Another pop up shop

Pop up shop Sunday 23rd September
Hi all! There is another pop up shop this weekend at the same venue as last week. See my last post for details. Sorry for the late posting but I only found out that it was happening yesterday. I'll be there together with two or three other sellers. It will be a good way of spending a rather wet miserable Sunday. I'm going to have some sale items which will be going very cheaply. I need to shift some old stock which I'm a bit tired of looking at, so there will be bargains to be had!

Before 1980
Today I was stalling at the new Interior Fair in Central Library. It was our first time at the venue and what a wonderful location! There were some really lovely stalls there with fabulous items at great prices. There was a stream of interested customers. We were so close to Upper Street where people were probably spending mega money in trendy shops around there and little did they know they could have picked up some great bargains at our venue! Well done to Amelia and Sally for all their hard work organising the event. Look out for another one in the future. It's certainly worth a visit. It was so refreshing having a fair which focused on interiors especially large furniture items, lighting etc.

Pop up Shop News

Pop up Shop
Hi there! The pop up shop went well. There were quite a lot of folk mooching around at Stokey on Sunday. Graeme who sells funky retro lamps at fantastically good prices was there,Caroline who was selling vintage clothes etc and then of cours me! We're not sure if there's going to be one this Sunday but watch this space and I'll let you know. If there is one, there'll be different people selling too which always makes it interesting and diverse. There was a great response with people asking if it was going to be on every week. We wish it was and it'd be great to get premises to use on a regular basis! I've heard that there's a site where you can find premises to use temporarily as pop up shops. I must look into this.

Before 1980 Interiors fair
Now I'm gearing up for a busy few days. Spitalfields tomorrow as usual and a new venue and fair which I've mentioned before. It's on Saturday 22nd September at the Central Library on Holloway Road. It's concentrating on interiors which is a healthy change from the miriads of vintage clothes fairs. Do come along if you can. There's more info on one of my earlier blogs with a web link. Also the pop up shop may happen. I hope I've got enough stock to keep me going!!!

Pop Up Shop Lemon Monkey!

Sunday pop up shop
Hi there, just a quick note to say I'll be doing a pop up shop tomorrow, Sunday 16th September from 11am at what was the Lemon Monkey coffee shop on Stoke Newington High Street, facing the Three Crowns pub on Church Street. There'll be about five stalls all selling interesting homeware, from Kitchenalia to retro lighting etc.It's been happening over the summer, though I wasn't there. I've heard great things about it and it's been well attended. Hopefully see you there!

My sojourns in the highlands and islands!

Back in the swing of things
Hi again. I've now done two markets since returning home and my business head is beginning to sit more comfortably on my shoulders! North London Vintage Market was great as always. There is always a lovely atmosphere, almost village-y. It's great to see old faces who come regularly and also to welcome new people. Keep you diary free on 6th October for the next market there.
I was back at Spitalfields yesterday and it was great to be back among all my stallholder friends. It really does feel like a family there with all the usual experiences of family life - sharing thoughts, moaning, sympathising, disagreeing and the whole gammet of what life throws at us. It was a good day and I brought along some of my new finds which is always refreshing for me and hopefully interesting for the customers. I tried really hard not to go off buying more stock which is what I'm infamous for. I can't help going off for a wander and always come back with something new. I often think I should be handcuffed to my stall and be forced to repeat a mantra of 'I'm here to sell, not to buy'. This week I decided I had enough new stock so I stayed by my stall which is a small miracle for me but what happened then was that people kept coming to me with goodies that I just couldn't refuse!
Look out also for a new venture called 'Before 1980', the first fair will be on 22nd September in Central Library, Holloway Road from 11am until 5pm. It promises to be a really different fair with an emphasis on interiors; stalls include furniture, lighting, homeware, fabrics and kitchenalia. More info on: www.before1980.co.uk

Tales from Scotland

Back to my visit to Scotland. I promised that I'd write a bit more about my time there and especially about the Artmap which happens every August in the Argyll area. It is an opportunity for local artists to advertise their work and allows people to see their studio and talk about what inspires them etc. It really  is an interesting concept and we have met many interesting people through it. One such person is Fraser MacIver, a Canadian artist with Scottish connections, now living by the Crinan Canal in a beautiful wagon with an adjacent studio. He really is a most delightful character. He swims in the canal and heats up water for his bath in an outside tub using canal water, heated by burning a fire underneath the bathtub!





Fraser's Wagon home



His subjects are a mixture of landscape and mythology, influenced by his dramatic historical surroundings.He works in a variety of media and his use of colour is inspiring.

We received a very warm welcome. The day we visited, it was pretty miserable and we were ushered into his 'guest room', a cosy wooden construction with a wonderful hearth and little wood burning stove, a great high soft bed like in the fairy tale of the Princess and the pea; it was covered in sheepskin rugs tucked into the corner and surrounded by his wonderful art work. The fire was so welcome that day and to top it all, we were lauded with 'Moscow Mule' cocktails!! His enthusiasm was infectious as he talked about his home and his work. Find him on:  www.frasermaciver.com  Here are some photos from his studio. I hope that they convey the atmosphere of this unique personal space which he has created in his woodland wonderland! 








The lovely squishy guest bed!

 I'll have more tales of my time in Scotland soon.