Felt brooches

 When I saw Julia Kirby wearing one of the colourful felt brooches she makes I immediately wanted them for the shop. Smartly packaged and coming in every colour of the rainbow these look good on a coat or jacket and at £9.50 each make a good little present for a friend.


On another subject do  you want bunting for the Jubilee? At Handmade Happiness you can buy smaller or larger flagged bunting in various lengths - I'll post a picture next week.
Enjoy your weekend.

Packaging

 Across the top of the shop window is a line of the carrier bags I make from Marks and Spencer's free catalogues. 

They are quite high up and taller customers are asked to unpeg themselves a bag to save me getting the ladder out! I also make small paper bags from magazine pages.  Hopefully I'll never have to buy bags.

 On the other hand I am also using a lot of the pretty printed tissue paper that I bought to sell  to wrap purchases nicely. Men in particular appreciate a gift being gift wrapped. Since living in Paris when even a single croissant could be put into a white box with some curly ribbon on top I have appreciated having things nicely wrapped.

 My mother is very good at gift wrapping and sometimes the anticipation of seeing a gift nicely wrapped is as good as receiving the gift itself. 

Broken bikes park here!

If art makes you think then this is art.

Ballerina Mouse

 She stands well with a good posture. She observes young dancers. Unfortunately she cannot move therefore she doesn't have a good dancer's leg but her legs are masked by a long tutu. She costs £13.50 at Handmade Happiness.


Thinking about Ballerina Mouse reminds me of school and a ballet teacher called Madame O. An elderly Russian lady with a black cane she used to bang on the floor to emphasise her criticism when a girl didn't perform a movement perfectly. Ballet must have been immediately before or immediately after lunch because we used to line up for lunch wearing our leotards and tights under the strange sleeveless cotton apron all girls wore to protect their uniforms.

Like vintage?

The new vintage shop in Midhurst, West Sussex.

Inside.

When did you last see a tea cosy like this?

Above: things from Great Grannies dressing table.

A good selection of hats and (not seen) jewellery.

Part of the mens' section. 

 Yesterday on  my day off I drove to Midhurst as I've been meaning to check out Arnage the new vintage shop there.


 Midhurst has become a vintage lovers destination town. It has 4 charity shops, a vintage style tea rooms and vintage shops Re-vamp and Marmadukes and now, the most luxuriously appointed Arnage.


Arnage is a most attractive shop and I recommend a visit. With windows to two walls it's light and airy with an interesting selection of pieces thoughtfully displayed. If you want directions their telephone number is in the first picture. 

Ribbons

Ribbons for sale in Handmade Happiness. 

The loopy ribbon would be gorgeous in Do It Yourself bunting.


Did you enjoy your weekend? Hope it was sunny and fine where you are. Although a lot of my Sunday was spent making wedding invitations indoors I did pop out to a craft fair where I found a maker who's work I'd like to have in the shop. Fingers crossed I'll be able to show you some pictures of her work soon.

Fifties fabrics

One of my favourite things in Handmade Happiness right now is this collection of 1950s dress fabrics put together by Penny Baker.


 There are 10 pieces in a 'book' for £10. An ideal present for a patchworker or up-cycler.
 You could use a piece to decorate denim or add interest to a summer dress. Or in fabric collage a small cut out piece of any of the fabrics could be the centre of attention.


Pictured underneath the dress fabrics are two 'books' of vintage eiderdown fabric pieces. Penny saves the fabric from old pieces. She does not cut up anything that could be used or worn again.  Penny herself makes wonderful cushions from her old fabrics. I pictured two of them a few days ago and one of them sold on Saturday.

Winchester 2

Unusual shop sign.

The cafe we found after having a drink in Cafe Nero. This is where we'll go next time!

Statues of bishops set into ancient walls.

The pretty street that overlooks the cathedral. This is where the shop sign and the cafe can be found.

We visited The Minster Gallery pictured above. A mixture of various styles of painting with a lot of very modern pieces - big strokes of colour. We liked a big oil painting of the sea showing a gathering wave.  

Knitted bags

Fiona Lindsay has just brought in her knitted then felted bags. A pair of silk socks knitted by Rita Stamp is draped over the bag above.

I particularly like the colours in these two bags.

Handmade Happiness is full of stock right now. People keep coming in with great things they have made!

When I look back nearly seven months to when I started I only had a fraction of the things I have now. No room now for an armchair and magazines - and the lobby area that was empty at the start is now filling up with things to buy.

The one thing I am lacking is handmade or cleverly upcycled clothes. I have knitwear but I still dream of a rail of simple wearable clothes in linens and cottons. 

Bunting

 Are you planning to have bunting for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in June?
Ruth Ellacott brought in this bunting she has made in 2 metre lengths. As you can see the flags are a neat size and made from all sorts of attractive cotton fabrics. It costs £12 a length.  I have 7 lengths. 
I also have a much larger outdoor bunting made by Glen Wellstead out of printed fabrics for the same price.
To save coming in to the shop you can order by phone 01730 267711 Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm. Just add £2.50 for postage and packing within the UK.


Don't worry the blog isn't going all sale-y. Most of the time I'll write about what I've seen and where I've been. Occasionally I'll offer an item mail order. Hope that's ok with you.

Penny's cushions

Cushions made by Penny Baker.

 On Saturday Penny Baker brought in these two cushions she has made after I sold three of her cushions to the same person. I love these two. The red/yellow colour combination reminds me of Oilily and they are beautifully made. Another two items of stock I will be reluctant to let go of when they sell. But that is a good thing, right? 

Winchester

Winchester Cathedral.

I love this statue of a man flying a kite on a bridge. Look how the kite string becomes part of the structure of the bridge.

A beautiful house overlooking the cathedral. 

This photo is taken from Parchment Street. What a wonderful place to live. Parchment Street.

Yesterday I met my youngest, who wants to live in Winchester one day, and we walked. Our two favourite places - The Discovery Centre library and The Hambledon shop were closed it being Bank Holiday Monday - but we enjoyed looking in lots of shops and looking up at the wonderful architecture of Winchester. More tomorrow.

Crystal rain

 Swarovski beads in a London shop window.


Yesterday I took my mother a jacket I found at the Save the Children sale in Petersfield this year. A navy, wool crepe Jean Muir jacket no less which she looks a million dollars in. It only cost £8. It must have accidentally slipped through the net when they were sorting. 


She can't remember who Jean Muir is and she can't remember she has the jacket yet she has always loved clothes and dressing up to go out. We went to Pizza Express and she wore a smart grey outfit with red handbag and soft red scarf. She looks wonderful and you would never guess how old she is by looking at her.


Today I'm meeting younger daughter in Winchester.  Should be lots of photo ops. I love Winchester.
Happy Birthday Leigh!

L'Occitane

Inside the Guildford branch of L'Occitane.

What I bought is on the far left.  A Verbena eau de toilette which smells so sharp and lemony. Guaranteed to wake me up and refresh on those hot summer days ahead! £14 - the last of that birthday money! I gave it to someone  for Christmas and you know when you give a gift you'd rather keep... (those are the best presents to give).The other bits pictured are free samples put into the little gift bag behind them.

I remember L'Occitane from when we lived in France. A bit like the British Crabtree and Evelyn. It's my mother's turn to shop today. I'm driving her to Beales department store in Horsham. Wonder if I'll take any photographs? It's been a while since I visited Beales but I think it's a bit like Debenhams.

Have some sunshine!

Last Monday this was the weather. 

As I sit here shivering here is a reminder that England can be this warm.

These pictures were taken in the grounds of Guildford Castle. No, I didn't realise Guildford had a castle either. It's behind the High Street and a wonderful place to take your lunch if you work in one of the shops close by.

New cushions

Yesterday Pam Dew brought in four new cushions she has made. My favourite is this yellow one. It's so cheerful. Yellow cushion £49.50; smaller orange cushion £35.50.

The top cushion has a beach hut pattern - beach huts by moonlight. The colours are wonderful. Top cushion £49.50; round cushions £39.50.

Local maker Pam Dew has a knack with colour and I love what she makes. This greens and pink cushion is the fourth new cushion. Unusually for Pam she hasn't used Kaffe Fassett fabrics. She used batik fabrics and the result is really pretty. 

Cabbages and Roses - what now?

Eccentric but nice detailing on a Cabbages and Roses jacket above.

Stylish dressing rooms at the Guildford High Street branch of Jigsaw.

For some years the Jigsaw chain of High Street fashion stores has carried the Cabbages and Roses brand. I always have a look as I love the detailing and look of the C & R clothes. But on this recent visit to Guildford I was told that Jigsaw does not stock C&R any more.  Instead Jigsaw has introduced a mens' section.
Only a couple of weeks ago I was disappointed to find the C & R Avery Road store being replaced by another Jigsaw with hardly any original stock left.
This must be a sign of the times. Shops closing down; companies scaling back. I'm sorry because C & R is so English and all its clothes are made in this country.  Maybe it grew too fast. Check out its style at www.cabbagesandroses.com 


Yesterday it was lovely to have my daughter in the shop. She has been a very good influence, giving me the confidence to stick to my original plan for the shop and not to compromise. Onwards and upwards!

Kaffe Fassett fabrics

Pandora in Guildford sells these Kaffe Fassett  fabrics.

I also like this fabric above seen in a window in Guildford. Tell me the label if you recognise it.

I saw this in Sofa Workshop -a Collier Campbell fabric design. 

My London based daughter stayed last night. I'm really looking forward to her being in the shop with me today. I have a feeling that everything will get re-arranged. At least I'm hoping so...!

Come to Guildford!

Pandora at the very top of the High Street stocks Kaffe Fassett fabrics and my beloved Noro yarns.

Fabulous bargains at tkmax pictured above and in the two pictures below. 

Yesterday I had a fabulous day out in Guildford and the sun shone so hot I was able to lay a carrier bag on the soggy grass and sit and picnic on my lunchtime sandwich!

As you know it was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and for once I didn't let a birthday cheque for £100 just melt into paying bills and buying food. No, I spent the whole lot in Guildford yesterday and had a great time deciding what to buy. 

tkmax has some real bargains. I found two pairs of FitFlop shoes at £24.95 each. I've wanted some for years but they normally retail at around £100 a pair. I like the strong flower shop smells of the sebnini candles which were £5.99 each. (You'll get a whiff of these in the shop!) The Pantone shoulder bag - orange inside with countless pockets and zipped bits was just £12.99; Orla Kiely room spray in fig - which smells fabulous - just £3.99 and for my many To Do lists a pretty magnetic notepad for the fridge at £2.99. All pictured above.

The thing about Guildford is that all the shops are pretty much in a straight line up a steep hill. Yesterday I walked further up the hill than usual and discovered Pandora which is my idea of heaven. www.knitting-supplies-store.co.uk  

More tomorrow. Happy May to everyone reading this!

Yay! Sunshine!

It is so good to see bright skies this morning. Energising...

No, I haven't just picked these flowers from my garden, it's an old photograph.

 I checked the sweetpeas I planted a couple of weeks ago and they've been nibbled away to virtual nothingness by slugs. 

I try not to kill anything so I have to live amicably with garden pests!

 Luckily I had so many baby sweetpeas that I only planted out half and can now put out the ones I kept indoors as replacements.

 I wonder if it is warm enough to eat breakfast in the garden? I'll try!

Chickens

 Michelle Green's needle felted chickens are £12 for little ones and £16 for larger ones. They are for decorative use only like all of Michelle's work.  The 'garlic boards' behind are made by Christine Burgess and sell for £8 each.


This continuous rain is stopping people coming into town. Yesterday all the shops - even Marks and Spencer- were empty at times. I'm told that it could keep raining through May as well. Well just build me an ark someone so my shop and I can float gently off!


Talking of water I heard a really nice story about Petersfield Lake. This year a family of Chinese geese has settled on an island in the middle of the lake. The resident Canadian geese aren't happy and one fisherman saw a Chinese geese chick killed by one of the Canadian geese. Watching the chicks scrabbling to get up the bank on to the island to the safety of their Dad's protection he decided to help. The intrepid fisherman waded out to the island and built a wooden ramp for the new chicks to use to get in and out of the water easily. Once on the island Chinese goose Dad makes such a din and flap that no Canadian goose goes near them. 

How is this supported?

Here is the growing wall at Anthropologie in Regent Street, London I was talking about a few days ago. Imagine the expertise that went into planting and maintaining it!  Is there soil in the wall? Maybe there are shallow box shelves hidden with greenery dotted all over it? It appears unsupported but it must be or it could not grow. 

We people also need support in order to grow and flourish. Some days we feel supported and some days we don't. A kindly word of encouragement can set us up for the day.

 It is one of life's mysteries to me how other blogs get comments and mine doesn't.  Maybe I don't invite comments and other blogs do. So today I'm inviting comments. I would love to hear from you. Do you enjoy looking at this blog? Is there anything you particularly like or dislike about it? Is the comment proceedure more difficult than other blogs? Let me know so I can continue to grow and improve it!

Kate Forman designs

'Blue Roses'. There is also a wallpaper in this design.

'Agatha' above.

If you like this picture see lots more on www.kateforman.co.uk

Blue 'Eliza.'

Red 'Josephine.' This also comes in a lovely yellow ochre which I like just as much.

I like these linens by Kate Forman designs. They have a faded, time-worn look that is appealing. Some of the designs have matching wallpaper. The company is based quite near here. Far too expensive for my pocket (now you know I'm not being paid to advertise!) but I wouldn't mind the scraps off the cutting room floor...!