BRIDPORT VINTAGE MARKET

After a great time in Wells for the Vintage Somerset Fair last Saturday, my next venture will be back in Dorset for the brilliant Bridport Vintage Market!

Fingers will be very crossed all week hoping the weather will improve!!!
Got a lovely mixture of vintage and retro items, alongside some salvage bits and upcycled furniture.

So run along to Bridport this Sunday and check it all out!

WONDERING ABOUT WELLS?

Take a look at this fantastic old map for the city of Wells ...

From an Ordnance Survey map of 1911, you can clearly see the Bishop's Palace, with the blue outline, and the wonderful cathedral.

And handily you can also make out the Town Hall, which is where this Saturday's VINTAGE SOMERSET FAIR will be held, and you'll be able to pick up this little gem on my stall!!

See you there!

80s AFTERSHAVES

If you are a fan of the 1980s, and you love the music, fashions, telly etc, then how about SMELLING like the 1980s??!!

I've got here, two unashamedly cool, cheesy and retro aftershaves to show you ...
Sergio Tacchini and Paco Rabanne!!!

Paco Rabanne was an absolute classic of the 80s aftershave world, while Sergio was a leftfield choice, considering Sergio Tacchini sportswear was the attire of the Casuals football hoolies of the day!

So how can I be sure they are actually from the 80s?
Well, embarrassingly, they were mine!!!
Back then, and even now, I had an extensive aftershave collection, and brilliantly, I found them a couple of years ago in my old loft prior to moving house.

So if you fancy a sniff, then run along in your finest Sergio Tacchini trackie top, to this Saturday's VINTAGE SOMERSET FAIR in Wells, and find them on my stall!!

See you there!

OZZ FRANÇA PRINTS

Take a look at these oddly cute, kitsch, and ever-so-slightly unsettling portraits ...

They were painted by the extraordinary artist, Ozz França (1928-1991).

Although born in Brazil, he was best known for his unusual images of Native American women.
Also a talented swimmer, he even qualified for the Brazil Olympic Swimming Team for the never-to-be-held Olympic Games in Tokyo 1940.

Unbelievably, only a year after moving to the USA, he was working in Hollywood for Walt Disney!
Doing movie illustrations for the Lady and the Tramp and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
He was even known to sneak off sometimes and appear in movies where there were swimmers required!

Almost as a side-project, he also did these child portraits throughout the 1960s. Curiously their trade mark big eyes aren't particularly original, as other artists used the same idea, but they do have a strange quality about them.
He produced a whole series of them, all in that weirdly beguiling style.
Our two are classic examples and were printed and framed in America.

If you fancy this slice of 60s kitsch, then lucky you, as I'm bringing them along to this Saturday's VINTAGE SOMERSET FAIR in Wells!!

See you there!!

BRAND NEW ARTWORK!

Just finished a new collage ...

I found some wooden board on my local beach at Chesil Cove, which is probably a bit of boat, (complete with circular hole!), making it great to use for this collage.

And I'm always cutting out pix in any magazine I find, and keep them in a box for a rainy day.

After adding a splash of yellow to the board, I selected these random images of people.
Some of course are very famous ...!


Buster Keaton standing on Jupiter!

Oscar Wilde and Georgette Heyer feature here, while Ray Charles looks like he's enjoying himself!

A fantastic image of the amazing Alek Wek.
Graham Green and Jean Harlow are the other bods.

I usually do digital collages, but I love doing these, getting the pva glue out and sticking them all down!

FABULOUS 50s SPARTAN CASE

Have a peep at this fantastic travel case from the 50s ...

Not only does it look cool, it has an amazing history, and has an extra vintage twist inside!!


Looking at the intriguing travel stickers, someone very stylish travelled across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada on the Cunard Line. 

If that wasn't great enough, they stayed in the famous Sheraton-Brock Hotel, close to the Niagara Falls, WOW!!!

This hotel was made even more iconic when Marilyn Monroe stayed there during the filming of her Noir classic Niagara in 1953.
If you can let your imagination run wild just for a second, then imagine our person was staying there at the same time, with their brand new Spartan travel case!!!


Now look inside and see that I've added an extra special 50s feel ...

I've lined the case with my very-own 1950s collage design, to add another dimension to this stunning vintage case.

If you fancy travelling around with this style icon, then lucky you, as I'm bringing it along to my next fair!

Run along to the VINTAGE SOMERSET FAIR on Saturday 21st September in Wells and find it on my stall! 

 

MAGNIFIQUE !

Last week I blogged about the perils of buying stock to sell and then wanting to keep it!

Well, its happened again!!
I found this curious item in amongst a box of junk at a recent vintage market.

I'm always after things that look different, and thought this looked unusual, and a bit Steampunk. 
Presumably it holds very small things that need repairing, in the pincer hands, in which someone can look through the magnifying glass to get a better look at it.

But when I got it home, it suddenly looked like a robot and really felt like it has a personality!!

The arms, hands and 'head' all move, and with its slightly rusty and Victorian feel, it looks like a Steampunk Robot!

I've now put it to good use, as a handy way of distributing my business cards!

And as it's actually a magnifying glass, and is a magnificent specimen, I've named it Magnifique ...

80 YEARS AGO ...

Lost in the flurry of headlines is the fact Britain entered the Second World War exactly 80 years ago today.

There was a crushing inevitability that war would happen after the turbulent 1930s throughout Europe, and even now Neville Chamberlain's fateful speech has a power to invoke a feeling of sadness and shock.

Below is an original gas mask, which has the year 1938 stamped on it, emphasizing the awful fact it was always going to be when and not if.