FANTASTIC MR + MRS FOX

It was fancy dress time once again last weekend for a friends birthday...oh I love it! Me and the boy went as Fantastic Mr Fox and I was obviously the equally fantastic and cunning Mrs Fox.

We searched the attic and found a striped waistcoat for Tom that just needed taking in a couple of inches, and I bought this yellow dress from one of my fellow traders at Mr Birds Emporium - the rest were just our normal clothes!  Oh apart from the ears of course - I made these from some scrap bits of leather and calico, just made an ear shape and cut out out of the leather leaving the folded edge still in tact, sewed up the edges of the ears, leaving an opening at the folded edge so they could be threaded onto old headbands - done!

We used face paint to complete that foxy look, which is much more sustainable than a plastic mask and you can use it again and again...plus it can't get stolen by a drunken stranger!

STOP PRESS!

Laura and I are pleased as punch to be featured in yesterday's Birmingham Mail...The lovely Emma came and had a go at making her own cushion cover from an old shirt and skirt. It was a great workshop! We now have cakes being provided each week by Chitty's Cakes, a local company also based in the Custard Factory, gotta support your own! For all the details and latest goings on (including a competition ending tonight!) head over to the dedicated ReThinkReMakeReLove facebook page.

UPCYCLING WORKSHOPS

Finally, after months of planning, I have managed to put together a programme of workshops all based around the NOTHING NEW concept! I will be running these workshops with Laura of Laura Loves, who is a fellow trader in Mr Birds Emporium. Check the timetable below and see if there is something that can tempt you into our world! All workshops are on a Thursday evenings in The Long Gallery (directly behind Mr Birds) between 6pm-8pm. Call or email to book you slot, spaces filling up as we speak!

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NOTHING NEW GUEST ROOM

My lovely parents took on thier own Nothing New challenge...to give the spare room/study/gym/dance studio a make over into a proper guest room, without buying anything new. 'm soo pleased they are taking a keen interest in my ideas, but I have a feeling they were just as keen on saving cash! Take a look at the before and afters...

BEFORE

 

 

AFTER

 A closer look at the items that really made it work -

Lloyd Loom wicker chair comes out from the attic, with a pretty vintage lace tablecloth

Vintage cupboard that was being used as garage storage! Revived with a lick of Annie Sloan chalk paint £24.00 from Green's near Coventry

Detail of the really pretty handles on this circa 1940 piece

Amazing carved finials £20, Brackets £21.11, Curtain rings £7.50 all from Ebay, Curtain pole £4.00 local tip shop

Making a feature of the blank wall using all the best watercolours hiding in the attic

Crochet cushion cover from a charity shop ages ago, mixing + matching old bedclothes into new combinations!

Small side table (one of a nest of 3) £15 from a local furniture sale, Laura Ashley lampshade £9.00 incl postage off Ebay, marble/stone lamp base £1.00, Action 21, Leamington Spa

Metal framed bed from the garage and storage basket from the attic once again

Curtains that used to hang in my parents bedroom, were dry cleaned, made a little smaller and some tie backs made from the remnants.

Frosted glass ceiling light £30 Portobello Market, London

Clothes horse from the attic once again, also given the chalk paint treatment

Bedside lamp £35.00, Laura Ashley wallpaper £59.00 both from Ebay, Oriental Willow pattern jug + bowl from the attic

There were 6 items that were bought brand new but these could not really be avoided; paint, wood + webbing for bed slats, beading around edge of floor, electric cable to wire up bedside lamp and a mattress. Overall I am so proud at how much they stuck to it and the lesson really is to not throw anything you love away, as all the pieces that really made it came from either the garage or the attic! ...and the total bill came in at just over £400 for the lot which is brilliant value too. Two very happy Nothing Newers with a guest room now fit for the Queen!

MY SHOP IN MR BIRDS!

So Mr Birds Emporium; NOTHING NEW's HQ has been open for just over a month now! It's all been a bit hectic, but I have finally had the chance to sort through the pictures and show you how I made the shop from 100% NOTHING NEW items!

Here it is! Follow Gibb Street into the heart of the Custard Factory and it's the big green building!

It costs nothing to do your own sign writing!

1950's wardrobe keeps all my customers items safe and separate from items for sale, only £15.00 from Action 21  in Leamington. Dresser was £20 from The Sue Ryder shop at Princes Drive Recycling Centre again in Leam. It was white, but after a sand, clean, paint + varnish it came out better than expected!

 

 

 

 

Secondhand retail display unit £50 off ebay, picked up from Newport Pagnell so including petrol more like £65, but still a bargain! With loads of cubby hole storage + a nice big rail.

My shelving + workspace area where all the important stuff will happen. Shelving off ebay (picked up from Whitnash) for only £92, assembled all by myself! Table + mini drawers from my parents loft, tubs + boxes all existing things that were stacked up in my old tiny home office

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I brought along my vintage radio + some of my camera collection to add interest, but now lots of you want to buy them; I am going to try and get some cameras + radios in as they seem to be in demand!

 

Recyled Denim Holdall

Well this was one experiment that turned out better than expected! it is now my favourite weekend bag and is lovely and HUGE. I also added a couple of internal pockets for little bits + pieces.The denim was from donated/found jeans and the zip from an old leather jacket, the rest of which got made into a bag also...I think I have found my fetish! i will be  making more of these to sell in my wonderful new retail space at Mr. Birds Emporium FO SHO.

Mr Birds Emporium

As soon as I stepped inside the warehouse style space at The Custard Factory, Birmingham, I kind of already knew that something special was going to be going on here....Sabina (one half of Sutton Vintage) + her team have landed and are hard at work to get Mr Birds Emporium looking fabulous for the Grand Opening on the 13th October. AND the best news is...NOTHING NEW has bagged a permanent space! Alongside more up + coming brands in vintage + crafts, I will be offering a unique experience of while-u-wait alteration + repair services (all the lovely vintage on offer - size will never be a problem again!), fashion + jewellery lines (all 100% recycled of course) and advice on how to live a life NOTHING NEW.

With a packed launch party, student lock-ins and a weekly vintage fair planned already I cannot wait to get settled in my new home :)

ALL MINE