Hot in the city

Last Saturday saw the 'Summer Fun' edition of The Dandy Lion Market and Frocktasia was there with a rail full of frocking fabulousness. We've finally got some proper summer weather here in the UK so Erik really had his work cut out trying to tempt the passersby to come indoors.

As per usual Leslie had rounded up a tremendous line-up of fabulous sellers.

To kick off the monthly Dandy post proceedings I give you the lovely Cathy of The Origami Boutique...

Cathy makes beautiful and very eye-catching one of a kind origami jewellery and greetings cards. You may very well be thinking that jewellery made out of paper would not last, especially in a usually rain sodden country like the UK but because of this Cathy chooses her materials meticulously and uses a water resistant finish on all her creations to ensure their durability. She even conducted a home experiment some time ago which involved submersing one of her stunning Full Moon rings  in water for a week and lo & behold it did the origami no harm. To keep abreast with what's going down in the world of  The Origami Boutique why not like their FB page.

Up next is mother and daughter team Richardson & Richardson who make the most stunning and unique laser-cut keepsake cards for every occasion and funky perspex jewellery. The cards are made from lightweight birch wood and each feature a beautiful design. They also do customized items such as wedding guest books available to order from their esty shop. I was mesmerized by a funky pair of pink piggy earrings on their stall. Why not give them a virtual round of applause for their amazing creative skills by liking their FB page.

The next stall was shared in-between two friends trading as 'Iris and the Moon' and 'Booreki Designs'. At the moment I can't find a website or FB page for either but will update if I do. The stall featured a wonderful pick'n'mix of fresh & funky one of a kind jewellery, cards and original artwork...

I met Lionheart Stationers a couple of weeks ago when we both did The Dandy Lion Pop-up at The Kentish Town Carnival. Primarily they specialize in hand illustrated and bespoke stationary but after sourcing some beautiful fabrics at a recent trip to India they decided to branch into designing beautiful handmade clothes as well. You can peruse their creative wares in their well stocked etsy shop. I was utterly beguiled with this awesome one of a kind jumpsuit and if you are quick off the mark you can bag it for less than £30 in their summer sale.

Annemarie of Bordello Chic loves to roam the world and is always hunting down fabulous materials and fabrics on her travels to make unique scatter cushion covers, shawls and one of a kind jewellery when she gets back to London. How quirky and cute is that little doll necklace...

Who have we here?

That'll be Frocktasia's stall then ;)

I was chuffed to bits when a lovely customer that I first met at the Kentish Town Carnival came back to peruse my rail once more and bought a vintage 70s does 50s Berkertex frock. Despite it being hotter than Honolulu on Saturday (I just made that up, it probably wasn't) Frocktasia had a very good days trading. Frocks and bags proved popular and my bargain suitcase was a tremendous success. I will be replenishing it with loads more vintage & retro goodies for next Sunday's Mini Festival at The Finsbury and I am pleased as punch to also announce that my bestie Leslie (Wunderbar Vintage & Leslie Works) will be there trading on the day too, it'll be fun, fun, fun on a bun!

Lovely Annemarie of She's Got It Made traded at the very first Dandy that Frocktasia was at back in March. Her delightful cats and owls made from fabulous vintage & retro fabrics can't help but to put a smile on your face. She also makes beautiful one of a kind scatter cushions and tote bags. Annemarie travels to the  market with a wicker basket full of her smaller soft toys and on Saturday she was approached by someone on the tube that couldn't wait to give a couple of her cats a new home, brilliant!

Maximiliano Dugnani is a very talented painter and photographer that fuses these two modes of artistic expression to great effect. On Saturday he was offering up a wonderful array of cards and prints of his awesome artwork.

Talented artist Merlin Glozier's work is a riveting mix of dark and haunting imagery. On Saturday she was selling prints of her work and you could even get her art on a T-shirt. There's an article featuring Merlin on DazedDigital should you wish to find out a little more about the artist and her work.

Forever beaming that lovely smile right at ya, lovely Mark of Gorgeous Jewellery. Easy on the pocket, cherry picked designer pieces, that's the name of the game. Mark is a font of knowledge when it comes to jewellery designers and is infectiously enthusiastic about his lovely wares. This month he'd introduced a small line of vintage jewellery adverts into the mix. These would be a fabulous addition to any vintage loving gals dressing table. Mark very kindly gifted me with another brilliant brooch by Jonette Jewellery, it's a stunning winged pegasus and I put it on straight away. I'll show it in my next post. Thank you so much Mark, you're simply the best!

Next up is lovely Leslie, the dynamic dynamo behind it all, the fabulous founder of The Dandy Lion Market. Not only does she skillfully organize, tirelessly promote and wholeheartedly host this brilliant event but she's also a magnificent trader too. Every month she rolls out a rail holding vast amounts of vintage and retro fabulousness and table full of vintage and handmade accessories not to mention her wicked scatter cushions. This month the scatter cushions stayed at home to allow a new addition to Leslie Works creations take center stage on the Chesterfield armchair, namely these funky soft toy ducks...

Next we have the lovely Kylie, the creative force behind Nautical Cactus. She makes contemporary jewellery from wood and fabulous printed tote bags. I loved her sugar skull brooches that she decorates using a pyrography tool. Kylie's stall looked awesome & perfectly summery...

Last month I couldn't link to Tilias Teas cause they didn't have a FB page yet but they do now and I just know that they'd be over the moon to get a few more likes on it. They were offering free sampling on the day. Tea in a heatwave...are you mad?! N'ah you see, these ladies are cannier than a pair of city foxes so they served up their gorgeous blends iced. I'm sure that in time they will make their delicious teas available for on-line purchase too.  

Downstairs sharing the premium pitch we had two lovely vintage and retro aficionados...

Gorgeous Vinita with her groovy Retro Girl threads & wicked Rocket Girl vinyl and beautiful Alyson of Molly's Vintage bringing along an amazing array of  fabulous vintage home-wares, kitchenalia & perfect for summer picnic baskets. I was sorely tempted to bag that awesome orange soda siphon, however I have nine in different colours already, so I decided to keep my money for a rare car boot sale jaunt the day after The Dandy instead. As I had Mark with me most of the day, I could saunter around the market for a bit and really have a look about and a good old rummage. Vinita has got some awesome stuff on her rails and if you are into the whole Twiggy, Swinging Sixties style you couldn't wish for a more perfect seller and stock. As I've mentioned before Vinita also runs an independent record label and will be hosting a record launch  for a band called Eat lights Become lights at The Lexington on the 31st of this month.

Gorgeous Shonel of Solace Designs never ceases to amaze me with he creative output. Last month I was bowled over by her fabulous new leather chest plate collars and this month I almost fainted with delight when I saw the latest addition to her stock which she is beautifully modelling here...

There is something almost otherworldly and magical about these neck-pieces and I can think of a whole heap of frocks in the Frocktasia Vintage Wonderland that they would look stunning with. It would be an absolute treat to do a photo session incorporating these. Shonel, nudge nudge ;)

I think Shonel has an awesome creative vision and massive talent to boot.

Which one is your favourite? I simply can't decide, I love them all!

Afterwards a few of us stopped for a wee rest and a cooling drink outside The Oxford before battling on home on the bus in the warm summer evening.

So there you go, that was the July Dandy.

Leslie is taking a well deserved break in August so the next Dandy will happen on my birthday the 7th of September and it is entitled 'Back To School'...can't wait!

Yesterday I went to my first proper car boot sale for six months and came home laden with goodies which I will show you in another post cause I'm about ready to hit the park now.

Here's Billy Idol to sing us out, enjoy :)

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend and to any fellow UK residents I just want to say, don't forget to slap on the sunscreen guys ;)

Loads of love,

Jennie

xXx