Goodbye & Thank you

As some of you may have already guessed I have decided to call it a day with my Blog.  I feel the blog has run it's course and although I have really enjoyed writing the posts I have decided that it is time for it to end. I won't delete the posts as some may still want to read my past ramblings and I must admit I too do enjoy a trip down memory lane from time to time to see how things have evolved since I first started writing.  I am of course not abandoning the scene altogether and the Pugs and I can still be found on Facebook. I also do of course still pop back to catch up with my favourite blogs in my side bar.  A big thank you to you all for reading my ramblings and sharing the highs and lows with me over the past few years.

Jo xx

Thank you from the Pugs and me xx

More Naughties

Yes I have been buying again!  I couldn't resist these Victorian boots and cage bustle.

Very sweet little Victorian buttoned boots.  They will be coming to Antiques For Everyone where we are having a stand at the end of July.

These very sweet little silk wedding boots have an original hand written label with them saying they were worn by the ladies Grandmother at her weddding in 1858.  They even have their original bag with them.

A beautiful example of a Victorian cage bustle, and in fantastic original condition.

Hope you are all having a lovely sunny day.

Jo xx

Lovely Day Out................

Hubby and I enjoyed a little jaunt over to North Wales yesterday to pick up two new mannequins from Drew Pritchard Antiques.

I know I have a huge collection already but I can't resist them when I find them and they are becoming very scarce now.  

These Stockmans are circa 1880's, and it is rare to find one let alone two so I feel very lucky.

On the way back from picking up the two mannequins we decided to pay a visit to John whose blog called 'Going Gently' I read everyday.  Some of you will be familiar with it.  John lives in the beautiful welsh village of Trelawnyd with his partner and assorted animals.  His blog is the most fantastic and humorous read and I recommend it, it certainly brightens my day.  I have told him he should turn it into a book!

John showing me around his 'bosoms' (allotments to those who don't read his blog).

Was particularly impressed with Boris his sexually frustrated turkey who also has a shoe fetish, especially for 'crocs'..............

The beautiful countryside around his cottage.

It was lovely to meet you John and so kind of you to show us around, especially as you were meant to be in bed because you were working nights! Hope you don't think I'm some kind of stalker LOL!  Apologies for the bloody awful picture of me...........

Jo xx

PS thank you for the lovely goose egg xx

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

I love this lady...how cool

Enjoy

Jo xx

Taking a Backseat

I have recently come to a very hard decision that I will not be attending the fairs as a seller in the near future. I have been finding things a little overwhelming so have decided to call it a day for the time being.  I will be attending a couple of local fairs just to keep my hand in but not travelling further afield.  Hopefully after this break I will return but for now I've got to focus on other projects.  I have a couple of projects in mind still to do with antique textiles and my passion for them of course so I'm not abandoning the antique/vintage scene altogether, and I will of course still be buying!

I have really enjoyed the fairs that I have attended over the years and the wonderful people I have met.  I will stay in touch with you all via this blog and Facebook so I can still see what's happening.  Hopefully after a break I will return in the future, and I am sure from time to time I will come to the fairs as a customer.  

Love

Jo xx

Brocante on the 9th of May

I am busy sorting and pricing textiles and antiques in readiness for this beautiful event to be held next Thursday.

I have some beautiful pieces squirrelled away, things that are very hard to part with but I hope will find new owners.

I've even had some new business cards printed!  It should be a beautiful day with lots of temptation on offer so I will have to keep my blinkers on especially as the Chelsea Tractor looks as though it may be needing some new tyres in the near future....veerrry expensive :(

Have a lovely Bank Holiday Weekend and enjoy the sunshine.

Jo xx

PS Have just joined Facebook after months of resisting...I am slowly getting to grips with it.

Vintage Bazaar in Hartley Wintney

Saturday I will be at the Vintage Bazaar in Hartley Wintney, please come along if you can.  It promises to be a wonderful day organised by the very talented Lizzie and full of vintage and antique treasures.

This is a taster of some lovelies accompanying me on Saturday.

I have been busy sewing and to be honest it was lovely to get back to my work room and spend a relaxing afternoon sewing and listening to Radio 4 Extra on my trusty pink Roberts radio.  What was even nicer was my lovely neighbour cooked me lunch...she is in her seventies and her cooking is to die for!

Hope you can make it.

Jo xx

Spring Vintage Bazaar

Tomorrow I will be having a stand at the Spring Vintage Bazaar in Frome organised by the lovely Lizzie & Clare.  I will be taking lots of new treasures and my Steampunk helper will be accompanying me.

Saturday April 20th 2013, 9am to 3pm, admission £1

at the Cheese & Grain in Frome.

Hope to see you there.

Jo xx

Dairy House Textile Fair

I will be here tomorrow.  Really looking forward to a lovely day with lots of lovely treasures to tempt.

See you there if you can make it.

Jo xx

New Addition

Introducing our new addition to the Pug family....Pickle pup!  

He's absolutely adoreable and is settling in nicely with the others.

We couldn't resist him!  

Have a great week.

Jo xx

Vintage Jumble Time

I'm busy sorting, pricing and packing in readiness for the Vintage Jumble to be held at Rangeworthy Village Hall this Saturday.  It has been organised by the lovely Jayne & Michele of V&H fame with the local WI serving wonderful refreshments.  

This is just a fraction of the goodies that I will be bringing with me including my patchwork trunk that involved an awful lot of swear words when I re-covered it!  I am just hoping it doesn't snow and the Met office have got it wrong!  Snow in March...can you believe it?

Hope you can make it on Saturday, see you then, I will be the one with a team of Pugs pulling the sledge........

Jo xx

Devizes & Manchester

The Vintage Bazaar in Devizes was a huge success, the hall was packed for most of the day.  Lizzie & Clare (and Jack) did a wonderful job of organising another successful fair, thank you for a great day and all your hard work.  The venue was spacious with lots of natural light and right in the centre of town so hopefully we will return there in the future.

Sunday was the annual Antique Textile Society fair in Manchester.  I was very good and saved like mad for this event and came away with some beauties for my own collection and also future fairs. 

The cage bustle and corset in the above picture came from Meg Andrews stand.  I have been hunting for a bustle for ages so was thrilled to find this one in very good condition.  The black jacket is part of a Victorian three piece I also found.

This gorgeous Edwardian beaded gown was one of many finds.

Even Camille came away with a new outfit....a beautiful silk velvet 1920's coat from Sallie Ead and a 20's jet head dress from another stand..she's got a better wardrobe than me!

Now I couldn't come away without some quilty gorgeousness could I?  Found this lovely Victorian Log Cabin quilt and couldn't resist....coveting for a while then will probably be for sale.  I also met up with Heather from Hellish Designs who was standing and Viv from Hens Teeth who was also partaking of a little retail therapy like myself!

I had a wonderful time truffling out treasures, lots of which will be for sale at my upcoming fairs.

Have a great week.

Jo xx

Vintage Bazaar in Devizes

Do please come along if you can............organised by the fabulous Lizzie & Clare.

I have lots of new lovely treasures to tempt!

See you there if you can make it.

Have a great weekend whatever you are doing.

Jo xx

Vintage & Handmade Textile & Fashion Fair

This coming Saturday I will be attending the Vintage and Handmade Textile and Fashion Fair organised by Jayne & Michele.   I have been sorting and pricing lots of lovelies to take with me and accumulating boxes in the conservatory as we speak ready for loading into the van for Saturday....  Please do come along if you can, it promises to be a lovely day with some fabulous treasures on offer.

Have also had some lovely new finds recently.  This circa 1900 rare miniature wasp waist mannequin came from Julie at Vintage Style Mannequins bought for me by my lovely hubby, and another to add to the ever growing collection!

Hubby took me to the Malvern Flea at the weekend.  I bought these gorgeous circa 1860 boots which are in lovely condition and have gently filled them out with tissue paper to keep their shape.  I also bought some treasures to sell on at future fairs.

Camille is sporting a beautiful Edwardian silk coat I purchased from the same stand the boots came from.  We had a wonderful time truffling out some lovely bits and pieces.  The flea is well worth a visit if you are ever down that way.  Enjoy the rest of your week and see you on Saturday if you can make it.

Jo xx

Edwardian Wedding Ensemble

Another beauty from my collection.............

The most exquisite silk and lace Edwardian wedding dress.  It has been stored away very carefully as it is in the most beautiful condition aside from a few little foxing marks.

The bodice has the most exquisite lace and pin tuck detailing, and the lace around the neck has stiffeners to help keep it upright.

I have carefully stuffed the sleeves with tissue to help keep the shape.

Even the back has the most beautiful detailing.

The wedding dress came with it's original wax flower bridal head dress, now very fragile.

and even the original kid leather wedding shoes.........

I am totally in love...but I may be good and part with it one day!

Have a great week.

Jo xx

Early 19th Century Harp

Hubby and I have been after a full size harp for many years and have never found one.

Then out of the blue this beauty turned up!

We have been looking for years and we can't believe it.  The harp is early nineteenth century and is in need of extensive restoration to get it back to playing condition...which incidentally neither of us can do!

We have contacted a harp restorer in Wales so it will be heading to his workshop soon to see what needs doing and more importantly how much??

Looks like some harp lessons may be the order of the day.

Or this rather lovely man can come over and pluck my strings any day...ooer missus.

Have a great week.

Jo xx

Belated Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas?  We had a nice quiet one here at home and managed to catch up with lots of maintenance jobs, there is always something that needs doing in a period cottage!

I have also been very busy with my new online shop at Ruby Lane.  I was finding that the more delicate pieces that I sell wouldn't stand up to being carted around to the fairs and would get damaged so I have decided to sell some of them on line.

As you can see, Ruby Lane is also very dangerous for buying!  A blue silk pair of early nineteenth century shoes.

....and a green pair!

I also have recently bought this Victorian silk wedding dress for my collection, absolutely tiny but in lovely condition.  The 20's dress and lace jacket next to it came from Ali when Mum and I attended her Betty & Violet Christmas Boutique open house sale just before Christmas.

Camille was part of my Christmas pressie, she is a Pierre Imans wax mannequin dating from the late teens/early twenties.  She is wearing a 1914 velvet and chiffon opera coat that came all the way from the USA courtesy of  Holly at Past Perfect Vintage.

Andy and I decided to go on a little jaunt last Sunday to the Malvern Flea, quite why we have never been before escapes me because it was only an hour away and absolutely fantastic!  This beautiful marriage casket with mirrored stand was an favourite purchase.

This little French mirrored stand was also another purchase.  We met Jane from Country Cottage Chic and her hubby who were also out having a spend.  It was absolutely fantastic and the weather was kind to us.

Quite how I managed to fit three Pugs on my lap is beyond me!  As you can see, Pixie has made herself very much at home here with us (she is the little one at the front with teeth showing) and is proving to be a bit of a Madam!  Hope you have all had a great start to 2013.

Happy New Year.

Jo xx