vintage love: John Lewis sewing needles

Usually, when I acquire a vintage item, I don't know its back story or "provenance". This isn't the case with this set of John Lewis Gold Eyed Needles. My Grandmother gave them to me a few years ago. As she passed them over, she told me that she'd purchased them from John Lewis in London during World War II. She was stationed there during the conflict when she was a member of the Women's Voluntary Service.

It seems something of a miracle that I now own something that survived the Blitz. The packet is only just holding itself together, but that's hardly surprising considering it was bought over 70 years ago.
During the war the East End of London was worst hit, but the West End also suffered many bombing raids. Oxford Street took a terrible hit in 1940 and many iconic stores were badly damaged. Yet John Lewis reopened a small section of its Oxford Street store just three weeks after the building had been set ablaze by incendiary devices. You can read more about the history behind the Blitz and Oxford street in this interesting online article.


Below is a photo of my 20 year old Grandmother in her WVS uniform. She's now 93 and isn't able to sew due to her age and ill health. But she was an excellent seamstress and I've seen many of the blouses and dresses she created. Her generation made clothes because they had to, if you wanted the latest dress, most people couldn't afford it, so they had to run up something themselves. my Grandmother has had a lifetime of thriftiness, the 'make do and mend' spirit of the war has stayed with her to this day.

If you'd like to see more retro goodies, head on over to my "Vintage Finds" board over on Pinterest...

Follow Pouch : blogging + craft's board My Vintage Finds on Pinterest.

Review: Contemporary Craft Festival, Bovey Tracey

The Contemporary Craft Festival is a three day event which took place on 7-9th June in Mill Marsh Park on the edge of Bovey Tracey. I was persuaded to go to the Contemporary Craft Fair by my Mum who spoke highly of a previous ‘Made by Hand’ event she had attended at Tredegar House in 2010. I did not know what to expect as I have only been to small scale craft fairs in the past. I can honestly say that I was blown away by the calibre of the exhibitors at the Bovey Tracey festival. It wasn’t just the craft on display, it was the whole organisation of the day which impressed me. From the staff manning the car park and entrance gate through to the quality of the food vans and general layout of the festival. Each individual element came together to create the perfect English Summer day out.

I often worry that designer-makers are struggling to compete with mass produced imports and that the crafting industry is experiencing a downturn in the current economic climate. But the Contemporary Craft Fair has shown me there is a wealth of talented people designing and making here in the United Kingdom. Judging by the footfall and buzz of the crowd at the event, there is still a huge appetite for handcrafted creations. Anyone looking for a statement piece for their home, a collectors item of the future or a stunning one-of-a-kind gift would be spoilt for choice at the Contemporary Craft Fair.

The breadth of disciplines on display were particularly impressive. Designers were chosen from a diverse range of media and backgrounds. Visitors to the event could see work in glass, textiles, ceramics, leather, wood and much more besides. There were many highlights, but stand-out pieces included the clean lines of ceramicists such as Jill Shaddock and contemporary furniture designers like Cou Cou Manou. This contrasted sharply with Cleo Mussi’s maverick approach to mosaic making using reclaimed and upcycled ceramics. I was also particularly drawn to the whimsical Brain’s fairies sculptures of Samantha Bryan, a menagerie of mixed media creatures by Anya Keeley and the gentle humour behind Vicky Lindo’s textiles and ceramics.

I was also impressed with the emphasis on encouraging the next generation to enter into the world of design and craft. The ‘Aim Higher’ and ‘One Year On’ marquee housed designers who were in their first year of trading as a business and showcased higher education art and design opportunities in the South West. There was also an amazing Children’s Craft Tent, it offered a perfect opportunity to entice an even younger generation into the world of craft! Forget bog-standard cutting or sticking, the tent was alive with animation workshops, Japanese book making, lino printing, screen printing, mosaic making and even weaving looms for children to get to grips with. The Children’s Craft Tent was one of the busiest parts of the whole festival and it was really encouraging to see so many children enjoying the hands-on workshops available.

Whilst the quality of the craft was extremely high, this wasn’t a stuffy, highbrow event. It was child friendly, many families making a day of it by visiting the craft tent, watching the Punch & Judy show and enjoying relaxed picnics under the trees in the verdant surroundings of Mill Marsh Park. I think the Contemporary Craft Fair managed to strike the right balance between showcasing some wonderful work, but not losing sight of making the event a fun day out. As with all outdoor events in the UK, the forecast can make or break these occasions. As the English weather decided to be kind, we had the pleasure of wall-to-wall sunshine all day. I’m sure this contributed to high footfall, happy visitors and hopefully good sales and commissions for the exhibitors. I was left with a very positive and up-beat impression of the UK Craft industry and we will definitely be back next year.

This review also appears on the UK Handmade website

Cleo Mussi

Brain’s fairies sculptures of Samantha Bryan

Jill Shaddock

Cou Cou Manou

Anya Keeley

Vicky Lindo

Bristol's Big Green Week

The Big Green Week started in Bristol today...a festival of eco ideas, art and entertainment running from Saturday 15 June 2013 through to Sunday, 23 June, 2013.

There are huge array of family events, theatre and poetry, conferences and workshops...you can see the full programme here. Highlights include talks from Richard Branson, performances from John Hegley and Tony Hawks and a glamorous ‘FareFashion’ festival launch evening.

The UK’s festival of eco ideas, art and entertainment is back in the centre of Bristol from 15th to 23rd June. Join more than 40,000 visitors who will start early and stay late to enjoy two weekends of free family entertainment and nine days of inspiring talks, workshops, art, music, poetry, comedy and films.

And to kick-start the festival, Bristol has been crowned the European Green Capital for 2015 at a ceremony in Nantes on June 14th.

The city beat Brussels in Belgium, Glasgow in Scotland and Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, to the win. Nantes in France currently holds the title.

The title rewards cities which consistently achieve high environmental standards and are committed to further improvement and sustainability.

Last year Bristol was the runner-up, finishing behind Copenhagen in Denmark. It is the third time the city has made the final shortlist.

You can read more about the Bristol bid on the Bristol Pound website

Vintage love: draw leaf dining table

We moved into our 1930s home back in November 2012 and we've been settling in over the past six months. This is the oldest house I've ever lived in and it has lots of period charm with picture rails, original doors and wooden floors. As I am a vintage addict, I can indulge my addiction and furnish the place with older pieces of furniture.

We needed a larger dining table and we did the usual thing of looking at newer pieces of furniture from the usual suspects such as Ikea. But I was really hankering after something older and stronger and dare I say, better made. I trawled ebay and there were lots of lovely pieces on there, but many were too far away or the auction price went too high for me.

A few weeks ago my husband was looking in the classified section of the local paper and saw 'Barley Twist Draw Leaf Table and dining chairs for sale'. Well, I only need to read the words "Barley Twist" and I'm sold. We rang them immediately and bought this beatiful table and four chairs for £50!

As a keen recycler and I like to buy pre-loved items as often as I can to reduce the strain dwindling natural resources. Obviously the table isn't in its first flush of youth, and there's obvious wear and tear to the piece. But I've always loved that about vintage items, they have a history.

Fun with felt!

When I saw via Facebook that Laura from Lupin Handmade was having a half price sale, I rushed over to see what was on offer! I snapped up one of her bird masks and a lovely green crown for my daughter. I wanted to add them to her dressing up box. I hid them away intending to give them to her for Easter. Thing is, I hid them too well and forgot about them!

I recently found them and we had lots of fun trying them on and taking some photos. She loves to be the Princess whilst I'm the magic bird who chases her around the house. Then we swap and I'm the Princess (a role I was born to play) and she's the bird!

The photo below was taken by my daughter, it's not bad considering she's only 3...

Laura's handmade felt masks are great for firing up children's imaginations and I believe they are equally popular with adults around Halloween! Everyone could do with a felt crown in their life, young and old(er)...I wonder if I could get away with wearing it to the shops?

UK Handmade Summer Issue

The Summer Issue of the UK Handmade Magazine is out now!

"After a long wintery spell we all need a bit of sunshine to brighten our days. The summer issue of UK Handmade magazine is now out and packed full of gorgeous summer finds, inspirational makers, useful business tips and more. A big thanks to Jane Ormes who kindly let us grace our cover with her vibrant "Bring Me Sunshine" print..."

I'm also really excited to see the Summer Issue because it features two articles written by me.

I worked on a feature detailing the work of the UK Scrapstore network, in particular focussing on the work the Bristol Children's Scrapstore carries out in the local community and their 'Super Saturday Sample Sessions'. My niece provided all the photos that accompany the piece. You can read her photography blog 'King of the Sheep' here. We had a great time at the Children's Scrapstore, my daughter features in the photoshoot. It really is a fantastic place and all the scrapstores across the UK do a wonderful job of reusing waste in a creative and productive way.

I also penned a feature on Vintage Vacations. Based on the Isle of Wight, this holiday company offers a unique way of getting off the daily treadmill and taking a step back in time. Take a look at their website to see more wonderful images of their vintage Airstream caravans and unique holiday venues.

Plus the Summer Issue is jam packed with interviews with designer-makers, makes, recipes and details of upcoming crafty events across the UK. Enjoy!

Making recycled paper pots

My daughter and I spent a happy half hour making some paper pots for our seedlings. Now she is three years old she is able to help me with planting out seeds. It's been lovely to watch her planting out beetroot, beans and basil seeds and then seeing them pop up from the soil. It's all very magical to her. Although she keeps asking when we can start eating them...

I first blogged about my paper potter back in 2011. It is a fantastic little tool, really handy for making inexpensive pots to put small plants in. By using newspaper you can plant them out, the paper will biodegrade and the roots wont be disturbed.

My paper potter came from the Nether Wallop Trading Company and was a Christmas gift from my brother and his family. I can't recommend them highly enough.

It also helps if you have some offspring you can recruit to help you make them...their little fingers are very good and winding the paper round!

I'm linking up with Trash 2 Treasure over on the www.coombemill.com blog.