The Vintage Home

Creating the perfect, restful and welcoming home is something that we all strive for and if vintage is your style then there are a myriad of ways that you can bring fascinating objects into your home to create the perfect look.

The current trend for vintage styling has even been picked up by The Guardian and their article on the subject is available online http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/23/anatomy-of-style-vintage. 

The best thing with vintage styling is that you just can't go wrong!  Any item that you love can contribute to the look as there are no set rules about what can and cannot be included.  If you are looking for beautiful vintage items then you can go out a scour charity shops, car boot sales, antiques centres (never as expensive as they sound!) and vintage shops.

photo courtesy of http://www.lampdoctor32.com/

Truly Madly Vintage has a fantastic range of gorgeous pieces that will make great additions to your home and these are all affordably priced.  These are available in the shop as well as on our eBay shop and at the Battlesbridge Antiques Centre. If there is anything that you are looking for in particular please do get in touch and we will do our best to help you track down that perfect addition to your vintage home.

For the love of knitting

Knitting, knitting, knitting, what images does that conjure up for you?  For many it brings to mind grannies sitting in a corner working on jumpers for their family members which, once finished, will simply be put in the back of a cupboard and forgotten about. 

What a shame!  The art of knitting is clearly dying out as it lacks popularity with the instant-gratification society that we are surrounded by, where people lack the patience to learn a new skill and create things when they can just go out and buy something new. But this means that many are missing out on the simple satisfaction of creating something that is crafted with skill and love for themselves or a loved one.  There is also the joy of creating something totally unique that can be worn or used in the home to add that gorgeous vintage or shabby chic detail.

But perhaps a change has come, with more focus on austerity and sustainability has come an increased interest in crafts and in rediscovering skills that are dying out.  Knitting clubs have sprung up all over the country where anyone, of any age and ability, can go along to learn new skills and improve old ones as well as have an opportunity to meet new people with similar interests.

You can find your local knitting clubs by searching online but if you live in the Chelmsford/Brentwood area you already have at least 2 to choose from.  The Lucy Loves Knitting club run by Lucy Burchell of Lucy Loves Fabric.com meets on Monday evenings each week at the Crown Street Cafe in Brentwood, Essex from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.  The Chelmsford Knitting Club meets at Cherry on Top cafe on Chelmsford High Street on the first Saturday of every month between 10am and 12ish.

So if you are intrigued and want to find out more about this fantastically rewarding hobby do come to join the knitting revolution!

Chelmsford Vintage and Handmade Market - Dates for 2010

Due to the increase in the number of stall-holders and the diversity of the range of products that they sell, we have decided to re-brand the Chelmsford Vintage Market and are proud to introduce you to...
The Chelmsford Vintage and Handmade Market!

We are also making the market a quarterly event as this will make the event more special and ensure that it is a date not to be missed.  As such, after 19th June the next market will be on September 18th so make sure that you come along each time to get your fix of vintage and handmade loveliness.

Stallholders are selling vintage clothing, reproduction vintage clothing such as 60s rock'n'roll dresses, customised vintage, vintage jewellery, handcrafted goodies for the home, vintage and vintage-inspired interiors fabrics, greeting cards, vintage crockery and much, much more!

Dates for this year are:
19th June
18th September
27th November

So make sure you put the dates in your diary and pop along to see what goodies you can find!  And be sure to tell your friends about the expanded product range so that they won't miss out on this unique shopping experience.  All the stall-holders are local independent business people so please show them your support bu coming along to the Chelmsford Vintage and Homemade Market!
 
See you there xx

The Shop!

A big thank you to lots and lots of friends and customers who popped in to say hello and have a good browse through the stock on Saturday, we had a great day! We look forward to seeing you all again very soon for some more vintage treasure hunting.

Below are some photos of the shop at the opening party, special thanks go to the gorgeous boys who played guitar outside the shop all day, I know the customers loved it and I am sure the sunburn was worth the opportunity to play to a loving crowd!

For those of you that didn't make it...you don't know what you're missing so come down as soon as you can and check it out, you don't want the other vintage lovers of Chelmsford to be better decked out than you! The shop is at 173 Moulsham Street, CM2 0LD and is opposite the Post Office so we are very easy to find!

Sign up for our newsletter via the TMV website and you'll receive updates from us and also special offers for use in the shop or on the website, so don't delay sign up today!

See you all soon xxx

Update and This Weekend

Sorry it has been so long since we've posted any entries on the blog, we've been really busy and have lots to update you on!

The Chelmsford Vintage Market in February was another roaring success with about 640 people through the doors, another fantastic turnout which included a few familiar faces from the last market, we are so glad that people liked it enough to come back! We had a great day selling lots of handbags and jewellery as well as lovely dresses and knitwear. Now that Spring is truly here we look forward to seeing lots of you at the next market on Saturday 27th March ready to buy summery dresses and other gorgeous items. We have some new traders booked in so we'll give you some more information about them next week!

We have also been booking in to some fantastic outdoor events for the summer and are really excited about taking TMV out on the road! As soon as we have more details we will of course give them straight to you, so keep checking back for more information so you can start to plan some summer days out.

This Sunday (21st March) we are going to be back at the Vintage Market in Brick Lane. It's been a few weeks since we were last there and we have missed our lovely friends and customers so we are really pleased to be back. While we've been away we have been stocking up with lovely summery dresses, bags and jewellery all ready for you to wear in the beautiful sunshine we have been basking in and which we know will continue the whole summer long ;-) We hope you can make it down to see us, if you do make sure you say hi and mention this blog as we'll be able to give you a 10% discount on everything you buy from us!

Thank you for reading, have a fantastic day and weekend and we hope to see you very soon.

xxx

Doesn't time fly? Next Chelmsford Vintage Market – This weekend!

After a fantastically successful first event in January, where we had over 650 people through the doors, we are very pleased to confirm that the next Chelmsford Vintage Market will be held this Saturday, 27th February 2010, at the Shire Hall on Chelmsford High Street between 10am and 3pm. Last month we had lots of smiling faces as people discovered the treasure trove of goodies available right in the middle of town and lots of shopping bags left very full! You can check out the pictures from last time further down the page of this blog.

This month we have been working hard to source even more fantastic clothes, accessories, fabrics and home wares for you to peruse and we also have a fabulous jewellery made from vintage materials, all created by local talent Johanna Meadows.

We will also have a tearoom serving homemade cakes, as well as live acoustic music and original artwork on display and for sale.

So whatever you enjoy you are sure to find something you like at the Chelmsford Vintage Market so come along and see it for yourself.

We look forward to seeing you there!

xxx

This weekend we're of to Brick Lane

If you are around on Sunday 14th February, yes we know it's Valentine's Day but you can still go out and about, then please pop down to see us at the Vintage Market at Brick Lane between 10am and 5pm. With lots of lovely stalls selling all world of lovely wares you will be sure to find something you love, and you can come to see us for fabulous vintage clothing and accessories too.

Hope to see you there

XXX

Only 5 days to go in the countdown to the Chelmsford Vintage Market!!

Yes, that's right, we're almost there as the Truly Madly Vintage market comes to the Shire Hall on Chelmsford High Street this Saturday 30th January!

It's open from 10am to 3pm so if you have some time please do come to see us to check out our lovely vintage clothing, accessories and homewares. We will also have vintage and vintage-inspired fabrics, some fabulous original artwork, live music from local musicians and a tea room serving teas, coffees and cakes.

We hope to see you there!

xxx

Host your own Vintage Fashion Party!

If you are based in the Essex area we are able to offer you the opportunity to host a Vintage Fashion Party, where we come to your home (or other party venue) with a selection of our collection.

All you need to do is collect together a group of friends (10 or more works best) and we will do the rest. We'll supply 50+ dresses (ranging in size from 6-18) along with separates and lots of accessories and jewellery as well as some bottles of bubbly (or non-alcoholic alternative if requested) to get the party started. You and your friends peruse the rails at your leisure and have the ability to try everything on before purchasing. If requested in advance we can also match the items we bring to your requirements, for example, if you need prom outfits or clothes of a specific era,we can pick out a range of these to bring along with our other items.

As a reward for organising, the hostess of the party can earn rewards to allow her to add to her own vintage collection at a reduced price. After all, the best hostesses are the ones who know how to indulge without paying for it the next day!

If you are interested in finding out more please do not hesitate to contact us via Philippa@TrulyMadlyVintage.com