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| Take a seat.... |
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| ....it all started with a loud noise outside which seemed to be attracting Blue-Belles attention..... |
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| ..on closer inspection, it materialised that a skip had just been delivered to a neighbours house.... |
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| ...the skip started to fill up until I couldn't resist any longer! I strolled over and asked the owner if I may have a quick rummage! To my delight, it turned into a very fruitful rummage..... |
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| ....I sourced these two elegant chairs, completely free! |
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| On Pitfield Street, in the Old Street area of London, is a beautiful place... |
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| ...a quirky emporium and café selling cakes, vintage, retro, designer homeware and eclectic finds! |
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| Wallpaper or scrapwood? I love this paper by Piet Hein Eek |
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| Oversized designer cushions and designer lamp shades.... |
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| part of the first exhibition of 2013 with Designersblock in the gallery...including appliances made from reclaimed wood by sculptor Camilla Barnard |
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| The front of the shop is a sea of flowers |
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| My special purchase - an old fashioned shovel! |
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| When you've finished browsing...there's a beautiful café to enjoy too! |
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| Over 20 years ago, my mum hand-made a patchwork quilt for my old Victorian bed. |
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| Herself and my grandma sourced scraps of fabric everywhere, some of which were vintage at the time, some of which have now become vintage! Each patch tells a tale and has a history. |
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| I love these 2 patches - which look as though they have been cut from old souvenir tea towels! |
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| The majority of fabric seemed to be pretty vinatge florals which may have come from old aprons. |
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| These 1950's style patterns, probably using old curtains, remind me of Orla Kiely prints |
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| Stars, stripes and dots pre-Cath Kidson! |
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| Remenants of baby grows/blankets that myself and my brother had out-grown, a scrap of fabric from my mums summer dress and old shirts of my daddy's were all used to create the quilt! |
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| I like this travelling patch! |
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| Taken from my grandmas old ball gowns? |
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| The quilt getting another airing! |
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| The venue for this show was ideal; the lovely Chiswick Town Hall which is a listed building with ornate stained glass windows, overlooking Turnham Green. Considering it was a Sunday morning, the traders were lively and there was a nice atmosphere in the air....there was even a vintage tea room serving refreshments in old tea sets! |
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| There was a refreshingly different selection of stallholders from similar fairs that I have been to recently. I really liked the presence of old glass, vintage textiles, pottery and several robust typewriters! I came away with a tea-cup and saucer! |
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| There was a £4 entry fee to this show - something I am never keen on - being charged to shop! Perhaps this could have been reduced to £2. How ever the prices inside were reasonable. Future shows planned in Manchester and Birmingham. For a full calendar, please see www.vintagehomeshow.co.uk |
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| Where? 401 Battersea Park Road in the school playground. When? Every Sunday from 11.30 (£5 entry at this time) |
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Battersea boot is one of the bigger sales in London, attracting a queue at 1.30pm when the public, as opposed to traders, are allowed entry for 50p. Every week different stallholders peddle their goodies. This week-end, there were a lot of second-hand clothes, some vintage. I found prices here a little higher than the usual car boot sales, but most stall holders were happy to haggle & there were some collectible pieces that deserved more premium prices.
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My favourite find - 3 jam jars full of amber & green fake gem stones for £1. Perfect for embellishing clothes and crafty projects. These are normally quite expensive from traditional haberdashery stores!
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| I love buying dirty scraps of lace & doylies for 20p...then laundering them! Miniature green glass fishing float! |
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| Still deciding whether to wear this 50p apron or cut it up to use the floral fabric! |
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| I'll need a new dresser soon to house my crockery collection! |
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The size of this sale and variety of different stall holders each week, means there are always potential bargains & hidden treasures to be unearthed!
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| Altrincham is a market town in Manchester. The market has one of the best haberdashery stalls I've been to, boasting buttons that rival even those found in my beloved Peter Jones & Liberty! |
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| However, the reason I visited the town was to check out a venue that has had a lot of recent publicity; No 16, above Traders Outlet on The Downs.It's home to vintage, art and craft traders. |
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| Recently launched, the stalls are still a little thin on the ground, but as word is getting out, new traders are apparently signing up each week. Another old floral plate for my collection! |
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| The stalls that are there already though are friendly and full of fairly priced bitsies from antique homeware to vintage dresses just like the ones worn on Madmen! |
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| I especially liked a stall called Paraphernalia" run by a lovely, chatty and enthusiastic lady who makes your shopping experience all that bit nicer! I purchased some more old lace! |
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| "Grandmas Attic" sold beautiful curios, vintage dresses and hand-knitted pieces following 1950's patterns. I love my miniature laced up shoe from there! |
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| On the 3rd Saturday of every month, alongside the more traditional food, homeware and clothes, Brixton market on Station Road specalises in vintage and retro goodies. I thought this was a beautiful way to display old jewellery in an antique printing block tray. |
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| Many stalls sold just vintage clothes, reasonably priced |
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| I love anything old & haberdashery - so this sewing basket with antique cotton reels caught my eye and I bought some china from this stall - pretty plates, cups and saucers from only 50p! |
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Lovely, old fashioned knick nacks and spliffing good prices at the local carpet shop below!!
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| An old fashioned necklace made out of vintage fabric and beads sewn on in flower shapes |
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| Playing with the beads! |
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| The beads sewn into fowers in different colour combinations |
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| Measuring, cutting and sewing the vintage fabric, laying out and glueing the bead flowers |
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A pink variant - work in progress |
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| Detail of flowers |
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| Cluster of beaded flowers |
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The finished necklace |
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| OT tempted by the ribbon fastening! |
