Frome again!

It is just over a week since the first Vintage Bazaar in the Cheese and Grain in Frome. We have had a lot of feedback from the event AND a lot of enquiries for stands at the next fair in April. I am now in the process of confirming which of the stall holders would like to join us for the fair next time. Once I have this list I will be able to contact anybody on the waiting list should there be spaces to fill.

The Big day has now been and gone.....Roll on April 30th 2011

Saturday saw us sitting in the van outside the Cheese and Grain in Frome with a flask of coffee at 6.30 am, these guys were sound asleep in their tour bus next to us. I would have loved to have seen them play the evening before, but I think a late night bopping away to a reggae band might not have helped us cope with the organisation of the long awaited Vintage Bazaar......

Once we had got into the building and allocated the stalls, we opened the doors to the enthusiastic stall holders. I played a few lively White Mink tracks to get the atmosphere going.. we had a few problems with setting up the music, but a combination of my sons stereo and Mike's much more modern ipod arrangement we soon had things organised and swinging.

Soon the stalls were in place and the doors opened on the dot of 9 to allow the first wave of customers into the building. These are a small sample of the stalls on offer.

What I don't have are the images of the rails of fabulous clothing from the 1900's up until the 1960's. It wasn't a date lined event, but we wanted the clothing to be Antique and Vintage, and boy did the stall holders provide an amazing selection.... there were silk dressing gowns, 30's lame jackets, soft velvet 40's evening cloaks, faux fur 40's jackets (my mum snaffled that one!) and much, much more.

It seems that delicate china pretties are easier to photograph than rails of clothes! Please visit the following blogs for more images of the day. Sal's Snippets, Tracy at the Vintage Bothy, Elaine, Nostalgia at the Stonehouse, Lucy Bloom and The Vintage Magpie

Of course Clare and I need to say a lot of Thank You's for the combined efforts and energies that made for a buzzing and spectacular day.

The team at the Cheese and Grain provide an excellent service, and were happy to accommodate every request. Nothing was any trouble. The tables were put in position after the band finished the previous evening at 2am, lighting arranged and lots of useful advice provided as we set up.

Of course we couldn't have done it without Mr W and Mr Darling, and Clare's mum........ and all the friends who have supported us and assisted with spreading the word about the Bazaar. Edwin was a star on the desk for a few hours, helping out with the hustle and bustle of customers thronging into the building... a mere 1145 of them. The crew in the cafe were busy all day, and apparently sent out for more litres of milk - twice!

This was one of the most unusual and original stalls on the day, Debbie's amazing Gardenalia stand. This was Debbie's first ever fair and she certainly put on a spectacular show, next stop The Country Living Fair?

Almost there....

This weekend I have been busy making lists and preparing for the Fair. The action is taking place at the Cheese and Grain in Frome. The doors open for customers at 9am and the fair closes at 3pm. There have been a few last minute changes to the stall holders, but I am hoping that there will be no more cancellations now as I have a very busy week! Several stallholders have been doing "mock-up" stalls over the weekend. Tracy has been hard at work perfecting the layout on her stall.... Sarah D has been busy too, hers is the picture at the top of the page.

I have been putting together 2 rails of my very best 40's dresses, 50's duster coats and some divine vintage lambswool and cashmere knitwear. The postcard (above) is part of a collection of ephemera that I have earmarked for the fair. Mr W. is taking along some Eastern European mangle cloths, and some of his best selling French cockle baskets (if we can squeeze them in the van!)

Clare has some stunning new designs which I am looking forward to seeing, and Niki has been putting together some delicious treasures to bring to the fair.

It's those green shelves again!!!

Clare has been busy again! This time she has managed to get the Vintage Bazaar into Homes & Gardens magazine. There are some super articles in this months mag, the one that caught my eye was the feature about the craft room. It seems we all hanker after that special place where we can work on projects away from the distractions.

If you click on the page above, you will see the ad in the top left hand corner.

All systems go at The Vintage Bazaar HQ

Only 2 more weeks until the Vintage Bazaar at the Cheese and Grain in Frome. I have had a few queries and questions about the setting up time. Clare and I will be in at 7am to ensure everything is correct with the layout. We will then let the stall holders in at 7.30. I have been asked again about early trade entry, there cannot be any. It is not fair on stall holders to have people perusing their stock when they are trying to set up. Nor is it fair on the customers standing outside in the queue (she adds optimistically) if they think other people have already been in "and bought all the best bits". Sorry to be firm on this, but as we are opening at 9am it is far better to call that "early entry" for everyone.

Also, I have had questions about the sketch plan that I previously posted. The loading doors at the side do not go through the middle of the stalls, I just wanted to indicate that there were several along each side of the building. On the days we have viewed the Cheese and Grain there have been stalls already set up which has made it hard to do a detailed drawing of the room.

Don't forget my earlier advice about lighting, especially at the sides. There are sockets, but do bring lots of extension cables in case you are not next to a socket.

The Vintage Bazaar Floor Plan

Sorry for the freehand style of the plan, but just wanted to give everyone an idea of where they are in relation to each other. There are doors along the sides of the hall which you can unload through. This is NOT to scale, in reality there is more space between the rows/stalls. If you click on the image you will be able to see clearly the names on the stands.

Flyers, Flyers everywhere!

I have had a bit of a stressful time lately. After ordering 1500 flyers back in the spring for the Vintage bazaar, I tried to order more at the end of August (plenty of time, or so I thought!)

To cut a long and rather tedious story short.. 1500 flyers arrived the first week in September with a great image of the French shop interior on the front and absolutely NOTHING on the reverse....I have been fighting ever since to get this order replaced, and finally yesterday 3000 flyers arrived! Not a gesture of goodwill, just total incompetence! So, if anyone needs more flyers I can easily post them.. or hand them to you at any of the fairs in the next few weeks. I will be at Chagford Rag fair this coming Saturday, the 2nd October. Mr Jack will be at the

Stroud Vintage fair the same day (and will have a pile of flyers with him to hand out). I will then be at Honiton on Tuesday the 5th October, followed by Newark on Thursday and Friday. Totnes is my destination on Saturday the 9th for the Nostalgic Mix fair and then Shepton Flea on Sunday the 10th. See you somewhere!

As seen in Sew Hip magazine this month!

The Vintage Bazaar advertsing campaign is in full swing now. This months Sew Hip magazine have given us a great write-up with the title "An Antique Extravaganza" (I like it)
Of course the article goes on to mention the talented makers and the make-over ladies.

The article below caught my eye in the magazine, a four page spread on vintage sewing patterns and how to make the most of using them. Well worth a look for anyone who is into vintage.

The latest news on the Vintage Bazaar

Well, Autumn is fast approaching and with it comes the Vintage Bazaar. I have been over to

The Cheese and Grain today to have another look at the space and make sure we have enough room for BBC Homes and Antiques and the lovely makeover girls that Clare met at the Lindy Hop event in Bath. There a few extra bits of advice for stallholders that I would like to impart:

The hall has blackout curtains so there is a chance it will be quite dark in there on the day, please bring lamps and cables especially if you are in the side stalls as this is the darkest space. All electrical equipment must be safety checked.

The stands in the centre come with one table, but there should be space to add in smaller card tables, so do bring an extra small table or bookcase if you feel you need it. Anybody who has ever been to or done the Textile Fair in Ilminster knows the merits of "building up" to make the best use of space! For those of you wanting to bring a rail of clothes in the centre stands, it will be possible. We intend to place such stall holders near the changing area and away from stands selling china! (we all know the danger of a runaway rail!!)

All tables should be covered with cloths that reach to the floor.

PLEASE - No "one price rails", this is a quality fair and this sort of rail makes an event look cheap. This is a vintage event, so all clothing on the rails should be at least pre 1990.

There will be no early entry for trade buyers. Everyone can come in together at 9 am when the fair opens.

I have spoken to the lovely Lotty who runs the cafe within the Cheese and Grain, she offers fairtrade tea and coffee at reduced rates for stallholders. There is a delicious looking menu, including a big breakfast for 4.50.

Time for Makeover?

Recently Clare met some talented ladies at the Bath Lindy Hop. They were offering 1940's makeovers at £5 a go. I have seen a photo of one lady and the effect was stunning. Luckily they are free on October 30th so we have asked them to come along to The Vintage Bazaar.

I am hoping to procure a photo, but in the meantime you can have a smile at my mannequin Flossie who had a similar-ish makeover a while ago.

The Postcard Flyers have arrived!

Just to let everyone know that I took delivery of the postcard flyers for the fair this morning. Please let me know if and when you would like some to start distributing to friends and potential customers. Where possible it would be good to collect them from me at fairs to save on postage costs (which our local post lady has told me are about to increase again!)

I will be at the Frome Retro Fair this weekend, so will have some with me there.

Location, location, location.....

Cheese & Grain

www.cheeseandgrain.co.uk

Market Yard
Justice Lane, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BE
01373 455 420

Bus: Frome, Market Place Post Office (NE-bound)

I found this map on the Cheese & Grain website, and thought it might be useful.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?

click on the above link for more detail