The Original Vintage and Handmade Fair....and a small moan!

This Sunday is the much anticipated 'Vintage and Handmade Fair' http://http//www.vintageandhandmade.co.uk/ in Chipping Sodbury from 10am. It is always a wonderful fair and the organisers Michele and Jayne really pull out all the stops. This time the fair is larger with even more stalls selling things to easily tempt the pennies from your purses! so even if the weather is cold and blustery you can be sure of hot tea, yummy cakes and original, beautiful christmas presents. I personally owe an awful lot to the organisers of this fair. It all started when I found a postcard advertising the first V and H and went along to see what was on offer. While there I met the lovely Nicky http://http//thevintagemagpie.typepad.com/ and got chatting about the world of blogging (something I had never heard of before!) and went home inspired to start my own and hoping that I may be able to have a stall at the next fair with my millinery. Without the V and H I wouldn't have started my blog, wouldn't be part of the V and H fairs and most likely wouldn't have got together with Liz and organised 'The Vintage Bazaar' so I am hugely grateful to those lovely ladies! It is because of this that I feel very strongly when other individuals take the fair name they developed. Liz and I had an arduous task coming up with a name that would create the right feel for our 'Bazaar' and were very aware about copying ones which were already out there. It is such a shame therefore that others feel less creative about their naming skills, especially as we all seem to be a rather nice bunch of people, well most of us!..........moan over!

Hope to see you all at 'The Original Vintage and Handmade Fair'......snow or no snow!

The Vintage Bazaar!

Well today started early (5.00am to be precise!) and off we went to Frome packed up with hats, corsages, jewellery, fascinators etc etc...We arrived and unpacked, ready to start the day. There were so many wonderful stalls selling exquisite vintage delights that it was difficult to focus on setting up and before we knew it it was 9am and the customers started coming in. We had the lovely Jack and Mr Darling on the front desk and Edwin http://http//www.blindlemonvintage.co.uk kindly helped too, looking very dapper indeed! We were kept busy all day and we had over 1000 visitors....apparently we blocked the roads through Frome several times during the day as people tried to park..sorry Frome! There was a great atmosphere all day and we even had some famous faces turn up too. Despite one of our two makeover ladies being ill my eldest and her friend still managed to have a 40's makeover, victory rolls and lipstick!

Thank you so much to everyone who turned up, stallholders and customers for making the day such a great success...here's to the next one!

Nearly There Now......

Firstly apologies for being a rubbish blogger over the past month or so...it's all The Vintage Bazaar's fault http://thevintagebazaar.blogspot.com/. I've been really pleased with the response from the press both locally and nationally so its had a really good plug! Its very nearly time for the event itself and to say I'm a bit excited about it is an understatement...and nervous! I thought I would give you a little taster of some of the things that will be coming with me. As well as my deco hats there are also some new smaller editions coming, and some recycled jewellery pieces as well. I look forward to seeing you all there...do pop and say hello to me..I'll be the one looking flustered but happy!!

A Week of Changes

This week my little one started at nursery. It's difficult to believe that she is already three and ready for such a big step but I think I was more nervous than she was! She had fallen over the previous day so had a horrid scab under her nose but she was very brave at A+E while they checked it wasn't broken. When she turned up at nursery she did look a bit like a little street urchin ( or 'back street diddler' as my mum would say!). So after I dropped her off I went for a very quiet coffee, no one asking for the froth from the cappuccino or asking for a toasted teacake..it was all quite perculiar!

Another change this week is that I am now supplying a wonderful vintage shop in Tetbury called 'Qetty Bang Bang'. I had spoken with the owner Kerry several times and knew it would be a lovely place but nothing quite prepared me for the real shop! This has to be the most beautiful and stylish shop I have been in ( and thats saying alot as I've been in plenty!!) The interior and the way items are displayed is so clever. I did take a few photos but they're not wonderful and Kerry has promised she will send me some more but if you are ever passing Tetbury (or even if you're not!) it really is worth a visit.

Have a great week.

Busy, Busy Bumblebee...

Like the title says I have been madly busy over the past few weeks not 'just' doing the mum thing with two very energetic children but also being a manic PR lady for 'The Vintage Bazaar'. I cannot count ( well I can ..probably) the number of emails I've sent, phonecalls I've made ( using my posh phone voice obviously!) and letters I've sent to various publications in order to try and get the event some coverage, but it was all worthwhile! So far we have Sewhip, Homes and Gardens, Livingetc, BBC Homes and Antiques, Bath Life, The Bath Magazine, Bath Chronicle, Country Living online, Frome Times, Fosseway, Period Living online, Somerset Life, Frome Life ( a new magazine) and vintage fairs listings online to name just a few and I am still chasing up some others as well! BBC Homes and Antiques have also requested to have a stand at the bazaar itself so thats doubly exciting. Liz and I have been handing out postcards willy nilly to individuals and the larger posters will be going up this weekend. The image I've used for the poster is at the top of this post. I felt it gave the right vintage christmas vibe so I hope you all like it? If you would like me to send you any cards to do some advertising yourselves please let me know. Have a great rest of the holidays and remember to keep Sat. 30th October free on your calendar!

You can never have enough chairs!

Last week we visited Shepton Mallet and made a visit to Niki's shop http://http//nostalgiaatthestonehouse.blogspot.com/ouse.blogspot.com/ As you can imagine there were lots of beautiful things to look at so for those of you who live too far away I'm including a small taster here. If you live near but have never been you really should make the effort to go.....it won't be a wasted trip! While we were there we saw the market square getting ready for the filming of the 1940's episode of a new series set to air in the autumn which charts the changes to everyday life through the decades. theres more info on it on Niki's blog and some super photos too. While we were there I just happened to mention (as you do!)to Mr Darling that it was our wedding anniversary in the next few days and wasn't that a lovely chair in Niki's shop! Well after chatting for a few moments about how we really don't need any more chairs and gestapo style questioning about where would we put it... you guessed it...it came home with us! Thank you Mr Darling!

Looking Forward to The Vintage Bazaar?

I thought it would be good to show you all the lovely place where Liz and I are holding The Vintage Bazaar ( http://www.thevintagebazaar.blogspot.com/) in October. As well as all the wonderful stalls which will be there and the 40's beauty parlour ( for those of us who need a bit of glamour...!) Frome itself has some truly beautiful shops. Catherine hill, which is about a 2 min walk from the Bazaar itself is a steep cobbled street housing vintage shops like 'Poot' and 'Make and Mend', clothing boutiques such as 'Deadlier than the Male' and 'Boho', the fab wool shop 'Marmalade Yarns' and the fabricholics dream which is 'Millie Moon' as well as many other unique antique shops, jewellers and cafes. So, when you have finished at The Bazaar if you have any money left (!) its the place to go.......just look at the pictures and try to resist its lure!

Necessary Purchases and a Brush with Royalty!

Well I couldn't go to the Vintage and Handmade Textiles Fair without making a couple of purchases but I was very restrained..honestly I could have happily remortgaged the house and really we could have lived on beans on toast for a while! Firstly was a beautiful embroidered picture from Helen Roskill, this is so clever, she has used a black and white illustration from an old childrens book and then embellished it with clever embroidery, the picture doesn't do it justice. Her stall was on my last post and she had some truly beautiful things but she doesn't have a blog so if you want to see more come to our Vintage Bazaar in Frome on October 30th http://thevintagebazaar.blogspot.com/as she has a stall there! Secondly is a corsage using some Liberty fabric from the talented Woo http://www.thedevilmakeswork.co.uk/and lastly was a patchwork cushion from Hen http://henhousehomemade.blogspot.com/.....and I was so inspired by Hen's work that I bought some vintage 40's fabrics from Sal http://salssnippetsshop.blogspot.com/and Donna http://www.donnaflower.com/to create my own less accomplished version!

Over the last couple of weeks my millinery has been getting about a bit (but only to the best places you understand!) this lovely lady sent me a picture of her wearing hers in her husbands E type jag, another pictured here went to the Queens garden party and another visited Ascot! Its so lovely to get pictures from clients, it makes all the sore eyes and stabbed fingers worthwhile!!

The Vintage and Handmade Textiles Day

Firstly, apologies for neglecting my blog of late but it is officially 'mad' time at work so my blog has been relegated to the bottom of my 'to do' list! Today was the first (of many I am sure!) Vintage and Handmade Textiles Day in Chipping Sodbury. This is the brainchild of the lovely Michele and Jayne (http://http//countrycottagechic2.blogspot.com/and http://http//infocowboysandcustard.blogspot.com/) and it was a wonderful day. I went along today as a customer rather than a stallholder which was lovely as I could chat to everyone and make a real day of it. There were some beautiful stalls, some I recognised from the original fair like my partner in crime Liz http://thewasherwoman.blogspot.com/, Donna http://http//www.donnaflower.com/ Hen http://http//henhousehomemade.blogspot.com/ and Viv http://http://hensteethart.blogspot.com/. but there were also an array of stallholders I hadn't met before so it was great to meet other talented ladies, especially the wonderful Woo http://http//www.thedevilmakeswork.co.uk/ who makes the best bunnies you've ever seen. We enjoyed some delicious cakes in the sunshine made by Hen and managed to spot a meeting of the ' Vintage and Handmade Widower Support Group' as well! Needless to say a few 'necessary' purchases were made....but more of that another time. for those of you who couldn't make it I'll leave you with some pics...have a great weekend.

Lindy Hop Bopping

This Sunday it was the Lindy Hop Bop and Vintage Fair in Bath. Although we had a good day it was very low on people and customers seemed to be mainly people coming back from buying a pint of milk at sainsburys next door...not really people out to buy vintage! nevermind though as I had Jayne (http://http//countrycottagechic2.blogspot.com/) and Michele (http://http://infocowboysandcustard.blogspot.com/) right next door and I met the lovely Rebecca (http://http//purplesparklecrafts.blogspot.com/ too so all in all it was a positive day. All three ladies had some fabulous things for sale and Jayne's daughter had some beautiful cushions she had made ( and some serious coffee knowledge!). Eleanor spent some time learning the lindy hop dance moves before partners were required and she became too shy to carry on so she had a 40's makeover instead...curlers and all! I was very tempted too as their clients came away looking fabulous....I thought about asking them to our Vintage Bazaar ( http://http//thevintagebazaar.blogspot.com/) in October to work their magic on the customers.......good idea or am I getting carried ( bopped) away?

A Day In Devon

Last weekend we all went to Donna Flower's open day in Devon and my goodness what a day it was! We followed directions down a very narrow and winding lane until we saw the familiar banner announcing we had arrived. The girls were really excited because Donna cleverly had the trampoline up in the garden so I left the two children ( and one husband!) playing while I investigated the treasures within including the place where Donna's new shop will be. It was so lovely to finally get there and Donna's mum met me at the door and gave me the grand tour (what a lovely and glamorous mum you have Donna!). Room after room of fabulous fabrics, clothes, trims, toys......needless to say I was there for about two hours (with a break to enjoy a cup of tea, thanks Woo!) pondering and pawing everything. While I was there Donna got a parcel full of ribbons from America...it was like Christmas day as she opened the box...two grown women 'ooohing' and 'arrhhing' over ribbons is a very sorry sight to behold I can tell you! After a few purchases ( believe me I could have remortgaged the house!) Donna suggested we take the girls to Clovelly which was a great idea. There are no cars in this little village on the sea just an incredibly steep cobbled path running from the top to the harbour. It was so steep we couldn't even take the buggy so Martha toddled precariously as did Mummy (silly shoes alert!). We chickened out of climbing back up and hopped on the landrover to the halfway point where there are donkeys for the children, a pottery studio and a wonderful textile designer whose work reminded me of the chrysede fabrics produced in Cornwall. On our way home the next day we stopped in Wells for lunch where we saw this wonderful car...I wish we could have driven home in that beauty! Thank you to Donna, her mum and Woo for a lovely day, now when's the next one!?