Bazaar, Woo Hoo and Halloween!

Yesterday was the Vintage Bazaar at Frome, where organisers Clare and Lizzie estimate that 1150 people came through the doors...Wooh!

It certainly was a bustling fair and so I was not able to get round all the stalls to photograph them (or to buy from them! :( But I suspect a tour around blogland will give you a glimpse of most of them. I would recommend a visit to Sal's blog - she has worked hard making her entire post rhyme - hats-off to you Sal!)
I'm sorry my photos aren't great, but they'll hopefully give you a flavour of the day...

Donna's colourful array of fabrics and trims was one of the first double stands at the front of the hall.

My little selection was tucked in behind her...

I am very grateful to all who stopped by to say hello, or to make a purchase...it was lovely to catch up with some familiar faces once again, and to meet some new ones.

My thanks to Radka for her kind words on her blog.

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One 'newcomer' was my very good friend Debbie, who had a stall selling scrumptious gardenalia.

She was a little nervous to be doing her first fair, but I think you will agree that her stall was fantastic and would not have looked out of place at a prestigious event such as The Chelsea Flower Show!

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(I have mentioned Debbie on my blog before, as I included her home and garden in my book - Some photos of her garden can be seen here.)

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Opposite me was Tracey's beautifully opulent stall, which attracted many admiring visitors.

Here's Sal's stall, where you could find a wonderful collection of colourful fabrics...

Lucy had managed to pull together a huge array of goods, despite feeling unwell during the run up to the fair.

The same goes for Sue, who had arrived with some stunning antique French fabrics...

And this adorable velvet skater doll, to mention just a very small part of her tantalising display.

Helen, with her 'Every Small Stitch' embroideries arranged amongst pretty vintage pieces was an inspiration.

Clare had extended her range of wonderful felt hats to include these sweet tilt style numbers at the front of her stall.

Gertie had been busy creating too, using some antique French fabrics in her designs.

Finally Ali's stall caught my eye, and I couldn't pass by without treating myself to a small pressie! ;-))

This beautifully elegant lavender filled sachet, styled as an Edwardian hand bag is made from a fine Victorian silk.

I've hung it from my mannequin for now, to scent our bedroom.

Thanks to Lizzie and Clare for organising such a great event.

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Now I'd just would like to mention a new shop that opens for the first time tomorrow in Shepton Mallet. During the filming for Turn Back Time by Wall to Wall, a 70's style boutique was set up as one of the shops for the show. Mandy, a local woman who was regularly filmed for the programme as a core customer, was so inspired by the experience, that she has decided to open the shop as a retro vintage clothing shop, keeping as much of the 'scenery' as possible. She is joined by her very good friend Zoe in the venture; Zoe already runs a clothing shop in Bruton, so between the two of them, I'm sure they will create a very unique shopping experience.

On Tuesday evening, they will be holding a Babycham celebration in the 'Woo Hoo' boutique, as part of the Victorian event. I'd like to wish these two lovely ladies much success - This is such exciting news to have another shop opening at the lower end of town. Hopefully it will encourage more businesses to join the 'vintage vibe' and the town can perhaps become known as the place to shop for a vintage-fix!

This is a photograph that I took of Mandy during the filming, after she had just had her hair done in the 1960's Hair Salon!

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A busy week awaits me...As I just mentioned, its the Victorian Event on Tuesday, in Shepton, and I shall be open late. Then I shall be at Compton House, Axbridge at the weekend, for their Shopping Event. Hopefully I shall be able to pop back to my blog later in the week, when I will show some of the photos that I took during the filming of the 1870's on the Market Place, once the first programme has premiered on Tuesday evening.

Have a great week....

And Happy Halloween to those who like to celebrate it,

Niki x

Vintage Bazaar - Frome

The Vintage Bazaar, Frome, will take place tomorrow from 9am until 3pm, at The Cheese & Grain. More details can be found on the website here.

There promises to be a wide range of stallholders, so hopefully there will be something for everyone, from vintage goods, costume, handmade crafts, to festive delights. (Just to confirm, my shop will be closed on the Saturday, whilst I attend this fair with my ever willing assistant - Hubby!)

I've not had time for a mock-up of my stall beforehand, but hopefully I shall get most of the items that I'm taking, somewhere on the table!

I shall be going for a slightly festive feel, alongside some of my usual handmade items that would make ideal stocking fillers.

I have a lovely painted over-mantle mirror...I'm not sure how I shall use it on my stall, so it may end up propped up on the floor!...eek!...I've hung from it, the two WWII hand knitted socks that I found this month, as festive stockings with a twist.

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I've made a few bottle/brooch pieces, in Christmassy colours...

And some handbags from antique fabrics for the party season.

My rag dolls include Joy...

- She is a Guardian Angel. I created her wings from a wooden French cupboard pediment, which I bought a month or so ago from friends who regularly travel to the French markets.

She's dressed in pure white lace and linens, with a few vintage sparkles.

Next is Unity - A patriotic girl in her red, white and blue ensemble.

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Hollie is patiently waiting for Christmas in her party gear...I made her skirt from one of my precious antique Scheurer fabrics! ;-))

Her angora jacket will keep out the winter's chill.

There's a noisy gaggle of fallen angels that have been causing all sorts of mischief in my basement workroom!...As each one was completed, they were hung from the branches of my twiggy tree.

I've come up with 10 unique girls, each one is dressed in antique lace and trims, and are a labour of love.

Just hope I can get them to the fair safely, as who knows what they'll get up to together! ;-))

Would you like to meet them?

There are two very well behaved angels amongst them, of the non-fallen variety(!), who will hopefully keep the rest in line...

Moving on...Last count, I'd made twenty two brooch pillows - That's a lot of vintage brooches I've had to find...

There's a few with a Christmas theme...

I was so happy to find this little gilt holly leaf brooch last Sunday...Don't you just love it when exactly the right thing comes along for your creations?

There are several with gorgeous glamour girls printed from old French postcards, that I love to use in my work...

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And I thought I'd try a few using photographs that I'd taken of transfer printed Victorian china...Complete with crazing in the glaze.

Posy brooches finish off this sweet selection.

I used larger china posy ornaments to create this swag of flowers across the top of a dressing table mirror...

I shall be wrapping this up well for its journey in the car; these take about a month for the putty to dry out, so I've been waiting a while for this one to be finished.

Other dressing table accessories include this china set that I made-over with antique lace.

And I made the little bags by recycling a piece of antique quilt.

Flowers trim an old perfume bottle and a c1930's cocktail glass.

I've had a lot of fun making some large flower hair clips from antique velvet and tulle, and smaller hair or lapel pins using a variety of vintage millinery flowers, net, velvet ribbons and diamante buckles.

The dressing up continues with some fancy stands for your favourite hats. I've used c1930 doll faces to make them, and added velvet cloche hats and appropriate vintage adornments to give them an authentic look inspired by the original boudoir hat stands of the flapper era.

Again, each one is unique.

A variety of cushions include a Barkcloth floral and a C19th French quilt fabric example.

Smaller stocking filler gifts are packed and ready for the off...

There are antique/vintage china cups filled with an assortment of old buttons...
Vintage fabric rag ribbons wound around wooden bobbins...

Sewing repair kits, complete with handmade pin cushions...

And chapel candles wrapped in bags made from antique lace.

Lavender sachets filled to busting...

And chandellier charms to hang from your Christmas tree, around your neck on a length of ribbon, or from a key in a pretty cabinet perhaps?

They come in a choice of French fabric backed, or fine white lace.

A few other items that are in my shop at the moment may also find their way onto my stall...

I realise there is more than enough here though...I know I've got a lot of stock, but this coming week is a very full one. After the Vintage Bazaar, there is the Victorian evening in Shepton Mallet, to celebrate the premier showing of the BBC history based documentary. (I shall be open late on that evening). Belinda has been regularly adding lots of info to her blog about the programme if you are interested.

Then on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th November, I shall be at the Compton House Shopping Event at Axbridge, (more details can be found on my website) with a little help from my Mum, who is coming to stay for a few days.

All this, and I need to keep my shop stocked for the run up to Christmas too.

Hope to see you at any of the above if you can make it.

Niki x