New Look, new start.

I am getting very excited about the move to our new shop. On the 29th of May we are closing the Gillingham shop and moving it to 59 High Street Wincanton. It will have a new look and new direction.  With the emphasis on Recycle, reuse and reinvent. I will be mixing vintage with Handmade (which I have been doing gradually in Gillingham over the last year or so), but there will not be the bought in products from India ,  I will be buying off  British crafts people, locally and across the country.

Kate from Magpie (often seen at the Anonymous Travelling Market) is going to put her gorgeous work in the shop and also help out on a Friday.  Kate makes beautiful things from vintage fabrics and reworks linen tablecloths etc into egg cosies and bags.  She also has a 'magpies' eye for china and little vintage finds.

Maria from 'Just Sew' will be supplying the shop with bunting and appliqued pictures.

There will also be the lovely pottery from Karen Harrison, often seen exhibiting across the country.
Mixed in with fabrics, vintage and new, vintage making books (if I can manage to part with 

them. ), ribbons, 


Vintage buttons as well as ceramic and modern (as you know I am a buttonholic.) Vintage haberdashery,
Little vintage luckydip packs,
and I am going to rework these fantastic vintage knitting patterns, for the shop and the website.
Don't you just love them :)...or is it just me???
There will also be a large amount of my handmade bits, made from recycling jumpers and buttons. As well as my paintings and photography.

The website will get a lot more of my attention and I will gradually get all of the stock on there.
Just a few of my handmade brooches and necklaces.


So quite a packed shop really!!!

We are only going to open 3 days a week, Wed, Thurs, and Friday.

When sitting down with Tony to discuss the new venture we realised we had not had a weekend together for 6 years!, and also George and Harry will be leaving school from July , George will be going to Falmouth Art college in September and Harry may be joining the army ( he has to have a medical in June and then we'l know more.) So it will be amazing for me to be at home more and around for all the boys through the summer. (I may spend a bit of time making in the sunshine..but I will be around!)

From September when Arthur starts school I am looking forward to going back to supplying Galleries and having the excuse to visit different towns (some of which may be by the sea lol)

It all sounds great doesn't it, I am very lucky that I have Tony to support and encourage me, We all are actually!  ( more than words can say) I am hoping that I can give the same back over the next few years as he embarks on putting all his ideas into action.

I have been busy changing the shop around and fitting in all my new finds and lots of new stock.
I am really starting to mix old with new, and am becoming a little bit addicted to finding vintage buttons and tins, my Sundays are now spent at carboots or antique fairs..well it gets me out of the shop.  Arthur enjoys it too as he can always find a new old car, he loves to rummage and find the perfect car or lorry.  The bluebird tin (which i think is gorgeous) sold with in two days of having it in the shop!  It looked so nice with my buttons in :(.  I must learn to share and not keep it all for myself!
This is some of the lovely new yarns by Gedifra and Adriafil...I am going for the colourfull and glitzy yarns. If That way if no one buys them I turn them all into lovely flowers and little bags (may take a while but it will be fun!)..
Lots of new stock I will try and get some online, by wednesday next week..if it hasn't all gone by then...always the optimist!
I can't believe a week has gone by and I am getting ready for tommorows workshop, which is a Button workshop..so I can share out a little of my button stash, mmm and then go and buy some more ;)

Last saturday was needlefelting, above is Alice's (aka Ladypole on Ravelry) felted bits..I have actually pinched the squiggly yarn idea on the heart, quite useful doing these workshops..every one is so inspiring!
Jane brought her three daughters, which I was slightly worried about, as the needles are very sharp! They were all amazing though and really enjoyed the morning.  I love the octopus necklace and Jane's flag brooch. Very clever.

Concentrating very hard!
They were all very industrious!
Above is Elizabeth's work,  I can see the half flower as a hair decoration. ("fascinator"). Elizabeth brought in some of her own equipment one of which was a needle holder with four needles in, much quicker to work with..and every body borrowed it.  I will need to get some of these in for the next one. 

 First I need to put in some new dates for workshops as March is just going so fast.

Well back to my buttons ..it is my first button workshop so I am a little nervous, I never know how it's going to go. It will be lots of fun and I'm sure everyone will have fun picking out the buttons they are going to use, and I'm sure they will go home with lots of goodies!