Ashley Hall Fair

Sunday saw the return of the Vintage Fashion & Textile Fair held at the Assembly Rooms in Bath. This impressive venue adds a touch of class to the fairs atmosphere and is such a joy to visit. This was the view from Liz's stand, with the giant chandeliers casting their twinkling white light over the proceedings.

Bronia had her stand next to Liz's, which is where I found these two adorable vintage boxes. One, a miniature set of drawers, covered in red retro paper, and the other is a handmade boudoir box transformed by gathers of crepe de chine with embroidered details.

Other discoveries; from two of my favourite French buyers:

An old chocolate box with metal braid trim.....

Some extremely pretty fabrics with roses and also some hard to find red Vichy check which is a 'must-buy' for me if the price is right! (I have heard of this selling at London Fairs for around £100 per metre! - it is C19th, so has become rare now. I like to include a little as hair ribbons for my handmade rag dolls - see post below)

Two teeny treasures include a tin of lip balm with contents still inside and a pair of miniature porcelain bellows, which I thought were very unusual - not sure what I shall do with them, but they are tiny enough to find a home somewhere.....

These glorious silk ribbon samples date from the 1890's and are as fresh and vibrant as when they were first produced. I am reliably informed that they have remained boxed and stored in the attic of a French Chateaux for all of their life.

Delicious!

And finally, one special purchase to add to my vintage bag collection was this flapper girls compact purse with hand worked ribbon flowers.....

and its original puff and powder still inside!

I had recently been thinking that I should stop collecting quite so many things....but I just seem drawn to these echoes of the past and love to bring them home, when my budget allows. I guess for some women its shoes, clothes or chocolate, for others its a love of old tat! ;-))

I left the fair and travelled home via a local junk shop, where I found this adorable spelter statue of a child with a bird and nest. It stands on a wooden base and I believe it is also French.

Hope you had a great weekend too.

Niki x