Busy Weekend

I am coming back down to earth with a bump after what has been a very hectic weekend.  It all began on Friday with getting ready for Stafford Antiques fair.  Thankfully we were allowed to set up on Friday taking the pressure off being there at the crack of dawn to set up on Saturday morning.  All I had to do was turn up and faff on Saturday morning.  The fair was very busy on both days and I was pleased to receive lots of compliments about my stand as I did wonder if I would be out of place at an antiques fair as I am more used to doing textile based fairs.  I was one of only a handful of stall holders selling textiles and the others seemed to be selling house hold linens rather than quilts and fabrics.  The customers and other stall holders were lovely (apart from one customer that is!!)  and we had a couple of days filled with lots of laughter, as usual I was very entertaining and loud!!

These lovely French trinket boxes have a lovely story attached to them.  I had just had the worst customer (you always get one don't you?) when a lady who had been to my stand earlier and spied an eiderdown she liked but couldn't quite afford suddenly reappeared around the side of my stand brandishing these gorgeous trinket boxes.  She very tentatively asked me if we could do a swap, the boxes for the eiderdown?  All the way home she said she couldn't stop thinking about the eiderdown and came up with the idea to offer me her French boxes in exchange.  I could have hugged her as I was still seething over my customer from hell.  I told her that she had restored my faith in human nature as she was so kind and lovely.  I was more than happy to swap the eiderdown for the boxes as I have long coveted one of the large trinket boxes after missing out on one a while ago.

I didn't really get much chance to have a look around but towards the end of the fair I spotted this box of millinery feathers on another stand nearby.  There are two large Ostrich feathers and two smaller plumes.

On closer inspection I then realised the box was worth the money I paid in itself, it is an old corset box with a date of 1903 on the front.

On the back is a load of spiel about a dubious sounding new metal that has been invented called 'Zairoid'!! which doesn't break or rust and is therefore more reliable in the making of corsets!  To me it sounds like a cream for piles!!

Inside the box is a flap of paper (sadly no corset) that obviously covered the contents and pictured on it are these beauties in their finery...oh for a figure like that!

It has been a very enjoyable weekend but now it's back to the housework and weekday routine, although I do have something very exciting to look forward to next Sunday....the Manchester Antique Textile fair, held by the Antique Textile Society annually and where I will be partaking of a little spend!  Have a great week.

Jo xx