a brief taste of real summer

My summer open house at the weekend was brilliant, the most successful ever so many thanks to all who came. There was a brilliant mix of brand new customers and lovely familar faces and I really appreciate the effort made by all of you especially those who braved the downpours on Friday.
Despite the weather we enjoyed sipping Kir and eating strawberries and put a brave face on the British summer. Fortunately I had gathered flowers from the garden before the rains lashed down

But I had at least had a taste of what summer can be on our recent trip to southern Italy. Eating breakfast on a sunny terrace, reading trashy novels on a sunshaded beach, enjoying an afternoon swim and of course far too much red wine and pasta; for 10 short days this was our life!
Antique shopping was in short supply but I did manage to buy these beautiful pots.

They are traditional Puglian pots from the mid eighteenth century and used to store fish or vegetables over the winter months. I love the handles with "ears" and the soft yellowy cream glaze.
I'm looking forward to filling them with flowers given that preserving the garden's bounty is not me

How I would have loved to bring back more but the combined strictures of Ryanair and an anxious husband prevented this....but next year a kindle and 2 sundresses will be the sole occupants of my suitcase (possibly)
Back home the sewing machine has been shocked into life

I love this soft coloured Art Deco print with toning French vintage linen
This weekend I'm taking to the road with both hellish designs and my vintage finds and hope you'll come and say hello if you can
I'll be at the Country Chic fair in Spofforth in North Yorkshire on saturday and on Sunday I'll be in Norfolk at Gresham's School in Holt
This event was almost rained off last year so I've booked an inside stand this time just as the weather forecast promises a real summer weekend
Details of both events are on the left of this post...email for more info

Shopping Allowed

One of the best parts of my job has to be going antique shopping in "office hours"; all those fairs which were off limits when I worked in a school are now part of the working week. Even better when selling and buying at the same event! Sadly this is only possible for as long as the chosen items sell and bring in enough profit to feed the habit.
So fingers crossed that my current purchases will find favour when I price them up for sale at my open house in two weeks time!

I've stocked up with lots of linen grainsacks as they make the perfect outdoor bench cushions or rustic garden table runners; note toning French plates for summer desserts.

The room is filled with the scent of peonies, how strange that I had never noticed before what a strong scent they have, similar to an old fashioned rose. These tall glass jars perfectly support their long stems but are equally good for storage; I have several filled with cards of buttons.

I'm thinking of leaving these pots on the table, they look so at home there. A selection of crocks from Normandy used to store preserves.

I love these misshapen bottles and think they need to be displayed in groups. They are handmade using the coil pot method and were probably used to store Calvodos; the most irregularly shaped possibly made when the potter had imbibed the contents!

Another saltglaze French jug but a particularly beautiful example

In the year of the 60th anniversary of our queen's coronation a little bit of royal history; a mug commenmorates the Diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria with a portrait of both the young and older queen

Been using my hipstomatic app to take these atmoshperic pics. Thought the style suited these smokey pharmacy jars; the dealer I bought them from offered cleaning instructions little knowing I had bought them because of the effect of their mysterious contents

French child's working boots

Lovely glass wall lights are difficult to display but love them against this marble platter; these huge plates from Northern India are perfect for candles

A group of American storage jars in potato basket, these bottles look so sweet filled with garden flowers on a lunchtime table, let's hope for a return to sunnier weather

I'll be parting with all these treasures at my open house on Friday/Saturday 28/29 June; do please come along

Telling the story

One of my favourite trade customers always talks of the "story"; we need to tell a story she says.
By this she means choosing cushions and shades which work well together and draw the customer into their grouping in order to promote a purchase or maybe more than one.

I find these stories often emerge as fabrics lie next to one another in piles in my workroom or accidentally as I place cushions in bags ready for fairs. The starting point for this story was a lovely vintage French floral with pink roses on a red ground. it looks great with cream or beige and tones with stripes as in this image

Sometimes there may be a positive/negative connection as in this group.

Finished cushions and shades sit in a muddle on the chaise longue in my workroom awaiting pricing and photography. However I decided to bring these down to my bedroom for neater shots; this little sofa is such a favourite piece. I recently made this simple loose cover from a lovely slightly crumpled linen sheet I'd bought

I often make both cushions and shades from the same fabric in case someone is looking to coordinate them in a room.

I like this "waisted" shape shade and have accentuated it with a wide striped band.

The floral panel shade is a regular favourite and I like using a toning stripe if possible.

If you see anything you like just email for individual photos

Time to restock

Seems a while since my last post and I guess the reason is 2 weekends away from home selling at fairs.
The salvage fair was great fun despite an incredibly wet Saturday; the marquees proved watertight and customers visiting on that day were obviously the keen type and spent well. I had wondered what stock to take to fit the brief and the garden containers, rustic cushions and fabrics did sell but in addition I sold more pretty lampshades than average.
So this week time to restock and its nice to be home in the peace of the workroom albeit with builders downstairs banging a hole in the wall! The new Laura Marling will hopefully keep the choas at bay.

I like this very simple shade in beige linen, a good size for bedside or living room and lined in cream for brighter light.

Another simple but very effective fabric is this cream textured linen; I've chosen to give it a simple tie finish

This is the third and sadly final shade in this beautiful French faded cotton. The colours are perfect Farrow and Ball; the background matches Pigeon or shown here against Hardwick White...sad I know.....

This is classic French, lovely blue Vichy check, named for the area of France where it originates and sadly increasingly hard to find. It and its pink counterpart make lovely shades which give soft diffused light.

When I saw this piece of fabric at the V&H fair on Saturday it said lampshades; lovely soft draping fabric with perfect cottage roses print. This is quite a large shade but I'll make some smaller ones from the rest of the fabric
I've just opened an Etsy shop, hope you'll take a look, and hope to put some of these shades on it. I'm also intending to update the blogshop, just click on the link to the right

Salvage fair at Ripley Castle

Had a really exciting time at the Brocante at Nonsuch Mansion last week. Such temptation was everywhere; Jo from Hesta Nesta was next to me and as ever her stall was so beautiful and the surroundings were a fab backdrop to our wares. I treated myself to bunches of "garden flowers" and a lovely jug to put them in but sadly had to resist the beautiful French dresser Nikki had for sale
Unfortunately just not enough customers came along; those who did were very appreciative and hopefully as this was a new event next year will see many more. For me a personal achievement! I had never stayed in a b&b or hotel on my own before so I've now broken that duck, (pathetic I know and something all my children would do without thinking!) and even enjoyed a pub meal alone albeit in a very friendly pub. This has set me up to plan fairs futher afield in search of the busy ones.

This weekend however will be on more familar territory and my b&b will be at my lovely daughter's house. My friend Alex (Crowtree Antiques) and I have taken a marquee together at the Salvage Fair in the grounds of Ripley Castle. This is just across the road from the village hall where we have stood together at many Country Chic events. As we don't have a Country Chic fair there this year it seemed a good opportunity to visit and hopefully see some of our regular customers

We are both intending to bring our usual mix of quilts, textiles, cushions and lampshades but add into the mix garden containers, wooden boxes, lovely big French pots and in my case this great bench

I'd dearly like to keep it but I do have another in my greenhouse and there really isn't room for two so hope this will look lovely outside our tent..weather permitting!
Do hope you'll come along and say hello!

Vintage alphabet

I've always admired beautiful old embroidery and would love to be able to afford a lovely old sampler but exquisitely embroidered monograms are still affordable. These monograms can be found on napkins, towels, sheets and clothing, often part of a bride's dowry and marking her possessions with her new married initials.
Even if the tablecloth or sheet is worn the mongram is usually salvagable and can be made into another functional item.

I love incorporating a mongram into a linen cushion cover, using antique linen for the surround, and these cushions can make lovely personalised gifts. In the run up to Christmas I try to have as many intials as possible as they are always popular. I've recently bought a large supply and am currently making sweet little cushions which sit happily on a chair or bed and can make the perfect christening or wedding gift or perhaps a special birthday can be marked with one.

I love the faded pink of this group, originally red but uniformly faded and very pretty.

I particularly like the cross stitch embellishments on these mongrams

Very stylish, white on white; very sweet as a christening gift

This is a T but must confess it looks quite like a C to me; often ask the french lady I buy from to "translate" the letter

The P and V are really lovely with a floral design incorporated into the letters

I used to make up the mongrams as they were, that is a double set of first and last name, but as it was difficult to find exactly the right pair for a customer I now separate the 2 letters and make smaller cushions. I've left this RL for now as it was on a linen cushion cover.

Similarly TS remains for now; a beautiful monogram on a very fine linen tablecloth

Would these 2 make a gift for a newly qualified doctor?
Each cushion is 30cm square and contains a feather pad; usually £22, readers of my blog can buy one for £20 or 2 for £36 until the end of April. (Postage is £3). Just leave a comment and I'll send images of any letters you're interested in.
Had a lovely time catching up with both buyers and sellers at last weekends Country Chic fair: this Saturday I'll be heading in the opposite direction to the Vintage Bazaar at Hartley Wintney. I've been on Liz's waiting list for ages so excited about my first fair with her..wish me luck and come and say hello if you can

Country Chic beckons

I've returned from planet wedding (aka Harrogate) where our daughter married her lovely long term partner but I've found it hard to get back to work; daily doses of wedding photo viewing are required at regular intervals.

However this weekend sees the first of the North Yorkshire Country Chic fairs this year and so has concentrated my mind somewhat. Before we left for the wedding I had bought an enormous and expensive quantity of fabulous vintage textiles so have set to turning them, hopefully, to profit.

Some simply require washing and pressing but in the case of this lovely fine French linen sheet I am leaving well alone. There is an original label from the draper's but should the purchaser wish to use the sheet, a couple of hot washes will soften and lighten the fibres

This softly faded cotton is perfect for a cottage style lampshade

I love the strong cherry red in this ticking; in fact the fabric is so strong it would have been great for an upholstery project had there been a bigger piece. These cushions would be equally at home inside or in a conservatory or garden; we may get a summer this year!
I've been sewing so much over the last week that the sewing machine finally begged for mercy yesterday grinding to a noisy halt. After clearing the feed dog and shuttle of an enormous amount of packed in lint I took the hint and decided to sand, paint and wax instead

This small cupboard would sit neatly in a bathroom or kitchen, painted in Farrow and Ball "Old White"

I really like this bigger version with its crazed mirror glass; perhaps not the best for applying make up but very decorative.

I chickened out of using this dull pink on my stairs but the matchpot came in useful for painting the inside of the cupboard
The Country Chic fair is this Saturday and Sunday from 9.30-4.30 in Whixley village Hall. Whixley is a very pretty village situated just off the main Harrogate to York road and only a couple of miles from the A1 so hopefully it will be easily accessible for lots of you. Come along for a tempting collection of painted furniture and mirrors, vintage textiles and furnishings and jugs, china all in the shabby chic style.

I'll be taking a couple of pretty French parosols, very decorative even if the sun doesn't shine

A delightful pair of French boots

Spot the bubble trapped in this handmade glass jarwhich contained a supplement for calves; young cows that is not legs!

Nice functional piece, these filing drawers make organising more interesting
Hope to show you these and more if you get chance to come along; now back to the rejuvenated sewing machine