My Lucky Day

A friend was recently helping to clear a house and came upon some items he thought I'd like. The lady who owned the items was happy for me to make use of them, since they were either going to be thrown away or taken to a charity shop. I returned home from a shopping trip today to find several bin bags on the dining table. I thought all my Christmases had come at once! Here are a few of my favourites:

Suitcase lined in pretty blue and white

I love the yellow straw bag and beaded bag

 

A closer look at the earrings

More pearls and gorgeous costume jewellery (top of photo)



Delicate pearl necklace

Gloves

Pearl bracelet (top of photo)

Beaded bag

Last but not least, placed carefully inside one of the handbag pockets was this locket. It contains the photo of an old gentleman and a pet dog. It brought a lump to my throat as it obviously had great meaning and sentimental value to the owner.

Locket with some treasured photos

There were also coats and jackets (which were a bit too big for me) and an assortment of other accessories. I am really lucky to have such a thoughtful friend - what a pal. I'll definitely make good use of most of the items he brought over and make sure the others go to a good home.

Better Than Botox

.... not that I know from experience, but this beauty treatment was painless, much cheaper than a dose Botulinum Toxin  .... and what's more, I feel like a million dollars! It's all down to the talents of photographer Simon Hunt and his team at Alt Studio, Manchester. I noticed recently that a few of my friends had experienced makeover sessions at his studio.

I have to admit I was curious to see what they could do for me. I wanted to do something completely different to my normal 1940s/50s look. A 1920s theme appealed to me so I went along with some pearl earrings, a fur stole ... and just look what they did!

I am a makeup artist and vintage hairstylist so you may think it odd that I am singing the praises of another, but I like to give credit where credit's due  .... and credit is due big style to Nikki Armstrong who had the insight and  talent to transform me into a silent screen goddess in about thirty minutes flat.

I have no idea how she did it! I tried to make mental notes but due to my age have now forgotten them.

Anyhow, I feel like it was a life-changing experience. My insides are happier than they've been for a while and it's radiating outwards into the Universe .... that's surely a good thing!?

The only down-side is that I am admiring my artistic images more often than I should and not getting other 'stuff' done.

This should be on the national curriculum!  Or at the very least, available on the NHS. Having the opportunity to be immortalised in such an artistic way is an experience every woman should have. Simon certainly knows how to make a girl happy. What a great morale boost! I am more than happy to recommend Alt Studio to anyone who wants the star treatment for a day. Take away beautiful momentos that will last forever .... which of course, is much more than can be said of a dose of Botox.

Thank you so much!

Vintage Network North West, Meeting Two

Surrounded by the beautiful backdrop of Rose & Lee Vintage Living, we held our second Vintage Network North West meeting on Monday 27 February.



Some of our many vintage-loving lovelies

It's always inspiring to get together with like-minded people and this evening was no exception. Gareth (pictured above right) is planning a local Jubilee celebration in June and spoke to us about his ideas.

Rachael of Marry Me Ink chats to Kath of Vibrant Vintage

We started with an array of refreshments, provided by Brooke of Brooke's Cupcakes and Kath of Rose & Lee Vintage Living. Everyone was made to feel very welcome and at home.

Hayley of Baked for You with Kate of Groovy Gang Handmade Soaps

I started proceedings with a brief  introduction, re-itterating the importance of cross-promotion and recipricol linking between one another's websites. It's a win-win! By adding other businesses to your links page you are in fact helping raise your profile on Google listings. Adding special offers and discounts for other network members on the Kitty Wink Vintage website was also talked about. You can add your offer here.

Josaphine of Fauxtique Boutique with Brooke of Brooke's Cupcakes

Next came our 'Speed-Dating' session. We all spent two minutes with each person in the room, handing out our business cards and briefly outlining our businesses. This was really fun and worked very well, with everyone being given the chance to speak one-to-one rather than standing and speaking in front of a room full of people.

Fiona asked for ideas to be jotted onto a note pad. Mainly one idea from each person on how the group can work together in a productive way. Kate placed a box for the notes to be put into. We await with baited breath the results. The winner will get a super prize from Rose & Lee Vintage Living.

Gwyneth of Vintage Afternoon Teas with Fiona of Rose & Lee Vintage Living

Remember, networking works both ways for it to work well. Although it's a fabulous platform to make people aware of your business, it's also about helping others. By helping others achieve you gain so much more.
I'm looking forward to arranging the next one and have a few ideas up my sleeve already.
Thanks to all who attended the meeting:
Rose & Lee Vintage Living
One Vintage Lady
Marry Me Ink
Dolly Cool
Kitty Wink Vintage
Den at Beechwood
Inki Pinki Creative
Deer Vintage Clothing
Baked For You
Crown & Country Vintage
Fauxtique Boutique
Brooke's Cupcakes
Vintage 78 DJ
Vintage Afternoon Teas
Vibrant Vintage
Frock 'n' Roll
Groovy Gang Handmade Soap

Vintage Network North West

How I achieved it I don't know! That is ... reversing into a gate-post (my Mother-in-Laws) and knocking it flat over!

Not really me ... but you get my drift!

That's how my day started so I was surprised that our very first vintage network meeting got off to such a brilliant start! It was held at Statham Lodge Country House Hotel a beautiful location in Cheshire.

The Roulette Room

Ideal for our first meeting

A nice mirror

Eighteen vintage-connected business owners met to network and do business over afternoon tea.

Vintage Network North West

A selection of cakes and pastries

I think everyone benefitted greatly from the get-together. We all have lots in common and want to promote our business services. We all agreed we don't need to spend a fortune on advertising.

Kally and Sue

Laura and Clare

We can swap products and services, helping each business promote the other.

Wayne looks on as Bethany chats with Fiona and Victoria

I made a date to do some freelance beauty work at The Festival of Vintage in York. It's with Bethany who does fabulous vintage hair and makeup from her home-based retro beauty parlour in Manchester.

Louise from Catwalk Creative Vintage with Rebecca from Polka Dots & Pearls

I'll also be working on some events with Anthony and Steph. They orgainse Vintage Nights in Preston on Friday evenings. Plus they teach everything from Charleston to Lindy Hop. Their latest venture is at Matt & Phreds in Manchester.

All in all it was a really productive day. Our next meeting is going to be held at Rose & Lee Vintage Living in Radcliffe. It'll be a fabulous location and a great opportunity to experience the wonderful surroundings.

It's good to talk!

Brooke of Brooke's Cupcakes is planning the refreshments and will hopefully give us a better insight into social networking .... she's a mind of information!
Here's a list of other attendees I haven't mentioned above:
Elizabeth's Attic
Den at Beechwood
Kalandra Jane Designs
Vintage Manchester
Old Fashioned Susie
Vibrant Vintage
Polka Dots & Pearls
Catwalk Creative Vintage
Planet Vintage Girl
Dolly Cool
There's lots in store! It'll be organised on a regular day each month to try and fit in with most people - not as easy as it sounds. What do you look for from the networking experience? It'll help me to plan events. If you own a vintage- related business and would like to find out more about networking with us please check out my website.
Can't wait for the next one!

It's a Small World

I recently joined a social network group called Vintage Network Worldwide It's a great place to look for vintage inspiration. I happened to come across some amazing images of women working in aircraft factories in WWll and loved the photographs so much I wanted to share a few of them with you.  The following photos are my favourite. They look like they could have been taken yesterday ... but they weren't! These are the real thing and I never tire of looking at them.

The lady responsible for unearthing the photos from 'the vaults' is Cristin from Austin,Texas. She's an archaeologist by trade so she finds her passion to look for and wear unique vintage artifacts is natural.

To learn more about Women at Work in WWll check out Cristin's blog

 

Her partner Adam, is a photographer and together the family run Merletto Vintage.

Cristin loves vintage Hawaiian textiles, early rayon, anything crepe, especially silks, georgette crepes, beaded and sequined garments, the plethora of lovely vintage laces that have spanned the ages, and novelty prints. She loves early plastics, and is working on a specialisation in celluloid, bakelite, and lucite!

Here is Cristin's blog, dedicated to the celebration and research of the fabulous fashions spanning the ages.
She features vintage items available in their shop, as well as items from shops around the globe, as she strongly believes that by buying vintage you are making unique quality investments in history.

Merletto Vintage specialises in 1940s swing clothing, 1940s and 1950s women’s and men’s wear from rockabilly to novelty prints, designer vintage Hawaiian dresses, vintage suits, vintage shoes, bakelite, lucite, and a selection of vintage inspired hair and wedding flowers, boutonnieres, and headpieces.

The reason I named this blog 'It's a Small World' is that we share a passion for vintage makeovers!
Cristin loves to set-up vintage inspired pin-up photo shoots for local gals looking to trade modeling to build up their portfolio for free.

In Cristin's words: "Unfortunately, and as most vintage enthusiast know, much of the clothing from this period lasted because they are painfully small. With that said, I pride myself on offering quality vintage clothing in a variety of sizes and love to shoot all sized gals in proper fitting vintage garments."

Cristin says "Remember kids, classics truly never go out of style and by buying vintage, you are recycling which means a happier world."
Cristin is a real inspiration! I can't wait to get working on my next vintage photo shoot! I'd love to reproduce some of the above images .... now there's a thought!

Happy Birthday To Me

On the eve of my 47th birthday I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite birthday quotes about age. I honestly don't mind getting older. The alternative doesn't appeal to me and the very thought of being in my twenties again, well .... it's my idea of hell! Anyhow, people are always saying I don't look my age but what exactly does that mean? A new client the other week thought I was in my twenties - I thought to myself 'She can come again' and at the same time 'She should've gone to SpecSavers'. My age always seems to be a matter of discussion for some reason. I guess it hit home the other evening. We had a party at our house between Christmas and New Year. I found out I was older than the Mum of one of our guests! Shock! Horror! Here you go:

"Old age is no place for sissies" Bette Davis

 "You know you are old when 'Happy Hour' turns out to be a nap"

"All this talk about age is foolish! Every time I'm one year older, everyone else is too" Gloria Swanson

"By the time you reach middle age, you've already met so many people that every aquaintance reminds you of someone else"

 "I'd rather be over the hill than under it"

And here's one of my own: 

"Oh, to be 46 again!"

Do you worry about getting older? Let me know your thoughts x