Any One For Tea...??

My dining room is beginning to resemble a tea shop!

A few weeks ago I got a commission to supply 60 tea cup candles as table decorations for a wedding, and I have been buying new stock ever since. Now, with just 6 weeks to go until delivery, the china is stacking up – and I have run out of storage space!

This has been a wonderful opportunity for me – I have totally indulged my passion for shopping for vintage crockery, and I have built up a stock of beautiful, gorgeous and stunning cups and saucers, which I can offer for hire again and again... if I don’t decide to keep a few pieces for myself...

My budget has allowed me to step up a gear and source more desirable items, and focus my interest on the types and styles of crockery that I would like to specialise in. My area of particular interest is in the supply of ENGLISH fine bone china – true vintage pieces, delicate, high quality, dainty, pretty and very lovely – because, sorry if I am going to offend anyone, but historically us Brits do make the best bone china!

My next venture, once the wedding is over, is to assemble a couple of Shabby Chic Vintage Tea Sets – two sets of 4 or 6 cups, saucers and plates, a milk jug, sugar bowl and – of course – a tea pot. They will be totally unique sets; 15 or 21 individual pieces of best quality, gorgeous crockery, every piece different, no two items the same – but toning and matching simply because of their chic-ness and beauty. I just know that they will be highly desirable – and I hope they will fly off the shelves like hot cakes...
Be here to be among the first to know when these are assemble and ready to sell.
(here's a taster...)

If you are interested in hiring or buying my gorgeous          
vintage crockery – or vintage tea cup candles, please
either visit my website, or contact me at
anna@bohochic-boutique.co.uk
I look forward to hearing from you...

A Corsage A Day Keeps The Blues At Bay...

Do you find yourself wanting to add that finishing touch to your outfit, add that little bit of individualism, but don’t know what to do? Your outfit matches, your shoes are just great, you are already wearing your favourite necklace, your bag is perfect, nails tone with lipstick... what else could there be???

You’re not wearing a CORSAGE!!!

For the uninitiated, a corsage is a bit like a brooch, but not stuffy and prim like your granny might wear – it is a fun, flowery, funky, fabulous, flirty, fabric.... well, brooch!

I started wearing a corsage about 5 years ago. It all started with a lovely dusky pink jacket I bought in the sales – which when I got home turned out to be more dirty than dusk, and really rather drab. But hey, I found a gorgeous muted pink flower corsage, teamed them together, and hey presto! The flower brought out the (ever so very) subtle pink tone of the jacket, and it has been a firm wardrobe favourite ever since.

I now have a small, but ever growing collection; and whenever I pin one on I just can’t help but smile – they not only lift your outfit – they lift the soul, and your whole day.

Now, everywhere you look, corsages are positively blooming... There are so many wonderful ones to buy, ones that have been lovingly handcrafted – none of these factory churned out horrors that have no personality – and you just know that yours is one of a kind.

I support two very great websites that sell hand crafted, recycled, upcycled and vintage items – www.folksy.com here in the UK, and www.etsy.com across the pond in the USA; they both have a wonderful selection of hand made corsages, and here are a few of my favourites...

 

From FOLKSY:

 

From ETSY:

(sorry, no links - you'll just have to search for your favourites yourself...)

...and if you buy only one fashion accessory this month - make it a corsage!

Car Booty....


Sorry BBC, for stealing your programme title, but it really is a good one, and very, very true.

A morning at the car boot sale will indulge your shopping addiction, pander to your love of bargains (who doesn’t love a bargain!), exercises your inner haggler, and soothes your recycling whimsy... Hmmm, satisfaction on all levels!
To begin with you have the anticipation of arriving and seeing firstly, how many stalls have pitched up, and then secondly, how many fellow punters are going to join you for a rummage. Then the real fun begins... I always have a fair idea of what I want, in general terms, but it is always nice to find a few surprises too. For example, on my latest jaunt I was after vintage crockery, picture frames and anything else I could salvage, restore or up-cycle... but by keeping an open mind I also came across a fabulous box of antique looking glass mineral bottles (not sure whether to restore and sell, or keep for myself!) and a wonderful 1930’s Household Encyclopedia – full of all sorts or fantastic information, and in itself a great slice of recent social history.
My tip is not to stop and linger at every stall – you will be there forever, and you will probably find many “useful” things at bargain prices that will just add to the general clutter that you probably already have at home. Instead you need to perfect the art of “skimming” – that is, walking very slowly a small distance from each pitch, casting your eyes over all the goods on display – and if you are focussed on the kind of things you are looking for, they will jump out at you, and you won’t be distracted by all the other, er, rubbish....

Once you spy something of interest then you can approach closer – pause, spend a second or two sizing up the item before handling it, and mentally deciding how much you want to pay. Ask what they want for it – if it is below your secret valuation, then I say go for it – and if it is more than you want to pay you can counter with a lower offer – but don’t insult the vendor! Not every item for sale will be an absolute bargain, and be prepared to walk away without it – if you’re loathe to do this, then your initial thought on what to pay might have either been too optimistic, or else just way off.
Settle quickly, and move on to your next target – and always have a stock of empty carrier bags with you – it would be a shame to miss out on something just because you can’t juggle all your purchases back to the car! You will be amazed by just how much you can come away with for not very much at all – remember, most people are selling their stuff there just because they want rid of it and hope to make a few pennies rather than simply sending it to the tip.
To give you some kind of an idea, at my last sale I spent an almighty £10.10 and managed to get my hands on:

7 antique glass bottles
2 wooden framed mirrors
An original 1930’s Household Encyclopedia
An autobiographical novel in a series that I am collecting
A small wooden display case
240 glass beads I can use for a mosaic

Not bad, eh???

Where are you going this weekend??