Vintage Finds

Yesterday I went to the Vintage Fashion and Textile fair run by Decorative Fairs  at Chester racecourse. I was on the hunt for some more haberdashery to make into jewellery. After a bit of rummaging I came home with a good haul....


Vintage haberdashery heaven

 The 1940s and 50s buckles I'll use to make brooches like this one below, they are all one offs, at the moment you can only get them from me at Craft fairs and events.

Vintage Buckle brooch

I found a box full of tiny snippets of lace - not whole pieces, just parts of patterns, they must have been part of a lacemaker's sample box, because some of them have little notes attached to them with instructions on how to make them and if you look at the picture you can see one with a customer's name - Mrs Potter. So lovely to find these samples of another maker's work and to be able to use them, not leave them in a box.


Lace samples



I'm looking forward to using these pieces of lace to make some one off pieces in my new collection - Vintage Lace. I wonder if this lacemaker was like me and finished her samples hours before she sent off to sell her lace to a client or at went to some fair? (I finished the first samples for the Vintage Lace collection less than 24hrs before the British Craft Trade Fair a fortnight ago!) I wish I knew the names of these makers, such a lot of work and skill and nobody to credit for it.

Vintage Lace - Fiorenza earrings

Vintage Lace - Fiorenza necklace