Festive Vintage Fairs

We've finally come to the end of our Christmas run of fairs, and went out with a bang at London and Nottingham, two of our favourite fairs. London, at Bloomsbury Lanes, was a bit different to usual as the heavy snow meant that some of our fellow stallholders couldn't make it, but thankfully the shoppers were still there getting some Christmassy treats. It turned out to be a busy day but lots of fun, well worth battling through the rubbish weather for!

Then it was on to Nottingham at the lovely Spanky Van Dykes. The atmosphere is always great at this fair as the venue is a huge pub, so everyone can enjoy a tipple while perusing the rails. There was a DJ playing some kitschy Christmas faves and special festive cupcakes to scoff on. All good!

We're going to be taking a well earned break from the vintage fair circuit until the end of January, when we will be back with a bang in Bristol. Which will give us plenty of time to restock with more gorgeous vintage goodies for your spring wardrobe!

The Swinging Sixties!

 

So, I finally started on my mission to document the decades in the form of vintage clothing! That's right, I plan to get a set of photos for each decade that we sell clothes from - the 1940's to the 1980's. It's partly a labour of love and partly part of my grand plans for improving and developing the Minimum Mouse website. I'd love for you to be able to shop by decade and have some beautiful images to document the key looks of that particular decade to give the shopper a bit of inspiration. So, when I was contacted by photographer Adam Fraise about the possibility of working together on something we got chatting about the clothes we sell. He said he'd quite like to do a Twiggy style 1960's shoot, and I was over the moon! I think the sixties is such a rich source of amazing fashion, and sixties stuff is one of our best selling categories. So I collected together all of my favourite 1960's pieces from our stock and popped over to his studio in Edgbaston. Adam is a great photographer to work with, he is very experienced and efficient. And you can see the quality of his work right here...

 

The model was the super talented Caroline Halford, who could not have been more perfect for the look. Sharon Ann Jarvis provided the make up and hair, creating amazing big eyes with fabulous lashes. Much fun was had by all, and I was so happy with the finished results I could not wait to share them with you! Expect to see them on our new look website in the new year. 

Birmingham Vintage Fair, 27th November 2010

Yesterday we were back at the Custard Factory for another fabulous vintage fair. We always like doing a fair on our home turf, and as it was the last one before Christmas it wasw extra special, with mince pies, Christmas jumpers and gift ideas galore. Here are some pictures from the day.

We also had our lovely assistant Elise on hand, and she spent a bit of time tracking down some of the stylish shoppers enjoying the fair. Here they are-

Next Saturday we'll be in London for the Bloomsbury Vintage Fair. Maybe see you there?

Photoshoot with Kera Robson

A while ago I was contacted by a photographer who was looking for vintage clothing for a photoshoot, and since then I have done a bit of styling work on some photoshoots, which is great fun and a good way to get some amazing images that we can use in our promotional materials. I love taking the clothes along to a shoot and then see them being transformed in to works of art thanks to the skills of the photographers and models.

Last week I was contacted by a lovely lady called Kera Robson, a Midlands-based photographer who was planning a shoot at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, one of my favourite places to visit. The theme was 'Modern Day Marie Antoinette' and I was keen to be involved, especially once I had looked at Kera's impressive portfolio.

The team that Kera had put together for the shoot was equallily impressive, we had Sharon and Rachel the make up artists, the lovely models Chloe, Aly and Elina, Kera's assistant Kate and little old me, supplying the clothes. Sharon and Rachel worked their magic with the make up, they started with more subtle, pastel looks and worked up to full on Marie Antoinette inspired looks.

It was a freezing cold day and the poor models were shivering away between shoots, but once they were in front of the camera it was all glamour and professionalism.

I brought loads of pastel coloured dresses and pieces from our collection, and we picked out some lovely outfits. I had a fabulous day, despite the cold, and we all got on really well. I think that the finished product is amazing as well, which makes the day all the more worthwhile.

That's a wrap!

Vintage Fairs Across the UK

Phew! We've been busy little mice this past month, which is why we have not checked in on the old blog! So, I thought it was about time I updated you on our recent adventures, travelling up and down the country selling vintage. And if you live in Birmingham, London or Nottingham, we'll be coming your way before Christmas!


Our first stop was Leicester, at The Auditorium. The venue is a former bingo hall, so it would have been rude not to have a spot of bingo - the prizes were money to spend at the fair, getting your hair done by Lynsey Le Keux and a box of yummy cupcakes! We had a lovely time at the fair and as always, the people there were absolutely lovely and super stylish. Jeny and Amber, Rehaberdashery Vintage and Mad Elizabeth were just a few of the great traders who were there. We look forward to visiting Leicester again soon!



Next up we were down to the big smoke for the second Bloomsbury Vintage Fair at the amazing 's style bowling alley, Bloomsbury Lanes. This fair was buzzing - we could barely move for the crowds. People were stocking up on cosy knits and coats, and starting to think of their Christmas shopping - a few lucky folks will be unwrapping Minimum Mouse jewels on the big day! We'll be back in December for a Bloomsbury Christmas special!





Yesterday we hit the beautiful city of Bristol for a brand new fair. The venue was Circomedia, a gorgeous listed former church which is now used for circus and physical theatre, so there were trapezes and ropes dangling from the ceiling! We were joined by our friends at Curious Cleo, Vintage Vanity, Spankt Vintage and Purple Sparkle Crafts, as well as loads of other stalls full to the brim with vintage goodness. We were also very impressed by Vintage Glamour Days' gorgeous travelling tearoom which was a huge hit with the crowds - I devoured one of their scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam and it was no surprise that they completely sold out of their amazing cakes!

Hope to see you soon at a vintage fair near you!