Personal Networking

Whilst it's great to sit at your laptop and figure out all the little ways of networking back and forth between yourself and others trying to get ahead, the personal touch is sometimes lacking.

By doing a stall at Lougborough Fair last Saturday via 'The Vintage Fair', I met  Susan Guy who was photographing for the fair. That evening when I got home she'd tagged me in the photographs she'd taken of my  stall, which were beautiful, and shared them on my facebook page for all to see. But what was lovely was that I'd met the person behind the art and it really made it more personal way to network.

 

I also got to hear from Janey Green who had brought one of my vintage cakestands at the fair, when she phoned me the next day to say that she's doing a Jubilee blog on her 'slice of slim' page, and would it be ok to include my cakestand? Again, it was really lovely to chat to Janey and it really makes a difference to then blog and network back and forth with someone you've actually met and spoken to!

So here's to chance meetings, and to picking up the phone in order to create a more personalised version of 21st Century networking!!!

Vintage Weddings

With Vintage style weddings steadily making their way to the front seat over the last few years, 2012 is definitely going to be the year  for Vintage weddings to steal the limelight. 

There is a wealth of inspiration online, and an ever increasing number of Vintage events across the nation to help couples realise their ideas. Rock My Wedding is a website set up in 2009 which provides a frequently up-dated online resource to couples planning their day. It surpasses it's aim of providing ideas through fresh and innovative contect, with the images on the front page along speaking for themselves. It's really lovely to see such creatively becoming widely publicised and promoted as achievable, and I could personally spend all day admiring the site.

Vintage fairs across the nation are providing specific events for Vintage Weddings in recognition of it's ever increasing popularity. This is providing a large footprint for all those couples looking to complete their day with all the little touches. The Vintage Fair held a successful 'SomethingOld' Vintage Wedding Fair in Sheffield last November and have lots planned for the coming year, with the wedding website being launched in the near future. In the meantime their wedding page can be found on Facebook

Dress companies can provide women with the ability to buy either a newly tailored Vintage dress, or a completely original dress made in the era they reflect. The Vintage Wedding Dress Company is a beautiful website which incorporates both original Vintage dresses, and bespoke re-created Vintage dresses designed with expertise and sympathy.

It's definitely an exciting time for Vintage lovers, with weddings taking the lead and showing the way. So congratulation to all couples having a Vintage 'Big Day' , and thank you to all the beautiful companies providing a piece of history.

Out With the Baby Denim

Out with the baby denim, and in with the vintage patterns.

       

After having noticed the lack of simple, beautiful clothing for babies and young children, I went on an online hunt to find what I think babies look the most beautiful in: clothes that are soft, allow them to move, and don’t make them look like mini copies of their parents. To me simple white cotton should be celebrated, not deemed ‘uncool’. Of course, Etsy never seizes to fail and scrolling through their sellers’ array of handmade gems made my heart light up a little again. But what is scary is that most high street shops these days go for the latest fashions only, and don’t allow for the traditional patterns to remain, making it hard choose the simple and classic options of clothing. Where have all the romper suits, frilly knickers, buttons and bows, and booties gone? And that does not include those with ‘I’m a cheeky monkey’ plastered across an area of the outfit.

After buying a set of vintage baby patterns from ‘Dollymix’ in Leicester, I thought I’d be adventurous and have a go. Once certain instructions like ‘trim interlining’ and ‘whip lace’ had been Googled, I was away. And within the hour I had made a simple slip dress that could be adapted in lots of different creative ways to make a personal, easy and affordable outfit for a young baby.

This might have to be a new venture for me, but if not at least I know when my own children come along I can rely on my sewing machine and the internet for some beautiful clothing. So please help me celebrate the Vintage patterns and spread the word that designer hoodie are meant for teenagers, not infants!!

Sales Sales Sales!!!!!!

10% off everything in my Etsy shop from now until the end of January. Just add the above coupon code when purchasing.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!!

Open Vintage Home

Last Saturday I opened up my home to provide a setting for my vintage fair. Slightly different from a 6x2 table in a big hall, it enabled a personal evening with food, Mulled wine, of course lots of girly chatter, and allowed me to support a friend starting out selling cupcakes (Kez's Cakes on Etsy).

I used every surface possible to display my items as you would have them at home, with the motto of 'anything with a price tag can be taken home'.

Saving on stall booking prices and travel expenses allowed me to provide refreshments for all,  and to donate 10% of profits to Breast Cancer Research.

A perfect girly evening and hopefully something that can become 

an annual event; although I think I might need a bigger house :) I'd highly recommend a 'home fair' to all sellers!

Excitement of The Fair Day

Whilst selling on-line is still creative and fun, there are elements that you miss out on from selling in person. So for me, booking a stall at a Vintage Fair fills me with absolute excitement!

Packing your car up to the brim the night before (unless your lucky enough to have a van) and then setting off at  the crack of dawn, with a certain fast food breakfast and a fully charged Sat Nav, is where the fun begins.

The rush of the unloading, and arranging your stall is exhilarating as the bustle of creativity fills the room, and having a nosey peek around the room confirms or denies that your stall fits in.

Just before the public enter, as little twinges take turns in your tummy, there's just time for a quick cup of 'flask' tea and a stand back from the table for last minutes tweaks and a nod of approval. 

 

Photo's of LoLoVintage at the latest Vintage Fair attendance; Loughborough Town Hall, in Leicestershire, organised by The Vintage Fair (click here for facebook page)

Its the first time you've sat down all morning, giving you a chance to give a few smiles/ have a quick natter with the sellers around you - 'is it your first stall?', 'shall we exchange cards?'. Your trying not to glance at how many people are walking through the door but you can't help it!

This leads you to the first person who stops at your stall for a look, you try to catch their eye in a friendly but non-pushy way and as they walk on to the next stall you can't help but feel a slight niggle of disappointment and self doubt; 'did I price too high?', 'Maybe no-one will like my stuff.'

But it's all worth it for that first sale - there's nothing like it; you can now unleash the big grin that was lingering as the sale looked promising, standing to take the tea set, bunting, or photo frame from the lovely buyer, wrapping it in tissue paper, and slipping it into a brown paper bag with a business postcard stapled to the side. Your rummaging in your nan's good luck tin for their change and finally trying to show your gratitude without jumping up and down squealing like a little girl at a JLS concert. And even though it's only one sale of approximately £8, you can finally relax and enjoy the day as this lovely person has confirmed that your on the right track, and that there's still 3 hours and 55 minutes until the last 'fair goer' walks out the door.

And so the journey of the day brings a lot more to offer;

* Crazy busy times and quite lulls

* Times to take it in turns to spend some of your earnings

* A few minutes to get chatting with the stall next door to exchange tips and stories so that you leave the day with 100 new ideas to think about

* A few more flasks of tea and a cupcake from the fair's tea room

*And yes we've all done it - every now and then entering the tin to 'see how much we've taken so far'.

At 5pm, when the late stragglers are making their way out and your stall is hopefully a lot more sparse than at 1pm, it's time to pack your car up again and head home with your big grin, a few buys to arrange when you get home, and your money tin feeling heavier than this morning (fingers crossed)

Not a lot beats it for me :)

Photography by Susan Guy Photography (click here for more)

Creative Days

However much you might enjoy the challenges and routine of 9-5 work, some days you need to scrap all responsibilities, leave the housework until tomorrow, keep your slobby clothes on, and have a creative day.

Here is my ideal;

Start with a walk down to the local florist (the penultimate outing of the day) and buy a variety of different flowers - nothing ready arranged. Ready at home will be a variety of miss-matched vases of all shapes and sizes - a small enamel teapot, a porcelain floral wide mouthed vase, a tall slim tin jug - all waiting to be filled with beautiful flowers and admired in their full glory. Such a simple creation can feel so lovely, brighten your home in an instant, and start the day rolling with ideas. Plus, you can have sneaky peaks all through the day as you work! 

Now comes the decision of what to do first - sewing machine or camera? Sewing machine wins easily most days but even this brings dilemma - do I feel nostalgic and traditional and use my Singer, or do I use my slightly faster electric machine in order to achieve more?

The next few hours can whittled away surrounded by fabrics, thread, needles, ribbons, and relaxing day-dreams. For me not only do creative days take you away from boring and irritating responsibilities but at the end you can sit back; slightly tired with an achy spine, and say - "I've just created that!" 

After hours of craftsmanship and 20 cups of tea later, a stretch of the muscles with a walk across the fields/ around the block/ to the nearby take-away, can be the ultimate relaxation before snuggling down for the evening.

So turn off the T.V, jump into your 'comfies' and get your creative juices flowing for an 'every-now-and-then' day of creative genius.