Sunday, 2 June 2013

Such a good feeling, that's where I wanna be!

Yesterday saw another edition of The Dandy Lion Market and not just any old edition, it was the second anniversary. I had a little bit of a mishap trying to get to The Oxford with all my stuff in the morning, Mark had very kindly put my case already strapped to the trolley downstairs and all I had to do was to bring it out onto the pavement loosen the strap off a little so that I could attach my rail. Even if Mark had shown me how to operate the strap mechanism I still managed to totally mess it up rendering it impossible for me to attach my rail to the case. Panic stations on the pavement! I called Mark who again explained to me how to go about loosening the strap & I even roped in a young man who was passing by but no joy. Thankfully a call to wonderful Leslie resolved my woes, she had a spare rail that I could borrow at the venue so I could leave my one behind. Not only is Leslie a beloved friend of mine she is without a doubt one of the most accommodating and brilliant market organizers that I've come across. She deserves praise and applause every step of the way. After a quick bus ride and a brisk walk I was at The Oxford albeit a little behind schedule. I was helped by some of my fabulous fellow traders to get the strangling strap off the case and as the rail had already been put up for me I was set up and ready to roll just after twelve :)
The thing that I really love about The Dandy Lion Market is that it never fails to impress and enthrall me with its line-up of creative talent and this month was the best one yet since I've started trading here. Everyone had pulled out all the stops to make their stalls and wares look fabulous. On every stall there was something that I wanted to snap up (curse my empty pockets). 

For the forth time I present to you my wonderful day at The Dandy...

Beautiful Shonel of Solace Designs made a return with her fabulous jewellery and accessories. I had an intense lust pang for one of those fabulous leather chest plate collars of hers, you can snap one up from her wonderful Etsy shop.
Gorgeous Listra of Listra's Handmade Soaps told me the wonderful story about how the inspiration to make her Caribbean Spice soap came from memories of baking with her family as a child.  I just had to bag a bar of it cause it smells absolutely divine. No nasty animal fats or chemicals just natural good stuff as it should be.
You can only see the top of Lizzie's head in this picture (sorry Lizzie) but you can see loads of her Beautiful Art. Fabulous & funky cat brooches, eco-friendly totes, coasters, mugs and amazing original wall art. There's a well stocked Etsy shop should any thing catch your eye...
Lovely Elizabeth is the creative genius behind Like Never Before. She uses recycled denim and other textiles to create stunning and unique statement jewellery. Yesterday she also had a few pairs of amazing looking revamped denim shorts up for grabs, just the thing to stand out in a sea of pedestrian cut-offs at Glastonbury.
Pretty Emma of Stitchrovia was hard at work stitching away when I interrupted her to take this pic :)
She offers up "A modern take on traditional cross stitch embroidery with a bit of British quirkiness thrown in". To snap up a pattern visit her Etsy shop.
Brilliant artist David Harker returned for a second month running with his awesome artwork. The amazing European Black Pine that you can see on the right is the latest addition to his fabulous work.
These two lovely ladies are behind Tillia's Teas, no website or Facebook page as yet but they sure know how to put together a delicious tea blend.
Perusing Raccoon Circus wares gave me several lust pangs. Stunning feathered hair-clips, amazing fit for a festival headdresses and crowns as well as beautiful bows & slides for every day wear. The creative genius behind Raccoon Circus is Laila who also happens to be a very talented musician, do check out her fabulous blog Tape Parade
If you love the look of her wares she's also got a fabulous Etsy shop for you to take a gander at.
Nubian Origin specializes in fine dining tableware inspired by African art and culture and is created by designer Adobea Obeng. They brought along their first stunning collection called 'Akoma Africa' available to purchase from their Etsy shop.
Brilliant The 3R Crafts were back for a third month running with their fabulous array of quirky and cute upcycled cork craft wares :)
I was gutted that I didn't get the chance to have a proper rummage through the rails of  Retro Girl but with any luck our paths will cross again soon. Vinita does not only curate a kaleidoscopic vintage & retro collection of  epic proportions but is also the founder of Rocket Girl independent record label. Yesterday she also brought along a fabulous collection of Indie and collectible CD's and Vinyl...groovy shoes!
Secret Treasures is run by Shona & Sophie that make vintage inspired jewellery and gifts at very affordable prices. They have a fabulous on-line shop for you to peruse :)
More vintage and retro awesomeness brought to The Dandy by D'Burgin Fox Vintage. This pair specialize in  British style icons and classic heritage brands. A collection of lovingly selected must have pieces for dapper gents and stylish ladies.
Tania of The Little Skincare Shop makes a range of fabulous natural facial toners made with vegan and environmentally friendly sourced ingredients. They are available in English Rose, Lavender, Orange, Tea Tree and Chamomile. You can purchase their products from their on-line shop or on Etsy
The next stall totally bowled me over...now that's what I call display skills :)
Ava Design is a jewellery company specializing in Japanese Akoya & Biwa Pearl and Swarowski designs. Each piece is designed, handmade and finished by Ava and most are limited edition or one-offs. Check out Ava Designs fabulous website and on-line shop.
Here's Leslie in front of her Wunderbar Vintage rail :)
Leslie also makes awesome scatter cushions, super funky vintage scarf tops and amazing zip and button bracelet cuffs. She stocks some of her marvelous handmade wares in her Etsy shop.
As today is Coronation Day Leslie decided to entitle this months Dandy 'Crowning Glory' and to wear a funky rainbow crown to mark the occasion ;)
Speaking of crowns...here's a gem of a man fit for a crown, Mark of Gorgeous Jewellery.
Mark very kindly gifted hubby with this gorgeous thistle brooch by miracle jewellery to go with his kilt  and I bought this amazing Jonette Jewellery brooch that I'd spied on Mark's stall at the Muswell Hill Market a few weeks back.
A couple of snaps of some of the lovely people that visited. 
Whilst on the subject of lovely people, look who came to visit :)
Jo of Joyatri's Adventures in Vintage and her lovely fella. Jo and I talked about hoarding and I invited her to come and have a wee look around my hoard house at some point. They are a really lovely couple and their visit made a good day even better. Darling Jo also brought me a fabulous gift, a gorgeous woven suede belt and I know just what to wear it with, it will look awesome with my Marion Foale and Sally Tuffin frock. Thank you so much Jo for the lovely gift and to you both for popping along :)
I also got a wonderful gift from Leslie, an absolutely awesome zipper and button bracelet cuff made by her own fair hands and with me in mind. I love having such thoughtful friends.
Then all of a sudden the Dandy day came to an end, five hours go rather quickly when you are having such a lovely time. Mark rocked up at five to help me pack up and get the stuff back home, what a star!
If Mark hadn't been working today we would have probably stuck around for a few after market drinkies but there's always next time ;)
Thank you to Leslie for organizing yet another topper of an event, to all my fellow traders for enticing and inspiring me with your awesome wares and amazing displays and of course to the lovely people that came through the doors and spent some time chatting, perusing, sampling, trying and buying stuff, you peeps ROCK!
The next Dandy at The Oxford will take place on Saturday the 6th of July but before that Leslie is having a pop-up Dandy Lion Market @ the first ever Kentish Town Carnival on Sunday the 16th of this month but I'll blog about that when I have more details.

If you are wondering where the inspiration for today's post title came from, turn up the volume and enjoy :)
Hope you've all had a splendid weekend my lovely friends and that you feel rested and ready to take on the week ahead.
Loads of love,
Jennie
xXx



Saturday, 1 June 2013

Happy Happy Happy

 My love for a Russian scarf print is well catered for in the fabulous frock that I'm wearing today. I bought it last year from a car boot sale and it was going cheap cause the elastic around the neckline was completely knackered. No bother for the likes of me, I've got elastic coming out of my ears. I also have an Everest like mending pile so it took me quite some time to actually get around to fixing it. Over the past few days I have made a brave attack on said pile and am happy to announce that it does no longer rivals The Shard.
 The frock is labelled Tootique and I think it's probably from the 70s.
 Check out the voluminous sleeves and the newly elasticated neckline ;)
70s scarf print frock, 70s jacket, 80s boots, soap stone & macrame earrings and handmade Turkish necklace.
The Egyptian geese appeared with their brood yesterday, they are so adorable. I just wish I could scoop them all up and keep them safe from crows and herons that like nothing better than to snack on a these little fellows. The parents do their level best to keep predators away but crows are persistent and cunning.
I'd better hit the hay as it's getting rather late and I've got a big day tomorrow...
The Dandy Lion Market will be celebrating its second anniversary today and it's going to be blooming grand. I'll be there with a rail full of fabulous & fun  frockery.

Here's Stevie to sing a happy ditty to make us all smile, enjoy :)
...and just because I love you all and want you to be extra happy this weekend here's another happy tune for your listening pleasure...
I wish you all a brilliant weekend :)
Loads of love,
Jennie
xXx


Friday, 31 May 2013

Bring It On Home

I bought the frock that I am wearing today from Myrorna in Orebro a couple of years ago when I was visiting my folks in Sweden. The rose print reminded me of a huge Russian shawl that my mum had in the late 70s and that I used to pinch to play dress-up with. The maker of the frock is unknown but there is a label that reads 'Made in England' so I guess you could say that I brought it back home in more ways than one.
70s gypsy dress, 80s boots, 90s Moschino denim jacket, tights & necklace all second hand.
This Saturday Frocktasia will be peddling vintage and retro threads at The Dandy Lion Market again. This will be my forth time but the market itself will be celebrating its second birthday, hipp hipp huzzah!
If you haven't been yet then this will truly be a brilliant month to visit as Leslie's got a few surprises in store as well as another wicked line-up of fabulous sellers, you can check out the trader features on the FB page if you so wish.
Here's a sneak peek of  the cracking clobber Frocktasia will be bringing along on the day...
I will be bringing a few more bits but as Mark is working the weekend I've really made an effort not to overload as I'll be carting the stuff myself on Saturday morning. My small selection of menswear will be coming along too. Guys shirts with loud prints seem to be a winner at The Dandy.

What happened to the glorious weather, eh!
Can we have it back please?
Loads of love,
Jennie
xXx


Sunday, 26 May 2013

Easy does it

Yesterday Frocktasia did yet another Can't Buy Me Love jumble at The Boogaloo. 
I brought a bargain rail  this time around and sold quite a few garments despite it being a little bit of a quiet one. Items priced at a fiver or less seems to be a successful formula at this particular venue, it is billed as a jumble after all. I also tried out a few random items that I haven't brought before, bundles of vintage & retro fabric, a few issues of 'Vanity Fair' from the early 90s and packets of vintage stockings. I was surprised that no one snapped up the two psychedelic print sundresses, maybe it was because there was a bit of a glut of funky clothing?!
I had a vision in my head of a funky chick rocking these teamed with a floppy hat and wellies at a festival this summer. I guess there's still time for them to be snapped up :)
I'm getting so much better at prepping for my markets now. It hardly takes any time at all for us to set up the pitch and at the end of the day we are usually packed up and ready to roll out of the venue in less than twenty minutes. I always do all the laborious stuff at home such as pricing and sticking stuff on hangers. So when we get to the venue it is just a case of quickly unpacking everything & hanging it straight onto the rail. I even prepare my display table at home so that I know exactly what I'm doing on the day and don't have to faff about & worry about presentation.

I had a couple of fabulous visitors yesterday :)
Lovely Jo from Joyatri's Adventures in Vintage popped in for a little browse and a chat. She lives in the US but intermittently comes over to stay here with her English boyfriend. When in the US she runs her Joyatri shop on etsy where she sells vintage items, clothing and crafting materials. If they were giving out prizes for best dressed CBML customer of the day then Jo would win hands down, just look at that fabulous feast-for-the-eyes maxi frock she was wearing...
My lovely Leslie and Aiden also popped by and stayed for the rest of the afternoon, we had beers and chatted about films. I said "don't ever ask me to be in your pub quiz team cause I know nothing about films" to which Aiden responded "great then you can be the bar runner"...every cloud has a silver lining, eh ;) 
Aiden then very kindly gave us a lift home and collected a barrow full of brownie points yet again, he's a gem of a man so he is. Leslie stayed for a spot of din-dins, vino and a two hour long Led Zeppelin concert on YouTube before heading back home.

Today the sun shone on our poor pasty white bodies and there was much rejoicing :)
 We went to the park, lazed about on a blanket and drank 2.8% Carling Zest.
I really love how there seems to be a lot more choice in the low-alcohol range now, gone are the days of "Kaliber or Cola?".
Tomorrow I'll be starting the preparations for next Saturday's Dandy :)
Right now I'm going for a late evening soak before jumping into bed after what has been an indulgently lazy day, blooming marvelous!
Hope you have all been taking it easy this weekend and feel ready to face the week ahead.
Loads of love,
Jennie
xXx