My bedroom

k - its far from finished and the grotty laundry basket is being replaced by a Lloyd Loom gold one to match the stool and bedside table this weekend. Woot. Clear shoe boxes are arriving too and they will all live on top of the wardrobe and those boxes at the side will be moving. They contain the little used things such as sewing patterns, non vintage clothing and my Agent Provocateur underwear collection

But I loves my bedroom.

Looked how overlooked I am. so glad I have curtains now so creepy neighbour can't look in:



LL-B goodness:



Dressing table and glamourous laundry basket:



The wardrobe of glory - I love this thing, really!




you can see I have mirrors facing the bed from a number of angles, just perfect for.....being single

Navarino Mansions - Art Nouveau social housing

A bit earlier than my usual point of interest but this is the building that overlooks my little flat, its a beauty - thats the only reason I don't mind it being so close!

"Navarino Mansions was designed in the Arts and Crafts style by the architect Nathan Joseph to provide accommodation for 300 Jewish artisans from the East End. The buildings were completed on the south side of Dalston Lane in 1905 by the philanthropic association of the Four Per Cent Industrial Dwellings Company. During the 1990s the estate was totally refurbished to the designs of the architects Hunt Thompson. "

Its mainly social housing, a lot of elderly people and some very loud folk just opposite me. :-(

Scandalous High Socie-tea - what larks!

A few days old I'm afraid, I'm hardly a prolific blogger, this little flurry being entirely due to my current illness.  Anyway - on Saturday I attended the utterly wonderful "Scandalous High Socie-Tea" a new vintage night pioneered by my lovely friend and uber glamorous pin-up model Fleur de Guerre ad her partner in crime the ever luscious Miss Emerald Fontaine (linky: http://www.thefoxpresents.com/thefoxpresents.htm).

It really was a blast, I got to catch up with Darhling, a beautiful friend and model who has just moved to London and who you will see with me in the photos on the site; I listened to the sweet and dirty sounds of the Sax Pastilles, met the gorgeous Zoe from Vintage Secret - hopefully more about them in a future post - and danced, despite having no knowledge of swing at all.

The Sax Pastilles really were wonderful, they made the night for me, a band with great musical ability, a clear bond and a very obvious sense of humour.  Any band that use parcel tape, a childs potty and a plastic fish in their act are alright by me.  If you, oh non-existant reader, get a chance do go and see them, I'm hoping they will be a regular at this event.

The next on is Hallowe-en night and is a 50's b-movie theme (you'll already know this as you will have clicked on the link provided earlier of course, I hope all my non existent readers are the inquisitive type...).

Retail therapy

I'm ill, I have swine flu to be more exact.  Yes, lovely.

So, instead of going to work I'm stuck at home, now its not all bad, I quite like being at home, but it does mean I spend way more time than is healthy lookig at the internet and buing things on eBay.

Today however I have purchased only useful things, a Lloyd Loom linen basket and a pretty little chalkboard for my kitchen. (The picture shows an identical linen basket - I regret I do not have room in my bedroom for a chair)

I love Lloyd Loom and I have an LL-style bedside table and dressing table stool, though neither are original.  I wanted a matching set but didn't have the time to wait to source all original items - maybe I'll replace them as time goes on but I do hate to be a label queen....

Lloyd Loom furniture was made in the UK, Bow in East London to be precise - not far from where I'm sat right now.  The factory, opened by an American, ran from 1921 until it was bombed in the 1940, so despite the fact many items are listed in eBay as 50's and 60's, if they are genuine Lloyd Loom items rather than copies, they will usually date from the 20's and 30's.  In fact the UK factory only reopeed in the 1980's but its still going strong.

More info on Lloyd Loom can be found on their website.  http://www.lloydloom.com/about/history.

General update and millinery final.

OK, I completely lied. I haven't kept this up to date at all. But I have had a very busy time of it since my last post and am resolved, now I'm somewhat settled, to try to keep this darn thing going. Every girl needs a place to vent.

So, since April I:

1) finished my millinery course (I'm going to try and attach hat pics)

2) moved house into a flat that I own a percentage of, yes, I am starting to grow up a little!

3) bought furniture

4) became single

5) started the process of obtaining some kittens.

I'm probably should post about each thing separately, rather than make one enormous blog post (I'm not sure of the etiquette on these things) but knowing me I'll start and never finish so:

Millinery

Well, I loved the whole thing, it really was worth and time and money, and I have walked away with two lovely hats that are definitely wearable. I completed a very useful, but very large brimmed summer hat that I wore on a couple of summer days - its been a lovely summer here, after all.

This one has, so far, just got a very simple grosgrain band around it but the idea is that I'll tie scarves around it according to my outfits. So I think it will really come into its own next year.

The second hat, oh I am so looking forward to wearing this in the autumn (note to self - get onto eBay for a matching coat). Its brown fur felt, in a sort of picture hat style, trimmed with petersham and some beautiful feathers which I lashed together with the remnants of the brim.

I really enjoyed making the felt hat, felt is a lot easier to work with than straw and has a much richer look. Its generally more satisfying. Anyway, I'm thrilled with the results.

Hope anyone looking likes em too!

I'd love to do the two follow on courses, I'm saving my pennies. Well actually, I'm not, but I need to.

Moving house et al

I have purchased 25% of a flat in sunny Crackney, its so exciting having somewhere that I really feel is mine. Its a reasonable size one bedroom flat in a new block and I have been thouroughly enjoing furnishing it in a vintage style. So far I have purchases a 30's sofa and bed, a deco dressing table and a 50's yellow formica table. Its looking good! Photos to follow once I find the cable for my camera.

I'm also looking into obtaining a pair of kittens. A friend of a friends cat has just popped some sprogs - part british blue, part rangy local ginger tom. They sound lovely. I cannot wait.

Millinery part 1

So, hi non existent readers! Ha.

I've been terribly slack lately - life has gotten in the way, what with work, love, loss of love, more love, shopping, flat hunting, starting a course etc etc.

Anyway - possibly the most interesting vintage type thing to happen to me in a while is that I just started a short course in millinery at the London College of Fashion. I know, coolness.

Anyway - I thought I'd write a little about that going forward, both as a way of keeping the lessons somewhere for my future reference and by way of making me update this darned thing.

So, my first class was last Wednesday. The teacher is the most fabulous man called Andrew - really approachable - hardly the stern fashionista I had been fearing.

There are about 15 of us in the class - mostly women with some degree of experience, aside from myself, and one older man.

So - this week we did a lot of talking and started making a hard holding band - something that stays inside the hat whilst its being made to hold it firm. This band is made of two layers of bias cut buckram, stitched together and reinforced with wire (pictures to follow - when I find my bloomin' camera).

So - millinery facts - week 1:

Buckram is a coarsely woven cotton impregnated with blue - often used as a stiffening inside hats
Millinery felt is most often made from rabbit fur - that’s right, dead rabbits - so the vegans out there should take note

All millinery fabrics are cut on the bias to allow for give - that’s why millinery fabrics used to come in 18 inch bolts

Holding up your middle finger with a thimble on is called a milliners salute!

OK - that’s it so far. I'll be sure to keep this updated.