Thrifty Finds

It’s been a long time since I posted about my thrifty finds. I now tend to take a quick snap of something and upload it onto Instagram which has become a less time consuming type of blogging to me. I thought the other day though, that it would be nice to do a little post about some recent charity shop and Ebay finds. So here we are…

The spotted cotton shirt I found in my local St Giles Hospice shop for £3. It seems to have been hand sewn from scratch as there are no labels. I just love the bow at the front. Will come in handy as a nursing shirt too! The oversized vintage M&S blouse was from also from St Giles, and should make a nice light maternity blouse for the Summer and beach cover-up post-pregnancy. It was £5 and isn’t the type of pattern I usually go for, but I was drawn to it for some reason – probably the symmetrical nature of the pattern! Finally, my £2.50 Ebay find – a Gordon Stowell illustrated children’s book filled with inspiring bright images and simple wording. I can’t wait to show and read this to the little one in the future!

‘Flower Pot’ A4 Recycled Print

 

Arriving this week to the shop, ‘Flower Pot’ design printed on A4 recycled stock, £5. Perfect for a Mother’s Day gift.

Vintage Flower Triptych Prints

Inspired by the glorious blooms I have in my garden, I have designed a set of prints which work together as a set of 3 and individually. Printed on A3 recycled uncoated 300gsm card, they’ll be arriving in my shop next week.

Book Review – 1930s Fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook

I have been sent a wonderful book on 1930s fashion to review published by Goodman Fiell – 1930s Fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook contains 600 completely original, never-seen-before photographs and fashion illustrations. It’s a truely stunning 1930s sourcebook which picks up on the current trend for vintage fashion and offers an in-depth look at the significance of 1930s fashion, not only on the industry, but on society itself.

A detailed and interesting guide to Thirties fashion, this is an essential handbook for vintage collectors and anyone interested in fashion or cultural history. With its silk tea-dresses, tailored suits and draped furs, Fashion Sourcebook – 1930s reveals the incredible elegance of this era’s fashions. The feminine yet practical silhouettes, figure-hugging eveningwear, and the dawn of high-quality off-the-peg garments that characterize 1930s fashion are all included in this sourcebook of inspiration.

Vintage clothing has become immensely popular and this book shows the glamour and sophistication of the 1930s. It also documents the season-by-season fashions of this decade with a vast selection of over 600 original photographs, sketches and prints. I particularly loved the images of the boldly designed graphic advertisements and softly lit Hollywood styled black and white photographs. The beautifully cut, elegant and sophisticated evening gowns would make any woman fall in love with fashion in feminine figure hugging styles in new fabrics, colours and shapes.

The editors are Charlotte Fiell – a leading design historian who has written numerous bestselling books on all aspects of design, from industrial products to graphic communications. She studied at the British Institute in Florence and at Camberwell College of Arts, London, where she received a BA (Hons) in the History of Drawing and Printmaking with Material Science. She later trained at Sotheby’s Institute, also in London.
Also, Emmanuelle Dirix is a highly regarded fashion historian, who has an MA in Design History from the University of Brighton. She works as a freelance curator specializing in fashion history and theory, and also lectures at various universities including London College of Fashion, Central Saint Martins, The Royal College of Art and the Antwerp Fashion Academy. She has also contributed to various exhibitions.

 

All images taken from 1930s Fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook, published in hardback by Goodman Fiell, 22nd November 2012, £30.00

Illustrator: Niki Pilkington

Found some wonderful hand drawn and cut paper illustration work by talented Niki Pilkington today. Being half-Welsh myself, I especially love the bits of written Welsh that feature on a few of her newer pieces of work.

From 1973 Ltd

 

The postman delivered some very excting post through the door on Saturday – a box of paper and card goodies from 1973 ‘makers of beautiful paper things’. They sent me 3 sheets of recycled Grafika wrapping paper, a recycled card notebook, and a series of bright retro printed Christmas card designs, all for free after commenting on one of their blog posts! Browse through the printed eye-candy shop here.

B7Living Magazine Cover Artwork

Recently created this Autumn weather themed cover artwork for local B7Living magazine’s October issue. Apologies for the grainy photograph – will re-shoot when there’s a brighter Autumnal day with fewer grey clouds!

Terence Conran Postcards

Those of you who subscribe to Living Etc Magazine will have probably found this free set of furniture design concept sketches by Terence Conran inside the new November issue. For those of you who don’t have a subscription, here they are. Wonderfully simple and functional.

West Midlands Regional Observatory Report Illustrations

A series of mixed media illustrations created for key yearly printed publications by the West Midlands Regional Observatory.

Envision Re-brand and Design

National youth charity Envision commissioned a vibrant re-brand, new stationary, and for a varied range of printed publications. Envision wanted design that would creatively and clearly display the new brand style for use across all online and printed media.