phew we made it!

A little glimpse into the new Tamsyn G shop. Which at the start I was slightly worried we would get finished in time. Before it got to the state below I had to empty it out of all the prints and paintings that we stored in there when we moved house, these are now hidden in what will be my workroom in the house.. so another job for later. There will be a sign above the shop and the circles either side of the sign..will be painted to look like buttons :)
I had been planning and measuring for the past 4 weeks, and was amazed to find I was nearly right about where things wopuld go, luckily I have Tony . If I had got my measurements slightly out he would magically make the cupboards fit.

The cupboards above needed a fair bit of tweeking, like little wedges cut out and the bottom bit cut off as well as the middle shelf being cut in half, but made to look like its always been like that, so much so that when my friends came in they said 'wow Tamsyn your measurements were right those cupboards fit perfectly' which made me cry with laughter!
The above little corner makes me smile everytime I see it, I had been saving these little cupboards and printers tray for the new shop but had not really worked out how they would look, me and Kate said where they should go as Tony magically fixed them in place.
Perfect for all the vintage Haberdashery :)
The view out with the perfectly fitting shelves completely stacked up! That was the other strange thing, it looks like I have lots of new yummy stock but is virtually the same as before.
I love the layout of the shop, this is the backroom with all the yarns and making bits.
The jewellery cabinets did fit perfectly into there little space by the slope leading to the backroom.

We opened on Thursday and I am sure it will be a welcome addition to Wincanton, people will slowly find us..next week will be full of promotion and getting leaflets printed to spread the word.
We managed (just) to go for a picnic at Bullbarrow Hill which we can see from our house, it was very funny trying to work out the hills in the distance and look back towards Wincanton. I just sat still for half an hour resting my tired legs, but the guys had a great runaround.
and climbed a tree! including Tony. I tried not to tell them to be careful!

I hope you've all had a fab week, I hope to catch up with everyone's blog over the next few weeks and will have more time to do mine to. x

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.

The Dairy House and The Artisan Market

This is the Liz's (washerwoman) little corner..and behind me is all her gorgeous vintage clothes and lots more fabric I only managed to get this pic before she got lost under a sea of fabric, her space was packed all morning, was amazing how she kept going!

I have been out and about since my last blog. On Sunday I was lucky enough to be at the first Dairy House Vintage Costume and Textile Fair.
Just as everyone had finished setting up the crowds poured in! The picture above was taken just before 10 after that you could not see the stalls for the rest of the morning.
This is the lovely Donna Flower's stall she has the most amazing vintage fabrics from 19th century to 80's and beyond. I loved the childrens vintage fabrics made me go all nostalgic.
These pics are a little glimpse of what was there, apart from the stalls outside the Dairyhouse is packed with little collections from a variety of dealers..vintage heaven!
Above is Sue's corner as you go in the door there are drawers to search through full of buttons and fabrics along with haberdashery and lace..some of my friends have been known to go missing in there for hours! I loved the Mannequins that Sue has covered with vintage fabrics, excellent way of showing off her crocheted button necklaces and lace :)
More glimpses of little corners..
This was my little corner I took this pic at the end of the day, the display had been a bit destroyed ;) I had a great day sitting making button necklaces and actually sold one of the pearl button ones before I had finished it. People could sit down and learn how to make brooches and necklaces from buttons. I am very grateful to Sue for inviting me to be part of the Fair. I had a fab day and feel really inspired to carry on making and teaching :)
The Dairy House is also packed with some lovely furniture..think the above would look great on our patio..
Last Sunday we went to the Artisan Market in Catherine Hill Frome. I am hoping to do the next one and wanted to see how everyone balanced on the Hill and get an idea of how I would set my stand up. It is full of designers and makers a fab atmosphere and some delicous cakes..which kept Arthur happy :)
The shops on the Hill are all open as well, great if you also like making Millie Moon stocked with scrumptious fabrics and yummy coloured buttons. Make Do and Mend full of Vintage bits.
It felt a bit like Portabella Market, I am looking forward to being part of it :)
The shops are all independents so if you like a bit of individuality its well worth a visit :)

Reading through I notice I have missed a lovely pic of the Washer womans stall I will add it later as Arthur is demanding breakfast!

Travelling Anonymous Market Bison Farm.

On Saturday I took my little shop to the Bison Farm at West Knoyle in Wiltshire. I aimed to get there early so I could drive in and drop off my bits instead of walking it all in, got there just in time..5 minutes after Kate and I unloaded our cars everyone else arrived.  That gave me an extra half hour to set up, I was not so stressed this time and everything seemed to fall into place. Putting the wool in the boxes worked really well.


Kate has been collecting lovely vintage bits and upcycling them as well as mixing with more modern fabrics and selling gorgeous bits of china, love the coffee and tea flowery pots.
The Lavender Russian dolls make a great use of the fabric I have in my shop, I imagined doing something like that when I originally saw the fabric so its really nice to see them made up, backed with vintage fabrics. I have asked kate if I can have some for my shop so hoping she hasn't sold out ;)
There was a great feel to the market, the sun was shining and everyones stalls looked fab! The bus above was a cafe inside and sold delicious coffee.
Dee has just started a cake business and sells to offices in and around Gillingham and Shaftesbury, her cakes are yummy :)
A que formed immediately hee hee :)... who let the goats out!
I loved Rose Hatchers felt, she has not been felting that long but has done some amazing work. I can see her work selling well in Galleries. I have got some of her cards in my shop which look fab and I really like to stock local artists work especially when people are just starting out.
and I really really want this coat!!! but would have to win the lottery or maybe sell one of my original paintings. Will have to have a go at wet felting it looks great fun.
some more lovely stalls :)

There was lots of fab food too, the most delicious salads and Olives.
and of course the bison..who luckily didn't get out..you would have seen me abandoning my stall if they did!
It was a great day in the sun, and Arthur went off with his best friend Ted to a little theme park..so I had a lovely break, could have done with lots more customers though!! think people went off to the beach instead :)

Tony went off to The Goodwood Revival and texted me what a fab time he was having and how it was vintage heaven..mmm he originally told me it was  a car thing!  I will be booking my tickets for next year i think!