All posts for the month September, 2014

Vintage Belts

Every now and then I find something that reminds me of my childhood (which is a nice way of saying I am feeling my age!).

Leather Belt

I found this pair of belts in a mixed bag of clothing and I was immediately transported back to my early teens. I can remember making belts like this with my slightly older friend and role model in her house down the road.

Back of Belt

This one isn’t really difficult to make. You cut the symmetrical shapes out of leather and with one shape open at the back, fold the others through the holes, finishing off with leather ties when you get to the desired length.

Side of Belt

This belt is a little more complicated, made from alternating discs of red leather and fur (I think rabbit), held together by cris-crossed leather laces.

Fur and Leather Belt

This should still be straightforward to make.

Front of Belt

Although I’m not sure if I would want to wear one of these now – in fact, despite happily making them back in the seventies I can’t remember ever wearing one.

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by Beth on September 30, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Auction Finds, Vintage Make

Tagged fur belt, handmade belt, leather belt, Seventies belt

Posted by Beth on September 30, 2014

https://adventuresinvintage.org/2014/09/30/vintage-belts/

An Unusual Money Box

I was surprised to see this unusual money box at our local auction:

Money Box Front

A little internet searching tells me that it was designed by Mabel Lucie Attwell in 1935, using her characteristic style of illustrations of fairies and animals.

Money Box Side View

It’s known as ‘The Fairy Tree’ and was a Biscuit Tin (the conical part forms the money box) for William Crawford & Sons Ltd.

Money Box Base

Sadly, it sold for £150, so it didn’t come home with me.

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by Beth on September 23, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Auction Finds

Tagged biscuit tin, Mabel Lucie Attwell, money box, vintage money box, vintage tin

Posted by Beth on September 23, 2014

https://adventuresinvintage.org/2014/09/23/an-unusual-money-box/

What’s on: October

Here’s a selection of vintage events taking place during October.

I can only recommend one of them personally, but would love to go to all of them. If you do go, let us know how you got on and if you recommend for next year!

Please check details and directions on their websites for up to date information.

Vintage Toy Fair Poster

4^th October

Maidstone Vintage Toy Fair

Hart Street

Maidstone

ME16 8RG

After 30 years of trading in the Lockmeadow, this established Toy Fair well supported by both the trade and customers alike, continues into the future as popular as ever.

http://www.maidstonevintagetoyfair.co.uk/

Pensthorpe Vintage Fair

4^th and 5^th October

Vintage Fair

Pensthorpe Natural Park

Fakenham Road

Fakenham

Norfolk

NR21 0LN

The Vintage Fair returns for its third year, bringing together exhibitors of vintage or nostalgia memorabilia. Vintage cars, motorbikes, tractors, model boats, Romany caravans and military vehicles will all be on display for visitors to experience up close.

http://www.pensthorpe.com/events/2014/1/vintage-fair/

Seen at Newark

Thursday 9th to Friday 10th October 2014

Newark International Antiques & Collectors Fair

Regular readers will know that I am a great fan of Newark International Antiques & Collectors Fair . The largest fair of its type in Europe, you can quite easily spend more than a day exploring stalls from across Europe.

You can see my experience at: https://adventuresinvintage.org/2013/06/10/newark-antique-fair/

11^th October

Liverpool Does Vintage

Liverpool Town Hall

High Street Liverpool, L2 3SW

Winner of an Outstanding Customer Service Award and shortlisted for TWO National Vintage Awards; Britain Does Vintage fairs have fast become a firm favorite on the vintage scene. The vintage stallholders are hand-picked and offer a wealth of knowledge gained from years of experience with each one bringing their quality, affordable vintage clothing, jewellery and kitchenalia. Vintage lovers can while away the hours browsing through rail after rail of fabulous one-off vintage finds. Students looking for affordable, stylish bargains won’t be disappointed either! As well as the fabulous vintage stalls, you can also expect a mini vintage day out – with a vintage tearoom, serving afternoon tea on dainty china, vintage inspired workshops, a pop up beauty parlour, armed with rouge and heated rollers, ready to transform you into a vintage starlet, live music and much, much more! There really is something for everyone! And all for just £1!

http://www.britaindoesvintage.co.uk/event/liverpool-vintage-fair-october/

Whitby Vintage Fair

11^th and 12^th October

THE OCTOBER SEASIDE VINTAGE FAIR 2014

Exhibition Hall, Whitby Pavilion, West Cliff, Whitby, North Yorkshire YO21 3EN.

9.30am – 4pm (both days)

A vintage fair with a SEA VIEW!!! 25 stalls of genuine vintage from the 20’s to the 80’s in the lovely seaside town of Whitby, in a venue with spectacular sea views.

£2 on the door / £1.50 concessions.

Under 16’s FREE.

http://www.roseandbrownvintage.co.uk/default.asp?textpage=events

18^th October

Vintage, Antiques & Collectors’ Market

Held in the Stable Yard at Hatfield House

Hatfield Hertfordshire AL9 5NQ

A range of stalls selling furniture, silverware, china, glass, books, prints, postcards and the unusual.

http://www.hatfield-house.co.uk/events_detail.asp?event=127&id=11

26^th October

Manchester’s Affordable Vintage Fair

Victoria Warehouse

Trafford Wharf Rd, Manchester, M17 1AB

With 45+ vintage stalls, retro cinema, home cooked food, open bar!

We are delighted to announce our return to Manchester! We’ve found ourselves a BRAND NEW HOME at the Victoria Warehouse! This amazing, historic building is the perfect place to host our affordable vintage fairs and it’s only a few minutes out of the city centre – what more could you want? As well as 45+ stalls of affordable stock, we aimed to create an event that eases you back into the week, one final flurry of Sunday hedonism before Monday comes to call. Starting at 11am (because everyone deserves a lie-in) we’ve incorporated an on-site cinema showing vintage films, a relaxation area (for a break from all the retail) and incredible food to boot. In addition to tea, cake (and heartier retro fare) a bar will be on offer for any wanting hair of the dog or a tipple to toast their new purchases. A medley of vintage emporium-come-local haunt, think a place that you’ll want to spend the day in.

http://www.judysvintagefair.co.uk/events/manchesters-affordable-vintage-fair/

Retro Revival Poster

Sunday 26^th October

RETRO REVIVAL FESTIVAL 2014

Haydock Park Racecourse, Newton Le Willows, Cheshire WA12 0HQ
The North West’s Biggest Retro & Vintage, Fashion, Music & Dance Festival! RETRO & VINTAGE STALLS GALORE! Discover retro desirables, gifts & treats from quality specialist traders, including:* Ladies & Mens Fashions, * Jewellery & Accessories,* Hair & Beauty Stylists, * Homewares & Antiques, * Books & Music, * Artifacts & Collectables. This year we have Live on stage; The Fabulous CROWN TOP KINGS, Catch the awesome talents of the Kings of Western Swing, playing the best of Jump, Jive, Swing, Country & Rock’n’Roll. * SHOW & SHINE! Car Show,* DANCING, Demos & Tuition* FASHION SHOW* HAIR & BEAUTY Stylists* RETRO ART* COLLECTORS CORNER* RE-ENACTOR DISPLAYS The event takes place all undercover in the beautiful Horseshoe Suites with fantastic views of the Racecourse
ADVANCE TICKET HOTLINE AND TRADE STALL ENQUIRIES call: 01270 526704 For full event details:www.retrorevivalfestival.net

Email: info@retrorevivalfestival.net

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by Beth on September 21, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in What's On

Tagged liverpool does vintage, retro revival, vintage event, vintage fair, what's on

Posted by Beth on September 21, 2014

https://adventuresinvintage.org/2014/09/21/whats-on-october/

Vintage Make – Tie Front Fifties Jumper

Over two years ago, I blogged about going to an auction in Cornwall and coming back with a car full of goodies:

The boot (trunk) was jammed full – this is with the seats down!

The bulk of the auction appeared to be the contents of a house, where the lady of the house was keen on her needlecrafts. I bought two enormous boxes of vintage knitting wool – both so heavy I couldn’t lift them on my own.

Vintage wool box

I know that the wool was vintage as it came in its original boxes, and some even had the original receipts dating back to the fifties.

Still in the original wrapper!

I like knitting, and so it was only a matter of time before I was looking for a way to use this wool.

Such a great colour

Of course, being vintage wool, I wanted to use it in a vintage pattern, so I went through my collection of knitting patterns to see if I could find something wearable, in my size, and for the right wool.

Vintage Knitting Magazine

I found it in this fifties knitting magazine:

The Pattern

The pattern is for a tie fronted short sleeved jumper, and only has instructions for one size (fortunately mine). To make it larger or smaller, the instructions were to use bigger or smaller needles:

Close-up of the original jumper

I hadn’t appreciated how different vintage knitting patterns are to modern ones, and I found it hard to follow – I had to rewrite the instructions and knit the front three times before I got it right:

Front of the Jumper (after 3 tries!)

But I think it was worth it. Here is the finished result:

Close up of front detail

I’ve worn it with linen trousers and received a lot of unsolicited complements. What is surprising is people’s reactions when they find that I knitted it myself. I don’t know if that’s because I don’t look like the knitting type, or because hand knitted garments are so unusual nowadays. What do you think? Have you ever worn clothes you have made yourself in your workplace, what was the reaction?

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by Beth on September 16, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Vintage Make

Tagged fifties, Hand knitted, jumper, knitting, vintage knit

Posted by Beth on September 16, 2014

https://adventuresinvintage.org/2014/09/16/847/

Fortnightly Photo

This Edwardian photo shows the beach at Penzance in Cornwall.

I found it in a box of photos from a Cornish auction. I must admit that I wasn’t too impressed when I first scanned it because no one was looking at camera. But then I looked a little closer at what I thought was a pile of tarpaulins or fishing equipment.

These dark shapes are a pair of elephants!! Not what you’d expect to see on a beach in one of the outlying edges of Britain.

A bit more research told me that the circus used to visit Penzance every summer, and a popular daily activity was to parade the elephants through the streets to bathe in the sea.

It seems that the circus only visited twice, so this really does show a rare snapshot in time.

You can see more at: http://www.westbriton.co.uk/went-circus/story-11518611-detail/story.html

1 Comment

by Beth on September 12, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Fortnightly Photo, Vintage Pictures

Tagged Beach, Circus, Elephants, Penzance, vintage

Posted by Beth on September 12, 2014

https://adventuresinvintage.org/2014/09/12/fortnightly-photo-2/

Surf’s Up!

As you may have noticed in this month’s ‘What’s on’, this Sunday saw the World Belly Board Championships come to Chapel Porth beach in Cornwall.

The World Belly Boarding Championships

This annual event had some fantastic weather and I really wish I had been able to visit as it seems like a great day out (even for a bellyboarding novice like myself). You can see a promotional video here:

Although the contest has only been taking place for the last 12 years, it builds on a long heritage of Cornish (and national) surfing. According to the British Surfing Museum (who knew Britain had a Surfing Museum?!), Surf riding – or bellyboarding as people have come to describe it – dates back at least a century in Britain.

Surfers using coffin lids – Perranporth 1919 Copyright Museum of British Surfing

There is evidence of surfing in the UK in the very early 1900s, but it became a popular beach activity in Cornwall and Devon at the end of World War I. A mixture of wealthy Brits travelling to Hawaii & learning to surf, and soldiers chatting to Commonwealth surfers in the trenches combined to create something quintessentially British. Apparently, even Edward VIII (while still the Prince of Wales) had a try at surfing when visiting Hawaii.

American Surf Meet

While more low key than the comparative American surf culture, British surf riding in the rolling Atlantic breakers became a must do activity for hundreds of men and women.

Vintage surfer photo offered on Ebay

After the Second World War, bellyboarding resumed as Brits returned to the beaches in their droves, and many thousands of bellyboards were made in the 1950s and 60s to service the growing demand.

Belly boards on display

The standing up British surf scene has advanced in line with the global surf industry and Britain has produced notable surfers, but bellyboarding remains the same simple pleasure; and many of the early belly boarders have remained active surfers into their 80s – often with their original boards.

Vintage Surfer with ‘Coffin Board’

Many of these original boards appear at the Champs and are still ridden all across the country in the same exhilarating way.

Vintage Surfer

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by Beth on September 9, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Vintage Interest

Tagged belly boarding, bellyboard, Chapel Porth, Cornwall, VIntage surf, World Championships

Posted by Beth on September 9, 2014

https://adventuresinvintage.org/2014/09/09/surfs-up/

An Unusual Way to Get to the Beach

I’m on holiday on the North Yorkshire Coast this weekend, and of course no coastal holiday is complete without a trip to the beach. In Scarborough, I found the most unusual way to get to the beach I’ve ever seen!

Bottom Station of the Tram

The town centre is high above the beach, and when the town was in its heyday as an Edwardian holiday resort, some bright spark had the idea of saving people from the steep walk up and down to the beach by building a tram.

One Tram Car

It’s called a tram, but it looks more like a funicular railway to me.

There are two carriages, one goes up and one down so the weights cancel each other out, overlapping halfway down the track.

Counter Balanced Cars

The carriages are pretty basic inside, with wooden bench seats and hanging straps. It was also noisy and juddery, but must have seemed revolutionary to the Edwardians who used it:

Car interior

But it certainly saved the effort of climbing the hill.

View to the beach from the top station

You can find more details at: http://www.transportheritage.com/find-heritage-locations.html?sobi2Task=sobi2Details&sobi2Id=831

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by Beth on September 6, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Out and About

Posted by Beth on September 6, 2014

https://adventuresinvintage.org/2014/09/06/an-unusual-way-to-get-to-the-beach/

Living the Vintage Life

As vintage becomes more mainstream, it’s not unusual to see elements of vintage/retro in peoples’ clothes or in their homes. It’s a habit I follow myself, and I’m very pleased with the elements of vintage that I’ve incorporated into my daily life. At the same time, I am not sure that I could ever embrace a fully vintage lifestyle – for a start, what decade to choose? Home-wise I mix the clean lines of 20’s Art Deco with kitsch 50’s kitchenalia, and style-wise, my taste inclines to the the thirties, but my figure best suits the forties and my wardrobe still has items I wore in the 80s.

So I am full of admiration for those people who have the dedication/obsession to set their whole life in a single decade, and to make sure that it is reflected in every element of their personal life.

People like Ben Sansum, who lives in a house retrofitted to be as close as possible to the forties:

Ben Samsun in his 40s Living Room

His dedication to this way of life includes getting up at 4am to light his vintage range, according to the Daily Mail.

Authentic Kitchen

Now that’s dedication to the way of life!

A woman recently featured in the press, credits living as if in the fifties with saving her marriage!

Living the Fifties Life

While as a good feminist, I’m not sure I agree with all the views in the article, I have to admire the dedication that this couple have given to collecting and living with period appropriate items.

One thing I do take away from this, is that as more and more articles like this appear in the media, vintage may become more mainstream and lose some of its cachet as an alternative lifestyle. Is this good or bad? I don’t know. I welcome anything that establishes the value of original vintage, rather than some pastiche of memories watered down and made in China – now available in a chain store near you. But at the same time, does it devalue the lifestyle?

adventuresinvintage

All posts for the month September, 2014

Vintage Belts

An Unusual Money Box

What’s on: October

Vintage Make – Tie Front Fifties Jumper

Fortnightly Photo

Surf’s Up!

An Unusual Way to Get to the Beach

Living the Vintage Life

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