New ideas for Vintage Vogue.

While i was dog sitting ( see below) i tried some new ways of using my ever growing collection of

vintage fabrics. These were well received at Vintage Vogue in Sept and similar are now available in Revolver in Colchester.

What i did on my summer hols, and who i did it with.

These 2 hairy boys were my summer holiday companions for a lovely week way back in August.On the left is Bernie and his young friend is Humphrey. We had a lovely time walking the Stour Valley Path every day accompanied by dragonflies and picked blackberries along the way.

latest collection of bags

This is my latest collection of bags all made from vintage fabrics.The fabrics come from charity shops,car boot sales and good friends who know my passion for old and often smelly fabrics that have had a past life and deserve a whole new look and purpose.In my book thats proper re-cycling and another chapter in the story begins.
The circus comes to town. No animals were hurt in the making of this bag you will be pleased to hear

80s head scarf mixed with 60s hand embroidered table linen mix well for this very girly bag.

this bag was inspired by the birds on the curtain fabric given to me recently. The tail feathers are french partridge and he is surrounded,in mid flight,by lace and trimmings from my Nans sewing box.Feathery and fabulous.

A rainy day project finally got completed this week. I have been wanting to re vamp this much loved rocking chair for some time and as the rain lashed down last weds i finally got round to it. I used a combination of fabric bought from Ikea and a sleeve from a coat i made with fabric i had screen printed when i was at art college. This has a patch of tea dyed lace from vintage table linen layered to finish the look.

If you look closely you can see how it matches the black and white paint splattered walls of my spare bedroom.

Next time you are in London's Regent St go visit Anthropology and treat yourself to a feast of visual merchandising at its creative best. The "living wall" above is just one of the delights in store. Enjoy.

A recent day trip to Brighton filled my lungs with sea air and my head with inspiration.the late evening sun over the sad and still beautiful West Pier.

found this lovely lady in a shop in the lanes. she is literally edible as she is all cake as well as being all woman

This week i have been catching up on some projects for my home.This cabinet was the best fiver i have ever spent i think. I found it in a local charity shop that was closing and had admired it on first sight as it reminded me of my Nans "china cabinet" from the 1960s. I stripped off all the old varnish using wire wool and sand-paper and then used a soft cloth to apply some lime green paint. It has become the perfect home for some of my most treasured vintage hats.More of those later....

lace, roses and vintage mixed with silver wings.Perfect!

This is a re-vamp of a car boot find from last summer.I love the mix of patterns and the rose theme runs throughout and sits well with the colours of the pom-pom screen.

My son returned last week from a dream trip to South Africa, apart from the misery of watching England, he had a great trip and saw much of the country. While in Jo,burg he stayed with my lovely friend Bianca and her family,who not only looked after my Joe very well but along with her very kind Mum sent me some gorgeous presents, including these wonderful fabrics. Big thank you to B and her Mum for inspiring me.

mix of African fabrics with tribal faces material found on a recent trip to Walthamstow.Match made in heaven dont you think?

A sofa full of Fabulousness!

feathery and fabulous

this week i have been putting the finishing touches to a head-

piece for a former client to wear to a wedding next month. she is the perfect client who says do whatever you want as long as its all feathers and fabulous! how lovely to have such a free reign with my creativity. thank you Jane for your faith in me again. the piece is made of stripped quills, dyed to match her accessories and biots ( strips of goose feathers) curled and tied to adorn the structure which is attached to a fine silver head band. i hope to have photos of Jane wearing it well at a later date.

This is the first commision i had from the lovely Jane. I was very proud to create this for her wedding day on Lake Como in Italy a couple of summers ago.

The vintage fayre at Cressing Temple Barns was a fantastic venue with very warm sunshine all day. Our stand was very colourful and attracted a lot of interest.

A real nostalgia day. I went to school on a bus like this in the early 60s.

the stunning roof of the 13th century Barley Barn

creativity is my soul mate.

having spent 10 years creating fascinators dyed to order i am now enjoying working with vintage fabrics to give them a new life as one off bags and head pieces.

welcome to my feathery and fabulous world

as a visual person i find it easier to describe myself in images rather than words.