Rail full of the joys of spring

I'm very excited about this Saturday's Dandy and I've been working away on my rail all week. While we were up in Scotland I decided that I would theme my rail from now on to make it more cohesive rather than just offering up a random motley mix of vintage & retro threads. I've been very much inspired by the spell of gorgeous weather and the veritable explosion of greenery in the park. I'm bringing a plethora of flirty cotton dresses made for springtime strolls in the sun, chic retro frocks that are perfect for garden parties and BBQs and a whole bunch of festival worthy frocks & separates for those who want to sort out their festival wardrobe early.

Here are all the garments (bar the gents) that will be featured on Frocktasia's full of the joys of spring rail at The Dandy Lion Market on Saturday :)

 Close-ups of details, prints and labels...

If you're in the Kentish Town area on Saturday please pop in and have a wee natter and a rummage. There's a fabulous line-up of traders this month, most of which have a feature folder on The Dandy Lion FB page, so  you can check them out there if you so wish. There's even going to be a stall selling wigs, how cool is that?!

Happy days!

Here are a few pics that Leslie snapped at last months Dandy featuring me, my little stall  and some of my fabulous fellow traders :)

I'll leave you with a fabulous tune by SOUL II SOUL, enjoy :)

May the sun shine on your path and happiness fill your heart!

Loads of love,

Jennie

xXx

Atomic winter

I sometimes have the oddest thoughts! 

As I was hanging the washing out on the balcony the other day, freezing my fingers off, I started thinking...

"What if this is it, what if winter becomes permanent and this is as good as it will get temperature wise".

I know, the stuff of nightmares right?!

It is thought that the climate would be profoundly effected if for instance nuclear war was to rage across the planet or perhaps a supervolcano decided to erupt or a comet or an asteroid happened to slam into the globe.

The theory goes that if vast amounts of smoke and soot was to be ejected into the earth's stratosphere, the little spinning ball that we call home would be plunged into perpetual winter.

Horrible thought, eh?!

Of course the snow covered naked branches of the trees are pretty and create spectacular backdrop but I have to say that I am now officially fed up with winter and I want spring to march on in and sweep the bastard thing away once and for all!

I was very happy to see that the bird lovers had come out in force today,  there was seed scattered everywhere on top of the snow by the pond.

I'm not the only crazy bird lady around this neck of the woods, I'll have you know ;)

The other day this sweet little girl came up to me as I was hand feeding Lilo and asked if she could have a go. I lent her my "feeding glove" and she was absolutely ecstatic when the Lilo started eating seed from her hand, so sweet!

It's been snowing heaps here today and there's still some snow fall forecast for tonight.

When will this snowy madness end? 

Vintage coat by Spinney, 90s velvet catsuit, hooded cloak dress, Handmade African necklace  gift from my mum, DM boots, 99p stores snood, gloves, slouchy hat & Frocktasia earrings.

I'm playing catch-up with my 'daily ensemble' pics, this is what I wore to go and see Leslie yesterday...

My sister in Copenhagen sent me this awesome 70s bright red needle cord maxi skirt. I'm guessing that the flowers were hand-painted by Inger Leth.

The stunning necklace was a car boot sale bargain from last year, it's a really unusual piece. There's an inscription at the back which reads 'By Laurent Guinci'.

Vintage 70s cord maxi skirt, 70s suede lace-up waistcoat, 80s butterfly belt, 80s boots, 90s floral lace leotard, I also wore a great big faux-fur coat, a faux-fur hat, gloves and snood...it was freezing and damp outside yesterday.

Leslie sent me this pic from last months Can't Buy Me Love market...

There's me peddling my gear to a very dapper chappy. You can also spot  Mark looking on proudly as his wife gets into the swing of things & lovely Sara from Hello The Mushroom :) The pic was borrowed from the CBML blog.

I won't be there this month because my other sister is popping over from Sweden for Easter and we are heading up to Edinburgh for a few days which will be ever so splendid.

If you are in London on the 30th of March you can still go and see Jet-Marie, Leslie and all the other brilliant sellers that will be there at the Can't Buy Me Love Easter Special.

I'm hoping to return there next month, so watch this space ;)

Today's tune is Atomic by Blondie, enjoy :)

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Loads of love,

Jennie

xXx

The Day I became a Dandy Lion

Yesterday Mark and I primed our bags with vintage goodies and made the trip to The Dandy Lion 'Ladyfolk' Market at the Oxford in Kentish Town.

I was so impressed with the pub, it is the perfect setting for a craft/vintage market. We were given a cracking pitch and were set up a whole lot quicker this week, I've been practicing at home you see ;)

We had such a wonderful day and I was so inspired by all the fabulously creative sellers there.

I'd like to introduce you to some of them because quite frankly I think they ROCK!

First off is the lovely Camilla, she is a fellow creative Swede living in London... 

She makes brilliant 'bookish necklaces' and super funky vinyl record bookends.

I am going to link all the wonderful sellers (when possible) so that you can check them out for yourself, should something catch your eye.

Camilla has got an ETSY shop and sells her fabulous and very affordable wares to all over the world.

The second seller I would like to give a shout out to is Amanda, she makes gorgeous handmade cards & funky wee gifts. She doesn't have an on-line shop as yet but she's got a Facebook page, The Prettiest Thing...

Julia of Collar Me Happy makes stunning bespoke and ready to wear collars...

 I fell in love with a few but I am still on a "buying ban"...och!

I think that's what they call "being good", alas not much fun when faced with so much awesomeness...

Astrid Vaswani was there with her gorgeous daughter Jessica (out best customer) selling a wonderful array of funky jewelry.

Annemarie is behind She's Got it Made and she makes fabulous cushions,  cats and owls from groovy vintage fabrics.

Claire's stall Bright River was selling an array of fabulous cards and prints including some drawn from her mothers artwork.

The creative genius behind Words & Roses is called Luisa Cotardo and she makes some very romantic and stunning rose themed items...

Julia of Jamilicious were there to tempt everybody with handmade preserves and sweets.

The fabulous ceramic pots and ornaments are handmade by SuzanArt. 

Fellow first timer Lydia's Lockets sold beautiful handmade jewelry and I was lucky enough to win one of her lovely necklaces in the tombola, needless to say I was chuffed to bits, it's gorgeous! 

 When we first arrived in the morning I was quite nervous but after being beamed a fantastically warm and friendly smile by Mark of Gorgeous Jewellery I just knew it was going to be a fabulous day.

We had the tremendous pleasure of meeting Mark's very lovely wife Sue later on, she is the 'creative genius' in this fabulous team.

I didn't catch the name of the lovely chap that was in charge of the tombola but he did a sterling job at beaming out positivity too, what a fabulous bunch of people :)

 Shonel of Poetic Solace makes some seriously funky jewellery, she will be trading at the Craft Jam Fair in Kingly Court, Carnaby Street here in London next Saturday, if you pop along have a look out for Camilla of 'Mind The Book' too.

Bestitched  make fun and quirky framed cross stitch and they also sell funky cards and labels/tags, they have a bigcartel shop.

I hope I haven't missed anybody out and if I have, I apologize profusely...

I'll get you next month ;)

There is one seller that I haven't mentioned though...

the remarkable woman that made all of this possible and what a darling marvel of a woman she is!

 Leslie puts her heart and soul into organizing The Dandy Lion Market and she does a BRILLIANT job!

I've only known this woman for a week but it feels like we've been pals forever, I think Leslie is amazing!

So a big thanks to the woman that made it all happen, to the inspirational & talented sellers that were there on the day and of course to the lovely customers that came through the doors :)

Both Mark and I had such a fantastic day and we can't wait for the next market....

Frocktasia has finally grown a pair of wings and it is wonderful!

A few pints and some cracking company marked the end of  a perfect day :)

Loved every single minute of it!

Hope you have all had an equally fabulous weekend.

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Hair today gone tomorrow

I've been a busy bee today preparing my stock for the The Dandy Lion Market on Saturday.
Here's a sneaky-peek preview of  most of the stock that I'll be bringing with me...

Prices will range from £5 to £30 and there will be a bargain box too.
I've still to sort out some bags, shoes, accessories & knick-knacks  to bring but I'll do that tomorrow.
Here are some random 'label, print and detail' close-ups...

I'm bringing a few bits for the boys too...

This is where I'll be trading on Saturday...

Like I mentioned in Tuesday's post the event is a get together with Oxfam to celebrate International Women's Day.

It will help raise funds to support women living in poverty around the world.

I have pledged 10% of my takings and I've also donated a retro 80s coffee jar filled with coffee sweets for the tombola.

If you are in Kentish Town on the day please pop in and see me and all the other fabulous sellers ;)

This was today's ensemble...

After reading Olga's post yesterday I was inspired to wear one of my African blouse tops.

Olga's blog is called Local Fashion and it has an amazing back catalogue of interesting posts, it's blooming fabulous!

Abstract print African blouse top, sequin leggings, 80s cropped jacket, Moschino belt, Indian block print chiffon wrap,  80s worm-coil earrings, 80s boots & Tibetan prayer bangle. 

 Other news...
Today I got so fed up with my natty hair, I made hubby cut it for me, so now it's in a sort of bob style.
I'm not a big fan of going to the hairdressers so I very seldom do.
My hair is so tremendously flimsy & fine, it takes any hairdresser about two minutes to cut it and it just feels like a waste of money to be honest.
Another thing that really gets my goat about hairdressers is that even if you wash your hair yourself five minutes before the appointment, they go...
-"We still have to wash your hair!"
-"Why, do you not trust my hair washing ability?"
I know that quite a few of my blogging buddies trim their own tresses too, so I'm in good company :)
After all it's only hair & it will grow out again eventually.
Hope you will have a groovetastic Friday folks, here's a tune to put you in the mood...

 Lot's of love,
Jennie
xXx