Vintage Flourish

Beautiful Old Boxes

What is it about old wooden crates and boxes that is so appealing ? ... For me it's their rutic look, the quirky lettering, the fact that they have survived ... they've served their initial purpose and are still here ... The problem with them being in fashion is that they're harder to find and more expensive.  There are many reproduction examples around but somehow none of them quite have the same look.  Anyway I already had a few and lately I've been lucky enough to find a couple more.  This weekend I took advantage of the nice weather and took some photos of them filled with plants

 

 

 

I think they'd look great at a rustic style wedding.  They add that vintage feel but are not too formal. Here's hoping someone walks into the shop looking for just that feel for their wedding ... being involved in someone's big day (especially when they are after a vintage look) is just such a creative buzz that I can't wait to do it again.  

I've also acquired another vintage typewriter ... you'll remember the little Imperial portable that I got a few weeks ago, well here's the latest addition

 

 

It's an Erika 105 and seems to be in very good condition, just needs a new ribbon which I have ordered from ebay.  My husband is now worried that this is the start of yet another collection, I protested that this is only the second one I've bought and he muttered something about that being how it always starts.  To be fair he's probably right!   I'm not sure yet if I'll keep it for renting out as a wedding prop or whether I'll sell it in the shop.

Well only a few days to go until Jubilee Weekend ... yesterday I picked up these super retro juice jugs - should come in handy for serving drinks

 

We're having Jubilee "Cocktails and Cake" at the shop on Saturday afternoon and then we're having some friends round for a Jubilee Tea Party on Tuesday afternoon ... whether you're a royalist or not it's a fantastic excuse for a get together!  

Finally, can't resist showing you the jubilee inspired finger nails that we came up with for the school fair this weekend.  Myself and 3 other lovely ladies sat for a couple of hours and painted the nails of many many little ladies 

 

Vintage China Love

I don't know when it started, but I've pretty much always loved old china and the prettier the better. Thinking about it now I have clear memories of my grandma having a selection of old china cups and saucers and when it was time for afternoon tea she'd take out a little round fold-down table that she had and put a tablecloth on it and we'd sit and have tea. So maybe those happy memories are the root of it, indeed I think a sense of nostalgia is at least partly responsible for the growing trend for vintage. Since I was a teenager I've collected (unintentionally really) old bits and pieces and china remains one of my main loves.

Well who can resist mismatched china cups?

Since I've had the shop this has gone into overdrive, suddenly I have a reason to be looking at auctions and sales and inevitably my collection has grown.  Now I hire out my china for tea parties and weddings in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, so other people get to enjoy it too. Don't get me wrong I'm not entirely selfless, I can now buy more and not feel too guilty about it!

Here's a picture of a lovely vintage style wedding we helped out at last year ... we set up our china for afternoon tea ... it looked so beautiful and I think having tea and cakes after the service is such a nice idea. The beautiful surroundings of Pittodrie House were a perfect setting.

 

 

I was packing up an order of china for hire yesterday and I decided to see how many different patterns I had at the moment ... I managed to find more than 20 and I thought I'd take a minute and get a few photos

 

 

 

The problem is that it's not just cups and saucers, now my collecting has spread to milk jugs, sugar bowls, tea pots ...

 

And to think many of these have come from sets that were given as wedding presents and were treasured and kept in china cabinets, some for more than 60 years.  But fashions changed and they fell out of favour, replaced by more modern options, with even some charity shops refusing to take them because they didn't sell. Happily things have changed, and with the current fashion for vintage it looks as if they will be treasured again.

This Weekend's Vintage Finds

I had a couple of hours to myself this Sunday morning and couldn't resist a little treasure hunting.  I found a lovely little tin to add to my rather large collection.

 

 

My tins have been used at weddings where they're filled with flowers and really add that vintage feel.  I can just imagine this one filled with bright yellow flowers!  Even some orange carnations would be cute.  Here are a few more of my tins, I filled them with flowers for the shop's birthday party in September.

 

 

and here are some that I did for a wonderful vintage style wedding that Flourish helped out with ... just look at the one with the country cottage on the front!

 

 

Ok so I'm tin obsessed ... but there's just something about them. I'm no longer able to get them on ebay as normally they just go for far too much, you can still pick them up at car boot sales and auctions though.  I managed to get a whole box of them for under £20 at auction a while back, obviously there were no "collectable" ones in there that the dealers were after, but they were perfect for me! 

Back to the vintage finds .... Got these wonderful retro teacups and saucers by Ridgway and I'm loving the pattern and colour.  They even match the amazing formica folding table that I bought at the vintage fair - how lucky was that.  These little darlings are being put aside for our latest project ... more about that later...