DORSET ART MARKET

I'm very pleased to announce that I'll be appearing at this fantastic event on Saturday 27th July!

Bung that date in your diaries, and pop along to the market that supports and promotes Dorset artists. 
I went to the first ever one a couple of weeks ago, to check it all out, and was so impressed by all the people there, that I just had to try and be a part of it.

As a football fan the venue is brilliant as well, as it's held in Dorchester Town Football Club's stadium, The Avenue!

This really is a 'getting back to my roots' event for me, because when I first started my ArtPix venture, it was solely to show my artwork.

It's now 9 years ago that I first appeared at the Village Green event in Southend-on-Sea for my ArtPix debut!
I also used to do various Art & Design shows in some very special venues around Essex, including Hedingham Castle and Hyde Hall Gardens.
The vintage caper kicked off a bit later, when I started to appear at vintage fairs, with a combination of antiques and my vintage inspired work.

So I'm very excited to get back to just showing my own artwork.
I'll have a selection of some of my classics, like the Dazzling Decades, plus my very recent collages and some of my own photographs.

Here is a very tiny peek below!

This is my 'Sizzling Sixties' collage, which is part of the Dazzling Decades range.

 

'Greta Garbage'. Garbo as you've never seen her before. One of my many collages where I use vintage images combined with my own photographs.

'Paglesham Boat'. A photo of mine of an abandoned boat, left to quietly rot away on those classic Essex marshlands, near the village of Paglesham.


Check out the website of the DORSET ART MARKET, that gives you all the info you need, right HERE

MID-CENTURY MYSTERY!

At my last couple of markets, I've brought along this vase, which has caused rather a stir!!

It has created a lot of interest, but unfortunately not a buyer(!!!), and has intrigued a few ceramics collectors and experts.

Standing at 26cm high, and with its grey/green/blue tones and unusual decoration, to me it looks 1950s/60s and from Scandinavia. It just has that feel.
And the people who've inspected it have agreed with me. Trouble is, what's putting them off is that it hasn't got any stamp or maker's mark underneath, meaning it's a lot harder to track down its origins.
Which of course is a shame, but doesn't distract from the fact that the vase is an absolute beauty!

So if I can't get a buyer for it soon, I'm afraid, tragically, I'll just have to keep it and enjoy it all for myself! But of course if you do fancy it, then get in touch right now!!

BRIDPORT VINTAGE MARKET

Wondering what to do this Sunday??!

Well, run along to the brilliant Bridport Vintage Market for a fabulously cool day out!!

Amazing traders with unusual and fascinating retro and vintage items, all around the handy setting of the Alleyways Antiques Centre, in the heart of the Dorset town of Bridport.

Once there, you will also find me!!!!

I'll be bringing along some vintage gems, and I've also rustled up a couple of bargain £1 boxes as well!!!
Everyone loves a Bargain Box, so you can have a rummage and see what you'll find!!

See you there on Sunday!!!

FOOTBALL COLLAGES

I've recently been trawling through the ArtPix Archives, for memorabilia and photos of a couple of teams, to add to my collection of Retro Football collages.

Been looking for stuff for BOURNEMOUTH and BRISTOL CITY.

Makes sense for me to do Dorset's very own Premier League club, Bournemouth!
But I'll be honest, I've struggled a bit to find anything in my Archives.
Although now a high-achieving top level club, they've spent the majority of their time in the lower divisions, which sadly means there is little or nothing on them in mainstream publications.
But I have found a few gems!


This brilliant bubble gum card from 1958, showing the line-up of when they were known as Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic.

Another card showing the club badge from 1960.

And this brilliantly unusual poster of Bournemouth's legendary striker, Ted MacDougall, complete with his dog!!
Ted is probably their best known player, certainly the most iconic, and is famous for scoring an incredible 9 goals in one FA Cup match against Margate in 1971! 

Bristol City, on the other hand, have certainly had their moments, which means I've got a bit more on them.
A few Championship wins and a stint in the top division, (First Division in old money!), during the 70s, lifted their profile somewhat.


This is their triumphant Division 3 (South) Championship team from 1954/55.

Club legend John Atyeo in 1959.
John is the record-breaking player of their history, with an astonishing record of 351 goals in 645 appearances for City between 1951 and 1966. Wow, what a player!

One of my small collection of City programmes is this FA Cup 5th Round tie with Leeds United in 1973/74. 
Sensationally, the 2nd Division Robins drew this match, then beat them in the replay. 
Remember Leeds were a massive club at the time, and ended the season as League Champions.

I still have the cut off year of 1989 for my football collages, to make them truly retro, but I might make an exception with these two clubs, to have a bit more on them.


If you'd like to see all the others I've done, then pop along to my website HERE and have a peek!

ARTPIX UPDATE!

Had a fantastic day on Easter Sunday at the Giant Shepton Flea Market!

Crammed in as much as I could into the ArtPix Van, and we had amazing weather all day, big crowds and lots of them spending money!!

 

Reluctantly had to let go this marvellous Mid-Century chest of drawers, but they went to a good home!


Next up is this Sunday's brilliant BRIDPORT VINTAGE MARKET, so I'll be packing up the boxes once more with vintage goodies!!

See you there!

 

THE GIANT SHEPTON FLEA MARKET

On Easter Sunday I'll be at this fantastic event!!!

Can't wait, as the Shepton Flea is probably the biggest antique extravaganza in the South West!
I'll be bringing along all sorts of amazing goodies, from vintage tins, magazines and ceramics, to bits of Mid-Century furniture, industrial metal cabinets and Victorian clerk's desks.

So run along to Somerset's Bath & West Showground in Shepton Mallet this Sunday!!
Get there early though, as this is a huge event, and you don't want to miss anything, especially my stall!!

See you there!

GOTTA LOTTA BOTTLE!

For anyone who remembers the 1980s, check these out ...!!

Cool glass milk bottles with a difference!

Back in the day, when people got the daily pint of milk delivered to them every morning, the average glass milk bottle would be plain and boring.

Then someone thought of the great idea of putting adverts on them!!!
And now they looked like exciting and collectable objects!! 

They also bring back a slice of the 80s, as I guess Ready Brek is no longer with us.
The gloopy instant porridge, that made you look like you lived next door to a nuclear power station, as you went to school surrounded by an orange glow!

They would look brilliant lined up on a kitchen window sill as a display, and also make handy vases for flowers. 

Check them all out below ... 

 

 

This one handily has a year on it, telling us this one was out in 1986. 

Now go down to The Customs House in West Bay, Dorset and find them in my unit.
Collect them all today!!!

JURASSIC COASTER!

Oops, haven't blogged for a while have I?!
But I have been busy, honestly!!!

Mostly flying around Dorset and Somerset looking for exciting new stock, taking photos, and scanning loads of stuff for future collage designs.

And, I've made another driftwood boat ...!

This one is called 'Jurassic Coast', in honour of my local patch, that just happens to be a World Heritage Site!

All the bits were picked up along this coastline, which means a tiny bit less plastic on our beautiful beaches as well.

I'll be making a few more of these boats and will plonk them in my unit at The Customs House in West Bay, which also happens to be on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset!

WIMBORNE MARKET

Just a quickie to say I'll be at the wonderful Wimborne Market tomorrow morning.
So rush on down to the Dorset town of Wimborne Minster and find me there!!

But set your alarm clocks, as kick-off is at 7-30am!!!

I love this place, there is always an amazing array of stuff everywhere, with genuine bargains on vintage items, including on my stall of course!!

SOAP OPERA!

Just had to show you these amazing old bars of soap I recently bought ...

I love them as I'm always on the look-out for unusual and interesting vintage items.
Plus, how on earth were they never used and stayed in such good condition??!

As you can see, they are the iconic brands of FAIRY and SUNLIGHT. Classic British brands with long histories.


I was told when I bought them that they dated to the 1950s, but the Fairy soap bar could actually be a lot older.

They still retain their distinctive green colour, and as they are the squared version with the wording HOUSEHOLD SOAP, are for 'laundry and other household purposes'. 
The more traditional bars of soaps used for washing were rounded and weighed a bit less.

On the back is their famous baby logo, which is still in use throughout their products today, although they actually stopped making soap bars in 2009.
Underneath is the word 'HEDLEY'.

This refers to the original maker of Fairy soaps, Thomas Hedley Co., who first produced them in 1898.
However, in 1927 they were bought out by the current producers and holders of the brand, Proctor & Gamble, and went out of business in 1930.
So that must mean that my soaps would pre-date that 1927 takeover?
Or, for some reason, they just carried on putting the name Hedley on the bars even though they weren't around anymore. Which to be honest sounds a bit unlikely.

On the side they have individual serial numbers.

I would love to know what they correspond to, as it could possibly be a way of dating them more accurately.



The Sunlight soap has that brilliantly cheerful brand name on the front, all in that sunny yellow colour as well.

On the back we have ...
BY APPOINTMENT SOAPMAKERS
LEVER BROTHERS
PORT SUNLIGHT LIMITED

This gives you an insight into the iconic history of these bars, as Sunlight was first introduced by the Lever Brothers in 1884, making it the first packaged and branded soap in the world.

Port Sunlight is the extraordinary purpose built village, that was built by the brothers to house all the factories' workers, on the Wirral in Merseyside.
With stunning Victorian architecture, this must have been an absolute paradise for these people at the time. It stills looks sensational today, and has over 900 Grade II listed buildings.


As a little bonus, I've dug out these original late Victorian/Edwardian adverts for Sunlight Soap from the ArtPix Archives!!
I bought them yonks ago at Covent Garden Antiques Market. 
They give you an idea of how they advertised their soaps in the early days.

 

I seem to remember that the one below dates to 1913?

Keep in touch here for more news of unusual vintage bits and pieces!!