Swell start

Hello again, my dear friends.

How have you been? I hope you've had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend.

Today for the first time in bloody ages, I have had the chance to make some new pieces. As mentioned in previous posts, I am going to be exhibiting at Handm@de Winchester on 5th July, so am starting to build up my stock. I've used some of my Brighton finds - what do you think?


Emerald city joy! This necklace is made from a vintage brooch, adorned with freshwater pearls and hung on vintage chain with a bit of asymmetry thrown in for good measure.



The weirdest looking ID bracelet of all time? Probably. I found this vintage ID bracelet and adorned with a vintage brooch to make it more feminine. I think it has a rather steampunk feel to it, but I quite like that.


I think perhaps I've been watching too much of The Tudors (I really love that show), but I think this necklace has a real Catherine of Aragon feel to it. It is made from a vintage broach, adorned with a freshwater pearl and hung on vintage chain. Definitely a statement piece!

So what are your thoughts? As always, I welcome any feedback that you may have for me. I won't be adding any new pieces to my etsy shop for a little while, but if you see anything you'd particularly like here, please feel free to email me at frankie@swell-vintage.com.

Thank you, again, for reading. You are my world.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell finds

Another Sunday, another blog post...

Hello, my dear friends. How are you, and how was your weekend?

Mine was very lovely, thanks. I visited my good friend Jamie Smart (http://www.fumboo.com) in Brighton. It was perfect weather to be beside by the seaside, and it was brilliant to fill myself with sea air and candy floss in equal measure. I also visited Snoopers Paradise - have you ever heard of it/been? Another good friend of mine, Mark Pavey (http://www.themarkpavey.co.uk) had been talking about it for a good while, so I decided to take a look.

Snoopers Paradise is a huge indoor market, full of vintage, antique and second hand bits and bobs. Basically, I was in heaven, and it was the perfect opportunity for me to stock up on vintage treasures to make some new pieces with.

Here are some of my finds and what I've done with them so far:

I really love this brooch - the black and gold is very striking. I can't wait to try and make something rather special with it.

I've already had a little go with this one. This brooch had a few stones missing, so I replaced them with freshwater pearls. It looks a little random, but I quite like that.

This brooch had horrible chipped faux pearls on it, so I pulled them out and replaced them with freshwater ones. I really like the shape of this one too.

This brooch has stones missing, too. I haven't decided what I want to do with it yet, but I really like the colours and how shiny it is.

This is a vintage ceramic perfume necklace. I haven't quite decided how I'm going to adapt this one yet, but it'll probably feature some pearl. Can you tell I quite like pearl?

Speaking of pearl, I wrote an article on vintage pearls for Queens of Vintage last week. Fancy a read? I'd love your feedback, if you'd be so kind.

Is it sunny where you are at the moment? The UK has been glorious over the last week. Let's hope it continues to last so I can wear my vintage sunnies constantly!

Thank you for reading my blog. It really does means a lot. You spoil me with your amazingness, you really do.

Have a good week! See you soon? Yes, please...

Many thanks,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Not so swell news

Bad news, everyone!

Turns out that the Queens of Vintage won't be having a table at The Affordable Vintage Fair after all. What a difference a day makes, eh? I guess that'll teach me to be over-zealous with my blogging...

...but the good news is that this gives me more time (and resources) to prepare for the Handmade Fair in Winchester on 5th July. I'm really looking forward to exhibiting at this fair for a few reasons, the main ones being that:

a. I bloody love handmade goods
b. I went to the University of Winchester, and therefore the city is very dear to my heart (it was the original capitals of England, don't you know!)

To find out more about the various Handmade Fairs that are happening this year, click the image below:


Apologies to anyone who was possibly thinking of visiting me at The Affordable Vintage Fair. Unfortunately hese things happen and it couldn't be helped. I still plan to attend and spend a small fortune as a vintage hunter, so if you are thinking of going too, let me know and perhaps we could a cup of tea and a chat?

Thank you for reading and for your understanding,

Many thanks,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell plans

Hello again, my dear friends,

How the devil are you? How quickly time is passing these days! I still can't quite believe that it's March already.

The good news is I've got some exciting events coming up. Some of you may have heard about The Affordable Vintage Fair that is due to come to London on 4th April. The Queens of Vintage will have a table there, and they have been kind enough to offer me some space to exhibit a few of my pieces! They really are such lovely ladies. So if you happen to be in London that day, why not pop in and see us? Who knows - you may even find some vintage bargains too!

The bad news is that sometimes it feels like there aren't enough hours in the day, especially as I have a full-time day job...but I'm sure if I keep focused, I'll be fine. Here is one of the pieces that will be for sale at The Affordable Vintage Fair:



This necklace is made from a vintage brooch, adorned with a vintage faux pearl and hung on vintage chain. I love the colour of the stone in the centre, and because it's so clear the pink will adjust slightly to whatever is worn underneath it. It's nice and shiny too - perfect for any vintage magpies out there!

Also, I wrote another article for The Queens of Vintage - this time about some rather gorgeous and unique vintage brooches available online. If you have the time and would be so kind as to read it, I would be most grateful for any feedback that you may have. You can find it here.

So what have you been up to over this beautifully sunny weekend? I don't know about you, but I'm so happy spring is finally here.

Thanks for reading my little blog - it really does mean a lot!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell websites

Hello my lovely loves!

How has your week been so far? Mine's been okay thanks. My little London holiday was lots of fun, but unfortunately I was struck down by a rather nasty lurgy on Sunday night (boooo). HOWEVER, I am feeling much much better now, so it is officially all good.

So I've been a little slack on making new items, which is very bad of me because I'm going to be exhibiting at the Handm@de Fair in Winchester on 5th July! Needless to say, I need to get a wriggle on, but I am very excited about it.

Also, the rather lovely Kitty of Vintage Shop of the Day wrote about me and Swell Vintage! I'm feel truly honoured, as I've been a big fan of her blog for a good while now. Fancy reading it? Oh, go on...click here.

I'm really enjoying writing for Queens of Vintage too. They are such a lovely group of ladies - they're so encouraging and allow me lots of creative freedom, which is just brilliant. In fact, I wrote an article about vintage lockets just last week, which you can read right here. I'm still pretty new at writing on specific subjects, so I'd love some feedback if you'd be so kind! What do you think? Is there anything you'd like me to write about it? I am open to suggestion.

I have no new jewellery pictures to show you - sorry about that! Instead, here is a hideous picture of my stupid pale face:


Thanks for reading! I love you! No, really...I do...I hope this hasn't made things awkward between us...

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell Queens

Happy Monday, all! Wait...is there such a thing?

Did you have a lovely weekend?

I had ever such a good time at the IFB London Fashion Week party - Mademoiselle Robot did such a fantastic job! It was lovely to meet her as well as many other wonderful people, including the wonderfully glamorous Jennine Tamm of IFB and The Coveted, the adorably sweet Reena of Fashion Daydreams, the brilliant Gemma of RetroChick, the Daisy Lowe-a-like Holly of Never Love You More and the hilarious and chic Fritha of The Fish Tank.



Thanks to all for a brilliant evening! (above: Reena, Jennine and Gemma).

I am also very pleased/excited/overjoyed/delighted to announce that I am now a contributor to the wonderful website Queens of Vintage! If you haven't heard of this site, I highly recommend you check it out quick-sharp, as it's a wonderful resource for anyone who is truly passionate about vintage.

I have written my very first article for the lovely Queens, which you can read right here. It's all about sourcing vintage and antique parts to customise your favourite vintage outfit with or to use however you please! I hope you find it useful, and maybe even a tiny bit entertaining(?)

I really need to follow my own advice and get out on the hunt for new parts - all my good stuff has dried up! So no new jewellery to show you this week...but here's one of the photographs I took for my website (http://www.swell-vintage.com/) that wasn't used in the end.

I'm off on a mini-holiday from Thursday till Monday (a long weekend in London with my girls - very exciting!), but I will try my best to post before then. My new internet-tastic phone is due to arrive before then, so perhaps I'll even be able to do it from there!

Have a good week!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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