HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy New Year ...

Fingers crossed for a great 2022!!!!

ARTPIX UPDATE!

Well, that's Xmas all done then ...!

I actually had quite a good run of sales online before Xmas, which helped the ArtPix coffers.

And my unit at The Customs House in West Bay, Dorset is still going strong, and usually I have great sales around this time of year as well.

If you are in the area, do please have a look!

 

I'm having a bit of a stock check at the moment, and have noticed a few bits that are just hanging around.

I might do these super-cheap on Facebook Marketplace, or when the boot fairs kick in again.

Some of my stock is also not appropriate for certain fairs. I carefully pick and choose what to take to each vintage fair, but as some are still not running because of Covid, there is an awful lot left unused in boxes.

Watch this space!!

 

I've already got some vintage fairs lined up for 2022, the first being LANGPORT VINTAGE MARKET on 12th February.

 

That will be followed up with the GIANT SHEPTON FLEA on 20th February.

I have loads of new stock in the ArtPix Storeroom, just waiting to get out there and be sold. So start saving your pennies and come along!!! 

Issue 2 of my digital magazine ARTPIX is still in progress. There are a few rainy days forecast this week, so I'll use the time to have a go at a few more pages!!

I've got loads of renovating projects on the go as well. Some are really rare and unusual pieces, so I'll need to be very careful and professional and do these properly!! Hopefully I can get these out on sale in the new year.

 

I've been painfully inconsistent at blogging and updating things this year, so I'm going to try and remedy that next year! I love the buying and renovating of vintage items, but the social media side of things can be a bit boring!!!!

 

Happy New Year everyone!!!

DAD

Remembering my Dad today, who passed away four years ago...

Never forgotten.

WHAT A SHOWER!

 

Had a great day yesterday at the Giant Shepton Flea.

Managed to survive some soaking drizzle, and a pesky rain shower, to sell loads of stuff!!

 

Mid-Century was as popular as ever, and quirky always a favourite.

 

That's it for me this year for markets. Back on the road again in 2022.

 

Keep an eye on Facebook Marketplace though, you can still buy my stuff on there!!

 

 

GIANT SHEPTON FLEA

I'll be at the Giant Shepton Flea at the Bath & West Showground in Somerset tomorrow!!!!

Weather looks ok (fingers crossed of course!), so run along for some immense vintage Chrimbo shopping!!!

I've got tonnes of amazing vintage stuff to sell there, so don't miss out, see you there!!!

ARTPIX MAGAZINE UPDATE!!!!

For what seems like ages ago now, I started up my very own digital magazine – ARTPIX.

 

It all went very well, with Issue 1 coming out last year, with the promise of the next issue coming hot on its heels.

I began designing it, then ground to an almighty halt....

The ideas hadn't run out, just the confidence, and the fact its all a completely not-for-profit enterprise, so I have to be realistic and not prioritise it over other things.

Then it got completely forgotten about over the whole of the summer.

Only this week have I just started to tinker with it again, and realised I'd actually completed more than I thought.

As December and January are relatively quiet months for me, if I spend a bit of time on it, Issue 2 could come out very soon!!

I've put together a rough cover for this next issue, featuring the iconic 70s and 80s footballer Laurie Cunningham.

If you fancy having a look at the first issue of ARTPIX, then click HERE

ARTPIX UPDATE!

Here we are in December already... traditionally a pretty awful time for me sales wise!!!

But my unit at The Customs House in West Bay is still ticking over very nicely, and there has been a tiny revival of online sales, so you never know, it might be a good 'un.

Still not sure whether to do the next Giant Shepton Flea Market on December 12th though.

Is a massive risk with the weather doing absolutely anything at the moment – gales, showers, snow etc.

Plus being so close to Xmas, will there be any punters bothering to go? Oh, and of course ... another variant that wants to kill everyone.

Despite our lovely government (notice the lower case g, they aren't worthy of an upper case), saying "get your boosters now", I couldn't get an appointment until December 22nd. Cheers...

Watch this space!!!!

And in the meantime go and buy some of my stuff on Facebook, including this lovely vintage wooden toybox!!!! 

HERE

JAZ COLEMAN MURAL

I absolutely love this!!!!

The lucky people of Cheltenham have a fabulous mural of the legendary Jaz Coleman!!

The composer extraordinaire, and singer from Killing Joke, has been honoured on his local patch by artist Andy Dice Davies.

In this rubbish world we live in, with corrupt politicians, uncontrollable virus, and mainstream culture rammed down your throats every single second, at last someone that is absolutely genuinely talented, individual and inspirational is right there in yer face!!!!

 

 

KITSCH 1960s SNOW GLOBE!

As a big storm approaches this weekend, why not have something that can create a storm whenever you want it?!

And here it is – a fantastically kitsch 1960s snow globe!!

And lucky you, this one is on sale on the Facebook Marketplace right HERE

Would make a nice little Xmas stocking filler!

RETRO FOOTBALL CANVASSES

Have just completed two football collage artworks on A4 canvasses of Arsenal and West Ham!

I've painted each canvas, and added a mixture of prints of my own designs and original vintage bits and pieces.

They are in my unit at The Customs House in West Bay, Dorset, so run along a get these unique, one-off canvasses.

They can hung up anywhere around the house, and would of course, dare I say it, make a great Xmas pressie for any Gunners or Hammers fan you happen to know!

By the way, the unit at The Customs House has been absolutely rocking this year!!

Retro and vintage football items, and my very own designs, have flown off the shelves.

Has been very important to me, as not only has it been a bit of money going into the ArtPix coffers, but as a confidence-booster after a pretty difficult year. 

Vintage markets are still greatly reduced, and the ones going ahead are all outdoor, and have been a total lottery this year with the weather. Plus my online sales have plummeted in recent months, meaning my unit has been a life-saver!

 

So get down there and do some shopping!!!!
 

LANGPORT VINTAGE MARKET

Don't forget, Saturday is the next Langport Vintage Market!!!

Langport is a lovely little town tucked away in the middle of gorgeous Somerset, so come along for a browse and some vintage shopping!!

Will be a great chance for some quirky and cool Christmas presents, including a very kitsch 60s deer snow globe which will be on my stall ... who wouldn't want one of those for Christmas??!!

So run along to Langport on Saturday.

See you there!!

ARMISTICE DAY

The lines are being blurred even more as the years pass as to what November 11th actually represents, but it should never be forgotten that it was end of the terrible conflict that was World War I. 

For years the ArtPix clan had always thought that we were one of the rare, lucky families that hadn't lost anyone in that conflict.

Although I never knew them, both my Grandads served in WW1, and thankfully survived, and there were no family stories or legends concerning anyone lost.

However, since my sister started delving in the family history a few years ago, we are now starting to find out we weren't so lucky, having already found some casualties.

Only a couple of weeks ago she discovered, unknown to anyone in the family, of another one.

A distant cousin of mine, called Alfred Clark.

Although born and bred in London, like pretty much all my family, he served in the West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales Own), and died of wounds received on the Yser Canal on 27th January 1916. Age 21. He's buried at the Étaples Military Cemetery in France.

Yser is just north of the infamous town of Ypres in Belgium, and was the scene of a big battle in October 1914.

It would be possible to trace what he was doing, and where precisely where he was, in the Regimental diaries of the time.

The year, and the fact he was 21 when he died, meant he almost certainly volunteered in 1914 to fight. Conscription didn't kick in until 1916.

As he had been wounded, I presume he went down the line via the casualty clearing stations, eventually ending up at the vast British Army camp at Étaples in preparation for being shipped back to Blighty. 

Sadly he never made it, and was buried at the huge cemetery there which has 11,517 graves.

The WW1 poet Wilfred Owen wrote an incredible few lines about the base camp at Étaples, known to the soldiers as 'Eat Apples'. Every British soldier would have passed through there on their way to the front line, and the sounds of the distant guns was just audible.

He noted the look on people's faces. He said that no painter could ever paint, or any actor could ever portray the expression that the soldiers who were heading to the front had. 

A fascinating quote.

LEST WE FORGET

THROUGH THE RED DOOR!

Been at the PVA glue again this week creating collage artworks!!

One of them is this ...

I found this amazing boat door at my local beach on the Isle of Portland.

I then painted it red, used an old 78rpm record as the centre piece, and plundered my vast collection of pictures and images from old magazines.

It means that this artwork is made from completely recycled items, even the paint is from an old tin, so by buying this artwork you are helping the environment (sort of).

It will make its first appearance at this Saturday's Langport Vintage Market in Somerset, so run along and grab it then!!

I FORT SO!

For various reasons I haven't been to a decent gig for AGES. I miss it loads ... the buzz, the anticipation, the sweaty venue, the ringing ears!

So like many I have to resort to checking out YouTube, and today found the legendary Belgian EBM band FRONT 242 performing in Gothenburg just over a week ago.

What an incredible performance it was, from a band I've seen many, many times. Effortlessly cool, with a spot-on sound, lights, and magnificent photo montages and images on the screen behind the stage.

Was also delighted to see the Maunsell Forts during one of their songs, the old WW2 sea forts sitting, and rusting away, in the Thames Estuary!!

They can be seen from along the coast a bit at my old haunts in Southend, and very clearly from the north Kent coast.

Great to see them again!!

 

And check out Front 242 – what a band!!

BRIDPORT VINTAGE MARKET

This Sunday I'll be at the brilliant Bridport Vintage Market, outside the Alleyways Antiques Centre in the Bridport Art & Vintage Quarter.

Come along for an amazing bit of vintage shopping, and with Chrimbo just round the corner, get a few unique pressies as well!

See you there!!

 

 

ARTPIX UPDATE

Had a good stock-finding day in-and-around Swanage the other day.

Trying to refill the ArtPix Stockroom after the big sales at last week's Shepton Flea!

Have also been rescuing and restoring a couple of amazing pieces of vintage furniture.

It always amazes me when people just chuck away perfectly good and usable items. Especially historical ones!

This week I'm off to Devon to see some of the ArtPix clan for a few days.

This part of the world is also rich-pickings for unusual and interesting vintage stuff, so I'll probably come back with a van load as always!!

Still trying to work out how to fit this amazing old wrecked boat at Saunton Sands into the back of my rather small van!!!

 

 

MID-CENTURY MADNESS!

Had an absolutely fantastic time at the Giant Shepton Flea the other day!

For once everything aligned and worked out well, and the weather was amazing all day.

Dry and a bit cloudy – perfect outdoor vintage market weather!!

Sales were great, and as usual at Shepton, quirky items were the order of the day, and also Mid-Century.

Experience has taught me to always bring loads of Mid-Century furniture to this fair!!

And I shifted lots of great 60s and 70s tables.

Which is great, as I'd originally carefully picked out these things, and also spent time renovating and generally bringing them back to life.

I know these traders will go on and sell them for four times the price, but at least I've helped them along the way to a better life!!!

The next step after a fair like this is to restock ...

Fortunately I've already found some great stuff this week, and also have more Mid-Century in reserve in the ArtPix Storeroom!

But I'm always looking for more!!

 

My next market will be the Bridport Vintage Market on 31st October.

See you there!!

GIANT SHEPTON FLEA

This Sunday I'll be at the Giant Shepton Flea Market, at the Bath & West Showground in Somerset.

This is a fantastic event, with loads and loads of stalls selling an eclectic mix of amazing vintage items.

I'll be bringing along all sorts of cool stuff as well, so run along and see for yourself!!! 

 

PROGRESS REPORT

Welcome to my increasingly sparse blogs of late!!!

This is just a quick update on all things ArtPix.

The precarious world of the vintage trader carries on ... this year has been another odd year to say the least.

The weather has been a massive factor this year with vintage markets and boot fairs. Has been either too wet, too cloudy, too windy, too sunny, or too hot. Only rarely has it been just right for an outdoor market.

The classic situation was a Shepton Flea Market earlier this year, as always you check the forecast and just hope for dry weather, then on the day it was scorching hot. Which meant most potential punters wanted to be somewhere else, so didn't turn up, and those that came were too hot and just wanted to go home!!!

Online sales were a promising sideline for me this year, but since the various crisis recently sales have completely plummeted, so back to scrapping for a living at the boot fairs.

But there have been a few plus points, my unit at The Customs House in West Bay has been absolutely flying.

 

And I've again had floods of ideas for various projects and artworks. Have also worked on loads of renovation projects, ever so slowly improving my skills and getting better results. 

 

I still have five or six bits of amazing furniture to restore, so that'll keep me busy!

I'm currently working on three different collage artworks at the moment as well, and making various things from driftwood and recycled wood.

 

I always try and stay positive even though everything is always against making a living out of vintage and art, especially at the moment.

CORPORATE GREED

Hey Shell petrol company, thanks for your example of shameless profiteering today. Putting up your diesel prices by 4p in a day at your Portland branch.

Ever thought that it's hard working people, on rubbish wages, trying to get to work, that need to fill up.

 

You make me sick.

 

Can't wait for us all to have electric cars and you can disappear.

 

 

YPRES PIN BADGE

I recently bought this tiny pin badge depicting the crest of the famous, (or infamous), Belgian town of Ypres.

This small town, not far from the French border, is forever linked with the First World War. It found itself caught in a salient, that meant it was shelled from virtually all sides throughout the whole war.

The town became a place of huge significance to both sides, and after the war and ever since, a symbolic place of remembrance.

A little online research revealed a few people calling it a 'Sweetheart Brooch', meaning it was bought during the war, and sent home for a loved one to wear.

I personally think it was made post-war, in the early 1920s, and sold in the town as a souvenir during the mass Pilgrimage Tours that were happening at the time. 

Someone probably bought it as a memento of their visit to the town, and the battlefields, trying to find where their lost son/husband/partner would have fought and died.

Although only a small badge, its a very poignant piece of history, and tinged with a little sadness, thinking of who bought it, and what they were going through.

 

EXETER FLEA MARKET

Tomorrow I'll be at the Exeter Flea Market at the Exeter Livestock Centre.

Haven't done this fair for ages, pre-virus days obviously, but its back up-and-running, which is great!

Got loads of vintage goodies as always, and a selection of fantastic retro Exeter City football programmes, so come along for a rummage!!

 

 

Set your alarm clocks though, kick-off is at 7-30am, and it goes on until 2pm.

See you there!!

PETROLHEAD

Hey Boris, I know you live in a fantasy world, but if you could just have a tiny peep into the real world for a change, you may notice that the fuel crisis ISN'T getting any better.

We are now close to not having any fuel in the van, which means we CAN'T WORK.

SORT IT OUT NOW.

BARMY ARMY

Crisis, what crisis??

Don't worry, our glorious leader will save the day, and the army are on stand-by.

* This is an ArtPix interpretation and not taken from real-life events (I think).

SCI-FI DRIFTWOOD

One of the many bits and pieces I've been doing recently is this bit of driftwood art.

The best things about using driftwood is that not only are you recycling, but you are cleaning up the beach by taking it home!

I've added some vintage 50s Sci-Fi images, to create a new genre of 'Sci-Fi Driftwood'!!!

You never know, it could catch on.

JIMMY GREAVES

Nuff said ...

 

MINISTRY

While keeping up with my ArtPix records on my Mac today, I thought I would bung on some music while I work. YouTube had a whole load of MINISTRY from their 1996 Sphinctour days, which seemed a good choice.

I remembered a crazy gig at Brixton Academy on this tour, then realised I've listening to MINISTRY for over 30 years now. Gulp. Which also explains why I have tinnitus in my ears.

WW2 BABIES GAS MASK

Got this very poignant and historical item for sale at the moment.

An original Second World War gas mask for babies.

Issued in 1939 to all families with babies, as a precursor to the presumed threat of gas attacks on the civilian population, this remains in startlingly good condition.

Fortunately they were never needed, although the fear that they might, never really went away.

A unique chance to own a very definitive part of history.

On Facebook Marketplace HERE