. House Crests. The Quibbler! All these magical quirks that make Harry Potter completely different from all the other fandoms and have brought the world to life were inside.
Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima (whose names sound like they’re straight out of a Hogwarts alumni directory!) have been honoured as eponymous characters in the Harry Potter World.
And that’s for good reason! Their attention to detail is astonishing and although I wouldn’t consider myself a graphic arts enthusiast I can definitely appreciate the amount of effort that goes into creating things like this.
The shop was absolutely wonderful. In the end, I just had to buy some badges and postcards. Later, I regretted not buying myself a print so I splashed out on a Ravenclaw one.
It was wonderful to be encapsulated by this world that I’ve grown up in once more.
Have you ever visited the Mina Lima Exhibition? What makes the Harry Potter movies magical for you?
Until next time
Amy