Toadstool Vintage

Sunshine, Treasures & Knitwear!

2012-03-01T15:04:00.000Z

It's a beautiful sunny day today so I thought I'd take a few snaps of my favourite recent purchases to share with you all.

Here goes......

I love the illustrations in this book on Antique Personal Posessions! I found it in the Oxfam bookshop for just £4. And of course I couldn't resist a Ladybird book on Brownies & Girl Guides to add to my Girl Guides memorabilia collection. A snip at just 79p!

My favourite recent purchase has to be this stunning Decca 20 gramophone. I bought it from a recent trip to The Malvern Flea and I had great fun scouring the fair to find a 78 to play on it to make sure it worked before I bought it. I've been looking for one for a while and love the uniqueness of this one with the blue and gold decoration. It was made in May 1938 and sounds amazing! I will be taking it with me to our next Worcester Flea on Sunday (4th March) and of course to the Twinwood festival in August.

Spookily, after I bought the gramophone I found three great records at a local charity shop for just 20p each and they all work and sound amazing! Very chuffed!

I found this cute little flip down calender in my bureau and thought it needed to be out and on show. I've found it very handy as my watch has no date on it. It's also super cute and tiny!

Whilst donating some unused things to a local charity shop I obviously had to have a bit of a look round and picked up this lovely book on old hat pins for just 50p. I love old curios and this represents the days when ladies were glamourous and wore jewels to hold even the most plain and boring of hats in place.

Now onto a subject I don't often talk about on here. Clothes! I paid a visit to my friend Clare at Second Hand Rose yesterday and had to take home this beautiful handknit cardi! It is a lovely peachy cream colour with specks of green and pink. I also fell in love with this cotton skirt decorated with pictures of fans. I think both of these will become staple pieces in my Spring wardrobe this year!

And to finish off is this beautiful maroon and pink hand crocheted shawl/ bed jacket. I bought it from a charity shop for just £3.95 and it's perfect for this kind of weather where there is still a bit of a nip in the air! I love all things hand knitted or crocheted so this is another of those finds that your head tells you you don't really need but your heart tells you you have to have!!

Hope you've enjoyed my little vintage treasures....I'm sure I will!

Loll
x

The Worcester Flea is back!

2012-03-01T11:40:00.000Z

The winter is on it's way out and it's time again for the fantastic Worcester Flea to start again!

The first one is this weekend on Sunday 4th March and we have over 20 stalls of great sellers selling everything from vintage clothes and bric a brac to handcrafted gifts and goodies!

It starts at 10:30am so come along and have a mooch! We'll even be playing some old school tunes on my recent purchase of a Decca 20 gramophone so the atmosphere will be great! Check out this video for a sneek peak.

See you there!

Loll

Thimbles, crochet hooks, buttons & ......sausage needle packets!?!

2012-02-23T22:16:00.001Z

Firstly I have to apologise for not updating this for a while now. Been a crazy few weeks but thankfully things are settling down a bit now.

Me & Tom decided a few weeks back to remodel our house over the next twelve months which means I had to be brutal with myself and start sorting out things to get rid off. Not an easy job when you're a bit of a hoarder and a serial hobbyist! So tonight I sat down in front of Call The Midwife and went through a few boxes and tins of vintage haberdashery which I've collected but never properly looked at. I managed to get it down to a tin and a cardboard box lid so was pretty proud of myself!

Anyways, I found some lovely (if slightly unusual!) treasures and thought I should share them with you.

I had to give these very odd butchers advertising sewing packets pride of place at the top of my list of strange things I found in my sort out. The artwork is fab on them but they are a little weird!! Definitely keeping hold of these for novelty value.

Next up is this super cute empty cardboard safety pin holder. "For Every Lady's Handbag" and such a good idea so you don't have to rummage around in the bottom of your bag to find a safety pin when you have a zip or elastic emergency. Think I may be using this myself!

For a while now I've been planning some vintage style tattoos to symbolise all the old things I like to collect. I collect vintage and antique buttons and think these few (that I dug out of about a million buttons!) would look perfect as a tattoo. The lady with the sewing machine in the above picture would also make a lovely tattoo and it came from the paper packaging for a sewing machine foot. I love the simple drawing and the 50s style. Just need to decide where to have them done now!

I've always loved thimbles and hadn't ever realised I'd managed to get a little collection started without really trying! I love the two blue plastic ones that look like fingertips. Think these will come in very handy as I am very accident prone!

I love this pink plastic tape measure! The tape is old and tatty but is made from fabric and I love the kitsch 50s style of this piece.

One of my new years resolutions this year was to learn to crochet and I scoured charity shops far and wide for a crochet hook to embark on this mission. I found a couple eventually and was very proud of myself (and of course I enjoyed the hunt and the rummaging!). Then I discovered I had a whole array of hooks in different sizes and materials! This made me realise I do need to start thinking about what I'm buying!! I didn't even know I had these!

Finally I had to mention these odd little things. The diary from 1966 was all set to be thrown out when my curiosity got the better of me and I thought I'd have a quick flick through. It was full of to do lists and shopping lists then I came across these pages with little records of the weather on each day. So cute! Thought this was definitely something that needed to be shared! The last item (I hasten to add I won't be keeping!!) is this little hearing aid type earphone thingamyjig! No idea at all how I got it or where it came from so was definitely an unexpected find in a large box full of tapestry wools!

On that note, good night everyone!

Loll
x

Granny Chic!

2012-01-26T21:28:00.000Z

Today I had a day off work so, as usual, I had a million tedious jobs to do. However, in between those I managed to squeeze in a bit of chazza shopping whilst dropping off some donations. I didn't find many treasures but did pick up this cute little tan & grey tartan pencil skirt which will go perfectly with a mustard cardigan I found the other day. Granny chic at it's best and perfectly fitting for carrying on the Burns Night theme!

As I'm sure you've heard me say before I am a self confessed handknit-aholic! I adore, and spend most of my life searching for, handknitted jumpers, cardigans, leg warmers, wrist warmers and knee length socks to name but a few. My favourite find so far in 2012 has to be this cute little peach jumper. I found it in a charity shop for just £1 in their January sale and I've pretty much lived in it ever since. It's a perfect length to wear with leggings or jeans and isn't too oversized. I love it!

Stay tuned for more granny chic finds!

Loll

Monday's Thought of The Day

2012-01-23T18:11:00.001Z

I'm feeling very philosophical today after hearing what one of the more elderly male volunteers said to me at work this morning. He said that throughout his life he attempted to learn or simply do a variety of different things and he looks back now and regrets never seeing any of them through.

This struck a chord with me because I'm exactly the same! I have tried to learn or do so many things in the last 20 odd years and I either got bored and wanted a new challenge or other things got in the way.

After hearing those simple words it made me determined to DO things this year without letting anything else get in the way!

First on the list is to carry on learning to play the flute & the acoustic guitar. I started, as usual, to learn both and even invested in this smaller size cream painted guitar to learn on before going on to my precious leaf decorated electro acoustic full size guitar. I know it's going to mean a sacrifice to my lovely long nails but I'm determined this time. With the flute I went on a free lesson at the Worcester Music Festival a few years ago and was told to practice making noise through the mouthpiece. As soon as I can do that I can take lessons to learn to play the whole thing. This year I'm going to do it!

Second on my list is to do more (and learn new techniques for) weaving. This year I am determined to have more free time to enjoy my creative side and this is the one thing I've wanted to be able to do more of for a while now. I think I'll be adding a table top loom to my birthday wish list this year!

Thirdly, I recently discovered the magic of old cameras and lomography. I have three different types of cameras on the go at the moment and I'm super excited to see what the photos will turn out like. This year (and hopefully for many years to come!) I want to learn more about exposure and lighting effects to be able to create magic with my trusty Olympus Trip, Agfa Optima 1a and Rolleicord cameras!

Fourth on my list is to give crocheting another try. I'd like a hobby which is easy to carry and can be done indoors in front of an open fire and as I failed so miserably at my first attempt it makes me even more determined to conquer it this time. I think it's time to scour the charity shops for a nice old crochet hook and then I'm away!

My life change for 2012 is going to be to read more books and watch less tv. Of course there will always be time for American Pickers, Home & Away and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is! I managed to rescue a rather battered copy of the complete Lord of The Rings from work, before it was thrown in the bin, and I'm intent on reading it cover to cover before the end of the year. I've seen the films but I've always preferred to read the book to hear the story how it was supposed to be told when it was written.

So the moral of todays thought of the day is that life is short and if you really want to do something (however small!) you should give it a proper go!

luv

Loll

Thrifty Tricks for 2012! - No 1.

2012-01-08T16:29:00.000Z

THRIFTY TRICK

NO 1.

I can't remember where I got the idea from but I thought I'd share it with you anyways. It may be too late as I know most of you will have cleared away all your Christmas things.

This tip is a way to recycle your Christmas cards without just putting them in the green bin! All you need is either some old fashioned pinking sheers or a pair of decorative effect edging scissors which you can buy in any good craft shop. As shown below:

Then you need your cards from this Christmas.........

........choose the nicest and most festive bits from the card fronts and cut them out into gift tag sized pieces.....then......hey presto! You're left with some beautiful sturdy gift tags for wrapping next year's Christmas pressies!

If you like you can punch a hole in the tag and thread through any left over ribbon from your gift wrapping or you could just use some nice hessian string or coloured wool.

If it is too late and you've thrown away your cards you can keep this in mind for next Christmas. As we all know it'll come around again much quicker than we would like it to!

Stay tuned for more thrifty tricks for 2012!

Loll

Christmas Time!

2012-01-04T09:56:00.002Z

Happy New Year!

We had a lovely Christmas this year and I thought I'd share some of my fave pressies with you all.

I got an abundance of earrings (which I'm not complaining about!). Tom bought me these lovely vintage owl earrings with orange gemstone tummys.

This cute little vintage mirror came in a little velvet pouch and will be perfect to keep in my handbag.

I kind of chose this soap myself as we were out Christmas shopping and I picked this up with a load of things we were buying for other people. I completely forgot about it and then it turned up in my stocking. Yay! I love the vintage style wrapping and the soap inside is a scrummy butterscotch flavour which makes you almost want to eat it! It's almost too cute to open.

The main thing on my list this year was CDs and I got a great selection together with the Lion King DVD boxset and the Harry Potter DVD boxset (all 8 films!) so I was super chuffed! I've been after the Lion King DVD for years so was so excited when they re-released it in a boxset!

This year I decided to condense my crazy long list of textile related hobbies down to a few select ones. One I intend to stick with is weaving so was super happy to get this book from the inlaws. Now on the hunt for a nice cheap second hand table top loom. I always love an excuse to search for things on eBay!

In 2011 I started a new obsession with vintage old and interesting cameras. Partly to use and some just because they look pretty. These two beats are definitely to use and I've already managed to take a few snaps on this beautiful 1962 Agfa Optima camera. It was the first automatic camera in the world. Considering it's age it's in amazing condition!

That's all for now folks but I'll be keeping you posted on vintage event news and general goings on in Toadstool land in 2012!

Loll

Christmas Charity Shopping Swap!

2011-12-29T17:43:00.003Z

This Christmas we took part in a vintage, thrifty and crafty gift swap courtesy of Faith, Hope & Charity Shopping. I was partnered up with Joy from Alex Drake Vintage, you can check out her blog here to see the items I sent her in return for my lovely gifts shown below.

The parcel arrived wrapped in this lovely unusual bell design paper and I was super eager to tear it open and see what goodies were inside!

These lovely handmade xmas cards made from old vintage santa images are fab and helped me feel extra chrismassy this year.

I love this retro fabric cushion cover which I might actually use as a cushion.

I am a huge fan (as some of you may already know) of autumnal colours and also anything handknitted so this mohair scarf was perfect for me!

This framed print is lovely and I like the abstract design which looks like a castle on a hill overlooking the sea. Will be a great addition to my ever growing collection of old pictures.

As a super sweet touch Joy included a pressie for Tom. This narrow vintage Topman tie was a lovely thought and he was really chuffed to have been included in this great swap.

Thanks Joy! This has been my first blog swap experience and it's definitely got me ready to search for similar swaps and get involved.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and if I don't get the chance to post again until after this weekend...Happy New Year! Here's to a great 2012 full of exciting changes, challenges and fun times!

Loll
x

WAVE Rock 'n' Roll Christmas!

2011-12-14T21:49:00.000Z

This Friday we're back with the WAVE Christmas Vintage & Craft Fair with a 50s Rock 'n' Roll theme. Come along to The Guildhall from 3pm until 8pm to enjoy some vintage shopping together with a selection of vintage style crafts, bop along to some 50s festive tunes and warm your cockles with a hot festive drink!

As we'll be open until 8pm it'll be perfect for some last minute xmas shopping after work!

See you there!

Loll
x

Worcester Vintage Pop-Up Shop!

2011-11-26T18:53:00.001Z

We'll be hitting the high street again for one week only to open a pop up shop in The Gallery in Worcester City Centre. We will be teaming up with Second Hand Rose to bring you the best vintage Worcester has to offer for the duration of the Worcester Victorian Christmas Fayre. The shop will be open from Tuesday 29th November until Sunday 4th December and will be open late on Thursday and Friday to coincide with the Victorian Fayre.

We'll be filling the shop with some nice and cosy vintage clothes together with some hand picked curios and interesting old things. So come along and have a nosy!

https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/create/?eid=183759461715414

Loll
x

New old stuff on eBay!

2011-11-22T20:48:00.001Z

Here are some pics of a few of my recent vintage treasure hunt finds! Pop over to our eBay shop and check these out and our other items for sale....maybe have a bid if you fancy anything!

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/toadstoolvintage

Loll

Pop Up Vintage Shop - Worcester!

2011-11-14T13:35:00.001Z

The festive season is fast approaching!

This will be our first Christmas without the shop so we have decided to join up with Clare at Second Hand Rose and open a little pop up shop in the Market Hall on The Shambles in Worcester City Centre. We will be on the ground floor between the deli counter & the hairdressers and the shop will be open from Tuesday 29th November until Sunday 4th December (opening times to be confirmed). This coincides with the wonderful annual Victorian Fayre which will be taking place right outside our door! So why not pop in for a bit of a warm up and have a mooch around at some of our hand picked vintage goodies!

See you there!

Loll
x

New stock & Personal Treasures!

2011-11-14T13:34:00.001Z

Over the past few weeks I've been a busy bee sourcing new stock and managing to pick up a few treasures for myself along the way...how could I resist! So here's some of my vintage finds....

These are a few of the goodies I picked up to sell on. I've developed quite an obsession with vintage cameras after buying my Rolleicord in St Ives a few weeks ago and now find them quite fascinating. I always enjoy finding a new thing to collect and hunt for on my thrifty treasure hunts! Check us out at our next event or visit our eBay shop if you fancy snapping any of these up!

It's a dangerous job this vintage trading....I just want to keep everything! So here are a few of the things I've managed to snaffle away for my own collection. A couple of weeks ago I did a quick dash round the charity shops in St Johns, on my way to visit a friend, and came home with these goodies. This jumper is a dark navy colour (the flash has made it look a brighter blue) and is handknitted in mohair. Great cosy find for this winter and I am loving blue things at the moment as they seem to go well with my blonde hair. So of course I couldn't resist this blue aztec belt which goes perfectly with the jumper. I got the two for just under £5 so can't go wrong at that price!

In the same shop I got very excited to find this picture, originally from M&S, which is the perfect partner for one I already have hanging in my lounge! I found my original one at a boot sale a couple of years ago and I love the wintry images and the look of happiness on the little girls faces even though they're working hard out in the cold. Look how great they look reuinted above my fireplace!

At the last Worcester Flea of the year I was very restrained and came home with just a few old postcards to add to my ever growing collection. I love the haunting sepia toned view over Windermere in the Lake District. These were a complete bargain as they cost me nothing! I did a swap with a stallholder for sometghing on my stall so a win win!

These two lovely goodies arrived this morning courtesy of eBay. I can't resist beautiful unusual vintage buttons and these art nouveau ones are stunning! Mounted in a metal surround they have a beautiful paisley design in enamel underneath clear glass. At just 99p they were an absolute steal!

As always I managed to find a few old books too.

The red one is Weldon's Encyclopedia of Needlework which is jam packed full of hand embroidery stitches and even has some sections on crochet and knitting. It's in delicate condition but at £2 I can't complain.

The next one is a book of Christmas Stories by Charles Dickens from 1954. Great to get me in the Christmas mood and a perfect addition to my collection at just £1.

Lastly, this book is called Here Be Dragons which I'm really looking forward to reading. I love all things myth and legend and this book explores dragons in British folklore and looks at imagery and why such a mythical creature is used so commonly in British art & architecture. Should be an intriguing read!

Last Saturday I had the chance to visit a charity shop near to my old shop and found this lovely floral tapestry for just £1! I did originally buy it to sell on but I fell in love with it so I'm going to have to find a gap on my wall somewhere so I can enjoy it.

I have been on the hunt recently for some old empty photo albums to house my ever increasing postcard collection and was so chuffed to find this in a local charity shop! Perfect home for my precious vintage postcards and just £1!

Last but not least is my favourite find. It looks from the outside like a plain leather notebook case but it's in lovely condition inside and has this wonderful calender which you can adjust to match the current month. Such a nice little feature! I managed to find a notebook that would fit inside and now it's going to live happily in my handbag.

Well that's all for now folks. Hope you enjoyed looking through some of my treasures!

Loll

Worcester Flea - last one of 2011!

2011-11-04T09:50:00.003Z

This Sunday (6th Nov) is the last Worcester Flea of this year so come along and have a nosey round all the old and interesting things for sale.

We will have a stall full of goodies from handknit jumpers to old tins and books so come and check us out.

The Flea will be back with a bang next year starting on Sunday 4th March 2012 and will carry on running on the first Sunday of the month each month after that as usual.

Loll

WAVE spookiness!

2011-11-03T12:21:00.002Z

On Saturday WAVE was back with a bang with our annual Halloween Vintage & Craft Fair. We had a great selection of stallholders from seasoned regulars to a few new faces.

Here's Julie from Charmed I'm Sure who got into the Halloween spirit and brought along some wonderful vintage goodies and handmade gifts.

Here I am in my attempt at a Halloween vintage style. I love my orange tights that I found on eBay by Pretty Polly, I can't believe someone bought them and never wore them!

This lovely lady agreed to have her photo taken after she bought and wore these amazing original 70s rock'n'roll skintight trousers from our stall.

As it was Halloween we wanted to award those that made the best effort with their costumes and the lovely ladies from G&G Vintage won the prize. Here is the witch and her witch's cat proudly accepting their pumpkin sweetie goodie bags as their prize.

As usual I kept my eye out for some bargains and managed to pick up some goodies for myself.

First up was this lovely reworked dress by Dirty Pretty. It was a tough choice between two designs but I opted for this lovely blue knit one and am looking forward to wearing it this winter with a nice white long sleeve tee underneath.

One of my favourite regular stalls is that of Angela Carstairs. She has a lovely eclectic mix of old books & handknitted accessories and I managed to pick up this beautiful children's book by Robert Louis Stevenson, which is filled with great illustrations, together with a handmade badge of a map of St Ives. Bargain at just £2 for the book and 50p for the badge. These super cute acorn buttons were found at the bottom of a tub full of vintage buttons on the stall of the lovely Marie Underwood. They will make a welcome addition to my ever expanding button collection.

Below are some of the beautiful illustrations from the book. My fave has got to be the one with all the fairies!

Hope to see you all at the next WAVE Vintage & Craft Fair on Friday 16th December for some Christmas celebrations!

Loll

My favourite blogs and websites.

2011-10-27T15:52:00.000+01:00

When I started trading in vintage over three years ago the vintage scene was very different. Vintage shops were few and far between and the general public weren't keen on second hand shopping unless it was designer or in absolute mint condition. Nowadays (look at me sounding like an old woman!) it's a completely different industry. In those days sourcing vintage items was a best kept secret whereas now people can't wait to spill the beans on their latest bargain purchase or treasure that they've discovered at a jumble sale or boot sale, me invluded!

As promised here is a list of the blogs that I regularly follow both for my own interest and to help me keep in touch with the vintage world.

First up is an obvious one, as part of Worcester Arts and Vintage Events (WAVE) our blog helps all our regular stallholders and customers to keep up with what events we have planned and general goings on in the WAVE world.

http://worcestervintage.blogspot.com/

Next up is the blog of my friend and fellow WAVEster Jo Bourke (aka Jo Waterhouse in her work environment). Jo and I have alot in common from our passion for hunting out all things old, quirky and interesting to our love for tattoo artwork both on and off the skin.

http://jowaterhouse.blogspot.com/

This blog is owned by another friend that we have made through running the shop and being part of WAVE, Greg Dunn. He is a super talented and creative local artist who works alot with recycled materials such as wood and metal. We had the great opportunity to sell some of his pieces in our shop a while ago and they were very popular. Now Greg is fulfilling his dream by studying for his MA in Fine Art at The Birmingham Institute of Art and Design and is expanding his techniques to include the patination and manipulation of copper.

http://dunn-roaming.blogspot.com/

Next up is the style blog of two lovely ladies up in Leeds, Miss Heather Rogers and Miss Claire Bissell who run a lovely little vintage shop in The Corn Exchange called Mad Elizabeth. After bumping into each other at many fairs around the country we've built a friendship and I'm super proud of them for expanding their vintage business so quickly and for the amount of hard work they've put in.

https://marketplace.asos.com/boutique/mad-elizabeth/blog

Next I had to add the style blog of the lovely, and super stylish, Claire Bissell of Mad Elizabeth. View the vintage world through the eyes of a shop owner!

http://thischarmingstyle.blogspot.com/2011/10/today-im-wearing.html

This blog is written by a lovely curvy girl who runs a shop called Hummingbird Vintage Boutique. It's always interesting to read what's going on in the lives of people with similar interests or who live similar lives and this is a great one for that.

http://humming-bird-vintage.blogspot.com/

I love to read this blog! The writer, Fleur, has a passion for the 40s and it's wonderful to see what amazing looks and outfits she comes up with. It's an interesting read and the pictures are fab!

http://www.diaryofavintagegirl.com/

This next blog is from all the way over the oceon in the good ole USA. It's great to see that people who live thousands of miles away still get the same joy from finding treasures at local garage sales and it's interesting to see what kind of thing they consider to be a treasure over there. Great fun to read!

http://apronthriftgirl.typepad.com/apron_thrift_girl/

Next up is a great blog called A Thrifty Mrs which is packed full of hints and tips on how to lead a frugal lifestyle in England.

http://www.athriftymrs.com/p/about.html

This blog has to have a mention as it's written by a girl after my own heart! She also has a passion for second hand shopping and baking so it's a must read one for me.

http://faithhopeandcharityshopping.blogspot.com/

Next up is a blog written by a lovely lady called Caddy (aka Annie to her blog readers). We met at a vintage fair in Leamington a few months ago and after chatting to her, and her duaghter Amy, for a while we realised that she had recently written a lovely post on her blog about one of our WAVE Vintage & Craft Fairs that she had recently visited. What a coincedence!

http://thefeltfairyuk.blogspot.com/

To go with my above post, this is the blog of Caddy's daughter Amy (who had the stall at the Leamington Fair). Amy sells a great selection of vintage kitchenalia and collectables and also organises a vintage and craft fair in Warwick.

http://blightyboutiquevintageandhandmadefair.blogspot.com/

Lastly, this blog is a firm favourite of mine. It's written by a lady called Kat who has a similar passion to me for charity shopping and general thrifting. She's brilliant at keeping the blog up to date regularly and it's a pleasure to read.

http://katgotthecream.blogspot.com/

Phew! After that mammoth post I'm signing off to get ready for our next fair on Saturday.

Loll

It's WAVE time again!

2011-10-24T15:00:00.001+01:00

This weekend is the return of our WAVE Vintage & Craft Fair on Saturday 29th October. As part of the WAVE team we have great fun coming up with themes for our fairs and this one fell right into our lap with it being two days away from Halloween!

Why not come along and get your thinking caps on for a vintage style costume as there are prizes to be won for the best dressed!

We have a load of autumnal and wintry vintage goodies for sale to get you kitted out for the months ahead so come and check out our stall.

Loll
x

Sun, sand, cream teas and bargain hunting!

2011-10-20T17:31:00.003+01:00

This week we've been having a lovely well deserved holiday in the beautiful Cornish town of St Ives. We.ve had a great break so far, enjoyed walks on the beach, a boat ride to see the seals, a Segway tour as well as a bit of obligatory mooching through the little seaside shops.

As always I haven't been able to resist hunting out a few second hand bargains. My first purchase was from a lovely little vintage interior shop where we picked up a 1930s Rolleicord camera which we've been assured still works. I was up for a challenge so got myself a new 120 film and decided to give it a go...watch this space for the results when we get the film developed!

Since then I managed to find some little bargains such as this Autumn (my favourite season) Ladybird book, some cream handknitted fingerless gloves for just 75p and a selection of vintage St Ives postcards from the 20s and 30s for £1 each. My favourite one is this very apt Halloween style postcard covered in cartoon ghoulies!

Today's lucky find was a second hand book on Cornish Shipwrecks which feature some disasters which occurred along this coast and in St Ives itself. All week I've been admiring the souvenir posters which cost £5 each and show drawings and dates of the boats that have been shipwrecked on this coastline. Then I happily saw this book in a charity shop window for just £1.50 and had to have it! I'm looking forward to giving this a read and learning a bit more about the history of St Ives.

Unfortunately have found no new goodies for the shop but there's still time!

Bye for now! Next blog will be the as promised list of my fave blogs at the moment.

Loll
x

Bargain finds at The Worcester Flea!

2011-10-08T17:42:00.000+01:00

Last weekend was our third WAVE Worcester Flea and it was a beautiful warm sunny day! We had some lovely customers who enjoyed our £1 bargain bins full of brass bits & bobs and some old tobacco tins. I myself was very good this time and restricted myself to items that were £5 or less and I'm pretty proud of what I found. My first purchase was this gorgeous 1920s leather playing card set containing two sets of miniature cards and two original booklets on patience games. The leather is lovely and soft and as always I couldn't resists a bit of tan leather! It was a bargain at just £3.50.

My next purchase off the same stall was this set of three lovely mother of pearl buttons with metal backs. These will be a lovely addition to my ever increasing button collection and at £1.50 I couldn't go wrong!

As the flea was growing to a close I did a final sweep and picked up this beautiful french style gilt & pink clock from the lovely ladies at the Bringsty stall. It doesn't work and isn't really fixable but it's so pretty and at £2 I can't complain!

My final purchase was this fab round enamel white & blue baking tin from the lovely Keri at Still Lovely. Now the nights are drawing in and the weather's turning that little bit chilly I thought this would be perfect to make some good old fashioned crumbles and pies to keep us toasty warm this winter. For just £2 it'll look gorgeous in my kitchen and will be really useful too...bargain!!

All in all I'm super chuffed with my purchases and a lovely day was had by all!

Hope to see you all next time on Sunday 6th November so you can pick up your own bargains.

Loll
x

PS - check out our next post coming soon where I will be listing some of my favourite blogs on everything from thrifting to fashion hints & tips.

These are a few of my favourite things...

2011-10-03T11:18:00.000+01:00

Over the past three years we've been concentrating on shop business and what events we've been involved with etc. So I thought it was time to bring it on to a more personal level and give you an insight into some of my favourite things. Things get added to this list quite often so I'll be making this a regular feature of the blog. Right, here we go with part one.

Quite aptly, considering today's weather, the first thing on today's list is:

1. Sitting in a sunny garden

Thankfully this week we've been experiencing a bit of a scorcher in England so I've been in my element but even if there's an autumnal nip in the air I'm still happy.

2. Cinema/ Theatre Glasses

This little beauty is one of my boot sale bargains and I love it! Think of all the performances this will have seen over the years.

3. Tiny white flower pixie

This little imp sits on my fireplace keeping a watchful eye over everything. He's super cute and I think cost me about 10p so a bargain to boot!

4. Oxo Tin with Fairy Sitting on Top

This was a 31st birthday present from the inlaws and I love it! Again it has pride of place on my mantelpiece. It was made by a local artist Corinne Phillips and combines an old OXO tin with a handmade fairy perched on top making a phone call on a tiny telephone. It combines two of my favourite things - old tins and fairies so suits me down to the ground.

5. Lovely Old Parafin Lamp

After a bit of a spruce up (after Tom's attempts at lighting it without reading the instructions) this is one of the fave things we have bought recently. Another boot sale purchase and I'm hoping to add to this with a matching heater as soon as I can find one that I like. I love the green colour of this lamp and it will have pride of place in my garden for lighting up those dark Autumn evenings.

6. Fresh Flowers

7. Pottery Sculpture of a Cornish Piskie

St Ives is one of my favourite places in the world and we're very excited to be going back in a couple of weeks for a whole week long holiday by the sea. Before opening the shop we were regular visitors to Cornwall but over the past three years we haven't been able to spare the time so it'll be great to finally go back. I picked up this little pottery cornish pisky during our last visit and it's been watching over us ever since. It's proper name is "Skillywidden" and he brings luck, health and good fortune to all who possess him.

8. Old Books - Two of my fave choices, Grimms Fairy Tales & The Scottish Fairy Book

I love old books and one of my favourite things to do is spend hours browsing through dusty dingy bookshops seeing what gems I can find. These are two of my faves, one being a copy of Grimms Fairy Tales which of course brings out the child in me and has the most beautiful illustrations.

This second book I found in a secondhand bookshop in Evesham at the beginning of the summer. It's called The Scottish Fairy Book so how could I resist? It's one of my most expensive old book purchases but very much worth it! Lovely illustrations again and I also love the fact it was given to it's original owner for Christmas over 60 years ago. Such a treasure!

9. The smell when you open a new box (or packet) of Maltesers.

This is a strange one I know but I love Maltesers and when you open a new box at Christmas time the smell is wonderful. Makes you want to eat the whole box so can be quite dangerous!

Bye for now!

Loll

October Fun!

2011-09-23T09:50:00.000+01:00

After having a bit of a break over the summer with WAVE we're back for the Autumn with a bang with two fantastic events taking place in October.

First up is the next Worcester Flea on Sunday 2nd October where we will be selling a great selection of preloved furniture, curios and vintage accessories.

Secondly we will be having our traditional Halloween celebration with a fantastic Vintage & Craft Fair taking place at The Guildhall in Worcester on Sat 29th October. Get your finest and funniest costumes at the ready as we will be giving out on the spot prizes to the best dressed!

Loll

Twinwood Time!

2011-08-24T09:33:00.000+01:00

We're going on the road again this weekend selling our vintage wares at the 10th anniversary of the Twinwood Festival.

I've got my ankle socks and my petticoats at the ready!

Loll

2011-08-17T15:36:00.000+01:00

It's a sad time in Toadstool land as on Saturday 20th August at 5pm we will be closing our shop door for the las time. Sob! In all seriousness it's an exciting change for us as this isn't the end. We will still carry on trading on a mobile basis by going to Vintage Fairs, Antique Markets and Flea Fairs around the local areas so you haven't seen the last of us! We will also be giving our ebay shop and website a bit of a vamp up so there will always be places where you can still shop with us.

We want to say a huuuge thank you to all those people who have supported us over the last three years. We have met some amazing people from young couples looking to furnish their first house with unusual and quirky furniture to lovely old ladies who buy a vintage coat every Autumn as they "just can't get the quality these days". As in any business there have been good times and low times but we put our all into it and wouldn't change a thing.

Right enough of the soppiness (clears throat)!! This week we are continuing our closing down sale so there are many bargains to be had! All jewellery is half price together with half price shoes, a £1 bargain box and 20% off all linen and fabric.

Obviously we will be keeping the blog going so we can keep you up to date with everything that's going on. Why not tell your friends to follow us and we can keep growing and expanding our Toadstool family!

So, once again thank you for everyone for your support (and obviously your cash!) over the past three years. Here's to a new, bright and no doubt chilly (when we're selling outside in the winter!) future!

Take care

Loll
x

Summer Sundae fun in Leicester!

2011-08-16T14:27:00.000+01:00

This weekend we had a stall as part of The Vintage Fair at Summer Sundae in the grounds of the lovely De Montfort Hall in Leicester. It was a good excuse for us to make some cash and be able to see some live music we like such as Newton Faulkner & Reef (as pictured below).

Here's me on the stall wrapped up against the slightly chilly wind.

We had a lovely time sharing a stall with Second Hand Rose and enjoyed some crazy and slightly tipsy nights dressing up in crazy dresses and having a dance in the Wagamama tent.

Next stop Twinwood in a weeks time for some more old fashioned fun going back to the 40s & 50s.

Loll

The Vintage Festival

2011-07-26T11:05:00.000+01:00

This weekend we will be heading down to London Town to be part of the Vintage Marketplace at this year's Vintage Festival which is being held at The Southbank Centre. It's running on Friday 19th, Saturday 30th & Sunday 31st July so come and see us!

Loll

Old Sewing Machines, New Mirrors & Vintage Board Games!

2011-07-06T12:16:00.000+01:00

Firstly I'd like to talk about another of my new collecting obsessions....I have a strange obsession with buying vintage board games. I've built up quite a collection over the past few months, even bought a 1970s Kojak game which doesn't even have the instructions! My newest acquirement is this fab game from 1980 called Motorway ("due to Motorways being cool in those days" - the wise words from my partner Tom). It is a very simple game with car shaped counters, two types of cards and a board printed with, you guessed it, a motorway! Can't wait to have a go!

Right now back to shop business! We've been having a bit of a buying spree on old sewing machines lately and here are a couple of examples of some that we have in the shop.

This is a beautiful Frister & Rossman black and gold machine, unfortunately missing the lid of the case. The machine itself is in full working order and I particularly like the marquetry tape measure inlaid into the side of the base. A definite sign of a good quality machine which would have been very sought after in it's day! A bargain now at just £25!

This beautiful creature is a Singer electric machine from 1959 which comes complete with it's own foldup sewing table/cabinet. All of this for the bargain price of £35! I love the styling of this machine with it's two tone brown colouring and the cabinet is a good small size to fit into most homes.

Obviously these are dangerous things for me to sell as I have a serious love for old and interesting sewing machines. I have to just keep reminding myself I have three old machines at home (a traditional manual black & gold singer, a chain stitch mini (no bobbin so I call it my magic machine!) and a Minimatic Bernina) as well as my all singing, all dancing Husqvarna digital beauty so I think I have plenty to keep me going!

Now on to our lovely new art mirrors which the super talented Greg Dunn has brought in for us this weekend. My particular fave is this 1970s wooden backed one. Why not come in and have a look!

Right, that's all folks!

Loll

The Worcester Flea!!

2011-07-06T11:56:00.000+01:00

After many months of planning myself and Jo and Clare (aka WAVE) have managed to organise this exciting new event to hit Worcester City Centre.

The Worcester Flea will be a regular monthly event starting on Sunday 7th August then taking place on every 1st Sunday of the month after that. All three of us love going to Flea Markets on a regular basis as you never know what gems you will find so we decided to bring one to our own doorstep! The event will be taking place at Angel Place Market (next to the entrance to Crowngate Shopping Centre) and parking is available for £1 all day in Crowngate car park. There will be 30 stalls selling everything old and unusual from vintage clothing to antiques and bric a brac.

Hope to see you there!

Loll

2011-06-23T14:51:00.000+01:00

Hi!

We've been busy little bees again over the past few weeks. We traded at our first proper festival of the summer, Arleyfest, which was great fun and the music was amazing! Here are a few pics of our stall and the super talented Seth Lakeman.

As you've probably learnt I have a few secondhand obsessions and one of them is old books. I can't resist picking up big boxes of random books at auction and seeing what gems lie within! Below is an example of one of those gems. It's a book on gardening from 1929 written by H H Thomas and contains some lovely photos and illustrations. When I opened it I found it was full of newspaper clippings from the 1950s and was even more excited to find a selection of letters dating from the 40s and 50s from the author himself giving the owner of the book advice on gardening queries. This is such a treasure and something I will definitely be adding to my collection!

This weekend (or rather tonight!) we're off on tour again. This time selling at Upton Jazz Festival in Upton upon Severn and it will be the first proper outing of our ginormous marquee so fingers crossed it stays up! Will post some photos on here next week.

Have a great weekend!

Loll

Bike Fever!

2011-06-03T11:12:00.000+01:00

"The bicycle is a curious vehicle. It's passenger is it's engine." - John Howard

Meet Betty. She is my beautiful vintage Raleigh Shopper and she gets me to work and back every day (although she has spent the last few days upside down on my garden table while Tom fixed her pedals). She's my perfect companion due to me being a big wuss when cycling on the road! With a shopper bike the frame is so low down you can just put your feet down when you stop which is handy when being cut up by annoying van drivers!

For the past few months we have been expanding our love of 20" shopper bikes by selling some in the shop. They've been very popular and have gained quite a following on the Worcester cycling scene.

"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race." - H G Wells

Below is a picture of the current folding shopper bike which is for sale in the shop at £65. It's called a Pony and is ideal for taking to festivals as it folds up and fits in your car boot. Very cute and could be ridden by either a girl or a boy as it's very unisex in style.

This beauty of a bike is our latest addition to the shop. We don't normally stray from selling the 20s but for this we had to make an exception. It is an original 1974 Raleigh Chopper MKII with it's original yellow paintwork. Very cool and great for razzing around Worcester in the sunshine!

Just for a bit of fun we had to include this photo we took under The Brooklyn Bridge when we were on holiday in New York earlier in the year. As you probably know now I am obsessed with anything knitted so this combined with a bike is the best thing ever!

"Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling." - James E Starrs

Loll

Summer of 70s!

2011-05-31T11:20:00.000+01:00

The summer is well on it's way and I am soooo very pleased with the fab summer fashion trend which is 1970s style. I'm a hige fan of everything from this decade and have been waiting patiently for this trend to come round again. My wait is over!

This summer get your maxi dresses, kaftans, brightly coloured prints and high waisted shorts and trousers out and join us in embracing this trend!

This dress above is one of our favourite 1970s pieces which we have in store at the moment. It's made from a beautiful floral cotton fabric and is perfectly on trend this season.

If you feel like you're happier to embrace this trend in a more subtle way why not go for some 1970s accessories such as these sunglasses.

We haven't forgotten you men! We have some great items from this great decade such as this black leather jacket with typical large collar...........

....or if you're feeling daring why not go for one of these jazzy print shirts for just £5 each!

Loll

Weekend of Fair Madness!

2011-05-25T15:21:00.000+01:00

Last weekend we had a manic weekend of doing two fairs over the Saturday and Sunday. I seem to have developed a habit of booking into events on every free day we could possibly have so I can't blame anyone but me!

On Saturday we were very happy to be involved in the first Worcester Motor Festival to include vintage & craft traders and we were also very happy to have no rain! It was mighty windy though and caused a few dramas (and a few dust storms!) but we had a lovely day.

This was our funky changing room designed by the lovely Helen Bridge of Second Hand Rose (who we were sharing our marquee with). It's made from a clothes rail and a duvet cover from her daughter's childhood. Very cool graphics and everyone wanted to buy it!

We both have a bit of a passion for American muscle cars and my all time favourite is the 1960s Mustang just like this one pictured above. I am definitely having one as my next car, even if I have to go over to America and bring it back myself! Think it may take a few years though to save up enough to afford fuel for the 4.5l V8 engine but it'll be worth the wait! She's a beauty!

We had the privelege of having these two old English racing drivers visiting our stall but unfortunately we were unable to find them trousers with quite enough leg length!!

On Sunday we got up at dawn and headed over the this beautiful building in Leamington Spa to be part of the Discover Vintage Fair. We saw some familiar faces and met some lovely new ones too. Even picked up a few bargains for ourselves!

We had a great time chatting to Amy who is the owner of this lovely stall, also known as Blighty Boutique. She had a fab collection of funky homewares and the cutest children's books. Check out their blog here http://blightyboutique.blogspot.com/. We also had a spooky coincedence as we found out that Amy's mum Carolyn had written a blog post about our last fair that we co-organised in Worcester at the beginning of the month. Very spooky! We thought we'd return the favour by posting her blog on here so check it out! http://thefeltfairyuk.blogspot.com/.

Phew! What a busy weekend! This weekend we are having a weekend off for the Bank Holiday and are going camping to The Cotswolds, in our lovely vintage caravan Bertie, with Tom's Brother Henry and his girlfriend Sarah. It'll be my first proper day off for 4 weeks so am very much looking forward to the rest!

Have a good long weekend peeps!

Loll

Goings on in Toadstool Land.

2011-05-14T14:43:00.000+01:00

Since we last posted we have been busy bees here in the land of the Toadstools, as per usual! We had a lovely day at another of our wonderful Vintage & Crafts Fairs on Sunday 8th May and here are some photos so you can imagine you were there with us!

As you probably already know since we started doing the vintage and craft fairs we thought we'd carry the concept into our shop too. We have a selection of local crafters and artists who sell their handcrafted wares in our shop. The combination of vintage items and recycled or vintage inspired crafts really makes our shop come to life. To add a bit of sparkle we have a new crafty recruit! Her name is Jodie Lawford and she creates the most beautiful jewellery and accessories out of recycled lace, beads and gemstones put together with some hand crocheted pieces. Every piece has a bit of sparkle in it so perfect for all you would be princesses out there!

We have also added quite a few bits and bobs to our ebay shop so check it out by clicking the below link!

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Toadstool-Vintage?_rdc=1

This is beautiful pink feather quilt can be yours so get bidding!

Ta ta for now!

Loll

WAVE Fair this Sunday!

2011-05-06T15:14:00.000+01:00

It's that time again folks! This Sunday will be our next WAVE Vintage & Craft Fair. Over 25 stalls of vintage and handmade goodies for all ages, shapes and sizes! Check it out!!

NYC & Bank Holiday 50s Madness!

2011-05-03T14:49:00.000+01:00

We were very lucky to be whisked away to New York a couple of weeks ago to celebrate a close family member's 50th birthday. We all had an amazing week and managed to fit in some sightseeing together with (obviously) a bit of second hand shopping. The day after we landed we headed to Hells Kitchen to the weekly flea market where we were in our element. The sun was shining and there were amazingly a couple of bargains to be had. I bought myself a cute little paisley 1960s dress for just $20, which I later discovered was a total bargain after visiting Cheap Jacks on 5th Avenue where a similar dress was for sale for $195!! Here's Tom checking out the old bikes for sale.

We also popped over the river to Brooklyn to the National Transit Museum which, I have to admit, I originally wasn't that bothered about seeing, but it turned out to be a great place to visit. There were some amazing photos from the 1930s of the tube tunnels being built and then we got the chance to go in some old subway train carriages.

This was one of my favourite photos. I love the fact the surveyor is wearing a boater and a suit to inspect the tunnel.

The below photo was taken in the 1930s and shows a beautiful townhouse which was to be demolished to make way for a bridge into Manhattan.

When we got back to sunny England (which was a surprisingly nice change from the chilly winds of NYC!) we went straight back into work and we took part in the 1950s Easter weekend at The Commandery. Here are a couple of pics of me and fellow WAVEsters Jo & Clare in our 50s finery!

Loll

Let the madness begin!

2011-04-12T15:08:00.000+01:00

This month we have been away pretty much every weekend in our lovely caravan Bertie trying to squeeze in as much relaxing time as possible before the craziness of the summer begins.

Toadstool Vintage will be taking part in numerous vintage events over the summer from fairs to festivals (sprinked with a couple of holidays so we don't go insane!). It's going to be a manic few months but it'll be well worth it.

Over the past few weekends we have been all over Britain from Devon to Builth Wells in Wales. I take an annual pilgrimage to Wonderwool Wales with my sister and my niece, partly because I'm obsessed with all things knitted or crocheted and I'm also an avid felter and have recently got into weaving so it was an event not to be missed! The weather was beautiful and it was lovely to have a chill out in the sunshine. There was a fantastic stall at Wonderwool which sold a fab selection vintage bits and bobs such as curtains, linen, knitting needles, bobbins etc and I picked myself up a nice old metal and wood bobbin together with a few coconut shaped balls of pure wool in lovely natural colours so I can get started with my weaving.

My other fave stall was a lady called Jenny Barnett who makes beautiful ceramic statues which she then clothes in the finest handmade felt dresses. I had to take a few pics of her wonderful use of old vintage cases to display her goodies. Her felt dresses are almost ethereal looking as they are so delicate and beautiful.

We're off to the Big Apple next week for a lovely week of sightseeing and shopping so the shop will be open on a select few days only but we will try and bring back some american vintage goodies for the shop to make up for it!

Loll

Springtime Outfit (cheering myself up when it's rainy outside!)

2011-03-30T15:22:00.000+01:00

It's miserable outside so I thought I'd cheer myself up by changing the mannequin into a pretty summery outfit and putting out some straw sun hats. Mid length skirts will be all the rage this spring/summer so we've chosen this cute floral cotton skirt and matched it with this pretty embroidered 80s batwing top and brown belt. The sun hat just adds that bit of summery glamour to the whole outfit. The sun hats pictured start at just £4 and are perfect for planning your holiday wardrobes.

Maybe this positive thinking will bring the sun out for our weekend away in Devon this weekend to attend the Ruby Slipper's Retro Romp in Torquay. We won't be selling but intend on doing a teeny bit of shopping.

Take care y'all!

Loll

Weekend away in not so sunny Wickhamford!

2011-03-30T12:43:00.000+01:00

Last weekend we had a lovely maiden voyage in our handsome caravan Bertie to Wickhamford near Broadway and Evesham.

We had a lovely few days off and couldn't resist trawling round some second hand shops. I found a wonderful bookshop full of old books (they even had one of those moveable ladders on the book cases!). I could have spent all day in there but did manage to snaffle a few purchases before Tom had to physically remove me from the shop! Check them out below. I'm obsessed with fairies and love old architectural books and images so couldn't resist theses gems! They had the most beautiful book on chinese paintings which had silk embroidered panels built into the cover but I had to resist until next time.

Loll x

Sunshine!

2011-03-23T11:18:00.000Z

Spring has arrived and with it some beautiful vintage springtime goodies for all you lucky vintage shoppers out there!

We have a rail full of dresses dating from the 1950s right up to the 1980s so something for everyone. And for you boys out there we have some fab and funky shirts and knitted tank tops for those chilly evenings.

If you're looking for something a bit different why not take a look at these wonderful re-made art mirrors made by local artist Greg Dunn ( http://dunn-roaming.blogspot.com/). He brings old mirrors back to life with these bold images of robots and beer glasses. Recycling at it's best!

Enjoy the sunshine!

Loll

Tattoo inspiration search leads to new hobby!

2011-03-18T15:40:00.000Z

As is normal for me on a Friday afternoon (when you're encased behind a shop window while the sun is beaming down outside) my thoughts began to stray to my next tattoo. Whilst searching for some great graphics of old sewing machines I came across some wonderful vintage postcards and couldn't resist having a closer look. I've always loved imagery from the past and I love these examples I found. I almost ignored the lemon one but I couldn't help giggling at the sentence "Soft ones a speciality".

This postcard depicting Puck on a windowsill is very cute and silly. It's my guess that the artist has decided on the imagery purely because the only thing they could think of that rhymed with elf was shelf.

This is my particlar favourite as it incorporates my two favourite things, fairies & oak leaves! And of course I must be patriotic to my home country.

After all that I think I'm going to have to start collecting old postcards....they're just too adorable!

Right, enough of my Friday afternoon frippery! Have a lovely weekend and don't forget to pop into our lovely shop tomorrow to have a good hunt through our vintage treasures!

Loll

Ebay bargains!

2011-03-17T11:25:00.000Z

I've been listing a few more vintage beauties on ebay such as this funky 1950s tie and this original 1970s dead stock brushed denim jacket. Check out our ebay shop for more bargains like these!

Enjoy the sunshine everyone!

Loll

Today I'm Learning About.....

2011-03-10T15:21:00.000Z

......shopping trends in the 1920s. I'm reading a wonderful book I borrowed from the library last week called Keeping Up Appearances by Catherine Horwood. It's about fashion and living between the wars and is a very interesting read if you like a bit of social history and stories about shopping.

I am only half way through chapter one but have discovered this fascinating statistic - "In 1920 75% of clothing & footwear was bought from small independent retailers but by 1939 this figure had dropped to 50% as larger chain stores increasingly dominated the market". I think this figure carried on dropping over the decades as more chain stores have arrived on the high street. However, I do believe that this trend is changing ever so slightly as more people are choosing the independent retailers on their quest to find something unusual or unique. Long may this continue!

"Shun the cheap and shoddy as you would a contagious disease and .... sink your all in a few perfect clothes. Well made shoes, well cut clothes of classic lasting style, good hats, however few in number - these form the foundation of our lady's wardrobe." Vogue, 1931

Loll

Cute outift of the day!

2011-03-04T12:02:00.000Z

I've been having great fun restyling my shop mannequins this morning and am quite proud of this cute little outfit I've put together. I don't ever claim to be a top stylist by any means but I think I did ok with this one. I love this white cotton gypsy blouse and think it goes really well with these tapered leg tan wool trousers. Perfect for spring and can be accessorised with some cute beads and this lovely white leather waist belt with gold clasp or even this sturdy old brown leather shoulder bag. Why not come into the shop and get yourself a perfect little spring outfit like this one!

Loll

The Hanging Rail Market - TODAY!

2011-03-03T10:56:00.000Z

Today we will be popping up to the big smoke, aka Birmingham to sell our lovely vintage wares at this great new event being held at The Coffee Lounge on Navigation Street. It starts at 4:30pm and goes on until 8:30pm and it's free entry. There is even live music all evening too! Come along if you're free or even if you're not CHANGE YOUR PLANS!

Loll

New to our ebay shop!

2011-03-03T10:50:00.000Z

Last night we listed our latest great find in our Toadstool Vintage ebay shop. This set of 6 chairs are from the 1960s and have chrome frames and cream pvc seats. With a starting price of 99p you can't go wrong so grab a bargain!

Loll

Incoming!!

2011-03-01T13:05:00.000Z

Over the last 4 days we have been driving round England and Wales to hand pick loads and loads of exciting new items which will be making their way into the shop over the next few weeks. We've picked up everything from stunning spring/summer dresses to funky furniture & shopper bikes. It's been a hectic few days but we've had great fun and met some real characters along the way!

Watch this space for news on when it will be arriving in the shop! Today I'll be putting out some funky checked mens 70s trousers and a couple more bits and bobs.

Loll

Treat for the boss!

2011-02-23T12:30:00.000Z

One of the perks of my lovely job as a vintage seller is that I get to treat myself ocassionaly to some lovely vintage items for my own wardrobe. Last night was one of these moments! Check out what I found, a very cute pair of already broken in brown leather loafers and a lovely fluffy brown hat with attached feather detail. I am a happy bunny! Now just need to wait for the rain to stop long enough for me to try them out!

Loll

Get it while it's hot!

2011-02-22T11:58:00.000Z

Check out what we've just listed on ebay! It's an original 1940s/1950s kitchen unit in it's original colours. It has amazing etched glass doors and even has it's enamel plate still inside the drop down door. It's very handy for storage in any room in your house and with a starting price of just 99p you can't go wrong!

We have an eBay shop

2011-02-18T12:12:00.000Z

After two years we have finally joined the 21st century and opened an online shop on eBay. I'm going to be strict with myself and make sure that I keep adding newly sourced and interesting items on there so keep popping back for a nosy! You never know what you might find!

Go to http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Toadstool-Vintage?_rdc=1

Have a good weekend everyone!

Loll

Today we are loving - Vintage Life magazine!

2011-02-17T13:11:00.000Z

If you love everything vintage as much as we do then go out and get yourself a copy of Vintage Life magazine! To celebrate their first birthday they will be selling this wonderful mag in WH Smith stores nationwide as of 24th February.

Loll

We forgot we had a blog!

2011-02-16T15:59:00.000Z

It's been over a year since we last posted on here as I completely forgot we had a blog set up! I've finally got my head round the whole twitter, facebook, website scene and can now attempt to handle keeping this up to date too (fingers crossed!).

On here we will be keeping you up to date with all the Toadstool gossip, i.e. events, new or interesting stock & even just some general ponderings. It will mainly be me (Loll) updating this so who knows what crazy thoughts may end up being posted on here!

So...here goes. Today at TV (new Toadstool Vintage abbreviation) I have been rediscovering blogging, been listening to Singing in the Rain soundtrack (on good ole cassette tape!) and some classic Doris Day being Calamity Jane.

See you next time!

Loll
x

One Year Old!

2009-09-10T14:30:00.000+01:00

On Saturday 19th September we are 1 year old!

It has been a fantastic year and we'd like to celebrate with our customers by holding a special day full of special offers, prizes and yummy goodies.

So come along and celebrate with us on Saturday 19th September from 10:00am until 5:00pm.

First Ever Post!

2009-09-01T14:34:00.001+01:00

Hi! Welcome to our blog for our lovely shop Toadstool Vintage. We are coming up to our first anniversary in September and it's been a great year so far. Since opening we have built up a regular customer base and have also made some good friends along the way. We now stock a wide range of second hand furniture together with a few knick knacks.

A few months ago we co-founded WAVE (Worcester Arts & Vintage Events) and are now getting ready for our second vintage & craft fair which is taking place at St Helen's Church on Saturday 3rd October. It will be a fab day so come along and bring all your friends!