SOLD!

Some recent sales...

new {ish} shop space

I have moved my space at My Little Vintage from the back of the shop all the way to the very front. A better, brighter space, so fingers crossed it brings good things for me! Pictures are a bit rubbish I'm afraid...

Lots more space for my printed shades & cushions!

Vintage glass ware, painted mirror, retro stag, restyled furniture!

 I will be replenishing & tweaking my stock here, but I sell cushions, lampshades & tea towels which I screen print & hand make with organic, ethically sourced fabrics. Also, vintage finds such as retro glass ware, kitchen ware, lamps, decorative pieces & restyled furniture.

Pay a visit to this lovely shop!
My Little Vintage, Earls Barton, Northamptonshire

sold

A few of my recent sales...

vintage swap {3} - storage crates

This post is where I find a new item in a high-street or chain store and see if I can find a vintage (or maybe handmade) alternative at a similar/lower price. For the "new" items I have chosen a pair of vintage-style crates from Next, a store which epitomises the current obsession with vintage fakery and everything shabby-chic-stencilled-quotes-on-driftwood kind of thing. There are lots of vintage-style crates around at the moment. There are also lots of genuine vintage crates available if you have a quick look online. There is no reason why you have to buy vintage, but why buy fake vintage when the real thing is easily available at similar prices? You not only get attractive and useful storage, but a little bit of history that isn't going to end up as firewood. I found plenty of options for the genuine article, especially on ebay. This is just a small selection, but shop around as delivery prices tend to be reduced for multiple items. I included the Indian boxes from Pedlars which are not typical crate style or size, but are an interesting alternative to the high-street versions!

{1} set of 2 large crates, Next £50 + £3.99 del.

{2} vintage crates, Silversprint shop on Ebay.co.uk £10 + £4.95 del (reduced for multiple items)

{3} vintage 1960's crates on Preloved, £20

{4} vintage German wine crates, vintagecratesuk.co.uk £20

{5} vintage Indian boxes, Pedlars £20 + £5.95 del.

vintage enamel jugs

Vintage enamel ware jugs are used effectively in this modern country home on housetohome.co.uk.

Used as vases, my bright blue enamel jug would work for this look. In my Etsy shop, £20.

new stock

Even though I've been quiet on the blog front, I have been busy making new stock and hunting out vintage treasures! I had a good week in my studio-shed, printing, dyeing and sewing while Chris took time off to look after Hesper. Bliss. The result is a range of larger sized lampshades (30cm Diameter), some cushions with my "foxy" design that I had only used on kids clothes before and some dip-dyed cloud cushions. I also replenished my smaller cushions and tea towels. Most of this has been put into my space at My Little Vintage, with some left for the next fair.

Did I take any decent photos before I took them away? of course not. Have I got to rely on Facebook photos?...yep.

I have found a new fabric for my lampshades, I am now using an off-white medium-weight power loom cotton. Still organic and ethically made, it is a lighter, smoother fabric than the linen and heavier cottons I used before. It creates a better finish when rolled into a shade and lets more light through. 

I have used the last of my lovely linen for some small cushions. I printed this Foxy design and backed with a lovely woollen check - remnants from a Derbyshire mill. Sadly, this linen is no longer available, so I experimented with an organic cotton twill - I'm so-so about this. The next lot will be made with a heavier weight grainy cotton, hopefully in different colours.

I've also been accumulating lots of vintage pieces and furniture to restyle. I finally got the opportunity to photograph and list in my Etsy shop. My favourite is this Yellow Hornsea Jardiniere, which is not only stunning but apparently scarce.

  

Check out my Etsy shop here.

Thank you

x

ps: I will have a table at the My Little Vintage Fair at The Granary at Fawsley, 22nd June 11-4!

vintage swap No.2

This is my second attempt at trying to find vintage alternatives to new, chain-store or high-street finds. 

This time I've chosen a large glass vase by Bloomingville, reminiscent of vintage hand-blown bottles. It is a cool blue, 25cm high, 18cm diameter and available at John Lewis for £61. Phew!

My alternatives are both vintage, both on Etsy and both cheaper! They are green glass rather than blue, but they are the real thing! First, is a French Demi-john with a height of 26cm, from Chezvivianne on Etsy. It costs £25 and even with postage costs of £12.25 to UK, it is still a cheaper option. Larger still at 33cm high, this pale green Italian Demijohn from Rusticitalia on Etsy is £35 plus £18 postage to UK, so only slightly cheaper but it is bigger... and vintage!

(By the way, I decided to call this post vintage swap as "Don't buy this..." is a bit harsh!)

Happy vintage-hunting!

don't buy that, buy this! {1}

Don't get me wrong, I love Ikea. I think it's fantastic that nowadays people can completely furnish their homes on a tight budget. BUT, on my last visit, I spotted a rather attractive vivid green dining chair which I was rather surprised to see priced at £100. It was attractive, a lovely green but it was still Ikea, still flat-pack and you would still need at least 4 for most dining tables! My reaction was "Why would you pay £100 for a new Ikea chair when can buy a vintage G-plan one for a fraction of that price?"(Actually, what I probably said was "F***ing Hell, a hundred quid?!") With that in mind, I'm attempting to start a new post finding vintage alternatives to high-street goods. The aim is not to say that Ikea or high-street, or chain stores should be avoided (I do buy new too!), but sometimes the vintage styles that these new designs are emulating, can be found at similar or cheaper prices than the modern versions. They will often have signs of wear which can add to their charm ...and as they have already been around for a few years you can be pretty sure they are made to last! Also, I think sometimes people want to create an eclectic, vintage look in their homes but don't know where to start, hopefully this might help!

So, post No.1: I haven't gone for that green chair, but for this cheaper metal-framed chair. It is only £29, but vintage alternatives are available at similar prices. I found two school chair alternatives from Mayfly Vintage and Nixey and Godfrey:

{1} Korpo chair, Ikea £29
{2} Vintage Stacking School Chairs, Mayflyvintage.co.uk, £20
{3} Vintage French School Chairs, Nixeyandgodfrey.com, £35

Provence painted candle holder

 I need to catch up with my blogging now the Easter Holidays are at an end. But just a quick post with a recent project. This iron candle holder was given to me by somebody who had bought it years ago on holiday. It was made by a blacksmith from wrought iron, it is quite heavy and well made. But it was looking a bit tired in rusted old black. I painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (no surprises!) in "Provence", a lovely pale blue-green, very French. I then applied a wash of  Dark Wax diluted with White Spirit and applied with a brush. Excess wash is then wiped off with a cloth. This is the first time I've used this method of applying Dark Wax and it is so much easier, especially in the warmer weather as the wax does not dry as quickly and it requires a lot less elbow grease to get the desired effect. I lightly rubbed the entire piece with coarse wire wool to smooth out and distress in some places.  Apparently, its previous owner used it to serve cakes at parties, decorated with candles... perfect for a summer garden party!

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This is to available to buy for £28, please contact me if you are interested. 

Collection is from Northamptonshire, thank you!

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Latest vintage finds

I had a good weekend in terms of vintage hunting. I found these lovely big green glass vessels. Are they demijohns or carboys? There seems to be confusion online as to the difference but I think either will do. I have been on the look out for something like this for years, to display fairy lights in at Christmas and I was lucky enough to find two! They are made by Viresa in Italy during the 1960's. The glass has that dimpled, hand-blown quality to it and they just need a little clean. I do love old glass, which I never realised before but I do seem to keep buying old bottles and vases in different colours, preferably in vibrant colours and with wobbly bits!

I also bought a collection of brass bits. Something else that I am unexpectedly drawn to. I even managed to get in the shed ("studio" if I'm feeling cocky) and take some half decent photos and get some listed on Etsy:

I thought these brass cherub candle sconces a while ago and decided they were a bit too yellow looking. So I painted them with layers of Annie Sloan Chalk paint - Old White and Florence. I distressed the paint and then added some dark wax in the details before sealing with clear wax. 

I wanted a weathered look of old paint and verdigris. I think it has worked...! All available in my Etsy shop now.