Christmas Garden, more like!

What's that I see over there in the near distance?

It's red and green, and it's getting closer and closer...

Oh my goodness - IT'S CHRISTMAS!

Is it just me, or do I look really good with a beard?!

That's right, people. December is soon upon us, and with it comes my favourite present-giving, binge-eating holiday. If the rest of 2011 is anything to go by, time is going to fly by like a partridge on its way to a pear tree, so it helps to be prepared.

If you haven't starting buying presents yet and you live in the London area (or the surrounding south - I don't mean to exclude you), then have no fear! The festive folks over at Covent Garden’s Seven Dials and St Martin’s Courtyard are holding a special evening shopping event on 1st December were you can get a recession-friendly 20% off in their fancy stores, including their vintage boutiques. Not only that, but they also have a whole Santa's sack load of other stuff going on in their stores, including DJs, live music, makeovers, gifts with purchase, complimentary food and drinks and much much more! Christmas is the season of excess after all...

And as if that weren't enough, I'm going to be there too! I'll be wandering around drinking in some Christmas cheer and taking lots of snaps, so if you see me you must come and say ho ho ho...or just hello. Whichever you prefer.

If you're interested in swinging by and indulging yourself with some discount action, all you need to do is download a voucher from www.sevendials.co.uk to make sure you get that ever so helpful 20% off. And hopefully I'll see you there!

Much love,

Frankie

Swell Vintage

x

Partying partying yeah!

One of the few things I miss about working in an office is attending an annual Christmas party. While you hard-working folk are all out getting dolled up for a night of canapes and a free bar, I will most likely be sat indoors, drinking tea and watching Poirot...

There's no hope for me, but there is something you can do to make your holiday party season even more special this year - go vintage! There are so many amazing vintage dresses out there, all dreaming of going to a good home and being worn out to your special occasion. Not only will it make you feel like a princess of Grace Kelly proportions, but there is no way on earth you could possible end up wearing the same thing as someone else!

Finding good quality vintage isn't always easy but - like most things in life - if you put in the time, you will be rewarded. Rewarded with a beautiful vintage dress that will last you a lifetime.

To help inspire you to go vintage this year, here are my top five favourite pieces that are available to buy online right now:

• 1950s Black Vintage Prom Dress, £200 at www.natashabailie.com

I believe the word you're looking for is "stunning"! Team this beautiful dress with some classic pearls, and you will be the belle of the ball.

• 1950s Coral Vintage Prom Dress by Lorrie Deb, £150 from www.lovemissdaisy.com

This dress is so pretty and elegant while also being incredibly flattering. Dita would be proud.

• 1980s Red Matte Sequined Wiggle Dress, £120 from www.rokit.co.uk

'Tis the season to be sparkly! Sequins are extremely popular at the moment, and they don't come much better than they did in the 80s.

• 1960s Black Lace Dress, $88/£56.21 from Dear Golden on Etsy

Sexy, demure and chic - black lace is the perfect way to play the femme fatale this Christmas.

• 1970s Red Halterneck Maxi Dress with Tassels, £55 from www.candysays.co.uk

How sexy is this dress?! Even Jessica Rabbit would be jealous! Add some jewels and you're ready to go.

So what do you think? I hope this has helped inspire you to consider vintage for this holiday season. But remember - vintage is for life, not just for Christmas.

Much love,

Frankie

Swell Vintage

x

Wishing you a Swell Christmas!

Have a Swell time!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

New stuff from the house of Swell

...although I actually live in a flat!

Although I've been busy with a good few Christmas jewellery commissions recently, I've also made some new pieces that I really want to share with you. As always, I'd be grateful for any feedback or thoughts you may have about the pieces, so please sock it to me. All of these pieces will be available from Swell-Vintage.com in the new year.

This is my Queen of Hearts necklace. It's made from a vintage brooch, hung on vintage chain and is adorned with freshwater pearls. I am really pleased with it's simple beauty - so much so, in fact, I might even wear it to my Christmas party tonight! Turns out I'm very indecisive...

The Luck be a Lady bracelet is a bit of a bold beast, but it still has an air of elegance about it. It's made from a vintage brooch, linked on vintage chain and is, of course, adorned with freshwater pearls. I do so love a bit of wrist bling.

Inspired by everyone's favourite Quality Street treat, this is The Purple One. I do have a confession to make - this is not a new necklace. I made it a long time ago, and it was for sale in a boutique in Edinburgh. Unfortunately that boutique has now closed down, and although I am very sad about it I am very happy to have this necklace back.

So what do you think? Which piece is your favourite? What would you wear them with? Tell me what's on your mind.

Also, it's nearly Christmas! I am so overly excited about it, and I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with friends and family. What are your plans for the festive period?

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

P-A-R-T-why? Because it's Christmas!

I love Christmas. I honestly do. Not just because it's the season where binge eating becomes a socially acceptable activity (they're known as 'mince pies', not 'mince pie'. Thus, I must eat as many as I can fit into my mouth...right?), but also because there 's always a good occasion to get up.

As mentioned a few posts ago, I recently left my full-time office job so that I could devote more of my time to Swell Vintage. It's been a couple of weeks since I left now, and while it has been amazing to explore my passion more, I do really miss the people. I worked with a lot of brilliant and wonderful people, many of whom became very close friends to me, and you just don't get the same level of social interaction when you're sat at home talking to yourself. And I've definitely tried...losing touch with reality, you say? Don't be crazy...

However, before you start playing the world's smallest violin just for me, the good news is there is some light at the end of my anti-social tunnel - the Christmas Party! I'm still allowed to go, and I fully intend to have an awesome night.

But I do need your help, my dear reader. I've got the dress, but I need help choosing a necklace to wear!

Ok, so here's the dress. It's a vintage black lacey number that I got from Vix Vintage on Etsy, and I am in love with it. It fits like a dream and definitely gets me in the mood for a party.

As you can see, the neckline is rather plunging, so I will definitely need a necklace to go with it. I personally love a statement necklace to make an outfit pop, especially with a black dress, so I'm going for something quite bold. And lucky for me, I have lots of lovely necklaces to borrow from Swell Vintage! Here are the options:

Necklace One

My 'Princess Pearl' necklace could work because it's quite striking, but the pearls add a touch of elegance to it. Also - let's face it - it looks a bit like a nipple, so it's quite fun to wear with a low cut dress!

Necklace Two

My 'Rose by any other name' necklace is one of my all-time favourite pieces, and it might be nice to soften the dress with something a bit prettier...but would it work with this dress? What do you think?

Necklace Three

I made this necklace today, and I'm really pleased with how it's come out. I've called it 'Pearl of the Sea' because the jagged shape reminds me of coral. I like it because it has a classic feel to it, and that could go really well with this dress. It will also be available to buy from swell-vintage.com as of tomorrow.

So what do you think? Which is your favourite necklace? If you could place you vote and let me know any ideas or thoughts you have in the comments box, it would be very much appreciated! Also, I'd love to hear about your go-to party outfit for the Christmas season, so please tell me all about it.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Dear Santa

First off, I'd like to say I'm a big fan of your work. Not only do you bring joy to children and young adults all over the world every year, but you also have a very impressive beard. Kudos to you, sir.

I think I've been a very good girl this year, but I know I can be quite hard to buy for. To help you find something you know I'll love, I've put together a little list of amazing things that are available to order online right now (only 33 days to go, Nick...the clock is ticking!). So if you would kindly bring me the following presents, I'd be much obliged!

My hand NEEDS this incredible ring by Alexander McQueen, £150 from Matches

My feet require some epic shoes by issue, $225 from Olive Shoppe

My blog needs videos filmed on this Flip Video Ultra High Definition Camcorder, £109.99 from Amazon

My torso and every day life would be better with this Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Black Drape Dress, £197 from my-wardrobe.com

And finally...no dream list is complete without an amazing handbag, £695 from Mulberry

But enough about me! What will you be asking Santa for this year?

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Swell Christmas

Dear friends,

Just a quick one to say:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I look good with a beard, right?

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, and that you get all that your heart desires and more!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Swell Christmas

Merry Christmas, lovely loves!

I hope you've all had a SWELL day (see what I did there?), filled with food, presents and other such delights.

I've had a brilliantly relaxing one this year, and have been spoiled with amazing presents! My Mum and sister, who are very supportive of my jewellery stuff, got me a new digital camera so that I can finally take some decent photos of my pieces - hooray! I've taken new photos of my silver flower necklace that I couldn't get right with my old camera, so here you go!:



I'm really looking forward to 2009 - if everything goes according to plan, I think it's going to be a gooden. Fingers crossed anyway!

What lovely gifts have you received this year??

I'll hopefully be making some new pieces over the next few days, so keep your eyes lovely and peeled.

Much festive love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Swell menagerie

Hello hello hello!

So it's the Sunday before Christmas, and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
...except for the animal-themed necklaces I made this weekend!

Wow, that was really bad, wasn't it?

Anyway, I made two necklaces this weekend: one was for a commission, and the other will be on sale at my etsy shop in the new year. Wanna see? Ok!

My dear friend Ruth asked me to make a necklace for her Mum. Ruth has been extremely supportive of all my jewellery-related work, and the only real instruction she gave me for this was, "Make it big enough so she can get it over her head without having to faff around with clasps!" Creatively she's trusted me to do whatever I like, but I did check that she wouldn't mind a spider....so here it is:




It's made from a vintage spider broach, linked on vintage brass chain with pearl. I'm really nervous and hope she likes it! What do you think of it? Honest opinions will be welcomed, please!

This necklace is made from a vintage bird broach that I got in Edinburgh (oh, how I miss that city), linked on vintage silver plated chain. Oh, and what's he got there? A vintage faux pearl in his claw!




I'm quite please with how this one has turned out, but I'd love to hear what you think. Should I make more animal-themed jewellery?

I can't believe it's nearly Christmas already! I can't wait to eat lots of amazing food, watch lots of ridiculous television and have many, many lie-ins. All I want for Christmas is the Poirot DVD box set (yes, I am massively geeky). What have you asked Santa for this year?

Merry Christmas, lovely lovelies!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Swell plans

So I've finally decided to set a date for when I'll be selling my jewellery online through the Swell Vintage etsy shop: Saturday 3rd January 2009!

I figured there wasn't any point doing it before Christmas, and this way I have time to build up my stock levels. But don't forget, I'm still selling some lovely vintage items there at the moment, so why not have a browse? http://swellvintage.etsy.com!

Speaking of building up stock levels, I made a few items today. Please see the pictures below. I'd love to know what you think!




This necklace is made from a brilliant vintage broach I found whilst in Edinburgh, linked onto two different vintage chains and pearl. It's pretty bold, and I quite like that.




This bracelet is made with a vintage broach, decorated with faux turquoise, and a really nice thick link vintage chain. I added a chunky faux pearl because...I really like pearl!





I really liked this vintage 'shell', and thought I'd add a pearl (for a change) to keep in with the theme. It is hung on a vintage chain, and I think it's even quite pretty from the back!

So there we go! As I've said time and time again, I'd really like to hear what you think of these. I love getting comments, and every message/piece of feedback/idea is read and deeply absorbed!

In other news, I'm so looking forward to Christmas. Time off my day job = more time to do what I love! Hooray! Do you have any nice Christmas plans? Any nice Christmas jewellery/outfits?

Thanks for reading!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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