Showing posts sorted by date for query solace. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query solace. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Monday 8 July 2013

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



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



Sunday 7 April 2013

Just call me Pippi Longstocking

Yesterday saw Frocktasia's second outing at The Dandy Lion Market.
Granted I almost killed myself getting there carting a huge big case on wheels with my rail strapped onto it and another huge bag on my back. Who said being a vintage market trader would be easy or glamorous, not me anyway that's for sure. It is hard graft but I like it that way.You get a special feeling of smugness after managing to travel from A to B on public transport, laden down like a donkey ..like you've done something pretty special, akin to walking up Ben Nevis in your bare feet for instance ;)
Anyroad I survived and got there early doors too, so that I could give Aiden a quick hand with the bunting.
I took quite a few pics of the day but after I got home I realized that I'd had the camera on some silly setting, so the majority of my pics came out either overexposed or blurry which needless to say was rather annoying but such is life, it doesn't always work out the way you want it to.
Here is my wonderful friend Leslie next to her rail of vintage loveliness and her dapper son Erik that helped out with the leafleting on the day. Leslie is not only the organizer of the Dandy and a fellow vintage seller, she's also a magnificently creative soul. You can check out some of her wonderful wares on etsy HERE.
Another fellow vintage peddler La Maison Pearl was my stall neighbor for the day and gave me some smashing tips on what London fairs are worth doing.
Thay had some cracking stuff on their stall and I was very tempted to bag this wonderful colour explosion of a frock...
This gorgeous chick was trading at the Dandy last month but she was on one of the downstairs stalls so sadly I forgot to mention her in last months post. The Jewellery Garden creates a stunning array of fabulous jewellery with a special emphasis on holistic crystals & gemstones.
I met the lovely Amanda of the The Prettiest Thing last month. She was back with more of her tremendously funky and very useful items. I think this wonderful woman can turn her hand to making anything, just check out her impressive FB albums HERE. I hope Amanda will be there next month cause my Oyster card holder decided to disintegrate this morning and she makes totally brilliant ones.
Also returning sellers from last month was Bright River & Gorgeous Jewellery.
Bright River sells beautiful cards and prints and is run by a very lovely lady called Claire Shannon and Gorgeous Jewellery sells splendid handmade jewellery and is run by husband and wife team Sue & Mark.
 When I was perusing the product pics of Juliet Rose Soaps before the market, I just couldn't wait to smell them in real life. These handmade soaps look good enough to eat and smell absolutely divine. Like myself Juliet is a newbie to the market scene and it was actually her first ever foray into having a stall.
I think she did herself very proud, just look at her fabulous display and the soaps did not disappoint  they smell just as good as the look. You can buy a bar in her on-line store right now.
There was more fragrant goodness for the body at yesterdays Dandy too. Brown Angel Fragrances were there with a wonderful array of beautifully packaged homemade natural lotions and potions. They also have an on-line store where you can purchase their lovely goodies.
The three gorgeous girls behind Triptych Designs & Wheels and Butterflies  are architectural students with an interest in quirky design. They make fabulously unique jewellery and I loved their  amazing display. You can buy their stuff on-line HERE & HERE.
This lovely lady is called Gillian Bull and she was selling a mighty fine collection of vintage bric-a-brac and home wares...
This next chick was another newbie to the Dandy with her funky stall The 3R Crafts. She makes both decorative and useful things with upcycled materials like cork and cans. You can check out her FB page HERE.
 Next up are the lovely peeps from Genuie scarves. They were offering up a vast range of stunning hand painted scarves made from 100% Mulberry silk. These fantastic scarves are a colourful treat for the eye and feel amazingly lush against the skin. The Genuie team have an on-line store where you can purchase their beautiful wares.
 Dapper chappy Roderick Barker-Benfield is the brains and creative talent behind Rodology handmade jewellery. I'm so gutted my camera was on the wrong setting cause I would have loved to have captured his wonderful work in a sharper picture to do it justice. He's got an on-line store where you can marvel over his fantastic pieces, especially check out the cufflinks. Roderick said that they are his best selling item and I am not surprised, marvelous stuff.
These two lovely ladies were selling vintage compacts, cases and a whole heap of other lovely stuff on their one off stall. A friend of theirs is a dab hand at crocheting so they'd brought along some of her creations too. I was especially impressed with two pairs of mittens that had been knitted with wool that their friend had spun from the molted hair of her angora rabbit. I did take pictures of them but because my camera was on the wrong setting they came out all blurry. Hopefully Leslie got some pics, if she did I'll add them later.
In the smaller picture you can see the lovely Juliet of Juliet Rose Soaps rocking a fabulous frock.
Downstairs we had Shonel of Poetic Solace with her awesomely funky jewellery stall. I only briefly caught up with her as she was setting up and the picture I took was...you guessed it very blurry. So if you want to see Shonel's lovely face you'll have to check out last months Dandy post. She's been keeping herself very busy this month, doing regular markets. If you want to check out her wares she's got a fabulous store on etsy HERE.
I hope I haven't forgotten anybody this time. 
As I was on my own, I didn't have that much time to wander around with my camera, it's much nicer when you have a stall buddy at hand. Mark very kindly came around at five to help me with packing up and carting home, which was much appreciated...especially by my back and arms ;)
Today I've been feeling like someone gave me a right old kicking last night. I guess that if I'm planning on doing this on a regular basis there is only one thing for it...get fit!
Frocktasia's next market will be Can't Buy Me Love at The Boogaloo in Archway on Saturday the 27th of this months and then I'll of course be at the next Dandy Lion Market on Saturday the 4th of May.
If you see anything in my for sale or preview albums on the Facebook page that you'd like to purchase directly from me just give me a shout, I ship worldwide.
For next months Dandy I've decided that Frocktasia has to stop procrastinating and pull her proverbial straw to the stack as regards to spreading the word about The Dandy. So the Friday before the market I am scheming a "leaflet bombing" of Camden in full dress-up :)
People need to know about this market and its fabulous sellers!
This was yesterday's Dandy ensemble:
Vintage 50s floral dress, 90s lurex jumper, 80s boots, tights & crochet & soapstone heart earrings.
Hope you've all had a fantastic weekend :)
I'm burying my face in my First Aid book in preparation for my course next Saturday but I'm hoping to get a couple of hours over the next few days to catch up with all my faves in the blogosphere.
Loads of love,
Jennie
xXx