The Othery Vintage Textile and Rag Market

Yesterday dawned grey and wet....a rather gloomy start to our first Vintage Textile and Rag Market in Othery village hall in  Somerset.

The gloom began to lift as the hall filled with stallholders busy in the task of setting up their stands.....

It didn't take long for things to be arranged and in place...

Each stand brimming with goodies....

Despite the weather, there was a definite floral and cheery theme on many of the stands.....

 The day flew by in a blur of laughter and chat with a lovely crowd of enthusiastic customers. A big Thank you to Pam, aka Sowy Stitch for making us so welcome in her village and introducing us to all her stitching friends!

We are already planning a date to return in 2014, so watch this space for the confirmation of the next event. In the meantime, there is another West Country Textile event in Trull village hall on Saturday 26th October. Click the link here for further details.

Following the busy Rag and Rummage in Trull in the Spring I met a lovely lady who has invited us to take the hall at Othery in order to run another textile event.

The date is almost upon us! Saturday the 28th of September. Doors open at 9am and the fair will finish at 2 pm. Admission is £1 for adults.

There will be a selection of stands selling everything from linens, remnants, Vintage dress fabric and patterns, lace, trimmings, buttons and much more. Refreshments available from Office Percs.

The stall holders will include.....
The Washerwoman

Stefanie Austin

Beyond France

Jo and Mandy

Russell and Susie Needham

La Camionette Bleue

Sowy Stitch

Handmaiden

Jenny Hirst Textiles
Enigma Fashions
Emma Brimble
Michelle Martin
Brenda Maynard
Ted and Bunny

There is also dedicated facebook page here to keep you up to date. Full postal address is Othery Village Hall, Fore Street, Othery, Somerset. TA7 0QS.

Treasure hunting!

Many customers ask where we find all our stock?  I often reply that it seems to find us! I am not being flippant as it does appear to happen that way. For example, the last time we were in France  a chance conversation led us to purchase a whole lot of lovely unworn old shop stock....

A shop had closed down and for some unknown reason the stock remained there untouched....

Still with the labels attached...

On another trip we heard about an auction in a chateau

All sorts of bits and bobs glinting at us through the gloom.....

These amazing traditional French hats have cleaned up rather well haven't they?

At times there is even a story attached. This pretty lace blouse belonged to the Opera singer Bianca Donadio at the end of the 19th century. The lady who sold it to us told us the story of this famous singer.

Now patiently waiting on a coathanger for The Vintage Bazaar in Hartley Wintney on September 21st.

How often does one buy a hat with the previous owner seen wearing it at her wartime wedding in 1941? I was delighted to be able to purchase both the hat and the photograph. The hat is not in pristine condition, but with a little bit of love it could be worn again.

More lovely recent finds....modelled by Flossie, my 1940s French shop mannequin, I bet she could tell some stories!

A gentle day.......

Yesterday was my Birthday, so for a treat we set out to the seaside! The rather threatening clouds didn't stop us stomping along the beach, working up an appetite for fish and chips in our favourite place.....

The Driftwood cafe at Blue Anchor where they serve delicious freshly prepared food in this cute 1930's converted bungalow.

I am really enjoying this "black and white" feature on my new camera, so decided to leave it on that setting as we explored the beautifully restored station near the sea front.

Sadly, we just missed the steam train, but you can just about see one in the distance in the top photograph.

 Gorgeous waiting room with original enamel signs.

Inside the ticket office (below) where we peered into the back office, with its Bakelite phones, ticket machines and old fashioned typewriter....

we were then very lucky to be allowed into the office, these fab shelves caught my eye......

Aren't they great, with all the destinations printed on aging fragile bits of card. The West Somerset Railway is a lovely place to visit if you are in the South West. See the website for details and train times.

Names out of the (Washerwoman's) hat!

Some time ago I was asked if I would like to be featured in the gorgeous Pretty Nostalgic magazine

 They came on a very hot sunny day in August to shoot images for the Autumn issue........

We had fun arranging my favourite bits and bobs around the house and garden.

You can see me sweltering under my hat, so what better hat to place the names in for the ticket draw for the Decorative Living Fair in London. The winner is The Woolly Dog!