Sunshine.....

.....and fun times!

What an eventful April we had - live TV - Cornwall loveliness and a sprinkling of beautiful weather thrown in for good measure!

Well, i had a fabulous time on my first live TV craft hour - which bright spark thought that drilling cake stand plates on live TV was a good idea? (ermmm best reach for that mirror - me!)
It was fun - and no accidents or bloopers.....phew!

If you fancy a catch up - here is the link to the show (click on the pic): 

I am back with new items, new demos and ideas on the 23rdMay at 3pm and 6pm - check out the full TV schedule at www.hochanda.com

Hochanda is a fabulous new TV channel and website with some amazing products and lots and lots of demos to watch and inspire.

Warning: it is highly addictive hours will be lost to watching great crafting!

I also had a lovely interview for the launch show.....have a look here is you fancy it: 

http://hochanda.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/we-sit-down-with-melissa-from-simply.html

Cornwall was next up for a lovey break with my lovely family - beautiful cottage, stunning scenery and fab food at Rick Steins in Padstow - the perfect break!!

Yuuuummmm!

So a huge update is going on at our Etsy shop - there are all the kits and packs online that you will see on our live shows - plus some handpicked vintage and craft items -  it's all going on!

Our Etsy Shop

This last couple of weeks have all been about collecting and packing for my next TV demos and also the brilliant Handmade Fair - which is not until September but is one of my most favourite events of the year.....Here is a little offer they have for tickets:

On 16th- 18th September 2016, Kirstie Allsopp’s The Handmade Fair will be returning to the beautiful spot we call home - The Green at Hampton Court Palace.

Our Super Theatre, Skills Workshops, and Grand Makes are packed with exciting interactive sessions, plus over 250 hand-picked sellers will fill the two fantastic shopping villages, and with our assortment of quirky caterers you won’t be short of delicious food and drink options either.

Head to www.thehandmadefair.com where you can see the full timetable of talks, workshops, and making sessions on offer – it’s time to start planning your day!

Tickets will go on sale on Thursday 26th April at 10am, and in the meantime you can see our ticket types right here - http://www.thehandmadefair.com/visiting/ticket-pricing/. Make sure you take advantage of one of our exclusive ticket offers by quoting one of the following codes at the checkout:

• -  ‘EXFE27’ to get your Full Experience ticket for £27* (saving £5)
• -  ‘EXEO12’ to get your Entry Only ticket for £12* (saving £3)
  *Booking and transaction fees apply. Offer is limited and all sessions are subject to capacity.

So, off i must dash to go and inspect my new shed-io.....yes i am finally getting my dream workshop installed today.....will post pictures as soon as it is is painted and fitted out.....hmmmmm it may be a while :)


Please don't forget you can follow us on a variety of social media ..... have a click and a like!


https://twitter.com/Simply_Vintage
https://uk.pinterest.com/simplyvintaged/
https://www.instagram.com/simplyvintagedesigns/
https://www.facebook.com/SimplyVintageDesignsUK/


See you soon and have a fantastic May!
Melissa xx

Exciting Times...

at Simply Vintage HQ

Next Thursday i will be live on your telly box on  new Craft TV channel Hochanda!

Eeeeeekkkkkk!!!!!

I shall be selling and demonstrating from my new craft and diy kits..... yep - i will be drilling plates live on TV - i must be mad!!!!


Here is the link to the brilliant channel : www.hochanda.com

It stands for the Home of Crafts Hobbies and Arts - and it is just that - there are tons of new and unique craft projects to find on there along with some amazing bargains !!!!

At the moment i will be live on the 21st April at 10am & 3pm then on May 23rd at 3pm & 6pm

I had a little TV practice earlier last month with the fab programme Crafty Beggars featuring me in their first show of the series -you can catch thee lovely ladies on the Community Channel and at 

www.CraftyBeggars.tv

I have also just finished a mammoth commission for my costumes - 11 costumes in 10 days! All for a fabulous production of Alice in Wonderland that went out the Abu Dhabi las week and was a terrific success! Well done fabulous actors! Here is a picture of some of the finished results:

What a start to the year!

The exhibition diary is filling up fast also so keep an eye on the events page for some new and lovely shows we will be at this year!

In the meantime, i have 300 craft packs to create before next week - yikes - wish me luck!!!

Bye for now....
Melissa xx

Spring....

....is in the air!

The snowdrops are looking stunning in our garden and the daffodils are threatening to pop out to see us at any minute, just a beautiful time of year!

It is all go here are Simply Vintage HQ - masses of packing and sorting and cleaning and labelling going on for the upcoming Country Living Spring Fair in London (March 16th - 20th)
Lots of lovely vintageness and handmade gems to peruse and also launching officially our new Craft Packs

They an be bought at any of our shows - or online with free delivery via our Etsy shop

CLICK HERE to be taken to our shop on Etsy or copy and paste the following link: 
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/266511301


If you would like to visit the Country Living Spring Fair in March we do have a couple of complimentary tickets - send us a message if you would like to come along! (*while stocks last!)


xx

Happy New Year.....

Belatedly!!!

Apologies for the silence - a few new and exciting changes are in the pipeline so I have been  in hiding - well almost....all will be revealed very shortly!

Hope 2016 brings lots of love. laughter, prosperity and joy!

Much love as always! xxx

It's the final countdown....

(da na naaaa na, da na naaaaa na na)


Christmas is on it's way....just in case you hadn't noticed with  on the high street!

So i thought a quick reminder about our Christmas cut off times for our lovely Christmassy personalised gifts....

10 am on Tuesday 15th December for Embroidered Items
10am on Wednesday 16th December for Ceramic Items
10am on Thursday 17th December for Printed Items.

If you have someone you are stuck for ideas for.....have a little look below!

Gingerbread Ceramic Star - £7.99

Star Baker Apron - £16.99

Mince Pie Plate - £14.99

Click here to have look at the whole website of gorgeous goodies!

What a month...

...Sorry it has been all quiet on the Simply Vintge front - it has really been an 'interesting' few weeks!

So by 'interesting' i mean, stressful, adventurous, happy and sad!

Once again last month we were back at the excellent BBC Good Food Summer extravaganza - and it didn't let us down, food - drink - gardening - shopping - meeting was the order of the week! We met some lovely new customers, caught up with some regular customers and had a whale of a time with stallholder friends !

If you love food then keep an eye on the BBC Good Food Winter Show as this is a doozy of a show in November - more food than you can imagine, celeb chefs and lots of free recipes, samples and of course most importantly - We will be there!!! 

www.bbcgoodfoodshow.com

The fabulous Jo Wheatley demonstrating her amazing skills opposite our stand!
http://www.josblueaga.com 

Without a day off in-between we were straight off to Spirit of Summer at London's Olympia - sadly on our way down, we had the scary news that my Mother in Law was taken seriously ill over in Tenerife - so it was all hands on deck to get unloaded and send husband off to the Canaries on the very next flight the following morning.

It was a tough few days juggling show set up, logistics for getting a plan together for her care and resolving pupcare etc but we managed to get a solution in place and we got through the week. 

A hugely massive thank you to Mum & Dad and SuperCharlotte who all came to our rescue and dropped everything to help get the through the week.

The diagnosis was very grim and I flew out the following tuesday to help with her care as we didm;t know if she could fly back to the Uk or have the operation there. So, while a plan was sorted i stayed out there and kept her company for the week. I even overcame my few of driving on the other side of the road and soon i was zooming from North to South of the island in no time!

Luckily she stabilised and was given the all clear to fly home, a scary journey but straight into A&E once we touched down.  We are now waiting for the operation date for her serious triple bypass and aneurism treatment so fingers crossed this will happen in the next week and she will be on the road to recovery.

So, hence the month of silence and vintage inactivity!

Onwards to the next few months now and although i have few shows and events this month and through August i really am foraging and packaging  ready for the September run of shows...

Starting with Burghley Horse Trials and the Handmade Fair at Hampton Court. Then it is Cake cake and more food before the lovely Country Living Fair in London again!

Have a meander over to our events page for more links to the events we will be at!

Once i get back in the swing of things i will be posting more lovely summertime pictures and links....but in the meantime i wish you a sunny summer full of fun!

xxx

Coming up...

...two huge events next month - The BBC Good Food Show Summer and Spirit of Summer both fabulous shows and both hugely exciting!

But first - some extra-citing news, as Simply Vintage finally (yes i know, at last!) has gone online for sales!

After resisting for as long as i can, it has reached a point when i would be silly to ignore the demand for my items outside of shows and events.  So i have launched a page with details about all of the ways to buy our items. From our units in various antiques centres, to the websites that stock us and our new personalised dedicated website.

Have a look at the new pages - click on the picture to take you to our sites:  

Personalised Shop

Vintage and Handmade

Great British Life

These are all a little bit of a work in progress as it is taking forever to upload all of the lovely items!

In the meantime i am preparing for the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham in June: 

For more information about the show - tickets also get visitors into the BBC Gardeners World exhibition! Come along to see us on stand F790 if you are visiting and say Hello, we are in the Bakes and Cakes section near to the SuperTheatre.

A mere few days after this show we hot-foot it down to London's Olympia to take part in the Spirit of Summer show.

We will be taking with us a selection of vintage and handmade items along with some bigger items of furniture - all handpicked for this fabulous event.

Phew - July is looking like a nice quiet month of hopefully restocking and relaxing! Hmmmmmmm - a likely story ;)

Until next time, 

TTFN

xx

What a week...

...phew!

This time last week we were happily ensconced in our stand, meeting hundreds of lovely people at the BBC Good Food Show Spring in Harrogate. I love Harrogate, not only is it a stones throw from my hometown of York, but home to the fabulous Betty's and it is just beautiful there!

 We had a lovely weekend, launching two new ranges into the Simply Vintage family - our personalised gifts and a stunning collection of brand new Cornish Ware from TG Green true to their heritage and fabulous iconic 1920's style

First up a couple of examples from the Simply Vintage personalised range - the options are endless! Take a peek at the online shop, there is bound to be something to tantalise for any occasion, or just for a treat! 

Onto the fabulous Cornishware - here is a little info: 

A proud history…

T.G. Green was founded by Thomas Goodwin Green back in 1864.

One of the companies most popular lines has always been Cornishware which was first produced in 1926. It was created using a nifty lathe-turning technique that scraped blue slip away from its beautiful ceramics to reveal white bands of clay beneath. Those stripes reminded an employee of the blue skies and white-crested waves of Cornwall, which is how Cornishware got its name.

This brand new collection brought to us by the new owners of T.G.Green takes us back to an age of iconic style.

So, once we had packed down and loaded up (thanks Tim and Daddy!!)and a lovely cuppa was had (thanks Mummy!) it was onto stocking up at Decoporium in Wetherby - a quick peek at the new layout. 
Decoporium is a great big store of loveliness - packed full of traders of all varieties from Antique to Vintage, Crafty bits to amazing handcrafted goodies, plus they are stockists of Autentico chalk pains and are offering amazing furniture painting classes! So pop on over if you are ever in the Thorp Arch area of Wetherby - 

www.decoporium.com 

Thorp Arch Retail Park

A great location with fantastic transport links, just off the M1/A1M. Thirty minutes drive from Leeds, Harrogate and York.
There's masses of free parking, a kids' adventure playground and a wide range of furniture outlets and electrical stores. 

Decoporium is right next to the Bistro Cafe and the Greenery Garden Centre. Unit 9.7 Thorp Arch Retail Park, Wetherby LS23 7FE. Telephone 01937 842200

And finally, once we got back home a fire was on - hopefully the last for now - and a happy dog!

Next up is a few weeks of collecting and collating for our other unit, for Spirit of Summer at Olympia and the BBC Good Food Show Summer in Birmingham. I just love this part of the job!

See you soon and hope the sun is shining in your part of the world!

xxx

Time is a flying past....

...again!

Three whole months have passed since i last put finger to key and wrote anything on here....awful!  SORRY.

It has been an eventful time - fairs, friends and family have all featured and time has just shot by.

Here is a little round up of my Simply Vintage quarter.....

Birthday time .... my new vintage bike

My pupster and the Snowdrops

Country Living Spring Fair

Meeting my American Niece

Simply Vintage in print!

The fabulous Lisa Faulkner's new book that features some of Simply Vintage Designs items

Hemswell Antiques Centre

 

Decoporium 

Spot the Easter Bunny

I have finally had time to update the Events page....some new and regular exhibitions this year...hopefully one near you!

Not one but two new (ish) units/shops.....a new page has opened up with new details of these.

Next week is the return of the BBC Good Food Spring event in Harrogate - so off i pop to get lots of new goodies ready!

TTFN and have a lovely Springlike Easter Weekend!
xx

A very Happy New Year...

...to one and all! 

A New Year - a new logo.....watch this space for more new and exciting stuff coming very soon!

I have been very naughtily for the last few weeks and my updates were few and far between - sorry!

More to come shortly i promise...until then have a wonderful start to 2015.......xxx

A Handmade Fair.....

...a fabulous weekend!

So i have just about recovered from the delight that was The Handmade Fair at Hampton Court.
An event for crafters, do-ers, learners, shoppers and more!  Set in beautiful parkland:

As an exhibitor, yes there were challenges getting in and setting up but hey, this is just part of the charm of a brand new show! I know it will be better next time as the staff and organisers were so very lovely and helpful and apologetic for the issues. The people we met were just lovely, friendly and interesting with so many crafts and clever sewing on show.

The other stallholders were amazing - such a group of talented people in one area - the place positively fizzled and popped with inspiration. 

As for the fabulous Ms Allsopp herself - well she was just charming and worked so very hard - on her feet all day, meeting, interviewing, crafting and smiling!

The fabuous Ms Allsopp

A happy Customer

Busy Stand with lovely folk

So all in all - a great show i would recommend a visit to all next year - i have signed up already!


Onto the next show which just happens to be the Cake & Bake Show - yey - Cake!
Our last ever show at Earls Court before it is transformed.....not sure how i feel about that, it is a beautiful building and i have worked at and visited shows there for almost 20 years on and off.

Talking about Cake - have you see the new Bakes and Cakes show in Islington this October? Brought to us by the fab BBC Good Food Show team, it looks like it will be amazing. Paul and Mary will be there along with lots and lots of top notch baking supremos - i cannot wait!

There are still a few tickets left: www.bbcgoodfoodbakesandcakesshow.com
and an offer:
"Save 20% on tickets to the BBC Good Food Bakes & Cakes Show!  All you need to do is quote the code 20WEB1 when you book your tickets."

Bargain!  We will be exhibiting with lots of lovely new baking goodies - some new exciting ranges - more stunning vintage china and cutlery - plus some fabulous gifts for the Baker in your life!

And so, off i must go and get ready for these shows.......but finally, i usually end with a little upbeat message - today is a little different i am afraid.

Yesterday we lost a beloved family friend who passed away peacefully in his sleep - he will be greatly missed and his sense of humour will always be with us - so to finish i would like to quote him and his now infamous phrase that always has us chuckling.....(please read this in a Scottish accent!!!)

is that a pudding......or a Meringue?

                                                                                                 Jim x

 Ta ta for now 
Melissa xxx