Sutton Vintage and Arts Fair Summer Special

Wow what a busy weekend! Yesterday I traded at the fantastic Sutton Vintage and Arts Summer Special.  It was a brilliant day, I had the chance to meet lots of new customers and some of my Facebook followers and it was also a great chance for me to showcase some of my new stock.  I also managed to sneak away from my stall to check out some of the other traders and I will be blogging about them later on in the week.  I have added some picture of my stall.  

Lots and lots of new badges

Tonnes of new vintage stock, updates on ASOS soon

Arm Candy

Flower Headbands and Brooches

One of my bestsellers this weekend were my new customised t-shirts.  They were very popular and I will be making lots more this week and I will hopefully have them on my ASOS Marketplace in the next week or two.  In the meantime you can contact me through Facebook if you would like to order.   So far I have worked on three designs; hearts, bows and a peace sign.  

Heart Design T-Shirt

My brand new t-shirts xx

What do you think of them? I am hoping to produce more styles for Summer.  What type of applique design would you like to see? 

Laura xx

ASOS Marketplace Sale

To make way for some new vintage stock I have decided to discount some of my items that are listed on my ASOS Marketplace.  If you like vintage clothing or you are looking for some new jewellery i have some items reduce by 25% and 50%.  I would really appreciate it if you could spread the word to anyone else you know who may be interested, here are some of my top picks,

Laura 

xxxx

Black skirt with Waist Detail £18 now £13.50

LOVE Necklace £10 now £7.50

Blue Dress £28 now £14

Floral Ribbon Bracelet £8 now £4

Laura Loves Birmingham

As you may or may not know I am from Birmingham, although I do a lot of fairs around the country and I love lots of the cities I have visited.   I recently took the time to take in some of the sights of my home city.    

The Birmingham Bull in its Jubilee finest.

I like spending time in places such as the Botanical Gardens which is such a lovely time to spend the day especially if the sun is shining.   One of my other places to spend the day is just outside Birmingham in Stratford Upon Avon.  I spent a lot of time there when I was at university as it was a great place to gather inspiration and to work.  I particularly love the Butterfly Farm in Stratford and a pub called Cox's Yard.  I was lucky enough to trade there last year with the team from Sutton Vintage and Arts Fair. 

A view from the Bullring.

 Another favourite of mine is The Custard Factory in Digbeth which is home to a number of fantastic independent retailers and business including The Frock On Vintage Studio a celeb favourite, GET A GRIP printing studio and The Vintage Salon to name a few.  

The Custard Factory

Have you ever been to Birmingham or any of the places featured in the blog? 

Laura xxx

Laura Loves .... Marina & The Diamonds

"Primadonna girl, yeah.  All I ever wanted was the world."

Marina - Very Marie Antoinette

Whilst  in my workspace I have been listening to lots of Marina and the Diamonds.  Her first album 'The Family Jewels' is a regular in my car cd player and on my ipod and more recently I have had 'Primadonna' on repeat, it is my current favourite on the new album Electra Heart mainly because it is so catchy!

Marina's Latest Album - Electra Heart

I also love Marina's style, I watched her recently on Channel 4's Sunday Brunch, her style was reminiscent of a 50's housewife with a hint of Marie Antoinette.  

Loving the classic styling and simple accessories.

I also loves Marina's recent outfit choice for the 2012 NME awards.  Her dress is classic and very pretty and I like the simple accessories she wore with the outfit.  I am currently designing ranges ready for Autumn and Winter and at the moment classic styles such as the 50's housewife will be featuring heavily so expect lots of florals, accessories and much more.  

Have you listened to Electra Heart? What are your favourite tracks? Do you like her style?  Do you have any ideas for Autumn/Winter ranges?   I would love to hear your thoughts.  

Laura xxx

Laura Loves Wellies

So the British Summer really is in full swing! As the rain has been non stop I have been looking at some of the different types of wellies available perfect for recent rainy days and of course the upcoming summer festivals.  

My Wellies - A perfect mix of my favourite colours and of course florals!

A few years ago I was lucky enough to have a pair of the Hunter Royal Horticultural Society Sweet Pea Butterfly wellies as a present and even after attending numerous festivals and walks in the park they are as good as new.  I have had a quick look online and they available in the sale on some sites like M&M Direct for £44.99.  Although this is a high price they are worth it as they really do last.  Before getting my Hunter wellies I would usually buy a £10-£15 pair each year and I found that they always started to show some wear and tear or begin to leak after Winter.  Around this time of year Hunter's are usually available in TK Maxx with a large discount so it is worth checking our local store.  

Here are some of my favourite wellie designs available online: 

Davidson Biker Wellies - Topshop £30

I like these wellies because they would go with absolutely everything and on first glance they look like a pair of boots.  

Daisy Print - Welly Warehouse £19.99

I like the fun bright pattern on this set these will make anyone stand out in the crowd.  

Nautical Stripe Wellies - Matalan £12.00

I like the classic stripe wellies and think they would go with almost anything, they would also look fab with a pair of jeans for puddle splashing in the park!

Barbara Hulanacki @ George Asda £7

My last pick is a bargain pair of boots from George which are just £7 in the sale.  Designed by Barbara Hulanacki founder of Biba these boots are an absolute steal, the website only has a few sizes available in the skull print.  The boots are part of a very affordable range designed by Hulanacki for George, well worth checking out. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on the wellies I have picked, Laura xxx

Laura Loves Weddings

Last week I attended a family wedding in Ireland.  I had a fantastic time and for me it was the first wedding of the summer season, luckily the sun was shining and we had a fantastic day.  

Over the last few days I have been looking online for some wedding perfect outfits and stumbled across the latest Warehouse collections.  Here are some of my favourites as you will notice I love floral prints and I often use flowers and floral prints in my designs.  

Orchid Print Dress £75

Multi Ditsy Dress £65

Boutique Floral Dress £42.00

What do you think of my choices? Have you bought anything new recently?

Laura xx

Laura Loves Dressmaking

I have re-ignited my love for dress making.  I recently bought a gorgeous set of vintage patterns and I have just finished making my first shift dress.  I will be making lots of these for the summer season in lots of pretty fabrics.  For updates make sure you follow me on Facebook and Twitter.  

Pretty Floral Fabric

Laura Loves Dress

Dresses will be limited to 1-2 in each fabric x

Laura xxx

Laura Loves.... Tweeting!

I have just set myself up on Twitter my username is lauraloves1 and I would love it if you could come follow me, maybe send the odd tweet?  I would love to follow some of you too so leave your details in the comment box.  

Laura xxx

Laura Loves .... Jewellery

Although I design and make my own pieces of jewellery I am forever purchasing jewellery.  My friends often call me a magpie as I am addicted to anything shiny! I mostly buy costume jewellery pieces and my favourite High Street pieces as usually found in H&M, Freedom @ Topshop and on Asos.  

Over the last few years I have found that I have been buying some more expensive pieces whilst on my travels.  I have also found some unique and handmade pieces from some of the vintage fairs and markets I have attended and from online jewellery sellers.  Here are some of the pieces I have bought over the last few weeks.  

Carol Lee $65

First is the Sweet Stone Bracelet by American designer Carolee.  I picked this up in Bloomingdales whilst in New York.  I fell in love as soon as I saw it, it definitely ignited my inner magpie! The bracelet is a stunning collection of semi precious stones and it has hardly left my wrist since I bought it.  When I purchased the company was also running a promotion where $5 from each sale was donated to Breast Cancer charities.  Since getting home I have looked on the company website and I have added a New York City charm bracelet to my latest wish list.

  

Whilst in NYC i also went to a few markets.  Whilst there I picked up two rings which I chose because I loved the unique designs.  I have had a number of people asking me about them every time I wear them.  

I picked up both of these rings for $25 from a stall in the Hells Kitchen Market.  Unfortunately the seller did not have a website so I cannot post a link to her creations.  I did pass on my email address and she assured me she will pass on the details of her site when it is up and running. 

Tallulah Rose

I have also been wearing a piece by Tallulah Rose  which was given to me at the last event we traded at together.  The necklace is one of my favourites as it reminds me of my trip and it also features my favourite colour pink!

This weekend I was lucky enough to stumble upon a huge find of some gorgeous stamps, fabric and vintage sheets of music so I will be working hard over the next few weeks to make some new and unique pieces of jewellery.  I have managed to source a number of US stamps so I am hoping to create a range inspired by my recent travels.  I am also going to create a range to celebrate Great Britain to commemorate both the Diamond Jubilee and London 2012. 

Vintage Sheet Music Necklace £12

Floral Fabric Necklace £12

What purchases have you made over the last few weeks?  Laura xxx

Laura Loves Festival Jewellery

Although the weather is rubbish at the moment we are preparing for Spring/Summer with our new range of festival bracelets.  I have designed a new range of Ribbon Bracelets which I have just added to my website.  Each bracelet has been handmade and I am limiting each design to between two and 10 bracelets.  Each bracelet will be delivered in its own recycled handmade pouch.  

I have added a few pictures of some of my favourite designs, they are priced between £5 and £8.  

Gemma £5

Sophia £6

Isla £8

Heidi £5

I have had lots of feedback on the bracelets, I have been wearing them over the last few weeks to try and get into the summer mood.  I will be designing many more festival and summer perfect jewellery over the next few weeks.  I have also just booked to trade at the fantastic Strawberry Fields festival in the summer.  I traded at it last year and it was a wonderful weekend.  I will be uploading a blog about the event closer to the time. 

Are you going to any festivals this year? I would love to hear about some of the trips you have planned this summer. 

Laura  xx