We have been busy both selling and buying this month, and have really enjoyed taking part in some new fairs and meeting lots of interesting people.
The Wealden Times Midsummer Fair in Kent was a lovely three day event. Such a pretty fair with a wonderful range of stalls, great food and produce.
Then, last Saturday, we were selling at the Kensal Flea, in the grounds of St John’s church in Kensal Rise, which was an terrific local event. And looking ahead, on Tuesday 28th we are at Kempton. Look out for us there, we should be in our usual area near the teabar.
This week is the Wealden Times Midsummer Fair at Brick House Farm, High Halden in Kent and we are really looking forward to our first time at the show.
You will find us in Marquee C on stand C16 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) where we have a wonderful selection of vintage stock. We have both been out sourcing, not only close to home in London, but also in France, America and Scotland. We have Lorna’s lovely cupboards and shelves, quilts, adorable china and tablecoths for indoor and outdoor entertaining, and some very cute small pieces of furniture for the nursery. We’re sure you will appreciate them, and would love to see old friends and new faces too so please pop by and introduce yourselves.
For directions and opening times go to www.wealdentimes.co.uk
As promised we’ve found some lovely things on our recent travels for our May fairs so please do try and get along to see us at Farnham Maltings for their Vintage Fair on Sunday 8th, then at Kempton on Tuesday 10th and then at Chiswick Bazaar www.chiswickbazaar.com on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th.
We have lots of French linens, enamelware and textiles and a wonderful selection of pretty china I found in Scotland (as I know many of you brides are looking for vintage china for your summer weddings). So please drop by and see what’s new for May and say hello.
Love Dorothy
We had a wonderful day at the Vintage and Handmade Fair at Chipping Sodbury on Saturday and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking for top quality, well chosen vintage, lovely crafts and, very importantly, wonderful home baking in the tearoom!
I know it’s a long way off but please put Saturday 3rd December in your diaries for the Christmas Fair there as I’m sure it will be equally gorgeous and well worth the trip.
Next up for us is the Vintage Fair at Farnham Maltings so please try and get along to see us at that on 8th May http://www.farnhammaltings.com/
Before then we will be sourcing new stock in both France and Scotland, I know we’ll come back with some interesting things for the summer.
Hoping to see you at one of our fairs coming up, in the meantime have a lovely Easter.
Dorothy
The Vintage and Handmade Fair at Chipping Sodbury is nearly upon us. Please do try and get along to this one if you want to buy some gorgeous vintage things to give your home a bit of a zing in this sunny weather. It’s the first time we’ve done this fair and we hear there are some beautiful stalls so do pop by and see us. And, if you’ve come a way, then don’t worry there’s tea and delicious home baking to sustain you. Lorna and I are looking forward to a day out of London and meeting some fellow vintage addicts, both sellers and buyers!
You can read all about it and get directions on the website www.vintageandhandmade.co.uk
On Tuesday 12th we’re at Kempton again with some fab summer stock. Please get to us early if you are looking for garden furniture (lots of stripes), china and painted furniture.
Love Dorothy
The cherry blossom is out as I look out of our kitchen window and it feels like Spring is almost here. I’ve been out and about for the last couple of weeks freshing up our stock and I’m really excited about our look for the new season. I’ve found some pretty Lloyd Loom furniture, beautiful textiles and I’ve gone a bit mad on fifties cotton floral dresses! They’re beautifully made, look fabulous, and, when you compare them to the prices of new ones on the high street, they’re a snip.
In the picture you can see me at a very cold but sunny Kempton on the 8th of March. We’re back there again on the 29th, so hope some of you will drop by. You’ll spot us in a sea of Spring colours!
- Table Mountain
No, I know, it’s not Scotland in the snow- it’s South Africa in the sun where I’ve just been for a week. The heat has done wonders for my wrist and I can now drive and, at last, lug around all the wonderful stock we’ve picked up in the winter. In stock we have some beautiful textiles (quilts, eiderdowns and patchworks), really pretty china (lots of 5os sets) and some very useful pieces of furniture (chairs, kitchen tables, shelves and handy little cupboards).
We are very excited about the fairs we’ve booked for 2011 and so looking forward to seeing old friends as well as meeting new ones this year. I think we’ve picked some really interesting ones and hope you will come along and see us for, what is always, we know, a really lovely day out. You’ll find details in the Fairs section.
Things are piling up in the house ready to go to the Homeworks sale later this month. We have some great new finds for winter, eiderdowns, knitted blankets, Lloyd Loom chairs, laundry baskets and a great selection of beautiful pictures to name but a few. It will be hard to part with them all but I know our customers will give them a good home and get as much pleasure from them as we do. So pop along and see us on 25/26 November at Homeworks – details in the Fairs section.
Do you ever yearn for something different for your home? Unique things that you can’t find on the High Street. Beautiful things that have been made with care and love rather than churned out on a production line.
We sell old things that have a story to tell. Quilts handsewn by young Frenchwomen in the 19th century, sheets monogrammed by Scottish housewives in the 1940s or watercolours painted in rural England at the beginning of the last century.
Each piece is unique but all can be used in your home today.
We sell at fairs in and around London. Click here to see where we’ll be selling next.
dorothy stiven vintage homewares 
