New Edinburgh Harry Potter-inspired shop House of MinaLima opened by the graphic design team behind the films
A new Harry Potter-inspired shop has opened in Edinburgh, run by the graphic designers behind the smash-hit movies.
Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima started working together in 2001 to imagine and create the graphic universe of the Harry Potter film series for Warner Brothers films. Sharing a common artistic vision, they crafted the entire graphic style of all the Harry Potter movies.
Their latest design adventure is House of MinaLima, a gallery and store showcasing their entire treasury of graphic works. The gallery offers a narrative environment for the graphic designs of the Harry Potter franchise, as well as MinaLima’s other artwork and publications.
Having already opened shops in London, New York, Japan and South Korea, House of MinaLima Edinburgh opened at Cockburn Street last month, with the magical pair delighted with the response to their new shop in the city centre so far.
Speaking to the Evening News, Miraphora said: “We are excited to now be open in Edinburgh. It’s well suited to what we do, obviously due to the Harry Potter connection the city has. We want to go where there are great visitors and there are plenty of visitors there, people who love stories and story-telling.
“The architecture of that street, and indeed the city, sits very well with our aesthetic. It’s like our shop has been there all along, but you just didn’t notice it.
“Opening up happened quite quickly, and it has been going really well. With this time of year, and being up the road from the Christmas Market, everyone is in the right mind and in the Christmas spirit.
“We want to share a bit of the MinaLima magic. We always put the experience of visiting our shop first, in terms of visually and through our storytelling, you step straight into the MinaLima world.
“The shop in Edinburgh is divided into two, so very much sharing our works and products related to it. They are all stories that are children focused but adults love them too. It’s just good storytelling, which should reach everyone of all ages.”
Miraphora feels that this new shop offers something Harry Potter fans can’t get at any other shops linked to the young wizard.
She said: “In terms of the Harry Potter work, we were graphic designers on all the films, so our products are exact replicas. Therefore, for Harry Potter fans there is nothing that comes as close in terms of authenticity.
“We are the people that designed how the films looked and we have made these products based on that work. So we feel we offer the fans something very special which celebrates those films that people are so passionate about.”
Motivated by their flourishing collaboration for the Harry Potter franchise, in 2009 Miraphora and Eduardo formed their own design studio with the objective of creating distinctive and unconventional design and illustration for the entertainment and publishing industries, called Studio MinaLima.
Since finishing on the films, Mira and Eduardo have continued their involvement in the Harry Potter franchise with numerous design commissions for the Wizarding World. The studio spent two years designing all the graphic elements for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley at the Universal Orlando Resort, as well as creating award-winning publications and marketing materials for the franchise.
Eduardo also revealed that the magical pair hope to return to the Cockburn Street shop for more meet and greet events following successful meetings with customers during the Edinburgh store’s opening weekend on November 23 and 24.
He said: “The shop is a virtualisation of our craft of storytelling, everything should make you feel enchanted when you step in across the threshold.
“We will be doing more meets and greets in the future at our Edinburgh shops. We love doing those types of events. This is not a faceless company at all, we like to get out and meet our customers.”
In 2015, MinaLima entered a new chapter of imagining for the wizarding world, designing the graphic props for the film series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The studio has also created graphic props for films such as Sweeney Todd, The Golden Compass and The Imitation Game. They also conceived and illustrated the bestselling MinaLima Classics series for Harper Collins.
House of MinaLima Edinburgh at 42-44 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh, is open from 10am - 6pm daily.